Friday, July 29, 2005
The Short Bus
Yeah, that's right, we took the short bus to Hannover yesterday. Our driver drove like a maniac, and no one, including Ashley and me, could fit in the seats in the back. But visiting the vet school and the clinics was really neat. They were old buildings but huge and very interesting. And seeing the machine that could identify a cow by its teat pattern and then milk it, all without human direction or intervention, was amazing. We also had some good barbeque! I enjoyed the cow clinic, mostly because of the veterinarian and also because seeing a guy cut into a standing cow and proceed to stick his entire arm up to his armpit into the cavity... wow. The experiences we are having on this trip are amazing.
Thursday, July 28, 2005
Breaking in the AIB
Well, this morning started off in an unusual but interesting way. Adriane and I decided to come to the AIB a little earlier this morning because we wanted to check our e-mails and bolg. So, we got here around 7:50 and no one was in the office to let us in. We patiently waited, and Dr. Wasser showed up about 8:00. We were excited because now we could get into the AIB and get on the computers. Little did we know that the inside door had been recoded and his beeper did not open the door. So, we proceeded to go to the side door and come up the back way. Unfortunately the back door to the AIB office was locked. Then Adriane and I, the brains that we are, suggested that we go down into the garage with his key and use the elevator to get up to the second floor. We were so excited when it worked! It was kind of like breaking into the AIB. Fun Times! We are leaving today to go to Amsterdam. Most everybody is going again. I will report sometime next week about our excursions.
Gotta catch some Z's.....
Well the week is almost over, and it's been exhausting ever since we got back from Paris. Paris wasn't what I really expected. I always heard it's the most beautiful and romantic city in the world, but I just wasn't feeling it. If I had a girl there with me then things might have felt a little different, haha. The Louvre was cool, but oddly enough for me it was none of the "famous paintings" that caught my eye the most and blew me away, but one by an artist I didn't know depicting the death of Christ. It was just an awesome picture to put it simply. The rest of Paris was alright, but I never really warmed up to it until the last night there when we all hung out on the grass infront of the Eifel Tower at night and drank some wine. Needless to say I was dead tired by the end of it. The rest of this week has been pretty cool so far. The Bayer facility tour was pretty interesting, and I really liked visiting the vet clinic/school in Hannover today. I still dont really have much interest in working with cattle or pigs, but working with the smaller animals and horses is still top on my list. It was really cool to hang out with some of the vet students and talk with them when they gave us lunch, which was great by the way...I have a new fondness for curry sausage now. Being able to talk to the vet students and get their perspectives over a lot of different things was really good and enlightening, and even though it was a long day I highly enjoyed it.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Hamburg!!!!
YAY! I get to be new and different and not even *mention* the P-city like all the other recent blogs, hehehehe (this is Rebecca thumbing her nose at all of you!) ;) Well, I slept all of Satuday, which was nice since it is my personaly philosophy that sleep or jumping jacks will cure most anything. I had/still-am-sorta-congested a cold and so sleep is just the trick to cure that! Then on Sunday and Monday I trundled off to Hamburg to see this Northern Hanseatic Must-See-If-You-Are-Germany (or so I was told) city. I agree. I loved Hamburg, maybe it's my green thumb and the fact that they have a huge planted garden in the middle of the city. Or it could be that I love European cathedrals and they have a Baroque cathedral that is amazing! (And a refreshing and surprising change from the usual Gothic or Romanesque styles.) They also have a church that was ruined in WWII and which they are deliberately not restoring as a tribute to the beating that Hamburg took. It was weird reading the history of that church in the underground exibition. You find lines like: "Hamburg was heavily bombed in WWII by the Allies, but the Germans do not find this odd since they have a saying 'Whoever sows wind will reap a storm.' It's weird because in our history we have always been the good guys and so any damage or deaths or anything that happened to the US (take Pearl Harbour, for instance) was wrong and "They wronged us by doing it." and "We were never in the wrong." This is not the case for Germans who have to acknowledge that although the Allies killed tons of Germans and flattened cities, it was a necessary step to winning the war and "They were right and we were wrong and so we can't bear them any ill will for dropping tonnes of kilos of bombs on us." Eating crow like that is hard for anyone and I can understand better how that has shaped the psyche of an entire coutry's population. I wonder how the collective culture/mindset of USAmericans would change if they ever had to do something like that. Would they become more pessimistic? less patriotic? less smiley? would their news reports actually have important world-affecting stories instead of the soft personal-interest stories? Can you imagine a world with no hypothetical situations? I can't. Guess I'll never be a historian. :-)
Name game—political parties in Germany
Before we all arrived here in Düsseldorf I posted a piece in response to the victory of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) over their rivals, the Rot-Grün coalition (made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Greens) in the state election here in North-Rhine Westphalia. This was a big deal as the SPD had ruled this state continuously since 1966 even when the overall national government was CDU-lead. Furthermore, the loss of control of the most populous Land in Germany prompted Chancellor Gerard Schröder to call for a national election for September 2005, one year ahead of schedule.
All of the parties have now weighed in with their election platforms and the battle lines are set. Polls here still show the CDU (probably with their normal coalition partner, the FDP, Free Democratic Party) with a commanding (although shrinking) lead. So, CDU head, Angela Merkel looks like the odds-on favorite to become the next (and first female) German chancellor.
But here it starts to get complicated. The left wing of the SDP has split off from the main party led by former Schröder supporter and cabinet member, Oscar Lafontaine. Lafontaine forged a coalition with the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS, Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus) basically the former east German Communist Party (SED, Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, or in English, the Socialist Unity Party). The new party dubbed itself the WASG, Wahlalternative Arbeit und Soziale Gerechtigkeit. This can be translated as the “Electoral Alternative for Employment and Social Justice.” The WASG is calling for the maintenance of the current, excellent level of social welfare support (unemployment and retirement benefits and so on) and are opposed to both the Harz IV and Agenda 2010 programs of Schöder’s government. For them, the “S” in SPD is not being taken seriously enough!
OK—so far so good. But the WASG was just too clunky a name to live with and the PDS apparently wanted to distance itself farther from its Communist origins (and all that entailed in terms of historic baggage from the former DDR and the Evil Empire). So—the WASG is now die Linkspartie (the Left Party) or sometimes just die Linke or sometimes die Linke.PDS. Interviews with supporters of die Linke (or whatever) are themselves unsure about the actual name of their party!
