Super!

Well, I've now been in Germany for a week and two  days, but it feels like it's been much longer than that.  In this week I've experience so much already and noticed many differences between here and the United States. Here, you can bring alcohol onto a bus and it's a completely normal thing to do, as it appears so anyway because nobody seems to care when people come on with a beer in their hands.

As a group, we've done enough in a week to make it feel as though a month has passed.  We've done so much hiking that my bones felt like they were going to disintegrate at my next step. We've also gotten to experience a little bit of snow since being here. Which has been nice; however, the freezing temperatures is probably what lead to the stuffy nose I'm currently experiencing.

Getting to know my host family has been great. I've loved getting to talk with my host mom over dinner. Last night I was able to ask her about her experience growing up after the war in Germany. She shared with me how the joining of East and West Germany was very personal for her because she had family in both East and West parts of the country.  I asked her about this because just that morning, our group toured a post-war Germany museum, led by Dr. Wasser.

I love getting to snuggle with their little, black pug, Millie, and playing with my host brother's blonde pug, Pancake.

Also, the food here is awesome. Though, I have yet to taste native German food. I've only had pasta and the Peruvian and Italian dishes my host mom has made. In addition to these, I've had the pleasure of experiencing a Dünner, which is a German take on Turkish food, which resembles a Greek gyro.

Another thing I've picked up on, the children here are so independent. Just this afternoon I saw a few kids who couldn't have been older than 8 who were navigating the bus system to get home from school. When I was their age, my parents were still ordering my food for me at restaurants.

My classes have been great so far and I look forward to the trips we'll be making as part of our history of medicine in Europe. I'm especially looking forward to learning about the history of veterinary medicine, as I'm planning on attending vet school.

Germany has been great so far, and this weekend a group of us are going to Brussels, Belgium this weekend. If my next post is about Belgium waffles and french fries, don't be surprised.

Tschüss!
Sarah