No Place Like Home

After 2 longgg weeks of traveling all over Europe, we're finally back in Bonn! Don't get me wrong, I've absolutely loved every place I've been to, it's just nice to not have to lug my suitcase around with me for a couple of days. This week sounds like it's going to be pretty easy going and then we kick it in to high gear for our final week in Berlin. We also have an awesome weekend in Paris that I'm very excited about.

Yesterday was a great way to start the week. We spent the morning on a huge boat crusin' down the Rhine. After a nice nap in the sun, we arrived for lunch and a tour of the medieveil Marksburg castle. The Marksburg castle is the only castle in Europe that has never been destroyed. We got to see the old living quarters, kitchens, and even a torture chamber. It's so cool to see cities that are so close, but so different. In the evening, we headed to an event I've been looking forward to the whole trip- winetasting!! :) Let's just say I could do this all the time if I could. We tried two lovely white wines and three reds. The also had enough cheese, meat, and bread for a family of 20. It was awesome.

Today we had a heated debate about the health care system in the U.S. Although it's a very touchy subject, it's cool to hear what other people think. We talked alot on the subject of "the value of life" and who has the right to health care when say it's between a cripple and a non-cripple. Everything else not considered (age, money, etc.), it was very interesting to hear what people would do. For me personally, I have no right to say who has a higher value of life and I believe it should be alloted equally. However, many others did not feel that way. Also, the question of giving money ($50,000 +) to a complete stranger to prolong their life for 6 months came up. A majority of the class said they wouldn't fork out the money, but again some did. As a student going into the medical field, these are very important things to consider. It defenitely got my brain going.

Well, we have the afternoon off. I think some of us are going to the Haribo gummy bear factory :). I'm excited to spend some time with my host Mom as well seeing as I'll be leaving her on Sunday.

Cheers,
Coral