Switzerland

The fiesty ocho took the opportunity to travel to Switzerland on our long weekend. It is by far the best place we have been so far, in my opinion. We stayed in the mountain hostel. To get there you had to take a private train that apparently didn´t take the eurail pass we were using so cost 5 euros for a 15 minute ride. Then you have to get the only bus for 4 dollars and then get on the gandala up into the mountains for another 5 dollars. The hostel was in Gimmelwald which is in the mountains. The view was amazing. You are literally standing on a mountain surrounded by other mountains. No pictures did justice and there is no way to really describe it. The afternoon we arrived we hiked around for a while. We went a little off trail for just a little while. If the boys would have had there way we would still be lost in Switzerland. We found a bridge with glacier water running under it. As soon as you got close to it, the temperature dropped and felt so good. We went back to the hostel later and met some people from Dallas. The next day we went canyoning :) It was so great. Our leaders were really awesome. 5 of us went together and we had some aussies with us and two girls from finland. They drove us about an hour away where we stood in an open field and changed into our wet suits. We then went to a random highway road they tided some ropes on the rails and we repelled down 50 ft. We then went through a series of jumps and slides and zip lines through the canyon. When your head pops out of the freezing water, it is a really great face...especially Elsie´s. My favorite part was probably the water slide while a free fall at the end. Our last day we hiked around. One of the nights a thunderstorm came through. It was really beautiful to see the mountains outlined against the sky. It was also nice to be cold and actually where a sweater!! It has been so hot in Germany. We took a night train from Switzerland to Vienna. I´m not sure how much sleep I actually got, but I can say I went on a night train through Europe, and that is what counts :)

Vienna/ Prague weekend

July 21- 25

To finish up our week in Vienna we toured the Vienna museum and the Central cemetery in Vienna (wednesday). The cemetery was one of the largest cemeteries I have ever seen, in addition to the largest tombstones I have ever seen.

On Thursday we toured the University of Vienna which was fairly interesting. We also toured the old hospital for psychiatric patients/ naretorum (cant remember what its called/ how to spell). They say the hospital was built in a circle so that if a looney patient escapes he/she will just wind up back at their room. After walking around the place this seemed very likely, I lost my bering and couldn't really tell where we were in the building after taking the tour. The exhibit contained early (abnormal) specimens of med importance which had many diseases and conditions documented for use in the future. I think it was a collection of certain specimens and documents to help doctors diagnose patients with other patient histories.

On Friday we visited the Neurological Center Rosenhugel. This center was something around 60% privately owned and 40% publicly funded (or something to that degree). It was unique because I think most German hospitals/ health centers are primarily funded by the government. It was a very nice neurological rehab center designed primarily for recovering stroke patients. It was almost like a hotel with all the up to date medical equipment. One of our group members commented that she wished she could check herself into the rehab center. I think because she thought the patient rooms/ facilities were extremely nice, not that she needs neuro rehab but who knows... At the end of the day the group headed out for our weekend trip to Prague.

As usual we arrived to our hostel late in the evening - the fact that it was raining and got on the wrong tram didin't help. We caught one train, not exactly sure of where it would take us, convinced ourselves it was the wrong one and turned around. We proceeded to get lost even further and finally took a cab to the hostel. Turns out we were headed in the correct direction originally - just our luck. We finally arrived to our hostel, Sir Toby's, which has turned out to be the nicest place we have stayed so far. Before we could check in the guy at the front desk gave us the "mandatory" briefing. He gave us maps and showed us where everything was in the city that we needed to know -restaurants, bars, etc. he was very helpful and made our stay at Sir Toby's that much nicer. We spent the entire next day in Prague walking through the city and enjoying ourselves. That night we did a bar crawl in Prague - it was a blast. The only downside was that our train left at 6am the next morning and the crawl ended at 3:30am. However, the train back to Bonn was extremely long so we just slept the entire way back. Prague was a wonderful city and I hope to visit again somewhere down the line.

Week in Hannover week of 7/12/2010

We have been travelling non stop so I am starting this blog with the week we went to Hannover. 

On Monday we went to Drachenfels. This is a little mountain with ruins on the top. It was about a 30-45 minute hike and once you reached the top, it felt great and you could see all of Bonn. The ruins have been there since the 12th century. At the top we had snacks and all joked as a group and enjoyed our time together. Within 5 minutes you could see rain clouds coming in and the weather changed instantly. We got rained on during the hike down but it cooled everything off. 

On Tuesday we left early to go to Hannover. I really liked Hannover and everything that we did. We went to the Nephrology center and got to see a dialysis treatment in action. We also got to volunteer to sample our blood and I found out I am a little anemic! Good to know I guess. The doctor who took us around was a great doctor and made everything so interesting. He really enjoyed his work and it showed. We also visited the vet school. I really liked this day. I saw a dog that looked just like Blue and it made me miss him! I wanted to pet all of the dogs, but I managed to refrain myself. It was neat to learn all that they do as vets. They even do hip replacements. As a vet you get a lot of experience with surgery, which is different that I previously thought. I think I would make a good vet. Later we went to the horse center and then the cattle clinic. This was really neat. We saw a cow get her hoof amputated. She was completely awake and just in a barn looking area with doctors in rain boots performing a surgery. It was really neat. Then we got to do rectal exams on a poor cow that got stabbed in the artery by Kavi. This was really neat though and we all enjoyed sticking our arms in the butt of a cow. It was fun to experience some "hands on" action, literally. We got some great pictures out of it too :). 

On one of our free afternoons we hung out by the lake and look a very relaxing nap. It was nice to be by a body of water. Then we rented paddle boats and raced around. At one point someone started yelling German at us and we asked for them to tell us in English and they said, "please leave". It was so funny, I think they meant move instead of leave haha. Hopefully. 

Hannover seemed smaller and quitter than Bonn. Each German city is so different. It was a great week though. We went home to Bonn on Thursday to pack for the next two weeks that we would be gone to Switzerland, Vienna, then Prague. My host family made me some Arabic rice for dinner when I got home Thursday. It was great, I miss rice for some reason. I get to experience a lot of culture with my host family. 

Post from monday 7/12

After a full week of being abroad, I have gotten used to some things. I am slowly picking up on small phrases in German. I know my war around Bonn now pretty well, and I have gotten used to staying with my host family. Today we hiked up the Drachenfels with the group. It was a very steep and rigorous climb but we all made it to the top where there was a nice breeze.
The weekend in Amsterdam was off the chain! We broke the ice on traveling long distances in Europe, and we were pretty successful. I am very disappointed I was unable to go to the Rijks Museum or Van Gogh, but we did see the outside of the Ann Frank house and we visited Dom Square and the Red Light District. It was very different from what I am used to in the states. I like traveling together with the group because it forces us to get along and enjoy each other! I can't wait for our week inannover and Switzerland! We're going to do it BIG!

Freud

July 19- 21

We arrived in Vienna Monday morning from Switzerland. Only two of our rooms were available because we got to the hotel before check in time, but it was nice to take a shower and take a nap after the long train ride from Switzerland. The night train was quite an experience; it was nice to have sheets and stretch out and sleep for once on a train.

