So, an unexpected side effect of going on the Europe trip this summer is that now, when I see emails about the program next summer, I am sad that I can't go!

Oh! Me too: A quick but thoughtful Reflection--

A quick but thoughtful Reflection--
Well obviously some time has past since Europe and
Actually, my life has gone through some major changes since being abroad...
So my reflections have become passive appreciations for experiences abroad with
the program that are often overshadow by the "now" of many new experiences in my life
(such as owning a home/ renovating - exhausting, btw-, planning and having a wedding,
gaining a husband.....yata yata yata).
In spite of these changes, passive thoughts remind me of the invaluable experiences in Europe… &
The once in life-time adventure that I so thankfully had the honor of taking part in.
Rather it be dart blowing at animal-like cardboards, "kicking it" with veterinary students- and unmasking
Culture differences, or making a number of culture faux pas... I truly believe my horizons have
been expanded to become more sensitive to culture differences of those a sea away & that
my veterinary career has also become more mature- because the way we do things in USA isn't the
way they do it everywhere- and there is always opportunity to learn where there are differences
of such are involved- and many of these differences I was able to key in on.. and perhaps one day
this will enable me to "think outside the box" ... and gain a greater perspective... Lastly, this experience
has definitely convinced me even more-so that I am in one of the most dynamic careers in the world
... filled with endless career choices- if only I take the reigns...

To those considering going... ask for another week to be involved in the program = less schnelling
so you can be more awake for the cool, cool things you do and see... and definitely, just go.

Sorry for the ramblings.

Brittany

So I forgot to write my last post...

but it's ok, because I actually just ordered all my pictures from the trip so I got to re-live all the memories. Looking back I am SO HAPPY that I got to go on this trip. Not only did I get to experience a new country (or three), I got an exercise in group dynamics and the hazzards of financial aid.

In all seriousness though, the experience was one of a kind. I was constantly fascinated by how veterinary students are taught in Europe; there were some things I thought we could really learn from (Utrecht's study lab anyone?). I also became a little bit more grateful for some of the things we have in the USA, such as strict course structure and motivation to finish in a timely fashion. I loved my host students, and it made me a lot more interested in being the one hosting for next time someone needs a place to stay.

Am I a different person? Probably not. Am I a more educated, thoughtful version of myself? Of course. Gaining a new perspective on how things can be done will do that. Every time I travel abroad I become a bit more thoughtful and considerate of the fact that there are many ways to approach the same topic. I can't wait to get my pictures in the mail, so I can look at them yet again and show everyone just how awesome it can be to leap outside your comfort zone and experience life in a new way.

Reflections

While I have enjoyed traveling since I was very young (my grandmother took me to upstate New York with her every summer in the early 1980s) the study abroad program in Europe this summer was my first experience traveling alone. I felt nervous flying and taking trains across the country by myself, and perhaps rightfully so. Between experiencing rerouted flights, lost luggage, and trains with technical difficulties all in a country where I didn't speak the language, I pretty much feel like a travel mishap expert now.

But the pinnacle of my solo travel adventures definitely took place on the island of Norderney. Because I am no cyclist, I was left to wander the island on my own while the rest of the group took a bicycle tour. Although I felt a little nervous about being lost and alone in a place I'd never been before, those few hours by myself on the island left me feeling more independent and secure than I have ever felt before.

Although finding my way across a tiny island with a map and a shoreline to follow was not so difficult a task, it prepared me for navigating the streets of Amsterdam all on my own. And independently exploring Amsterdam left me feeling ready to find my way around Basel when I arrived three hours before the rest of the group.

Overall, this trip was so good for me. Not only do I feel like a more seasoned traveler, but I got to experience many cities, culture, and history in a way I could not have on a normal vacation. Add on top of the educational experiences my free time at WGT and visiting Oktober in Amsterdam, and the study abroad program was one hell of a trip. I would sign up to go again next year in a heart beat, if the school would let me. :)

Reflections

22/07/2010
Oh, how I love Germany! I thoroughly enjoyed the trip and I am so thankful for my decision to apply for a spot. I had completed the application process immediately and did my best to stay updated on the trip details and make myself prepared for the journey, while working my way through my first year of veterinary school. A month has passed since I left Europe and it is nice to be home, but I very much look forward to going back to Germany someday. The great thing about Germany is not the good food or the comfortable weather, but rather the amazing people I encountered on this journey. Everyone had a very upbeat and positive attitude and I believe that is why Dr. Wasser fits in so well, as well as the main reason behind my opinion of the country as a whole. Only one old lady yelled at me during my whole time in Germany, and it was obvious that nobody seemed to like her anyway. A train conductor had given up his personal quarters and bed for me, the veterinarian at the Berlin Zoo had taken the time to give us a personal tour, we were allowed to physically greet elephants at the Cologne Zoo, and a man had shared personal stories regarding the Berlin Wall and his brother’s death. In contrast, I was fined fifty euros on a train in Italy when the ticket stamp machines were broken, and during a quick pass through Austria the man who checks tickets on the train charged us additional fines for not having purchased tickets ahead of time, even though we had never stopped in Austria, so it would have been impossible. In Berlin, Jule had invited me to hangout and meet some of her family and the surgery resident had reviewed equine case rounds in English so we could understand. In Hannover, Simon was an amazing host student and made sure I had everything I could want, another host student gave me a whole spool of thread so I could repair my ripped jeans, while another host student, Johanna, has recently sent me a card for my birthday. Everyone we met in Germany was always nice, helpful, and gave good directions. Olaf the program director assured we were always doing well, even after the trip had ended and we were traveling in Italy.
I remain in contact with the friends I have made and I have developed a great interest in Germany. I cheered for the German soccer team throughout the World Cup and I am planning to continue to learn to speak German. I really enjoy telling my friends about the great experiences I had in Germany and I would love to return there to study someday, such as for a residency. Knowing that I have great friends in Germany to visit, I look forward to returning to Germany the next chance that I get. I have also learned a great deal of techniques and skills that I hope to apply in practice in the future. A greater understanding of the holocaust and the lasting effects on Germans today is another thing I have gained from this whole trip. Germany may have great food and nice weather, but the main reason I am so eager to return is to visit the great people and my great friends!
-Knut
(a blog by Greg Hoyt)

A Trip In Review

July 26, 2010

It has been about one month since I got home from this trip, and I’ve had some time to reflect on the experience. During this trip I had the opportunity to learn and observe how veterinary schools in Europe teach students, how veterinarians in European zoos and wildlife centers practice medicine, and how important events in Germany’s history have shaped the country. The most valuable part of the program for me was the time we spent with fellow veterinary students. For the first time in my life, I had the opportunity to make connections and form friendships with people in other countries. What I learned and saw about veterinary medicine during this trip gave me new ideas that I will be able to use throughout my career, and I hope that I will continue to have opportunities to work with people from other countries in the future.
To be honest, there were a few things about life in Europe that I found difficult to get used to. The bathrooms are weird. Paying to enter public restrooms was very weird. No free ketchup packets or drink refills made eating in restaurants a little weird. Constantly relying on public transportation was also weird. Having spent my entire life in Texas, this trip to Europe was my first ever experience with riding trains, buses, and subways all day long everyday. While I appreciate the environmental benefits, I did not find it more convenient or pleasant than driving my own car. On the contrary, I found the lack of freedom hard to deal with. One can only travel from one place to the next at certain times by certain routes, and the trip takes a certain amount of time. I much prefer the freedom my car gives me to go wherever I want whenever I want, even if it means paying for gas. However, the benefits of experiencing a new and different culture far outweigh my little bit of culture shock.
Looking back on the entire program, I think this was a great way for me to get my feet wet. Before I went on this trip, I definitely would not have felt comfortable traveling in Europe and could not even have imagined it was a possibility for me. This program has made one of my dreams a reality, and I cannot wait to go back to Europe again! I love Germany!

