The Conclusion to a Wonderful Summer

Oh, I just spent the last hour writing a lovely last post, and was almost finished, but randomly the page closed, and I lost it all! =( That has happened a couple times before, and unfortunately I still have not learned to just write it in Word first. So, though I am sad to abandon my original wordings and descriptions of before, I have not the energy or will power to re-write the whole thing. My apologies!

So I am now back home in Ft. Myers—after a long itinerary that initially included layovers in Amsterdam, Newark (NJ), and Detroit but got derailed at an unplanned hotel stay in Newark (I missed my connection due to short international connection time and a ridiculously far gate change). It’s nice to be back home with my family and with the comforts I’m used to, namely, Internet access in my room and a washer and dryer that works consistently. However, I do miss many aspects of my life in Jülich, such as the delicious ice cream (for 50 cents!), the ubiquitous bakeries, the plentiful beer, the delicious falafel sandwiches, the currency (I do like the Euro quiet a bit), and all the friends I made there and in Berlin. During my 12 weeks in Berlin and Jülich, I learned to navigate the public transit system with confidence, use a bike as a mode of transportation, cook meals for myself, communicate (primitively) in German, open a beer bottle off a table or chair ledge, package a great deal of items, fully appreciate sheep, and write numbers in the “German” way. I have also learned a great deal about myself and the things that matter the most to me in life: music, chemistry, and people. Music represents all that is beautiful in a world filled with much hardship; chemistry stimulates the mind to elucidate the unknown while also providing a cathartic escape from other worries (at least in my opinion); and personal relationships warm the soul and provide the companionship that all humans crave. Undoubtedly, it was the people I spent my time with that made my RISE experience what it was—from my work in the Forschungszentrum to all my weekend trips to various cities. My summer had a great beginning with the friends I made in the language course in Berlin and continued during my stay in Jülich, where I met some other RISE interns with whom to share experiences and worked at a top-notch institution under a supervisor who was a good role model and source of inspiration in the field. Additionally, most of the others in my lab group were very helpful and uplifting, and I sincerely think that without their company, work at the Forschungszentrum would have quickly become very draining. Also, thanks to one of my co-workers, I successfully shipped my piano back to the States for a reasonable price—it arrived today (only one day after me!). What a great relief! Of course, thanks to everyone for all their input, and thanks to all the people I met for making my Germany experience what it was!

Over the course of the summer, I was fortunate enough to visit eleven cities: Berlin (still my overall favorite!), Leipzig (a treasure trove of music history), Düsseldorf (a very entertaining city that would be a great place to live), Jülich (my home, which I grew quite fond of despite my initial resentment), Köln (always to be remember for its amazing chocolate museum), Bonn (also a goldmine of musical significance), Aachen (the city of mountainous ice cream scoops), Heidelberg (the most picturesque city in my opinion), München (the winner of the “best-looking Rathaus” competition, held by me), Amsterdam (the most exciting city by far), and Venn (the Belgian city where our lap group had some precious bonding time during our retreat).

Despite the abundance of cities I got to see this summer, I would say that there is still plenty of incentive for me to return to Germany someday in the future, whether it be for work/study or vacation. Sadly, I never did get to see Hamburg or Frankfurt am Main, so there’s one reason to head back. Also, I would love to see Munich on a sunny day sometime, and one can never spend enough time in beautiful and interesting cities like Berlin and Bonn. Düsseldorf would be surprisingly easy to visit, since Air Berlin offers direct flights to and from my home city, Ft. Myers, and I would actually also love to spend a little more time in Jülich, as my last few days were so hurried. Additionally, the shopping opportunities are outrageous, especially in cities like Düsseldorf and Cologne.

Of course, being such a diehard food-lover, just thinking about the yummy food in Germany is enough to make me eager to re-visit. When I spent the night in Newark on my way home, I bought dinner using American dollars for the first time in 3 months, and it felt rather strange! (mainly, it was the addition of sales tax that was so conspicuously absent in Germany…) I was craving a falafel sandwich but instead ended up with a tunafish sandwich, which turned out to be decent. In my opinion, Germany is a food-lover’s paradise! Whether you’re in the mood for a Berliner donut, a traditional German meal with potatoes and cheese, an exotic but authentic Korean dinner served in golden bowls, fluffy gelato-like ice cream for 50 cents per scoop, a beer at one of the ubiquitous bars and biergartens, or a quick meal at a döner-kebap place, Germany’s got it all. If you really love food, like me, you can even see food in chemistry, too! Honestly, some of the reactions I ran truly looked just like refreshing beverages; I “made” carrot juice (think V8 Splash, Americans), chocolate milkshake (like a Wendy’s Frosty), red wine, white wine, apple juice, and grass jelly (a Chinese dessert drink). Sometimes it was horrifically tempting to take a swig, especially of the reaction mixtures stirring at 0 degrees Celsius on a hot summer day… Unfortunately for me, though, I won’t be enjoying any solid foods in the next couple of days because I just had my wisdom teeth removed yesterday. =( Though it was a bit traumatic (the only surgery I’ve had since I was an infant), at least this food restriction might be somewhat helpful in shedding the pounds I put on in Germany (totally worth it though!)—to look on the bright side.

Overall, I had a very enlightening and enjoyable experience in Germany, and I’m very fortunate to have had this opportunity to work with the DAAD. With this summer’s memories in hand, I am excited to start the new school year (beginning in another 2 weeks or so) and apply some of the new skills I’ve acquired. Thanks very much for reading this blog, and I wish everyone else the best of luck in future endeavors as well!

Kelly

About the pictures: my jam, cheese, and bread specialty that I developed in Berlin; an aerial view of the Ft. Myers/Naples area from the plane; my digital piano in Juelich–I am quite attached to it and glad it got home safely; the apple strudel and ice cream that my supervisor brought in on my last day in lab for my “goodbye” party; the first beer I bought in Germany–a girly but delicious grapefruit beer in a Berlin biergarten; the last beer I bought in Europe–in the Amsterdam airport during lunch; my favorite Berliner donut, from Backwerk, the best company!; the “red wine” I created in lab–doesn’t it look similar?; my first meal back in the States; me at my fume hood in the Forschungszentrum.