Leipzig, Germany

Leipzig was exciting even before we got there. Our train ride there was my first experience with a train and I have decided its much more stressful to ride on a train than fly to where ever you need to go. It is crazy to me that the trains are only there for five minutes and then you have to find you car number and seat number. But even though I found part of it to be stressful it was really cool to be able to see the scenery while we were traveling. Also on the train we were working on learning German in order to be able to say some things to our German hosts in their language. I'm pretty sure Nils got a pretty good kick at some of our pronunciations but said we sounded pretty good. Once we got to Leipzig I met my sweet host Meica and her puppy, Nutella. Meica was so sweet the whole time and introduced me to her friends at Bergfest. I couldn't believe everything she was doing with and for me because she had 3 tests while I was staying with her. Bergfest was also a great experience. I wish we were able to have a week that helped us blow off steam and celebrate all we have accomplished. Also it was great to see how close it seemed their classes were to each other and how much fun they could all have together. One of the funniest things to me was that during the DJ was playing a lot of oldies music that you would never really hear at a party back home but it was so much fun to dance and sing with everyone on the trip to songs we all knew but had not heard in years. Although we didn't have as much free time in Leipzig, Kellen, Stacie and I found some time to sit in the town center for dinner and dessert just to enjoy and relax in such a beautiful city. But don't worry I still had an embarrassing moment while there. The first night I left Bergfest probably around one and my host walked me back to her building and then headed back to the party. I got to her room and tried to lock and open the door when I realized the door knob didn't turn and I had no idea how to get into her apartment. Little did I know German door knobs work different than the ones in the states. She was so sweet and came back and waited until I figured out how to open the door on my own. Seeing the campus was beautiful and I love that all of their buildings are so old and beautiful. Also visiting the monkeys and being able to feed them and see how they draw blood from them was an amazing probably once in a lifetime experience. The zoo was also beautiful and the types of enclosures the animals were in was absolutely awesome. I have never been to a zoo with so many baby animals. The baby animals were so fun to watch. The momma gorillas were carrying their babies around in blankets just like a person would. The baby orangutans were showing off their swinging skills or sticking close to momma. But I think the cutest of all was the baby rhino who was trying to climb onto a rock and got stuck. He made the cutest but most pathetic sound I think I have ever heard. At the zoo I also learned I will probably never be able to dart an animal with a blow gun because I only hit the target once. On the last day it was really cool to see the professors and clinicians participating in silly games for everyone to watch. It was sad to say good bye to Meica and Nutella but hopefully I will see her again one day and I can't wait to hear about her Bergfest next year. Next stop Prague for a free weekend!