Two months later

Well, it has been a strange three or so months since I returned home from Germany in March, and it has been an even stranger two months since the program officially ended. Once we finished the Enmodes projects, I felt that I had a wealth of free time to finally do the things I have been too busy to accomplish. Sadly, I spent the month of May playing videogames. That is really all I did. I remember very little from that month since there really is not much to remember. June was a bit more eventful, as my parents finally got sick of my shit and demanded I get a job. My biomedical internship got cancelled, so I decided to find work doing the next best thing: packing panties in a lingerie warehouse. From the beginning to the end of June, I woke up at eight each morning to pick out lingerie and pack them in small cupboards to be shipped nationwide. This truly was a learning experience, as I had never realized how many people wore male thongs and other strange assortments of dicey clothing. I had to leave my dream job after a month when one of my coworkers contracted Covid. During June, I also partook in a technical business writing class. I am thankful I took that class over the Summer, as the coursework was definitely less of burden than it would have been had I took the class over the Fall semester. I am now taking an online chemistry lab (it really does not work too well as an online course) and a BMEN class. Both classes are alright, but I definitely found our courses in Germany to be much more interesting. Honestly, the only enjoyable thing I have done since my stint at the panty warehouse is binge six seasons of House, but even that is starting to get a bit old.
I feel that my time in Europe really opened my eyes to how much fun being adventurous can be. Before Germany, I never really left my comfort zone. I honestly just wanted to hang with my friends at a house. I now realize that if I live like that, there are so many opportunities I will miss out on. I was considering backing out of the Germany program a few months before we departed because I was too nervous about not really knowing anyone on the trip. I am glad I decided to go, because I made great friends and got to experience so many things that I otherwise would not have gotten to experience. Although I have not really been able to get out of my comfort zone recently due to the mass spread of a worldwide pandemic, a few of my friends and I are planning to go sky-diving soon, which is definitely not something I would have considered doing six months ago. Those two and a half months were some of the best of my life, and I cannot wait someday return to Europe. 

Final Post

After getting settled back into the U.S. and finishing my last semester of school, I finally had free time to do some reflecting on my time in Germany. While it took some time to appreciate my time in Germany and Europe for what it was instead of what it was not, I am grateful for all the things I learned about other cultures, adapting to new environments and having patience.

Right now I am living in Austin, starting in a new role at a the hospital I work at and finishing up my last couple of medical school applications. Getting settled back in Austin, I have found establishing the community of friends and family I used to have growing up here has been a lot slower of a process due to social distancing. However, I have found that the patience I learned to have while abroad, and through coming home unexpectedly, has made this acclimation much easier. This patience has also been useful as I have been completing the series of my medical school applications. While I am nearly done with my applications, I will not know anything for quite some time. As I train for my new job at the hospital, I have also been challenged to help cover for the person who schedules all of the pre-surgical testing. However, due to the recent changes in protocol caused by the pandemic, every patient that is going to have anesthesia is required to get COVID-19 tested within 3 days of their procedure. This means that we have to schedule for our regular surgery patients along with the electrophysiology, endoscopy, radiology, cath lab and labor and delivery patients. We also are challenged with the constantly changing restrictions put on elective surgeries in Travis county. In this way I have been able to use the things I have learned about patience and adapting to new environments from my time abroad in Germany. 

Seeing how much I grew while I was abroad, I am inspired to continue challenging myself so I can grow in other ways. I am so thankful I got to utilize my last couple of months before the quarantine period traveling and immersing myself into other cultures and look forward to a time when I am able to do that again.