Support for die Linke (or whatever) is modest but visible, especially in the eastern Länder that made up the former DDR. Unemployment is higher there than in the rest of Germany and, of course, the folks there were used to an unparalleled social safety net in the form of the paternalistic aspects of the Communist regime. They did not, of course, have any freedom, nor was there much in the way of consumer goods to buy with their guaranteed incomes, but they did have jobs and they did have salaries and benefits and if they filed the proper paperwork, and waited about 12 years, they could buy a Trabant (see photo).
Interestingly enough, along with apparent support for leftists in the east, that is also the part of Germany where the extreme right-wing party, the NPD (Nationaldemokratische Partei) has its greatest support. Inasmuch as the NPD are basically Nazis (the Nazi Party itself is illegal in Germany) it is a good thing that their overall support is modest. In the interests of objectivity I feel compelled to report that recently, the attempt by the Germany government to ban the NPD as a Nazi party in all but name, was overturned by the German supreme court, which ruled that they were in fact, not Nazis after all.
All of the parties have now weighed in with their election platforms and the battle lines are set. Polls here still show the CDU (probably with their normal coalition partner, the FDP, Free Democratic Party) with a commanding (although shrinking) lead. So, CDU head, Angela Merkel looks like the odds-on favorite to become the next (and first female) German chancellor.
But here it starts to get complicated. The left wing of the SDP has split off from the main party led by former Schröder supporter and cabinet member, Oscar Lafontaine. Lafontaine forged a coalition with the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS, Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus) basically the former east German Communist Party (SED, Sozialistische Einheitspartei Deutschlands, or in English, the Socialist Unity Party). The new party dubbed itself the WASG, Wahlalternative Arbeit und Soziale Gerechtigkeit. This can be translated as the “Electoral Alternative for Employment and Social Justice.” The WASG is calling for the maintenance of the current, excellent level of social welfare support (unemployment and retirement benefits and so on) and are opposed to both the Harz IV and Agenda 2010 programs of Schöder’s government. For them, the “S” in SPD is not being taken seriously enough!
OK—so far so good. But the WASG was just too clunky a name to live with and the PDS apparently wanted to distance itself farther from its Communist origins (and all that entailed in terms of historic baggage from the former DDR and the Evil Empire). So—the WASG is now die Linkspartie (the Left Party) or sometimes just die Linke or sometimes die Linke.PDS. Interviews with supporters of die Linke (or whatever) are themselves unsure about the actual name of their party!
Support for die Linke (or whatever) is modest but visible, especially in the eastern Länder that made up the former DDR. Unemployment is higher there than in the rest of Germany and, of course, the folks there were used to an unparalleled social safety net in the form of the paternalistic aspects of the Communist regime. They did not, of course, have any freedom, nor was there much in the way of consumer goods to buy with their guaranteed incomes, but they did have jobs and they did have salaries and benefits and if they filed the proper paperwork, and waited about 12 years, they could buy a Trabant (see photo).
Interestingly enough, along with apparent support for leftists in the east, that is also the part of Germany where the extreme right-wing party, the NPD (Nationaldemokratische Partei) has its greatest support. Inasmuch as the NPD are basically Nazis (the Nazi Party itself is illegal in Germany) it is a good thing that their overall support is modest. In the interests of objectivity I feel compelled to report that recently, the attempt by the Germany government to ban the NPD as a Nazi party in all but name, was overturned by the German supreme court, which ruled that they were in fact, not Nazis after all.
Trabant--as powerful as your lawn mower and twice as loud!
The pride of the DDR. These babies came fully loaded with two-cylinder engines, and frames made of pressed particle board (in other words the same stuff used to make cheap bookcases!). Noisy, dangerous, uncomfortable, and highly polluting, Trabies could achieve top speeds of about 50 mph and, at least back in 1992, could be found tooling across the newly reunited Germany in the extreme right-hand lanes of the nation's Autobahnen.
quite a large blog, but c'mon...it was paris!
Well....i don't really know how to begin my description of this past weekedn, including everything we saw and my feelings through it all, but (rubs hands together) here we go!
Our fun started on our way out of the Dusseldorf Bonhof, where our entire group was just a little grumpy and tired, myself included. Our first class train ride raised our spirits, however, especially the nice french steward who seemed to want to bend over backwards to help us out! :wink: those of you who were there know what i mean. As an example for those who weren't, when i asked for a glass of red wine following our complimentary dinner, the man brought me four mini bottles of wine and proceeded to explain in detail the benefits of each!
By the time our train pulled into the paris Nord station, i had just about driven Lindsay out of her mind with my excited prattle about meeting matt (my boyfriend) there. i can't remember a time in my life when i felt more of a rush than when i steppe donto the platform anxiously anticiptaing the most romantic moment we would find one another. Within a matter of seconds, i was filled with the greatest fear i think i have ever felt: it became overwhelmingly obvious to me how large that trains station was, and how it would be virtuously impossible to find someone in it. As i listened to monotone French on the loudspeakers and that most ominous three tone melody "du Du DU", i felt completely out of my element and helpless. for the next half hour, the group was nice enough to humor me and my frantic search for someone who ws obviously NOT THERE. i feel terrible about making them wait, and I want them all to know how much i appreciated it. 8-)
Needless to say, my first impression of Paris was not great. Not only was I worried about matt, but we also had a bit of trouble with the directions to the hotel, and once we got there and saw the city streets up close, i began to think that Paris was a dark, dingy, completely unfriendly place. But then again, maybe i was just a little biased at that point. 8-) When we got to the hotel, and i found Matt waiting there, everything suddely seemed better, and I decided to give Paris a chance.
Saturday was a jam-packed day. we had our first real french breakfast, and toured the Louvre. i think i walked around that museum for about four hours, and i'm sur emy jaw was hanging open the whole time! The museum building itself was a work of art, whcich contained even more spectacular works of art. I wish i had a few days to comb through it thoroughly. oh, and i wish some of the descriptions had been in English. 8-) During the afternoon we set out to look for the Moulin rouge, and found ourselves smack da in the middle of the red light district of Paris. Seeing what i saw there completely disgusted me, and all i really remember feeling was the overwhelming urge to LEAVE the area as soon as possible. Seeing that place was sad and almost nauseating. Luckily, we did find our way to Montmartre, where we able to see a great view of the city. The area aroud there, with all the shops and street artists, fit the image i had always had of Paris.
