Dare I describe them as three of the best weeks of my life?

I’ll admit: I actually dreamed about being back in Germany and Austria during the first couple weeks back, but the obviously disappointing part was that the dreams did neither the cities nor the experiences nearly enough justice. Somehow even my imagination is unable to create situations and experiences that can truly be compared to those three weeks.

Two of the main unique aspects of this time abroad were the lack of parents and a presence of structure. I’m definitely not the type of person who needs every second in the day planned, but to focus on a certain facet of new countries gave me a much deeper understanding of not only medicine but of the entire country through their citizens’ priorities, or at least the governments’. They seem to think of society as a whole rather than emphasize the individual, which is one of the fundamental differences between countries such as Germany and the United States. I’m not saying one is better than the other; I’m still trying to decide that, which I why I’m almost desperate to return to Europe. As a patient, it would, of course, be great to have medical insurance guaranteed, but as a doctor, it seems as though there are still some of the same problems that plague the American healthcare system. In any specialty, being aware of major similarities and differences between you and your counterparts allows for a better understanding of your own methods. Since I’m still on the fence, once I’ve had more experience in the American healthcare system, hopefully I can spend more time in a Western European hospital. Part of residency in England doesn’t sound too bad…

Another great part of the experience was the city tours. I don’t know why all history classes aren’t taught like this! We’ve already learned about the major facts from history classes, but to actually walk along where the Berlin Wall stood or the trail taken by the Roma and Sinti, sit in the same lecture room in which Robert Virchow lectured, the fact that a descendant of one of the soldiers who bombed Dresden made the new cross now at the top of the Frauenkirche or my personal favorite learning the irony of the French embassy being in Pariser Platz, adds an entirely new level of reality to the textbooks. (If only we could learn about Hardy-Wienburg equilibrium in their houses!) In cities such as Berlin and Dresden, the effects of a terrible war, only to be continued in another form for an additional forty years, are evident. Now, Germany is known for it’s relatively great economy and is seen as a leader for other European countries, but its people still deal with the ripples, even today. The United States, too, still has to compensate for past inequalities. Learning more history from a different perspective casts a new light on old material.

Since returning home, I can’t help but feel that something is missing in my life, or maybe not missing, but that one day in Germany was just so much better than my recent days here. Maybe it was the modes of transportation, the big city atmosphere of the pedestrian shopping centers, or the awesome food that you can get basically anywhere. You don’t know something is missing while you don’t know about it, which is why it is so important to expose yourself to new things. Taking a train, riding a subway and being thrown into new countries with twelve strangers never seems particularly appealing to me. But now, I’d give a lot to ride a train to Dallas instead of driving or flying, take the subway instead of driving at 5:30 and spend more time with all the people in our group. It’s amazing that despite such diverse backgrounds, we all end up in the same place, at least for part of our lives even though each may have their own reason. This was the best part of getting to know the other students on the trip. We’ve all chosen the same general field, but I learned so much from each person since we’re all in different stages of our lives. I probably don’t need to move to Europe to have experiences as great as I had during the trip, but I would love spending more time in Germany to have a better understanding of the country and Germans since three weeks was only dipping a toe in the pool. A group at the Max Delbrück Center looks like they do they same kind of research as the lab I’m working in now, and a summer in Berlin sounds like it would be absolutely amazing.

After already having driven over three thousand miles this semester, sitting back and enjoying a train ride through Germany this morning sounds perfect. I guess for now I’ll have to settle for my changing desktop backgrounds.