An exciting couple of days

So, I know we were supposed to do our first post before we left for Germany, but time most definitely got away from me. Although, I'm kind of glad I didn't because Melissa and I had some adventures today that I am excited to share. But before I get to that...

It's really hard to believe that it's finally time for the study abroad program to begin. It was definitely on the back burner in my mind until after finals. However, even then it seemed so far away. The reality that I was going overseas for three weeks did not hit me until my sister pulled up to the airport to drop me off and asked me to bring her back something fun. I had a nervous/excited feeling. The nervousness was probably because of the unknown. I have travelled abroad before, but not to Germany, and not for academic purposes. The itinerary is amazing; full of great activities, chances to meet future colleagues, and an opportunity to learn about another culture. I look forward to learning about international veterinary medicine and hearing about the programs and opportunities they have for their students (and possibly us). I have tried not to have many expectations, but just have a willingness to learn as much as possible in this short period of time.

My lack of German speaking skills is a little nerve wracking. I learned a little before we left, but still not enough to communicate. My reaction to that is if I can't really communicate, I shouldn't try to speak it at all. I'm trying to overcome that and I have not been able to avoid speaking some German, so it's a start. I have used a little bit of German, but I'm a bit self conscious about pronunciation.

So, that's about it for pre-Germany. Going back to the adventures I mentioned earlier: At DFW International, I went up the escalator, checked in on the little electronic thing, and I was ready to check my bag and meet Melissa on the other side of security. Little did I know, that wasn't going to be as easy as I thought. Apparently, Chicago, where we were going for our connecting flight to Frankfurt, was having bad weather and our flight was delayed. So much so, that Melissa and I would miss the connecting flight to Frankfurt if we stayed on that plane. The attendant behind the counter, the most awesome lady who works for American Airlines, got us on a nonstop to Frankfurt. The catch was that it left in 40 minutes and they needed to get both of our bags to the plane (which they did). Meanwhile, I had to get through security, meet Melissa, take the Skyline tram to another terminal and board the plane. Needless to say we were walking pretty fast.

We made it to Frankfurt early this morning. It's pretty chilly. Pack warm clothes fellow travellers!! We hopped on a train and enjoyed a day in the beautiful city of Heidelberg. Hopefully the sun will come out tomorrow! Everyone has been really nice, and we only got lost a couple of times. ;) I look forward to the coming adventures.

Survival

I remember the anticipation I felt sitting in room 201 during orientation. Of all the opportunities that people talked to us about, all the skits we watched, all the rules and procedures we were taught, the study abroad trip contributed the most to my growing excitement about vet school. I knew then that I wanted to go; touring vet schools and zoos in Europe for class credit sounded like the perfect way to combine my interest in travel with my passion for veterinary medicine.

But, this first year of vet school has been extremely rough. My grades were not what I wanted them to be, my stress levels were often out of control, and emotional meltdowns were not wholly uncommon. But even in the darkest of moments over this last year, each time I heard Dr. Wasser talk about Germany, or say something in German, I could feel my face light up as it did those first few days of orientation.

Now everything is set. My bags are packed, the hotels are booked, I have my Eurail pass, and I am looking forward to every aspect of this trip. In addition to the veterinary talks, the zoos, and the wine, I am especially excited about the mudflat hike in Norderney and meeting my host, Christina, in Hannover. I hope to learn more of the German language and practice speaking the tiny amount I do know. I look forward to the food, and I am just a little scared of attempting to learn to ride a bike for the bicycle tours.

Additionally, the dates of the trip just happen to overlap with Wave Gotik Treffen, the industrial music festival that took me to Germany the first time in 2005. Joseph is meeting me in Leipzig on Friday night, and although das bandlisten is not as exciting as years past, I simply could not be in Germany, with a free weekend, and not go. There are several bands that I do want to see, shopping in vendor room is always a dangerous source of fun, and Joseph has several friends from New Orleans who will also be at the festival. I look forward to discovering new music and dancing all of the stress of the last year away.

This trip is my reward, our reward, for surviving the first year of veterinary school.

It's that time again...

The time where I say goodbye to reason, bring my bank account back down to zero, and GO ABROAD! I've been abroad twice before, once to France and Italy for two weeks and once to Belize for a month, and I've learned every experience is different. I also know that I will come back significantly different than when I left, although I don't know yet what will change about me.

What I'm looking forward to about this trip is the mixture of touristy and scholastic things I will do. I can't wait to see all the things my parents have talked about from their multiple trips to Germany, and I am even sort of excited about the fact that for a day or two I'll really be off on my own, since I'm planning to go to Munich the second weekend by myself. We'll see how resourceful I really am. I'll get to revisit the overnight train, which I so despised in France, but I'm 8 years older (and hopefully wiser) now so it will probably be a whole different experience.

