Life goals

This past week was filled with so much excitement, learning, and fun. Every student got the chance to "scrub-in" on real life surgeries at the Uniklinik in Bonn. The Uniklinik is the University Hospital. It is used as a teaching hospital for the medical students at Bonn University, and I can definitely say that I learned a lot!

 Not every student got to watch the same kind of surgeries. Some students went to the cardio unit for heart surgeries, some urology, and others general surgery. I got the opportunity to sit in on not just one, but two pediatric surgeries! At first I was not as excited as the students that went to the cardio surgeries and so forth. I just didn't feel like it was going to be as fascinating as the others, but boy was I wrong!

I have always been very good with children; it just comes naturally. However, I have never thought about actually performing surgery on a child. Of course I knew it was a thing, but I just never really gave it a thought as to pursuing it for a future career. Well, things change right? Life is about learning new things, and I sure uncovered a lot on this day!

This past Wednesday was probably one of the best if not the best day of my life! I witnessed two toddler boys undergo a surgery that would change their lives. Both boys were around 2-3 years old. They were both so tiny, and cute. One boy had a correction procedure done. His ureter was in the wrong place. The surgeon went in, and moved the ureter to the correct place so that the opening was at the tip, and not underneath. The other boy was born without a belly-button. This surgery was so fascinating to me. I never realized how it could be a big deal if you didn't have a belly-button, but it was to the parents of this child. The surgeon cut through the scar tissue that was on the boy's stomach, traced out what he would cut out for the creation of the belly-button, and then proceeded with the procedure. During this surgery I wasn't able to picture the final product actually looking like it should, but I definitely underestimated the surgeon. The final product definitely fascinated me more than anything ever has.

The overall experience was so much more than anything I've ever done or experienced in my life. I'm so glad that I got the chance to participate and be a witness to the surgeries. It only excites me for what is to come in the future, and also gives me so much motivation as to conquer my dreams.

A Week Full of Doctors

A Week Full of Doctors

     The past week has been spent in an out of doctors offices... After I got home from Vienna, I got much worse. I started getting these spells that started with extreme dizziness and a racing heart rate and ended with a horrible headache and exhaustion. It was horrible... I went to the first doctor on Monday and he was not very nice. He was just a very harsh man that didn't really understand what my symptoms were, so after they drew my blood I never went back. I went to another doctor and she was much much more helpful. She did two different EKGs and realized that there was an irregularity with my heart rate. They gave me magnesium to regulate my electrolytes and it seems to have helped a little. On Saturday, I started feeling a little better. I was able to go to Bruges and enjoy my time before the exhaustion hit. Bruges was beautiful and I loved it. The town its self is so little and quaint. We went on a canal tour to get a better view of the city and even got to see a few places from the movie "In Bruges." We ate waffles and got Belgian chocolate and walked around the town. It was great. 

     Today I feel a little worse... I am really tired and just feel like something is off. I am a little dizzy and exhausted again. Hopefully everything gets better, but I guess we will have to wait and see. I promise I will get back to writing good blog posts after I get to feeling better... I need a nap now:(  

The City of Wine

It's a bit late, but this is my post about Vienna.

Vienna was the first long trip everyone on the trip took together guided by the faculty. These types of trips always have the potential of being either rather boring because of strictures of the faculty or ending in some type of trouble because letting 20+ college aged kids free in a foreign city is a recipe for something wrong to happen. Fortunately, neither of these were the case.

The faculty treated us with respect and were not excessively strict in order to prevent us doing stupid things in the city. Rather, they left us quite free to do what we wanted. In this way, I think it left us more disposed to act respectfully in return by behaving ourselves (to a reasonable degree considering our age and how old we are). Overall I think the trip went very smoothly and I really enjoyed all of it. Nevertheless, the trip had a little bit of a bumpy start.

From the get-go, we had difficulty with our plane. It was delayed several hours because of maintenance issues, but we kept up a good mood by talking and playing some leap-frog in the airport, normal behavior. Eventually we got on the plane and took off to Austria and everything was good from here.

In Vienna we went to the catacombs, the Spanish Horse Riding School, Sigmund Freud's house and practice, an Orchestra, the Josephina anatomical wax museum, the Narrenturm (first psychiatric hospital), took a medical walking tour through the city, and went ice skating in the best darn ice skating venue I have ever been to. As weird as it may be, the ice skating was probably one of the highlights of my trip. I really enjoy going ice skating, and this place was just awesome!

Well, there you have it. That was my experience of Vienna and it was a good one.

Hell Week and Berlin

So Hell Week was bad.

That's really all I have to say about that. I spent all my time studying and preparing for my two exams and presentation and they were not what I expected the outcome to be like. So theres always next time right? I hope. I tried to forget about this week by spending my time in Berlin.

It worked.

We took the night bus from Cologne to Berlin which kinda was rough because I don't think I slept the entire night. We arrived at the bus station at 7 in the morning and like a bunch of typical Americans, we found the closest Starbucks we could. But what was cool about this Starbucks was that it was at the front of the Brandenburg Bridge. We then got a free tour around Berlin for a couple of hours. We saw the building where Michael Jackson hung Blanket out the window, we saw the Jewish Memorial, and saw the top of Hitler's bunker. During the break of the tour, we decided to go to a different Starbucks and signed up for a pub-crawl that night. After the tour, we grabbed some lunch next to a place called Suicide Circus and ate a double cheeseburger. We then went back to the hotel and crashed for about an hour and a half. We ate dinner that night a Mexican restaurant and it was actually really good! That night we went on a pub-crawl and met people from Scotland, Spain, Croatia, Germany, Canada, and there was even a kid from Ohio. It was a lot of fun. We didn't get back till about 4 in the morning and the next day we woke up at about noon.

We went and looked at the Jewish memorial again, the topography of terror which was Nazi history through the eyes of Nazis, and tried to go see the Reichstag but we needed a reservation so we couldn't get in. We walked a couple miles and climbed a giant statue that had about 300 steps and got a great view of the city. We ate dinner that night and finished off at Dunkin Doughnuts.

Overall it was a great weekend and I can't wait to travel again. Except my phone broke so that's annoying. But we'll see ya next time

And we're back on track!

More normal class, as is to be expected. I would've appreciated more recovery time from Vienna, but I guess one weekend will have to be enough.

The big highlight of the week was a visit to the Bonn University Hospital. And when I say we visited the hospital, I don't mean that we just bothered a few off-duty orderlies. We walked in, changed into scrubs and Crocs, and watched actual, honest-to-god surgeries taking place.

Well, I say 'we'. I went in myself, about an hour late, because I am an idiot. I won't bore anyone with the details, but essentially, I misread the schedule and managed to set my alarm for about 10 minutes before I was supposed to be present and ready to go at Bonn Central Station. After some considerable time frantically texting back and forth, I eventually managed to get where I needed to be and got myself suited up and mixed back in with the rest of the group.

The surgery I got to watch was a double bypass and aortic valve replacement. Let me tell you, if you've never seen a man's chest cranked open by a massive clamp, with everything still going inside, it's really something. And the heart, oh man, the heart. When it's inside your chest like it's supposed to be, you don't really think about it. It feels calm, and gentle. But when I saw it, it was beating at about half a normal waking heart rate, and it still seemed to be trying to twist itself up and out of the patient's chest. When it beat, the whole heart moved, twisting up and crushing and forcing blood through the rest of the body.

When they stopped the heart, I couldn't help but be worried, even though I knew that was what was supposed to happen. The two surgeons working on the patient were great, managing to buck the stereotype of being quiet grumps. They encouraged us to ask them questions, and even had some pretty normal conversation with us. Well, as normal as a conversation can be when a man with his rib cage opened up is lying on the table in front of you.

It was an absolutely amazing experience, and I am more sure than ever that working here, in this field, with these people, is where I need to be.

Also, we presented our super-basic project concept on Friday, and I think our ideas went over really well!

Don't Hold My Breath, Benjamin Briggs

[Recap] Don't be a Wiener

So, the Vienna trip. Really, really interesting.

The first day was a little frustrating. Our plane had some sort of serious malfunction, and we had to get off and wait for a replacement, which set out timetable back by quite a bit. Fortunately, it wasn't too long, we just had to move our planned tour from the morning to the following afternoon.

Our first evening there we got to visit Michael's Church (Michaelerkirche), including the crypt underneath it. There's over 4,000 people buried in an area roughly the size of a large house! There's an entire wall where femurs, hundreds of femurs, have been stacked like cord-wood all the way up to the ceiling! In an alcove on the other side, there's a massive pile of all the little (and not so little) bits and pieces that had broken off and apart over the centuries. What I'm saying is, there were quite a lot of spooky scary skeletons. After that, we had dinner at the Gosser Bierklink, a very popular Viennese restaurant.

The next day we went to watch the morning practice of the Spanish Riding School, the oldest of its kind. Even though it wasn't an official performance, there was something really amazing about watching pure white horses moving gracefully about the arena without any effort. That afternoon we had free time, and I and a group of friends went to the Albertina Museum. One artist who spoke to me in particular was Paul Signac. I'm still not entirely sure why. I'm not really used to having opinions on art.