Italy

June 18, 2010

After the program officially ended Greg and I stayed another day in Berlin before flying to Italy. While we were still in Berlin, we visited the Checkpoint Charlie Museum and the Berlin Aquarium. I thought the Checkpoint Charlie Museum was incredible! It was filled with inventions that people from East Berlin had used to escape through the Berlin Wall into West Berlin, and all of the walls were completely covered with news articles—plus English and French translations—on escapees and other historical events. The Berlin Aquarium is separate from the zoo and has three floors, including reptiles, amphibians, insects, and arachnids in addition to all the fish. We went through the whole entire building; the size of some of the tanks and the diversity of the animals made it a pretty impressive aquarium!
Our trip through Italy began in Rome, where we saw the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and the Vatican Museum. The Colosseum looks amazing when it is lit up at night, but during the day one can plainly see that years of pollution have turned the stone black. We could also see where visitors had carved names and messages into the stone over the years. I really enjoyed our visit to the Vatican, however, because I was able to see the Sistine Chapel. Next we traveled by train to Pisa, where we saw the leaning tower. Although Pisa is a small town, getting from the train station to our hostel turned out to be quite difficult due to unreliable buses and confusing directions. I liked Pisa though, and after climbing the tower’s slippery, uneven stairs I decided the view from the top was well worth the effort. Our last stop was Venice, where we got lost wandering through the incredibly narrow unmarked streets, each one reaching an inevitable dead-end at a canal. This was entertaining for awhile, but after spending an entire day lost in this maze, which is spread out over multiple islands, I had had enough. Our experience with the transportation system in Venice was no better than in Pisa. On our train-ride back to mainland Venice and the hotel, we were fined fifty euros for not having stamped our tickets due to a machine malfunction. The tickets were worth one euro each.
Overall, I felt that the atmosphere in Italy was surprisingly different from that of Germany, for several reasons. First, everything I had heard about Italy made me think the scenery would be breathtakingly beautiful, but I was disappointed. For me, Rome felt too big, too hectic, and too dirty to really be enjoyable. I think the city in general, including such historical sites as the Colosseum, could be better cared for. I also believe the trains and buses in Italy were not as well run as those in Germany and the other countries we visited. Most of the people we met in Italy seemed tired of dealing with tourists, which is understandable. The places we visited were all swarming with tourists like us, confused and unable to speak Italian. Looking back at the past month, I had a better time in Germany than I did in Italy, but this could be because of the particular places in Italy I saw. There are many other sites in Italy I have yet to see, and I hope I will get the chance to return someday.

Italy – Free Time

15/06/2010
We headed to Hannover by train and arrived at Simon’s apartment in time to enjoy a cookout. It was great to just relax in the company of great friends. Early the next morning we got back on the train and boarded the plane to Rome. After a short flight and a train to the central station, we walked in search of our hostel. The address we had was correct, but the building was unmarked and check-in was held at another hotel that was several blocks away. The luggage had become quite heavy by this time of the trip. We enjoyed our first real Italian meal and settled down for the night. The following afternoon we set out on an audio guided bus tour of the city. We traveled to the Colosseum that evening to view this massive structure and appreciate the Roman architecture against the night sky. The following day included a detailed tour of the Colosseum. I was shocked to find it was dirty and vandalized with engraved graffiti. Before leaving Rome, we visited the Vatican Museum.
Pisa was a smaller town, but the famous Leaning Tower was an enjoyable sight. The tower was visible from our room window. As we ascended the spiral stairs of the tower, the lean was quite obvious. We wrapped up our trip with a visit to Venice and the surrounding islands. The ancient buildings were separated by narrow alleyways and boats traveled its many waterways.
On our way back to the Bonn Airport, we stopped at the Munich Train Station where we watched the television as the German World Cup soccer team won with four goals. The excitement displayed within the train station was truly amazing and I was jealous that I had never observed that much excitement in the United States regarding a soccer game. After our arrival in Bonn we met up with Dr. Wasser and Olaf for lunch by the Rhine River. We spent the afternoon searching for a few more souvenirs. We stayed in the AIB student dormitory that last night. We were both ready to return home by this point, for even as much as we enjoyed Germany, I was looking forward to my own bed and seeing my pets.

-Knut
(a blog by Greg Hoyt)

Berlin

June 5, 2010

Berlin is an amazing city and one of my favorite places out of the whole trip! There is so much to see and do, and I never expected to learn as much history while staying here as I have. At the veterinary school our group split up, and I chose to join the group visiting the equine clinic. Our tour was a little confusing, but I enjoyed it. Our student guide took us to the equine surgical rounds, which was all in German, but the radiographs were pretty self-explanatory. Next, we toured the barns and watched a surgery—a bilateral neurectomy for a case of chronic incurable lameness. Their facilities looked like they were old but still in good working order. I was disturbed, though, when I observed several breaks in sterile technique during the surgical prep and procedure. We ate lunch with the students, and then instead of going on the bike tour I went with Kat to “Museum Island,” a group of several museums all together in one convenient location. We started with the Neues Museum and did not have time to see everything—the place was huge, and it was just one of the museums there! We saw most of their Egyptian collection, however, and the best part was the bust of Nefertiti. It is amazing that something so old is still in such good condition.
The tour of Sachsenhausen, a former concentration camp, was a very powerful experience for me. I had never visited a concentration camp before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect or how to react. During our tour, we learned that this camp was an early one that served as a model for later, bigger camps and was used mostly for political prisoners. After the war, it was used by the Soviets for their political prisoners. People were kept there for long periods of time and forced to work. There is a sign across the entrance that reads, “Arbeit Macht Frei” which in English means, “work will set you free.” Our guide told us that prisoners thought if they worked hard enough for long enough, they could actually earn their freedom. After seeing the conditions in which prisoners lived and the way they were treated, I left wondering how anyone could subject another human being to that kind of treatment.
I also learned more about the Berlin Wall and what life was like for people when the city was divided. For the first time, I stopped to really think about how long the Wall stood and how recently it was taken down. We went up inside one of the towers and saw a piece that has been left standing as a memorial, but I think what really moved me were all the stories we heard about people who tried to escape through it. People came up with all kinds of inventive schemes to get through the Wall from East Berlin to West Berlin, many of which were successful.
That afternoon we had some free time, so I went back to “Museum Island” to see some more museums. I went with Greg to the Pergamon Museum to see the Pergamon Alter and the Ishtar Gate. I was amazed to find these massive structures built into the rooms of the museum!
On the last day of the program we visited the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research. We toured their facilities where they showed us their amazing CT, which is incredibly fast and powerful, and taught us to use a blowgun dart. We also learned about one of their current projects, preserving Sumatran Rhinos. Later that afternoon we finally got to see the Berlin zoo! During our tour we saw the zoo’s veterinary facilities and Knut the world-famous polar bear, and we were even allowed to feed the hippos. That evening we all had a wonderful dinner together at a Moroccan restaurant. It was a great ending to a great program!

Berlin

05/06/2010
The plane flight to Berlin began with a bad start. I was required to pay 22 euros for an extra bag, because the maximum size restrictions for a carry-on bag are smaller than in the United States. Things quickly became much better that evening when we arrived at a very nice yet simple hotel.
The next day we met Jule, a veterinarian who recently graduated from Berlin and had visited Texas A&M on a previous exchange trip. We split into two groups and I elected to go on the equine option. We had some time to speak with the students that were in the clinics while their professors were in a meeting. Some German veterinary students start veterinary school in Budapest, Hungary for their first few years. Morning rounds were conducted in German, but I really enjoyed looking at the radiographs. After rounds we were taken to some cases by the surgery resident who spoke to us and the German students in English. He then invited us to observe a bilateral neurectomy. I learned through conversation that some residencies are accepted in both the United States and Europe, but that a European residency in surgery for example is not recognized in the United States. I hope this changes with time. We need to work together to maximize progress. Berlin has much culture and diversity and I would love to study here! I was told that I must learn to speak German first. I ate lunch with several of the veterinary students. That evening we took a pleasant bicycle tour of the city.
The next day we toured a museum that is a former concentration camp. I was flooded with emotions during the visit. We reunited with our tour guide from the previous evening to visit a few more sites. The concept of the Berlin Wall is almost hard to believe. We then headed to “Museum Island” where admission was free for the last few hours. I was very impressed by the architecture I witnessed inside. We had hopes of visiting the Reichstage before it closed for the evening, but the waiting line was very long when we arrived and in short we were informed that there would not be enough time for us to enter.
The Zoo & Wildlife Research Institute we visited the following day was very exciting. The researchers work hard to help study and preserve endangered species. I would love to work there someday. We all had one turn to shoot a blowgun dart, which was awesome. I’m a huge fan of tranquilizer guns. After a quick lunch we headed to the Berlin Zoo. It was great to have the zoo veterinarian show us all around! We also met Knut the polar bear, from a distance of course. The scheduled trip ended with a delicious dinner at a Moroccan restaurant, compliments of Dr. Wasser. I could hardly believe how quickly the last three weeks had passed. I went out that night with a fellow student, Jule, her sister and cousin. It’s great to hang out with friends from another country.
While the trip was now officially over, I still had some more time before I was ready to leave. My friend Sarah and I had booked our return flight so that we would have some more time in Europe. Wanting to see Italy, we scheduled an inexpensive flight from Hannover to Rome. We decided to first visit the Checkpoint Charlie Museum and the Berlin Aquarium before boarding a train back to Hannover. At the Checkpoint Charlie Museum it was interesting to sell all of the different ways that people had escaped from East Berlin. The risks that escapees took emphasize how extreme the situation had been. The Berlin Aquarium was quite a different site. A different collection of organisms was housed on each of three different levels including insects, amphibians and reptiles, and fish and marine-life.