I am also excited to see how vet schools and practice are approached in Europe. People keep telling me how different it is, but second-hand stories are just never as good as the real deal. I am also excited to see the zoos, first of all because I LOVE exotic animals and secondly because zoos seem more interesting in other countries.

As excited as I am about going to Germany, I still haven't done a lot of things I need to do, like pack. I have just been enjoying NOT going to school far too much to do anything except watch trashy day-time TV and take naps. Luckily I still have another day or two until I am REALLY down to the wire. Of course I've done all the important things, like downloading 10 or so books to my Kindle, pondered outfits for the BBQ and frat parties we're going to, but there are small details left (for example my passport is still in College Station and I'm in Houston, so I have to go back to get it at some point before I leave!)

I guess to sum it all up, I am not in the least bit nervous,despite the fact that I don't speak a WORD of German. In Belize I figured out that sometimes pretend sign language is just as effective in getting your point across. You just take whatever situation happens and deal with it, and don't let it ruin the trip. I'm of course dreading the ridiculously long plane rid, and wondering whether my computer is going to work so I can Skype my boyfriend, but I am just ready to get out and have some fun and forget about the vast amounts of debt I will owe in 3 years! Oh and learn things. Yea that.

The start of a new beginnings........

The time is getting closer and I am t-minus 20 hours and counting to begin my overseas adventure to GERMANY!!!! These last few days have been pretty crazy trying to get things together and hopefully not forgetting anything. There is one thing that I have definitely learned already, and that is to ignore the large sums that are disappearing oh so quickly from my checking account :) This is an experience that I believe will last me a lifetime and hopefully be the first of many to come.
I have never been out of the country unlike all of my fellow comrades, and am looking SO forward to going! I could sit here and type of a whole book on what I am looking forward to the most but there is just not enough time.....I NEED TO PACK STILL!!!! Just a few to highlight my interests: I am looking forward to seeing all of the castles and quaint little towns such as Heidelberg, and not so little "towns" such as Amsterdam. I also am looking forward to the infamous mud walk in which I have heard oh so many stories about. It will definitely be interesting to see me ride a bike again for the bike tours to come considering I haven't ridden a bike since I was 9, hopefully if I can get things together quickly I will try to hop on one tonight before I leave just to make sure that I won't be too embarrassed in front of my fellow explorers. Other things I am looking forward to.... meeting fellow vet students and seeing their way of life, learning hopefully to say at least a few words in German which I should have already learned pre-trip, oh dear, how am I going to be able to find a restroom?!?!? To say the least, it will be interesting. Other things to look forward to...the elephants, the vet schools, seeing how many pieces of clothing I can pack in a tiny little suitcase, not getting lost at the airport....HOPEFULLY....not getting lost anywhere, yeah right, or how about just not getting so hopelessly lost that I can't find anyone I know...that will be the goal of the trip since it is inevitable that I WILL get lost with my sense or lack of direction....and that is why I will stick to Stephanie like glue.
Post program things I am looking forward to is spending two weeks in Italy with the one and only Amanda Grant, my fabulous sister, who has been dreaming, along with myself, about going to Italy it seems for almost our entire lifetime since this is where our family began back in the day. I know she looks forward to the wine, me not so much but I will drink and I will enjoy it all the same. I can't wait to visit Rome, the Pantheon, the Coliseum, Florence, Venice, the leaning tower of Pisa, Naples, and so much more! Now if only we could fit the thousands of things that Amanda has planned to do by the second of every day, that will be a challenge but definitely one we are willing to take on!
I guess I need to finish packing so I am cutting this blog/novel off now. I forgot to add how interested I am in seeing the little stop light men who appear to be wearing weird little hats that tell you when you should cross the street, not to mention in an orderly and lawful way, no jaywalking will be done!! Until I post again....

Texas--alles ist gigantisch!

Zunächst einmal möchte ich betonen, wie sehr mich dieser Austausch bereichert hat, sowohl in kultureller als auch in tiermedizinischer Hinsicht.

Ich kam mit recht vielen Vorurteilen gegenüber den Menschen in Amerika in dieses Land. Manche haben sich bewahrheitet andere nicht. Ich war fasziniert von der Aufgeschlossenheit und Freundlichkeit der Amerikaner, die immer für ein Gespräch und jeden Spass zu haben sind.Ich habe mich dort sofort willkommen und aufgenommen gefühlt. Es ist toll, in Amerika zu reisen!

Erstaunt war ich, wie viele Klischees doch bestätigt wurden. Alles in texas ist groß, den Spruch gibt's nicht umsonst...die Autos die Menschen, das Land und natürlich das Essen. Alles ist gigantisch. Aber auch andere Gedanken haben sich leider bestätigt. An einem Abend hatten wir eine Diskussion mit ein paar leuten von der uni zum Thema klonen. Fast erschreckend zeichnete sich ab, welch laxer Umgang doch mit diesen Dingen gepflegt wird. Ich glaube diese Diskussion hat uns alle sehr berührt.