Later that evening we walked through the city of Vienna and had some nice Viennese schnitzel (veal). So far Vienna has had the best schnitzel in my opinion (veal and pork). I always assumed schnitzel was something fancy or strange dish but it is just a thinner version of our (American) chicken fried steak/ chicken fried chicken; all that is lacking is the gravy. That Tuesday we did a medical history walk through the city and Dr. Wasser pointed out various buildings/ locations of historic medical relevance. We then stopped by the famous Cafe Korb for a quick lunch break before touring the Freud Museum. We had a guided tour at the Freud Museum but first we sat in on a lecture Dr. Wasser prepared about Freuds life and various Freudian theories. It was neat to see first hand the "birthplace" of psychology. This was where Freud began what we now consider the norm in psychotherapy. He began his "couch" therapies or psychoanalytic sessions in the building we toured. It was neat to see his old possessions and photographs; it really brought the place to life. Later that day we toured the catacombs beneath the Vienna Cathedral. I remember the bones of all the bodies that were placed in the catacomb were stacked in neat piles like firewood. Apparently the bodies began to smell so bad that they had to get prisoners to scrape off the remaining tissue from the bones and place them in neat piles/ stackes; skulls, femurs, humeri (is that the plural form?) etc were all arranged neatly. Kind of an eerie feeling.

In Vienna we also had the opportunity to attend a real life opera. It wasn't exactly what I imagined an opera to be like (fat lady singing in loud annoying voice), but Dr Wasser told us he chose one that would be appropriate/entertaining to younger people. It seemed like many of the plays I have been to except it was in German. There were English subtitles and I could understand most of what was going on by just viewing the actors. I will admit that I was lost at a few points through out the play. Later we went out as a group and explored the Vienna night life.

I think I'm turning Viennese

July 19-21

Well we reached Vienna Monday morning with the intention of going and visiting the modern art museums etc., but once we hit the hotel, the bed called and wouldn't let us leave for 3 or 4 hours. Then after that McDonald's wanted us over to have a meal so we indulged in what we thought was a familiar friend. All the burgers had weird names and seemed smaller and a little more expensive than their American counterparts, but the Mcflurry saved me. Oh, and for the students being good and reading the blogs before you travel, Alserstrasse has 2 one way streets and if you leave the tram it should be right across the street. As we were waiting for Nils and Dr. Wasser to get ready a strange woman approached us and gave us tram pass for the week, which at the time I thought it weird that she would have eight passes just to give away. The confusion was resolved when Dr. Wasser came down and recognized the woman and greeted her children, I guess she was affiliated with the program somehow. Then we left and went to a cafe to have some Viennese food and she introduced herself as Reiner's (sp?) sister-in-law, Susan. We all had typical Viennese food and boy was the schnitzel delicious, it needed nothing but a little squirt of lemon.

Now it is time for the History of Medicine portion of the program, we first visited the Freud museum and while it was very interesting, I'll admit I was out a little too late the night before and passed out for a good 5 minutes during Dr. Wasser's lecture. He even called me out on it when I pulled him aside and asked a question about something covered in the lecture. While the tour guide was interesting and good, I personally think that Dr. Wasser could give better insight on Freud's life and expand a bit further on things covered, mainly because we natively speak the same language. Then we had the history of medicine walk (I'm sorry if the timeline is off, I couldn't keep the days straight after the change in schedule) which I personally think would've been more interesting if Vienna would've put up a plaque or something where the important medical innovations were created instead of putting up a department store.

The next day we visited the museum of Vienna, of which I didn't find too particularly interesting other than the weapons, the way Veinna remained intact during the Hungarian invasions and finally the way the city had changed during the times. Then we were off to the cemetery where we saw Freud's parents' grave and while I would risk going through the tall grass I was advised against it due to the snakes and what not in the grass. It was here I learned that the fearless Dr. Wasser had one weakness, spiders. Well that's it for this blog entry, stay tuned for Vienna part 2 in the next entry.

July 15-18

Well now it is time to see the animal side of medicine, to be honest at first I was a little hesitant because I didn't think there was much of a connection. When we arrived at the small animal clinic I thought we had made a wrong turn somewhere because the facility was nicer than some human hospitals I have visited (except that instead of beds the animals would get cages). Then came the time to tour the horse clinic and it was just amazing to me how many luxuries the horses get while in the hospital. The air conditioned barn was the cherry on top, it had a special spongy surface that was comfortable for the horses and it looked nicer than some houses. The surgery area was pretty much the same as human ones (except that you can't really cart a horse around on a bed and everything was about 5x bigger). We also got to see a horse getting neutered and the same sterile techniques that are used in human medicine were used for the horse, except I did notice that the surgeons wore boots and the observers scrubs did not have sleeves which I found a little odd.
The next adventure was visiting the cow clinic which in my opinion was a little underwhelming coming from the horse clinic. It just did not feel as clean and as modern as the horse clinic, but then again cows are bred as food sources and not pets. Another thing the tour guide made sure to emphasize was that since the buildings are guarded historically, nothing can be changed or upgraded. Now on to everyone in the group's favorite part of the trip, the rectal palpation. Well, we first had to give the cow an epidural and I somewhat foolishly volunteered and had to put the needle in the cow's back. The nice woman explained exactly how to do it and me, being me, thought I knew how to do it and just jabbed the needle in there and then the woman said ok, now lets check for a vacuum. She then proceeds to move the needle around a bit and says, hmm that isn't right and next thing we know the needle is filling up with blood and she pulls the needle out and blood comes gushing out like Old faithful. I apparently hit a small artery and the cow had to be shot, no I'm just kidding, they just stopped the bleeding and continued on. Next we learned about the IVF in cattle and that was interesting because it revolutionized the cattle industry. Then our train to Bonn was next and we were off to Interloken for the long weekend.

We got to Switzerland the next morning and had to take like 15 types of transportation to get to the beautiful Mountain Hostel in Grimmelwald. We met some people from Rice there and exchanged things we planned to do while in Europe. The next day was filled with canyoning where I was branded with the picture that is at the beginning of the post. Then we went on a beautiful hike up to "dance floor" but couldn't make it to the top becaue we didn't think we had the time (it turns out we did) and then we hopped on a train to Austria and had my first couchette experience.

July 12-14

Well like everyone else I am severely behind on this blogging thing. Well to start off Chad's keys to his house didn't work so he ended up spending the night at my host family's house which was fine since they have a pull out bed in the room I sleep in. The next day we headed to Drachenfels for one of the most beautiful views I have ever seen, but instead of taking the tram we walked like Europeans all the way to the top, it was hard, but no one complained because it was just so beautiful walking up. When we reached the top we ate lunch, but had to pack up early because of the approaching rain cloud and subsequent wind. I personally liked the hike down better simply because we pretty much ran down the entire way and picked up some snacks at the bottom. From there we headed back to the AIB building where we met Fenja for an action packed German language lesson. Afterward we had, what I thought, a very interesting German culture lesson with Ture and I thought it was particularly interesting because he has lived in both Germany and the US and had the answer to all the questions we asked him.

The next day we met Dr. Wasser at Bad Oyenhausen and toured probably the nicest hospitals I have ever visited. Then we had a discussion with a head physician about the differences between the German healthcare system and our (U.S's) own, and it never occurred to me before how different the two cultures were raised, one believing health insurance is a right and the other not so much. Next was on to speaking with a physician about the VADs and other implantable devices. I was VERY surprised he agreed to do the tour after a 6 hour surgery, I personally would tried to have another doctor fill in if I were in his shoes, but he not only gave the tour and answered all the questions, he did it with a huge smile on his face. Since we did not have enough time the bioengineering major students got to see the VADs and saw how they worked, while the others saw the MRI. I am glad I got to see the VADs since we will see an MRI machine later.

On to the next day at the Hannover medical school where we saw the nephrology clinic. That day was awesome since the doctor seemed to have no problem spending around 2-3 hours just touring us around and giving us a lecture on how the machines work and what he does. He seemed like a master professor, and engaged all the students which made the lecture, for me, just amazing. Then he took us downstairs (that hospital is humongous) and a patient who was kind enough to let us look at his dialysis machine let the doctor lecture us in there for around 30 minutes. I don't think that this day can be beat, simply because this was one of the main reasons I came to study abroad.