Sunday was another early day, and we headed first for breakfast, and then to Notre Dame. mass was in progress during the time we visited the cathedral, and that made the experience really special. i don't consider myself to be extremely religious, but the sights, sounds, and smells (insense), moved me to tears. After lunch, matt and I went off to spend the afternoon together. First, we went and walked along the Champs amidst the crowds waiting for the Tour, a dream come true for matt, sicne he's a serious cyclist. Seeing Lance ride by at the head of the pack was amazing, and i will never forget it! Leaving the area though, was a little a scary, since the crowds created a bottleneck, and i felt smothered by so many people trying to push their way through body-to-body crowds. We finished the afternoon wth the eiffel tower and anice romantic dinner for two. 8-)
Seeing everything we wanted to see in paris was fantastic, but there were so many details of the weekend that i will smile about forever. One of my favorite memories will be of our last night in Paris, when matt and i took the late metro back to the hotel, and we were surrounded by ten or twelve young french men. At first, both of us were on edge, but they turned out to be very friendly, and even started rapping for us in French! Opening my first bottle of Champagne, being with Matt in one of the most romantic places in the world, learning to navigate the metro system, and watching the crazy Parisians go about their daily business are all things that i will never forget.
thanks so much guys, i had an amazing time!
Our fun started on our way out of the Dusseldorf Bonhof, where our entire group was just a little grumpy and tired, myself included. Our first class train ride raised our spirits, however, especially the nice french steward who seemed to want to bend over backwards to help us out! :wink: those of you who were there know what i mean. As an example for those who weren't, when i asked for a glass of red wine following our complimentary dinner, the man brought me four mini bottles of wine and proceeded to explain in detail the benefits of each!
By the time our train pulled into the paris Nord station, i had just about driven Lindsay out of her mind with my excited prattle about meeting matt (my boyfriend) there. i can't remember a time in my life when i felt more of a rush than when i steppe donto the platform anxiously anticiptaing the most romantic moment we would find one another. Within a matter of seconds, i was filled with the greatest fear i think i have ever felt: it became overwhelmingly obvious to me how large that trains station was, and how it would be virtuously impossible to find someone in it. As i listened to monotone French on the loudspeakers and that most ominous three tone melody "du Du DU", i felt completely out of my element and helpless. for the next half hour, the group was nice enough to humor me and my frantic search for someone who ws obviously NOT THERE. i feel terrible about making them wait, and I want them all to know how much i appreciated it. 8-)
Needless to say, my first impression of Paris was not great. Not only was I worried about matt, but we also had a bit of trouble with the directions to the hotel, and once we got there and saw the city streets up close, i began to think that Paris was a dark, dingy, completely unfriendly place. But then again, maybe i was just a little biased at that point. 8-) When we got to the hotel, and i found Matt waiting there, everything suddely seemed better, and I decided to give Paris a chance.
Saturday was a jam-packed day. we had our first real french breakfast, and toured the Louvre. i think i walked around that museum for about four hours, and i'm sur emy jaw was hanging open the whole time! The museum building itself was a work of art, whcich contained even more spectacular works of art. I wish i had a few days to comb through it thoroughly. oh, and i wish some of the descriptions had been in English. 8-) During the afternoon we set out to look for the Moulin rouge, and found ourselves smack da in the middle of the red light district of Paris. Seeing what i saw there completely disgusted me, and all i really remember feeling was the overwhelming urge to LEAVE the area as soon as possible. Seeing that place was sad and almost nauseating. Luckily, we did find our way to Montmartre, where we able to see a great view of the city. The area aroud there, with all the shops and street artists, fit the image i had always had of Paris.
Sunday was another early day, and we headed first for breakfast, and then to Notre Dame. mass was in progress during the time we visited the cathedral, and that made the experience really special. i don't consider myself to be extremely religious, but the sights, sounds, and smells (insense), moved me to tears. After lunch, matt and I went off to spend the afternoon together. First, we went and walked along the Champs amidst the crowds waiting for the Tour, a dream come true for matt, sicne he's a serious cyclist. Seeing Lance ride by at the head of the pack was amazing, and i will never forget it! Leaving the area though, was a little a scary, since the crowds created a bottleneck, and i felt smothered by so many people trying to push their way through body-to-body crowds. We finished the afternoon wth the eiffel tower and anice romantic dinner for two. 8-)
Seeing everything we wanted to see in paris was fantastic, but there were so many details of the weekend that i will smile about forever. One of my favorite memories will be of our last night in Paris, when matt and i took the late metro back to the hotel, and we were surrounded by ten or twelve young french men. At first, both of us were on edge, but they turned out to be very friendly, and even started rapping for us in French! Opening my first bottle of Champagne, being with Matt in one of the most romantic places in the world, learning to navigate the metro system, and watching the crazy Parisians go about their daily business are all things that i will never forget.
thanks so much guys, i had an amazing time!
Paris Excursion
This weekend we went to Paris. Amazingly we were able to see it in only 2 days thanks to tour guide Barbie and tour guide skipper. There were 6 of us who mainly traveled together and I thought it was great how we each used our individual strengths to get the most out of our trip. We started at Versailles, which was absolutely amazing. I couldn't believe that someone was crazy enough to build a place like that. Then we continued on to Notre Dame, the Arc, and the Eiffel tower. I thought a lot of these things were overrated, but it was one of those things that you "had to see." The second day we went to the Louvre, Sacre Cours, and the ending of the Tour de France. It was amazing being able to witness a record being broken. After the race we went out to eat at a tiny French restaurant and I have decided that the only French food worth eating is Crepes. My favorite part of the trip was sitting at the Eiffel tower at night drinking wine, it was the perfect ending to our trip. I can't wait to see how much fun we have in Amsterdam this weekend.