In der Welt der Tiermedizin bin ich in Amerika auf viele neue tolle Dinge gestoßen. Angefangen von der schönen Pferdeklinik mit den hohen Decken bis hin zu dem Labor, in dem an den Flügeln von Fledermäusen der Blutfluss untersucht wurde, eröffnete mir einen neuen unbekannten Blickwinkel auf dieses Fach, hat mich bereichert und mir gezeigt, dass unsere Wissenschaft noch lange nicht an ihre Grenzen gestoßen ist.

Abends, beim Ausgehen lernte ich die Bars und das Nachtleben von College Station kennen. Nur so viel: es war aufregend...

Auf jeden Fall kann man sagen, dass sich mein Horizont auf dieser Reise sehr weit gedehnt hat, vieles sehe ich nun mit neuen Augen, habe viel erlebt und gesehen.
Ich würde jedem empfehlen eine solche Reise zu unternehmen, sich darauf einzulassen und vieles mit nach Hause zu nehmen.

Magdalena Stephan

Unser Aufenthalt in Texas

Unser Aufenthalt in Texas war rundum gelungen. Meine Gaststudentinnen waren beide super, sehr hilfsbereit, freundlich und an mir und auch an Deutschland sehr interessiert. Die Tage, die wir an der Uni verbrachten, waren von Mr. Wasser gut organisiert und vielfältig gestaltet. So konnten wir einige Einblicke in das amerikanische Uni-Leben erhalten und auch viel Neues in Bezug auf unser eigenes Studium lernen. Besonders gut fand ich es, dass wir auch Tage mit Ärzten im "field service" verbringen durften, bei denen wir einiges selber machen konnten und mit noch mehr Leuten aus der Umgebung ins Gespräch kamen.Was mich sehr erstaunt hat, war, dass die Einstellung gegenüber Tierärzten und auch die Einstellung der Studenten gegenüber ihres Studiums so ganz anders war, als wir das in Deutschland gewohnt sind. Tierärzte in Texas werden viel höher geschätzt als bei uns, aber auch das Studium nimmt bei den texanischen Studenten Tag und Nacht ein.

Auch außerhalb der Uni bekamen wir viel zu sehen, so fuhren wir einen Tag lang auf eine Prison Farm (eine für uns Deutsche unvorstellbare Einrichtung, die aber meiner Meinung nach sehr viele positive Effekte mit sich bringt.), besuchten Washington on the Brazos (die Geburtsstadt des einst unabhängigen Texas), ein Baseballspiel und unternahmen auf eigene Faust Ausflühe nach Austin, Houston, zu Outlet Malls etc...

Besonders glücklich machte mich noch eine Studentin der A&M, die uns noch die Möglichkeit gab, eindlich einmal Western zu reiten!

Alles in allem hatte ich eine wunderbare Zeit in der ich sehr viel erleben durfte!

Fanny Bitzer

Austausch nach College Station

Der zweiwöchige Austausch nach College Station war ein tolles Erlebnis und das Programm war sehr gut organisiert. Durch die Aufenthalte an den verschiedenen Kliniken konnten wir bei komplizierten Herzoperationen zuschauen, Lahmheitsuntersuchungen beobachten und bei der Behandlung von riesigen Rinderherden dabei sein, die es in der Größe in Deutschland nicht gibt. Das Fledermauslabor war für uns etwas ganz besonderes und wir waren erstaunt, wie fortgeschritten die Amerikanische Wissenschaft im Thema Klonen schon ist.

Aber auch kulturell haben wir sehr viel gelernt, z.B. wie die ersten Ureinwohner Amerikas gelebt haben, wie eine Ölpumpe aussieht und wie lecker Bluebell Eiscreme schmeckt : ) Besonders schön fand ich das freundliche Klima an der Uni. Alle waren sehr sehr nett zu uns und ich möchte mich besonders bei meinem Host bedanken,mit der ich viele interessante Gespräche über Tierschutz und die kulturellen Unterschiede zwischen USA und Deutschland diskutieren konnte.

Dank der gemieteten Autos konnten wir am Wochenende Austin besuchen, das uns sehr gut gefallen hat, auch, weil es dort so viel vegetarisches Essen gab : ),konnten den Tag der offenen Tür an der Uni besuchen und sonnten uns am See in College Station. Eine der Hosts organisierte uns einen Ausritt mit Westernpferden und ermöglichten uns somit einen wunderschönen Tag.

Ich erinnere mich mit viel Freude an den Besuch zurück, besonders an die Amerikanische Gastfreundschaft, die ich als etwas ganz besonderes empfand.

Vielen Dank dafür an alle!

Christine Schütz