Hannover Animal Clinics / Switzerland

July 15 - 18

We checked out of the hotel early this morning and then toured the small animal clinic, horse clinic, and the cattle clinic (all in Hannover). Although I am not interested in animal medicine I think it is interesting and beneficial to see the other side of medicine, which really isn't all that different than human medicine when you look at it. The technology is just as advanced in animal medicine. THe horse clinic was interesting because like I said earlier the technology is just as sophisticated, the only difference is the size of the equipment. For example, we saw a small portion of a surgery and the heart monitor was beeping and flashing red because it was a meant to be used for humans and a horses heart rate is different than that of a human. The cattle clinic was just as interesting. As strange as it may sound, we all got the opportunity to do a rectal palpation on a female cow. They say it takes 50 or more palpations to understand what your feeling and the importance of the palpation. Like they said it would be it was just a dark, warm and strange feeling.

At the end of our week in Hannover, shortly after the cattle clinic, we packed up our things and headed out to catch a train back to Bonn (for a night then to Switzerland the following morning). I feel that I have spent a third of my time in Europe on a train or tram of some sort.

We had our long weekend in Switzerland which was quite enjoyable. We stayed at the Mountain Hostel which required taking a train, bus, and gondola just to reach the location of the hostel. Time consuming and expensive but well worth it. The location of the hostel is second to none. Interestingly we ran into some guys from Rice which I found to be funny. Our first full day in Switzerland we signed up for Canyoning. We originally signed up for the most extreme of the four Canyoning options but that morning the guide told us it was too dangerous to do because of the rain the night before. Fortunate for us the second option (6hr option) was perfect for us. We repelled down a cliff into the freezing cold Swiss water, then jumped off cliffs, swam through streams, and zip lined through canyons. Quite a thrilling experience. On the last day we spent in Switzerland, we went on a hike in the Mountains behind our hostel; we almost made it to the top but didn't have enough time because we had to catch a night train to Austria so we could meet up with our program in Vienna. We slept in these little rooms on a train with 6 per room with very little space but quite comfortable considering how exhausted we all were that night. Each week it seems like I have more and more fun...

Catch up

July 12 - 14

So, I am a little behind on my blogging along with the rest of the group. We have been on the road for two weeks now with little time to spend/ little or no access to computers. With that said I will label my blog entries with the date that corresponds to when I should have made the post.

On Monday (july 12) we meet early in the morning at the train station to head over to Drachenfels for a hike. It was rather tiring considering we had just got back from Amsterdam the day before and the world cup was that night; but it was worth the hike in the end - the view of the city was great. Once we reached the top we had a few snacks and then headed back down when the wind picked up and it began to rain. Once we got back to AIB we had German lesson with Fenja and a cultural studies course with Ture which was rather interesting. I found the cultural lesson very informative and it provided me with a better perspective with regard to how Germans think of America and visa versa.

The next morning we headed to Bad Oyenhausen by train to begin our week in Hannover. That afternoon we toured the heart and diabetes center in BO. They had a nice presentation for us stressing interdisciplinary cooperation among physicians and other hospital employees. The first thing I noticed about the hospital was that it didnt seem like a hospital at all. It had a hotel feel to it. Definitely one of the nicest hospitals I have visited. There was artwork on the walls and it smelled nice. They had a bunch of short lecutres/presentations for us that day, all of which were interesting. We learned about the blood center, some genetic research concerning heart defects, a tour by one of the heart surgeons at the clinic, and a tour of the MRI facilities. The heart clinic was very interesting; we learned about VADs and total heart replacements. Apparently the restrictions regarding the implantation of these devices are less stringent in Germany, which is why they are one of the leading countries in cardiovascular devices and testing. A lot of valuable information is obtained and peoples lives are saved every day because a living donor is not required.

On Wednesday, we toured the Hannover Med School and visited the clinic of nephrology. This was also one of my favorite days. That morning we had a discussion with Prof Haller and another doctor (who I can remember his name but found very interesting). He engaged the group in discussions and hypothetical situations doctors are often presented with on daily basis. He then took us to the dialysis floor he quizzed us about the machines and informed us how these patients are generally treated. I couldn't help but think that this doctor had a lot of other things to do and wondered why he wasted his time engaging us in discussion. Although Im sure he had lots of work to do he showed no signs of rushing us through the afternoon.

Hannover

Wednesday July 14th

On Monday we went to hike up Drachenfels and had a picnic. It was so pretty! The view was nice as we had our “sack lunch” which consisted of mystery German meat and pieces of bread. But all is well. At this point I think my tastebuds are expecting the unexpected. After getting back to Bonn, Claire and I went shopping with our host dad, James, which was nice because we were wondering what the German grocery stores had. They recycle their bottles and get money for it! A good deal if you ask me. I finally found some peanut butter and had to settle for some strawberry jelly. It’ll do though.

On Tuesday we got a tour of the hospital in Bad Oeynhausen and in the pediatric section they have something that kind of tells you to follow a rainbow to the treasure and if you follow it (on the tile) you get to a mirror that in German says “ the treasure is you!” …I thought it was pretty cute. We didn’t end up getting to see a surgery or artificial heart patients so that was kind of a letdown but that’s alright. We did however get to see the LVADs, so that was nice. That night we went to a Mexican restaurant in Hannover that could compete with Texas! I had a chimichanga that was quite tasty. After dinner I had a terrible realization that hulu and abc.com don’t work over here. Gasp!

Wednesday we napped, paddle boated, then ate at the Marriott hotel (lame, I know but the food was still European and wonderful!). While paddle boating we approached a man who was yelling at us in German. We didn’t understand so we asked him to speak English (in German) and he said “yes….get away” and we laughed and pedaled away. Haha

End of week one and weekend 1

This weekend we headed to Amsterdam where I learned a few things. Once outside of the trainstation I felt like everyone was waiting to steal everything from me. Didn’t seem safe at all. We got lost a bit but eventually made it to our hotel (hallelujiah!). It is sooo nice and feels great to have a bed and a safe house from the scary town. We went out to get some Italian food (baked ravioli and white wine), visited a coffee shop, and went to bed. I slept great in the ACed room with everything included! The next morning we met up with the girls and found a tasty breakfast place right by the Tulip Market that had good eggs and “pancakes”. The “pancakes” were very flat and the syrup really ruined it cuz it was thick and not …Americany. We then looked a little at the tulip market and headed on to the Van Gogh Museum, which I LOVED! I wrote down many paintings I liked for my future home J. At this point I feel like I’m standing all day long and am quite self conscious about my legs going numb and which one to lean on/ the varicose veins I am inevitably encouraging all day. Then we went back to the hotel where we found the boys. We cooled off and went to the red light district where there we sad people and "ladies of the night" galore. Super depressing. Then we went to see the “pretty section” of the town which looked kinda just like the rest of the town. Then I was tired of walking with my flip flops even though a skirt was the perfect thing to wear with a tank top for the day! Anywho my feet hurt so I went back to the hotel and chilled with the boys and waited for the other 3 girls to get back from buying their tulip goodies. We then went to dinner at a small restaurant and I got a cheeseburger that was super delicious! The waiter ripped us off (they're much different in Europe than America). He used his “not good” English to not take a Coke light off the bill. We then went back to the hotel (still super nice..thanks Kavi) and just kinda chilled for the night.

The next morning I met up with the other girls and Kavi (funny sentence) and ate breakfast. I got egg, ham, and cheese on a “roll” which was more of a sub. We then caught a train out of Amsterdam to Eindhoven, then to (coughcough) Venlo (where we got terrible directions on there being two platform 1As and ended up going back to Eindhoven on accident, then found our way back to Venlo, adding 3 hours to our time). Once we were back in Venlo we understood correctly and took a train to Dusseldorf then back to Bonn just in time for dinner. My host mom made a steak with veggies that was quite delicious. The perfect ending to an interesting adventurous weekend!