Close call
Here's something I forgot to mention. We were on the train from Koeln back to Duesseldorf yesterday. The conductor came to check our tickets and asked Kathryn for ID with her ticket. I started searching for ID (I already had my ticket out for him to see). Kathryn showed him her ID and then he turned to me. I showed him my ticket but continued to frantically search for my card holder which carries all my cards including student ID and driver's lisence. Luckily he just waved it off and said it was okay. Good thing because it turned out I did not have my cards with me. I had left them at my host mother's house. That was a very close call. I am glad he did not see me ticket first because I would not have been able to produce ID. I seem to have ID problems. While we were in Paris I left my driver's license in the hotel room (they were apartments so they were not cleaned daily) because I did not want to lose it while out. In Germany they always had discounts for students so I had my student ID with me. Turns out in Paris they do it by age, so they wanted to see ID that showed when I was born. Luckily the lady believed me when I said I was 20 and I got the discount. It happened twice. WHEW. I''ll make sure to have all my cards with me at all times from now on.
Paris
If it is not clear now, Paris did not make a good first impression on the group. Luckily things improved and I think overall we all had a great time. Here's a list of the things I saw: Louve, Montmatre, Moulin Rouge, front of Sacre Coeur, "The Black Cat" restuarant, Notre Dame, Sainte Chapelle, Panteon, The Tour de France, Musee d'Orsee and Eifel Tower at sunset. It was a very full but wonderful weekend.
I liked different things for different reasons. I loved seeing the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory in the Louve. It was also cool to see real Monet's and Rembrants and the crown jewels of France. I discovered I really like Monet. I would see a picture in a room and really like it and only afterwards realize it was done by Monet.
It was really cool to see the Moulin Rouge even though it was smaller than I expected. I also liked walking around Montmatre because it is the setting of the Moulin Rouge movie and it was cool to just walk around. We also had dinner there and it was wonderful. The french really have wonderful food. While I was at the Panteon I was able to go up to the top and got a wonderful view of Paris. Unfortunately it was cloudy but I could see the hill of Montmatre. I used our video camera and zoomed in like the beginning of the movie. Others saw it and were really impressed. I am convinced it was from up there that they got the scene for the movie. It was totally great to actually be there in person.
It was wonderful when we saw Notre Dame. Most people said they prefered the Dom in Koeln, but Heather, Matt and I were able to see Notre Dame working as a Cathedral. It was a cloudy day, and they were having Mass since we went on Sunday morning. They had Mass in the middle but tourists were able to go around the edges. I'm surprised they allowed it considering it was very distracting. The three of us couldn't bring ourselves to take pictures or anything like that. Some tourists were very disrespectful though. That wasn't nice. It was cool to be in there though. I was able to walk around by myself and meet the others at the exit. Since they were having the service we could smell the inscence (however you spell that), and a man and women were singing descant. It was beautiful. I could also see how they got the idea for the Hunchback because it was gloomy and they eyes could play tricks.
Saint Chapelle had beautiful stain glass windows. I thought it was interesting how the French Monarchs requested some current events to be put in the windows along with the Bible stories to represent the French Monarchs as continuing the line of the Biblical kings.
Seeing the Tour was fun. I originally did not want to go because I figured we wouldn't be able to see anything and it would just be crowded. Kathryn convinced me to go with her and I am glad she did. We were able to see Lance Armstrong and all the other riders. There were fewer riders than I expected but it was still great to do once. It was miserable because it would drissle, but it was worth it in the end.
I liked going to the Musee d'Orsee even though Kathryn and I basically ran through it. It confirmed for me that I like Money and Renoir, but I do not like Van Gogh. I feel very sophisticated knowing more about these famous artists. Kathryn also introduced me to Degas. He's not bad either. It was fun to be with Kathryn because she had taken an art history class so she knew much more than me about the art, but as she said, at least I appreciate the art even if I don't know much about it.
We finished our trip to Paris by most of the group going to the Eifel Tower and sitting in front of it during sun set. It was a very relaxing evening and I think everyone had a good time even though they were tired. We had a little wine, talked and enjoyed the tower lit up. It was also cool when it would sparkle on each hour.
Yesterday we went to the Bayer plant but unfortunately it was not what we had expected. It was not designed for pre-med pre-vet students. It was still interesting to see the plant though and how they are trying to save the environment. We then went to a horse breeding farm. I am allergic to horses so it was not my favorite trip but I am glad I went. The horses were attractive and their stables were very nice. It was interesting to at least see.
This weekend we are off to Amsterdam. I think that will be an interesting trip.
I liked different things for different reasons. I loved seeing the Venus de Milo and Winged Victory in the Louve. It was also cool to see real Monet's and Rembrants and the crown jewels of France. I discovered I really like Monet. I would see a picture in a room and really like it and only afterwards realize it was done by Monet.
It was really cool to see the Moulin Rouge even though it was smaller than I expected. I also liked walking around Montmatre because it is the setting of the Moulin Rouge movie and it was cool to just walk around. We also had dinner there and it was wonderful. The french really have wonderful food. While I was at the Panteon I was able to go up to the top and got a wonderful view of Paris. Unfortunately it was cloudy but I could see the hill of Montmatre. I used our video camera and zoomed in like the beginning of the movie. Others saw it and were really impressed. I am convinced it was from up there that they got the scene for the movie. It was totally great to actually be there in person.
It was wonderful when we saw Notre Dame. Most people said they prefered the Dom in Koeln, but Heather, Matt and I were able to see Notre Dame working as a Cathedral. It was a cloudy day, and they were having Mass since we went on Sunday morning. They had Mass in the middle but tourists were able to go around the edges. I'm surprised they allowed it considering it was very distracting. The three of us couldn't bring ourselves to take pictures or anything like that. Some tourists were very disrespectful though. That wasn't nice. It was cool to be in there though. I was able to walk around by myself and meet the others at the exit. Since they were having the service we could smell the inscence (however you spell that), and a man and women were singing descant. It was beautiful. I could also see how they got the idea for the Hunchback because it was gloomy and they eyes could play tricks.
Saint Chapelle had beautiful stain glass windows. I thought it was interesting how the French Monarchs requested some current events to be put in the windows along with the Bible stories to represent the French Monarchs as continuing the line of the Biblical kings.
