Germany from two months later

So as I was logging in, I looked at the login page where it says "username" and I had a flashback to an Internet cafe in Munich where the blogger page came up in German and that part said "Nutzername". Besides nearly falling out of my chair from laughing at "Nutzername", I also kind of freaked out. HOW CAN I SIGN IN IF I CAN'T READ THE PAGE?! But, no biggie. It was an adventure. Just like the rest of the trip...

Running around a FOREIGN country with a bunch of AWESOME classmates, what could be better? The whole trip was jam-packed with once in a lifetime experiences, seeing the original sculpted head of Nefertiti, Monets, the square where the Nazi burning of the books took place, an OPEN HEART SURGERY, a concentration camp, castles (with the most gaudy rooms you've ever seen!), a robo-milker, and so, so much more. And then in between we managed to squeeze in riding trains and planes, trying our hand at harvesting eggs from a cow, SNOW!, and the most random and interesting conversations. I learned nearly as much from talking to my classmates, Steffie, and Dr. Wasser as I did from actual class material. I must say, I really enjoyed being around everyone, and the positive experience has encouraged me to try and get to know my classmates in current classes better. A lesson for me: be more sociable! It's fun, and makes everything else more fun too.

It was interesting to watch movies in German (even though I didn't really know what they were saying) as well as CNN in English on German TV. The news, even our own, is not quite the same as far as content and spin - it was neat to compare. I really enjoy learning about other places, cultures, and issues. So you can imagine how absolutely amazing this experience was. The first two are obvious, (in fact the differences in culture were not huge) and the differing viewpoints and ideas on how to solve issues faced by many societies were quite interesting. From learning about the government in Germany to hearing about socialized medicine to becoming aware of Germany's illegal immigration, I gained perspective on similar issues in the United States. Dr. Wasser's lectures about the Nazi T-4 program and the tour of Dachau did solidify my position on one issue that I had previously been noncommital on: absolutely no torture. Period.

I didn't find either the transition to travelling in Germany or back to life in College Station that bad, but then again we weren't over there very long. It was definitely too short!

It's funny, I met someone the other day, and they were talking about an intracity train in Dallas that goes 25 mph, and I was thinking, "What?! ONLY 25 mph? What kind of train is that? Give me speed!".

Another thing: it gets to around 45 degrees here and people start saying, "It's so cold!" and I just think puh-lease this isn't bad at all. I think my internal thermometer got broken while we were in Germany. One thing I know for sure, my sweaters are sad that I don't wear them anymore, and I have a giant jacket that was SO necessary in Germany but here is hardly worn. Not to worry, I WILL find a reason to wear it again. Skiing, anyone?

As for advice for those who may visit later...Dr. Wasser and the people at the AIB are so helpful, use them! They have great advice on a myriad of things. Don't try to rush around too much. There's so much to see, you can't see it all, so just pick a few things and enjoy them. Get as much sleep on the plane as you can - both ways - it helps with the jet lag, even if it's only a few hours.

Friends mention thinking about studying abroad, and I instantly tell them they should definitely do it, without a second thought. I feel like I'm echoing everyone else when I say this, but it's so true: I really want to visit Europe again as well as branch out to other parts of the world too! I feel like I've rambled, but it's just because, even now, I'm so excited about everything we got to experience. Thanks to Dr. Wasser and Steffie for their patience and teaching, and to everyone else, I'm glad I got to spend time with y'all, and we should definitely hang out some more!

Germany on My Mind

I carry Germany with me everyday. I've been planning on doing this post for a long time, but I have so much to say that I knew I would need to set out a time where I can get all my thoughts down. Being back in College Station has been a whirlwind adventure. But now all the souveniers are given out, the pictures have been posted, tagged, commented, and shown to anyone who will listen, and i have finally managed to stop saying enshuldegung to random people. So this is the time that I can see what Germany has really left me with. For one there is great friends. I am really glad we all manage to still get together even so far in the semester. I feel as if I share a bond that only few can understand.

Everyday I pass Hannover street on my way to school, or anytime I travel Wellborn and I stop and think of the amazing adventures we had. My friend told me he lived on past Brandenburg street the other day and I instantly pictured New Years. I love having these memories to look back on. Germany has changed me forever.... whether its with new memories to dream about or repecting a free bathroom and some still-non mineral water.

The story I love to tell most is about the heart surgery. People look at me with a new-found awe. It is something that I was extremely lucky to be a part of. The picture of the first anatomy class came up in a movie that I watched with my friend the other day. She cringed, and I am sure the other movie-goers would have loved to popcorn me as I proceeded to tell her all about the lack of anesthesia and other details of the painting.

The question comes up also... what are you planning for your birthday, or what did you do for your birthday.... I get to smile at this as well as I imagine us eating elephant apples at the zoo and celebrating in Cologne.

I have a healthy respect for anyone who has been out of the country and now I get to have that luxury as well. I think that everyone should spend sometime exploring outside of their comfort zone, even if it is not Germany. (though its my favorite recommendation!!!) Amerjca is great, theres no doubt about that.. but it is not the only amazing country. There's a whole world out there that few get to experience.

I know this seems like jumbled thoughts, but thats how I know that it has impacted me in such a way. It only takes the smallest thing to tip me into another Germany story, memory or photo. Thats how close to my heart this trip was. I want to thank Dr. Wasser and Stefanie for everything that they did for us. It has changed my life.

Carrying Memories

It is hard to believe sometimes that I had been to Europe and Germany. The day to day routines of College Station sunk in quick as the semester was underway only a couple days of returning to the states. I found the experiences memorable and when looking back, every single Euro or dollar invested was worth it.

I miss the country sorely as it was refreshing to break free from the norm and many aspects of my life that I never thought about, I view with a fresh perspective. Perhaps my favorite time in Germany was New Years Eve and the chance to experience such a celebration. On the other hand of the spectrum, the most moving time in Germany was Dachau. Europe is old, steeped in known history and civilization. Everywhere you go there is relics and monuments, standing in silent testimony of a story. Texas, while it has history, it is short and brief, as the days before European settlement are forever lost to us. It was also an eye opener to see another cultures strengths and weaknesses. Reading a newspaper or watching the news, other countries seem to never have the problems our society does. Germany would seem to be untouched by poverty, illegal immigration, healthcare issues, etc. We found out that this is not true, in fact they face many of the same issues our country faces along with some that are unique to them.

It is hard to describe the experience of throwing yourself out into the unknown and just taking it all in. Everytime I am asked how my trip is, I am at a loss of words. Every response I have given rings a bit hallow to my ears as I feel it does not tell the whole story.

I still look at the pictures and occasionally find myself rolling a souveneir in my hands lost in thought. It is my dream and plan to one day go back to Germany and Europe. There are still many places to go and see. The brief time spent in Germany is nowhere near enough to grasp everything that they have to offer. Until then, I will carry my memories with me.

I'll attempt to sum it up

My trip to Germany was… For me to be able to complete that sentence and not have a ridiculously big run on sentence, would be impossible. When people have asked me what I thought about the trip I never give them an answer I just start describing program excursions and discussions with Dr. Wasser. This is because the study abroad program wasn’t just a class. It was a total immersion experience where we would read something in the book or see it in our lecture and the next day we were right there where history was made. In that atmosphere the learning that was going on was not the least bit bland. There was always something to do. I guess I’ll just let you know about some of my favorite program excursions and how I’ve changed my perceptions because of them.

One of the most exciting days in the trip was the very first day. Just realizing and soaking in the ambience when we walked through the altstadt that night was so great. That night’s feeling was kept in tune with the rest of my experience in that the atmosphere at Germans restaurants is “stay and have some more”. I never felt rushed and could actually sit and enjoy a big meal or just drinks. Even in the United States if young adults around my age or younger go into a restaurant just for drinks they waiters always rush you your bill. Having been a waiter my self I learned that if you had the bill ready and had a high turnover rate of “clients” then you were being a good waiter. So my perceptions about Germany long before I signed up for this program were that they were very ordered, mechanical and systematic and that even a leisure activity like eating out would be streamlined into efficiency. Now it was true that I did see this idea of “ordenum muss sein” (“order must be”, I think), but not when it came to leisure. Now of course a good German still doesn’t stay at the bar all night and like a rampant drunken fool.

Some more great deal of information that I learned was into the Nazi ideology. When I studied World War 2 in grade school all we ever learned was that you better not be racist cause other people might catch on to your idea and that’s basically what the holocaust was. Well from the lectures I did see some of that evidence in that almost every Nazi in an officer position or doctor position claimed that they were just following orders from the generals and administrators. This was a valid argument but I still felt that there was more to the holocaust than this. At the Max Planck institute excursion the historian made it very clear that Germany was the beacon of science at the time, but even the beacon of science and technology was perverted. He made a point of scientist who had gathered data and been told by colleagues that this idea of “rassenhygiene” was completely false and had no empirical data. Well going along with this Darwinian idea in order to not lose any credit, these German scientists kept turning out manufactured evidence supporting ideas like “all doctors are Jewish” and “the Jewish people causing sickness to the community’s health”. Some of these German scientist, (I’m excluding the insane ones) really just wanted to be the best in their field and get ahead and this was the way to do it. This is still a quality that holds true for modern Germans.

Overall my trip really served to clear up many misconceptions I had about Germany and its past. Now with a more expanded world view I hope to take this knowledge and apply it to my future in medicine, since everyday medicine has to become more global in treating diseases and collaborating international research.

I wish I could better describe it

Originally, I intended to get to this assignment as soon as possible once I arrived back in College Station, however, when I finally found the time to collect my thoughts, I couldn’t bring myself to sit down and do it. This task, though simple, seemed too daunting, and I didn’t believe that I could effectively describe the impact of the course and how it changed my opinions and perspectives. I tried to think of specific events to refer to stimulate a decent essay, yet, as I reflected back, my mind was still too flooded with all the information from the excursions and events in the program. Even now, my thoughts remain jumbled, and I find myself unable to accurately recall a defining moment.

