Post-Deutschland Thoughts: Post-Return

The view outside my room at A&M. The evening is a pretty retrospective time of the day.

So I am writing this right now in my dorm room in Clements Hall on campus and it is late at night. I have an amazing view of Kyle Field from here and the scenery goes well with music by Of Monsters and Men. I am thinking about the time I have spent recently. Exams have been all over the place and my 13 credit hour schedule semester somehow involves at least one test every week since the beginning of February so far. The semester is nearly halfway over and it is crazy to think that it has been over a month since I have gotten back from Germany but the experience still feels recent. How was it that I was in Germany on January 13^th, 2013 and I arrived in the USA on January 13^th, 2013? It feels odd when it happens to you but it is not a hard question to answer. It was because of time zones, of course. But it was a strange feeling being able to be in one place so far displaced from home and then being back home in just a matter of hours. Stepping out of that airplane and there I was, back on American soil, across the Atlantic Ocean on a trip that would have taken months a couple hundred of years ago that I did in a matter of hours. The first thing I remember being back in the USA was going through customs and picking up my suitcase. It felt exciting to be back home but it felt odd coming back. It was not long till my mother dropped off our car at the airport and Austin and I were soon on our way back to College Station ready to start the Spring Semester. The fact that class started as soon as the trip ended did not really help the experience sink in as I returned. I remember being in Austria at the farewell dinner and then boom. I was sitting in Organic Chemistry virtually the next day, where Leo happened to be in that class as well. I would not say that it was like the trip never happened, which it did, but it almost felt as if it did not. Jet lag was actually not that large of a factor because I forced my body to adjust to my school schedule. I actually have a rather nice weekly schedule despite the exam schedule with Monday having 2 classes, Tuesday having 1 class, Wednesday having 3 classes, Thursday having 1 class, and Friday having 1 class. My research professor, who is from Estonia, is familiar with intercontinental travel and did not even make me show up for the first week. All this allowed me to recover rather quickly and enjoy my semester as much as possible.

Buildings fit better together to me here.

The readjustment process of coming back home was not much of an issue when it came to jetlag but there were other things that I miss so much about being in Germany. Germany is quite modern as a European country and there was not too much to adjust to. Most of the differences, I thought, were better in Europe than they were in the USA. I notice the differences as I walk around now and they are as blatant as they were when I was in Germany. If I were to start with one of the easy-to-spot ones, architecture and scenery is a big one. I walk around campus or think of the various places I have been to in Houston, Texas, or even around the USA, most of where I have been to is quite plain-like, flat, and not too particularly interesting. The buildings don’t fit that well and most of them do not look like they have any particular amount of history attached to them. There are pockets of scenery of course and nice, historic buildings but it is not as prevalent as it was in Germany. There scenery is lush with trees around the German autobahns and there’s beautiful architecture to be seen all around Germany. The majestic and rustic European architecture, not to mention its age, somehow clashes well with the modern cityscapes of Germany. But this is quite easy for me to say as the saying goes, “The grass is always greener on the other side.” I do not doubt the beauty that Germany contains but it is easy to want something you do not have or often experience. This goes back to what my brother once told me, he was once in Italy on a TAMU Honors trip and was talking to a girl whose parents owned a gelato stand. He told her how beautiful and scenic Italy was and the girl responded with slight disgust, claiming that Italy was a dump and that she wanted to leave as soon as she could. It is a lot about the human perspective and it varies from person to person and from culture to culture.

Restroom in the Freud House. Perhaps Sigmund Freud went to the restroom here?

There are a variety of other differences I could list but these are ones that I noticed pretty quickly and have stuck around in my head. Restrooms are not always free in Germany. That is the case because there are constantly people cleaning it and keeping it up to standard. I would honestly pay a little bit to use a clean restroom than to use a dirty restroom for free like is often the case in the USA. The restrooms are so much better over in Germany but, of course, it is at a cost. I just wish the public restrooms were just a bit standable over here.

A spinach ravioli. Food is great here but so expensive.

Also, everything costs more in Germany when converting from dollars to Euros. Every country generally has its own currency and one unit of currency has a different market value than another and it just so happens that when we Americans buy things in Europe, it is generally more expensive than what we are used to back here. Whenever you want a decent meal in Germany, you definitely pay more than you do stateside.

A wholesomely, meaty, not particularly healthy, but delicious wienerschnitzel.