Seeing the Tour was fun. I originally did not want to go because I figured we wouldn't be able to see anything and it would just be crowded. Kathryn convinced me to go with her and I am glad she did. We were able to see Lance Armstrong and all the other riders. There were fewer riders than I expected but it was still great to do once. It was miserable because it would drissle, but it was worth it in the end.
I liked going to the Musee d'Orsee even though Kathryn and I basically ran through it. It confirmed for me that I like Money and Renoir, but I do not like Van Gogh. I feel very sophisticated knowing more about these famous artists. Kathryn also introduced me to Degas. He's not bad either. It was fun to be with Kathryn because she had taken an art history class so she knew much more than me about the art, but as she said, at least I appreciate the art even if I don't know much about it.
We finished our trip to Paris by most of the group going to the Eifel Tower and sitting in front of it during sun set. It was a very relaxing evening and I think everyone had a good time even though they were tired. We had a little wine, talked and enjoyed the tower lit up. It was also cool when it would sparkle on each hour.
Yesterday we went to the Bayer plant but unfortunately it was not what we had expected. It was not designed for pre-med pre-vet students. It was still interesting to see the plant though and how they are trying to save the environment. We then went to a horse breeding farm. I am allergic to horses so it was not my favorite trip but I am glad I went. The horses were attractive and their stables were very nice. It was interesting to at least see.
This weekend we are off to Amsterdam. I think that will be an interesting trip.
An American in Paris
Yeah, I haven't checked the blog to see if anyone else has already used this title. Maybe everyone else was too embarrassed because it's so darn cheesy. Anyway, we spent this past weekend in Paris. The train ride over and trying to find our hotel on Friday night was not so fun, but after that the weekend really took off. My group went Saturday to Versailles, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Champs de Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower. Then Sunday we spent at the Louvre, the Sacre Coeure in Montmartre, the Tour de France seeing Lance Armstrong win yet again, and then I went to the Musee d' Orsay with Michelle. I was glad she asked me if I wanted to go with her because I had been told by a friend back in the U.S. who studied in France that she enjoyed Orsay more than the Louvre. I discovered that I really like Monet paintings (as did Michelle) and Renoirs. Then she and I met the others for dinner in a French restaurant (I had chicken in basque sauce - spicy and really good - and chocolate glaze and custard for dessert.) Then we all went back to the Eiffel Tower to watch the sun set and the tower light up. It was relaxing and quite nice.
On Monday morning, I decided to stay by myself in Paris for the morning, taking a later train (and one which took about twice as long to reach Duesseldorf!) I stashed my bags in a locker in the train station and took the Metro over to the river. I wandered for a little while, eventually stopping in a little bakery I found to buy a chocolate croissant and a cappuccino, and then I sat outside in the cool breeze by a fountain, looking at Notre Dame across the river and eating my breakfast. I was even mistaken for a Paris native and asked for directions in French by a tourist! Then I took my time going back to the train station, even stopping in a little French boutique, and I ended up buying a cute dress. I made it back to the train station in plenty of time and then ended up next to a 12-year-old French girl on the train with whom I played cards and made conversation with (using my French dictionary quite often!) I'm glad no one else was there to see and hear me attempting to imitate this twelve-year-old as she taught me French words - some of the sounds are quite awkward for my American tongue! So, despite returning later and probably more exhausted than the others, I am glad that I stayed for a little while to just enjoy the city of Paris.
By the way - what is "An American in Paris"? It's a movie, right? I am such a dork. :P
On Monday morning, I decided to stay by myself in Paris for the morning, taking a later train (and one which took about twice as long to reach Duesseldorf!) I stashed my bags in a locker in the train station and took the Metro over to the river. I wandered for a little while, eventually stopping in a little bakery I found to buy a chocolate croissant and a cappuccino, and then I sat outside in the cool breeze by a fountain, looking at Notre Dame across the river and eating my breakfast. I was even mistaken for a Paris native and asked for directions in French by a tourist! Then I took my time going back to the train station, even stopping in a little French boutique, and I ended up buying a cute dress. I made it back to the train station in plenty of time and then ended up next to a 12-year-old French girl on the train with whom I played cards and made conversation with (using my French dictionary quite often!) I'm glad no one else was there to see and hear me attempting to imitate this twelve-year-old as she taught me French words - some of the sounds are quite awkward for my American tongue! So, despite returning later and probably more exhausted than the others, I am glad that I stayed for a little while to just enjoy the city of Paris.
By the way - what is "An American in Paris"? It's a movie, right? I am such a dork. :P
A Love Hate Relationship
Well, I will have to say that Paris was amazing! If you would have asked me my opinion about it at 10 am on Saturday morning, I would have said that it is the armpit of Europe. When we first got to Paris, we had trouble finding Heather's boyfriend. She promised that he would be there, but out of the masses of people and the numerous overhead calls we failed at finding him. We all finally convinced Heather to go to the hotel, saying that her boyfriend was probably already there. When our cab driver stopped the cab and pointed to our hotel I was just a little worried. It seemed like it was not too great of a neighborhood. As we had promised her boyfriend was waiting in the lobby. Then we had to wait for the second group to get there. Jean had the voucher, hence we could not check in. We waited a couple of hours and they never came, so we started to worry. I decided to go up to the receptionists desk and beg for them to let us into our rooms. Luckily, they were very nice and let us into 2 of the rooms. After about 10 minutes of being in the rooms, the second group showed up.
The next morning a group of six of us decided to go to Versailles. We woke up really early so we could be there when it opened. On our way there we had train problems and we had to take a different route that ended up being longer. When we eventually got there, it was packed and we had no clue where to go. There were extremely long lines and it was frustrating.
After this, everything improved!! Tour guide Barbie(Beth), and tour guide Skipper(Ashley) came to the rescue. They got us a great tour and it let us cut in front of the long lines. Then the rest of the weekend improved! We got to see everything that we wanted and more. It was the most cram packed 2 days that I have ever experienced! I ended up loving Paris. So, you could say that Paris and I have a love-hate relationship!!!
The next morning a group of six of us decided to go to Versailles. We woke up really early so we could be there when it opened. On our way there we had train problems and we had to take a different route that ended up being longer. When we eventually got there, it was packed and we had no clue where to go. There were extremely long lines and it was frustrating.