Nevertheless, amidst all of my jumbled thoughts and memories, I noticed a few general themes that seem to grab my attention and memories which reflect the impact that the course had on my education and development. I began the course and trip with expectations of what I was going to learn, see, and do, but the trip far exceeded my expectations providing more of a cultural context for my personal experiences and opinions.

From the start, my expectations in the course began to change with our first day of lecture as I found myself captivated by the German culture and history. I had expected that my attention and interests would be much more focused in the medicine and its history, but I found the different regions, religions, alliances, and struggles of the individual peoples that now compose Germany captivated me more. The constant conflicts between the German people over faith, land, and power seemed to flow like a well rehearsed story, and, when we arrived in Germany, I reveled in the opportunity to see the all the historical landmarks and geographical backdrops on which the story had played out. The beautiful cathedrals, architecture, and monuments stood as constant reminders of a history which influenced the opinions of the people we were meeting and their attitudes towards society, government, history, and religion.

In these historical influence and cultural environment, the history of medicine we were learning about took a side note to a much larger cultural picture which I had lost sight of in my studies at home. For some in our group, this cultural and historical perspective may have been expected, and they may notice its underlining influences every day in our culture. However, as an engineer, this excursion served as an eye opener. For the first time in a while, I had the opportunity to look around and really observe the world taking my eyes away from a disciplined, focused workload of an engineer to mark something new and different. Furthermore, I really enjoyed the opportunity to observe medicine, history, and culture without the need to memorize facts, calculate results, or define specific conclusions, and I savored the chance to deviate from the engineering course focus and mindset required by my classes at A&M.

With our return to campus, this wider outlook provided by our course in Germany stuck with me and forced me to at times step back and take more notice of the global and cultural influences around me. Now, I no longer feel as absorbed by the world of engineering and medicine as I once did, and I have become a more rounded person because of it. Moreover, this new found perspective provides me with a nice breathe of fresh air offering me spare moments and thoughts away from numbers and science.

That being said, I am glad that I had the opportunity to meet everyone who went on the trip. I didn’t know what to expect at the start, but I enjoyed our time together in Germany. So, thanks everyone. You all helped to make the trip memorable.

Lastly, since I know that I read some of the last blogs from the summer group before us, a few comments for anyone who makes the trip in the summer or winter: 1) Have fun. Germany is a blast, and it will be one of the coolest experiences ever. 2) If you go in the winter, listen to what Dr. Wasser says about clothes because it is COLD. And finally, 3) if you have an Aggie ring, wear it, but make sure it fits. Trust me, nearly losing a $700 investment is not fun and is really quite depressing… actually losing it though would be even worse.

This is it...

Being in Germany during winter break was, hands down, one of the most memorable experiences of my life. It was a journey, to say the least, of twelve Texas A&M students, one professor, and an AIB coordinator. I can honestly say that before this trip, I had no confidence in myself as an Aggie. I never found myself fitting into any particular group and I held on closely to those very few people I found in College Station that were somewhat like me. After this trip, I can say that I have found something in common with every person on the trip. When we first began our orientation sessions with Dr. Wasser, I felt like the group was going to be unsociable but now I realize that we were all awkward with each other because we didn't know each other. It didn't take us very long to let the guards down and be ourselves with each other. I feel so much more independent than I ever have and I feel like I have so much more to do all over the world. I want to revisit Europe and find my own way using the EuroRail, I want to ride the public transportation all over the cities just because I can, and most of all, I wish that in some way I could relive those two weeks in Germany.

Every time I am asked about Germany, I always respond with "It was the coolest experience of my life". I don't know how else to put it! I always tell people about the Heart and Diabetes Center in Bad Oeynhausen and how we got to see open heart surgeries. And we really got the SEE it, not see from an observatory above the operating room, we were IN the operating room. When I talk about it, I can always see the human heart pumping before my eyes, how could I ever forget that image. It is the most amazing thing I have ever seen in my life, so far. Another one of my favorites was TiHO in Hannover, another amazing experience. I will never be so "intimate" with a cow as I was that day and it was amazing how hospitable everyone was. Including the fraternity, who opened up their house to us at the end of the day. They probably remember us for reasons that we shall no longer mention back in the US but  we will always remember the Polish girl.  I wish we could have spent more time in Hannover in the medical and veterinary school environment, but our days were numbered towards the end of the trip. 

The visit to Dachau was breathtaking, literally. In the United States, we have Holocaust memorials and movies depicting it, but I got to walk through one in Germany. It was horrifying to think about all the abominable things that happened to the people in those camps. It was so repulsive that the front gates to the concentration camp said "work will set you free", when in reality it was just to instill false hope. When Dr. Wasser said the prayer in front of the Jewish memorial, I almost lost it.  I watched some of my peers tear up, and I'm the one that never shows emotion...but I couldn't help it here. 

I could have dealt without the snowy weather in Berlin, but it made me appreciate the weather in Munich. Also, I am definitely okay without having to pay for refills and for water...and still I only found one place that served "lye-tung-wasser" (phonetically spelled from Carrie's pocket dictionary, which really could never fit into a pocket). Surprisingly, after using public restrooms here, I wish that we did have to pay, just so it would be clean. But I do remember paying over $3 USD ( 1,40 EU) to use the bathrooms in the Hannover Hbf. Not pleasant to fork over that money, but they were the cleanest restrooms I have ever been in! Oh, and I got the chance to see the automatic toilet cleaner, which was awesome. 

I feel so lucky to have met everyone on this trip. Thanks to all of you who made my experience in Germany unforgettable. And thanks to Dr. Wasser and Steffi, because without them, I would not be avoiding physiology reading to type up my final blog...but really, without them, none of this would have been possible. I hope that everyone gets the chance to study abroad, and I know that I want to go again!

Today, Tomorrow, Yesterday...Hmmm...

Ok, so it's 2:35 in the morning, I worked really long today, went on a date/not really a date afterall, and folded clothes...Now I am suffering from trying to do it all....and then homework. Right, so in other words, I am up way too late, reminiscing about Germany! Haha! I wish I were still there. I wish I were still exploring the Berlin and Hannover streets as I jogged with Jessica and Andy, I wish I was BSing with Chyng right now-a good reason for some insomnia, I wish that Nancy, Courtney and I were still looking at all the graffiti on the Wall, I wish that Yao was still detailing my camera with me, I wish Julie and I were still talking about how in love she is with Rowdy, I wish that Dr. Wasser and I were exchanging commentary about singing and how amazing it is, I wish I were still talking with Michael about his plans in Med. school, I wish Pablo was here to give me his political opinion (because I'm seeming to fall behind with the media). I wish I was still explaining the constellations to Lacie (sober for a change maybe. Ha!). I wish there were a castle as beautiful as Prague's so that Brandon and Chyng and I could go explore it! And I really REALLY wish that I had a little Pocket Steffi to carry around with me! Ha!!! ENTEN MUTTER Por VIDA YO!!!
I wish I was in Germany. That's the only thing that I can think to write right now. I still need to write my HUGE blog, where I talk about the Pre's and the Post's of the trip. Dont worry...it is coming...I just need the right mind set to be able to let it out in font, described just as it deserves to be described...and not a detail less. I hope that all of my new friends are doing amazing! I'm keeping all of you in my thoughts! XOXO!

Maybe My Final Post

It’s been about 4 weeks now since I left from Germany and returned to classes at A and M. I miss the abundant museums. I miss the beautiful parks in the city. I can’t forget the palaces that I visited particularly those in Potsdam. I miss the freedom to walk and use the transportation system to anywhere I want. If there was only one city I could revisit in Germany, it would be most definitely be Berlin. The history there may not be as old as that in Cologne, but it certainly presents many more opportunities to explore German and European culture. I am glad that we spent a large proportion of our time in Berlin. I also learned a lot about socialized medicine when I was there and how our system compares. There are a few things that we have back home that Europe didn’t afford like free refills and water at restaurants. Also, we also have free public restrooms. However, those are the only things I found unpleasant in Germany. Even though I came back sick and my luggage got lost at the airport, I would gladly go through it again to visit Germany. Hopefully, next time I can visit in either spring or fall when the weather is not so cold. Oh and Germany was definitely more fun visiting in a group than alone. It would be nice to visit again with everyone!

Reflections

Geez, it feels like forever since I last touched this place. I has not even been a month since I last left Europe and things have already returned to the status quo at home. It's pretty relaxing at home, if not a little boring. I don't have to do too much save for the occasional request from family. I definitely don't have to deal with the school stuff the rest of my classmates are stressing over (:P).

Still, to be honest I kinda miss school. At least in school, I always had something to do. Also, now that I'm living at home again, I remembered why I wanted to go to A&M instead of UTD (for those of you who don't know, UTD stands for University of Texas at DALLAS). I WANTED FREEDOM!!! Yes, it's stifling in the Ma household.

I've been down lately as I finally stopped having dreams where I'm in Germany. The past two weeks I would have them once in a while but now they've completely stopped. I also miss everyone. Poo.

I know I've said this before, but going abroad was one of the best things that ever happened to me. It makes me glad I'm going to China in a month. I feel that these experiences will serve to make me a better person as well as stir up some excitement over my normal routine. It's going to be glorious.

In the end, I wish to thank everyone on the trip for making it as awesome as it was. Special props to Dr. Wasser and Stephie. Without the two of you we could never have done this. Also, I plan on making a web site devoted to the trip. It'll be like a photo diary for myself, but I think I'll be able to let other people add their pictures on the site as well. Wait for it!

