We have been very busy this week. After arriving on Monday in Hannover by train, we were distributed to our host students for the week. They have been fantastic in not only being more than happy to let us stay in their homes for the week, but they have also been making it very comfortable.
The first new experience I had here in Hannover, was a trip to the local grocery store. I wasn’t expecting Wal-Mart, but I was still surprised at the small selection of foods. Dr. Breves, our German professor/coordinator of this part of the trip, explained to us at dinner tonight, that the German culture is changing to become much more dependent upon the crops that are available during the season. After asking us what the strawberry season is in Texas, he was surprised when we told him we can get strawberries anytime during the year. For me, I am very glad at the wide selection of foods we have available to us as Americans year round.
Celle was one of the most charming towns I have ever seen (almost as cute as Pieterburen). Our tour guide was by far the cutest, sweetest old woman I could have imagined. She was fantastic. I learned about the town ,the houses from the 1500’s, the church, the castle, and so much more!
On the morning of the day that we visited Celle, we visited the Stallion Testing Facility. This has been by far my most favorite part of the trip. It was phenomenal. The facilities were beautiful, the guide/ head trainer was amazingly nice, and the veterinarian showed us all the collecting and freezing facilities. She even allowed us to watch as Sierra collected one of the stallions. It was a great experience. The tour through the barn seeing all the superstar horses that are stabled there was breathtaking.
Yesterday we spent mostly here in Hannover at the vet school (TIHO), and today we traveled to both Cuxhaven and Bremen. Cuxhaven was located on the shore of the North Sea. I really enjoyed seeing the harbor and the fish lunch that we had. The drug company (LAH) that we visited there was very interesting because they only distributed poultry preventative drugs. The presentations on the research they have done was definitely something I knew nothing about.
Bremen was another gorgeous smaller town. It was full of character. The most astonishing feature was the church and town hall with copper roofs! They were beautiful. I really wish that we had more time to spend there shopping in the small stores that we saw. The fish testing facility that we visited was surprisingly technologically advanced. It was interesting to observe the relationships established between chemists, veterinarians, and other professionals.
I am really looking forward to tomorrow’s activities, mostly the three hours that I will be able to spend in the horse clinic in the vet school here in the morning. I am very interested in seeing the differences in clinical practice here compared to back home in Texas.
~Kati
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