Day three we got to visit Freud's house and office. Lots of cool old stuff there. But for me the main event of the day was the Josephinum, a Viennese military medical school. It has a massive collection of wax anatomical models, numbering in the thousands. And because they were handmade, they weren't just models, they were works of art. Incredibly detailed, down as small as the eye can see. Then, later that night we went to a string quartet concert and listened to Mozart and Beethoven.

The last day, we went to the Narrenturm (Fool's Tower), the first purpose-build insane asylum in Europe. It has long since been converted to storage of old medical materials, including more wax models. But where the Josphinum's showed ideal men and women, the Narrenturm held examples of a boggling variety of different diseases. Not a visit for the faint of heart. After lunch we then went to the Natural History Museum, where we saw such things as the world's largest meteorite collection and the Venus of Willendorf. Fascinating stuff.

And then, we went home.

Born Depressed, Drill Queen

[Recap] Karneval, pt.2

After a quiet Sunday with the host family, we got ready for the main Karneval event, Rosenmontag. Sadly, I no longer had access to my sombrero or the face paint needed to once again visit the glory of my moostache upon the world. Instead, we rooted through about 25 years' worth of various and myriad costumes the family had hung onto over the years. In the end, we settled on just changing to the American variant, from vaquero to a proper Texan cowboy with vest and hat.

Then, I went and saw another parade, this time with host-daughter Svenja and Kelsey, a family friend who's here to learn German and get into nursing school. We cheered and yelled for candy ('Kamella!' Apparently it's an old word for 'caramel') and generally had a great time. I also got to try out Mettbrotchen. The name roughly translates to 'porkbread', and it's almost exactly what you'd imagine: Raw, ground pork and onions on a bread roll. I wasn't a huge fan of the whole 'raw meat' thing, but once I got past that and actually ate it, it was pretty tasty. Not fantastic. You won't hear me saying, 'Man, I could really go for some Mettbrotchen right now.' But it was pretty good.

After all the starry-eyed wonder of Karneval wore off late Monday night, I went to class like normal the next day. And the classes were, indeed, very normal. Physiology and History of Medicine were interesting. Circuits and Signals mad me feel like I'd been smashing my own head with a brick for an hour and a half. Diff Eq had finally begun to 'click' and for a moment I felt like I was seeing the Matrix. Then we moved to the next part of the chapter and that was that.

The big focus of the week was anticipation for our first major excursion: Vienna. We were all really excited, and a good chunk of our midday downtime we probably should've spent studying was instead spent figuring out what we were going to do once we got there.

THE BEST 2 MINUTES 14 SECONDS OF YOUR LIFE, PROTO-DOME

[Recap] Karneval, Pt.1

Obviously, more things happened than Karneval, but that was the single most important thing that happened here in week 3. Of course, it spilled over into week 4 because big holidays are weird like that. That's why there's a 'Pt. 1' in the title. Effective communication!

During he week was more normal class, for the most part. This is when things actually began to get difficult, too. I'm still really salty about having to take Circuits and Signals. I'm not an Electrical Engineer, I'm a Biomedical Engineer. I literally did not sign up for this! Anyways, that week of class really whopped me over the head. It woke me up to the fact that even though we were in a fairly unorthodox situation, the curriculum wasn't going to be pulling any punches. Up until now things had felt like a very unconventional addition to Christmas break. If last week was the comforting, routine part of school, this week was the part where I remembered that, no, I still had to actually do work, even for the classes I didn't actually enjoy.

In the middle of the week we visited the main headquarters of Bayer, most well known in America for the lovely invention known as Aspirin. While there we got a look into what it's like for biomedical and pharmaceutical companies, what sorts of challenges they face, and what kinds of problems they try to to solve. Very interesting stuff. I was also surprised to find out that they'd started life as a textile company. Their first drug was actually a byproduct of the dye-making process that turned out to have useful medical properties. I suspect finding that out has a few interesting stories behind it ('Hey Hans, bet you can't drink all that crap in the waste tank!').

Then, the week ended early, because of Karneval. Yes, the same holiday as celebrated in Brazil. On Thursday the whole AIB got dressed up in costumes (I went as a vaquero, complete with magnificent face-paint waxed moostache), and went to watch a parade. We sang and yelled, and watched the parade and generally had a good time. Then we went and got pizza, and went home, because standing around and yelling for two and a half hours is surprisingly tiring. Then, an unfortunate few of us had to drag ourselves back down to the AIB to take Differential Equations, because it's streamed over the internet rather than taught in person, and our friends back home weren't going to get the day off for the sake of a few punks who ran off to Europe for the semester. The next few days were quiet weekend days, with most of the Karneval celebrations concentrated on that first Thursday, and at the end on Rosenmontag (Rose Monday).

The Crystal Key is Broken, Theophany

[Recap] The ball gets rolling

The second week was very nice and smooth, with only a few minor mishaps.

Our first week of real class was fairly gentle. Introductory stuff, reading over the syllabus, basic background information, the works. Pretty standard stuff, really. After having to adjust to so many things being different, it was strangely comforting to just sit down and go to class like normal again.

Of course, I managed to be a few minutes late on the first day of class due to the awkward timing of the bus schedule. My neighborhood is fairly far from the AIB building in Bonn's city center, and I'd managed to underestimate just how long it would take to  get back into town in time for class. I'd eventually settle for just leaving sooner than I thought I needed to, but I was lucky that first day because almost no one was on time. It all worked out for the best.

On Tuesday we went to the modern German History Museum. While there we got a solid crash course in what happened in Germany post-1945 all the way up through the present day. Some of the highlights included getting to see some of the more unconventional car designs created to deal with material shortages and some of Kennedy's personal note cards form his historic 'Ich bin ein Berliner' speech.

On Friday we visited Aachen. While there we took a tour of the Aachener Dom, then loaded up and headed over to something really important: our project. Throughout this semester we were going to be working on something of a capstone project designing a medical device while cooperating with an actual biomedical company. Today was the day we met with ENMODES and learned about that project. I'm a little intimidated by the whole thing, but the idea of working on a real-world problem does still have me pretty fired up, even now six weeks later. It's really cool stuff.

Cranky's Christmas Mojo, Peach

[Recap] Getting my sea legs

So. I haven't been posting properly like I should have. Good times, good times. The good news is, I am now pushing as hard as I can to not only get caught up but make sure I don't fall behind again. Fortunately, this is basically self-inflicted corporal punishment. It was a pretty serious mistake on my part, but I can guarantee I won't be forgetting this any time soon. My fingers are already crying.

I'll be making one post for each week I missed. Looking over the calendar, that's ... seven weeks.

Here we go.

My arrival in Germany was fairly uneventful. Most of the adrenaline I'd built up about not only leaving the country but the entire continent for the first time burned out about halfway through the plane ride. Sitting really still for eleven hours will do that to you. Even better, I only got about two hours of sleep. It was a rough night.

When we first got off the plane, my first thoughts were pretty groggy, but they went something the lines of, 'Huh. This ain't so different.' Then someone started to speak to me in German. 'Wait wait wait, no, this is very different.' That, combined with the blast of cold air as we left the airport woke me up (Somewhat literally. I was very sleepy.) to the fact that I wasn't in Kansas anymore. Or, Texas. You know what I mean.

After a two-hour bus ride from Frankfurt to Bonn and a short introductory meeting, I met the first member of my host family, the son, Soren (pronounced more like 'Zuren'). Very friendly guy, and he speaks excellent English. A mechanical engineering student, we quickly bonded over making fun of other, less important majors on the way out to my new home. There, I met my host parents, Ulf and Imi. After exchanging greetings, they showed me around the house and my new room, and told me dinner was at seven. I sat down on the bed to check my email, blinked, and woke up around six thirty.

The rest of the week was very quiet, which was very nice. The most exciting thing to happen was the Mayschoss excursion, where we went out to a small wine-producing town and had ourselves a proper German wine-tasting. Personally, I'd never had any sort of alcoholic drink before this, preferring to avoid it for personal reasons. Gotta say, not a fan. That being said, hiking up to a mountaintop ruin and snarfing down a literal pile of delicious meat, bread, and cheese made it more than worth it to suffer through a few sips of fermented grape juice.

*So when I wrote my first blog I thought I was going to do something clever with song titles and blah blah blah. Don't really feel like doing that anymore, so I'm just going to put the name and artist of whatever I'm listening to when I finish writing.

Rocket Rave, Draconiator

Thats What A Lung Is

Waking up before the sun is a rare event for most college students, however for this experience it was more then worth it. Today I got the opportunity to be in scrubs and watch an operation for the very first time. The people of the University Medical Center were kind enough to allow our class the opportunity  to go into operation room and watch various kinds of procedures. In the operation room we were paired with an anesthesiologist who spoke relativity good English and would answer any questions that we had.

Upon walking into the operation room, the first patient I saw was a man who was getting a catheter put in an artery near his right shoulder that would run to a device just below the man's skin in his chest that could be used to deliver chemo therapy through. I thought I would do okay with the surgeries being that my whole childhood involved crime scene shows and me wanting to be a crime scene investigator however you never know until you try. Watching the surgeons work, I got to see them lacerate the mans chest for the device and then cauterize the skin away. I was astonished at how much they cauterize the skin when making an incision, and how the surgeons work. They act so nonchalant about their jobs and even sit their and talk with everyone will the patient just lays there, thanks to the anesthesiologist of course. This first procedure was nothing to crazy, but a great warm up to my medical operation room career. 

