Howdy! My name is Aaron Wang, Class of 2015 and a current junior Biomedical Sciences major minoring in English and Genetics. I am from Clear Lake City in Houston, Texas and have lived there since I was born. I am currently on a pre-med track and plan to attend medical school after I graduate. Most of you guys probably know but I have an identical twin, Austin, going on this trip as well and once you get to know us, telling us apart is pretty easy. Thinking about this trip makes me pretty excited and I am looking forward to meeting all of you guys!
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| Not Austin. |
I was first interested in this study abroad opportunity a little under a year ago and time has flown right by. I attended the A&M Germany History of Medicine Winter program just last year and near the end, I realized that I wanted to spend more time in Germany and Europe. This program, which is a whole semester long and fulfills plenty of BIMS classes, was the best way to go about it!
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| With some peeps last year in Vienna. |
Since I have been to Germany before, I do not have many questions regarding what it looks like there, what kind of food the people eat, or the weather is like. Though of course, I did not see everything since I did not have time to visit every city or village in the country. My impression of Germany after my first trip was that it was an extremely modernized, beautiful, and friendly country to be in. Sure, the weather is mostly pretty cold with wet drizzles a lot of the time but with proper clothing, you will be fairly comfortable out in the streets and such. The architecture in the cities varies with older buildings juxtaposed against newer ones in many areas, creating a unique environment fusing the past and the present. In terms of food, German food really is mostly pork and potatoes but you can definitely find a lot of other varieties of foods if you really look for it. Also, just a heads up, bring money for the restrooms because you either have to pay to get in or tip the cleaner on your way out. Believe me, the restrooms are typically really clean so the price is fairly worth it if you compare them to the public restrooms here in the United States!
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| Love the wurst. |
Something the last trip to Germany really helped me with was getting over the stigma I had that the German language sounded rough and even slightly hilarious at times. Now, the sound of German doesn't really stick out to me much at all and I have a better appreciation for the language. This time around, I am planning to learn and practice German while I am over there and hopefully by the end, I will at least be semi-semi-fluent in the language or something like that.
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| A nice street in Bonn. |
I have a general understanding of the German healthcare system since we were lectured about aspects of the healthcare system last time I was there. Now, with the 485 experience this semester, I will be able to go more in depth and further explore the medical profession in Germany and learn more about it. It is important to see how healthcare works there, especially with the Affordable Care Act being a hot topic here in the United States.
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| About to observe surgeries in Bonn. |
As for the excursions, museums, and such, those should be interesting, and even though I may have gone to some of them already, I look forward to getting a second look at some of those places as well as many new ones too. I am sure whether or not I have gone to a certain place, there is always something new to be learned.
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| Outside the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin. |
Living with a host family in Bonn is also one thing that will be very different and I am very excited and just a little bit anxious about that but I am sure it will just take a bit of getting used to for the first few days. Bonn is a gorgeous city and it was probably one of my favorite places from last year. But regardless of any expectations of this trip, I am looking forward to spending an amazing semester in Germany where I will be exposed to more of the history, culture, food, and language that made Germany the place it is today. See you all there!
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