Sweet sweet memories, and an interesting comparison

It is had to believe it has almost been 2 months since I have gotten home from Germany. Especially since it has be practically all I have talked about since I have arrived back in the States. Everyone I talk to asks what my favorite part was and after several months I have to say it was the people. I love the architecture and the European feel. But the people are who you learn the history from, they are how you get a true feel for living in that Country. It was so much fun to talk with the vet students about the difference in our education systems and the difference in our childhoods. It was also fun to just sit in the public transport systems and watch the interactions between mother and child, friends, lovers and even between 2 strangers. It tells you a lot about a place just to watch the people who live there. Like I have told many people this summer, I saw just enough of many places to know where I want to go back. Who knows when that will be but, I do know it won't be soon enough

Since I am the Jr representative for Hill's pet nutrition, I went to a training seminar in Kansas this summer. After visiting the manufacturing facilities in Etten Leur, I was really looking forward to my weekend in Kansas. Most of the weekend was nutrition education, and how to read labels. but we did get to go see the research facilities Hills has in Topeka. They were the the best research facilities I have seen all summer. The animal facilities were just amazing. Many students on the tours actually asked where they got the toys and beds for the animals, because they wanted one for their pets. All the cats were coming to the window for attention. They even have an "adoption" program where employees can adopt an animal and spend time with them during the day. Some dogs even spend most of the day with their adoptee. Since it is all nutrition research the facilities are designed to get optimal results. 20 cats can live together, but they can all have a tailored diet. To say the least I was very very impressed with their facilities and their passion for their research.

Better late than never!

With my internship that started upon my arrival back in the US, writing my final post escaped my mind, but I'm ready now! Europe was a whirlwind experience that I know I will never forget. I'm not going to spend this post resummarizing my favorite experiences because I did that in my past posts throughout the trip. Instead, I'm going to use this post to explain what impacted me most about Germany.

When I first returned and when I was leaving, I was sad to leave the sights, history and culture of Europe behind. I was so afraid I'd forget what the Alps looked like or why I laughed so hard on the train or the major points of one of our lectures at either Hannover or Berlin, etc. I was certain that forgetting any of these things would mean I'd wasted my Germany experience! Having been back for nearly two months now, however, I don't have to be afraid to forget them because I have! I realize also, that that's not as terrible as it sounds. I have a ton of pictures that I diligently made captions for so I'll always remember looking at the Alps. I have Alice who religiously kept a daily log of our travels so I can refer to her and her notes for hilarious moments. And, I took my own notes over the lectures and company visits, but all in all, I know that our travel itinerary is not what this experience in Europe was about. It wasn't the actual sights I saw that touched me as much as bonding with my fellow peers and future colleagues did. Learning about the past, present and future of our profession with my fellow professionals (both American and German) is something that will stick with me for the rest of my life. Going to Germany and experiencing first hand what a different culture is like, what being so connected to other countries is like, what being so connected to history is like... those are the memories I will hold onto because they are the things that have changed my perspective on the profession and on our culture.

No more Europe?

Well, I've been back in the States for about 5 weeks now, and it seems like forever. I guess starting a summer job in another state will do that. Germany was an amazing experience, very different from all my previous study abroad trips. We had a lot more free time, and a lot more responsibility. I wasn't too sure about it when I first heard that we were going to be housed individually with host students, but it turned out to be a great experience. I really liked getting to know them and other random people. I loved having time to go off and do my own thing. I felt like I got a better feel for the non-touristy parts of Germany because of it. Everyone I met was incredibly friendly and helpful and more than willing to share their viewpoints about everything from politics to music to stories from their childhood. It was also interesting to see the drug companies research facilities and the pet food manufacturing plant. I loved getting used to the public transportation system. In all, this was a wonderful experience that taught me quite a bit about veterinary medicine, and a huge amount about life in a different place.