A Quickie

This is not my final blog, but I have some stress that I need to relieve! First of all, the first physiology test is on Wednesday, and I have test anxiety. Which is not that unusual, but I have it BAD this time. Another thing is, I'm lacking motivation. I'm graduating in May...that could be why.

I have to say, it was great to see everyone at the barbeque...except for Pablo and Brandon, who better have really good reasons for missing it. I'm still a tad behind on getting those DVD-Rs to someone to burn those pictures but I'll do it someday.

I MISS ALL OF YOU!!!!

I'm hoping to see EVERYONE at Fitzwilly's this Friday for the Johnny Cash Cover Band Show!!!

Das (Last Post)

I've been running around the past week trying to get about a million little things done that are stuck in my head. It seems the more efficient I become, the more things I find to do. I remember last Easter, I believe, me and my room-mate were aghast that Wal-Mart was CLOSED at 2AM. How DARE Wal Mart EVER close? We were dying for some peeps, and were disgusted that the massive consumerism in our culture had failed us. Now, I realize, how very lucky we are to have so many commodities available to us ALL the time. Now that I'm back in my high-waste lifestyle, I realize how much healthier Internet Cafe's and fresh air were for me. One of the major reasons I went to Germany is because I get so sick of the sameness all around me. I needed something different, something to give me motivation later in life. I realize that I have found that in Europe. Their culture is so real and accessible by musesums and galleries galore. Now I am so excited to one day return to Europe to catch all the things I missed. It's so amazing to go to my Art History class and actually recognize monuments or statues-because I saw them with my own two eyes. I was also, strangely, craving some mineralwasser with a hint of lime-something that I think I could find only in Germany! I have also become quite an expert on identifying German names. My Psych prof finds it amusing that I always ask if a psychologist was German, because I find something familiar in the name. In all, I have learned to become a more reserved person and say only things that I mean. If I am NOT glad to see somebody, then I keep my mouth shut! And most of all, I would like some gelato for a euro eighty from one of those markets in the baunhof!

One Final Post

Hello everyone!

I hope that ya'lls first few weeks of school have been going well... I've been so stressed out since returning to the US (I took the MCAT a little over a week ago)- it made me grateful for the almost completely carefree time we had in Germany. I would love to go on another trip like the one we had- I like to think of our time as an "intellectual vacation." We learned many things, saw many places, got to know one another in the setting of another culture... who could ask for anything more in a trip?

My favorite experience of the trip had to be the surgeries we had the opportunity to watch. Wow! It was so amazing to see, and an invaluable experience. Also, learning about the socialized medicine in Germany was quite eye-opening.

My least favorite experience of the trip would have to be the cold in general. I have decided that I absolutely loathe being cold and I pray that I never have to be that cold again. I missed being barefoot after a shower and when I was sleeping.

I would love to say that the German culture was so much different than ours, but it really wasn't. They listen to much of the same music, watch the same t.v. shows, and care about the same issues we do. However, they have a much more complex history than we do, and a sad history at that. We noticed while we were there that the German people as a whole are a little more abrasive and not quite as "cheery" as we are. I'm not sure that those two things are related, but they could be.

To sum it up, this trip has helped me develop culturally and spiritually. I met all of you amazing people. And I was able to see some of the most beautiful sights of my life. And all at the same time, it helped me realized that being a doctor is the profession that calls me.

Thanks to you all for an amazing trip. Thanks to Steffi for being awesome. And thank you Dr. Wasser for being a man of great intellect who care for your students- this trip would have been just a vacation without you.

Ok, so this may be sort of short because I have class in a few minutes...but I just had to say.....I knew my yesterday was coming. It involved, stress, working way too late, missing an impt. review, overbooking myself (fairly common among my friends), stressing out some more, roomie cleaning issues, being broke, more stress, and complete and utter ignorance of what real stress is like. Today, after much venting with my roomies, I've woken up on a better side of my bed. Better, but not necc. good. I cleaned the house again, and took my truck to the shop down the road, only to realize that I will have to take it in tomorrow and have it fixed (something about my brake valves and transmission....great). Money, stress, lack of time for living, these are all the things that compress themselves into my life as I blink my days away. Or are they. Like I mentioned in my post Dachau blog, I seem and have the tendency to forget all my blessings. But I am lucky that I realize I do this. Some people never do. I was in the medical library just now and I saw the journal hat I have been keeping. I decided to open it up to a page and read it. Then I put it down, and decided that I needed to relive my Germany experience a little. I google/imaged Dachau and saw just portions of what I had seen over Christmas. Let me tell you guys. I feel so ashamed that I allow myself to curse and freak out over my life. HA! I have it so bad, clorox under the sinks, warm sheets, windows that actually lock. Danm, my life is really hard! Right........I hope that I will continue to remember Germany and what I learned about myself there. I also hope that others will read this blog and when they are stressed remember that we DONT have it hard in the slightest. Times may seem horrible when we are turning circles in a round room.....but things will work themselves out. All we have to do is try to live life as it lives us. Peas and lub my friends...peas and lub.

Cold, Wet, & Rainy Winter Weather

I had been planning on making two quick posts about the final days whenever we got back, but I have got caught up in the first week of school and delayed my posts. However, I wanted to make a note about the weather. It has been so nice to be back home with Texas weather, till today. I have to admit that I had flashbacks today of the little bit of gloomy weather that we experienced in Berlin and Hannover. Yet I don't really feel like complaining. The cold rainy weather hasn't really bothered me...

...maybe I was in Germany a little too long.

Dachau

I decided that I would wait to make my last few posts after I was able to review all of the pictures I had and take in all the things that we had done and seen. Immediately in my review, I was confronted with the few images that I took of Dachau. There are only a few places that I have been to that have carried as much emotion and history as Dachau.

I had heard from other people who had traveled to Germany that visiting a concentration camp was an expirience that you would never forget, and I had attempted to prepare myself ahead of time for the expirience. Yet I don't think that anyone can really prepare for such a visit. One can only attempt to understand the history and events that led to its existance and then interpret its affect on the people and history associated with it. I started off taking pictures of Dachau and our tour, but it wasn't long before I realized that I didn't need pictures to remember Dachau. I will never forget the images and emotions associated with Dachau or our visit.

I know that it was a very sober event, and it put a damper on the end of our trip. Yet it also put an emphasis on the recent history that had such an obvious impact on the people that we had met, and the culture we expirienced.

ahhh I'm Sick!

ahh, I'm Sick! The plane ride back was disgustingly long because i couldn't find my sleeping pills so i was wide eyed awake the whole time. It was also kinda cold on the plane and at camp the last day i was freezing so a combination of all these and the poor 3 hours of sleep we got friday night all contributed to me having a fever then strept throat sunday morning. I know, it's terribly cold all week long in Germany and we're having outside activities in it and the only day i get sick (and get sick hard) is the day i come back to nice warm Texas! not alot of fun at all. Either way i can say with assurance that the last day in the max planck institute and the concentration camp was very amazing. The historian at the max planck institute had such a complete understanding of the opinions and beliefs of the scientific community at beginning of the 20th century. One thing is to be completely and ignorantly racist or supremist but for scientific evidence from your own research (however biased that always is...) to lead you to believe that there was a necessity for ethnic cleansing in order to improve everyones life is another. However i did not see Ernst Rudin as redeemed in any sense because of what the historian told us about his colleagues who pointed out that by eliminating the phenotype there were still other alleles that would not be shown by the phenotype in which it would impossible without comprehensive genetic analysis rid the human race of this allele. The concentration camp was also very heavy material. The first time for me to experiance anything like that. Without Dr. Mark's explanations and stories none of us would have known the gravity of the evil deeds going on at Dachau.

The last day was a good although not a happy way to end the trip. I will say that the goodbye fest was well needed to end such a heavy day. I'm really glad i got this amazing experiance to go to Germany, definantly in no other place could i have had such a complete picture painted of the Nazi times, there impact on human research ethics, and just overall German history than Germany itself.

Home

Well, I'm finally back home. I gotta say, as relaxing being at home is, I'm severely bored out of my mind. I almost wish I did have school to go back to...almost. Surprisingly, I suffered very little jet-lag back. This may be due to how smoothly my plane rides were (Suck it, 6:30 AM group). I also did not suffer the counter-culture shock I was dreading.

I've had time to reflect (and finally get sick) as I sit alone in the dark, typing my blog. As much as this trip has cost me, it was well worth the experience and the growth I've received. For example, thanks to the farewell dinner, I will never touch beer ever again. It's going to be wine coolers and the hard stuff for me, k thx. Also, need to buy duck. Mmm.

There are things I wish I could redo. Maybe I could have acted a bit better to my classmates; maybe I could have shopped around for candy before recklessly buying it from a bahnhof minimart; and maybe I shouldn't have had that beer at the farewell dinner. Honestly, I do wish the farewell dinner went a little better, but I was feeling so sick I couldn't enjoy it properly. Oh well, live and learn. If only there was a next time.

I do plan to see my class one last time at Andy's barbecue. Looks like I'll get to make the trip. I'm looking forward to it.

Final days

Whew.. so google and me recently got in a fight and I haven't been able to post on blogger since I got home. Germany was the trip of a lifetime. But let me back up and relive the last couple days of the trip since I was unable to post before I left Munich.
Dachau... just the name causes a lump in my throat. Before we entered the camp, I was really nervous. I had no idea how it would effect me. I am really glad we had Mark as a tour guide for that portion of the trip because he had directly spoken with survivors of Dachau and it definately gave me more insight. As I looked back through my pictures of the camp, I found that many of them had a great view of the sunset. When we first arrived at Dachau I thought, "how can it be such a gorgeous day in such a horrid place?". I assumed it would rain just on principle! But Stephanie said something that really stuck with me. She told us that all the photos of the concentration camps were in black in white and that the German countryside was really beautiful in the summer. I had never thought of that. The fact that the sun sets just as beautifully in Dachau doesn't mean the Nazi's were any less cruel, but it is a sign of hope to me.
I was sad to leave my new friends and all the wonderful places and awesome experiences of Germany, but coming home was almost relaxing. I will always hold the people I met in my heart and the experiences I had in my mind and await the day I return.