-Knut
(a blog by Greg Hoyt)

Basel

June 5, 2010

For most of our stay in Basel, I was in the hospital. I had been sick all weekend, so when I arrived in Basel Sunday night Dr. Wasser sent me to the emergency room. At this point I knew something was wrong, and when the results from my blood work came back I understood why I had been feeling so tired. In addition to acute gastroenteritis, I was moderately anemic. My pancreatic enzymes were also elevated, meaning my gastroenteritis might actually be a symptom of underlying pancreatitis. It was interesting to observe the differences between Swiss medicine and American medicine. In my experience, many of the doctors I have seen in America tend to prescribe antibiotics first and run tests later, only if the antibiotic does not solve the problem. Doctors here, on the other hand, seem much less willing to prescribe antibiotics. In my case, they wanted to rule out pancreatitis first, which meant more blood tests for pancreatic enzymes, abdominal ultrasound, and tests for various bacteria and protozoa to determine the causative agent. However, an antibiotic would have interfered with enough of these tests to keep the doctors from being able to definitively rule pancreatitis in or out. Not only that, but, obviously, if I had no infection then antibiotics would be unnecessary. It was late at night, though, and I explained that I would only be in Basel until Tuesday afternoon, so I was given an antibiotic under the condition that I come back in the morning to have my pancreatic enzymes rechecked.
Monday morning, while the rest of the group toured Novartis, the program director Olaf and I went back to the hospital. After another round of blood samples were taken, we saw that my pancreatic enzymes were lower but still too high, and the antibiotic in my system prevented the doctors from running any further tests. Still hoping someone would get to the bottom of this, they sent me away with instructions to see a doctor as soon as I finished my antibiotic and also a letter describing my medical problems and outlining their diagnostic testing plan—in German—for that doctor. I found it ironic that for the first time in my life I had doctors who are actually trying to figure out what was wrong with me instead of blinding giving me drugs, and I didn’t have time to let them work.
Although I missed the tour of Novartis because of all this, I was still able to attend the city tour the next day. I really enjoyed this tour—it was a nice day and Basel is a beautiful city! I loved all the fountains, and I was amazed to learn that all the water from them is safe to drink!

Based in Basel, Switzerland

01/06/2010
We arrived by train in Basel, Switzerland. We checked in to a very nice Ramada Hotel, which we later learned from our tour guide is the tallest building in all of Switzerland.
In the morning we walked to the headquarters of Novartis, a pharmaceutical company which makes many drugs and CIBA contact lenses. I like how they have their own strict rules, so they do not have to worry about laws when introducing products to new countries. The building had very nice laboratory facilities and we learned about the process of drug development and marketing. We then boarded a large van and traveled an hour to their research station. After a lovely lunch that included a local pastry dish, we took a tour of their parasite breeding facilities, animal housing, and research rooms. I was very impressed. There is an artificial cat that was developed to raise fleas, which are needed to test flea protection products. This is a great substitute to replace the need for a live cat in the rearing of fleas.
We began the next day with a tour of Basel. It was great to have the opportunity to observe another culture. When the tour ended, my classmate Kat and I visited a natural history museum which contained Roman and Egyptian remains. I had never seen an actual preserved mummy before and it was very exciting.

-Knut
(a blog by Greg Hoyt)

Norderney

May 31, 2010

Norderney surprised me. It started off just like the rest of the trip so far. We visited the seal center in Nordeich where were taken behind the scenes to see their veterinary facilities and learned about some new veterinary products being used there, including a portable machine for blood work. We also visited the Walloseum, which contained a skeleton of a huge whale. Then we geared up for our hike to Norderney, the part of the trip that really caught me off guard. It was not exactly what I had in mind when I signed up for this study abroad trip, but it was truly an amazing experience. Norderney is one of several small islands just a few miles off the coast of Germany and the Netherlands. At low tide, the water between the mainland and the islands is completely receded and people can walk through the mud to the islands before the tide comes back in. This is assuming they are in good shape, however. Having spent the past two weeks running around Europe carrying my luggage, I already knew I was not in very good shape. Veterinary school forced me to study instead of work out, and I had not been feeling one hundred percent since I got sick in Hannover, so I really wasn’t sure I would make it. It was also very cold and windy, and I hate the cold. However, our guide showed us many different plants and animals that I had never seen before, and after just a few minutes into our trek I quit thinking about the cold wind. The mud was the deepest, stickiest stuff I have ever tried to walk through, with “tried” being the key word. It was like quicksand, and I fell flat on my face a few times. We got to “shore” tired and covered in mud, but there were still several miles between us and the bus to our hostel. We had to walk through the uninhabited region of the island, and at that point I was feeling sick to my stomach and could not keep up with our guide. I made it to the bus but not in time to clean up at all. Then our bus dropped us off at the wrong hostel, so after we finally made it to the hostel I took medicine, got cleaned up, and went to sleep.
Next morning, I rode a bike for the first time in probably ten years! I felt alright in the parking lot, but shortly after starting the bike tour of the island, I wished I hadn’t. We had the same guide who took us across from the mainland, and I really enjoyed hearing about the wildlife on the island. However, I still was not feeling back to normal and without dinner the night before or breakfast that morning the bike was just too much work, especially through the hills with the blustery wind blowing me back and forth across the path. I did eventually make it to the ferry in time and in one piece, and it was incredible to be riding a ship through the ocean over top of where we had walked across the day before! I had fun, but I definitely would have enjoyed it more if I had been feeling like my usual self.

Genevea – Free Time

30/05/2010
Another weekend and more free-time! I made arrangement to stay in Genevea with a classmate where we were originally planning to do a little hiking and some sight-seeing. Unfortunately my fellow classmate had become sick. We booked beds on a night train, but some man had decided to spread his belongings over the beds we had reserved. This upset the conductor who said a few choice words to the man, but then unlocked his own private room on the train for us. There were two freshly made beds, plenty of room for all of our belongings, and a door that locked. I slept quite well!
When we arrived in the early morning, we decided to go back to bed. After sleeping in late, we made a trip to the grocery store and I cooked some fresh linguini. We then went for a pleasant walk along the water. A huge fountain sprayed water high into the air as several swans graced the water’s surface. We stopped for ice cream on the way back and washed our laundry before bed.
In the morning we caught up on more sleep and visited a pharmacy to purchase some medicine. That afternoon we made it back to the train station and boarded a train to Basel to meet the rest of the group.

-Knut
(a blog by Greg Hoyt)

Moin Moin Norderney

28/05/2010
Early in the morning we boarded a train. I slept the whole way. We eventually arrived at the Sealcenter in Norddeich to find an employee feeding the seals and speaking a lot of German, which I did not understand. The facility rehabilitates stranded seals. We had a detailed tour of the whole facility. We then continued the tour at the nearby Walloseum where an assembled whale skeleton rested in a center room. For lunch we visited a seafood restaurant where I ordered a variety platter of fish. The raspberry cream dessert was delicious!
The afternoon was quite a surprise! After meeting our tour guide, we then proceeded to walk into the intertidal zone. I figured this would be just like walking on the beach during the low-tide, but I was quite mistaken. We headed straight out on a cement wall covered with marine snails. I carefully tried to step on as few as possible. When we reached the end of this structure, we then stepped down into a plain of thick mud. This was quite difficult to walk through and before long it seemed as if we were walking in circles. It was very fun to pick up the sea life we found and listen to the guide give a brief explanation of its lifestyle. To make things more interesting the guide decided it would be enjoyable for a few of us to wear blindfolds. With a blindfold on, I did in fact walk in a circle. We finally reached the island where we found rabbit bones scattered everywhere. After much more walking on the island, we began to see live rabbits running around. We finally made it to the bus, but were told to sit on the floor because we were all covered with mud. The bus then dropped us off at the wrong hostel so we waited for some taxis to take us to the correct destination.
The next morning we all received bicycles and again met up with our tour guide. The bicycle tour covered much of the island. I stayed near the rear of the group so that a fellow student would not get left behind, but we both were left behind anyways. Luckily Olaf, the program guide, decided to pedal back and find us. After some more biking and some cold rain, we arrived at a nice restaurant to have lunch. We ate outside and the food was delicious! After lunch we had another long bicycle ride back and we boarded the ferry to return to the mainland. We were all very glad to not have to walk through the mud again!

