Wageningen Allison Day 41-48

It has been too long since I last posted, but we have been very busy since the beginning of last week.

After many hours in the computer labs, we were able to complete our analysis work for the course. I was pleased with the results we extracted from our data. It showed that the infant we were monitoring was spending more than half the time with its mother. Also, even after only 5 days of observation, I really felt that we were able to assess the situation and make positive recommendations for the zoo.

On Wednesday, we presented our work to the class as well as to the professors and zoo staff. Our presentation was ten minutes long, and in that time we had to squeeze in everything we discovered about our macaques as well as all the analysis from our data. We both know we speak too fast, so toning it down was difficult. People seemed to like our presentation, however, because they voted us in the top three. We didn't want that to happen though because we know this class was more important to other people. We did make some friends in the class, and it was nice to be able to hear their perspective on things. I realize that the class we took was not stereotypical of classes here, but I am glad we did it.

This weekend, we decided to go to Berlin. I am so glad we did because the trip was very spur of the moment. Berlin was absolutely phenomenal. The city is so rich with history, and we met amazing people from all over the world. My mother was worried about me traveling to Germany after the G8 riots, but honestly, I can say that I felt safer there than I do in New York or Chicago sometimes.

What I thought was most interesting about Berlin is that it is such a mixture of old and new. Because of all the bombings and such, Berlin has been rebuilt over and over again. Even the buildings that look old most of the time have been rebuilt.

We took several walking tours put on by the New Berlin Tours company. They really do a wonderful job, and I don't feel as if we would have gotten as much out of what we did if we had just walked around by ourselves all the time. We took their tour into a nearby town to visit the concentration camp there. It was really incredible the difference it makes actually seeing it. You read about it in text books, but standing in the middle of it can not be replaced. Sure, it wasn't the happiest tour, but I am very glad we took the time out to do that.

We met great people traveling Europe as well. Most of those individuals were very free thinkers, so it didn't matter to them that we were American. We only had a couple cases where we felt Anti-Americanism, but after talking with those people for awhile, I feel that they also realized that people are people. We may not have changed their opinions of America, but maybe they have a better understanding from our side.

Overall, I would say that Berlin is one of the most interesting cities I have ever visited. I would love to go back someday.

This week, Sam and I are back in the labs. I start tomorrow helping with assays. Only a week and a half until we are done with the program. It has really been a worthwhile experience, and I have noticed changes in myself that I know may not have come otherwise.