First Week!

(Friday, July 9, 2010)
I could not have had a better first week in Germany! All of my flights were on time, all of my baggage made it with me to Bonn, and my host family is great! Everything has been going so smoothly which makes it so much easier to relax a bit a really enjoy the experience.

On our very first day in town, Germany played Argentina in the World Cup quarter-finals and won! Even though I was falling in and out of sleep from jet lag, it was still very exciting. After the win, our family took Shayna and I to see the celebration in the streets. I have never seen such a display for any sporting event in America! The roads were filled with people decked out in the colors of the German flag, black, red, and yellow. Cars couldn't pass through the streets without being occasionally stopped and shaken by the revelers. When the cars were moving, their drivers were constantly honking in celebration. Since then, Germany has lost to Spain, but I will never forget the first time I saw the love the Germans have for soccer and my first day in Bonn!

In addition to enjoying the sports and delicious food from my host family, I've really enjoyed the tours and lectures we've had so far about German history. I had no idea this area had such a rich history and that Cologne was a Roman city! I loved seeing the ancient Roman heating system in Bonn and the medieval ruins and Roman floor in Cologne. I think my favorite tour has been the one in the Cologne Cathedral. I thought we would walk around inside before climbing thousands of steps until we reached the top to see a view of Cologne, but the tour was much better than I expected! We were able to walk on a pathway along the roof and see inside the bell towers and reconstruction area of the cathedral in addition to the great view of the city and the Rhine from the top. I've loved this first week and am really looking forward to the hospital visits in Hanover next week!

Post Amsterdam / Pre Switzerland

I am really looking forward to our weekend trip to Switzerland. I have heard nothing but good reviews about the location where we be. This past weekend I ran into some people who had just left Switzerland (same exact hostel), and they mentioned it was a very relaxing and scenic weekend. Before we leave for Switzerland we will spend the week in Hannover where Dr. Wasser has a few tours and trips planned for us. It is possible that we might see some heart surgery (human and cow) which seems like it will be very interesting.

As for this past week, we went to Amsterdam for our weekend trip and saw the sights. I had my first hostel experience which was rather interesting to say the least. We got back from our first night on the town and to my surprise there was some stranger sleeping in my bed. Fortunately, they found me a bed in another room and everything was fine. The atmosphere was buzzing with excitement due to the World Cup game that Sunday evening. We weren't able to stay in Amsterdam for the game because we wanted to make it back for class Monday morning; however, we watched the game at a Biergarten in Bonn and had a great time.

With so much to do and see each day there is no time to be exhausted. With the World Cup in progress, staying out late and mingling with the locals, class in the morning, exploring the cities, guided tours, and riding trains all over, by the end of the day we are pretty wiped out. Although has been tiring the trip has been extremely fun. I look forward to each day and learning more and more about the German culture.

First Weekend

This weekend we went as a group to Amsterdam. It was really fun and great to get to see. It was a lot different than I thought it would be. There were really pretty buildings and areas along the canal. We went to the Van Gogh musuem and it was really nice. I got postcards of my favorite paintings to remember them. We also went to this tulip market. I never knew Holland was famous for its tulips. It was a really neat market with tulips and flowers everywhere.
Amsterdam had more air conditioning than Germany!! A lot of things had AC, which was nice. Their breakfast was really good as well. I think I liked the food a little better in Amsterdam. We ate at an italian place Friday night and had amazing ravioli. We managed to have no problems getting around and had a very smooth trip.
The red light district was....interesting! Something worth looking at once and then never going back haha. There was also a lot of trash everywhere and it was kind of stinky. It was also very crowded due to the soccer game I'm sure. When we were leaving the trains coming in where just packed with fans in orange ready for the game. The girls all left together for the ride home. We had to stop in this lovely town called Venlo. We hope to never go back and will always remember Venlo!
Overall it was a great weekend and so different in Amsterdam than Bonn, even though it isn't that far. I did like it in Amsterdam and considered the weekend a success, but I like Germany better so far.

Amsterdam

Written On Sunday July 11,2010

Amsterdam was pretty fun, I regret not being able to stay and watch the World Cup, but it all worked out since we got to watch in a nice Biergarten in Bonn and relax. Amsterdam was a little underwhelming, but I think was due to the fact that there was little planning involved in the beginning. There was a feeling of excitement in the air for the World Cup the day we left.

The nicest thing about Amsterdam was that everyone there spoke English and so my limited knowledge of the German language didn't matter. I am looking forward to our next week in Hannover and all of the tours that Dr. Wasser will provide.

After the First Weekend

This past weekend we went to Amsterdam. It was definately different than anywhere I've ever been before. If a person built a city that combined aspects of New York, Las Vegas, and Austin. It was a really cool city, but I don't think I could be there for an extended period of time. One of the really good things about the Netherlands is that everyone speaks English. A couple of the really bad things are the trams, expensive food, and dirtiness of the city. After having some experience in the city though, I think I could definately do things better. I hope that this weekend will be a lot of fun in Switzerland.

First couple of days

This week has been AMAZING! We have done so many things already. I love my host family. I wish I had more time to spend with them. My host mom is an awesome cook and treats me very nice. Her kids helped me familiarize myself with the bus routes and are helping me practice my German.

I am looking forward to trying new things and food. It is really hard to find some authentic german food because they have food from all over her. I think I have eaten more Italian food here more than anything. My host mom loves to cook Italian food. It is the best Italian i have had, but I want to try new things.

My favorite thing so far has been the trip to to Koln. I really enjoyed all of the tours,especially the Cathedral. The ice cream in Koln was great! I would go back to Koln just for that.

Im excited to go to all the museums in Amsterdam and a canal tour. I really want to get something good for my host family and i must remember to get a magnet for my mom.

First few days

Well a  LOT has happened so far. I wouldn't say we necessarily had culture shock coming in. People are people so things were about the same. Number 1 difference? There's zero AC in Germany. But this isn't so bad because we've only had 2 really hot days thus far. I'd say the thing I like most so far is that I don't have to drive at all and nearly every meal is outside. My room is in the basement so the sun doesn't bother me in the morning. However when I go to eat breakfast it's quite bright! The streets are getting more familiar and I can almost navigate my way around confidently. Our host family is amazing! They're very friendly and take care of us a lot.

We rode the train for the first time this week so that was prettz neat. I have zet to take a taxi but i hear thezäre prettz expensive so I really donät mind that. I ride the bus everzdaz for about half an hour to get to class and thereäs alwazs a new "scent" on the bus. I find Europeans are much less religious with wearing deoderant. zum. 

I really thought the food would be worse than it is. We had schnitzel yesterday which was different but not bad. There's one million pizza shops and bakeries are everywhere which is nice because it makes everything smell delicious. We tried gelato in Cologne and it was quite tasty. I know I'll survive because if i have a craving for American there's still McDonalds, Pizza Hut, and Subways. 

The sun doesn't go down until around 10 o'clock so the days are very sunny and long. That's pretty nice. I'm feeling very tired this week. Hopefully my body is still just trying to adjust to the time difference. Maybe I'll catch up on sleep this weekend, although it's Amsterdam so I doubt it. I'll let you know how that goes soon.

