My first free weekend I spent in Amsterdam! It was definitely an experience, some shocking, some fun! We saw the stereotypical Amsterdam as well as the often missed side of the city. The red light distract was shocking, but not as horrible as it is often portrayed. We had a guided tour, which felt safer and was actually informational. The other part of the city was beautiful. The city feels like it's floating on water with canals between many of the streets. We visited the Anne Frank house which made the reading we did in grammar school come to life. Being there and seeing it made it all the more real in our minds and helped us to really feel that part of history. Amsterdam was nothing that I expected and I think it was a great choice for our free weekend.
My second free weekend was spent in Interlocken, Switzerland. If you enjoy adventure, then Interlocken is for you. The weather was amazing, the mountains beautiful, and the outdoor activities exhilarating! As a group we tried canyoning, which is a mixture of rock climbing, repelling,jumping into rivers, sliding, and swimming. It's a hard activity to describe, but I don't think anyone in the group had any complaints. It definitely was one of my best experiences on the trip! Interlocken was great because it gave us all a chance to relax and spend time together.
I don't have any regrets about my free weekends! It was a nice little break from the program to have fun and make our own agenda!
Saturday, June 7, 2008
tschuss Germany!
Right now i am in Charles deGaulle airport between planes headed back to Houston. It is hard to believe this trip is already over! As I told many people here, this is not my last trip to Germany if I have any choice in the matter. It is such a beautiful, and unique country.
To end the week we saw SansSucci a beautiful palace and garden of Fredrick the Great. And we saw the city skyline at night a top the parlament building. We also went to the Checkpoint Charlie museum. It was primarily about peoples escape to the West. It is unbelievable the imagination and ingenuity of people that created these escape routes. Any object that was permited to cross from the East to the West was fair game to be turned into an escape hold for some desperate German.
I will miss Germany but I am glad to be headed home. Tshuss!
To end the week we saw SansSucci a beautiful palace and garden of Fredrick the Great. And we saw the city skyline at night a top the parlament building. We also went to the Checkpoint Charlie museum. It was primarily about peoples escape to the West. It is unbelievable the imagination and ingenuity of people that created these escape routes. Any object that was permited to cross from the East to the West was fair game to be turned into an escape hold for some desperate German.
I will miss Germany but I am glad to be headed home. Tshuss!
Friday, June 6, 2008
berlin!
Oops, so I haven't posted in a few days but that's bcz my host jule has kept me pretty busy- in a good way, though! I'm on my way to our farewell dinner...hard to believe its over already! I've had a great time in berlin. I was pretty disappointed ab the berlin zoo tour getting cancelled, but I did get to go to the small animal clinic with jule during her night shift. It was reaaally interesting to see how things are done in the clinics here, I think if possible, everyone should get a chance to do that next year (not on the same shift but spread out throughout the week). I also really liked the checkpoint charlie museum and the rowboats we did yesterday!
But to be honest, I was a little disappointed in the bike tour...everyone I've talked to has loved the bike tours they've been on an raved about how fun they were. Our guide was very intelligent/interesting, but I think there were a few gaps in the story and we didn't even stop for anything to drink (not even water or a bathroom break!) like dr wasser had been promising. I know its important to have the tour be historical and respectful, but it could have been fun too.
Anyway, off to dinner! Last night in berlin...
But to be honest, I was a little disappointed in the bike tour...everyone I've talked to has loved the bike tours they've been on an raved about how fun they were. Our guide was very intelligent/interesting, but I think there were a few gaps in the story and we didn't even stop for anything to drink (not even water or a bathroom break!) like dr wasser had been promising. I know its important to have the tour be historical and respectful, but it could have been fun too.
Anyway, off to dinner! Last night in berlin...
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Coming to a close
I can't believe it is already the fifth day of June. I can't believe I will be going home in about 48 hours - even if I am more than ready to hop on that plane. This trip has been an amazing experience and there are relatively few things that I would do differently.
