Home and Lessons Learned while Away

Things I learned with Texas A&M Veterinary Students Abroad:

1. The sun wakes up at 5am and doesn’t go to bed 10:30pm.
2. Sleeper trains can be fun.
3. Best country to read a menu is Italy.
4. A liter of beer is serious business, as are jumping pictures afterwards.
5. Don’t ask men to take pictures in any country, unless you want no background and want to guess which country you were in when you took the picture.
6. Bike tours have the potential to be both emotionally and physically strenuous.
7. I am not a nature girl.
8. Germans and the Dutch are not subtle.
9. Men can sleep anywhere, in any position on a train.
10. Keyboards change with every country and language.
11. You cannot take a picture outside of Louis Voutton. If one dares to do so you run the risk of getting yelled at, by a very unattractive sales woman with a bad hair cut.
12. In reference to number 11, French people aren’t as rude as they say.
13. Creepy old men are the same in every country.
14. A glass of wine is usually cheaper or the same price as a cola. So grab a local glass of beer or wine; you’re just being fiscally responsible.
15. You don’t need to pack your scrubs.
16. You will learn to love breakfast again.
17. Walking shoes are a must.
18. Washing the “train” off of you always makes the world better for you, and puts you in a much better mood.
19. Please and thank you go a long way; the rest of the different languages, well good luck.
20. The Europeans love their public transportation, with the exception of the Czechs and Italians that decided to go on strike when we needed to catch a train.
21. Always get a sleeper train, not a sleeper seat.
22. GERMAN SUMMER = TEXAS WINTER
23. When it rains, it’s a monsoon or a tease; really its all up in the air.
24. If ever stressed (which you will be): 1st do something about it, 2nd solve the problem, 3rd get a scoop of ice cream or a glass of wine or beer.
25. If you have a television, and it has a channel in English, it will most likely be a news channel, but you will be so informed on what is going on in the world when you get home.
26. It’s not a rumor, the Dutch like to party.
27. You can walk past the huge Ramada in Basel and not notice.
28. Most of the time you don’t really know what you’re eating, but as long as you aren’t allergic to anything or a vegetarian, dig in, it’s probably really good.
29. Don’t let money get in the way of your fun, but do be aware of what is important for you to do abroad, not what everyone else wants to do.
30. Hand sanitizer should be a must.
31. Munich is a must see!!!
32. So is Prague!!!
33. Jumping pictures are awesome!
34. All people have the potential to be rude, suck it up and don’t stoop to their level. But if you do choose to do so, make it count.
35. Tip isn’t the usual, but most of them really appreciate it.
36. REMEMBER THE WAY YOU ACT AND TREAT PEOPLE ARE NOT ONLY A REFLECTION OF YOU, BUT ALSO THE U.S., TEXAS A&M, AND VET STUDENTS. So please have good manners.
37. You will get home sick more than you think, but take a moment and realize how fortunate you are to have this opportunity and how many great stories you will have that last a lifetime.
38. Nine hours in Milan, is 9 hours too many.
39. If you are a woman; start practicing preventative peeing.
40. Battling orchestras: AWESOME! Food, well not so much; just get a coffee or glass of wine.
41. Vet School inter-romances are a bad idea in every country.
42. The Germans like everything in order, but all bets are off when it comes to flying.
43. Facial expressions have no language barrier (good and bad).
44. Boys don’t like to ask for directions in any country or language.
45. Free Wifi doesn’t guarantee it’s working all the time.
46. I may get lost, but I can always find my way home on any metro system in any language.
47. Stand clear of red lights unless you want dinner and a show.
48. Not having a good raincoat, sucks.
49. Tex-Mex is a must before and after your trip.
50. Bring something to read, listen to, and/or watch, because you will be spending a lot of time on trains, buses, trains stations, airplanes, trains, airports, trams, and did I mention trains?

All in all I really enjoyed my time spent abroad. I got closer to people I didn’t even know before this trip and had acquaintances turn into best friends. There are many things I have brought home from this trip that I never would have thought; like buying a bike, enjoying walks, and appreciating home. We had our ups and downs, but this trip was amazing, it gave me not only a different perspective on veterinary medicine, but also on world policy, politics, and history. I think it was best said at the beginning of the trip, “Texans think a 100 years is a long time, and Europeans think 100 miles is long way.”

Thank you for letting me participate in this trip and I look forward to seeing everyone around the vet school this fall semester!

Long Reflection

I remember when I first heard about this trip the ideas that came to me and the “what if’s” that I was drawing up in my head. Reflecting back to before the trip, I was excited and a bit nervous. It would not be the first time I had meet Europeans right? True but, never before had I meet and spent time with Europeans in association with my field of study. That was a bit nerve racking. However, as it turned out, my nervousness was a bit over exaggerated because turns out they are just like us… well a younger version of us sometimes. So yes I did get to know them on a professional, veterinary student to veterinary student, level. There was so much more to our interactions. It really was a beautiful thing. This is what I enjoyed most about our trip.

For me that relationship is what is important. I will be working with the students in the future; frankly, because our industry is not all that big. That does bring me to an interesting point. Their classes are huge! Interestingly though, their overall class structures are very similar. Take basics first, then your more detailed classes, then learn diseases, then medicine and last learn about clinics. The structure of classes is similar as well, the large sum of students are split into many smaller groups which then take different aspects of different classes. Not once did someone mention huge classrooms and classroom sizes which is impressive with class totals reaching above 300 per year and they have 6 years. That is another big difference. There it seemed there was a whole lot more students teaching students. I imagine that is because the students outnumber the faculty to a much larger degree than here in the states.

The other difference I would like to mention is their lack of organizations. They do not have all these organizations like we do, they have a few but even they are not the same. Their main one is like SCAVMA for us. They give them a room at the school to relax in and things like that. But, to be frank, it seemed more like a fraternity than a school organization. Don’t get me wrong, what they did sounded awesome and a huge deal of fun… but not academic related. I am not saying this is a bad thing, much the opposite; this was kind of a structured outlet for the students. It is fantastic idea in fact. However, I did notice that the biggest complaint the students had was their lack of actual hands on experience. They may get to see many things and read many books about those things but, they seldom actually get to do them. This is similar at schools here in the states, it is simply a liability issue. The hospitals have clients and have to make some money to keep the doors open, students cause a certain liability that can be a problem at times. However, here we solve this problem by providing the students with countless out of class activities to make up for this. The clubs we have set these events up, run them and often fund them all separate for the school administration. To me this is the most substantial difference between our two education systems.