Week 8 (27th Februar - 5th Marsch)

There was another public transportation strike, so zoom classes it was. I realized I didn't have any food to make, so I took a quick walk to a Rewe about a mile away. After grocery shopping, I saw there was a hiking trail, so I decided why not. The sun was starting to set, so I started walking down. I ran into two women with a beautiful black poodle (I think). The older one spoke to me in German, but I didn't understand, so I continued walking. I finally looked at the younger woman; their side profile seemed so familiar. I was still unsure and I didn't want to embarrass myself by saying a random name. If I was to embarrass myself, I probably wouldn't see these women ever in my life, so I blurt out, "Reagan?" The younger woman turns around and says, "I thought that was you!" It was such a nice coincidence running into Reagan and walking with her host mom for a while. It brought a bit of sanity into this boring day. 

I threw a football with a guy from Lafayette and chatting with someone from another school was nice.

I got to talk to my brother, and it made me realize that I miss third wheeling with his girlfriend and him.

I attended my second Dortmund game with Erin and Peri this time. It was amazing. I can say I am a Dortmund fan now. 4 hours later, we were getting on a bus to Amsterdam.

The first day in Amsterdam was great except I was running on 3 hours of sleep for two days, so that night I crashed. We also crashed the ER, but that's another story.

I am a big Van Gogh fan, and when we went to the museum, it was a dream come true. Victoria and I got to stay there for a long time, and it was worth it. We even hassled a worker for a stamp. After that, we went to the Heineken Experience, and it was also a great experience. Vic and I got food before leaving and had the worse bus ride back. We got back safely and that was that.

Week 7 (20th Februar - 26th Februar)

This starts while still in Berlin. The highlight of this day was lunch and taking 237 steps to reach the top of the Berlin Cathedral. On our way back, we were promoted to first class thanks to the lovely man next to us. I wish I had more time to see Berlin because it's a very big city, and there was only so much we could do. 

After the trip, this week passed by soooooo slowly. Probably because it was Vienna, Prague, and Berlin within two weeks. I need to manage my time more efficiently because a few of my assignments tend to be due Sundays at 6:59am, and I wait until the last minute to finish them. 

I enjoyed our cultural workshop because we got to play a game and natürlich, the Fantastic Beasts won. Other than that, this was one of those days where you wish you could go home as soon as possible. But celemylord convinced me to go with her. 

Movie night once again, and Peri, Erin, and I watched Birdman. I'm a big movie fan, and I enjoyed this movie more than I thought. It's filmed like a continuous shot, which allows us to dive into the madness. The next movie I suggested is by another Mexican director, so I guess that's the trend I will try to follow.

Our lovely chef, Patito, made us a Mexican meal, and it was such a great time. It took me back to having a cookout in Mexico with my family minus the obnoxiously loud music. That same night, I went to Cologne with Victoria and Celeste for Vic's birthday. We met a Finnish girl! She was so sweet, but we ended up leaving her at around 3am. I got back home at 5:30am... No regrets.

Sunday was definitely a recovery day. Most of it was spent in my room either napping, watching Drive to Survive, or just thinking. I was thankful that I didn't plan to go out this weekend because that would have killed my social battery. My host mum made a cake with red currant, and she called me downstairs to eat some with them. They also made me a cappuccino.

As I mentioned before, I am glad this weekend was essentially a break from traveling. I was able to digest everything that has happened since Vienna. I got some alone time, which I forgot I needed. Adjusting has been going great so far. I've been able to order meat from the butcher in German a couple of times. I still need to get into a rhythm that allows me to get my work done ahead of time.

This weekend, I will attend my second Dortmund game and then to Amsterdam!

Week 7: Croatia & learning how to eat soup properly

 The week started off with coming back home from Croatia. Honestly, I think Croatia has been my favorite place I've been to (I know, I said the same thing about Vienna). We saw the prettiest sunset I've seen my entire life and I just enjoy being on the beach. My parents are really into scuba diving so our vacations are to beaches. I tried some fish the first night we were there (and the tiny bite I had was probably at least 5 euros - thank Elizabeth, Colby, and Kat for taking the L on that one). That restaurant was very nice (and expensive) and we definitely held the reputation of being American while we were there- you could say we played with our food a little. The rest of the trip was very fun but also extremely exhausting. Despite how fun the trip was, I managed to lose my apple pencil somewhere along the way and ripped a hole in my leggings... so yeah I've had some better days.

After getting back into Dusseldorf (on Rosen Montag- day of the drunkies) our train ride was honestly not that bad compared to what other people experienced. There was no projectile vomiting, people crawling on the floor, or drunken fights so at least I took the W on that one (until the guy in the Bonn station threw his jacket onto the train tracks, stripped to basically just his underwear, then asked me for beer). 