Last 2 days...

well the last two days in germany were amazing. as you can see i did not do as dr. wasser said... which was to finish blogging asap. but i figured better late than never. sorry. well first of all i highly enjoyed our farewell dinner. granted... we were squeezed like sardines into that table, but still a good time. before leaving i was thinking about home and thinking about how i wanted to see my family. i guess you could say i was mildly homesick. however, when it was time to leave, i wanted to stay longer. i felt like i could stay another 2 more weeks and then MAYBE be satisfied. the last program day we went to dachau which was very sad. i thought it was odd to be walking on the same grounds that those that were tortured were once walking on. i am glad that the camp was preserved so that we will always have a reminder of the horror that people are capable of. the film that we watched was very graphic. i dont know how some of them were able to hold themselves up because they were literally only skin and bones.

i honestly still cant believe that i was given this chance to go and explore germany and learn about medicine. i think that a major aspect of my enjoyment was due to dr. wasser and stephy. they are both amazing people. the kind of people that you want to surround yourself with. well i will be returning in a few weeks to let you all know how Life After Germany is going for me :0) i miss you all already! xoxooxxo

Final Words

I didn't find an opportunity to post before we left Germany, so I'm doing my last post now. Visiting the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry was incredible! Real, original, primary sources that they let us just handle and look at. WOW. Even if they were in German. The subject of racial hygiene just seems to get more complicated every time we hear about it. While I think that most people agree that the way the Nazis went about fixing the perceived problem, the historian and doctor of psychology presenting to us brought up an eerie thought...that the topic, and people acting on their convictions, is still around. Genocide still happens, and with the advent of genetic manipulation, science is getting closer to the point where it might be able to make genomic adjustments that can eliminate certain forms of genetic disorders. The question is, who decides what counts as a disorder, and should changes be made without an individual's consent? Medical ethics is so interesting....

It seems that some scientific ideas that were originally fairly harmless were morphed and warped to suit certain aims that eventually resulted in Aktion T-4 and the Holocaust - a series of rationalizing small steps that snowballed into much more. Thinking about how things might have happened and what the regular German might have thought just make me worry that if we aren't careful, a similar situation could arise. I just hope that we as future scientists and professionals will have the insight to steer clear of creating situations which might lead to such destruction and grotesque repression.

While all of this was still churning in my mind, we visited Dachau. Our guide spoke if the awful conditions and atrocities committed. The night before, Dr. Wasser had given a lecture about the Nuremburg doctors trial and what some of the doctors had done. During both that lecture and again at Dachau, I found myself getting angry at the people who did those things. How stupid, how awful, how I can't even put my disgust, no that's not even the right word, into words. As Julie said, quoting an inscription at the memorial site, NEVER AGAIN. Prior to this experience, I was unsure about whether or not torture should be allowed or not, but now I am convinced that torture should not be allowed. Period. And as for detaining people without cause indefinitely, no sireebob.

Anyway, enough with the heavy stuff. We had a nice train ride back, then a wonderful fest. Nancy and I met a man from Munich while our group was waiting to be seated. He was very nice, and let us know that the best beer in the world was to be had at the beerhouse we were getting ready to enter. I think he might have been biased though. :)

Though our flight from Paris to Houston was 2 hours late leaving the airport, the return trip was not bad, and so far I don't feel too much jetlag...Overall, this trip was a wonderful experience that I am so glad I got to be a part of and share with the delightful people who went and those who we met in Germany.

Moi Moi!

Cruising down the highway at astronomical speeds was a great wake up call for my airplane flight back to Texas. I felt so much nostalgia on my way back... the cab driver was playing Oldies music, also typical. We have created some amazing memories, and I love that I spent time with you guys. And now I keep on typing "y" in place of z and automatically press CTRL ALT Q for email addresses. I suppose I will adjust again!

My last day in Germany was crazy cool. Once again, the weather cooperated with us. We visited the Max Planck Institute for psychiatry. This is my cup of tea so I was utterly fascinated by being able to actually TOUCH documents that asked for funding for additional experimentation. I get goosebumps just thinking about it. The most interesting statement that the doctor told us was regarding the definition of a genius. Although I am not one, I occasionally like to pretend like I am, so I was utterly fasinated. Apparently, geniuses like Albert Einstein (his case study was sitting on the table!) have more of a tendency to experience psychosis in the family earlier on. Hows that for racial hygeine?

Afterwards, me and Courtney did a whirlwind tour of Munich for stuff to bring home. we made some interesting purchases.

Dachau literally touched me in a way that nothing else ever has. (I am so sorry everybody that my phone rang...I had no idea that my phone was actually on) The stories...the memories....the tale of the poet let my eyes glassy with tears and my spirit a little down. I have no idea that such inhumanity exists. I just spent an hour trying to catch a spider (which I'm terrified of) to set outside because I didn't want to kill it, when years back we were killing each other.

Afterwards, we had a fun dinner, and I'm glad we like each other because we def. had to cram into that booth! I suppose I will end with some last comments. I will never forget never being able to properly open/close those annoying locks on every door in every hotel. I will remember the snow and how fast we can get each other sick. When I walked through the Michigan terminal, my eyes were searching for a Doner stand, and I felt crestfallen when all I saw was Pizza Hut and Chilis Too. I watched TRL this morning instead of RTL, and am sad that I will no longer see domino/dart competitions in German. (all right, I was also hooked on David Hasselhof...and Germans still have faith in the Angry beavers) Okay, I was glad to see free restrooms. But I made sure to not use too much toilet paper and minimal soap. I turned off all my lights this morning, and decided that air conditioning and ice are over rated. I dug around for my nickels because I forgot we are allowed to break a fifty with a pack of gum, and realized that my Southern gentlemen still open doors. There wasn't a mob to buy a cookie at the Underground, only a neat line, which I also consider a lack of fun now. My last words will be Moi Moi. If only that meant hello and goodbye, and even though it doesn't, we can pretend that it does. Take care! Smile and say hello if we run into each other on campus.

