Nachdenken, wiederspiegeln, und reflektieren

           It has been almost two months since I returned from Germany and it is beginning to feel like it was all a dream. Assimilating back into the real world, taking a DiffEQ final, seeing family and friends, and starting research at A&M all have just added to the surreal feeling of the study abroad experience. Numerous people have come up at me and said something along the lines of “How was Germany/Study Abroad/being in Europe” and the only thing I can say is that it was ‘amazing’ or ‘awesome’ which I immediately think is an abysmal answer. Words cannot even describe the amazing time I had in Bonn. I try to explain how great it was by telling them about all the places I visited, the food I ate, and some of the other highlights of the trip, but I can’t ever describe the day-to-day life of living in Bonn. Just walking to get some happy hour falafel and Haribo, or just strolling through the streets of Bonn to Marktplatz or the Hauptbahnhof added to the  Traveling to so many different places, making new friends, staying with a host family, and just Germany in general all combined to produce the best time of my life.

The Biosciences Study Abroad was a success in so many different aspects of my life. Through this trip I learned that I could be independent and brave enough to live somewhere other than little ol’ Abilene or College Station. Collaborating with enmodes on the sutureless anastomosis device was priceless experience which I will always remember.  Our group was also amazing, with Krisitin and Dr. Wasser leading the charge and all us students holding it together for an entire 4 months! I remember reading some of the reflection posts from the previous programs and seeing that there was conflict, and I’m so glad that our group (while we did have a few minor isolated incidents) did not have any drama, which just made it that much better. I’ve also learned that for the 19 years of my life before I came to Germany, I was veeeery lazy. In Germany I took the same classes I would have taken at A&M, but also added the fact that I was abroad and traveling almost every weekend, and I still did fine in all my classes. This fact makes me question all the hours I wasted in the past years, and how I could’ve utilized some of them to their full extent (not really, but my time management skills matured greatly in Germany).

One of the things I miss the most about Germany is exploring and seeing new things almost every day. Visiting new countries and going on excursions or just walking around Bonn and seeing a new statue or building was probably the best part of my experience and places like College Station and Abilene just don’t even compare. Along with that, in the course of my trips, I visited so many cathedrals, monuments and historical sights where history ACTUALLY happened. Usually when I hear narratives about the Holocaust or some king or emperor, the stories are so compelling that they do not even seem real. But it was a very humbling experience when I went to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp or Stazi Prison, and the reality actually hit me. Another thing I will really miss: the trams/public transportation. Every morning I could count on the trams to take me wherever I needed to go in a timely fashion, and in situations like Karneval I could expect a nice message regarding stoppages. Also traveling by train is one of the most relaxing things in the world. There were a few things that I missed while in Germany, including free water and Tex-Mex food, but for the most part it was the best place ever.

I remember at the orientation meetings in the fall that Dr. Wasser would talk about the different phases you would go through while trying to accommodate to a new country; one of the main stages that stood out to me was the honeymoon phase, in which you arrive in the new country and everything is good, like a honeymoon. The weather and people are nice, the sky is blue, the birds are chirping etc. This stage is usually followed by a frustration/anger phase; however in my case I never got past the honeymoon stage. The Study part was manageable, the people were awesome, and the trips were unforgettable. I enjoyed every single moment of being abroad and cannot wait until I have the opportunity to return. For the final time, Tchüss!

Relection

It's been almost a month since the end of the study abroad trip. I still miss the "home" in Germany. I have made a lot of new friends, but most importantly I have prove to myself that I can be independent. Although I was aware the world is much larger than College Station and Dallas, I tend to stay in the the bubble world. Through the trip to Germany, I learn the global connectivity  and interdependence. We made a big impact by contributing to the enmodes project and hopefully helped people along the way.  As a person, I see more of a reason to communicate with strangers. this trip showed me how independent I can be, but it also showed me that my independence comes at the mercy of strangers. Getting lost in a city is not the best experience, but the kindness of strangers help me navigate a new city. If I was give another chance at this I would take it without a second thought. This trip made me less close minded, less afraid, and less doubtful. It had been a great semester, I can't wait to go back again.

Berlin and Prague

So my previous blog that I was writing got deleted and I'm kind of devastated because there was almost two months of thoughts in it. So this one is probably going to be a shorter version of that original one.

BERLIN/DRESDEN
I really liked Berlin. I had been hearing stories about Berlin from my parents since I was born, so the fact that I was finally going was really exciting for me. While I think I would have a much different perspective about the city if I had gone by myself or just with some friends I still really liked it. I also go to bike for the first time since I was in middle school. It was less fun when I ran into a car but whatever.

I also really liked Dresden. It was weird because when I told my parents that I was going to Dresden, they told me that it had been completely flattened during WWII. When they told me that I imagined a torn down city that was mostly rubble and dirt. I was so wrong. It was a complete city with beautiful buildings and architecture. It had so much history that I was not expecting from this city I had never heard about. It was really a cool trip.

The concentration camp was an experience that I can't explain. I had never been to a concentration camp and I never really thought I would ever be to one. And it was a great experience.

The thing I am most disappointed about is that I don't feel like I got to know the city. The bike tour was fun and we definitely saw a lot but I spent so much time focusing on not dying, I wasn't looking at what was around me. It was a great week though! I learned a lot about Berlin and about medicine which was also really cool. The museums we went to were awesome and I wish I could go back and spend more time in them.

It was a cool city that I really hope to go back to and see more of with more time.