Yesterday we went to a duck hatchery in Potsdam very early in the morning. It was an interesting facility and left me feeling a little more stunned and wary about the food-animal industry. The day-old or even hours-old chicks were taken from dark little rooms where they lived with 50 of their closest friends in crates stacked high on top of one another and put into a conveyor belt counting system that put them into another set of crates to be shipped off to the fattening farms. A few would escape and run away as fast as they could and I saw one poor duckling sitting in the corner trembling and looking dazed. The candling process was the most interesting thing there as it was a huge table that could candle 120 eggs at once. Overall, it was a valuable experience. I am most definitely finding on this trip that the veterinary medical education is much broader than I ever imagined. We have to know just as much it seems about our patients' anatomy and physiology as how they are raised and slaughtered and all the details that go into the agriculture and human health safety of that.
Today we will be attending some lectures and I have heard good things about the lecturer for the course on the eye. This afternoon is free, but I am not feeling well, so I may just go home and rest for a while. And tomorrow we visit the Wildlife center. I am really excited about practicing my darting skills!
Yesterday we went to a duck hatchery in Potsdam very early in the morning. It was an interesting facility and left me feeling a little more stunned and wary about the food-animal industry. The day-old or even hours-old chicks were taken from dark little rooms where they lived with 50 of their closest friends in crates stacked high on top of one another and put into a conveyor belt counting system that put them into another set of crates to be shipped off to the fattening farms. A few would escape and run away as fast as they could and I saw one poor duckling sitting in the corner trembling and looking dazed. The candling process was the most interesting thing there as it was a huge table that could candle 120 eggs at once. Overall, it was a valuable experience. I am most definitely finding on this trip that the veterinary medical education is much broader than I ever imagined. We have to know just as much it seems about our patients' anatomy and physiology as how they are raised and slaughtered and all the details that go into the agriculture and human health safety of that.
Today we will be attending some lectures and I have heard good things about the lecturer for the course on the eye. This afternoon is free, but I am not feeling well, so I may just go home and rest for a while. And tomorrow we visit the Wildlife center. I am really excited about practicing my darting skills!
It can't be June 4th already
Wow, it's already Wednesday! This week has both flown by and dragged on. Sunday was a
basically an all day train ride, and I have to admit I kind of enjoyed it. It was really nice to have nothing to do for nine and a half hours but sit back and relax. Sunday evening we met our host students. My host student is Liz, and she's quite possibly the nicest, most obliging hostess I have ever seen. Well, maybe my aunt who made fresh coffee cake the day after major surgery for us wins out, but Liz is a close second. She and Kursten live in a tiny apartment, but they opened it up to me. Liz insisted on giving me her bed, and hasn't complained once about having to share. It would be nice to have a shower with a curtain, but I'm looking at everything as a cultural experience.
Monday we had a welcome speech by the Berlin vet school, then went on a bike tour of Berlin. It was quite an experience, as I haven't ridden a bike much in years, and never while dodging pedestrians and cars and trying to keep with a group. The tour was nice, though I have to admit I was too busy trying to not die on the bike I didn't have much chance to get oriented around the city. After the tour we had a late dinner, then I got to enjoy the memorable experience of traversing the public transit system alone late at night. This was particularly interesting since the S-bahn line I planned to use was under construction, with all the signs, of course, in German. Fortunately I found a nice elderly couple who were going the same direction I was and helped me navigate. On the way I got to visit with them, and heard about the Berlin museums and their daughter the veterinarian. Such encounters make it all worthwhile.