Journal Update From December 30th to January 11th

Day 6 – December 30th
We departed at 8:53 am for Berlin from Dusseldorf by high speed train. It took a little over 4 hours to get to Berlin. Upon arrival, we checked into Hotel Amelie, but as they weren’t ready for us, we went to have some Italian food at a nearby Italian Restaurant. I had rigatoni casa which was very lecker (delicious). The waiter was also very nice. After that, we checked in. I was in a triple this time with Yao and Andy. We then got free time. We went as a group to the Berlin Wall. We then went to Alexanderplatz area to look at the shops in the train station which is basically equivalent to a mall. We then visited a jazz club and had a few drinks. As this was my first time at a jazz club, it was quite the experience. Its harder to find such clubs back where I live in the states. We then headed back to the hotel, but stopped for döners and pizzas at a place along the way. That’s it for this entry.
Day 7 – December 31st
Today is New Year’s Eve! I got up and ate breakfast, which is similar to that served at the CVJM Hotel. Then , I headed to the internet café to post my entries, but could not find the usb adapter. Then, with Yao, Courtney, and Nancy, we headed out for sightseeing. We first visited Checkpoint Charlie. It had many historical billboards set up so we could understand the significance f each of the locations. There were some supposed Bosnians soliciting money there. I gave them some euros, but I am never too sure whether I am being duped by beggars. So, back to the sightseeing. We headed to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum, but it looked to crowded and so we opted to skip it for today. We then headed to the Charlottenburg Palace. We had a guided tour by recording through the palace. Unfortunately, there was no photography, so its all in this mind. The two most significant items of interest was first the picture of Napoleon on a horse. Yes, that one that’s always in the textbooks. The next one is the picture of Napoleon as Caesar. I was particularly impressed by the one with Napoleon on horseback. The picture is much larger than I imagined it. The colors are much better in person and the size really helps to set an atmosphere of grandeur. It is a must-see when going to Berlin. We then returned at 4:00 for an hour lecture about EU and euthanasia. It was quite interesting comparing German policies towards euthanasia against those of other European countries. After lecture, I napped until around seven. We then got up for the New Year’s Eve celebration at the Brandenburg gate.. In Berlin, the celebration is a big deal. Fireworks are shot off in the streets and stalls are set up with food, alcoholic drinks, and clothing. I had gluwein, which is a hot red wine. I also had a berlinerweiser, which is a beer with syrup in it. The bratwurst from the stands was vielen lecker (very delicious ). The fireworks set off at midnight were particularly spectacular. The New Year’s Eve celebration in Berlin is the most exciting one I have ever been to! Being tired, however, some of the group and I then turned out early.
Day 8 – New Year’s Day
Today is New Year’s Day, and I got to see the beginning of snow! We went to the Pergamum, Old Master’s, The Altes Museum, and an Egyptian museum all in one day. They are located in the island of museums and the total costs for a student was only 7 euro! The Pergamum had lots of Greek sculptures and art as well as Islamic art. In the Old Master’s, we saw paintings by Cezanne, Renoir, and many more well-known artists. The Altes museum had many older pieces of art dating to the Baroque period. The Egyptian Museum contained the head of Queen Nefertiti! After all this museum walking, I am spent out! That’s it for today.
Day 9 – January 2nd
Today we were led by a very informed tour guide on a tour of Berlin. We saw significant sights like an old Nazi bunker as well as the “shadier” part of the city. There really is a lot of German history in Berlin! I had Turkish milk during lunch, which I would not suggest to the uninitiated. I also had a very delicious Turkish meat loaf. After the tour, we went to visit the Charite Museum. Charite is a hospital that was established to aid the poor and indigent in Berlin. The museum contains many specimens featuring several different types of disease. Of particular interest were are genetic defects of several baby specimens. After this we were given a very interesting lecture on Virchow, a very well-known German physician. It is interesting how the well-meaning Virchow’s statements were twisted by the Nazis.
Day 11 – January 4th
Yesterday we visited the German Historical Museum. We were given a tour of Germany through time. The museum has very interesting material to read and artifacts to look at. We also went on a trip to do our laundry. Today we took a train to Dresden and back. In Dresden, we were given a very interesting tour of the city. It has so many shops as well as a world-renowned opera house. After the tour of Dresden, we visited a very hands-on Hygiene Museum. It has many interesting hands-on activities that involves a museum-goer in the experience of health. For example, there is a balancing beam that measures the balance a person has. I would definitely suggest this museum if one is in Dresden. I had some Chinese for lunch and it was very good. Dresden’s weather was the coldest I have come across yet probably because of the high winds. I was wearing gloves and my hands still felt cold!
Day 12 – January 5th
Today I took a short train to Potsdam and visited the different landmarks in the area. Of particular interest is the Sanssouci Park and Sanssouci Castle. The park’s path is lined by trees and bushes all the way. It was beautifully white in the winter, but I bet it is even better in the spring. There are fountains at many path intersections. The palace itself is not towering, but well placed on a hill overlooking a large courtyard lined with trees and a fountain with ducks. The frozen river winding through the park was stunning as it was my first time seeing a body of water at that size frozen. This park has so far been the most beautiful sight I have seen in my life.
Day 14 – January 7th
Yesterday, before leaving for Hannover, I went with Yao, Courtney, and Nancy to see the Victory Column. I am not sure if I spelled that right. It snowed that day in Berlin before we left for Hannover. The ride to Hannover was about 2 hrs. long by high speed train. The Haus Martens, the hotel we are staying in Hannover, is the best so far. It has a lot of room, and we even got a balcony. There was scrambled eggs available for breakfast like back home. We visited TiHo today, the veterinary school in Hannover. I thought it was interesting that TiHo uses non-preserved specimens for dissection. We then visited the medical school in Hannover. The medical school is well known for kidney transplants. We got a good overview of how medical schools in Germany are different from those in the U.S. For example, they are much cheaper. Medical practices in Germany, since it is socialized medicine, is also very different and constantly trying to readjust. Doctors in general don’t make as much money here and are not as good at teaching. Also, the training that nurses go through are not as thorough as in the U.S. Afterwards, we went to a frat house and were given free drinks and also a dinner. The dinner had sauerkraut, a very soft ham, and also potatoes. Several of the veterinary school members were part of this fraternity.
Day 15 – January 8th
Today we visited Bad Oeynahsen’s Heart and Diabetes Center. I got to see a heart bypass surgery. It was interesting since it was my first time to be so close to a surgery. I learned a lot from the anesthesiologist who was attending the patient. We then had a very enjoyable and cheap lunch. We were then taken on a tour of patients with heart pumps and artificial hearts as a bridge to transplant. Getting transplants in Germany was estimated by the physician taking us on the tour to take double the time as in the U.S. After this tour, we were given a lecture on MRI and identification of problems in the heart. I am feeling a little sick today and so will stop here.
Day 16 – January 9th
Today, we packed our suitcases onto a charter bus that took us to a research farm. I was amazed at their self-milking system for the cows. Although it is extremely expensive, the cows are happier because they choose when they are milked. The whole system depends on this automated milker. Another advantage is quick storage of information on each cow’s milking efficiency, which may be an indicator of sickness. Even more interesting, the cows teach each other how to use the back scratcher! We also saw chickens and pigs. Although it was interesting, the limits of attention were weakened due to the cold I had. I hope I will get better before leaving Germany. We then took a train from Hannover to Munich, a four hour ride in which I mostly slept. The new accommodations in Munich are nice, though not as nice as those in Hannover.
Day 17 – January 10th
Today we went on a tour of Munich and saw various old churches, even some as old as 13th century! We saw the styles gothic, roman, and baroque converge in Munich. We also learned about the history of the kingdom of Bavaria. We then had lunch and then shopped around. I mostly slept because I still am stuffy and mucous-filled. I woke up and took a shower in preparation for the night. We were given a lecture by Dr. Wasser about experimentation in concentration camps. Many of the Nazis’ experiments seemed very pointless and unscientific. Surprisingly, most of the Nazi scientists were well-known to be good scientists before the outbreak of World War II. I guess politics and funding can change many people for the worse. We then went to the Hoffbrau House in Munich for dinner and drinks. The waiter there gave poor service, making us wait 20 minutes just to order our food! I am going to rest. I still am praying that I will get better before the flight on the 12th.

Day 18 – January 11th
I am still sick but optimistic for recovery because I am emptying the mucous in my body. Today we visited a Max Planck Institute in Munich for psychiatry. We learned about the origins of the institute and about one of their leading scientist’s role in the Nazi party. I find it appalling but not surprising that many scientists are willing to stand still while the Nazi eugenics program occurred. We then visited the infamous Dachau concentration camp, the first established by the Nazis. We toured the torture cells, the barracks, the crematorium, and also the gas chamber at the camp. It is startling how far a human will go to make life more unbearable for another. For example, the prison cells had heaters; however, they only turn on the heat during the summer! It is amazing any people survived such camps and is a testament to human courage, resilience, and comradeship. Later tonight we will have a farewell dinner. I think this will be my last entry in the Germany. I will write about the other events on later blog entries.

Farewell

Today is the last day of our German adventure. I feel like I've really gotten to know both Germany and my classmates, and it makes me sad to have to leave them both. All that's left is the farewell feast.

This day is also an emotional one for reasons besides having to leave. In the morning, we visited the Max Plank institute for psychiatry. It was sort of interesting, although I've never really developed a taste for history, which is what we talked about. Although, some of the topics on racial hygiene were quite fascinating.

During lunch, I decided to be stupid and finish my candy shopping in a Bahnhof mini-mart. Huge Mistake. I ended up paying three times as much as the Schlecker down the street was charging for the same thing. I tried to return the tainted stock, but to no avail. Man, I was pissed. Oh well, you live, you learn.

In the afternoon, we visited the concentration camp at Dachau right outside München. I have to say it was one of the most emotional experiences I've ever had. Many times, I was on the verge of tears, and during the movie I actually did cry. The information presented to us by the tour guide was truly horrifying and he conveyed it well. However, it was the images of the emaciated prisoners that got to me. I really had no idea just how cruel man could be to man until learning the details of the camp. To think that Auschwitz was described to be so much worse kinda sickens me. Hmm....

Never Again

One of the large memorials in Dachau boldly states: Never again. But as we know from current and past events, genocide is still a major problem in society. Having said that, I do believe that with education about the past (remembering history repeats itself) and compassion within our hearts for one another, nothing of that horrific magnitude will happen again.

I have been profoundly hurt and touched by the past two days. I cannot possibly understand or imagine why the atrocities we have seen and talked about were committed. But I do feel from my experience today that only pure evil drove those acts. And I feel that even in the darkest circumstances, we can find light. As we walked out of Dachau, I looked to my right, saw a cross and a beautiful sunset as the backdrop. And then I knew then that even in a place that Satan and evil men made ugly, God can make things beautiful. Beauty in the holocaust came in the form of the few brave people who risked everything to save even one life. Beauty came in prisoners uniting and helping one another, spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually.

I am grateful for all of my experiences here... especially today. I feel like I'm a stronger person now- I really didn't know if I could make it through the camp. It hurt so much to look around, to think about the inhumanity of the holocaust, to think about the prisoners who walked where I was walking. But I am grateful for that pain- hopefully that pain will help me to never forget: NEVER AGAIN

Last night in Germany

So on Wednesday, we visited the TiHO research farm. The piggies were my favorite part. We caught the train to Munich, a very long train ride, and then went to grab some dinner. Yesterday we did a city tour of Munich with our tour guide, Mark. He can speak over five languages! That's amazing. He knew everything, it was great. We had some free time afterwards and I did the rest of my souvenir shopping. Today we went to the Max Planck Institute and got to see some original documents dating back to the 1930s. Our lecturer did such an in depth explanation, he lost me for a moment but it was so interesting that it didn't even matter.

Our last stop of the entire program was the Dachau Concentration Camp. All I can say is, Wow. It was horrific and terrifying to stand in the places where horrible people tortured innocent people. The prison was probably the hardest part to stomach and also when Mark explained the poles for pole hanging that could be easily hid. When we saw the second Krematorium, I lost my cool and wanted to throw up. It was such an uncomfortable place that I really couldn't stomach it. When we stopped in front of the Jewish Memorial, I felt my hands start to tingle, which for me meant that tears were about to overwhelm my eyes.

In about twelve hours, we will all be headed for the airport...except for Yao. At the beginning of the trip, I was a little anxious to be around new people but at this point, I feel like I may have shared too much information with all of you at some point in time :) It's sad really because in the back of my mind, I know that even if we do all see each other again, it will never be like this again. I have laughed until my sides hurt, drank until I turned red, and shared an unique experience unlike any other with eleven special people, one kick ass professor, and our inten moota (Steffi, just in case yall didnt know).

Too many emotions to fathom...

