Wageningen Day 15-19 Allison

This week has been very nice for me. I was able to go through the process of electophoresis, tour the dairy farms, and also sit in on a bachelor's physiology lab. The dairy farms were very interesting because they use robotic milking here for small farms. These systems allow cows to chose when they want to be milked and requires very little staff to aid the milking process. A laser directed machine finds the teats and begins to milk the cow. She then stands until she is finished and is released back out into the pen. The cows know exactly what to do.

It was also nice this week to be able to sit in on a class. Although the lecture was in Dutch, I was able to see many differences in their teaching methods compared to ours. This was also the first time I had any encounters with students my age. We weren't sure that this school even had a bachelor's program.

This lab was to observe the breakdown and absorption of sugars in the intestine. The technicians removed the rat's intestines and inverted them to create a closed system where nutrients would flow inside and remain there. This way, sugars could be easily measured using a color detection system.

I also was able to sit down with one student and discuss general differences in their education system. They are on a 10 point scale here and most of the class grades are based on a single final exam. The students are responsible for themselves here and must be self motivated. They are also currently trying to make all lectures in English to encourage more international students to come to this small university. Tuition is much lower here as well; for Dutch students only 1,500 a year tuition and fees, and most students recieve financial aid from the government.

It was nice this weekend to just take a day away and go to the beach. Things will get more hectic once we start our class tomorrow. This class seems very intense considering it runs all day. I can't wait to see how it all is run here and what is expected of a student.