First post in Germany!

So Germany is absolutely amazing and has surpassed all of my expectations. I am learning so much in such a short time, and I am enjoying every bit of it. A doctor named Jürgen Weiland gave us a presentation about homeopathy and its history, which I thought was very informative adn interesting. Dr. Wasser also gave us a lecture about the 'Unworthy lives' that the Nazi party used as test subjects to prepare for Hitler's Final Solution. It was eye-opening just how poorly these patients (mentally retarded, disabled, etc.), who were still human beings, were treated, and its a significant event in history that barely anyone knows about... Very depressing and scary.

I have learned a lot outside of the lectures as well. I have visited the Haus von Beethoven and got to know my favorite composer a tad bit better! There has also been the Haus der Geschichte, the best history museum in Germany for post-WWII, which was very, very cool. My favorite part was the tiny car, that appears to only fit two people comfortably, but in reality was used to fit around SIX people in. Wow! Also, one of my favorite sites has definitely been the Cologne Cathedral. It is so magnificent! To think that people actually built that with their own hands so long ago... Its unreal. Breathtaking every time you see it. The architecture of not only the cathedral, but of all the other bulidings here in Germany is really old-fasioned. It is really about history here in Germany and I like that.

Yesterday I went to Sachsenhausen, a concentration camp over in North Berlin. It was very eerie. It was a cold, cloudy day, and it was completely quiet. Which, to be honest, I was glad for because it added that much to the experience. Seeing the prisons in which the victims were held in, seeing various ways in which the Jews and others were tortured, and seeing the gas chamber most of all was very eye-opening. I think that all young students should eventually visit a concentration camp. It would make you change the way you think about things.

I am looking forward to the rest of things I will get to experience, and all the things I will get to learn and cherish forever!