I never truly understood what an anesthesiologist really did until I got to see the second patient being prepared for surgery. This man had suffered from cancer in his gall bladder that had been removed previously, but had now suffered from cancer on his sternum. In a room leading to the operation room the anesthesiologist prepared the man for surgery by giving his a muscle relaxer and medicine for pain. After the patient was "out", the anesthesiologist began by putting a catheter in the man's hand for an IV bag, and then an even larger on in the man's superior artery to allow for very fast blood and medication infusion in times of need. After these catheters were put in, another was them applied to the man's hand in order to be able to get a more accurate reading of the patients mean arterial blood pressure. After all of this had been completed as well as a few other minor tasks, the man was ready for the operation room. In the operation room was again the same surgeons from the previous patient, however you could tell the more advancement and severity of this surgery as twice as many nurses and on-lookers also came in.      

the surgeon began by again making a laceration to the skin and then cauterizing the skin away until he was able to get to he sternum. Once at the sternum the surgeon finessed his way around the area, cauterizing more skin, he then used almost what looked like a mini hedge clipper to cut away the patient's ribs from his sternum. Taking out the sternum, everyone gave a little cheer, and the surgeon even examined his wonderful work, however this was not the end of the surgery. Once the sternum was removed, I got to see one of the coolest medical things I have ever seen. With the sternum removed you had a clear "window" like opening to the mans middle chest and organ. As he laid there you were able to see his lungs expand and contract as he was breathing. I stood there in awe as I got to see human lungs in a living person functional. Sadly, our time was up to leave at this point and I did not get to see any more of the surgery. I couldn't thank the school enough however for that wonderful opportunity of getting to see surgical procedures first hand.

 The anesthesiologist was very welcoming and informational with us. I got to learn a lot about what medications are given before operations. What the anesthesiologist must look out for during surgery, the life of an anesthesiologist, and even how some of the machines work. This was the first time in my life that I actually felt like a medical student and it was so surreal. 

First Time All Together

Last week was the first time since we have been on the study abroad extravaganza that we had the opportunity to all travel as a group. Vienna started off with us having to be up at 4am to make it to the bus stop to take a bus to the Koln airport. Once on the plane all seemed to be going great until of course.... nothing happened. After an hour of sitting on the plane we were instructed that there was some electrical problems and we needed to get off the plane. However you can't be mad when you have no school, your trip is paid for, and your with all o your friends. We were given a food stipend and eventually another plane came to the rescue.

Since we now arrived in Vienna much later than anticipated we had to change some scheduling round and were given time to go to our rooms, hang out, and start later in the day. Our first adventure involved a tour of the Michaelerkirche and the catacombs. The catacombs were a very interesting place and frankly it is still hard to believe that all of the people buried under the church where in fact real people. We were told stories of who was buried where and the history of the catacombs and show real bones and mummies. After this awesome experience we all participated in a group dinner at a restaurant near by. This dinner was one of the funniest and most informational dinners I have been too. We all got to socialize with each other as well as have good discussions with our professors. The greatest moment of the day though, happened after we ate and all gave our professor a hug, making him tear up a little. Seeing that expression from him was truly heart warming and started a bond between our whole group.

The second day involved getting an opportunity to see the Spanish Horse Riding School's morning practice. This was a neat experience to get to see how horse riding works and how they trained these world famous horses...one friend even got to find out that he is allergic to horses. After this, we got to experience what we had originally missed due to our delay the first day and that was Dr. Schnabel. Dr. Schnabel was a doctor from the time of the black plaque. He gave us a tour around the whole city as well as important history that we should know. He was a very smart individual and even gave us "black plague medicine" to take as we walked on our tour, and of course took pictures with us.

Thursday (Day 3) began with a visit to Sigmund Freud's house and a beginning lecture by our professor. I learned lots of things about Sigmund Freud that I had no idea about. Sigmund Freud was a very interesting man who paved the way for physiology, ego, super ego, and the ID. After this we all participated in a group lunch at a very good and interesting place. Everyone shared there different types of food involving schnitzel and chicken. After this lunch we got a tour at the Josephinum which was/is a old hospital in Vienna, we got a very good and informational talk from a leader and got to see their mold room of 4 rooms of molds of the human body and its organs. This wonderful day concluded with everyone dressing up in slacks, dresses, ties, or even suit coats and experiencing a concert at the St.Anne's Church. There they played Mozart and Beethoven and were very brilliant musicians. Lastly dinner involved again getting the opportunity to bond with the professors over a great sushi dinner.

On Friday, the final day of our trip, we began with a guided tour of the Narrenturm. The Narrenturm is an old hospital for people with disease, or who were called "insane or crazy". Here we got the opportunity to see every kind of disease imaginable and even ones that you would never believe. The trip finally ended with a tour of by far my favorite attraction which was the Natural History Museum. Here we got a tour of everything from pre-historic animals including the largest sea turtle ever, meteorites, all the animals you could see in the zoo, and even an exhibit on space.

Of course what is a real trip without the extracurricular time. Each night consisted of a new adventure and new people. One night was a nice relaxing night of a walk on the river near our hotel with only myself, and then another with a group of us who enjoyed one another company. The other night, the craziest, consisted of me making many friends and being taken to some pretty cool places. The friends I met involved a man from Ireland, his business partner and best friend from Germany who now lives in Vienna after only wanting to visit it for a year, and then a couple from Germany. We talked about everything from German health care, to Donald Trump and even gun laws. They were all so friendly and even bought us drinks at the place we were at.

All in all, Vienna was an amazing place and one that I will remember thanks to the amazing places, wonderful people and great experiences.

Feeling more and more like a medical student

So this past week we had our program's first excursion to Vienna Austria! And what a beautiful city it was. With Dr. Wasser and Teresa, it was an amazing and fascinating trip. We did so much that was revolved around medicine it was awesome!

Dr. Wasser toured us through the city of Vienna wearing a medieval doctor's suit, giving us "medicine" to protect us from the bubonic plague. We learned about the old medical schools that trained prominent doctors and brilliant people. We visited the Josephenium, a museum in an old medieval hospital with life-sized anatomical wax models of humans, and these collections were fascinating and accurate, almost like looking into a real person. This experience was amazing because surely not a lot of medical students from the States really get to experience this. Moreover, we also visited the Narrenturm, an old mental illness institution, and is now a museum of pathology also with wax models as well as real diseased human organs and skeletons. On top of all this medicinal activities, we ate delicious schnitzel, dressed up and went to a lovely concert, and had a great time exploring around Vienna.

Then today during the week, we visited UniKlinik Bonn, the hospital/medical school, and shadowed and observed surgeons in the OR!! Which is so cool!! We got to see surgeries from in the OR, and the doctors and nurses were so welcoming to us and so helpful to us understanding what was going on. My surgeon I shadowed was the Chief ENT and he performed a couple ear surgeries, one of which he removed the smallest bone in the body, the stapes, and then replaced it with a prosthetic stapes. This is a fascinating procedure, he said the most difficult of the surgeries, and yet he was teaching me and talking to me the whole time with a steady hand and focused intent. I asked why was it so difficult and he said "Well you should try!" This was so awesome to me! An experience I have never experienced before, nor thought I ever would.

All along I have been strictly engineering, and before A&M I told myself I would never do Bioengineering and yet, here I am. However after these past medical experiences I am starting to really consider if I want to go to the engineering practice or more medical practice, all of which I really enjoy. This trip is such an amazing trip!

#5 Communication is Key

To those who read these blog posts continuously, I'm sure you've read plenty about our most recent trip, Vienna. And although I have much to say about the lovely city, I'm sure my classmates have covered the highlights and the best parts so I'll take this blog in a different direction. And as much as I'd love to catch up on the highlights of my time here and what I've been up to the past week, I know I'd be typing for quite some time, and you'd be reading for quite awhile.

So getting to the point, I want to tell you about how much I'm still struggling with communication here and how often I practice and watch youtube video after youtube video. It sounds crazy, I know. Especially since everyone says, "Oh you'll be fine, most people speak English or they'll understand what you are trying to say." But that is not always the case. Maybe I'm just unlucky but I've ran into a lot of people that don't speak English. Maybe it's because I like to converse with the locals and I'm not afraid to ask for help. But for the fourth time since I've been here, I've asked for help while buying something in a store and yet again, the person's English is about as good as my German. I have fallen into the trap of buying something I was falsely led to thinking it was what I wanted. And it's definitely not their fault. Not being able to effectively communicate is really bothersome for me. 