First week in Germany

When I first arrived here, I was tired, couldn't understand any of the signs or people. Then when I found the train station and couldn't find a seat and had to sit on the floor for about 2 hours, arrived in Bonn and ended up walking up around for about an hour trying to find an internet cafe to get a number or two and it was then I considered just hopping back on the next plane back to Lubbock. However, when I finally arrived at my host family's house things could not have gotten better, I got to watch the German football team whoop up on Argentina in an Irish pub, then watched the ensuing celebration on the streets for 4 hours after the game. I do also enjoy how my host family seems to have wine with every meal save breakfast also, but that's not the only reason I came to Germany.
I have also learned the importance of knowing directions, as we all saw on Monday when I arrived around 2 hours late. On a positive note I did get very acquainted with that certain section of Bonn. I knew that not learning German beforehand would make going to Germany hard, but I had no idea how much Spanish I know compared to German, though the classes with Fenja are making this an easy transition.
As everyone else had already said, the Cologne cathedral was a very cool site and though I am not Christian the amount of detail, and height on the cathedral was absolutely amazing and to consider that much of the church was built 800 years ago without cranes just puts me in awe. Though as cool as that was, the medical school tour was probably my favorite simply because I have seen many CT scans with my father in the ER, but to actually see a sliced human body in the same way was just really cool.
Well, I guess it's time to head to bed and get ready for Amsterdam tomorrow, let's hope that boring old town will be interesting.

What has happened so far...

So I got here a day later than everyone else, and it took me a while to catch up, but I am now up to speed. I am glad that I got the host family that I did. They are very accomadating and nice. I am looking forward to getting to know them better. I am trying to learn more German, so that I can communicate more easily with people. My pronounciation is not very good, so people have a difficult time understanding what I am saying. So far I my favorite things that I have done are: touring the Köln cathedral, the Gestapo headquarters, and the street party that we went to after the soccer game. The history of the cities we have visited has been staggering. It is exciting to walk through buildings that are thousands of years old.
I have met several Germans my age, and I have enjoyed visiting with them. Hopefully I will make some friends in a new country. I have noticed some cultural differences, and I am trying to change some of the things I do that are customary in America but make me stand out here. It seems people are able to identify me as an American pretty quickly and while it is kind of funny how much we all stick out; I would like to learn to blend in better.

Thus far..

So far Germany has been everything I've expected and some. However, I must admit arriving with no luggage,  3 hours of sleep on a cramped plane and catching the wrong train to Bonn my attitude was a little sour. Although once I recharged my battery with 10plus hours of sleep and refueled with some fine German food\beverages I have had nothing but a positive outlook.

We have already taken a few city tours of Bonn and Cologne, and they are absolutely beautiful cities. Yesterday we toured the Cathedral in Cologne and  a Cologne medical school anatomy lab. While I'm not an extremely religious person, the architectural feat of the cathedral itself was breathtaking. I have been to the pyramids in Egypt and the ancient civilization of Machu Pichu in Peru, and I must say that the Cathedral in Cologne was comparable engineering\architectural accomplishment. The history of Germany is a fascinating subject and I looking forward to learning more about the country where many of my ancestors originated. 

Communicating with the locals has been somewhat difficult considering my limited German vocabulary. Today we have another lesson with Fenja and Im hoping to expand my German dialogue from two phrases to maybe four or five. Although the Germans have been eliminated from the World Cup I still have a positive outlook. Fortunately for us, the Netherlands are in the championship and we will be going to Amsterdam this weekend. I am having a great time and I am really looking forward to this weekend of travel. Until next time... Auf wiedersehen    

First Week

It is hard to put into words how much I love Germany. It has been amazing so far. Everything is beautiful and like nothing I have ever seen in the states. The history is so deep as well.

The Cologne Cathedral has been one of the most amazing experiences so far. When looking at it, it is like nothing you have seen before. To imagine that building started in the 13th century and all the politics and history that went into building something so beautiful, it makes you feel so small. Then we took a roof top tour of the cathedral. I thought I was in love with the Cathedral before this, but I was wrong. Again, it is hard to describe the feeling that came over me while standing at the top and seeing the details of the architecture and the beautiful city before you.

My host family is amazing. Karima, my host mom is very interesting and I love to talk to her. We talk every morning at breakfast. She is a very good cook as well. I wish I could spend more time with them but we are so busy and rarely home, so I enjoy our morning chats and wake up early for them. Really I have no choice and have to wake up early because the sun comes up at 4 30 am! The house and area I live in, Bad Godesberg, is like a movie. It is so scenic. We took dusty on a walk my first day through a forest behind the house. Descriptions don't really do it justice. When we came back she showed me her garden and we picked fresh Stachelberre (gooseberries)and johannisberre (red current) off of bushes and ate them! Stachelberre is one of my new favorite things. Eating fruit off of bushes in the front yard is my new favorite thing actually!!

Everyday I take the bus to the train station which takes me to Bonn Hauptbaunhof and then I take a tram to school. It seems very natural now to just hop on a train, bus, or subway and get to where I need to go, plus some walking of course. I could really get used to not driving! They also are very green here, which I love. They throw away all trash in four categories: paper, plastic, biodegradable items, and glass. They all have 4 big trash cans outside there house as well and all the train stations have trashcans with 4 different holes labeled. There water is amazing here. I drink right out of the tap and it is so good!

There is so much more but that is all for now! A great first week, one I will never forget!

First Daysss

I am coping well with the new environment and culture! It is so awesome how much Germans like foosball (soccer) over here. I wish it was that way in Texas! It is also weird going into a bar and not being asked for an ID.

The trains are cool and convenient, but I'm still figuring out how to properly use them. After a certain time some of them stop running. My host family is very nice and generous. They have breakfast for me every morning and tell me to make myself at home.

This weekend we go to Amsterdam! the world cup finals will be that weekend too and the I think the Netherlands have a good chance. Hopefully we survive the craziness!...until next time, tchuls

Pre-Departure

Today is the day! I can't believe that today I am leaving for Germany for FIVE weeks! I've been to Europe once before, but I was definitely more of a tourist on that visit. I am really excited about getting immersed in the culture and experiencing the everyday things with my host family. I'm looking forward to seeing a real German home and places like grocery stores and schools instead of only hotel rooms and museums.

Along with the culture, comes the German language. Right now, it is my biggest worry. German is so far from any language I have studied. At least it uses the same alphabet! I know that there are plenty of English speakers there, but I can't help thinking of being stuck somewhere or lost and not being able to communicate with the people around me. I bought a German-English pocket dictionary, just in case. I bookmarked a few key phrases and looked up the German word for peanut to avoid and allergy issues that may arise. I'm also a little anxious about actually getting to Bonn because I don't fly very often.

Overall, I'm really looking forward to this program. It's the perfect combination of my interests in medicine and history. I love that I'm getting to spend some time with a German family but also able to travel to so many different European cities. I'm hoping to learn a lot of history! Not just about medicine, but about Germany, Europe, and hopefully a little about art history, too! Can't wait to land in Germany!

Germany here I come

Well, true to form I wait until the last possible minute to submit my blog entry. I am just bubbling with excitement and can't sleep so I thought I would do this fun (i.e. mandatory) blog post. I am just hoping that all this planning for the weekends pays off at the end. Now I know what my dad has to go through every time our family goes on vacation.

I guess I'll follow the format of Shayna's post and post what I hope to learn from this experience. I honestly just wanted to find out how the students and general culture works over in Germany and all over Europe on our weekend excursions.

I have heard the exact opposite of German food, that it is all pretty tasty, but that may because I enjoy very meaty foods. My grandfather, who knows nothing about Germany, assumed that Germans like horse meat, so I'll have to see if that holds true. Then he went on to say, while we were eating dinner, "You better enjoy your Indian food here, because you won't get anything like this over there." Completely ignoring the fact that I do not enjoy Indian food at all.

I guess it's time to finish up this post because I don't have much more to say, oh and I want to watch the rest of this Modern Family episode.

