Another life time...

It blows my mind that less than two months I was getting on a plane and taking a risk. So much has changed since December 26th. It seems like a different life ago - when our plane landed in College Station, natural habits took their role and walked me through my days. Without a doubt, I am purely exhausted. School is overwhelming and there just seems like there is no time for anything. Or rather, that I am doing everything for everyone else. But going to Germany was that one thing that I did for myself, and it was one the best decisions I could have ever possibly made. Going on this trip changed me a number of ways, and differently than my past trips have changed me.

First off, I learned that my family means the entire world to me. Having the ability to see them during my free weekend was such a blessing, and it reminded me of the amount of love we give each other. They are without a doubt my support and rock.

Secondly, my viewpoints and appreciation of history drastically changed. 200 years of history here is about an hour of history there. The architecture, culture and overall historic events were breathtaking, and the feelings it produced when I knew that I was standing at such a site where so much had taken place, could never be replicated.

Third, keeping an open mind to a new way of living, is crucial to the appreciation of the culture itself. Those "ten-minute walks", paying for water and the restrooms, and using public transportation everywhere was definitely the shock I needed to realize that although similar, our cultures are very different. An essential component of traveling anywhere is learning to keep an open mind, and I am so blessed to have already had an experience that allowed myself to do that.

Fourth of all, I learned so much about medicine more than I ever did shadowing anyone or talking to any physician. Learning about the German and Austrian healthcare system opened my eyes to how screwed up ours really is. Furthermore, the amount of medical occupations and opportunities are so much more than "just going to medical school", whether it is working for Pfizer or in research, this trip displayed drastically how many doors can be opened to different areas of medicine.

Lastly, I learned that if I want to learn anything knew in life, I need to step out of my comfort zone and do things on my own - without the help from others. As I grow mentally, I want to have the satisfaction that I can do anything on my own, and that whether I am in my comfort zone or not, that I can always handle the situation. This trip was a good dose of finally doing something independently. I have been traveling for as long as I can remember, and even by myself in many cases, but never have I done it to where I would travel with new people, whom I only saw at a few brief meetings. Never have I had to maneuver through cities where I didn't know the language, or attempt to order my meal or drink in German, or further use the public transportation system (especially coming from a place where my car is my best friend). These were all experiences that I learned on my own, in those very short two and a half weeks that I spent abroad.

I still catch myself saying "bitte", "danke", and "tschüss" all the time while I am here. I attempt to explain to people about Germany and Austria's different health care systems. I can barely stand to not walk to places anymore - I try to walk everywhere on campus, and when people complain about it, I just think of all of those "ten-minute" walks I took for granted. I'd like to think I brought a little bit more back from Germany than just pictures.

I am still tired, and I think I am still recovering from all of the tours and walks and excitement. But without a doubt, I would do it all over again.

Bis bald, Deutschland!