After this, everything improved!! Tour guide Barbie(Beth), and tour guide Skipper(Ashley) came to the rescue. They got us a great tour and it let us cut in front of the long lines. Then the rest of the weekend improved! We got to see everything that we wanted and more. It was the most cram packed 2 days that I have ever experienced! I ended up loving Paris. So, you could say that Paris and I have a love-hate relationship!!!
Paris!
I had a blast this weekend in Paris! We were able to see everything, despite the rain... I spent most of the weekend with Shannon and Julie, my roommate from back home. It was great to be able to see Julie, and even better to be able to be in Paris with her! We saw all the basic touristy stuff, like Notre Dame, the Arc de Triumph, the Eiffel Tower, etc. Since I've been to Paris before, this was all a repeat, but was a lot of fun nevertheless.
On Saturday night, we were able to sit outside on the lawn and watch the Eiffel Tower light up... it was amazing, and something that I didn't get to see the last ime I came to Paris. I loved how it twinkled every hour for about five minutes. We took tons of pictures, of course, because we're Amercians! We also were able to walk the streets of Paris at night, and they were beautiful... even if a bit stinky. We enjoyed wine at a cafe that night, and went to bed exhausted.
On Sunday morning, we got up and went to an outdoor market where the vedors sold a little of everything. I bought all sorts of random souvenirs, like a purse, some earrings, and some coasters. (Like I need coasters?) It was fun to just walk around and see everything they were selling.. Although Shannon and I were aproached twice by a drug dealer... a little scary. There were vedors from Africa and India selling drums and scarves. There were a lot of shoe booths and exotic jewelry. Overall, it was a girl's paradise! After the market and visiting the surrounding area, we went back to the hotel to change into warmer clothes... and promptly fell asleep for several hours. We were disappointed that we wasted the afternoon, but felt very rested when it was time to go to dinner. We ate gourmet, since it was our last night in Paris. Yum Yum!
Although Paris was great, it was wonderfult o get back to Germany. I actually missed my host family, and the comfort I have found in their home. I also missed the food that I've become used to here. Overall, it was a great trip!
On Saturday night, we were able to sit outside on the lawn and watch the Eiffel Tower light up... it was amazing, and something that I didn't get to see the last ime I came to Paris. I loved how it twinkled every hour for about five minutes. We took tons of pictures, of course, because we're Amercians! We also were able to walk the streets of Paris at night, and they were beautiful... even if a bit stinky. We enjoyed wine at a cafe that night, and went to bed exhausted.
On Sunday morning, we got up and went to an outdoor market where the vedors sold a little of everything. I bought all sorts of random souvenirs, like a purse, some earrings, and some coasters. (Like I need coasters?) It was fun to just walk around and see everything they were selling.. Although Shannon and I were aproached twice by a drug dealer... a little scary. There were vedors from Africa and India selling drums and scarves. There were a lot of shoe booths and exotic jewelry. Overall, it was a girl's paradise! After the market and visiting the surrounding area, we went back to the hotel to change into warmer clothes... and promptly fell asleep for several hours. We were disappointed that we wasted the afternoon, but felt very rested when it was time to go to dinner. We ate gourmet, since it was our last night in Paris. Yum Yum!
Although Paris was great, it was wonderfult o get back to Germany. I actually missed my host family, and the comfort I have found in their home. I also missed the food that I've become used to here. Overall, it was a great trip!
Germans and Americans
Today in our German Language and Culture class we did a lot of comparisons between the German, European, and American ways of life. (We also learned about the past tense!) Frau Pillartz gave us vast amounts of statistics regarding differences in the amounts of patriotism in Germany and the United States. We already knew that Germans do not feel a lot of national pride when asked about their country. This is due to the guilt surrounding World War II and the Holocaust. It seems that it has been carried through the generations, even to the children. What was more surprising about the ranking of patriotic countries was that Italy was ranked even below Germany! When we asked about why that is so, we learned that the Italian government has changes 63 times in the past 60 years... that's enough to make anyone feel exasperated with their country!
Another topic that we discussed was the nnumber of hours of work that the average person put in each year from different countries. It wasn't surprising that the United States lead the race, followed closely by Japan. The countries that logged the least amount of hours at work were Norway and Sweden. What was surprising about these numbers was that the countries that worked the most had the worst dispersion on money throughout their counties. Japan and the US were at the top of the list when it came to inequality among the social classes.
Our favorite topis that we discussed was the amount of vacation time allowed to the average person in the US and Germany. In Germany, it is common to get 6 weeks vacation time!! In the US, only 12 days is customary... makes me want to move to Germany! haha... overall this was a very interesting class, and my eyes are opened wider with every ounce of culture that I am soaking in. I love it!
Another topic that we discussed was the nnumber of hours of work that the average person put in each year from different countries. It wasn't surprising that the United States lead the race, followed closely by Japan. The countries that logged the least amount of hours at work were Norway and Sweden. What was surprising about these numbers was that the countries that worked the most had the worst dispersion on money throughout their counties. Japan and the US were at the top of the list when it came to inequality among the social classes.
Our favorite topis that we discussed was the amount of vacation time allowed to the average person in the US and Germany. In Germany, it is common to get 6 weeks vacation time!! In the US, only 12 days is customary... makes me want to move to Germany! haha... overall this was a very interesting class, and my eyes are opened wider with every ounce of culture that I am soaking in. I love it!
Monday, July 25, 2005
Americans
Before we came on this trip we were given so much information on what the typical American tourist looks and acts like and we have been trying so hard to not stand out. But no matter how hard we try we still do. On our way back from Paris this afternoon I was discussing this with Michelle. Americans are known throughout the world to be the loudest and Texans are even louder. On our train we were talking as a group and it didn't seem that loud. Michelle and Heather were sitting a few rows down from us and said that they could hear everything that we talked about clearly. But as I was sitting there I thought we were being relatively quite. Apparently the rumors are true :)
Another thing that I know that we have all had trouble with is the perception that all Americans are fake with our big smiles and constant eye contact. I've found it especially hard coming from a university that is so friendly where everyone says Howdy! to each person the pass on campas (Well, at least I always say howdy). Michelle did bring up a good point that what they see alot of the time is Hollywood with the beautiful homes on the outside and caos inside. Even I can admit that is fake. I've decided that it's just our optimistic nature and we'd rather pretend to be happy than be pesimistic all of the time.