The rest of the week was pretty average. I think the most exciting thing was probably Ali's Donner opening back up and getting to see everyone try the new place and compare it to Haus Des Donners. Every time I go to each place I change my mind about which one I like more so I think at some point I'll have to break down and say I like both. Unfortunately, Elizabeth had been sick most of this week so I haven't seen her in a while. I had to make an emergency trip to Cologne since her brother got here and brought her things from home and she couldn't go get them herself. It was really exciting to finally meet her brother and new wife- I've heard so much about them but hadn't actually met yet. 

My host mom's mom's birthday was Friday so a lot of family has been over visiting. It was really fun to meet so much of the family but I wish my other host sisters could have been there as well. The night I went over to dinner with them I learned that I eat soup completely *not* in the german way and it was kinda embarrassing ngl. They were all sipping soup out of their spoon and there I was trying to put the whole spoon in my mouth even though it was the *wrong* shape to efficiently put in my mouth and get soup out of. So yeah. That was an experience. I talked to my host mom's niece, who is supper kind and has her own adorable 15-month baby girl. 

Today is Monday and there is another train strike so class was on zoom. Naturally, being at home, I am terrible at getting anything done and ended up trying to clean all the crumbs out of the toaster here. It was *VERY* dirty and sometimes it smokes when I toast my bread so I get nervous its going to catch on fire. Yes, I caught my grandmother's toaster on fire for this same reason. Anyways, it should theoretically be less of a fire hazard now but I still smelled smoky a little when I toasted my bread so maybe I just won't use it anymore. because. I would rather not catch the house on fire. 

Math Test, Physiology Reviews and Voyager

On Monday we had the day off as it was Rose Montag. I came to the AIB and tried to do my math homework without much success which did not bode well for my test on Thursday. Eventually I finished it with some help from Amanda. Tuesday was back to class as usual. We had a final math tutorial that morning where we reviewed past exams in preparation for the test. Wednesday was also fairly uneventful. We had our first review for the physiology test with Reagan concerning the cardiovascular system. We did some more research concerning the Enmodes project. In the afternoon we had another cultural workshop where we played a quiz game about german culture. Then we had a german lesson which will be the last one before our midterm. Thursday was the day of the test. Blanche very kindly canceled our BMEN 253 class to give us extra time to study. The test itself went very well, I think. I went through the first three problems very smoothly, the fourth one took a bit of extra thought but I'm pretty sure I got it right. The real challenge was the fifth problem. I had reviewed this sort of problem a little but not enough. I think I managed to piece the solution together from memory and other problems. I'm fairly confident that I did very well on the test. On Friday we had our second physiology review which covered the respiratory system. We also did more Enmodes research which left me feeling like my brain had turned to cotton wool. The problem is that we have ideas that intuition tells me will work but I don't have the skills to mathematically prove. We are working with electronics and thermodynamics that I haven't learned and these are not the easiest things to learn through YouTube. Errin and I are making slow progress and I'm sure we'll figure something out eventually.

In less academic news, I sorted out my plans for spring break. My bank account is significantly lighter than it was last week. I booked a week climbing in Costa Blanca, Spain. The holiday includes airport commutes, regional travel and housing for the week so its a pretty good deal. Finding flights was a bit of a challenge and it seems I somehow need to get to Dusseldorf airport at five in the morning but I'm sure I'll work that out. The area looks very nice and the weather is supposed to be ideal and warm, which after this week will be a welcome change. It also includes five days of climbing which is a lot more than I could afford with a private guide. In short I think this is going to be an excellent trip.

On Friday I started watching Star Trek Voyager. I recently rewatched the Picard series and so was feeling inspired. I skipped ahead to the end of season three which is when Seven of Nine joins the crew. I still prefer Next Generation if only because of Picard, Data and Guinen (spelling may be off). On the plus side none of the characters in Voyager irritate me in the same way that Riker and Troi do. In any case it is by far superior to the Original Series. I have no idea how that became so popular. Kirk is an absolute moron, the plots are ridiculous and the show is unbelievably sexist. The only good things about it are Spock and Dr McCoy and even they can't make it bearable. I do like the new movies but Next Generation and Picard are still my favorites. 

I'll admit that that rant was mostly to fill up space. This week was relatively uninteresting so there isn't much to write about. I spent the weekend reading my physiology textbook in preparation for Wednesday's test but did not make as much progress as I should have. I should probably get back to work now so that'll be all for this week.

Week 7!!!

 This week was pretty calm, with not much going on. I cannot believe we are almost halfway done with this program. Time is going by so fast and I do not like it. I never want to leave Europe...