Tuesday we had lectures all day at the vet school. They were interesting, but the main difference between them and ours at A&M was the lack of air conditioning! I got to share a microscope with a 6th semester student as we bonded over urine samples. That afternoon I went to get a ticket to the Blue Man Group, then wandered around PotsdamPlatz for a few hours. A lady with a big microphone and a TV camera jumped out in front of me and tried to interview me - in German! I guess I blend in ok! The area was a really nice, very modern shopping district, with shops and restaurants and movie theatres and casinos. In a while I sat down to rest, and had a chance to visit with a Turkish student with, um, interesting political views. Later, I happened to stumble on the Hall of Terror, an open air exhibit about the Holocaust and the Wall. It's amazing what you can find if you just wander around! The Blue Man Group was seriously awesome, a unique combination of music, dance, drama, and comedy. I wished I understood the announcer at times, but in all I could follow it really well. The performance was followed by another late night attempt to navigate the trains and busses, this time using a diferent line.
Today, Wednesday, I got up ridiculously early so we could meet and see the duck hatchery. It was really impressive, carts and carts full of trays of eggs and of baby ducks. I was impressed by how precisely controlled the entire process was, from turning the eggs to candling to regulating temperature and humidity. Afterwards, we were supposed to go to the zoo to get a backstage tour, but the zoo cancelled on us, so we went to Potsdam (not to be confused with Potsdam Platz) to see the palaces. They were magnificent, and the grounds were extensive and beautiful. I very much enjoyed peacefully wandering around on the maze of paths for a while. After lunch, shopping, and a long walk to the train station, I headed back home to visit with my host student's roommate. We all eventually went out to swim at the lake, and took the dog on a walk through the woods. I hadn't hardly ever swum in a lake like that before, and I found it a bit disconcerting that there wasn't a pool side a few feet away to grab on to in case of emergency. Otherwise, it was a very pleasant excursion. Now, I'm really looking forward to a good, long, night's sleep.
basically an all day train ride, and I have to admit I kind of enjoyed it. It was really nice to have nothing to do for nine and a half hours but sit back and relax. Sunday evening we met our host students. My host student is Liz, and she's quite possibly the nicest, most obliging hostess I have ever seen. Well, maybe my aunt who made fresh coffee cake the day after major surgery for us wins out, but Liz is a close second. She and Kursten live in a tiny apartment, but they opened it up to me. Liz insisted on giving me her bed, and hasn't complained once about having to share. It would be nice to have a shower with a curtain, but I'm looking at everything as a cultural experience.
Monday we had a welcome speech by the Berlin vet school, then went on a bike tour of Berlin. It was quite an experience, as I haven't ridden a bike much in years, and never while dodging pedestrians and cars and trying to keep with a group. The tour was nice, though I have to admit I was too busy trying to not die on the bike I didn't have much chance to get oriented around the city. After the tour we had a late dinner, then I got to enjoy the memorable experience of traversing the public transit system alone late at night. This was particularly interesting since the S-bahn line I planned to use was under construction, with all the signs, of course, in German. Fortunately I found a nice elderly couple who were going the same direction I was and helped me navigate. On the way I got to visit with them, and heard about the Berlin museums and their daughter the veterinarian. Such encounters make it all worthwhile.
Tuesday we had lectures all day at the vet school. They were interesting, but the main difference between them and ours at A&M was the lack of air conditioning! I got to share a microscope with a 6th semester student as we bonded over urine samples. That afternoon I went to get a ticket to the Blue Man Group, then wandered around PotsdamPlatz for a few hours. A lady with a big microphone and a TV camera jumped out in front of me and tried to interview me - in German! I guess I blend in ok! The area was a really nice, very modern shopping district, with shops and restaurants and movie theatres and casinos. In a while I sat down to rest, and had a chance to visit with a Turkish student with, um, interesting political views. Later, I happened to stumble on the Hall of Terror, an open air exhibit about the Holocaust and the Wall. It's amazing what you can find if you just wander around! The Blue Man Group was seriously awesome, a unique combination of music, dance, drama, and comedy. I wished I understood the announcer at times, but in all I could follow it really well. The performance was followed by another late night attempt to navigate the trains and busses, this time using a diferent line.