So onwards with my story, I desperately wanted another pair of leggings. If you're a girl, you understand the difference between tights and leggings. One is made of thicker material and doesn't show skin, the other of course is thinner. If you're a guy, just try to follow along. Well, the package clearly said "leggings" on it, and it was packaged in a way where you don't actually try the leggings on, you just pick your size out. Kind of like socks. You don't remove them from the package to try them on, you just pick your size out and buy them. Okay, same for this. Well I noticed the material seemed somewhat thin, so I asked about them. Yet again, I was led to buying something I didn't actually want. Although, that's not really a big issue. My issue is that I so badly want to be able to communicate and get my point across to someone to where they actually understand me. But German is not an easy language. Some of my classmates comment on how I know so much more vocabulary than them, but that's really not the case. I just happen to pick up on a couple extra words, nothing major. Right now I'm really struggling with making sentences and word order. I also need to practice the difference between asking someone a question rather than telling them my question in statement form. It sounds weird, but that tends to happen to me. For example this often happens when I order food and I want to say "Hello, can I have [blank]...?" but I end up saying "Hello, I have [blank]..." I creates a bit of confusion and awkwardness, but I'm getting better depending on what I say, but it's a really slow process. 

Last night my host mom gave me a couple of children's books to practice reading and it's actually helping a lot with basic sentences. Listening to German music seems to be helping too. I've been able to pick up on a few more words as I continue to listen to the songs over and over. So although it seems to people that I'm picking up on German, I really don't feel like I am. Every day I forget a word I learned last week. Or for every German word I learn I forget an English word! I'm starting to mix languages and it's getting confusing. Maybe I need a full three days of sleep, who knows? But all is well and I'm enjoying life in Germany. 

Spoiled

This weekend I realized how spoiled I am to have wifi access everywhere I spend a significant amount of time for the most part. The wifi in my host family's house went out indefinitely, and I am not proud to say that it was harder to handle than I thought it would be. I was able to use the desktop for a little while to get the important things I needed for school, but for the most part it was an introspective weekend for me. I was able to sit and be by myself, work on the crazy amount of school work for the week, listen to music, and read. It was very relaxing and somewhat liberating. I didn't realize how dependent I am on internet access and how much it can occupy my mind.

I also realized this weekend how much I like Texas. I was able to spend some time thinking about home, both home home and College Station. I miss some of the little things that I never thought about before. I miss studying with my friends at Sweet Eugenes. I miss going to Breakaway on Tuesday nights to worship with thousands of other students. I miss going to my sister's soccer games when it is gorgeous outside. I am jealous of the fact that in Texas it has been gorgeous outside for weeks and I have been constantly cold since I got here. I don't think homesickness is the right word to describe how I felt, it was more just like a reflection. I realized that I am blessed not only to have the opportunity to leave for 4 months and experience the world, and I love that it has given me an appreciation both for other cultures as well as an appreciation for my own.

Ich bin ein Berliner

These last couple of weeks have been absolute mayhem. I don't think I have had more than a couple hours of sleep per night because of everything that is going on. That being said, I have a lot to talk about over these past two weekends. The Friday before last, Kendal, Madison, Gunnar, and I went to Berlin. I was only in Berlin for two days, and it is already my favorite city in Europe. There is so much history and beauty in the city, and the sun was even out for a couple of days! It is a very clean place despite the number of people living there, and it is very spread out and gives off the exact opposite vibe of a dirty and crowded city such as New York City.

That first night, we wanted to see the Topography of Terror, which is located on the site where the SS Headquarters used to stand. After walking around for an hour, none of the locals seemed to know where or even what the Topography of Terror was, so we decided to enter the Communications Museum and ask someone for help. Upon walking into the building, however, we were leered at by at least 50 different people all wearing the same suit and ear pieces, and feeling as if we just walked into the German equivalent of the CIA, we rushed out and decided to find it ourselves. After walking around for about another hour, we found a reconstructed building where Checkpoint Charlie used to stand, one of the checkpoints that helped separated East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War Era. It was amazing to learn about the history of Checkpoint Charlie, which included a Mexican standoff between American tanks and Soviet tanks. We met a guy from Denver who was able to point us in the direction of the Topography of Terror.

Once we finally arrived, we were greeted by the last remaining portion of the looming Berlin Wall standing in its original spot. We continued to tour the Topography of Terror until it closed, and it was fascinating, yet very sad, to read about the SS and their thought processes that led to the actions that they took. We finished off the night by going to a very appropriately named club district called RAW, which was just as sketchy as it sounds. We were greeted by a very dark street and an eerie setting, and so, we found the club that was playing the loudest music and decided to go inside. The only problem was, the place was completely dead on a Saturday morning at 12 am. A few people tricked in, and we made the most of the situation by trying to enjoy ourselves and dancing to the music.

The next day, we went on a free walking tour through the city. We met a couple of American study abroad students from Barcelona and Berlin, as well as a professor from Ireland, and we were amazed by the friendliness of everyone. We saw the Berlin Dom, several French and German Catholic Churches, Checkpoint Charlie, the Memorial to the Fallen Jews, the Parliament Building, the location where Hitler's bunker used to be, and many other things. My favorite thing to see was the Memorial to the Fallen Jews. It was a vast area that was covered in 2 by 4 foot blocks of stone of varying heights. Interestingly enough, a very controversial decision was made to allow the company that manufactured the gas used in the concentration camps to produce a protective coating on the blocks to prevent graffiti from sticking to it. The height of each stone is different, and the architect of the Memorial refuses to talk about what it means, opening it up for interpretation. Gunnar and I have a theory that each stone represents a different city and the height of each stone represents the number of Jews from that location who passed away during the war due to the Nazi party.

Due to the crazy school schedule that we were going to have over the next couple of weeks, we decided to take a short homework break before going back out. Gunnar and I decided, interestingly enough, to go back to RAW and give it a second chance. We waited about 45 minutes in line to enter another place, and we actually managed to enjoy ourselves this time. I had to get up super early to catch a train back to Bonn in the morning, so I unfortunately did not get to see as much of Berlin as I would have wanted to.

Overall, Berlin was my favorite place to visit so far, and the only place in Europe that I could see myself living in the future. It was so welcoming, beautiful, and fascinating, and I was amazed by the diversity of the city. I would like to visit again before we return back home because I find myself at home in such an amazing city. As JFK famously (and incorrectly) said, "Ich bin ein Berliner", and I believe that this quote applies to me at heart.

Here are some of my favorite pictures from Berlin:

Vienna and Stuff

Vienna:

On Tuesday morning (if you consider 4:45 AM to be morning yet...I don't) we met up to go to the airport and fly to Austria. Our first plane broke and we had a bit of a layover, but they compensated us with a food voucher so I was happy. We unfortunately missed our appointment for the city tour, but we got to explore a bit before our tour of the catacombs. Vienna is a very beautiful place, and the catacombs were kind of creepy and a little sad. I've never been that close to a human skull before. And I've never seen such a large pile of bones. I'm gonna call it the Leaning Tower of Femurs. Actually that might be disrespectful. But the guide was cracking jokes left and right so I should be fine. We had a group dinner that night at a traditional Viennese restaurant. I loved the schnitzel and the desserts and the fact that I wasn't paying for any of it.

Wednesday morning we went to the Spanish Riding School and watched them practice. It was basically the fanciest rodeo I've ever been to, but not that exciting. I have some ideas for them to spice it up that involve jumping through rings of fire and having the horses do a coordinated dance to Beyonce. After that, we had our postponed tour of the city with Dr. Plague Mask (I forgot what he called himself), which was really fun despite the weather. We got to take medieval medicines and learned a good deal about the history of medicine in Vienna. Then we had some free time, which I used to visit one of the art museums. Monet and Picasso were the main attractions.

On Thursday, we went to the Josephinum and looked at their collection of anatomical wax models that medical students used to learn from in the 1700's. They were surprisingly accurate and it was super interesting. I wish the tour had been a little longer. That night we got in our fancy clothes and went to a string quartet concert in a really pretty church. They played Mozart and Beethoven and it was one of my favorite parts of the trip. Afterward we went to a fancy restaurant with fancy wine to match our fancy clothes and walked along the river a bit.

Friday was our last day in Vienna. We started the day in the grossest way possible and visited the Narrenturm, or Fool's Tower, which was the first psychiatric hospital and is now a pathological-anatomical museum. There were some pretty creepy but also very interesting things in there, like skeletons of conjoined twins, various body parts in jars, and a room of skulls. After that we broke for lunch and then went to the museum of natural history, which had a ton of cool rocks and dinosaurs. Then we came home.

Other Stuff:

This week is what we've affectionately been referring to as Hell Week. It's full of tests and project presentations and is the reason I'm getting this post out of the way early. Hopefully I get to travel next weekend to recover. I guess there wasn't that much other stuff...just studying. Wish me luck!

Trying to Wien myself off of Apfelstrudel

And just like that, our first major excursion has come and gone. Vienna was everything I had imagined and more. I wish we could’ve stayed longer, as there were some things I didn’t get a chance to see. But I guess that just means I’ll have to come back another time!

Setting my alarm for 3:30 Tuesday was a little disheartening because I am definitely not a morning person, but after a little coffee I perked up. We all made it to the airport, checked our bags, and boarded the plane…only to get right back off. The plane was experiencing some maintenance issues, but we all got meal vouchers! There’s a silver lining in everything, isn’t there?