-Knut
(a blog by Greg Hoyt)

Hannover

May 30, 2010

After the long weekend which I spent in Amsterdam, I met my host student Johanna at the train station in Hannover, along with the rest of our group. Johanna and I quickly got separated from the group in the crowded station, but this just gave us more time to talk. We made it to the restaurant on our own eventually. I really liked staying at her place while we were in Hannover; she took really good care of me. I’m not just saying this either: I actually did get sick while I was there and she nursed me back to health! We also had more free time than usual, most of which I spent hanging out with Johanna. I think it gave me an excellent opportunity to experience life in Hannover, an opportunity that I would not have gotten if I had stayed in a hotel or hostel.
Tuesday we were given a tour of the veterinary school’s small animal and farm animal clinics and visited the school’s teaching and research farm. Their small animal clinic is huge and very nice. My favorite part of the tour was seeing their pack of beagles, which they use as teaching dogs for their students. I had a beagle growing up, and they are some of my favorite dogs! I think I enjoyed seeing the research farm more than the farm animal clinic, which surprised me, but then again there wasn’t much happening that day at the clinic. At the research farm, not only did we see the way livestock are raised on commercial operations, but Dr. Surie also explained the rationale behind these practices. For instance, laying hens are kept in very close quarters in an effort to keep them from having enough room to fight and kill each other. When hens are given more space but still kept in large groups, they are actually more violent and have enough room to cause serious damage. I was not aware of this and had always assumed that chickens were packed together so tightly for economical reasons alone. We also learned more about the differences in how livestock are raised in Europe versus the U.S. For example, in Europe alternatives to castration are being developed, since this practice is considered inhumane and unnecessary. My favorite part was definitely the ingenious milking machine, which is fully automated and eliminates the need for workers to be present for any portion of the milking routine. Each of the cows, which are loose in the paddock, wears a collar containing a chip that the machine reads to determine how often she should be milked. The cows approach the milking area freely when they feel like they need to be milked, and the machine reads the collar to determine whether or not it is time for her to be milked. The machine cleans the cow before and after, attaches itself and then detaches from each quarter as it empties. It even takes milk samples and records somatic cell counts to monitor for mastitis. I milked dairy goats by hand twice a day everyday all through high school, so I am in awe of this machine and would love to see a goat-sized version someday!
Later that afternoon, a group of us went out with our hosts to see some of the city. The Hannover students took us up to the top of the capitol building, where we could see the whole city. It was such a beautiful day, and the view was great, but it was very windy! The interesting part, though, is the elevator, which runs right up the side of the building’s domed roof. This means it runs at an angle instead of straight up and down, and the floor never feels level. By the time Johanna and I got back to her apartment I was feeling very sick, so I stayed home and went to bed early, missing the barbecue the students had for us.
Wednesday we were able to get some hands-on experience with some of the veterinary school’s teaching cows, performing rectal palpations and collecting eggs. I had not palpated a cow since before I started veterinary school, so this was a good refresher for me but more than a little humbling. I had never successfully located an ovary before, so having someone walk me through it was an invaluable experience. I watched as a couple of my classmates succeeded in collecting eggs from one of the cows. Afterwards, we visited a stud farm full of beautiful well-groomed stallions. I was surprised to see all of the training facilities, but we soon learned that the stallions kept here undergo a lot of training, especially in dressage. We watched while they collected a stallion and then went through the whole process with us of preparing the final product.
I spent the rest of the day with my host and a few others from our group touring the city. That night the Hannover students had a party, and even though I stayed out way too late again, it was worth it.

Hands-In in Hannover

26/05/2010
We arrive in Hannover by train and meet our host students. I am very excited to start seeing German veterinary facilities. Simon, my host student, seems very nice and we retire to his place for night.
After a tour of the new small animal hospital which was very nice, we took a tour of the cattle clinic, where many dairy cows were being treated. Lunch at a student café was great, the food was delicious and the cost was very low. We then visited a teaching and research farm. There was a very nice automatic milker as well as pigs, cage-free chickens, and large scale chicken and turkey facilities. The poultry facilities were very nice and clean. The day ended with a barbeque at the veterinary fraternity house.
The next day we visited the new equine hospital. The clinicians reviewed their cases in English so that we could follow along, which was very exciting. The facilities were beautiful! We then met with the veterinarian in charge of cattle reproduction where our “hands-on” experience was actually a “hands-in” experience. We first administered lumbosacral epidurals to two cows, which we then rectally palpated. We were allowed as much time as needed and then used some amazing equipment to extract eggs from the ovaries. Lunch was a bit rushed, but at the student cafeteria the food was good and the prices were low. That afternoon we visited one of the largest stud collection facilities for horses. The whole process of collecting and shipping semen was explained to us in great detail. It was helpful to observe the preparation of the semen for shipping. In the evening, I played two soccer games with the members of the veterinary fraternity at Sports Fest. I really enjoyed the opportunity to play soccer in Europe!

-Knut
(a blog by Greg Hoyt)

Amsterdam – Free Time

23/05/2010
It is our first weekend and our first real free-time. I am headed to Amsterdam with most of the other students on the trip. I figure that while I’m still adjusting to traveling in Europe that it’s best that I stay with a group. After sleeping in late, we took a boat tour of Amsterdam, which was not worth our euros. We visited the Anne Frank House which I found very touching. I appreciated that the goal of the museum to combat discrimination still applies today and that active attempts towards that goal are displayed in an interactive room before the exit. I am very curious as to what changed between Anne Frank’s initial draft and her partial rewrite of her diary.
The next day we visited a small town with a wooden shoe factory. It was very pleasant. Later that day I visited the Van Gogh Museum with a fellow student. The museum was very nice and I really enjoyed Van Gogh’s landscapes. We then enjoyed a leisurely walk in a very nice park on the way back to the hostel.

-Knut
(a blog by Greg Hoyt)

Looking Back...

It has been almost a month since I have returned from Europe and already I am ready to go back. It was interesting to come home and take back up with regular life as if I had never left. Being away I missed home but now that I am back I miss Germany. As daily life returned back to normal, I noticed that it seemed as if I had never been away except for the occasional movie I saw that had something from Germany in it like Frankfurt and other city names, a situation in which I would think of talking in Deutch rather than English, and other scenarios that reminded me of my fond time in Germany. It feels as if it was all a dream. Looking back, there is no comparison in the beauty of the landscape in Europe versus in the States. Never have I seen so much history in one small place nor can I just see gorgeous castles on the Rhine while riding in a train here because we don't really use trains. I have been putting together my scrapbooks and it's amazing how fast I forget things such as names of people and places and the order of events. I am definitely happy to be back home among familiar faces but I will absolutely have to go back very soon to Germany!!

Utrecht

May 23, 2010

I really enjoyed our stay in Utrecht, but I wish we could have stayed a little longer and seen more of the city. The train to Utrecht left Bonn early in the morning, so I slept the whole way there. As soon as we arrived in Utrecht, we toured the veterinary school there and learned how veterinary medicine is taught in Europe. I did not realize how different it was from American schools until now. Students here must be fully committed to one particular field within veterinary medicine (small animal, farm animal, or equine), but once they are accepted to the university then they do not need to apply to the veterinary school separately after receiving their Bachelor’s degrees. The first three years at the university earn them their Bachelor’s degree, and the next three years earn them their Master’s degree, which is all that is required in order to practice veterinary medicine in Europe. In addition to only needing six years to complete, it is also much more affordable than school in the U.S.! The teaching styles are also different. I like how professors cover all aspects of a single organ system before moving on to the next one, without using lectures as their primary method of teaching. At A&M, the information on each organ system is divided up and spread throughout different courses, such as anatomy and pathology, which are taken over the course of several years, and professors tend to use primarily lectures. Based on my experiences in veterinary school so far, I think maybe I would do better here in Europe! I was amazed when I saw their anatomy study room full of skeletons, plastinated models, and other preserved specimens. If I had had these kinds of resources to study, anatomy would have been so much easier! I might even have enjoyed studying it. I was also really impressed by their equine clinic; everything looked brand-new and state-of-the-art.
After the tour the Utrecht veterinary students had a BBQ and a party for us, where we met our hosts for the night. At this point, I was so tired I had been hoping to go to bed early. We all had a good time, though, and I enjoyed getting to know some of the Utrecht students. However, getting from the party to my host’s apartment for the night was an adventure. As we wandered the streets of Utrecht late at night, looking for a bus stop where we could catch a bus at that hour, we ended up walking down a dark, quiet, empty street. It was empty except for very tall, very drunk man who began walking beside us muttering to himself. My classmate Kat and I weren’t sure what was going on; we thought he might have known our host Tom somehow, since Tom seemed to know everyone. Then the drunk man started shouting at us, and most of it was either incoherent or not in English, maybe both. “This is my street!” was all we could really understand due to his slurred speech. At one point he gave Tom a little shove, so Tom calmly and politely apologized for walking down this street, explained that we hadn’t known the street belonged to him, and told him we would leave. Then we left as fast as we could, and luckily, the drunken man didn’t follow us. We decided to pay for a taxi to take us the rest of the way.
Early next morning we attended two presentations, one on public health and one on animal research. Although I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open, I found both of these presentations interesting. Having suffered through two courses in veterinary public health already, I did not think I would enjoy Dr. Frans van Knapen’s lecture; but he really changed my opinion on the subject. In the next lecture, I was happy to hear about some research being conducted to improve the welfare of laboratory animals, which has always been a concern of mine. Our stay in Utrecht ended that afternoon with a tour of another part of the veterinary school where we saw, among other things, a historical exhibit of different horseshoes from those used in ancient times to modern ones used today. I was impressed by the sheer number of them, all in different shapes and made of different materials.