This week I did a lot of schoolwork. I started studying for my first physiology exam that is next week, and Reagan held some reviews for us. I also took my first math exam and I think I did really well. Peyton and I found a new yummy gluten-free Italian place on Friday. It was so good, we already want to go back. On Saturday and Sunday, Peyton, Peri, Erin, and I went to Starbucks to get some studying done. I love the AiB, but being there 7 days a week is not my favorite... Starbucks is a nice change of scenery. 

Even though we are only halfway through (not even), with this program, I can already see the changes in myself and how transformative this experience really is. I am learning so much about myself and life in general. I am learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. How to time manage even more than I already have in College Station. How to maintain relationships with people when they are 5,000 miles away. How to communicate with people who speak a different language and who live in an entirely different culture. How to relax on Sundays and how to take things slower. How to find something to look forward to in each day. How to enjoy every moment that comes my way. How to travel efficiently (cost and time). How to deal with conflicts between my peers. How to ask for help in my schoolwork and admit things are too hard. How to calm down and realize change is not a bad thing. 

I am so thankful for this experience and always will be.

Week 7: February 21-26

This week was pretty ordinary overall – lots of school. On Tuesday, we had History of Medicine, physiology lab, and pharmacology. On Wednesday, we had our physiology lecture exam review, an enmodes session, the second intercultural workshop, and German class. The enmodes session went really well. We missed having Elizabeth there since she was sick all week, but Pat and I made some good progress on our idea. Our team was assigned the name “The Death Eaters” by Dr. Wasser because neither Pat nor I could come up with anything else and neither of us have seen Harry Potter. Sorry, Elizabeth, if you have. In the intercultural workshop, we learned about stolpersteine, which are small stone memorials to Holocaust survivors. Then, we played a Jeopardy-like trivia game, which Kassy, Peri, Erin, and I won. In German, we learned sentence structure, question words, and some more irregular verb conjugations. That evening, I had movie night with Wyatt. On Thursday, we had History of Medicine, physiology, and pharmacology. Lakka has been coming to class a lot this week, and it's always nice to have her excitement and energy in the room. On Friday, I didn’t have class until 2:15pm (enmodes), so I got to sleep in, which was much needed. But I was still so tired all day that I wasn’t very productive at all. We had our physiology exam retake, and then I went home and shadowed a prenatal genetic counselor via telemedicine. That was really fun, and it remined me of how much I love genetics. This weekend was pretty relaxing, as I didn’t travel anywhere. I was rather productive on Saturday, slept in on Sunday, and watched a lot of Aggie baseball. We have Zoom classes on Monday because of another transportation strike. I am going to try to get in the habit of going to bed earlier and waking up earlier so that I have time to study for the MCAT and work on my med school application in the mornings. We’ll see how that goes.

Week 7: German Old Ladies are Mean as Hell

    This week seemed to fly by. Between having Monday off and studying for exams I don't know where the time went. Erin and I both decided that we would start working on our joint study guide after each of our classes so that we could be better prepared for our next round of exams. We realized that our next exams would be right after our weekend trip to Amsterdam and just before everyone goes their separate ways for spring break. My first exams went pretty well but I still want to improve my performance and do the best I can in these classes. I really feel like I get this material and I find that I'm actually excited to go to class and listen to the lectures. Nice change of pace after the battle for my sanity over this last semester. 

    Erin and I also started going back to the gym this week. We had not been able to go between all of the traveling and exams of the last two weeks. I hadn't realized how much I missed getting to burn off extra energy and start my morning in the gym. I really does make a difference in how I feel during the day and how well I sleep. My forte is weight lifting while Erin's skills lie in creating HIIT workouts that make me feel like Jell-O. We alternate days to make sure that we do both strength and cardio training. This schedule has quickly become one of my favorite things and I look forward to the workouts.

    I discovered that German old ladies can be really damn aggressive. I was walking beside Peyton and Amanda and was turned towards them talking about plans to study. As such, I did not see the woman that was approaching from the opposite direction, though they both said that she clearly saw me. All of the sudden I felt a weight ram into my shoulder and I turned thinking I had run into one of my friends that was in front of me. Instead I found myself looking down at this short lady who proceeded to cuss me out in German and then shove me back. As she walked away I turned to look at her with an incredulous look and shouted tut mir leid in a mocking tone. I don't know what the laws are in Germany but somehow I doubt it would have ended well had I retaliated. It wound up being more funny than anything and nobody really got hurt so all's well that ends well I suppose. 

    The week ended with us spending a lot of time at a table in Starbucks trying to get some studying in. The students of the round table. Nice to have a bit of downtime before things ramp up over these next few weeks.