We began our time in Vienna with a tour of the catacombs of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. The experience was certainly unsettling. Being surrounded by coffins and bones, I kept thinking about every scary movie I’ve ever seen. So of course I was wrought up, but it was still really interesting. That evening, we had a group dinner at an authentic Viennese restaurant. I was a little dehydrated from the day, so I was not feeling one-hundred-percent. After drinking about a whole liter of water, I felt much better.

The next day, we started with a visit to the Spanish Horse Riding School. The Lipizzaner stallions were beautiful to watch. We continued the day with a medical walking tour led by Dr. Schnabel. Despite the cold and rainy weather, it was fascinating to learn about the rich medical history of Vienna. Dr. Schnabel was also kind enough to give all of us three different plague remedies. That evening a group of us went to Wiener Eistraum, the ice skating rink. Surprisingly I didn’t fall…I know, hard to believe, right? It was a fun night spent with some really fun people.

The following day, we saw the Sigmund Freud Museum. It was almost surreal to walk in to his actual office. Although the famous couch is not located in Vienna, we still got to see the full waiting room and other various artifacts that were in his office. Later we toured the Josephinum. The Josephinum contains some of the most intricate anatomical wax models created. It was amazing to see how much detail there was.  Afterwards, some friends and I went to a small coffee shop and enjoyed each other’s company; it was a nice afternoon. That evening, our program went to see a performance from a string quartet in a charming church. Everyone was dressed to the nines.

For our last day, we the Narrenturm and the Natural History Museum. The Narrenturm was originally a mental institution but is now a pathological museum. There were some interesting sights to see inside…. We finished our trip with a visit to the Natural History Museum. Some of the highlights included seeing the largest turtle fossil, thousands of precious stones and Venus von Willendorf.

After the museum, we had some free time before we had to meet back at the hotel to leave for the airport. A group of us went to Demel to try their world famous Apfelstrudel. It was absolutely delicious. We then left for the airport and arrived back in Bonn late that evening.

All in all, it was a busy, educational, and exciting trip! Now for “hell week” of school….

Back home in Bonn

This weekend was bittersweet. On the one hand, I'm glad to be back. Bonn now represents a kind of warm, quiet sanctuary for me. It represents home. On the other hand, and I don't say this lightly, Vienna is now my favorite city I have ever been to and I already miss it dearly. It was such a wonderful, perfectly proportioned mixture of history and science and food! In a strange way, I feel like I was surely supposed to have been born there. The week went by way too quickly and I know I will be going back as soon as possible this semester.

The Natural History museum was one of my favorites and I'll definitely be spending more time there when I go. As a pre-vet student, it's right up my alley. Really though, I look forward to revisiting all of the museums we went to as a group. I couldn't believe the level of detail and intricacy of the wax models at the Josephinum, and I found myself wishing (more than once) that I had had access to them last semester when I was taking anatomy! In the Narrenturm museum, I greatly enjoyed trying to guess what the pathology of different specimens were, without looking at the plaques that gave their explanations away. Recognizing pathology (even in humans) will be vastly important for me in my career. The Freud museum was great as well. Although I'm not a huge fan of Freud and many of his ideas are no longer accepted as fact within the scientific community, it's important to acknowledge that his contributions were instrumental in laying the foundations for modern psychology. I'd also like to take a closer look at the 'Women of Psychology' exhibit when I go back.

My host parents are currently on vacation in Munich and then Austria (not Vienna though, otherwise I'd have probably tried to go with them, hiding in a suitcase or something equally absurd if I had to). They won't be back until next Sunday. It's kind of strange being here all alone. But I am a creature of solitude, so I don't think it'll be so bad. Just strange. If anything, I'll get the experience of doing my own grocery shopping in a foreign country! ...And the fact that that honestly sounds like a bit of an adventure to me tells me that I am officially a grown-up.

Vienna has my Heart

Vienna has my Heart

      Friday we got home from Vienna, and I have to say that Vienna is my favorite city I've been to. The city is absolutely beautiful and has so much history. The only downfall to the trip was me getting really sick. On Wednesday I started getting very dizzy and flushed and my heart started to race. I felt horrible and honestly kind of scared. My symptoms have continued since I got home and it is not fun... Hopefully things get better soon. (Kyle freaked me out by saying I may have diabetes) Anyway, We got to see a lot of really amazing medical stuff while we were in Vienna, so I'll go through those one by one

The Catacombs: This isn't technically medical but it was still really super cool. We got to go to the catacombs under Michaelerkirche and learn about the history of the crypt. People used to be able to pay to have their remains and the remains of their family buried under the church. Over two thousand people were buried in the crypt and about 400 sarcophagi remain in the crypt. Three mummies were preserved and displayed in the crypt. It was very interesting to see the well preserved bodies and learn about their history. 

The Josephinum: The Josephinum is a medical museum on the grounds of the old military hospital. The museum has a large collection of antique medical instrumentation and an even larger collection of wax models that were used to teach medical students many years ago. These wax models were amazing and completely anatomically accurate. The detail and time that had to go into each model is unbelievable. Even the lymphatic system was displayed with awe inspiring accuracy. My favorite model was a heart in a glass case (the case kind of looked like the case that held the rose in Beauty and the Beast lol). The heart was beautiful. You could see every artery and valve and I was totally nerding out when I saw it. 

The Narrenturm: The Narrenturm was the first hospital for the mental ill in all of Europe. It now holds a large collection of wax models of dermatological deformities and pathologies, skeletons and preserved organs. Walking through this museum was a very interesting experience. You are walking through a building that used to hold mentally ill patients (It looks similar to a jail) surrounded by deformed bodies and organs. For medical people, it was very interesting and fascinating to look at. God Bless the soul of anyone not interested in medicine who goes to see the museum though.

      Lastly, My favorite part of the trip was the Natural History Museum. It didn't even have anything to do with medicine, but the museum was amazing. First off, it was huge. The building was beautiful and the architecture was astonishing. Aside from the building, the exhibits were awesome and extensive as well. I don't think I have ever seen so many jewels and stones in my entire life. It was awesome. 

      Overall, the trip was pretty great, and I most definitely plan to travel back to Vienna later on in life. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to be traveling the world studying what I love. I thank God every day for allowing me to be here. 

I Want My Mummy

The Week of Vienna

The week started with getting up at 4:45 and boarding a plane that's engine didn't work. I have now been on 2 different early morning flights where the plane has a problem with its engine. You would figure that such an early flight wouldn't have any problems because it's the first one out for the day. That would just make too much sense though.

We made it to the Deutschmeister and had to miss our tour with Dr. Schnovvel. We had a little bit of free time and went out to lunch and I got the dracula schnitzel. It was amazing. We then went to the city center to get a tour of the catacombs.

What's a catacomb? Well I thought it was just an area underneath the church. I was partly right. Its an area underneath the church that hosts dead people. Four thousand dead people used to be in the location that I was walking in. It was just 2 hundred when I was there so no big deal. There were skulls and femurs and a bunch of bones stacked up against the walls because they had no idea who they belonged to. That was a little weird considering that it was once a real live human being at one point. There were 3 mummies that were located in the catacombs as well. I had never seen a mummy before and I kept staring at it. I was waiting for it to move. But, it never did. It's probably a good thing it didn't because it was dead. I didn't think that it was super creepy because I used to work in a funeral home. Vienna has a weird thing with death.

Then we went to dinner. For some reason, I don't do well in dimly lit restaurants. It was also super hot so I was super flushed and didn't talk very much during dinner. It was good food but I couldn't really focus on the food. I was more focused on how flushed and hot I was feeling. Little did I know that that was going to be the least of my worries.

The next day we went to the Spanish Horse Riding school. I walked in and started sneezing at first and just thought "huh i must be allergic to horses." Well it turns out, I am SUPER allergic to horses. I ended up losing my voice and I couldn't breathe all that well. I had to go take allergy medication and drink a lot of water. We then went on a tour with Dr. Schnovvel and saw the history of medicine of Vienna. It was quite interesting to see who was born where.

We then went to the Joseephenum and Fools Tower. It was very interesting to see the insides of humans but seeing multiple diseases after diseases in Fools Tower didn't make me feel the best. It was pretty disgusting to be completely honest. Its a good thing I don't wanna be a doctor.

Vienna was overall amazing. I think I may need to go back to experience the more that it has to offer. This post was pretty bland because currently I'm focusing on hell week. We have 3 tests, 4 homework assignments, and a presentation due this week. Yahoo. But I guess we are still in school. It really is too bad.

Wish me luck

February 20

Typing that title made me realize how quickly this trip is moving! Spring break is 3 weeks away, which is crazy to me. Time flies. We returned from our group excursion to Vienna yesterday and it was amazing. I had no idea that Vienna was so pretty. The architecture and sculptures everywhere were breathtaking. I would have been perfectly content just walking around the whole city looking at the beautiful buildings all week, so the things we did as a group were a fun added bonus. I enjoyed the Josephinum and the Narrenturm, as well as the medical history walking tour that Dr. Wasser gave, although it would have been a thousand times better if the weather had not been miserable. The Narrenturm was somewhat hard to walk through, however, because as I looked at all the 3D models of all the horrible conditions, I kept thinking about the people that the sculptures were modeled after and the suffering they must have endured. It made me extremely thankful to be born in the twenty first century.