Yeehaw!

Welp, it's the night before I'm scheduled to fly out of Houston for Amsterdam and I am QUITE excited! In the last few months the scale between "nervous" and "excited" has shifted more to the excited side. We've got all our weekends in for the most part, I'm looking at my bags semi packed now (just some toiletries..don't worry!) and remembered this blog! Good timing I know :)

Anywho, I suppose I shall tell you all my hopes and dreams of the trip. This is my first trip outside of the US if you don't count a cozy cruise ship and I want to see and learn really neat things but I feel like that's understood and it's rather inevitable. Ironically my way to prepare my mind for my first for the trip is to Google image random cities we're going to and look at the pictures tourists have taken before me. Speaking of cameras I actually packed mine, which says a lot because I don't take pictures often. Then again I suppose this is an expected "life changing" event.

The one thing I kinda want to be true of what I've heard of Germany is that the food isn't too tasty. This is a good thing to me because lately I've been taking in as much american food I can (because I know I'll miss it) so cutting back on the food intake would be ideal. Lame, I know, but who wants to be a fat kid in Europe?!..ok well that was shallow of me to say. Lets see if that changes while I'm in Europe. haha

K well this is getting really long. I know I'm gonna miss my family and friends a lot but I'm looking forward to learning about other cultures and seeing pretty sights! So..talk to you soon!

eeeeep

June went by very quickly. I was supposed to spent this month learning German and planning out my weekend trips. Needless to say I only accomplished half of my goals. I am very excited to begin this trip and the class. I am also nervous, scared, and anxious.

The most nerve wrecking situation I think I will encounter will be staying with my host family. I am very nervous to stay with a family I do not know, I don't want to be a burden or make anyone feel uncomfortable. I have emailed my host family during the past weeks and they seem very nice and hospitable. I really hope we like eachother.

I am a very nervous traveller. I have been to Europe before, but only Spain. I know this will be completely different. In Spain I was very comfortable because I can speak Spanish fluently; I had no difficulties communicating with people or getting where I needed to go. I am a little scared to go somewhere where I will not know the language. I have armed myself with a dictionary, but that will surely distinguish me as a tourist; I must be discrete. My biggest fear is that I will loose my passport or miss a train and get stranded somewhere.

I really want to experience the excitement of a world cup game in a country that is very passionate about the sport. I am torn in the Argentina vs. Germany game this Saturday. On one hand I would like Germany to win to witness the celebration, but i am a tiny bit Argentinian.

I am very excited about the Homeopath lecture. I would like to get a professional perspective on the topic as I have only been exposed to my mother's version.

Pre-trip

Danggg! I'm so excited that this program is about to start! Judging by my few interactions with the other students participating, I think we have a pretty solid group. It should be a great experience for all of us! My momma is an experienced European traveler and has been trying to give me vast amounts of tips and suggestions for my first overseas experience (She just left for England this morning). I hope I can retain some of her help when I'm over there.

The excitement is also mixed with a little concern. I do not feel fully prepared for this trip. The first half of summer flew by and I am just now realizing that I haven't done much preparing at all. Especially for the weekend trips! Oh well. I'm sure if I stay with the group and don't do anything too stupid, I'll make it out alive.

I'm am totally pumped about the world cup. I'm crossing my fingers that Germany can defeat Argentina saturday morning so we can enjoy the pandemonium while we are there! GO SCHWEINSTEIGER!!!! I also hope that the coursework is interesting to me. I want to excel in the classroom and hope that this experience leads me in the direction of my future career.

The time has come

Tomorrow is my last day of work before I leave for Germany. Wooohooo! I will be on my plane in 3 days! Time really went by fast. I have packed and weighed my bag. It was easier than I thought it would be to pack for a month, in one suitcase.

I am very excited to meet my host family. They email me often and seem really awesome. I am working on getting pictures for them of me and my family and friends and life here in the US. I want to bring them something to remember me by as well. I am also excited that the finals of the World Cup will be going on while we are there! Germany is doing so good and I hope they make it all the way so we can experience the excitement while we are there! I am looking forward to getting to know everyone in the group better and meeting new people. I hope we all become good friends and have fun together! If I had to pick a weekend trip that I am most excited about, it would be Prague. I have it built up to be this beautiful place in my mind and have heard nothing but great things about it. I am also excited to become an expert traveler by the end of the trip :). I hope to learn as much German as possible. My great grandpa actually spoke fluent German, but it did not get passed along unfortunately and I would love to pass on some German to my family some day...Granted I learn enough to pass on! I am also very very excited to see my friend Simone who lives in Muelheim which is only and hour or so away from Bonn. I have not seen her in over two years. We met in Texas in 2006 and I see her when she comes to Texas every once in a while.

I am nervous about getting pick pocketed or having all of my important stuff stolen. I have a safety belt to wear that I can put money and an ID in and am planning on carrying the bare minimum around and just being smart and following my instincts! I am a little nervous about staying in hostels. Thank goodness I have never seen the movie Hostel. My roommate said do not see it if I want to sleep well while I am there. All the hostels we booked seemed awesome though and I think it will be fine. I am prepared for mishaps and hope to just go with the flow!

I think this will be a great experience and I want to experience as much as possible! Sleep will not be on my priority list since this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I want to absorb as much of the culture and experience as much as possible.

Germany in 5 Days

This Friday I will board a plane and take off for Germany! I cannot wait to participate in such a unique program and travel around Europe. I am excited to experience new things such as: German beer, hostels, host family, German food, tours of interesting places, and trying to speak a new language.

The Beginning Is Near...

I am extremely excited to be traveling to Germany this Friday. Despite the fear, anxiety, and shell shock that Joy mentioned in our meeting I feel that I will get along just fine in Germany. I look forward to learning about Germany's history of medicine as well as the rich German culture. I think I will enjoy the food there considering I love meat. Also, I'm especially excited to try to some of that famous German beer! I know it will be completely different than Texas but I am excited to begin this adventure and explore a new places. I am anxious to begin my trip and cannot wait to arrive in Bonn.

Counting Down The Days

I cannot wait to be on the plane to Germany! I can already tell I won't be able to sleep much the night before. I can't wait!

The snow program

Reading your posts about the "snow program" really made me feel sentimental. And proud. Proud that I have been part of this program which has produced so many memorable experiences for all of us and which has infected most of you with the "travel bug".
I still haven't finished my little documentary about the program. There is just too much footage! I will make sure you will see the result as soon as I am done.

The End is Only the Beginning!

When it snowed a few weeks ago, all the Germany memories just flowed into my head, and I can indeed say that I feel changed. I had more experiences on the study abroad than I had throughout the rest of my college career. Actually, my friends are tired of hearing all my Germany Stories. Now, whenever I tell a story, they will ask, "did that happen in Germany?" The responsibility that the trip spits in your face in retrospect taught me how to live. The drastic dynamic between Germany and the United States and even the drastic dynamic between the big city of Berlin and a rural village like College Station was mind boggling. Now that I'm back, I just want to get out! I miss the late night adventures trying to locate the hotel, asking random people on the street for directions when they don't speak English. I miss the bitter cold where ears will freeze even if a hat is worn. I miss actually being required to wear shoes.

The material learned on the trip inside the hospitals has been much more helpful to my current studies than I ever expected. To be able to visualize a working clinical dialysis machine when learning about it in class forces the material to stick better. I find myself not being grossed out by smells anymore either. Nothing is worse than a necropsy or rectal exam! It's nice to see the faces of patients with recently implanted heart pumps and know that my field of study will make a difference in someone's life.

