Pre-Deutschland Thoughts: Pre-Departure

 

Probably how I will be dressing for the most part. With a few more layers of course.

Howdy! My name is Aaron Wang, a sophomore Biomedical Sciences major pursuing a double minor in English and Genetics. I am from Clear Lake City in Houston, Texas and have lived there since birth. I am currently on a pre-med track and plan to attend medical school after I graduate in 2015. I have an identical twin going on this trip as well but since he got a hair cut, I hope we are not going to be too hard to tell apart. I am pretty excited about this trip and am looking forward to meeting all of you guys!

So unlike my typical procrastination habits, where I often end up blitzkrieg-ing myself pretty badly, I decided to write my pre-departure thoughts not the moment before the flight took off but rather few days before so I hope I am not being a prick by getting this done this early. So anyway, I was first interested in this study abroad opportunity a little over a year ago and has the time flown right by. In a few days, granted the global apocalypse does not occur on tomorrow on December 21^st 2012, I should be boarding a plane for Germany with a connecting flight in Amsterdam and it is definitely something I am looking forward too since this is also my first time traveling to Europe. So I am pretty excited about this whole thing and I know this is said quite often for something like this but it seems kind of unreal.

As part of something I am looking forward to, several questions regarding this experience-to-be come to mind. Is Germany going to be like what I picture in my mind? Is it going to be as cold, dreary, and snowy as it was made out to be? Will there be wiener dogs everywhere? Will chocolate and beer be in as much abundance as water? Regardless, like every stereotype in existence, there is a degree of truth to them but the truth is usually at least slightly tamer than what the stereotype suggests. I can look at pictures or videos on the web but that only show part of the story about what something really is.

In terms of the German language, I will be honest. There have been moments during the trip orientations where I have had to stifle a small laugh or giggle when I heard Dr. Wasser say some incredibly sounding German word or phrase. German is a complex Indo-European language ranging from its seemingly arbitrary gender assignments to its overwhelming conjugations and sounds. Though I will not have the time during or before this trip to learn German to a highly usable level, I hope it will be something that I will have an increasing level of appreciation and understanding for. I expect this trip to be a fun, albeit educational in terms of German medical history and culture, which is a good thing. 

Another thing to note is that I do expect to see how German or European medical practices differ from those in America. I understand that with socialized healthcare, taxpayers receive close to free medical coverage due to high taxes, but overall, healthcare is more accessible to those who need to it most. In America, we have a system of healthcare that is non-government run and as a result, far more expensive than the system that exists in countries with socialized healthcare. I wonder if there will be any discernible difference in level of care or even how they train their physicians and veterinarians and they are things I am looking forward to seeing for myself as much as I can. 
 
As for the excursions, museums, and such, those should probably be interesting but I will wait and see till I get to those places to experience the history, culture, knowledge that awaits at those places. 

Regardless of my expectations of this trip, I am looking forward to spending an amazing time in Germany where I will be exposed to not only the bitter cold but also the history and culture that made Germany the place it is today. I am trying to dump any stereotypes I may have of Germany that I have acquired by simply being an American. As soon as I land, I should forget about the ten-gallon pitcher of beer, the crazy-looking pants, the fat-lady with the Viking helmet at the opera, and the number of other German things that come to mind. I hope to redefine my image of Germany on this trip and experience a culture and society that will expand my cultural horizons in addition to increasing my knowledge about the history of medicine in Europe. It is easy and done far too often to have judgments about things looking from the outside in but I have heard things appear differently looking from the inside out so I am waiting for that opportunity on December 26^th 2012 to climb onto the other side of that window and see the view from the inside myself.