Finally, I've been having a lot of discussion with my host family lately about the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and in London. My host mother Kerstin is British so it's been really interesting seeing her reactions to everything compared to how I reacted 4 years ago. When New York and D.C. were attacked the States shut down. People were sent home from school and from work. I stayed home from school the next day and and watched the news. We were devasted and we had and have every right to be. Americans are not used to being in the middle of war. Not since the Civil War and Pearl Harbor have we ever had to deal with being attacked on our own soil, so just that fact was devasting. Europeans handle it so differently. I hate to put it this way, but they are used to it. They are more prepared and know how to put themselves back together quickly. After London was attacked the tubes were running again within hours. I find that so amazing that they can be so strong.
Another thing that I know that we have all had trouble with is the perception that all Americans are fake with our big smiles and constant eye contact. I've found it especially hard coming from a university that is so friendly where everyone says Howdy! to each person the pass on campas (Well, at least I always say howdy). Michelle did bring up a good point that what they see alot of the time is Hollywood with the beautiful homes on the outside and caos inside. Even I can admit that is fake. I've decided that it's just our optimistic nature and we'd rather pretend to be happy than be pesimistic all of the time.
Finally, I've been having a lot of discussion with my host family lately about the terrorist attacks on 9/11 and in London. My host mother Kerstin is British so it's been really interesting seeing her reactions to everything compared to how I reacted 4 years ago. When New York and D.C. were attacked the States shut down. People were sent home from school and from work. I stayed home from school the next day and and watched the news. We were devasted and we had and have every right to be. Americans are not used to being in the middle of war. Not since the Civil War and Pearl Harbor have we ever had to deal with being attacked on our own soil, so just that fact was devasting. Europeans handle it so differently. I hate to put it this way, but they are used to it. They are more prepared and know how to put themselves back together quickly. After London was attacked the tubes were running again within hours. I find that so amazing that they can be so strong.
Long weekend in Paris...long post about it :)
Well I think this weekend was probably taken at the fastest pace ever! The Paris trip was very fun all in all, especially since there were 12/13 of us there. (We missed you Rebecca!) However, and I'm sorry Dr. Wasser, Paris absolutely was not a city that I fell in love with as soon as I got off the train. In fact, I could barely tolerate it until about noon on Saturday. It was smelly, it was dirty, the people were rude, we had a bad experience getting to the hotel on Friday night, our hotel was in a bad neighborhood, and random lines on the metro were closed. Oh, and I had a couple of run-ins with dirty, sleazy French men. But all of the sights really were awesome...and we did get to see all of the sights in two days!
Ashley and I received the nicknames "Tour Guide Barbie" (me) and "Tour Guide Skipper" (Ashley) for all of our planning, map-reading, and guide-book carrying. But all of that paid off because we got to see Versailles, Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Sacre Cour and Montmatre, and Lance Armstrong at the Tour de France. We spent a good amount of time at each spot too, and got all of it in during the 48 hours we were there (counting from Saturday morning until Monday morning). Pretty impressive if you ask me. Who needs sleep? Just kidding, we could have definitely used some sleep. But its Paris, and personally I'm not going back for awhile (if ever). So sleep wasn't a high priority.
After the 2 hour-long trip out to Versailles...which was longer than it would have been since one of the RER lines was randomly closed with no warning...we walked waiting in a huge crowd until Ashley and I found a cheaper, cooler way to see the palace. For 14,50 Euro we got an English guided tour through the King's Private Apartments and the Opera, plus entry into the public rooms by skipping the long line. The private apartments, and especially the Opera made it totally worth the money. A little opulent, but I could totally be ok with living in a place like parts of Versailles. Just give me pretty dresses, heels and a tiara and I'll fit right in. =)
The train back from Versailles to the city wasn't too long, although we had to get off the line at one point because it was closed, so we tried out the bus system to get to Notre Dame. Notre Dame was pretty, but honestly no match for the Dom. Too bad we didn't see it before the Dom so we wouldn't have been biased. I mean, how can you top the 3 Wise Men??
We attempted to walk from Notre Dame to the Arc de Triomphe, but we broke down a few blocks down and used the Metro. By then the "horrible Paris metro system" was getting better. Just give me a map and I'm golden. We had some adventures running across the Champs-Elysees a couple of times, trying to snap good pictures of the Arc and the famous street. Turns out there's a good view from a sidewalk directly across from the Arc and all the running in front of cars was unnecessary. Who knew.
The Eiffel Tower was probably my favorite place in all of Paris. I feel like a huge tourist when I say that, but I don't care. We eventually made it all the way up to the top and tried to watch the sunset. Too bad it was raining and the sunset wasn't too pretty. The views of the city were amazing though, but with no zoom my pictures show what could be any city. My favorite view was from the ground, looking up at the Tower. Especially when it was all lit up and sparkling. Hanging out in the grass under the Eiffel Tower on Sunday night was relaxing, beautiful and fun.
Sunday morning we were up and in line at the Louvre before it opened, so we beat most of the crowd to the famous works like the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. As a result we got cool pictures with no heads blocking the view. In the 2 hours we spent in the Louvre we saw everything we especially wanted to see, plus so much more. I love the painted and decorated ceilings!
We almost keeled over climbing the steps of Montmatre up to Sacre Cour, but we did it and it was beautiful. Almost got in a fight with the vendors with the string on the way down, but we avoided it and didn't get anything stolen.
Waiting at Champs-Elysees for the end of the Tour de France was an experience. Despite the crowds we could see fairly well. Ashley got on Josh's shoulders to take still pictures, and I used my long arms to try to go over heads to get video of it. Somehow peoples heads and arms still got in the way though, but I'm hoping the video isn't too bad. We stayed for the first 3 laps around, but left before the official end and victory lap. It would have been really cool to say we saw Lance's last victory lap, but I was ok with it being cool to watch him bike in his last Tour de France. Besides, the crowds got pushy and worse every time the bikers circled around, and I had already gotten groped by a random, dirty, sleazy French man while waiting for the bikers to make it to the Champs-Elysees. Gross.