So, we went to Dachau today. Yeah....I'm pretty sure that everyone was really effected by it. I am not one to ever cry, well...unless something happens to my dog. But as I walked into that camp...immediatly my smile vanished. I was completly overcome with a stolid, emotionless...stare. We walked into the victims cells and as I listened to Mark speak of a picture that was behind him...it settled in. The picture was of a man who was a survivor of the camp, and Mark himself had interviewed him, and spoke of the interview to our group. The visualizations flew threw my head like debris in a stage 5 tornado. Too many to explain throu this Fujitsu computer....to many to explain to my parents, to my best friend......to many to explain to myself. I listened to the story about the man who was interegated and told that his 5 daughters, one by one, were going to be raped if he did not tell the Guestopo the information they needed. Again......the visualization of my last "stress attack" hatched in my imagination...I was behind in some reading, and had a test in the next couple of days...the part of the story that I leave out, when I would sit down and think about how hard my life was, included how healthy I was, how warm (and even hot) my house was, how many people love me, and that I knew exactly where each of those people were. These things that I didn't include in my "stressful life analysis" were things that these people in Dachau really didn't have anymore. Completely and utterly stripped of anything that would be evident of a God of anykind. I saw so many things that made me realize that there is indeed a God, and that everything, as morbid as they may be, happen for a reason. Maybe this was to proove to those without any faith...that there is indeed a devil. The faith that some of these people held in their hearts was so touching to me that I burst into tears inside and out. I tried to hold them in as much as I could, but I'm pretty sure that I can hold tears about as good as I can hold a pufferfish in full puff. I could not even sit down when we entered the sleeping quarters, and I don't really know why. I guess I almost felt guilty sitting because I knew that these people didn't have that free will.  Like I said....too many emotions to sort them all out. What got me the most was the fact that before I left for Germany my grandmother and I were talking about our geneology and she (amazingly) could tell me the names of my realatives and the countries from which they all came.  I began to wonder on this trip (since  I do have German in me) if we had any of the N's in my tree. I also have Polish and was recently told that the cabinet in Grandmother's room in San Antonio, was made by my great great grandfather and brought from Poland. So, back to Dachau, we were in the cells hallway and Mark took us to a cell that had Esser's picture and the story. I started to listen and to read the exhibit's information. I read that he was a "cabinet maker" and the tears came down like I had seriously just stuck a whole onion in my eye!!! I was so hit by Dachau that I hope I can explain it to my friends. I wish that I could just put my brain in this blog with the 'enter at your own risk' sign. That would save me alot of frustration...and do a way better job at illustrating the reality of the camp, and the magnitude of the faith that is in this world.

Everything happens for a reason...even if we don't know what the reasons may be. Always have faith. They did.  

Experience in Germany so far

Well, I have a little more time than I thought before we go to the Hofbrau Haus, so I'll muse for a while.

Germany has been great, the food not bad, and the bread awesome! There are some wonderful places and people here, and I've enjoyed exploring. Folks definitely like when you can speak a bit of German, and it is advisable to be able to, just to help make communication a little bit easier even though one could get by without knowing how to speak any German, especially with the wonderful guidance of the AIB and Steffie, as well as Dr. Wasser.

While it's been cold, it hasn't been too bad. Definetely glad I acquired the proper clothes before coming though.

I've learned along the way that it is important to plan ahead, try to do as much as possible while not rushing oneself, which is why planning ahead is important as well as picking the most desireable activities, and take sometime to rest and reflect on what has been seen and done. Sometimes I get so caught up in all of the super duper cool things to do and see that I forget what it was that I have just done! I definitely enjoy travelling around and seeing bits of the world as well as meeting new people.

Famous Last Words

Today we went on a Munich City tour with Mark, who happens to be a genius and knows five different languages. I loved learning about baroque and gothic style, and the day was absolutely the most beautiful I had ever experienced in Germany. The skyline at dusk was a dark blue with pink clouds. It reminded me of cotton candy. The churches are what impressed me the most. St. Michael is the patron saint for my church back home and I was glad to see another on in Bavaria, which seems to be more Catholic. The beauty and grandeur of these churches simply leave me speechless. I also made sure to pet a lion on the nose for good luck, and had a great conversation with a Bosnian that worked at Zero. The smell of roasting chesnuts, the people playing accordians on the side of the roads, the lovely chocolate shops, everything is leaving a lasting impression on how amazing Germany really is.

The day before, I didnt get to blog, but we visited the veterinary research farm. Not only did I feel like a farmer, but the tour was very interesting and scenic. Horray to a Mercedes Benz tour bus! I enjoyed the laser robomilker. I felt a little sad for the poor chickens that were sentenced to the slaughter house. Especially since delicious chicken recipes were decorating the walk to the slaughterhouse. It is crazy how some of the chickens feel they are about to die and get depressed and stop eating. Or that turkeys are fattened so quickly their circulatory system has no proper time to develop so they literally can die from having too small of a heart. The piglets were cute, and the mechanism to make the cows eat was intelligent. I also enjoyed Carries tea party joke, which she made up on the spot.

Today, I felt slighty sad because its my last day in Germany, and because, once again, I have left my entire written blog post sitting by my bed. It was a gorgeous day though, and Dr. Wassers lecture was out of this world amazing. I believe Brandt looks like pure evil too, by the way. I am probably going to head back to the States throwing out a danka, drucken, ausgang, and enten muta out there just for kicks. By the way, the internet cafe is playing Gwen Stefanis 'holla back girl.' Its kind of said how this song makes me think of home.

I suppose I will always remember the ambleman, RUNNING across streets, dragging our luggage from the Hauptbaunhof, and visiting every Swatch store in Germany (well, almost) with Michael. Eating salami and fighting for the hard boiled eggs at breakfast will be remembered as well.

Hannover and Munich

I was sort of sad to leave Berlin, where we had finally learned our way around, but glad to get to see a new city. Hannover was wonderful! I enjoyed the tour of both the vet school and the medical school. The vet school was especially interesting getting to see the facilities and what it entails. I had previously decided that I didn't want to be a vet, but now I am considering it again. At the medical school, I liked the information about the way the German medical system is set up and the comparisons with that of the US. An interesting topic with the current political debate in the US about changing/introducing a healthcare program.

The farm that we visited was also interesting. I didn't realize that poultry was so young when sent to the slaughterhouse, or the kind of condition the laying hens are kept in. Some interesting considerations of bacteria and other infection that is more likely to arise with the quasi free range system and needing to balance that concern with the poor body conditions of birds kept in the more sanitary close-quarter cage system. The robo-milker was awesome! I didn't know much about dairy cows, so all of that information was new and interesting. I thought pigs were kept in mudpuddles, but apparently not!

Munich is a rather interesting city, and, as Dr. Wasser said, is more like the picture of Germany people think of, with the clothes and lots of beer. It is also closer to the Alps, but a warm front came through, so the weather has been nice and rather mild, with highs around 47 (F). :)

After the city tour today, I did some souvenir shopping and am happy to say that I am done! I can't believe that our stay in Germany is almost over! It's been wonderful, but of course, too short.

Dang....

Ok....crap...that was a huge blog.....sorry!!! ;)

Fix that...sorry...

Sorry...correction....I said we've been in Hannover for the past two nights and I def. meant Munich. Hahaha! Peas and Lub guys...Peas and Lub!

Munich Mania

And so the end of our trip draws near, with what i like to call Munich Mania... for no particular reason, just like it. Well I'll actually start with hannover... definantly the busiest time of the trip, but probablly the most informative 3 days in a row we've had. We visited the Hannover Vet school and that was really interesting because they immediatly got us into to the gross anatomy part of the vet school since we saw horse heads half sawed off and dead dogs and cats used for teaching. I definantly won't forget that strong smell. Later on that day we saw how the follicles of a cow are extracted in order for use in embryo transfer and research. Then they let all of us also gear up and stick our hands in the cow's colon in order to get a "feel" for what it's like, and attempt to find the ovary's. Tuesday was exceptionally interesting because we went to the Bad Oeyenhausen heart and diabetes center. There we got what i would think to be a vip tour of the ICU and the artificial hearts in use today. Also we got to observe open heart surgeries which was really neat and a great first experience. Today in Munich we had a complete city tour and then we all pretty much went souvenir shopping. I bought a sweet bavarian flag for my room. I've decided that Bavaria also has the coolest "mascot" of any German state, it's a flipping Lion... how cool is that... they will eat your face!

Different Surgical Atmosphere

The directed studies course that I took the past semester with Dr. Wasser was one of the most interesting and rewarding courses that I have taken at A&M, and the opportunity at Bad Oeynhausen provided a unique twist to the surgical observations that I expirienced at St. Joseph's. At the Heart and Diabetes Center in Bad Oeynhausen I had the opportunity observe aortic valve replacement in an elderly patient. Which I found to be very similar to the CAB procedures that I had observed at St. Joseph’s. Of course, this procedure didn’t require the surgeons to harvest a vein from the patient’s leg or to dislodge the internal mammary artery from the chest wall, but they did follow identical procedures to place the patient on bypass and to access and stop the heart in the abdominal cavity.

After the first two surgeons had stopped the heart, another surgeon entered the room to begin working on the heart and the aortic valve. For this patient, they were using an organic valve replacement or, more specifically, a porcine valve replacement (Medtronik). I thought that this was an interesting choice over the variety of valve replacements which could have been chosen, and I later found out that a variety of factors, such as age, influenced the decision for this patient.

The surgeon first made an incision around the aortic valve in the aorta and removed the patients defective aortic valve. The surgeon then used a device to measure the size of the aortic valve, and he chose an appropriate size of porcine material to place in the patient. The surgeon then sowed the porcine valve into place and closed the aorta.

Again, at this point the procedures to take the patient off bypass and restart the heart were identical to the CAB procedure which I had already observed at St. Joseph’s. However, in my previous surgical observation they did have to defibrilate the patient to restart the heart. In this case, the patient’s heart was in fibrilation, and they used the small defibrilation paddles to bring the heart back into rythm (which is relatively common).