“Utrecht” or My Trek?

21/05/2010
The Utrecht University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine has an amazing and extensive anatomy collection. I was extremely impressed and believe that a similar collection would greatly improve my knowledge and understanding of veterinary anatomy. We then toured their equine hospital, followed by a barbecue with their veterinary student association.
After the Dutch barbecue, which consisted of some thick bacon, sausages, and soy products for the vegetarians, it was time to travel to the host student’s home. This is when my individual “trek” began. Having our luggage with us, we took the bus to the fields to see several football (soccer) games.
All of the games were played by teams consisting of Utrecht University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine students. It seemed to be more of a series of blowouts by the favored teams rather than actual games. After the games concluded, we then got back on the bus to travel to the homes of the host students. My host student had left earlier in hopes of acquiring additional bicycles, so he was going to meet us at the bus stop for his apartment. We could not find him when we first exited the bus, but he arrived just a few minutes later and we then carried our luggage up his steep stairs.
After settling into our accommodations and meeting a feral bunny which he had helped to rescue, we then prepared for a party, to which we traveled by well worn bikes over cobblestone streets. At the party, a few hours into the next morning, we were exhausted and it appeared as though the party had no near future of ending, as it was planned to continue for several more hours. The trip back was more interesting, as I witnessed a few bike accidents along the way. I then fell asleep and awoke to some American tunes being played on a guitar. Breakfast consisted of a sliced hard boiled egg and garlic sauce sandwich.
We heard several more presentations that day and toured some historical veterinary exhibits. I was still very tired from the night before.

-Knut
(a blog by Greg Hoyt)

DVM in the Netherlands

20/05/2010
Veterinary school in the Netherlands is quite different from veterinary school in the United States. The Utrecht University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine is the only veterinary school in the Netherlands, while there are currently about twenty-eight in the USA. Instead of four years of undergraduate studies, applying to veterinary school, and then four years of veterinary school, in the Netherlands students are either accepted to the full six year program or not, they do not have to reapply. After they have finished their first three years, they are granted their Bachelor’s degree; and they are granted their Master’s degree upon completion of their final year. This means that acceptance to their veterinary school is based on high school grades or an interest in farm animals. Each year the new class starts with two hundred and twenty-five students; and each year about two hundred students graduate, many of which decide to only work part-time. A degree of Doctor is not required to practice veterinary medicine.
The Utrecht University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine is accredited by the American Veterinary Medical Association, so their graduates can practice in the United States of America. Americans can apply for acceptance to this program, but a working ability to speak Dutch is required. They are ranked within the top five in the world for both veterinary schools and graduate research studies. By an arranged agreement, graduates of American veterinary schools are also allowed to practice in the Netherlands once permission is officially requested, but this would likely be difficult without the ability to speak Dutch.
Regarding the application process, every year the eight top ranked applicants are accepted. The rest of the spots are determined by a lottery system for all remaining qualified applicants. All applicants that state a specific interest in pursuing farm animal and public health receive an interview, but if selected for admission, they must commit to pursuing a career specifically in farm animal medicine.
We were informed that recently their curriculum has undergone much revision, partially due to the Bologna Reform, a system to standardize higher education throughout Europe. Additionally, from various studies they believe that lectures are an ineffective way of teaching and that the popularity of such a method is due to it being much less work for faculty members as compared to other methods. Their concern with lectures being the primary method of teaching is that the studies show that only about twenty to twenty-five percent of information from the lectures is actually retained by the students. Their curriculum now focuses on a few subjects at a time before moving onto the next. Before their forth year, each student must select either horses, farm animals and public health, or companion animals and can only work in that specific field upon graduation. American veterinarians can change their field without too much difficulty. There is the opportunity for graduates of American veterinary schools to pursue a one and a half year Master’s degree, a four year Ph.D., or a four year residency training at the Utrecht University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

-Knut
(a blog by Greg Hoyt)

Bonn / Cologne

May 20, 2010

Monday, the first day of the program, I was still on my way to Germany. I carpooled with another student from College Station to Houston for our flight on Sunday, but we had car trouble and were four hours late for our flight. Our next opportunity to leave was not until Monday, so we did not arrive in Cologne until Tuesday afternoon! The rest of the group was already touring the Cologne Zoo, so we ran around the entire zoo trying to catch up with them. As soon as we could find out where the group was and figure out how to get there, they moved on to another exhibit before we could catch them. We finally met up with the group somewhere near the hippos, and the rest of the tour was amazing. The elephants were my favorite. We got to see their elephant facilities with the biggest stalls and squeeze chute I have ever seen. The elephants came right up to us to check us out. I had never in my life been that close to an elephant before!
After the zoo, we toured the Cologne cathedral. The others had already seen this cathedral before I arrived in Cologne, but this was my first time inside. We went all the way up to the roof, learning about the history of the building as we walked through it. I was surprised to learn how old it was and how long it had taken to complete. We don’t have anything in the U.S. that is anywhere near that old, but it is obviously a much younger country! Sometimes I wonder what places in the U.S. will look like in a thousand years, but I doubt any of the same buildings will still be standing. After our tour of the cathedral, we ate dinner at a German restaurant and finally went home for a little sleep. For me it was an incredibly long day, but needless to say it was definitely worth it!
Wednesday was another long, action-packed day with a visit to an organic farm and a tour of the city of Bonn. The organic farm in Bonn was called “Gut Ostler,” and I was surprised to learn that the farm was actually right in the middle of the city. It was small, but our guide told us that most of their income is derived from education, teaching the public how they operate and how sustainable agriculture can improve the environment. That afternoon we attended a lecture on homeopathy, which is very popular in Germany, I learned. I did not know much about homeopathy prior to this lecture, so for me it was very informative but not convincing. There is no pharmacologically active ingredient involved, and I do not believe that you can change the chemical composition or electrical nature of water simply by shaking it. However, I would be interested in seeing more controlled studies on this subject, since more and more people are using homeopathic remedies to treat their pets. After the lecture, we took a tour of Bonn, which ended with drinks at the “Biergarten” by the Rhine.

‘A’t ‘B’onn / ‘C’ologne

19/05/2010

Finally I have landed in Bonn, Germany. I met Matis, who works for the study abroad company in Germany, at the airport and we caught the next train to the Cologne Zoo to get back on schedule. After running around the zoo like lost mice, we found the group in the old hippopotamus exhibit while they were in the middle of a tour. I was very impressed with Dr. Wasser’s ability to name all of the birds by both their English and German names. The tour proceeded with information regarding the new elephant enclosure and we observed the elephants as they returned from their pasture. We were allowed to view the elephants from a keepers’ station and two of the elephants decided to come over and interact with us. I really enjoyed meeting the elephants.
We then toured the Cologne Cathedral by rooftop. Not a good idea if one is afraid of heights. The emphasis was on the flying buttresses and the new stain glass window by Gerhard Richter. We were the last group to leave that evening and had to descend several flights of stairs in the dark.
After the tour, we entered a nice restaurant where I first began learning my “ABC’s” in German by reading the menu and trying to order food. The following day we visited a biological (organic) farm known as Gut Ostler. It was several topics of sustainable living and agriculture in action, which I was happy to see. The day continued with a lecture on homeopathy, an Italian restaurant, a historical tour of Bonn, and some bar hopping.

-Knut
(a blog by Greg Hoyt)

Still in the States

May 15, 2010

Wow what a long day! After running errands in preparation for this trip, I drove all over Texas delivering my pets to friends and family members to keep for the next month. I forgot how far away College Station is from everywhere else. Not to mention, I did all of this driving on very little sleep, because I spent most of last night moving my tropical fish tank to a friend’s house. Moving an established aquarium is not an easy task, but in order to convince my friend to feed everyone’s fish for a month, everyone’s tanks had to be together in one place. In the end, there were four tanks in one small apartment, and moving mine kept me awake until 4am last night. I have not been this tired since finals, which were only one week ago!

I am setting off for Germany exhausted but very excited. I have never been outside the U.S. before, so this trip will be a completely new experience for me. I am slightly worried about my inability to speak German, or anything besides English for that matter. I have no idea what to expect, but I am looking forward to learning how people do things in different countries, particularly with regards to veterinary medicine.

To Fly or Not to Fly: That is the Question

17/05/2010

Two weeks of web searching and calling used auto parts businesses in Texas; two hour drive to the closest location that has the part that I need; eighty-five dollars for the matching part; three and a half hours of work; and finally a fender on my car that’s in excellent condition to replace the damaged one.