It is a little bit difficult for me to type this blog because the wifi in our house is not working so I have to use my host mom's desktop and the keyboard is different. I keep finding new things that are different in Germany than in the US. Despite these differences, I do feel at home here, and riding the train back to my neighborhood after being out of the country all week felt good. I am continuing to work on learning German, but my progress seems to be slowing down. This language is really hard for me to grasp for some reason.

This weekend is the start of a really hard week academically. I guess it is the price you pay for having a ton of fun and somewhat neglecting responsibilities for a whole week. I have been sitting at the table since I woke up this morning working on homework or studying of some sort or the other with relatively little breaks. I don't see an end in the near future. I plan on doing something fun tonight to release some tension and then hit the books again all day tomorrow and probably will not stop until next weekend. This will be a fun week, wish me luck!

Jay 2/20

It's the day after we've come back from Vienna. I'm incredibly tired, but I still want to see more. There were so many sights that we only just passed by. One of which was the St. Michael cathedral that held the catacombs we visited the first day. The part that I'm upset about is that we only really got to explore the catacombs of the cathedral. I am always fascinated by the sculptures and the artwork actually within churches. However, the lent sheet was up, and therefore most of the sculptures and artwork was covered up. Lauren and I got to have a sneak peak of what was behind, and the view was truly awesome with incredible amount to detail of sculptures from the walls reaching up towards the heavens.
On the last day of the Vienna trip we had the opportunity to see the Narrenturm. To my surprise, the place was full of examples for various kinds of diseases. The models in this museum were used by doctors in the 19th-20th century to help learn and diagnose certain diseases. Honestly, I thought there was going to be more about the treatment of the insane people that lived there in the 18th century and parts of the 19th. However, that was not really the case. All that was said about the mentally insane that lived there was that they lived there and were sorted by zodiac sign which was probably due to Emperor Joseph who was a member of Rosencruetz. Overall, I was still very impressed with the kind of documentation that they had of so many different diseases, and I was speaking with Caleb about how 3D models of all physical diseases should be created in order to help doctors today. Especially with technology today, that allows people to get a 3D view of a object by just moving their 2D screen.

The calm before the storm

This past week and a half has been quite the adventure. We had only a few days of class before taking a weekend getaway to Berlin which was awesome. Mattie, Shawn, Gunnar and I left early Friday and were able to stay in Berlin until Sunday night which meant that we got to see a lot. Some of the more notable things we saw were the Berlin Wall, Topography of Terror, art markets, Pergamon, and Checkpoint Charlie. We were fortunate to take a walking tour during our time there as well, so we really got to see a lot of the city and learn about its history.

The Topography of Terror was one of the more impactful sites that we went to in Berlin. It sits on top of old Nazi Police Headquarters and the museum goes through the brutal history of WW2. Some of the things I read and the quotes from old Nazi officials really made you sick to your stomach and even more so when you realized that all of this persecution and murder took place only a few decades ago.

My favorite part of our trip to Berlin was getting to go to the art market. Even though it was cold outside, I loved getting to see all of the local artist's work, and probably spent way too much money there...but what can I say, I love art. I really wish I could find more markets like these in other cities.

Unfortunately, one of our teachers put a test on Monday, so we had to spend some of our time in Berlin studying. Life of an engineer, am I right? We took a night bus back, which was bittersweet because it meant we had to go straight to school from getting back from Berlin, but it also meant we got to spend more time in the city. The 36 hours or so from leaving Berlin to getting on a plane to Vienna were crazy. We got off the bus, went to school, took a test, went home, packed, woke up at 3 am, and headed to the airport. Quite the schedule.

Apparently I don't have very good luck with planes this trip, because our flight to Vienna was delayed 3 hours, the second time this has happened on this trip. When we finally got to Vienna we got to do and see some pretty cool things. The first day we got to go into the Catacombs which was an eery but interesting experience. We got to see 3 mummified bodies and some ridiculously large femurs. It was only the beginning of a week of medical adventures.

We also got to visit the Jospehinum and Narrentum which house wax anatomic models as well as wet and dry preserved human specimens. Some of the more interesting things we got to see were an entire preserved thorax of a sidus inversus patient, a brain with an aneurysm, a human head with masses of benign tumors, and even a stuffed specimen with ichthyosis. It was extremely fascinating to see all of the medical pathologies and historical anatomic models, although after awhile it got mildly creepy when you realized you were surrounded by a bunch of deceased people in jars.

Some of the more cultural things we got to do in Vienna included going to the natural history museum, the art museum, and the spanish horse riding school. My personal favorite "cultural" excursion was getting to eat lots of apfelstudel, chocolate, and macaroons. If you're ever in Vienna go to Aida to get macaroons because they are delicious.

Now all of the traveling and fun is over and crunch time is upon us. Next week we have A LOT of tests and projects due. By a lot I mean more than we usually even ever have at home. A device design project presentation, physiology test, signals test due, a lengthy design class homework, and some of us even have a differential equations exam. Needless to say, we all had to cancel our original plans to go to Budapest this weekend and stay in Bonn to study. I think we are all pretty stressed about next week and how we are going to get everything done, especially since studying on a study abroad program is much different and harder without all the amenities of home.

With that said...I think its time for me to go study.

What is Sleep?

I already had a pretty good idea of how the day was going to go when I woke up and realized that I accidentally set my alarm to go off an hour later than I meant for it to. Oversleeping and missing your first class of the day (sorry, Dr. Wasser!) is generally not a sign of good things to come. And unfortunately, I can't quite yet list all the possible physiological explanations for the headache that my physiology exam was giving me just a few hours later. Nevertheless, I survived the day (and even made a decent grade on that exam), so maybe today wasn't so terrible. I just finished my last bit of homework for my online class and am now debating with myself over whether or not to get some sweet, sweet sleep. But of course, I have to be up in exactly three hours to start getting ready for Vienna. On the bright side, I won't have any assignments due for the rest of the week! Just fun trips and fascinating museums and great food for the next four days! It almost feels like... relaxation? No. No, that can't be right...

It's Berlin baby!!

The week following Karneval was a typical week in class. However back at the house, everyone in Shawn and I's family was home and we celebrated both of our birthdays Wednesday night. That was a special night, we didn't leave the restaurant until 10:30 for our 7:30 reservation. Debatably one of my favorite things about this study abroad experiences is the opportunity to stay with a host family, and on nights like those when we all talk for 3 hours are such great experiences. Our host brother also had a holiday all week, so the entire week we all hung out and have gotten really close, especially after wednesday night. We introduced him to GroupMe and now talk all the time with him. Whenever he is home he is good at giving us a break from our studies and challenging us to FIFA, which I beat him for the first time this week! It was a good night.

The following weekend Kendal, Madison, Shawn and I all went to Berlin. We had quite a bit of extra time compared to normal because we arrived early Friday afternoon and departed late Sunday night on a flixbus. Moreover, I can say Berlin has been my favorite trip so far. Friday night we walked around the city (learned how to read a map) and visited the Topography of Terror: a museum about the SS and their operations. The museum is built on top of the foundations of the old SS/Nazi HQ, so while reading about the horrific things of the SS you stood right where they held operations. On top of that, we saw a portion of the Berlin Wall and saw Checkpoint Charlie. All of these were very eye opening, from tragedies caused by the SS to the history behind the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie. Its something studying the horrible crimes of the Nazi's in the States, but standing right where they planned those crimes is something else indescribable. Hearing about a wall that was put up to separate Berlin is one thing, but actually seeing this wall and touching it is something else. Hearing about Checkpoint Charlie and the infamous Tank confrontation that could've started World War 3 is one thing, but proudly standing next to Checkpoint Charlie is something entirely else. These experiences were very eye opening for me, in that I was proud, not ignorantly, but proud of the positive impacts the United States had made on Germany. To stand at these sites was an indescribable feeling, something I encourage everyone to go see for themselves what its like, I'm changed by it. So much has happened and its just the first night.

Saturday we got a free walking tour and saw the beautiful city of Berlin. Some of the things we saw were Museum Island, Berlin Dom, Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, the ground above Hitler's Bunker, The Berlin Wall, The Topography of Terror, Brandenburg Tor, Humboldt University, the location of a book burning during the Nazi Regime, all the while hearing Berlin's history and talking to some other really cool Americans also studying abroad. After this spectacular tour on a beautiful day, we visited the Pergamon Museum, containing artifacts from Babylonian and Roman time. I basically got to touch objects that came 600 years before Jesus and decades after him, an incredible feeling. Afterwards we had to study and had a relaxing night.

Sunday morning we checked out and went through a really neat local art market and saw some really awesome art. My favorite was this lady that did a multi-frame piece with abstract city buildings vanishing into a central vanish point. I need to go through an art market to decorate my house whenever I get one. After this we went to the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe and explored the museum. Another reminder of the tragedies of genocide. The exit of the museum lead you to the center of the giant memorial,

From the picture it seems each block is about the same height, but the ground descends more as you get to the center, creating this illusion. Walking through the memorial was a powerful and profound emotion I can't describe... I felt confined and lost, and that even though I saw a way out I couldn't leave. These emotions helped me to understand what the artist was trying to convey with this memorial, a reminder of all the lives lost in this genocide. 