Another thing is that green vegetables and fruits are not as easy to find in Germany restaurants as they are in the USA. I really like my fruits and vegetables, not just for their taste but they make me feel healthy and balance the guilt associated with unhealthy foods. But I really love German food too. Meat and potatoes are among my list of favorite foods but even though German food is generally not super-healthy with all of its meat and potatoes, I feel that German people, in general, are not particularly overweight and probably healthier than Americans as a whole.

City streets are full of people walking around. Smaller streets have no room for cars.

I can probably attribute this to the more widespread use of walking in Germany, especially compared to here where we all drive to get to different places since everything is so far apart. It is also the case in Germany, but in the cities, it seems the majority walk around to get where they need to go, with the help of the public transport systems, and they get some good exercise. It felt more refreshing when I was in Germany and did not have my car and could not drive anywhere. Walking was nice in combination with the subways and it felt really ideal to me. However, when I am back in College Station with my car, I feel free and am able to literally go anywhere I want, but the subway is definitely less stressful than having to drive your self to places.

We need one of these.

That brings me to my next point, which is that I wish the USA had its own public transport system, granted that that is easier said then done due to the sheer size of the country compared to that of Germany. Most major cities here do have a public transport system of sort but it is not the same as Germany’s. I have been to other countries such as Taiwan and South Korea and those countries’ respective public transport systems are very similar to those I experienced in Germany. They are just so fast and convenient and you can go all over the city in a short time-span.

The folks at the AIB served us up a traditional red wine drink. Legal for me to drink in Germany but not at home as of right now.

Obviously, one of the differences that we took advantage of was the fact that the drinking age was 16 in Germany as opposed to the drinking age of 21 here in the USA. It was nice to enjoy a few alcoholic beverages over there and I have to say, the beers are certainly better over in Germany than they are stateside, just don’t let them get warm like with any beers though. Anyway, I personally feel that the drinking age should be 18 when people become “adults” and the 21 is a bit too old but I feel 16 is definitely too young. But no matter, it all matters on how responsible you are whenever you do anything like drinking.

A university hospital in Bonn.

After our various tours and such, the differences between the German and American medical systems were pretty clear. Germany has a system of mandatory, governmental health insurance while here in the USA, no one has to have health insurance and it is all privately owned and rather pricey if not provided as part of an employer’s benefit package. At the same time, healthcare is virtually free over in Germany but over here, healthcare is rather costly and even with insurance, not everything is covered completely. This is great for Germans, but at the same time, a rather decent chunk of taxes are extracted from their income, which is taken to support this socialized medical system. Several argue that even though Germany has this sort of “free” medicine, we in the USA have better quality doctors and healthcare but despite that, it is interesting to see that Germany has better medical statistics than the USA does, even against our “premium” priced medical care. It is also important to note there is no “perfect” healthcare system because each system has its pros and cons but I do not want to go too much into that. If I were to pick one, I would definitely go for the socialized medical system because despite its cost in taxes, everyone, even the unemployed are granted access to healthcare, which I believe is a human right. There are several arguments going for and against this type of socialized healthcare and it will be interesting to see the direction our country takes on this issue in the coming years.

Das awesome group!

So overall, this trip had a really fun social aspect and I really miss everyone from the trip. It was awesome being able to hang out with some of you guys at Tyler’s house and a few others around campus but hopefully, we can all get together soon. It was amazing to be able to go on this learning experience with everyone and I won't ever forget the crazy and fun memories we all made over there. So since coming back from Germany, I have seen Tyler, Max, Leo, Kitty, Monica, Patrick, Sam, and Connor, but Cassie, Ariana, and Kaitlyn I have not yet seen. Hope to see you guys around!

In Austria with great people.

Germany, simply put, felt like a great place to be. It was definitely more of a cosmopolitan place than I had initially thought. And though I love the USA, Germany is another place I wouldn’t mind going back to and living. I have visited other countries in Asia, and every place is unique and special in its own way, but the recent tumultuous history and transformation of the country in a matter of years definitely makes the country a league of its own in Europe.  The trip was not enough time to fully immerse myself in German culture and society but it was enough time for me to pique my interest in the place even further. Since the plan is to go back to Germany for the Spring Semester 2014, I had better brush up on my non-existent Deutsch. Anyway, I can honestly say this was the best trip I have ever been on and I will never forget all of the amazing memories and experiences I shared with a great group of people in that special part of Europe called Deutschland!

See you again soon!