Now a month later, I have just completed my first year of veterinary school and I’m now on my way to the Bush International Houston Airport. I am very excited about my trip to Germany. The purpose of the trip is to allow students to look at veterinary medicine with a different perspective. By being immersed in a different culture with the same role as a student of veterinary medicine, I will be able to make many comparisons to the United States of America, including aspects of life as a student, education, clinic facilities, and the role of a veterinarian. I signed up for this course with the hopes to broaden my education, increase my contacts within my future profession, and to give myself an international perspective regarding veterinary medicine. I am looking forward to experiencing a different way of life, different views, techniques, and/or skills that may help me in my future career. I have also heard that the number two ranked veterinary school for large animal medicine, by international rankings, is in Germany.

Suddenly I hear a loud noise and my car is no longer steering well. I pull over to the side of the highway and realize that my front right tire has blown its outer tread, destroying the fender that I had just replaced. Additionally, there is some damage to my bumper, headlight, driver’s door, and some shredded electrical cables. The tire is still inflated, so I drive the car off of the highway and use AAA Roadside Assistance to tow me to the Firestone Tire down the road. I am forty minutes away from the airport and I need to check in for my flight in about forty minutes. An hour later I have four new tires on my car and the automotive mechanics were able to secure what was left of my fender to my car using a few wire coat hangers as best they could.

I arrive at the airport as my flight is leaving; I am too late to board the plane. I am first told that the earliest I can leave is two days from now, which means that I will miss the first two days of our trip. Under the guidance of Dr. Wasser, I speak with several different US Airways attendants until I finally find one that makes several phone calls and arranges for me to leave the next day, so only one day of the trip is lost. I could not thank her enough; I then slowly drive my car to a nearby hotel to spend the night.

The next day I checked in early for my flight and finally I was headed down the runway and on my way to Germany!

-Knut

(a blog by Greg Hoyt)

Berlin

Our whirlwind tour of Europe ended with a highly educational stay in Berlin. Between our visit to the Berlin Wall, the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, the Brandenburg Gate, the Reichstag, and Museum Island, we definitely had the opportunity to experience living history.

We spent Wednesday morning visiting the veterinary clinics at Berlin’s Free University. Because as a tech I have enjoyed watching surgery, I opted to go to the surgical suite in the Small Animal Clinic with Diana. There, we watched a splenectomy on a lab with a tumor the size of a football, a neuter and anal sac removal, and a laryngeal paralysis repair. The hospital was well organized, there were always enough students around to monitor anesthesia and help the doctors, and the techs kept the surgical prep running smoothly. The surgeons were extremely welcoming toward us, and when they realized that we were American students, they explained several of the procedures to us in English.


After lunch, the group set out on a bike tour of Berlin, and Sarah and I headed to the Neues Museum on Museum Island. We enjoyed exploring the Egyptian collection there, and we were even able to get English headsets for an audio tour. After a great deal of searching, we found the bust of Nefertiti just before the museum closed.

On our way back to the hotel, Sarah and I indulged in a bit of shopping. Then, for dinner, everyone decided to try a local Turkish restaurant. I had my first taste of doner served in a pita wrap similar to a gyro. Delicious!


To get to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp on Thursday, we walked along part of the path taken during the 1945 Death March. My experiences at the memorial sparked in me an interest in World War II, and as a result, I picked up a book about the unethical medical practices that occurred in the camp.


Thursday afternoon we visited the remains of the Berlin Wall. Much of the wall now looks like any ordinary part of the city; in one small area, it even encloses a sand volley ball court. However, we got to tour an original guard tower, and we saw the memorial site where the stretch of gravel between the eastern and western walls, termed No Man’s Land, has been preserved.

I remember when the Berlin Wall fell. I was nine years old, and I was sitting on my mother’s bed watching the news on television. While I was too young to understand all of the history behind the wall, I knew its fall was a very good thing. My mom explained to me that the wall had separated families and friends for years and now those people could be reunited with their loved ones.

Again, Berlin seems to have sparked an interest in history for me.


Because all of the museums stay open late, and offer free admission on Thursday evenings, we decided to head back over to Museum Island. Diana and I took an audio tour of the Pergamon Museum where we saw the Pergamon Altar and the Ishtar Gate. Both were fantastically impressive; between my interest in Greek mythology and ancient civilizations, I was a very happy Kat.

After our tour, Diana and I caught up with several other people from our group for dinner. The Pergamon Cafe had excellent tomato, basil, and mozzarella salad, wine, and chocolate shakes.

After dinner, we walked to the Reichstag, but it was too late to get inside. So, we walked by the Brandenburg Gate, and then headed back to the hotel for the evening.

Friday morning we visited the Leibniz Institute for Zoo & Wildlife Research where we learned about their efforts to save the Sabah Rhino. The small talkative rhinos are critically endangered due to the destruction of the rainforests in order to produce more biodiesel fuel. Learning this upset me because I had always thought of biodiesel as a more environmentally friendly form of fuel. Just another argument for going electric, I guess.


After the morning lectures, we got to go outside and learn to shoot a blow dart gun. I had a bit of beginners luck and nailed the target! :)


Next, we took a behind the scenes tour of the Berlin Zoo with the zoo veterinarian. We got to see the hospital area, learn about hippo birth control, feed the hippos, and see Knut the Eisbar.


Finally, the trip ended with a fantastic dinner at the Kasbah, where I tried couscous, creme brulee, and some fantastic Moroccan wine.

Overall, the entire study abroad trip was an amazing experience that I am so glad I got to enjoy!

Basel

I really liked Basel. The people at Novartis were extremely nice and seemed really excited to tell us about what they do and what they've been working on. Definitely another dimension of veterinary medicine that I haven't really thought about. Going through the research building seemed a bit rushed, because it didn't feel like we got to ask the research scientists all the questions we wanted to ask. Nonetheless, I learned a lot.
One thing I could have done without was the bugs. I'm not a big fan of the insect world. I know they serve a function, and as long as they stay out of my house, they're fine. ;) I know that they are crutial to the research Novartis is doing, but I'm pretty sure I would opt out of that department if I had a job there. Kudos to those who work with them every day. I appreciate those people.
I really enjoyed our tour of Basel. Absolutely loved our guide! She was wonderful!! Like a lot of towns we had been to, there was tons of history to be learned. At one point (I think on the terrace of the cathedral), we could see Germany and France. I'm kind of a nerd in this way, but I thought that was pretty cool. We actually got some free time after the tour, so, of course, we went into some shops. We discovered that Melissa can pull off hats really well. I'm kind of jealous. Then, it was back to the hotel, which was super nice, and off to Berlin. Bridget was a genius and sat in the emergency exit row, and I sat next to her. More leg room! Remember that future travelers!

A Walk to Remember

This leg of the trip was full to the brim of stuff to do. A large part of which was walking to an island. More on that later. We started out at the Norddeich Seal Center in the morning. We got to see the morning feeding when we arrived. Well, sort of...there were a lot of people and the keeper was speaking in German, so I didn't really know what was going on. Still, it was entertaining. I really admire what they do at the center. They are a rescue and rehabilitation center for young seals that have been abandoned. Limited human contact is essential to the success of the the program. There was one seal that was going to be released that day, but, unfortunately, we were going to be sludging through the mud at that time. We also saw two of their most recent rescues that were only a few days old. So cute!!! The Walloseum was next. It was pretty amazing to see a full skeleton of an adult sperm whale hanging from the ceiling.
After lunch, it was time to walk across the North Sea...well, part of it anyway. I have to say I was a little nervous. Mostly because drowning is one of my worst fears, but I was excited at the same time. How many people can say they walked to an island? It was a challenge, that's for sure. But, it was fun. A little piece of advice: If you know you're going to do something like that, make sure you're in some kind of good shape. I was not (thank you, vet school), and I made it, but it was harder than I think it probably should have been. Anyway, I guess I can put that on my "bucket list" and check it off.
Our adventure did not end there. Oh no. The bus dropped us off at the wrong hostel, so we were wandering around Norderney looking for the right place. Luckily, we had a couple of taxis take us to the right place. Needless to say, we were exhausted, but it was a good day. :)
On day 2, we took a bike tour of the nature reserve of Norderney. I had not been on a bike in a very long time. However, it is like they say; you never forget. It took me a bit to get the hang of it, but I got it. I still don't understand how some people can ride with no hands. I couldn't even take one hand off the handlebars without swerving. Most notable things about the ride: the reserve is beautiful, it rained, we ate at the best restaurant ever!, we went to the beach (for about 3 minutes), and on the way back we went uphill a lot and against the wind. Good times!
Melissa and I headed back to Bonn alongside Dr. Wasser and Olaf. We got back late, but at least we knew where we were going. ;)

Thoughts

Over the last few weeks, I have learned a lot about Germany. I find many things interesting, especially to compare with how we do or have things. Some things take a while to get used to, but others are really great.
For starters, they recycle everything! Everywhere you go, there are recycle bins. They even charge for plastic and glass bottles to encourage you to recycle. If you take these items to the special recycle bins, you get the money back. I know it can be a hassle, but it’s one way to keep people recycling!
I am really impressed with their public transport systems! They are great!! You don’t need a car, just wait a few minutes and there is bound to be a bus, tram, metro, or train going your way! I really enjoyed using the public transport systems and wish we had such systems in place. It would be so nice to just hop on a train every time I wanted to visit family, or take the tram to school! It would sure save on gas, pollution, traffic, and parking spaces!
They also walk and ride bikes a lot. This means the people are healthier from exercise and yet again it’s much better for the environment. Watch out though, you may get run over if your standing in the bike lane! I was always so tired by the end of the day I couldn’t wait to get something to eat and go to bed! But, I also feel healthier from the exercise.
They really have some great systems in place and I think we could really benefit from using some of the same systems. It would be an adjustment to get used to, but I think in the long run we would really like the end result!
I really had a great time in Europe and I can’t wait to go back!!