Looking back

I just got home from my second trip to Europe and its great to be home. It seems like Germany was long ago but I find myself missing many things about it. Overall, the Germany trip was an amazing experience that I would do again in a heartbeat. I was very nervous at first because I had never traveled to Europe before. However, once we all met together and began the program, it worked out great. Most of the trips to the different places were definitely worth it. I especially enjoyed the zoo trips, the pet hills factory trip, and the novartis trip. I also enjoyed seeing all the smaller cities like Cologne and Konigswinter and visiting the the larger cities like Berlin and Dusseldorf. Talking with the different companies opened my eyes to an aspect of veterinary medicine that I had not seen before. I never realized how much you can do with a DVM that is not related to what the public perceives what a veterinarian is. It is good to know that there are hundreds of options and opportunities available to veterinarians who may not want to work in the private sector or who are wanting to try something different. I was also impressed with both vet schools and even surprised on how different they are from A&M's vet school. Although the goal of the schools are the same, the approach and curriculum is different and I gained an appreciation on how things are done differently and the same.


Staying with host students was definitely a different experience but I truly enjoyed it because of the experience that gave me that staying in a hotel would not have provided. Both host were great and hospitable and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with them. To able to talk with them and share experiences and opinions is something not many people can say they did and I am very grateful for having that opportunity. I hope to someday return the favor in the future.

I found myself comparing the other countries I visited the past 2 weeks with Germany and I must say that Germany is quickly becoming one of my favorite countries. I enjoyed the beers that are there, the food, and the history. I hope to visit again someday and continue to appreciate the all the things that Germany, and Europe in general, have to offer. To those who are considering this program next year, it is definitly worth the trip.

Looking Back

It's been one month now that I have been home and in the states. I've had scarcely a moment to breathe since then, with working on clinics, taking on a third job and trying to get things going with my club for the fall. I remember feeling like I was really busy all the time when I was in Germany, but now I look back and think how easy it was just to walk around and enjoy each day for all its new sights and sounds in comparison to these past four weeks which have been insane.

For me, going to Germany and studying abroad for a second time was an amazing experience. I gained a lot of self confidence in living in a foreign country and interacting with people from a different culture and perspective from my own. I will never forget staying with my two host students, who were amazing individuals and made me feel right at home even though I was 5000 miles away. To me, getting the opportunity to live with someone rather than just trucking around from hotel to hotel was an integral part of my enjoyment of the trip, and although I would love to go back and visit Germany or Europe again some day, it's just not the same if you don't get that full cultural immersion. That's what I really went for - the green countryside and getting the opportunity to see that there are other crazy people out there who also want to spend four years (or more) of their lives learning about veterinary medicine and putting everything else on hold. Admittedly, I think those guys over there have a lot more fun with their education and they certainly know how to relax better - but it could have just been a slow time for them or they were making sacrifices academically to be gracious hosts.

I also enjoyed getting to visit all the major pharmaceutical companies over there and getting a sort of sneak peek at the behind the scenes science that makes medicine possible. I have always felt that medicine is a culmination of all the sciences put together and that as medical professionals we get to put some of the most amazing research and hard work of others in to practice, and it was good to see how those researchers start from the ground up to make products that we use in our daily lives to help animals. The main feeling I got from them however, was that industry is a nice later-career move that makes sense after practicing for some time, honing your technicals skills, and seeing what kind of improvements and research need to be done in the field to keep it advancing. I have always considered a career in industry or public health (especially) as a viable option after graduation, but now I can see that it seems, at least in Europe, that getting some practical skills and hands-on knowledge of the private side of practice first can only help you be better at those jobs.

The trip was everything I expected it to be. For me, and perhaps I am a little jaded in saying so, since I have both studied abroad before (and lived with a host family) and travelled to Europe on several occasions, I was not surprised or blown away by much. As always, I find that people are willing to help you out in a pinch if you are gracious and polite, and that everyone is just as curious about you as you are about them. The best way to communicate if often by pointing fingers and smiling and nodding your head, and you have to be flexible because you never know what kind of unexpected event will throw all your plans out of whack. For me however, the largest kink in my plans actually took me to the place that I found the most fascinating - Dresden - and led me to the story that just amazed me beyond belief - the Fraunkirche and how it survived the DDR and almost being made in to a parking lot after surviving three days of firebombing and sheltering Dresdeners from the Allies' wrath in World War II.