I was intrigued by the similarities and the difference between my surgical observations here and at St. Joseph’s. I expected the procedures to be relatively the same, but the increase in sterilization precautions taken at Bad Oeynhausen caught me off guard. The increased security measures of the hospital and decreased excessiblity to the surgical ward at Bad Oeynhausen also created a very different observational atmosphere than what I had expirienced at St. Joseph’s. I also felt more secluded and was reluctant to ask the surgeons any questions. However, these feelings could have been exacerbated by my inablitity to communicate effectively with other people in Germany because I did want them to have to go through the chore of translating their thoughts into English, even though their English skills were excellent, and distract them from their task at hand.

Donkey=Danke?

alright alright... well i feel like i havent blogged in forever and so much has happened in the last few days. i feel like i have done so many things during this trip that i most likely will never have a chance to do again i.e. see an open heart surgery. i have also done things that i never thought that i would do i.e. give a cow a rectal palpation. to be honest i was very surprised to see piles full of dead animals for the students to disect and analyze. i know that its a vet school but i have just never been around anything like that. i thought that our hotel in hannover was very nice and i am enjoying the hotel in munich as well. i thought today was alot of fun. we went on the city tour of munich and then finished it up with relaxing break at a restaurant. im hoping that these last few days dont go by too fast. i feel like i got all of my souveniors out of the way which is a weight off of my shoulders. i miss my mom alot but i dont want this experience to end either. its a catch 22.


p.s. i do not feel like i express myself very well in the form of a blog. i dont find myself to be a very good writer and so i think that i have a complex about this whole blog thing. i think that i express myself better by being face to face and using my words. i have so many thoughts that i dont know how to write it all down.

Our Last City

It's hard to believe tomorrow is our last day in Germany! It has been a whirlwind experience. Today we had one of the best city tours.  I wish we could spend more time in Munich.  We had a really great time at this all you can eat sushi place. It had a conveyor belt for whatever food you wanted and you could just pick it up. we ended up with WAY too many plates for 4 people!!
I'm really interested in seeing Dachau tomorrow. I think it will be one of the most intense experiences we have
thus far. Though it has only been two and a half weeks, I am kind of ready to see my family again. I could 
definately make another trip to Germany one day...hopefully with more of the language under my belt!

Prague...to Hannover...to Munich...gettin really sad.

Ok, well...brace yourself...this maybe kinda long...and to save me time...pretend that all the y's are z's and vicaversa because the keyboard is slowing me down. Haha. To continue from the storz of Prague.....Well..I forgot where I left off...but I'll start from anzwhere in the middle.
It was absolutelz amaying.....obviouslz right? We toured around bz ourselves and went to the Prague Castle and bought one of those Audio devices...the ones that give zou a self tour. It was awesome because we got to go into St. Victus' Cathedral through the back (though there was an attempt bz an angrz bzstander who had probablz waited a long time to get in, then exit and see three zouths cutting through the back.) Haha...oh well, we knew that we weren't breaking the rules....that's all that mattered. Haha. The Cathedral was filled with stories, memories and the imaginations of all those who were without the acurate information. I saw Prince Winseslas' (pardon me if I completelz butchered that name) tomb...and read about a man who was killed after being in a fight with the latter Prince. We finallz finished the audio tour and went the the Old Rozal Palace. It had been turned into a museum and was embelished with coins, statues, and dresses from prior mistresses. The patterns on the fabrics were long worn, but the prints were exampled on the clear boxes of each exhibit. Sooo neat. Also, I began to notice how the tack on the horses of the rozaltz was changing. No longer was there a tail-strap (if I can call them that), and instead the loosened flank strap was being used. I thought that was verz interesting. I examined a statue of a man on his horse (a stud reared up at a serpant), and I was flaberghasted at the detail that the sculpture put into the mount. Everz vein, everz strained muscle, and the ezes of the stead were strong and fearless...what trust he must have in his rider. And all seen through a bronyed claz piece of stone. Now that's historz. Ok, finallz we left the castle and the area completelz, because we knew that we would never be able to finish our complete map of the palace. We walked down the steps and I saw another musician plazing the recorder on the steps with a bucket under him..... or course I gave him what little change I hadn't spent on the Castle's giftshop. Plazing is not begging to me. We got back to the hotel after having a shot of absinth, because of course we needed to take one at the little jayy bar next to us. We went to bed completelz pooped and I was actuallz missing the group a whole lot. I got reallz attached to them through the little time we've all been together...and though I was loving Prague, I was indeed ecxited to see their smiles again.
(Haha...almost done guzs.) We woke up and opened the shutters, SNOW! A beautiful, snow-blanketed Prague laz before us that morning, almost as eager to see us as we were to see it. Haha. Mz Camera I think was the most eager. And zou better believe that I took a picture of "ATM 08" in the snow!!! ZeZ babz! Haha. (remember the z's and the y's). We hoped the bus, caught the train, acutallz bought our tickets with little to no hassel, and soon had met zet another person who spoke English and was willing and readz to speak to us. Even better....SHE HAD BEEN TO TEXAS! She had seen Brandon's ATM luggage tag! She helped us find our seats and even though we had non-reserve seats, after one move on the car, we were situated and on our waz to Berlin.
We had to make one switch while in Berlin, but that was no problem. We arrived in Hannover, hopped off....knew (relativelz) where we were and where we needed to go. We started up the street and were talking about our past two dazs, when Chzng said "Hez guzs!!!" I looked up from the Hannover cobblestone to see our group head to dinner, which just happened to be towards and past us! ZEZ! I was so excited. Mostlz proud that we had just gone to another countrz with little travel abroad experience, had a blast, took lots of pictures, and made it back in one piece! WHOOP!
Now we've been in Hannover for the last two dazs and have seen everzthing from embrzo transfer in Holstein Fresian cows, to human heart and lung surgeries, to poultrz houses that would put grannz's chicken coup to shame! Haha. The robo milker was absolutelz fantastic! Just think...lazyers finding a known cow's teat, attaching the sucker, testing the milk, removing the sucker, recording the data, opening the door to let the cow to her food, and all while the line of traffic (more cows) is lined up readz to step up to the plate. And no, zour not mistake...I never once mentioned a human being included in a single step of the problem. (unless of course Robo-milker happens to Robo-out). The heart surgerz that I was able to experience was the VERZ FIRST BERLIN HEART being put into an eight zearold girl. It was sureal for sure! The doctors were more than happz to have us learning under them, and we were all stoked to be there...and zes....I was feeling sick...(never let the veterinarz frat bozs introduce zou the the local Hannover beer...BEER=1 CARRIE=nada.) I was def. feeling a huge amount of nausea as I gayed at this little heart from over the curtin. I watched as much as I could let mzself, then finallz realiyed that I would be an idiot if I were to become sick in the surgerz room because of mz stuborn will to "suck it up". I left finallz but will never forget what I saw. It was amaying, zet I still am waz more turned on bz pulling a calf than bz open heart surgerz. Just more evidence that I belong with the quadrepeds. Haha.
In Hannover now, two nights left on the trip....mz heart hurts to think of it. I know that we will hang out when we are home...but it won't be the same. I called mz dad and a few friends last night, and after I hung up I reallz knew that I missed them and was readz to head home. But I'm going to trz to savor each moment left here....not missing a beat, statue, painting, or grin. Oh, zeah...and I cut mz hair! Hahaha! Its crayz I know...but the girls talked me into it...and for good reason. I totallz wanted to. I love change and what better waz to start the new zear back home than with a fresh new look that zou've brought back from Germanz. Hahaha!
Mom, and Mamo, I hope that zou have read this and realiye that miss zall and am having a verz eze opening and amaying experience. I've been writing in mz journal so that I can organiye mz stories a little better when I get home. Hahahaha! Sweet dreams tonight Dr. Wasser and everzone if zou've read this. ;) and for the record....just "Thanks. For more than zou know."

An update

I must confess, I have fallen behind in my blogging. Things have been busy and the internet cafe hours have been less than admirable!!!

I really enjoyed Prague, it was incredible! It was definetely a major tourist hotbed. If you venture off the main tourist avenues, the prices drop to almost a third of what they are a couple blocks away!!! That being said, I wished I had more time in the city. Prague castle, which in reality is a cathedral mixed with palaces and buildings of all sorts covers a vast area towering over the city.. It took over 1,000 years to build it all!!! To see everything in that spot alone would take a full day, which we did not have. So it was with regret that I left Prague on Sunday dragging my baggage through the snow which was everywhere!

We reached Hannover without much incident, while we did not tour much of the city itself, the medical facilities surrounding the area are pretty incredible.

I was a bit flattered to hear that in general the German doctors thought highly of American healthcare and it was a change of pace to hear the good things instead of the bad things in which many people focus. The hospital was top notch, perhaps my favorite part of the trip. The surgeons where friendly, explaining the procedures as they performed them. The ICU in the afternoon was a bit sombering, seeing patients who stood on the edge of death, with only a thin veil composed of medical technology and practice seperating them from that unknown road. Despite some differences, the spirit of medicine seemed to be the same.

After Hannover, we made a fairly long transit on train to München, our last city. I was a bit saddened to get off the train, knowing that the new scene would be the last breath of German life this trip. So far the city has been far from disappointing.

München =! Munchkin

For those of you who know what the symbol in the title means, I commend you for taking a CompSci class. Props.

The last day in Hannover was nothing mind-blowing. We chartered a bus that took us to a farm/research facility/learning center where we got to see farm stuff. You know, stuff like cows, pigs, goats, chickens, as well as the equipment used to...farm...them...

Then, we boarded a train to Munich. The train ride lasted a good 4 hours I think, and me and Pablo definitly played Nintendo DS for 3 of them.

Arriving in Munich, or as I (and the Germans) like to call it, München, we schlepped (hehe) our luggage to the hotel and settled at around 8pm. I got the triple again with Andy and Michael. However, this room wasn't nearly as big as the one in Hannover. On top of that, both Andy and Michael were sick. They spent the night coughing miasma into the air that I like to breathe. I did not sleep well to say the least.