Today, Wednesday, I got up ridiculously early so we could meet and see the duck hatchery. It was really impressive, carts and carts full of trays of eggs and of baby ducks. I was impressed by how precisely controlled the entire process was, from turning the eggs to candling to regulating temperature and humidity. Afterwards, we were supposed to go to the zoo to get a backstage tour, but the zoo cancelled on us, so we went to Potsdam (not to be confused with Potsdam Platz) to see the palaces. They were magnificent, and the grounds were extensive and beautiful. I very much enjoyed peacefully wandering around on the maze of paths for a while. After lunch, shopping, and a long walk to the train station, I headed back home to visit with my host student's roommate. We all eventually went out to swim at the lake, and took the dog on a walk through the woods. I hadn't hardly ever swum in a lake like that before, and I found it a bit disconcerting that there wasn't a pool side a few feet away to grab on to in case of emergency. Otherwise, it was a very pleasant excursion. Now, I'm really looking forward to a good, long, night's sleep.
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Berlin, BBQ, Birds
If I ever had to live in a big city (God forbid), it could be Berlin. It's huge, but you don't really notice. Every morning I take a train for about an hour to get to the opposite side of the city, but I am so deprived of alone time and personal space at this point in the trip that I love the quiet walk to the station, the decreasing number of passengers as I approach Mexicoplatz and the ability to have a few minutes to catch up on things going on back home. Even when we biked around parts of the city I didn't feel like Berlin was too bad. I felt like with a little bravery and luck I could learn to love a city like this (meaning teeming to the max with people) easily.
Last night Thomas had some classmates of his (they've all graduated recently) over for a German BBQ. It was the most fun I have had so far on this trip. I enjoyed speaking with them about our veterinary education experiences - because no on else understands the difficulty, the frustration and often the connundrum that vet school is better than other vet students. Since attending classes yesterday with Berliner students (how do they do it in that heat I will never know!!) I have come to the conclusion that we are much more similar than dissimilar. The BBQ was quite excellent, too. There is nothing quite like starting a charcoal grill with a hair dryer, using lighter fluid on open flames and dropping cheese, bread and pork enbrochette into hot coals (and the sibsequent delicate recovery) that doesn't make you laugh a little at life in general.
This morning I realized as I was waiting for the S1 Wansee train that I was up, waiting for said train at a time when most people I love back home are just going to bed. Admittedly this was a ridiculously early morning - but already busy. So far I have overslept by 15 minutes (meaning the alarm was actually going off for 15 minutes before I heard it), whacked my shins on a slippery tub, and eaten breakfast faster than I should - because I have to be at Mexicoplatz at 6:30 a.m. We are going to a duck hatchery to see them hatch out some ridiculous number of chicks this morning, so although it is too early to function properly, it should prove to be very interesting.
As far as what else is going on today, I am unsure. Fatigue has set in and I am ridiculously homesick, which is kind of new for me. I am more than ready to go home now, to stop living out of my backpack and carry on suitcase and to get back to all the things waiting for me at home. Just a couple more days here in Berlin sadly with so much yet to see, but I'm ready now and greatly looking forward to Saturday.
Last night Thomas had some classmates of his (they've all graduated recently) over for a German BBQ. It was the most fun I have had so far on this trip. I enjoyed speaking with them about our veterinary education experiences - because no on else understands the difficulty, the frustration and often the connundrum that vet school is better than other vet students. Since attending classes yesterday with Berliner students (how do they do it in that heat I will never know!!) I have come to the conclusion that we are much more similar than dissimilar. The BBQ was quite excellent, too. There is nothing quite like starting a charcoal grill with a hair dryer, using lighter fluid on open flames and dropping cheese, bread and pork enbrochette into hot coals (and the sibsequent delicate recovery) that doesn't make you laugh a little at life in general.