After the Memorial, we went to East Side Gallery and saw some famous art works along the long strip of the Berlin Wall, another amazing piece that is known worldwide for its history and art. After this we studied at Starbucks and took a night bus back to Bonn!

Its 00:17, and in about 4 hours Ill take a Taxi to the bus stop to get on a plane to Vienna for a week, I am really excited! We will see some really amazing museums as a program I am excited!

This Berlin trip was amazing, I would definitely go back. It was an ESSENTIAL step to my growth in understanding the bigger picture of life. It makes me proud to be an American and know that we have helped with these Germans in pain.

My 3rd... 4th post?

Wow, so I’ve definitely been lacking in the blog-posting department. School has gotten quite busier since I last wrote. Just today we had a 211 exam and we have a physiology exam next week. Since my last post, a lot has happened actually. I sprained my ankle, had a birthday, and experienced Karneval. The farthest I traveled within this time span was to Dusseldorf, which isn’t too far away. 

So first, you’re probably wondering how I sprained my ankle, and I could tell you that I fought off a bear or that Karneval was more intense than you might think. But no, I am ashamed to tell you that I sprained my ankle while I was walking. I did not trip on anything nor was there an uneven stone in the sidewalk, no, I just put one foot in front of the other and boom, it happened. Because I was so close to the AIB Helen, Hilde’s daughter, was able to take me and Lauren to the hospital where I got to experience the German health care system firsthand. We just happened to finish learning about the Bismark plan today in class and I can confirm that you don’t pay anything at the doctor’s office like Dr. Wasser taught us. Don’t worry, the German government doesn’t just pay for my medical bill, it just means that the billing is completely separate from the doctor’s office itself, so I will be getting a bill. 

Let’s see, then I had my 21st birthday on the 5th. Although it’s a significant birthday in the states, that isn’t so here. I was able to celebrate by having lunch and going out with friends later that night. What was cool about my birthday weekend is that two other classmates had birthdays as well, Reagan and Shawn. It’s strange, it didn’t even feel like my birthday. A friend told me that that’s because I was far away from home and I definitely agree. But, even though I was away from family and friends, I was still able to celebrate with new friends.

Tomorrow, early early in the morning we will be going to Vienna! I’m excited for the experiences to come, the Freud museum, a concert, and the Narrenturm. I’m looking forward to reflecting on it all. 

Sarah

Karneval Weekend

Last weekend was the culmination of Germany's "fifth season"...

On Thursday, our program went to Beuel to kick off the Karneval celebration. Thursday is the women’s day, and it was started in Beuel. With everyone in costumes, we walked across the Rhine into Beuel. It was extremely cold and rainy, but the atmosphere was so lively and fun that it made up for the fact that I couldn’t feel my fingers. I tried “mettbrotchen,” which is basically raw pork on bread. I liked the taste, but after a while, the texture got a little funky. I didn’t get sick though! We all bought beer, screamed for Kamelle, yelled “Alaaf,” cut ties, kissed cheeks, and nearly froze to death. It was a blast.

On Friday, six of us went to a Karneval party in Bad Godesberg. Shawn and Gunnar’s host brother, Chico aka DJ Brokid, was working it. We had a little trouble getting into the party initially. The line was absurdly long and there were policemen everywhere trying to contain the masses. After we made it past security, we had to show our tickets and ID. One of us didn’t have her ID, and the bouncer would not let her in….until Chico arrived. “It’s cool, they’re with me.” It was total VIP treatment. The party inside was incredible. We danced to our hearts' content.

On Monday, I met a long-time friend in Cologne. We walked around the Rose Monday parade looking at all the extravagant floats, trying to catch Kamelle (emphasis on the trying), and catching up.

Overall, it was a pretty successful Karneval in my book. 

AIB Going Up On A Saturday

Hola, from the fun world of circuit analysis at the Akademie fur Internationle Bildung! Several of us have been working on circuits for about five hours today, as we did all yesterday afternoon, so it's time to work on something not math and physics related.  Perfect time for that long overdue academic post I promised!  In all honestly, school work has not gone as smoothly as I anticipated heading into this program.  For a variety of reasons, several of my courses require a great deal of self-learning, which--though an important skill to hone-- has left me hard pressed for time frequently in the past few weeks.    

Recent material/ events includes:
~Visit to Bayer Leverkusen
~Initial value problems and second order differential equations in Math 308
~Cardiac and pulmonary processes in physiology as well as several hours of device design research and brainstorming for our paracorporeal membrane oxygenator with enmodes
~Ancient Greek, Roman, and Middle Eastern medicine in History of Medicine.
~Analyzing circuits through loop, mesh, nodal, Thevenin, and Norton analysis in Signals and Systems

All in all, the material has been interesting and I see how it will be practical.  And the upside to spending a large amount of time working?  I get to do it with a bunch of super funny, really smart, and incredibly cool people.  Take for example what happened early today!  We had a nice study break when Blake decided to sit on the back two legs of his chair.  (You can probably guess where this is going.)  Note: the AIB tables are not heavy enough to oppose an athletic college guy from falling.  Before I knew what was happening, the table to my left where he was sitting started sliding back and Jordan, Ashley, and I turned to see Blake gracefully fall to the ground...and then start laughing...so we all did.  Good times.

The rest of this weekend shall be comprised of studying for our first test in our time here and complete homework before VIENNA (!!).  We will have to study and prepared for two tests during our time there, so best to get the homework out of the way.

Week 4 (aka I'm Too Lazy To Think Of A Title)

It's been exactly a month since our arrival in Bonn! I haven't posted in a while so this is gonna be a long one. I'll start with the end of last week: we got to meet one of the mayors of Bonn at a reception in the town hall on Wednesday, which was pretty neat because I remember seeing that building on the first day and thinking it was too fancy for us to go in it. On Thursday morning, everybody got dressed up and we walked across the bridge to see the Weiberfastnacht parade. It was raining pretty much the whole time, which made it very cold to be in a polar bear costume for hours. It was also really crowded, I got pelted in the face by candy bars a couple of times, and I'm pretty sure someone spilled a beer on me. Writing it down makes it seem kind of miserable, but somehow I managed to have a lot of fun. I don't know if I would have been able to handle four straight days of it, though, so I'm glad I traveled over the weekend. A group of us took the (5 hour overnight, but still better than a bus) train to Munich and we had a grand old time. I got to travel with people I hadn't traveled with before, which was cool, and stayed in a public hostel room, which was interesting. On Friday we arrived at like 8 in the morning and couldn't check into our hotel until 3, so we dropped off our bags, got breakfast, and joined a free walking tour of the city. Part of the group stuck it out for the full three hours, but some of us snuck out about halfway through to get food. I do not regret that decision. Food > everything else, always. After we checked in, we showered and relaxed for a bit then went to the Augustiner restaurant/bar, where I had the German equivalent of mac and cheese along with the required authentic German beer. Supposedly the beer in Munich is special, but it all kind of tastes the same to me. The next day we took the train to Fussen to see the castles, which were beautiful and magical and I would live there in a heartbeat if I could. Fussen is really close to the German/Austrian border, so we got to see a bit of the Alps, which were amazing. I need to plan a trip to see them up close. Saturday night we ate at this place that had a spinning circular table and explored the city some more. Sunday morning we visited the Dachau concentration camp. I'm not really sure how to put the experience into words, but it was really depressing and powerful and I cried at one point. It's something I think everyone should experience at least once. Later that day we ate at the Hofbrauhaus, which is huge and the epitome of every German stereotype I can think of. Lots of sausage and beer and accordion music. This post is getting really long so I'll hurry it up...Sunday night was the Super Bowl so we went into Munich to find a bar that was playing it, and I fell asleep. Monday morning we came home, where the Karneval crowd was still going strong, so I got to experience a little more of that. From Tuesday on, I was pretty much playing catch-up on school stuff. We have a 211 test on Monday and then we're off to Vienna. It's been an amazing month, and I can't wait for the next three!

"Playing catch up!"

This weekend will be a much somber weekend. I am spending the weekend in Bonn with my host family, but I will be studying for 99% of the time. I have managed to keep up with the most of my studies, but it can become quite difficult when you want to spend your weekends traveling.

Dr. Wasser was so kind as to move our first physiology exam from this past Thursday to this coming Monday before we leave for Vienna. I will be forever grateful for this. I began to worry some this past weekend while I was in Munich and Füssen because I hadn't kept up with my reading like I should have. I began to read the chapters that our test is over on the train ride home. As the nervousness began to set in we went to class on Tuesday when he informed us that he was moving our test if that was okay with us. Everyone let out a sigh in unison.

The rest of the week, I played catch up on my writing assignments and labs that were due at the end of the week. I finished my labs with no problem, but didn't finish my essay until last night around 10 pm. It's not due until tonight at 12 am, but I wanted to go ahead and get it out of the way. Now that its finished, I will spend the rest of the weekend studying for my physiology exam, and catching up on the reading that I have fallen behind on.

I'm not usually one to put things off, and I definitely do not enjoy "playing catch up". I like to be early, rather than late I guess you can say. My host mom informed me that my host dad will be coming home from the weekend. This is very exciting news. I enjoy his company and our little talks that we have while he is home. It is sad though that I probably won't get to spend as much time with him as I would like, but he should be home for good in the next couple of weeks!