Looking back on it all, I would do it again in a heartbeat. Nothing beats immersing yourself in a new place for a few weeks - enough to get a little homesick and enough to get a good picture of how another culture lives and plays - and even though the jet lag was something awful, it was worth it. I hope certainly in the future international opportunities will open up for me so that I can once again spend some time learning how it's done in other places, because that's where you see new ideas and things that you never though of before that you can take home with you and change the way you operate. Certainly for me, Germany was a lesson in being flexible and learning to relax and not worry when I couldn't change the situation in front of me. It's something as a type A I've never been good at and it's something I will need to practice for the rest of my life. It's trips like these that help you realize there's more around you than yourself and that in this day and age, being able to cope internationally is a skill that will only be more and more handy as the years go on. The experience was invaluable and I am glad that I went, survived, and came home to mull it over and share with others.

the end...

sooo i've been back in the states now for almost a month now and have had some time to reflect on the trip. overall i had a great time- it was very tiring moving around all the time and living out of a suitcase, but it was well worth it. i know lots of people had a hard time with their hosts in berlin, but i think berlin was actually my favorite part of the trip! i had an amazing host (we've been emailing since i left!) and i really felt like i got to experience vet student life in berlin. i also really enjoyed the free weekends (meeting up with my friend in europe, hopefully that didn't cause too many problems ha!)- i would definitely recommend amsterdam and interlaken to people next year. they were totally opposite of eachother because amsterdam was very cultural (museums, tourist stuff everywhere in the city) and interlaken was this little outdoorsy/tourist town right in the middle of the swiss alps (wow).
i would actually say that munich was my favorite german city (i went with my parents afterwards), and i think it'd be a great addition to the program if possible. as far as what was already part of the program, i think it would have been nice to have more experiences like the koln zoo, so i was sad that the berlin zoo didn't work out. but i've already talked a lot about which parts i liked and didn't like though so i'll move on from that now...

soo the strangest thing about being back in the states is my desire/reaction to say "danke" whenever i'm in restaurants or when someone speaks spanish to me...weird! one of my friends said "feliz cuplianos" to me on my birthday and i just froze up and went "uh...danke schoen!" i guess that just means i did a very good job of trying to speak what little german i knew when i was there. i wish i had made more of an attempt to learn a few phrases/words before i was over there, but i did well with what i had.

anyway, overall GREAT experience. i would definitely recommend it to next year's students. the biggest pieces of advice i'd give to them would be 1) don't over pack, 2) you'll spend more money on food than you might expect. sooo maybe france next year?? je parle francais...

Summing it up

Now that I have been back in the states for about a month, and have gotten back into my daily routine I have had a lot of time to reflect on the Germany Study Abroad trip. I had such a wonderful time! I learned so much about the German culture, as well as how veterinarian medicine is practiced there. I found it interesting how different their curriculum is compared to ours. For example, we get a lot of hands on experience and plenty of opportunities to visit the clinics all four years of our schooling, but in Germany even after 5 years they do not have near as much hands on as we do. Something I thought was really neat was when we were in Berlin and took a Pathology lab class, it was structured just the same as our pathology course at A&M! It amazed me that even though we were in a total different country, some parts of the curriculum were similar in structure. One thing I did not care for in Berlin was how the students would talk a lot in class. This is something that apparently goes on all of the time. While I know that we whisper in class sometimes, we would never be allowed to openly talk in the middle of class. I felt that it was very disrespectful to the professor.
Another part of the trip that I enjoyed were the corporate visits. I never realized what a huge role veterinarians play in the drug and pet food companies. There are a lot of opportunities for veterinarians at any point in their career. I do not know if that is anything I would ever be interested in, but it did certaintly open another door of opportunity. The most interesting place to me was Novartis. I really liked their parasite breeding facility, and how much work goes into making sure their parasiticides are safe and effective.
The Cologne Zoo was another awesome experience. It is amazing how different the zoos in Germany are from the zoos in the U.S. In the U.S., there is so much distance between you and the animal on exhibit. There may be like 3 barriers, but in German zoos like at Cologne and Hannover, there are exhibits where you could reach over the fence and nearly pet the animal. I loved this! It makes it such a real experience. Also, the way the animals live is different. The zoos really put a lot of time and money into making their environments identical to their natural habitats. I just really liked the zoo experience. I do not think you ever out grow going to zoos.
Besides all of the educational experiences, I absolutely loved the cultural ones as well. This was my first trip to Europe, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I learned so much about the people and European culture. I have a new respect for another part of the world, and definately a new light upon the United States. I would reccommend this program to anyone. It is well worth every penny and second spent.