So Paris was an experience that was totally cool once, but I don't really want to repeat any time soon. We saw everything that I cared to see and all had fun together. That's what made Paris for me.
Ashley and I received the nicknames "Tour Guide Barbie" (me) and "Tour Guide Skipper" (Ashley) for all of our planning, map-reading, and guide-book carrying. But all of that paid off because we got to see Versailles, Notre Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Sacre Cour and Montmatre, and Lance Armstrong at the Tour de France. We spent a good amount of time at each spot too, and got all of it in during the 48 hours we were there (counting from Saturday morning until Monday morning). Pretty impressive if you ask me. Who needs sleep? Just kidding, we could have definitely used some sleep. But its Paris, and personally I'm not going back for awhile (if ever). So sleep wasn't a high priority.
After the 2 hour-long trip out to Versailles...which was longer than it would have been since one of the RER lines was randomly closed with no warning...we walked waiting in a huge crowd until Ashley and I found a cheaper, cooler way to see the palace. For 14,50 Euro we got an English guided tour through the King's Private Apartments and the Opera, plus entry into the public rooms by skipping the long line. The private apartments, and especially the Opera made it totally worth the money. A little opulent, but I could totally be ok with living in a place like parts of Versailles. Just give me pretty dresses, heels and a tiara and I'll fit right in. =)
The train back from Versailles to the city wasn't too long, although we had to get off the line at one point because it was closed, so we tried out the bus system to get to Notre Dame. Notre Dame was pretty, but honestly no match for the Dom. Too bad we didn't see it before the Dom so we wouldn't have been biased. I mean, how can you top the 3 Wise Men??
We attempted to walk from Notre Dame to the Arc de Triomphe, but we broke down a few blocks down and used the Metro. By then the "horrible Paris metro system" was getting better. Just give me a map and I'm golden. We had some adventures running across the Champs-Elysees a couple of times, trying to snap good pictures of the Arc and the famous street. Turns out there's a good view from a sidewalk directly across from the Arc and all the running in front of cars was unnecessary. Who knew.
The Eiffel Tower was probably my favorite place in all of Paris. I feel like a huge tourist when I say that, but I don't care. We eventually made it all the way up to the top and tried to watch the sunset. Too bad it was raining and the sunset wasn't too pretty. The views of the city were amazing though, but with no zoom my pictures show what could be any city. My favorite view was from the ground, looking up at the Tower. Especially when it was all lit up and sparkling. Hanging out in the grass under the Eiffel Tower on Sunday night was relaxing, beautiful and fun.
Sunday morning we were up and in line at the Louvre before it opened, so we beat most of the crowd to the famous works like the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo. As a result we got cool pictures with no heads blocking the view. In the 2 hours we spent in the Louvre we saw everything we especially wanted to see, plus so much more. I love the painted and decorated ceilings!
We almost keeled over climbing the steps of Montmatre up to Sacre Cour, but we did it and it was beautiful. Almost got in a fight with the vendors with the string on the way down, but we avoided it and didn't get anything stolen.
Waiting at Champs-Elysees for the end of the Tour de France was an experience. Despite the crowds we could see fairly well. Ashley got on Josh's shoulders to take still pictures, and I used my long arms to try to go over heads to get video of it. Somehow peoples heads and arms still got in the way though, but I'm hoping the video isn't too bad. We stayed for the first 3 laps around, but left before the official end and victory lap. It would have been really cool to say we saw Lance's last victory lap, but I was ok with it being cool to watch him bike in his last Tour de France. Besides, the crowds got pushy and worse every time the bikers circled around, and I had already gotten groped by a random, dirty, sleazy French man while waiting for the bikers to make it to the Champs-Elysees. Gross.
So Paris was an experience that was totally cool once, but I don't really want to repeat any time soon. We saw everything that I cared to see and all had fun together. That's what made Paris for me.
I'd be so lost....
I don't know what it is but for some reason I just can't seem to understand European maps. In the states I can get you anyway. As my daddy is a navigator he prides himself on his family having a good sense of direction. My sister was born with nonw so I have it all, but here I'm compleletly lost. I'm sure if I had to I'd be able to find my way around better but for now I'm content to just follow everyone else. Thank Tour Guide Barbie (or what do you prefer? The Goddess of Traveling?) and Tour Guide Skipper. Without you two I'd still be in wandering around in the Paris Metro. :)
Bonn
So, I have a little catching up to do here... On the academic side of the trip, my favorite thing so far has been the cardiac surgery. That is what made me want to come on the trip in the first place. I was so scared that I wasn't going to be able to go into the surgery because I was sick (sorry to those who are now sick as well). The day before I was so determined to feel better and make it into the surgery that I drank five HUGE bottle of water. I had to pee pee machen every 15 minutes that day, but by the next day I was feeling better and held my cough in long enough to appear healthy and was able to see the surgery. It was amazing. I've done rounds with doctors before but had never been in a surgery. To have this man right in front of me with his heart right there was so overwhelming. I've never experienced anything like it. I will never foget it. When I get back to the states I get to be in the delivery room with my aunt for her 3rd child. I'm very excited about that as well.
Paris
So most of us went to Paris this past weekend. Paris was nice, but I don't think I think I would have appreciated it more if I had stayed for four or five days. I saw the Louvre, Notre Dam, Eifel Tower, Sacred Heart, and Arc de Triumph. My favorite thing was sitting out on the lawn in the evening watching the Eifel Tower light up. Adriane and I met up with our friend Julie and spent most of the weekend with her. It wwas really nice to see a familiar face. On Sunday morning we went to an outdoor market. We had a guy come up and try to sell us drugs twice. The weird thing was it was the same guy both times. Odd! Also, I was almost struck in the face by a pidgeon. I definitely felt feathers on my face. A little scary! Sunday we spent the afternoon napping. I really just think that the past three weeks had caught up to me and I was exhausted. I guess at least I was rested for the beginning of the week.
Tour de France
I had the best seat in the house at the Tour de France. I got to sit on Josh's shoulders and be the "official picture taker." Lance Armstrong is the one in yellow in the middle with the yellow/black helmet. Go Lance!
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