This morning I realized as I was waiting for the S1 Wansee train that I was up, waiting for said train at a time when most people I love back home are just going to bed. Admittedly this was a ridiculously early morning - but already busy. So far I have overslept by 15 minutes (meaning the alarm was actually going off for 15 minutes before I heard it), whacked my shins on a slippery tub, and eaten breakfast faster than I should - because I have to be at Mexicoplatz at 6:30 a.m. We are going to a duck hatchery to see them hatch out some ridiculous number of chicks this morning, so although it is too early to function properly, it should prove to be very interesting.
As far as what else is going on today, I am unsure. Fatigue has set in and I am ridiculously homesick, which is kind of new for me. I am more than ready to go home now, to stop living out of my backpack and carry on suitcase and to get back to all the things waiting for me at home. Just a couple more days here in Berlin sadly with so much yet to see, but I'm ready now and greatly looking forward to Saturday.
Hannover, Switzerland, and Berlin...
We finished the hannover trip last Thursday and I had a lot of fun there. While I didn't get to see much of the city, I had fun with Toby. He's a cool guy and showed me around the university and parts of the town. Thursday, we headed to Basel and went to see Novartis and it was exciting and fun. They are a great company and definitely made us feel welcome. I especially like behind the scene tour of the labs and getting a look at some of the things they do. While I had a lot of fun in Basel, I had a blast in Interlaken. We spent saturday morning canyoning and all I can say is wow...it was awesome. My only wish is that I did this type of activity earlier. The freezing water, the jumps, the slides were all part of the 3 hour adventure and it was just a blast. I would definitely do that again. Later that afternoon, I did the canyon jump with Megan. I never though I would actually jump 240 feet but I did it. The only problem is that I accidently flipped midair and my arm was caught in the ropes. Luckily, I just got a bruise where the rope wrapped. Sunday was just a long day of traveling plus dinner. Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet my original host but Gertje was incredibly nice to let me stay at her place when I kept insisting on going to a hotel. So a big thanks to Gertje and Lindsey for putting up with me that night...
Well we're almost half way through the last week and I finally have a host. Connie is a very nice person and has helped me out tremendously. The first 2 days have been hectic but fun. The bike tour was very interesting and had a lot of history. I was able to take some pictures of some important monuments and buildings so hopefully they will come out well. I'm looking forward to the rest of the week here in Berlin with some of the activities we are going to do. But I'm also looking forward to heading home soon...
Well we're almost half way through the last week and I finally have a host. Connie is a very nice person and has helped me out tremendously. The first 2 days have been hectic but fun. The bike tour was very interesting and had a lot of history. I was able to take some pictures of some important monuments and buildings so hopefully they will come out well. I'm looking forward to the rest of the week here in Berlin with some of the activities we are going to do. But I'm also looking forward to heading home soon...
the last week
We have started our last week which is very hard to believe. Yesterday we are did a berlin on bike tour which was really a lot of fun. I was proud of myself since it had been over 10 years since I had been on a bike. I will now hopefully ride some more. It was great getting to see part of the wall and brandenburg gate. I had no idea that it was actually built by the prussians not the nazis! We also saw the holocaust monument which was not very attractive but had a good reason to the architecture. I will go for now we are going into our next lecture.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Berlin
We are in Berlin! Sun evening we met our host students, Katharine is mine and she is such a sweet person! I have be very lucky with both of my host students, and that in itself has been a great experience.
Yesterday we did a bike tour of Berlin. It mostly was history of the wall,from how it developed to its effects on the people. It is hard to put in to words the powerful emotions the wall caused in me a person who was to young to remember when it fell let alone remember when Berlin was still divided. It is still hard to imagine what it was really like since Berliners have made a point to grow and develop it the dead zone to emphasize that era is over and Berliners are one.
I have learned so much about our history from learning about German history.
Today we get to visit lectures at the Berlin vet school. They should be interesting!
Yesterday we did a bike tour of Berlin. It mostly was history of the wall,from how it developed to its effects on the people. It is hard to put in to words the powerful emotions the wall caused in me a person who was to young to remember when it fell let alone remember when Berlin was still divided. It is still hard to imagine what it was really like since Berliners have made a point to grow and develop it the dead zone to emphasize that era is over and Berliners are one.