Now, I never see a pug now without thinking of Olaf. His obsession with dogs is like nothing I've ever seen in America, and the strange thing is that most Germans are just like him! Isn't this the CUTEST? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgS3nJztGSg

One of the biggest things I miss about Germany is the public transportation system. I'll be driving the 2 hour drive to my mother's house thinking, "If I lived in Germany, I could be sleeping on the train right now!" I can't imagine why passenger trains aren't as big here as they are in Europe. Train stations are so convenient. If I need some soap, I could just pick it up at the train station on my way to school. It's amazing how little elementary school kids ride the tram like it's no big deal.

Some things I am happy to return to are: free water, waiter tips (a simple doubling of the tax), free refills, flip flops, shorts, the SUN

Some things I miss from Germany are: Snow, Snowballs, Snowball fights, Snowmen, Snowgirls, friendly Germans, Olaf, city life, Foreign Girls, free healthcare, no sales tax, cheap German beer.

A Time To Remember

So spring break has started and I finally have the opportunity to reflect on the past month and a half and realize how much the Germany trip has changed my perspective and contributed to my personal growth. There have been so many times so far this semester that I have been able to bring up the trip to Germany in conversation either to tell a story or to share a different perspective. I feel like I am also more qualified to form my own opinion on the health care system after being able to learn about the system in Germany and talk to different doctors there. I intensely miss the deep history and culture of Germany. It was fascinating to learn about how their history has shaped the country and effected its people even today.


It is still hard to grasp that only 6 weeks ago i was trudging through the deep snow in Europe! Its even more incredible that it has snowed twice in Texas since then! My time in Germany was an irreplaceable experience that I constantly find myself reflecting on. It was incredible to be able to travel a foreign country with my peers and absolutely incredible guides in Dr.Wasser and Olaf, who I hope I will continue to keep in touch with. It all seems like a sweet dream now, but I have evidence of with through the friendships I continue to maintain with some of the people from the trip. I thoroughly enjoyed my study abroad experience and dearly hope that I will be able to travel to Germany again to once again experience the beautiful culture and see my friend Olaf once again.

Anyone ready for a trip back?

   Wow, I can’t believe I have been back in the states for over six weeks. It seems like just last week we were all trudging through the snow in Germany.  I have lived in Texas my whole life so before going to Germany I think I could have counted the number of times I saw snow in my lifetime on one hand. So living in Germany for 2 ½ weeks with snow on the ground every day was quite a shock to me. I thought I had received enough snow for lifetime (or at least for Texan’s lifetime) while in Europe. But what do you know it has already snowed two times in Texas since I have been back, what are the odds right? Crazy Texas Weather!!

    It still seems like a dream that six weeks ago I was touring the Louvre in France, standing on the first deck of the Eiffel tower, observing an open heart surgery standing two feet away from the surgeon, along with the countless other amazing tours and museums we attended. My dad is quite the history buff so anytime he is watching television it is either on the History Channel or the Military Channel. He is so fascinated by all the stories and places I visited while in Europe that every time I come home he has a new show recorded for me and he can’t wait to show it to me. The last one he showed me was of tanks fighting in Cologne. In the background clearly visible were the two steeples of the Cologne Cathedral. It was crazy to me watching these men fight where I had stood only a few short weeks ago.  That is one of the main things I really loved about Germany, is the rich history. I would have never believed I would be so fascinated by history until my visit to Europe.

    There are many things that I miss about Germany, the friendly people, constantly trying new food, German beer (which we tried here but it is definitely not the same), not having a care in the world, and the fascination of interacting and conversing with people my age in another culture.

    My trip to Europe has changed me in more ways that I can think of. It has opened my eyes to world of possibilities out there. Growing up with a mom who has polio I never really traveled anywhere so I always assumed that I would grow up, get a job and move back some where close to family. While my family still means the world to me, I have this newfound love for traveling and want to incorporate it into whatever I decided to do with my life. I constantly find myself replying to people “danke” instead of thank you, and my clock is still set to military time, I have grown pretty accustomed to it now.

    I had a fabulous time, made some of the greatest memories with two of my best friends, and made a few great German friends while on this trip in Europe. I learned a lot about myself, the history of medicine, and about Germany itself during this trip and would recommend it to anyone wanting to travel abroad.  My roommate has never been abroad so this August her and I are traveling to Spain to visit one of our friends and then we are going to make our way through Germany! Can’t wait to go back :)

Cait

     

Time Flies

It’s half way through spring semester and it seems like only a week or so ago I was traveling all throughout Europe. It’s still hard for me to fathom the fact that I’ve seen the Eiffel tower, I celebrated New Year’s in Berlin, and visited the Schonbrunn Palace in Vienna. I still can’t believe I was at one point elbow deep in a cow or that I was only a few feet from an exposed and beating human heart. I could go on and on about all the amazing things I saw and experienced. In fact talking about this trip seems to creep into my everyday conversation and is something I will truly never forget. People are usually very surprised by some of the things we were able to do.

There are an endless number of things I learned on this trip. I learned that I actually do enjoy some history; in fact anytime my history teacher mentions Germany I perk up a bit and usually know what he’s talking about. I learned how to deal with different types of people- whether it be people you travel with and are around for 3 three weeks (no offense to anyone!), those who don’t speak the same language as you, or those who are just plain rude. I even learned more about myself. I’ve learned to be more open and accepting to new ideas, as well as trying new things. As my title of this blog says, time flies- so I’ve learned that you need to take amazing opportunities like this trip when they come and to embrace it while it lasts. I don’t know when I’ll have another chance to go on a trip as amazing as this was.

I have enjoyed being back in America, not living out of a suitcase, and being able to see my family, though I do miss so many things about Europe, especially Germany. I miss attempting to read German signs and menus, I miss the subways (it was quite difficult to drive for the first time after returning home!), I miss trying new types of food, I miss German beer, I miss talking to natives and listening to their opinions and learning about their way of life, I basically miss everything about this trip. Well, except trudging through the snow on a daily basis. I’m originally from Chicago and have thought about going back there for graduate school, but now I don’t know if I could handle 5 years of snow!!!!

Since there were so many things I loved, it makes me think about all the other things I’m “missing out on”. There’s so much more out there that I can learn about and experience. I’ve always loved traveling, but now my love for traveling is on a whole other level. I’d love to definitely travel back to Germany as well as many other countries. Hopefully I can fit this in sometime in the near future before I have to face the reality of having a career, bills, and even bigger responsibilities. This trip has also made me think about my future. I’d like to incorporate international learning and interaction into my future. I wouldn’t mind traveling for “business” (whatever it is that I wind up doing) and working with people in another country. This trip has made me look at the bigger picture. I was so used to thinking America was the best and not worrying about other countries. Now I can see and appreciate the importance of working with other countries- it’s amazing how much you can learn from them.

I’d like to thank Dr. Wasser, Olaf, Dr. Roussel, all the AIB staff, and anyone else that helped make this trip possible. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget and would recommend to anyone!!!

Home Sweet... Wait is that snow??!

I can't believe how much time has passed since we've been in Germany! It seems like just the other day I was trudging through snow... oh wait, it did snow in here the other week. I can honestly say that I won't mind waiting until next Christmas to see another snow fall. Although I wished it were 90 degrees and sunny outside that day, I felt like a pro walking through campus with snow falling on my head. All I kept thinking was, "Man oh man, how I wish I had some gluhwien and Olaf screaming 'Schnelllll!' at me." Germany was such an amazing experience! Not only did I further my education, but I felt like I've grown as a person. I know the trip will impact the rest of my life. Growing up in College Station, I've never really been exposed to different cultures and people who have different life experiences and beliefs than me.. So I guess you can say, I've been pretty sheltered. It was interesting talking to people my own age who are doing similar things as me in a different country and getting their opinion on things. It was also fun seeing the amazing hospitals and educational facilities there and getting to talk to the doctors about their jobs and passions in life. Germany is a beautiful place especially in winter! The people there are so nice and excited to meet you. It's kind of funny actually. I never really thought of 'Americans' as that entertaining folk, but it's comical because I was so excited to meet all of them, I never really thought they'd think my life was that exciting. I didn't realize how similar, yet different our worlds are. Irony, still gets me. I guess this is one of those "when I was a youngster" stories that I will tell over and over to my grandchildren. I will forever be changed by this experience. It changed my outlook on life and reinforced my enthusiasm to join the medical field one day. I would recommend going on this trip to all of my peers and will never forget my trip to Germany.

