It's March!

Hello there.

So not much has happened so far this week, but it's already March. Time seems to be flying by now that classes have picked up. Most of the week has been spent studying. We had our first physiology test on Wednesday. I think it went pretty well. Although, it turns out having your professor within a very close vicinity at all times means right after the test you can talk about all the things you missed on the exam. this is a blessing and a curse, because while it's nice to know which answers are correct, it's frustrating being real confident in your answers one minute and being completely shot down the next. Oh well, I think the pros definitely outweigh the cons. I prefer having smaller class sizes and getting to know professors on a more personal level. Biomechanics is going to be an interesting yet challenging course. Lot's of homework, but there's a certain feeling of accomplishment when doing math problems. I've come to appreciate biomedical engineering even more knowing we don't assume small strain in structures and use simplified equations to quantify biological phenomena, unlike the civil engineers who deal with very small amounts of deformation in their materials.

On another note, Chase and I learned that our host dad makes his own brandy. Our parents wanted to celebrate Chase and I finishing our first test of the semester, so he let us try some of his homemade black current brandy. We asked him if it was safe and the alcohol in it was ethanol and not something that would kill us. He response, "of course, I'm a chemist. Alcohol is my specialty." I couldn't help but laugh when I heard that. It reminded me of a friend back in Texas who's a chemical engineer who wants to brew his own beer. But this way more complex than some beer recipe. The brandy was actually really tasty. It sort of tasted like drinking plain cranberry juice, which is dangerous because Harald estimated it to be about 40% alcohol by volume. In addition, we also learned that some Germans will drink a Herbal brandy after a big meal to calm their stomachs and aid with digestion. After all this took place, our host sister brought in a bottle of cherry brandy she bought for her parents in Croatia so we could compare it to her father's concoction. We ended up trying 4 different kinds of brandy that night.

I felt like I was at some sort of taste test. Needless to say it was a fun night with the family and we all shared stories and laughs together. Below is a picture of the black current brandy (notice the currents at the bottom of the bottle).

Until next time...