This week has been mainly focused on school. We didn’t have any day trips or excursions planned for the program, so it was really just classes and homework all week. Physiology is still really fun! It is nice having already taken biochemistry I and II with Dr. Pozzi because it’s making a lot of the physiology concepts easier to understand so far. For example, we talked about the blood buffer system in physiology, which we extensively discussed in Dr. Pozzi’s class in the hemoglobin unit. We also talked about membrane transport, which was discussed in even greater detail in biochemistry I. And of course, glycolysis, the TCA cycle, and the ETC/oxidative phosphorylation were covered in extreme depth in biochemistry II. Thankfully, we don’t have to know those pathways in quite as much detail in physiology. But having a solid foundation will definitely be helpful. Physiology lab, on the other hand, is going to be a test. Labs are never fun and always seem unnecessarily difficult to me, but this one is particularly challenging given that we can’t do many of the experiments here in Germany. History of Medicine is still very interesting, and tai chi is relaxing (even though studio 4 is always so cold). We had our first pharmacology lecture, which was really good! I think that will be very engaging, and I’m excited for the discussions we’ll get to have in class. German class is always hilarious. Kirsten makes learning the language and culture so much fun. In medical terminology, I got ahead on my weekly assignments and quizzes, and I made some progress on my medical school application.
Outside of school, I met my original host family in person
for the first time. Bernward picked me up at my house and drove me to their
house, where Gabriele had prepared a delicious chicken and mushroom pasta. They
are the sweetest couple, and I could tell that they were sad that they couldn’t
host me this semester. We had great conversation over dinner. I loved hearing
about their time living in the States and about the relationships they still
have with former host students. I know we’ll keep in touch throughout this
semester, and hopefully we can still get to know each other even though I’m not
living with them.
On Saturday, I went to Düsseldorf with Erin and Elizabeth.
We ate delicious crepes and waffles, visited two churches, listened to organ
music, shopped on Königsallee (think Rodeo Drive), and had some gelato before
heading home. Düsseldorf felt like more of a big city compared to Bonn. I got a
little overwhelmed once the crowds came out in the afternoon, but I enjoyed
experiencing a new city. It was the perfect day trip to balance travel, rest,
and homework over the weekend. Once I was home, I had a nice family dinner with
my host parents. Stefan was home for the day from the federal police academy,
where he’s doing continuing education, so it was nice to get to know him
better. That was only the second time I’ve seen him since moving here. His
training ends after next week, though, so he’ll be home consistently after
that.
Overall, it was a good week. I have decided that I need to go
to bed earlier so I can wake up earlier and study at the AiB. I also just need
more sleep in general. I realized that though we’ve only been here for three
weeks so far, the remaining 13 are going to go by extremely fast, so I need to
make the most of every minute. As Elizabeth says, enjoy the moments before they
are memories.
No comments:
Post a Comment