We are the CHAMPS

I've been away from home for 11 days now. I see what people mean when they say that the initial thrill wears off and then you start to miss home. I miss my family, especially my crazy grad-student engineering brother that I live with in College Station! I know he has probably turned the house into some sort of crazy machine lab by now and there's no one there to clean it, so it's assuredly a disaster. I also miss TAMU--it's so chilly here and I hear that it's sunny and in the 70's over there right now. I miss seeing my fellow Ags march from class to class and playing piano in the MSC. I even miss my coffee maker! 

But while there's lots of things that I feel mega-nostalgic about, Germany is still great. I've become comfortable riding the trams (still nervous about buses because I have no idea where they go) so I can explore a little more comfortably and become a little more autonomous. It's also nice that people DO speak English, because I am at German level 0. And I'm SO THANKFUL to have a really awesome group of people to be hanging out with on the daily, including my boyfriend. :) So that helps ease some of the home-sicknesses. 

So, moving away from the sappy stuff! Today was the AIB "Welcome Party" and it was a huge testament to the quality and awesomeness of the people in the Biosciences program with me this semester. We were supposed to come up with a little song or chant or something to describe who we are, what we do, stuff like that. So, naturally we came up with a parody of N-Sync's "Bye Bye Bye", and OF COURSE choreographed the dance to it as well. Needless to say, the bioscience nerds stole the show and everyone loved us. 

But on a higher level, the fact that the bioscience students (and TA's!) were willing to learn some dorky words and choreography and perform it at 110%--even though most of us aren't theatrical or performers--really demonstrates the dedication of this group to produce high-quality results in whatever they do. I'm looking forward to working on a REAL project with everyone--if we can collectively put that much effort into a silly song, there's no telling what we can do in a work environment! 

Oh, and side note: IT SNOWED TODAY. So, we are the champs and it snowed. How perfect is that?!

Ok, back to physiology notes, but if there's anything to be taken away it's this: don't be afraid to be a little uncomfortable if it helps you discover your true potential! Whether it's dancing to N-Sync in front of a bunch of theater majors (yep, we "beat" them!) or flying across the world to live with strangers for four months, you will probably surprise yourself and will DEFINITELY come back changed for the better.