Now that I have caught up not only on my writing assignments and labs, but also my blog posts since I have been in Germany, it is time to start the forever dreaded reading of my physiology textbook for my test on Monday.

Wünsch mir Glück!

Another Week Gone

It is really crazy to me that I've been here for an entire month. It is kind of sad in a way that a whole month is gone. However, there are many months to go and also this last month was absolutely amazing!
In this time I have explored the city of Bonn, and I have travelled to Achen, Mastrycht, Cöln, Munchen, and Amsterdam! Lots of experiences and lots of memories.
My time has been good so far. There have been swings, ups and downs, and some lulls, but mostly ups!
One thing that is weird to me is how normal everything feels. It feels normal to hop on a train to another country with my friends, and it feels normal to be surrounded by a language I don't know. There are many other things that feel normal that shouldn't and this is very odd.
I hope that by the end of this trip I have even more great experiences to look back on!

A Month In

This has probably been one of the most eventful months ever. This past weekend alone I experienced Karneval, visited Munich, and saw a castle and a concentration camp. Karneval is much bigger in the Rhine region than in Bavaria, so I am happy that I got to experience it on Thursday. I dressed up, went to a parade with all the AIB students, and went to a bar with Shelby and her host mom. People get crazy here. They throw a lot of candy at the parades, but for some reason I was hit in the face with a juice box. 

We left for Munich that Thursday night. I loved exploring the city and seeing the differences between different parts of Germany. I ate 3 pretzels a day while we were there, I cannot resist! On Saturday we went to Füssen and saw the Neuschwanstein castle, which was absolutely was gorgeous on the inside and the outside. The next day we went to Dachau concentration camp, which was a really big change. It was really hard to be there, knowing and seeing pictures of what happened. "Cool" doesn't feel like the right word to use to describe it, but it was really interesting and I thought it was important to go and understand what happened because it was such a huge piece of 20th century history. That afternoon we were able to do something a little less somber as we walked through the English Gardens, and it was nice and peaceful. 

This week I have had to focus a little more on the schoolwork I have been neglecting. It takes a lot of effort to have an exciting weekend and then come back for school and actually focus. I am trying to stay focused. I am still working on the time management skills because it is hard to be a procrastinator and not be in town on the weekends to catch up. 

This weekend I listened to a Breakaway podcast because I go every week in College Station and I miss it. I was inspired to make the most of my time and not waste it. I am not Catholic, but I decided to give up Netflix for lent because I like the idea and I appreciate the reasons behind it. These past few weeks I have been wasting hours on Netflix, and even if I was simultaneously doing homework I would play it in the background and it is somewhat mind numbing because it doesn't let me think about other things as easily. I decided I am going to use my time to improve myself spiritually, academically, and become more well-rounded in general. My host family has a copy of the Hobbit in German, so I am going to go though and try to read it (extremely slowly) in order to pick up the language better, because I want to come back conversational. 

The Vier is Leaving After This Week

Viva Colonia!!
   This past weekend was one of the funnest times of my life. From Thursday to Monday night I celebrated Karneval. In brief terms Karneval is a mixture of parades, Halloween, and a late nights. My Karneval experience started off by going to Koln with my host brother and getting to meet alot of his friends and be given a tour of the city life of Koln. Each day after this was correlate to a new day and new event but the same fun Karneval. Friday was spent at a club of my friend's host brothers, Saturday was with my host brother's organization, Sunday was a big parade in my village followed up with an after party where I eventually got crowned for an award and then Sunday was in Bonn to watch the last parade and then have one last fun night before the end of Karneval. I would fly to Germany again just to go to Karenval and see all of the friends I made during this 5 day span. I am more and more pleased with my decision to come to Germany with each day. During this time it was also great to not have any school. There is longer no fear after this week.

School has been going great, I am understanding all the classes right now although some do take more time then others. I do wish that I had learned more German before I came here so that I can communicate better, but I will just have to work harder at it. I will not be traveling this weekend so that I can study for my circuits test and prepare for Vienna. I am very bad at keeping up with my blogging... sorry.

I Need To Stop Eating My Way Through Europe...

SEE YA LATER PASTRIES

      So much awesome stuff has happened since my last blog post so I am going to have to break this up into paragraphs:

KARNEVAL: On Thursday, I had my first Carnival experience, and oh wow was it something... You walk down the street and people everywhere are dressed in crazy costumes, soaking wet, getting drunk and yelling/slurring "Kamella" (sorry for my spelling). I have to admit it was super fun (aside from accidentally butt dialing AIB Emergency multiple times.. I still feel so bad for that...) but I am not sure if I could have handled four days straight of that craziness... I commend those who can, but I can't hang. 

MUNICH: The second half of my weekend consisted of an interesting trip to Munich. The city is absolutely beautiful, and aside from some rough transportation issues, the trip was a lot of fun! We went to Fussen on Saturday to see the castles and I think I found my future home. The architecture was amazing and I was blown away by the beautiful detail within the castles. The view from the mountain where the castle was was indescribable... Not even a picture could show how truly amazing God's creation is. I stood on top of the mountain looking out at the mountains and town thanking God for the amazing opportunity he has provided me with. On Sunday we went to Dachau. It was a shocking and humbling experience... I won't go into too much detail, so that I don't get too sad, but I cannot believe some of the things those poor people endured. After Dachau, we went back to Munich and we walked around throughout the Carnival celebration and ate just about every pastry we could find.. I have no regrets.. Not even one pastry. 

NO MORE PASTRIES: This Wednesday marked the beginning of Lent (Ash Wednesday). I decided to give up pastries this year along with adding a daily devotional. I believe that giving up pastries will be difficult given the city we live in, but I think it will be worth it. I hope to grow stronger in my faith through my daily devotional and I will continue to thank God every day for allowing me to take part in this adventure. 

FISH CAMP 2.0: About an hour ago, I had by interview for Fish Camp 2016. I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED! I HOPE I GET IT. Fish Camp means so much to me, and I want nothing more than to get the opportunity to help the class of 2020 have a smooth entrance into college. PLEASE PRAY THAT I GET IT :D

Well that just about sums up my week.. I have a 211 test on Monday and we leave for Vienna on Tuesday so next week should be pretty eventful.. I'll let you know how it goes.. Stay tuned. 

Kein Karneval nur Schlösser

This past weekend was not filled with as much Karneval as a normal bonner would like, but instead filled with castles and more castles. A group of 12 students and myself, went to Munich for the weekend. While we were in Munich, we decided to get an extra train ticket to Fussen for the day on Saturday. I would have to say that this past weekend was probably the funnest weekend so far in Germany.

On Thursday evening when we were about to catch our night train to Munich, I was feeling pretty ill. I went back and forth multiple times in my head trying to decide on if I really wanted to go to Munich for the weekend. It wasn't because I didn't want to go, but because I felt really sick. I finally ended up deciding to go ahead and go since my train ticket was already bought and the plans were already made. That night on the train, I somehow managed to get approximately five hours of sleep. Friday morning when we arrived in Munich at 6 am, I was feeling pretty good!

Friday we spent our morning walking around the city, and just getting used to being in a different town. We took a city tour with our whole group, but ended up leaving early to go get food and to checkin to our hostel. I got lucky with the hostel, by getting to stay in the private room. This room had three beds and a private bathroom. We finally got to take showers once we were all checked in. The other group that was staying in the "public" room, didn't get to checkin to their room until later in the afternoon, so pretty much everyone in our group took showers in the one private room that we had. Friday evening we all went out to Augustiner, a well known restaurant. Here, I got the chance to try my first liter of german beer. It was actually very good! I am usually not one to be a beer drinker, but I really didn't mind it. The rest of the evening was spent catching up on some much needed sleep!

Saturday we awoke quite early to meet at the hauptbahnhof to catch our train to Fussen for the day. As we were coming into Fussen, I noticed beautiful mountains covered with snow. I now knew what my host mom was talking about when she said that Fussen was one of the prettiest mountain regions in Germany. The main reason for going to Fussen was to see the two castles that are located on the snow-covered mountains. When we reached the mountain, we realized that in order to catch the last train back to Munich at five o'clock we were only going to be able to tour one castle. We all unanimously decided to tour Neuschwanstein. My host dad informed me before I left that Neuschwanstein translates to 'new swan stone'. The castle was built approximately 200 years ago by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. Like most castles, it was very beautiful, and I truly got to feel like a princess for the day. The castle resembled the one in disneyland.

Sunday we went to Dachau to see the concentration camp from the Holocaust. This was a very interesting, but very sad experience. The camp depicted the sadness and torment of the people that were kept there during the Holocaust. It was a great learning experience, and I'm glad that I got to experience such a thing. Later that evening we returned to Munich, and went to the Hofbrauhaus for dinner that night. There I got to drink yet another liter of beer, but this time I had the dark beer that originated in Bavaria. The meal was very good, and the company was great.

Monday we caught our train to come home at noon. We returned back to Bonn around 5 pm. The weekend was filled with many adventures and great friends. All in all I'm very glad I decided to leave Bonn for the weekend to go to Munich and Fussen.