Week 3.5 - Oven Week

I think this week, by far, was the hottest one so far being in Germany and the adjacent countries. Between sweating in the day and sweating at nights it's been a little miserable at times. To add on I've also accomplished in contracting the cold that's being passed around the group. It's funny how close contact and confined spaces amplifies the effect common illness have on repopulating. Had I been back home I would be avoiding the sick people as much as possible, but here it's alot harder to do so. It's either you have to tell them directly to stay away or try to avoid being anywhere around them. Of which both are difficult because most of the time we don't have a choice. To get off my soapbox, apart from the sickness and heat the week, per usual, has been fantastic.

This week consisted of a heart clinic, axolotl clinic, and rehab island visit. Out of the three my top favorite would probably have to be the heart clinic because that is almost spot on with what I would love to do. They showed us the physical device they implant into people and allowed us to see actual patients with it inside them. It's amazing how such a device can do the inevitable, at one point, and sustain a person's life for more than 5 years. Working with devices and people like that wouldn't be work anymore. Stuff like that is what I strive for. When fun and work come together that is happiness, you can't buy that kind of happiness.

For example, the researcher at the axolotl clinic started her project because she owned one first as a pet. She turned something she loved and cared for into a job and something that could be useful to human kind at some point. Even if it takes her 10 years, or a lifetime, to discovery something that would be a win in my book. When we were at the clinic, both the main researcher and her assistant researcher seemed to enjoy greatly what they do and care for their lab specimens with care. Even though they don't name them you can tell they have some kind of emotional attachment to them. I would suppose it is natural to bond with them since they are always there and working with them. Even the spiders interested the researchers. I don't think I know any group of people who are more fascinated with spiders. However, the fact that they have utilized the webs they harvested and saw a noticeable result, all power to them. I would use spider webs as stitches/sutures if it worked well and reduced the amount of scarring. If it works and produces no unreasonable side effects, I'm all for it.

Norderney was a little up and down for me because that was when the peak of my cold virus was happening. The first day on the island was hard for me, it was really enjoyable intellectually, but I felt like I had a fever the whole day. With that said it produced a major headache for me and made the bike ride murder. Despite that, the mud flat hiking was really entertaining and great for my feet. It was hilarious when Jacob, Chris, Susannah, and Shannon were trying to walk to the yellow pole. They were completely confident that they were walking the correct direction, but in reality were totally off. Susannah almost did a 180 and was heading back out to sea. Had that been real fog they probably would've been lost at sea never to be found again. Luckily for them, and for A&M, it was only an imaginary fog and we all made it out of the mud safely. Friday, another bike ride, was alot better for me because I felt physically better even though the ride was longer and hotter. I'm not a big bird watcher, but some of the birds he showed us were quite cool looking. My favorite was probably the bird of pray. I don't remember the name of the bird I just liked it because it was supposedly a rare bird to find. A close second was the bird that could fly in one spot by fluttering its wings and then dive to catch it's pray.

That's the main highlights of the week and my favorite parts. As of now we are on a train to Amsterdam, or as my mom calls it, "the land of sin". So as usual, until next time...