Berlin

Wow, Berlin is truly an amazing city. I wasn’t sure what it would be like, but honestly thought it would just be a big industrial city. In reality it is a very unique place and I really enjoyed our visit there. It has such a unique history and it’s really interesting to see how they have developed. I found it very touching how they have made monuments to the past and embraced their ‘duty’ to remember. By preserving pieces of their history and sharing it with the world, they are ensuring that it never happens again. I personally feel that every person that goes to this city should go on a city tour to learn about this interesting place and how far it has come. But, it is also a very progressive city. They have beautiful and large museums that you could spend days in and never get through, beautiful parks, and many places to eat and shop.
I really can’t put into words just how unique Berlin is and the feelings I got when in certain locations. We also had a tour of Sachsenhausen, the former concentration camp. I really think that visiting a former concentration camp is something that everyone who travels to this area needs to do. You can read about them, watch documentaries, etc., but nothing compares to actually being there. Though it was a beautiful and sunny day, you can truly feel the sadness and darkness of this place. Our guide was very good at explaining what took place in the different areas, and told us stories of the people who lived there and how some of them came back for the big reunion only a month before. It is very difficult to express how I felt when I was there; this place of such a horrific past, of devastation and hopeless days. And to see it now, only a shell of what it once was. It’s a place you only need to see once, but will never forget.

Arbeit Macht Frei

Work Makes You Free.

These are the words inscribed on the gate entering the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. However, as the 30,000 prisoners who died of exhaustion, malnutrition, and disease in the camp realized, the only path to that freedom was "through the chimney."

Our visit to the memorial site of the former concentration camp was both moving and educational. We saw the barracks in which too many people crammed in to sleep, the death strip where if a prisoner stepped inside any guard could freely shoot him, the track on which prisoners were forced to run through sand, gravel, and mud for 25-40 kilometers per day in order to test the durability of Nazi boots, the infirmary where brutal experiments and dissections were conducted on prisoners, including children, the execution trench where prisoners were shot or hung, and the crematorium where thousands of human remains were burned.

The movie The Counterfeiters is based on the true story of the counterfeiting operation that took place inside of Sachsenhausen. Artisan prisoners were forced to replicate both the British pound and the American dollar knowing that when they finished their job they would be executed. The Nazis planned to use this fake currency to collapse the British and American economies.

Today, the camp has been turned into a memorial so that the people who were tortured and killed there may be remembered. And although children too young to understand its history may now laugh and play there, Sachsenhausen maintains an aura of sadness, respect, and regret. Only now are its victims truly free.

Final words and goodbyes....

Berlin was unlike any other place I have been so far. I don't really know what I was expecting to run into, but I was definitely not expecting to be so intrigued as I was. It is a city full of so much history, some good and a lot bad, but it was definitely a learning experience.
I really enjoyed the bike tour through Berlin and it was my first successful ride where I managed not to crash into anyone....thank goodness.... The history that we encountered was amazing to see that all these horrible things happened and it really was fairly recent. The concentration camp gave me a lot of mixed and inexplainable feelings but it was definitely an experience that I will cherish and remember and I hope that everyone who visits one of these aweful pieces of history can see how human power can get out of control when given to one man.
Thursday was definitely an emotion day between the concentration camp and learning the history of the Berlin Wall and even just getting to see parts of the actual wall. To see where the Wall once was and be able to cross over just a pair of pebble stones onto the other side, gives you an appreciation for free movement because there was a time when it wasn't as simple as just crossing over, there were consequences.
Our last day in Germany proved to be a great one! The Zoo was great, especially the hippos and it was nice to end the evening in the Zabah Moroccan restaurant that had some pretty amazing food! When it came down to saying goodbye, I tried not to get emotional, while it will be nice to move on to Italy, I still feel
like I was not quite ready to part. I hope that everyone had as great of an experience as I did and it was great to have my eyes opened to a whole other world in which I fully intend on coming back to very soon! TCHUSS!!!

The final hours

Berlin has been a very interesting city, more steeped in recent history than any other place we've seen so far on this trip. The two days we've spent here have have sharply contrasted with one another in mood and tone.

Yesterday we spent the morning at the veterinary school in Berlin. Vet school in Germany is different, since they start right out of high school and go for 5.5 to 6 years. We split up according to our interests, which of course meant that I ended up in the small animal clinic. They gave us a tour, which I actually found a bit strange. The clinic was a bizarre mixture of very old and very modern technology... it was a very ugly hospital green color for most of the clinic, with old time radiators and everything still for heat. They also still don't have digital radiograph machines, which I found incredible considering that they are supposed to be a really great clinic. Even a lot of private clinics now have digital x-ray, so I just couldn't fathom that they still used films. I was even more confused when I found out that they have a CT scanner for imaging and a linear accelerator for cancer treatments and such. I was also a bit shocked that their main treatment rooms are actually all in one room, so multiple patients being seen by different doctors are all in the same room at the same time! They say it's easier to ask for help, and easier for students to go from patient to patient and learn, but as a client I would have issues with other people listening in on my private conversation with the vet. I was baffled by the setup of the clinic in general. After the tour, though, we got to pick a place to hang out for a few hours. Kat and I chose to watch surgery, which turned out to be the perfect decision! We watched three procedures, all of which were different and very cool. The first was an anal gland removal and castration, because they suspected anal gland tumors in this dog. I had never seen that surgery performed, as it isn't all that common in the States (the gland part, not the castration). Apparently it is fairly common here though, and the surgeon said it was fairly easy and routine. The second surgery was probably the most awesome. They were removing the spleen from a 9 year old Lab because it was cancerous. When they cut the poor thing open, ALL you could see was spleen! Very much abnormal, in case you don't know a whole lot about abdominal topography. When they finally got it out, the spleen was football sized with only a tiny bit of semi-normal looking tissue on either side and a HUGE mass of tumor in the middle. Hands down the coolest bit of surgery I've ever seen. I just wanted to weigh it and see how much lighter the poor dog would be after waking up! The surgeon for that procedure was very young, which was also interesting. The final surgery we didn't see in it's entirety, since we had to go get lunch. They were repairing a laryngeal paralysis, which is basically when the dog can't open it's vocal cords while breathing so they don't get as much air (and it makes a really cool sound that is sometimes called "roars"). The surgeon for that procedure found out we were Americans and explained the whole thing to us in English, which I thought was extremely considerate of her. What they do is stitch the laryngeal cartilages together and tack them to the side of the trachea (sort of, but I won't bore you with the details) on one side so that more air can get through. They only do one side, though, because otherwise the dog will get aspiration pneumonia. That was a close second for the coolest surgery I've ever seen, so it was a really good morning!

After lunch at the university cafeteria, we went on a Berlin by Bike tour with George. He was a fantastic guide, although the weather was a bit chilly for my liking and the wind was stiff. We saw a huge amount of the city, and between George, Dr. Wasser and Olaf we got a vast amount of information that normal tourists miss out on. I was especially moved by the site of the Berlin book burning. I thought it was really cool how they had a glass floor tile with an empty library below to commemorate the loss of knowledge and erasure of the people who had written the banned literature. We also saw the opera house, memorial for German soldiers, memorial for the Jews killed in WWII, Brandenburg Gate, Reightstag (Parliament building), and the line on the ground where the Berlin wall used to be. I've never been much of a history buff, but I still found it very interesting that there was so much sadness and oppression in the not-so-distant past. I guess I've always thought of WWII and the Cold War era as happening a really long time ago, but it wasn't at all. Realizing that I was actually born before the wall came down was fascinating to me. We finished up the day by eating Turkish fast food (very good if you've never had it). Kat and I shared a bottle of wine and went to bed.