PRAGUE
After Berlin was Prague which was probably one of my favorite cities I visited. It was classic and old timey and quaint and adorable! I absolutely fell in love with Prague. I wish I had more than a weekend there to see everything. The food was good the sights were beautiful and the money was weird. So was the art. So much strange art. While in Berlin I felt very rushed, in Prague I just wanted to slow down and see everything. Just stroll and look at what Prague is. I could see myself living there just because it was so cute.

I fell in love that weekend with that city and I will be going back. To Prague and to Berlin.

First Week!

The first week is over, and boy has it been a whirlwind. I have the tram system down...kinda... well at least I can get from my house to AIB. We went on a couple walking tours of Bonn and in our free time went to the Beethoven house. Bonn is such a beautiful city, and I'm excited to spend the semester here! Classes are about to start and I'm a little nervous, balancing grades and travel are going to be a challenge, but Ill have plenty of down time on planes and trains to go over material so ill just have to be more efficient with my time. I guess we will see how that turns out come the first exam week.

Arrival: the Beginning of a Bonn-iful Semester

Today was a really long day. Between the plane trip, airport food, and way to many people coughing on me, I had all my energy drained. However, I arrived in once piece and found my way to the meeting point where the rest of the group was waiting for the bus to Bonn. Once in Bonn we got to see AIB, which is where all of our classes will be, and meet our host parents! My host parents are so sweet! They drove me back to their house in Bornhiem and showed me the tram I would be needing to take to get into the city. Then they sat me down to a very German dinner, sausage and potatoes! Overall today was exhausting, but a wonderful start to a great semester!

Final Days

Yay last official post that I was supposed to post while in Bonn :(

We went to the LMU Theatre performance about radium workers the night of our last final and it was interesting... It was pretty good but not my kind of play. I'm impressed by all of the theatre people though, they're really good at what they do. After that, I walked around Bonn and Hersel and saw the small groups of German guys running around with trees on their backs! I'm so glad we were here to witness that because it's probably one of the funniest things I've ever seen. I saw a girl catch her boyfriend putting up the tree with his friends and she ended up getting serenaded by him while he continued to tie the tree to her house. Germans have interesting traditions.

The next day, we went to Bingen to see the Hildegard museum with the Viz kids. We presented our plants and I completely forgot the entire speech I memorized... Oops again. Then we ate at a really delicious restaurant before we left Bingen to raft down the Rhein. Rafting was so much and also pretty tiring. I'm glad we got the chance to do it though, it was quite the experience! I think we went to a castle after but I'm not exactly sure. Those few days started to blur together... I'm going to assume it was a cool castle, what little I can remember of it. Then I'm pretty sure we went home and I went promptly to bed, because rafting is freaking exhausting.

The next day, we woke up to go bike to Remagen. I was a mess and ended up on the ground every few minutes. You'd think that if you heard "yeah we're going to be biking for two hours to get to the next town," you'd eat a few meals and make sure your contacts wouldn't dry out, but nah. I was feeling especially stupid that day. So that's how I ended up with the weird scab on the back of my leg that hasn't healed after one week... The ride was beautiful though, and it made me so sad while I was biking since I realized that we were leaving. Germany is beautiful. Following the Rhein was amazing; there were trees everywhere, the water and sky were a perfect blue, the weather was perfect. Honestly, it was just the perfect end to the trip. We went to the Peace Museum at the bridge of Remagen once we got there and I can't remember anything since I was dead from the bike ride. I do remember the ice cream that Dr. Wasser bought us though - that was awesome. Awesome ice cream. And then on the way back, I was still so dead that I took the train with half of the group. I really wish I would have been okay enough to bike back, but oh well. Side note: the train ride was fifteen minutes. FIFTEEN?! I'm going to sound extremely lazy but why bike when you can take the train.

Second side note: I thought about it, and I guess the views would be nice. That would make sense.

Finally, we had the farewell party. It was so much fun and the food was the most delicious food we had in Germany. The music was great and our group was standing up there dancing and singing! We were definitely the loudest ones there and the ones who probably got everyone to sing too :)

And that's it... One last trip to bonnsch, the happy hour doner place, and Koln later... We were flying home :( 

"Home"

I know that we're not supposed to write our reflective blog until we've had time to settle and realize how we've changed, but I want to capture some of my immediate reactions to returning to the United States.

I was at first so overwhelmed with happiness because of how friendly and helpful Americans are. Hearing so much English in the airport was irrationally exciting. I had pretty awful time getting home due to one canceled flight and one extremely delayed flight, but despite my misery trying to sleep on extremely uncomfortable airport chairs, I was reminded at my competence in traveling. I learned a lot about the best ways to travel this last semester, so this last set of difficulties during my return journey was kind of like the ultimate challenge that I passed!

Seeing my dad at the Austin airport made me so happy it almost hurt. Sleeping in my bed from high school was sooo nice. When I pet my cat for the first time in 5 months, I felt like he was a hallucination because he was so wonderfully soft and beautiful and perfect.

Now that I've been home for a few days and I feel a bit settled, I already feel like the trip to Germany wasn't real. The wonderfulness of the whole semester is just incongruous with the daily reality of my life in Texas and my brain is having trouble transitioning. I feel as though I matured greatly last semester and the people I'm interacting with now haven't realized it yet. I don't want my life to return to exactly how it was before studying abroad. I'm finding that I'm going to need to make a conscious effort though to avoid sinking back into the comfortable habits of my previous life. I enjoyed the independence I had in Europe so much and I foresee a minor struggle to maintain this sense of singularity that I cultivated in Germany.

Despite this transition, I am so grateful for my family. I have a new appreciation for how nice and clean my house is, the joy of driving a car, eating good 'ol Southern cooking by my grandma, and the warm and loving environment that pervades every space I co-inhabit with my family.