The first goodbye was to my host family. They took us to dinner at this beautiful winery where the food and drinks were absolutely stellar. There was an orchard that shadowed over the restaurant which we climbed and saw Bonn as entire city one last time. They gave us departing gifts with handwritten cards so we could remember them which I definitely will. I'll always be grateful for their hospitality and willingness to put up with two traveling college students. The next morning, we snuck out at the crack of dawn to depart to Berlin and it was almost like we were never there.
The second goodbye was to Bonn. As the train departed from the station, I started to remember what all I had done in the small city named Bonn. It was where the rest of the students and I first met, it was where we had the bulk of our classes, and in a weird way, it felt like a home away from home. I will always remember you Bonn.
We arrived in Berlin, and my first impression was "this place is huge." There were multiple HBF's and the city was crawling with people making a life there. Our hotel was amazing and was like a penthouse on the bottom level. We embraced it because that would be the place I would leave to go home in a few days. After getting to the hotel, we left to begin our bike tour around the city of Berlin. The bike tour itself went by so fast and I enjoyed it so much. The richness of Berlin's history made it a heavy, but necessary learning experience. Walking through the Jewish memorial was an emotional experience, seeing the Reichstag was surreal, and standing next to the Berlin Wall was somewhat eerie, yet liberating. The bike tour concluded our day, we had dinner, and we went back to our place to be rested for the next day.
What a day the next one was. It was a hard day, not physically, but mentally. We visited the Sachsenhausen concentration camp memorial and all I could think is "how?" How could an entire country of people let this happen. How could they morally justify it? And lastly, how could they let it get that far. No matter what, I will never be able to fully grasp the horrid events that happened in WWII. All I can do is pray it never happens again. Seeing the morgues, the crematoriums, and seeing a small section of a gas chamber was eerie. The methods they used to kill were in-humane. Luckily, we had the rest of the day free to roam Berlin and process what had happened. I used the free time to write and submit my neuro paper which I'm glad I finished early. That night, we went out with Henning and experienced Berlin to the fullest. Not in the good way. At the first place we went to, I noticed a man who suspiciously went out of his way and walked between our two tables. The next thing that happened was Karen telling us very causally that the man had taken her purse and I was infuriated. Me, Miguel, Joseph and Henning all got up and chased the guy down. Miguel got there first and snatched the purse back saving the night. Joseph and I were also ready to defend him but luckily it didn't escalate that far. The next thing that happened that night was that Joseph was attacked by some drunk guys who got a hold of him on the way to the last place. He was upstairs and the rest of us were downstairs and all I heard was him yelling my name. The second I heard his voice, I ran towards him and Henning was already halfway up the stairs. The men let him go and shortly after, we ended our night.
The next day was filled with activities and educational experiences. The first place we visited was the alchemy fair, which was probably the most unique museum I had ever been to. It was filled with ancient exhibits but also had a mix of modern exhibits embedded within. It was super informal and we just had a great time there. From there, we went to the Otto Bock science center which was also very cool. It was probably the most modern and futuristic museum we had been to yet. Learning about human motor movements and the future of prosthetics was very interesting to me. I learned so much that day and I felt like a sponge soaking in so much information. That night was the long awaited Blink 182 concert. We had been looking forward to this night for so long and it did not let us down. The only problem with it was that it went by too quickly. It was a band that a lot of us grew up with and it was a memory I would cherish forever.
The last day was hard. The rest of the goodbyes happened that day and night. We received a lecture at the museum and visited the medical school which went by like a blur partly because it was so interesting and partly because it was our last day in Berlin. The first goodbye that night was to our last excursion on the trip we would ever take. We had gone on so many excursions and site visits throughout the trip and it was all over. That night we had our farewell dinner and I literally had some of the best meat I had ever tasted in my entire life. It was so tender and juicy and I can't describe how delicious it was. After dinner, our 3rd and 4th goodbyes happened. We said goodbye to the program because it was officially over and I'm eternally grateful for it. I learned so much and experienced Europe in a way I never would have imagined. Next we said goodbye to the professors, who have put up with a bunch of college students running around with flying colors. They were great leaders, great educators, and lastly, they were great mentors.
The next goodbye was to my peers. I would not have wanted to experience Europe with any other group of people and I'm glad I met them. I formed many lasting relationships, and if you're reading this, I'll hopefully see you next semester so we can catch up and relive some of our European memories.
The last was goodbye to the adventure of a lifetime. It was one I will cherish and remember for the rest of my life. It was indescribable in the way that it impacted me and changed me. This is an adventure I will strongly recommend to future students because I feel everyone who has the chance to go on this trip should take it. I was able to see Europe in a way that nobody ever has because it's a personal experience. It touches everybody in a different way according to their beliefs and backgrounds which was the beauty of it. Peace out Europe, I'll definitely be seeing you later.
*side note: I currently don't have wifi while posting this so I will post the pictures later.
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