Today was a sadder day than yesterday, but no less interesting. In the morning we visited Sachsenhaussen, which was a concentration camp on the outskirts of Berlin. Although it wasn't considered an "extermination camp", there were plenty of terrible things going on there. It was a model camp, which meant that SS soldiers trained there on how to run other concentration camps, and visiting dignitaries were allowed to tour the facilities as if it were just another place to see and hear about. It was very disturbing to me that anyone would WANT to see something like that, let alone learn from it and take that information back to use in other places. Ironically, the police in Berlin today still train in the building that the SS soldiers trained in and are required to do work patrolling the site while visitors are walking through. The entrance gate said something like, "Work will set you free", which was just one example of how the Nazis twisted language so badly. After all, work would set them free in a manner of speaking, since the prisoners were worked to their death. Our guide talked a lot about the different commandos that the prisoners were assigned to, and each was more miserable than the last. Some were forced to test new Nazi boot designs by running 20+ miles a day in poorly fitting boots. Others were forced to dissect the bodies of the prisoners who died, and there were many other equally horrible tasks. We walked through the infirmary, where a variety of experiments were carried out on prisoners. They even experimented on children, which was the most disturbing of all to me. We ended by visiting the extermination building, where there was a small gas chamber and crematoria. That's where I finally lost it; I wasn't the only one with tears running down by the time we finished.

After that we took the train back to the center of Berlin to finish our tour of the city. We got to go into one of the guard towers that stood in the death strip of the Berlin wall. The building was preserved thanks to one man, who's brother was one of the first to be shot and killed attempting to escape from East Berlin when the wall was erected. That guy himself gave us the tour, which I thought was incredible. He is an old man now, and speaks German, but thanks to George, Dr. Wasser and Olaf we were able to listen to him and get an adequate translation of everything he said. I am constantly amazed at the efforts of people to save pieces of the past so we can learn from them. It was the same way with the Anne Frank house being preserved by her father. These people must realize just how important it is and how much of a larger purpose they are serving, because otherwise how could you live with the constant reminder of lost loved ones? I thought it was very generous of him to agree to show us around.

We ended by walking to the remains of the Berlin wall. I wasn't really very impressed by it until we walked around to the back, Eastern side where a section with the death strip was preserved. The wall wasn't high, but the space between the two walls was also riddled with danger. I had never really understood the significance of the Berlin wall, or how long all of that went on, until I saw the memorials and all of that today. I also didn't realize how truly close together WWII and the communist separation of East and West were chronologically. Germany, or at least large parts of it, spent a lot of the 1900s suffering under one tyrant or another.

After visiting the wall we decided to spend a little time at the Pergamon museum, which is an ancient cultures museum. Admission is free on Thursday nights, which was even better! They have the Pergamon altar, as well as the Istar gate on display. Everything was just so huge, and I have always been fascinated with ancient cultures, more so than recent history. All I could think to myself the entire time we were wandering through the museum was, "Why don't we build really gorgeous amazing things anymore?". Seriously though, I feel like modern buildings lack the sense of grandeur and character so common in ancient works. Everything now is focused on mass production and making cookie cutter images of everything from houses to goods, and I just crave the uniqueness and small imperfections that made ancient structures so amazing. People truly thought about what looked fantastic back then, and also used their buildings and statues to honor important elements of their beliefs and daily life. I wish we had retained something of that ideology. Probably my favorite exhibit that we saw was the Ishtar gate and ceremonial pathway to approach it. I could just see myself walking along that road at the height of it's time, staring at the beautiful, brightly colored stones and marveling at how everything had been created.

Tomorrow is our last day of the trip, and we are going to the Wildlife Research center, as well as the zoo. I hope it will be an upbeat end to the trip. Berlin has been amazing, and very educational, but also the saddest city we've seen. I have never felt so deeply moved or close to history as I did here. It is definitely something I won't forget, even if most of the time I felt that it would be inappropriate to take pictures. Somehow I think the images will come with me in my head regardless.

Concentration Camps

June 3, 2010
Today we visited the former concentration camp in Berlin. Despite having been to Dachau many times – these camps never cease to move me. Thoughts of how I would react if put in such a situation flood me. I really believe I would choose death—perform some act that I know would lead to my execution so I would not have to endure the torture anymore. BUT if there was family present or friends- I would try to endure, not for my own sake but for theirs… I am sure the same thoughts ran through so many put in these AWFUL places and stripped of their humanity… I am sure they lost hope. I shake my head thinking about how such atrocities could have possibly occurred; how so much hate could consume someone. Then I think about HOW IMPORTANT it is to protect yourself from becoming a person filled with such hate and HOW IMPORTANT it is to teach our children (one day) how to love people: That all men were created in the image of God.
Today I also placed myself on the other side of the wall- what if I was that little girl who played in the backyard, protected and safe, friends with SS officers, while a few hundred feet away was a camp full of starving, tortured individuals- what if her family was my family? Certainly, fear would keep my family quiet as it did hers. I would rather like to think that there would be some grand plan to help those in the camp, to fight against the SS, to recover the town from Hitler’s control --- but these are naïve thoughts.
My ancestors where here in Germany through all this- although they are dead now, I wonder who they were during this time… Would I be proud or I would be ashamed?

Just some thoughts...

Short and sweet

Okay, I won't go on and on for this one. The second day in Hannover was really good!!! Yeah for vet stuff!! We started out by going to surgery rounds. Thankfully, they were kind enough to present most of the cases in English, so that we could understand what was going on. Then, Dr. Hahn took us through the horse clinic. Quite impressive, once again. The amount of room they have and new machinery they use was really great to see.
Then, we got to go palpate for some ovaries. I am horrible at palpating, and even with help and guidance, I could not find them. Kind of frustrating, but maybe one day I'll be able to find them. We also saw how they do "ovum pickup". Melissa and Greg gave their best attempts to pickup some ova. It did not look easy, that's for sure.
And, lastly (told you it would be short), we went to a stud farm. Absolutely gorgeous stallions! The facility did a lot more than I was expecting. Of course, they collect semen, but they also train them for competition in events, such as dressage. I was glad we had done the male repro lab in physiology, otherwise when we collected and evaluated the semen, I would have had no clue what they were talking about. That's all for now.

Basel

I arrived in Basel Switzerland at 3:00pm on Sunday afternoon. Because our group wasn’t scheduled to meet up until 6:00pm, I located a city map, found the hotel on the map, figured out which tram to take, bought the appropriate ticket, and found my way to the hotel.


Novartis put us up in the Ramada Plaza in Basel. We each had our own excessively fancy room with blinds that raised and lowered automatically, bathroom floors that lit up, and free wi-fi. After relaxing for a bit, I went with Olaf to pick up the others from the train station.


Once everyone had checked in and settled, several of us decided to head out for dinner. We found a fantastic Italian restaurant near the hotel. After dinner, we finished off the evening in the bar on the 31st floor of the hotel. From there we could see the entire city while enjoying our drinks.

On Monday, we toured the Novartis headquarters in Basel, and then visited their research farm outside of the city. I have somewhat mixed feelings about the research; on the one hand, I understand that testing of products on animals is necessary in order to develop medications for pets. On the other hand, animal welfare is extremely important to me, and I found myself interested in their treatment of the animals.

Overall, the quality of life for the research animals is somewhat higher than I would have expected. The research dogs are all healthy happy beagles who participate in drug studies every few weeks. When we asked our tour guide how long the dogs stay in the lab, he told us, “too long;” he explained that all of the researchers get attached to the individual dogs, and many of the dogs have life long bonds with the researchers. When I asked how much human interaction the dogs get, he told us “not enough,” and he said that the dogs seem happiest when participating in a study because that is when they get the most attention. Sadly, they spend much of the rest of their time in kennels. Worse still are the cattle participating in the tick studies. The calves seemed well-fed but had very little room to move around.

However, the lab has found ways to reduce the number of animals needed for studies. A new device referred to as the "Artificial Cat" has replaced the need for animals in flea studies. The fleas are kept inside a metal container and are fed through a cellophane membrane that is similar to animal’s skin. Although I still do not believe I could ever work in animal research, I feel slightly better having seen the passion for animals in the Novartis employees.

After our visit with Novartis, we returned to the hotel for our first genuine free evening. I opted to stay in the hotel, have some dinner and drinks, and relax for a bit.


Tuesday morning, we took a tour of Basel which ended in the market square. We actually had a bit of free time, so I went to a few of the shops and then headed to the ancient art museum. The museum had three floors of Greek and Roman statuary, vases, weaponry, and armor. Additionally, the basement of the museum housed a fantastic collection of Egyptian relics, including the remains of mummified human on full display.

After the museum, I set out to find food. The food was wonderful, but my lunch was interrupted when a vagrant man entered the restaurant and began yelling at the waitress and customers. At one point, he actually chased the waitress through the restaurant yelling at her in German, “You will pay! You will pay!” He tried to yell at me as well, but I told him I did not understand, and he left me alone. The wait staff was about to call the police when the man ran out of the restaurant with a flask of wine not to be seen again.

After my scary but delicious lunch, I met back up with the group and we headed to the airport to travel to Berlin!