I have learned so much about our history from learning about German history.
Today we get to visit lectures at the Berlin vet school. They should be interesting!
last week...
Since my last blog, we have done some new things and been new places, but my favorite was Interlaken! It was so beautiful there, however, very expensive. I went canyoning there, which I totally thought I'd wimp out on... But I didn't and I loved every minute of it. I would go back there in a heartbeat.
Now that we are in Berlin, I miss my Hannover host!!! Although Vera is very sweet, she only talks to her roommates and boyfriend.. Who she lives with. Infact, the only one who really talks or answers me is the boy roommate from australia. It just seems like Vera doesn't really want me here and I wonder why she even signed up for this! There have actually been other hosts problems as well and it makes me wonder I'd the attitude of Berliners is just not as welcome as the Hannover students. Maybe Vera will open up by Friday!
Now that we are in Berlin, I miss my Hannover host!!! Although Vera is very sweet, she only talks to her roommates and boyfriend.. Who she lives with. Infact, the only one who really talks or answers me is the boy roommate from australia. It just seems like Vera doesn't really want me here and I wonder why she even signed up for this! There have actually been other hosts problems as well and it makes me wonder I'd the attitude of Berliners is just not as welcome as the Hannover students. Maybe Vera will open up by Friday!
Hannover
So Hannover was absolutely amazing! Definitely my favorite city so far. I think what I enjoyed the most was staying with my host students and getting to see Germany in their shoes. I had the pleasure of staying with three great girls that took me to their favorite restaurants, bars, and even to one of their german classes. I didn't understand anything about wildlife biology, spoken in german, but I enjoyed being in the classroom and seeing how things work at the Hannover University. Another aspect about Hannover that I enjoyed was that it was a big city that still felt pretty small. You can be in a small, cozy part of town and then in about ten minutes, by bus, you can be in the big city. It just felt like we had the best of both worlds. One night we went out dancing, which was probably the most dancing I've ever done in my life. It was totally acceptable to dance the way you would at a 6th grade sock hop. Nobody would point and laugh no matter how terrible the dancing! I really think that staying with host students provides the best overall perspective and experience. I feel that they were able to give me more insight than any classroom ever could. I hope the rest of the trip is full of more of these wonderful experiences! I look forward to meetinng my Berlin student and learning about life in the big, big city of Berlin!
Sunday, June 1, 2008
oh the best laid plans...
So when i awoke saturday morning i was looking forward to arriving in Prauge. Much to my surprise we were only in Frankfurt and had been there for about 8 hours. Turned out a bad storm had downed some rail lines and we were stuck until it was fixed. After 24hrs on the train Emily and decided that getting off in dresden where we could get a shower and a real meal trumped another 3 hrs it would take to get to prauge. Dresden was a very pretty city with a lot of history especially from WWII. But after i lost my camera i was begining to think a plane ride back to the US was the best idea as my luck had run out. But we retraced our steps and amazingly found my camera at a gift shop i had stopped at earlier.
We decided to get to the hauptbahnhof early. (since our luck with trains has been sub par). So as we awaited our train Emily and I saw a bird with a limp. The vet students we are tried to figure what type of orthpedic problem it had. I couldn't help but laugh at us. We are now on a train to Berlin, I have confidence we will be there on time. I am looking forward to Berlin, getting to meet more students. I have to admit staying in one place for a week will also be very nice!
We decided to get to the hauptbahnhof early. (since our luck with trains has been sub par). So as we awaited our train Emily and I saw a bird with a limp. The vet students we are tried to figure what type of orthpedic problem it had. I couldn't help but laugh at us. We are now on a train to Berlin, I have confidence we will be there on time. I am looking forward to Berlin, getting to meet more students. I have to admit staying in one place for a week will also be very nice!
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