On the bright side, today, we took a short tour of München in the morning before Dr. Wasser set us loose on the city. I'm not feeling so great so I plan to go back to the hotel right after interneting. Yep.

Climate Change

(I have been delayed on some of my blog posts, so I figured that I would make a few blog posts since most of my comments will pertain to different issues.)

I am a warm weather person, but I do like something different every once in a while. Thus, I can honestly say that the change in climate here in Germany is one of the things that has made this trip so memorable. The weather here is such a sharp contrast to the lovely, hot weather that we get in Texas. It can get cold in Texas sometimes, and I honestly can't recall all of the times when I have been freezing cold in a deer blind. However, none of that compares to the weather here. I have never been as cold as I have been here, and I really miss the hot Texas sun.

Yet, I do kind of like the cold. It is different, and I am a little bit amazed it and the local reaction to it. The people here treat the cold the same way that we in Texas treat the extreme hot weather. They avoid the cold weather, bundle up, and stay inside with the heater just like most of us Texans avoid the hot weather, strip down to shorts, and stay in with the air conditioning. Observing this reaction to the weather has really made the climate change tolerable, and the feeling of hate that I had for cold weather has slowly changed into a feeling of tolerablility. I find myself asking now "if Germans could stand this weather, then maybe I could too", and I wonder if I could adapt to this kind of weather or even begin to like it if I stayed here for a much longer period of time.

Now, just as we are about to leave for home, the weather takes a turn toward a more familiar climate. This sunny weather here in Munich is really nice and warm providing a sharp contrast to the freezing weather that we left behind in Berlin four days ago. The weather is getting me a little bit excited about returning back home to Texas weather, but I am starting to wonder if I will miss the cold?

Two day of pure excitement!

In the past two days I have seen so much that has just confirmed how much I truly want to be a doctor. Watching surgeries today was an experience I not only appreciate, but I will not ever forget. More importantly, I was truly impacted by meeting so many critical patients in need of heart transplants. And I was amazed at the power that science has in keeping people alive. While quality of life declines somewhat when your heart is being pumped by a machine and not on its own, its awesome that the Heart and Diabetes Institute is giving so many people a chance at life. Everyone says that you "can't save the world", but the doctors we met today are saving as many people as they possibly can, and are truly affecting those around them.

i never know what to title these

Man, it has been a while since I have blogged so forgive me, it's going to be a long one.

First off, Dresden was beautiful. I liked it a lot...the courtyard was probably one of the coolest thing I saw. Along with the Protestant church and the Cathedral. Our day in Dresden was cut short, but instead of going back to Berlin, Carrie, Brandon, and I left for Prague. It was so beautiful! I will admit that when we arrived the first night, it really creeped me out because it was so dark and shady compared to Berlin. I didn't feel that great walking around there so late at night but we eventually got to our hotel in one piece. We went and did the sight seeing thing the next day but there is so much to see in Prague, it was impossible to see everything in one day!! The next day we headed towards Hannover and actually dominated the DB system. We didnt get lost, and we were on time for all our trains. It was so good to see everybody again Sunday night on the streets of Hannover!

Yesterday we went to visit the TiHO veterinary school and the Medical School of Hannover with a focus on the nephrology department. The vet school was very cool and I knew that it made Carrie so excited to be around those large animals. It was very cool to do the rectum/ovary palpation. The medical school was interesting except it was all focused on nephrology. I guess I had trouble following along with everything they were talking about. The guides for the day were really sweet and I only found out after the day was over that they volunteered to do all that. The traditional German dinner at the frat house afterwards was good especially the sauerkraut, which I found out was from a can! Still good, still made my tummy full. I really appreciated everything they did for us last night.

Today we went to the Heart and Diabetes Center in Bad Oeuyhausen. Michael and I got the chance to watch a coronary bypass surgery! I had never even been in an operating room, well with the exception for the time when I was operated on. We actually got to see everything really close up, starting with the prep by the anethesiologist and through the surgery until we had to meet everyone in the cafeteria. It was by far my favorite thing that we have done. The smell of the burning flesh was not something I enjoyed. Another doctor had to perform a skin graft on the man's leg to find a vessel to use as the actual bypass (thing). Then we went to the ICU for patients recovering from heart surgery. It was one thing to see the LVAD in the office but it was something completely different to see it on the boy who needed it while he waited for a transplant.

Hand Over Hannover

It's been almost two days since all of us arrived at Hannover. I really like the train systems here in Germany and am going to miss it when I get back.

Anyhow, upon arriving at the hotel, Andy, Michael, and I got into our triple room again. Only this time, our room is PIMP! The room is huge and we even have a balcony. I hate to leave it tomorrow but I must. After settling in and sleeping, the class got up early to tour the Vet school, followed by lunch at the Med school and then a subsequent tour.

The med school featured some interesting things, and in reality I was much more interested in what the presenters had to say in the Med school, but it was in the Vet school that I got to experience having my arm elbow deep in cow rectum. Yep, several of us did this and it was as fun as it was disgusting. After touring the schools, we went to a frat house to have dinner and many of us stayed a bit too long, although not me (despite my earnest wishes).

Yesterday was such a blur though (pun intended), mainly because I did not have my glasses. I managed to find it in the room eventually but I feel I would have gotten more out of the day had I been able to see.

Today was one of the most exciting day as we got to see some surgeries in the morning. Me and Julie got to watch surgeons excise a tumor and then watch a prep for an aortic valve replacement. The afternoon wasn't as interesting but still informative nonetheless. We learned about MRI and artificial hearts and it was fun. And now, I'm tired

Dont take your organs to heaven, heaven knows we need them here

My last day in Berlin was entertaining. We went to the Einstein coffee shop and got some delicious hot chocolate, and went to go visit the chick on a stick. Because it was still snowy, it looked pretty from a distance. She also looked like solid gold. We went to an Italian restaraunt for lunch and I got some spicy spagetti. Our ride over to Hannover was also interesting, I had a lovely nap on the train. We spent the first day at the Vet school and had, an...enlightening experience that involved a cow. Honestly, it was fun and got me stomached up for the open heart surgery I would see the next day. I also saw some cute calves and learned about the different machines that people use on the animals. We had dinner at a bagel place and were surprisingly excited to see Arizona green tea. That night, we went to a German frat house that concentrated in vet medicine and got to meet some cool people and have dinner. Today, we went to one of the largest heart and diabetes centers in the world. We learned about telemedicine, artificial hearts, and post heart surgery therapy. We also got briefed on MRIs and some other cool stuff. The actual aortic valve replacement was intense. I felt some vertigo at first, but was amazed at how the body functions so beautifully from the inside. Now I can see how Dr. Wasser says that medicine is an art and a science. Were back in Hannover, and kind of tired. I am hoping to get some dinner and sleep to be off to Munich tomorrow!!

exciting few days!

The past few days seem like a blur. We haven't stopped moving since we got to hannover. The vet school was really neat even as a premed student. We definately got to do some things I never would have expected. I wasn't really fond of the traditional german food, but the people at the dinner were fantastic. I really appreciate them showing us around the vet and med schools. Today was a blast! I have worked in a hostpital, but I have never had the chance to watch a surgery and surely didn't expect to be that close. I was worried I was going to be a litte squeamish so before we went in I was super nervous. When we went in though, I had no problems. I was actually sad it was time for lunch! Talking with the doctor about the artificial hearts and pumps was a great experience for me as well since that hits really close to home with my dad. Though we haven't had much down time in Hannover, it has been well worth it!

Munster, A Big city with a small town heart.

My weekend with my friend Jan has been one of the best weekends in a while. First of all my friend Jan was in my pre-cal class back in Tomball high school as he was a foreign exchange student in Tomball for a year and a great friend with me and all my friends back then. So i was just thrilled to see him because mostkt of the time when people visiting the states leave you say "hope to see you again some day" but you know in the back of your mind... you probablly won't. Friday night i flew from dresden to duesseldorf and we got some dinner and i went to a club with some of his friends that he went to law school with for just a year from i think the university of Passau. So he too was seeing old friends too. We then drove about an hour and a half to telgte at around 1 am... we we're swamped. The next day Jan gave me a great tour of Munster. It has over 10 old catholic churches and that day there just so happened to be a wochemenmarkt, which is a german outdoor market, basically a bunch of trailer stores with a jubile of cheese, meats and sweets like pretzels and waffles it was just great. I also got a tour of some beatiful buildings that we're rebuilt after the war cause even though the city was heavily bombed the germans from munster still wanted to keep an old town feel to the city when they rebuilt it.

From a city first founded as a monastery (munster derives from monastery) to a city with great shopping and a small town heart munster was a great visit . Finally that night Jan and I biked to a friends house on the other side of telgte and went to his friends birthday party... basically just a small gathering with about 8 or so guys and 2 of there girlfriends. it was really fun and i got to hear the techno version of that music germans sway too, ballermann hits, really a good time in all.

Now we are packing up to go to hannover as we will not have enough time to pass by gottingen because he starts school again tommorow but i can definantly say that i was very happy with my excursion to the rhineland for the last time this trip.

Last Day

Today will be the last day here in Berlin so I felt like I needed to make a post. I'm going to miss this place as I finally got the hang of moving around. I think I will even miss the room despite the cramped quarters.

I suggested to everyone that our last day should be one of togetherness. So, everyone is now blogging at the cafe and we plan to leave together to go souvenier shopping.

We'll frolick around until about 3:45 when we have to meet back at the hotel to collect our things and head onto the train towards Hannover. Hannover is supposed to be like Duessoldorf so I think I'll like it.

Also, I must start buying lots of candy. We have less than a week now in Germany and I really need to start finishing the things I wanted to do.