Bittersweet Farewell

The memories of my experience in Europe have turned bittersweet since my departure. The white snow, subways, beautiful cathedrals, daily “field trips”…I miss it all. However, the thought of all those experiences leave a churning feeling in my stomach since a friend accidentally deleted all the pictures I took from my memory card. What heartbreak. I guess I’ve put off writing this final blog so I wouldn’t have to think about all the deleted pictures. Guess it’s a part of life’s experiences.

But besides the negativity of losing all those pictures, the internal memories of my experience will never vanish. I never thought visiting a foreign country could be so enchanting. Upon my departure from the states, I didn’t know what to expect. I was excited, yet anxious and scared all together. Experiencing the trip with my fellow classmates definitely made the experience more adventurous. I was able to explore new places while simultaneously meeting new people. I will never forget Olaf, and of course Cosmo. As a life lesson, I’ve learned that there’s a whole other world out there, with many different people: different colors, different backgrounds, and different values. But what we all have in common is our mere existence. Simple, but you never think about those things when you’re caught up in your very own world.

So how about those programs? Man, there were so many. Probably can’t remember them all if I tried. I must say my favorite was being able to stand on the operating floor with actual surgeons to see an artificial heart transplant. You can’t place a value on that. And let’s not forget my very own visit to the eye doctor. I’ll never forget that. When I reminisce on what information may be useful to my future career as a physician, the “telemedicine” presentation comes to mind. Upon further visiting UTMB, the school into which I will matriculate into in the fall, I learned that they have a telemedicine program. I would have never known what this meant or what telemedicine was without that presentation. And although I am still skeptical about telemedicine, I find it intriguing that one day I may possibly use telemedicine within my own practice.

Clearly, I cannot sum up my whole experience within this one blog; however I can openly admit that I enjoyed every minute in Europe. The culture, food, and people were all different, yet the experience was worth the hassle of trying to speak the German language and “schnell-ing” when trying to fight to board a train. Do I miss Europe? Yes, with no doubt in my mind. Do I plan on returning? Yes, and as soon as possible. The most influential impact this trip had on my future was my decision to take the “Global Health” track in medical school. I want to learn even more about the rest of the world that’s out there and continue to help those that are different from me…both here in the states and abroad.

I’d like to thank Dr. Wasser and Dr. Rousell once again for their divine wisdom and the opportunity to study abroad…and Olaf for keeping me laughing. I also would like to thank all my fellow classmates for the good times, and even some of the bad ones. Once again, I hold this experience dear and will never forget all that I saw, tasted, and especially, what I learned, inside and outside the classroom. Although I have no pictures of my own to remember each and every little experience, I still hold my experience in Europe close to my heart. Farewell…for now.

Back home

I am glad to be back in America, where we have ice and free restrooms, but saying that I miss Germany would have to be an understatement. The first day I made it back to the states I immediately put shorts on, which was an amazing feeling. It has been hard for me to get adjusted back into the schedule and it took me a few days to get past the jet lag. I think what I miss the most is not having a care in the world and just being able to walk around the city and enjoy myself constantly from early in the morning to late at night. This trip has opened my eyes to a world view of many things, culturally and politically. One of the stand out memories I have from the trip was speaking to a man in Berlin about America and just listening to his views about our culture and understanding the reasons they feel that way. It is easy in America, especially if you don’t travel, to not have a world view and I think that isn’t an issue over there because of the short distance between various countries and the emphasis that everyone puts on traveling. Everyone one you talk to over there knows at least two languages and that is a sobering statistic when in America not very many people put an emphasis on language. Experiencing the public transportation system over there makes me wonder why the U.S. doesn’t take greater strides to create transportation systems to eliminate the necessity of a car. Overall I felt like my trip abroad was a successful preview of trips that I will take later in my life. I definitely want to go back and spend more time in Europe and even Germany.

Back in Texas

I have been back on Texas soil for nearly a month and half now, but I am still reminded daily of my trip to Germany. Last Thursday College Station was blessed to have a mini 'snow storm'. CS never gets snow! But as my luck would have it, of course it would snow (and heavily) right after my winter trip to Germany. Everyone was elated about the weather except for me (and I'm sure everyone else that went on the trip). I can honestly say I have seen more than enough snow to last me a lifetime. I am ready for a good Ol' Texas summer, but I won't be having one for awhile!!! I am going on ANOTHER study abroad trip this summer called Semester At Sea! I will be sailing on a cruise ship throughout the Mediterranean. Pretty sweet huh? Now that I am an expert on European traveling it should be much easier to get around. Well, maybe not for me because Caitlyn did most of the navigating :). Big Red, aka my suite case, won't be joining me for the journey this time! And not just because she lost a wheel.

I recently wrote a paper over my trip to Germany. It was for my BIMS 481 class so it's directed towards students interested in the trip. I got an A on the paper, but I was a little concerned about the type of 'humor' I used because some might consider it vulgar (especially Barbara Gastel, my teacher). But I thought it was pretty good and apparently she did too. I generally detest writing, but this paper was fun for me! I had to reflect on all the experiences and remember all that we had done (which I might add was ALOT). My writing style is anti of long-winded and I usually have to be repetitive in order to reach the needed word count; however, this was not the case for this paper. She counted off for it being too long. I just couldn't stop writing though. There was so much to tell!!!

Now that I am back in Texas I am back in the same old routine. School, study, OAT, eat, work out, sorority, and if I'm lucky sleep. Those are basically the only things I do during the week and on most weekends. So as you can imagine I really miss the relaxed 'never study' atmosphere of the Germany trip. While we were constantly doing something, it was always something enjoyable. Well, except for the opera. Sorry Dr. Wasser but as hard as I tried to enjoy it I just didn't.

Janelle and I were driving back to CS from Dallas yesterday and the majority of our drive consisted of us talking about all of our memories from the trip. We decided we needed a page specifically for all of our tragedies. I made so many great memories! And some great friends as well! In fact, five of us do weekly dinners. Except we've been slacking for the past couple of weeks... hopefully we will fix that this week. Right guys?

I am taking a class called Gender and International Education (don't ask), and my teacher did her doctorate thesis over the impact of European traveling on American Women. We have some very interesting conversations to say the least. It is interesting to hear her take on how traveling can change a person. She told me a little bit about her thesis and how most women never travel to Europe just once, they always go for a second round! Which is true for me because I'm going back this summer! And after the 3 week taste of Europe I received I cannot wait to get back to the EU. She told me that after traveling most women have a 'hole' that they can't seem to fill and that it was made by their experiences in other cultures. I completely agree with her because right now I'm feeling a little lost. Before I left I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my life, but after experiencing a world beyond America I am having second thoughts. It is so weird knowing that there is another world beyond my own and I want to be a part of it.

Now that I have spent a considerable amount of time reflecting on Germany it is time to hit those books again! Quizzes, tests, and homework is what I have to look forward to for the next 2 weeks!.... AND THEN I'm off to Hawaii for spring break! Can you tell I've been bit by the travel bug? :)

Joanna