EMILY PRINS E-Portfolio

May 14, 2018

Today I, along with my sister, departed from Tampa to head to Amsterdam! We left Tampa at 6:55pm and are scheduled to touch down in Amsterdam tomorrow at 12:30pm after making a quick stop in Reykjavik, Iceland. I'm so excited to get there, meet the group, and start our trip! 

May 15, 2018

After Arriving in Amsterdam, I met up with some other students by baggage claim and we headed for the hotel. I decided to take a Taxi with my sister, and we arrived at the StayOkay Vondelpark Youth Hostel around 2:30pm. We were greeted by the other students, our professor, TA, and Daniel our CEPA coordinator. We had an orientation session where we went over the city map, got public transport passes and were shown our rooms. The rooms had 6 people in each and one bathroom, and this was my first time staying in a hostel, so I was both nervous and excited for the next several days in Amsterdam. After the orientation session was over my sister and I went exploring. We found a restaurant called "De Prins", which is our last name and tried the local beer, Heineken. We also happened upon the famous "I Amsterdam" sign before returning to the hostel for dinner with the group. At dinner several other students and I decided to go on a canal cruise, where we learned about Amsterdam and its rich history. After the canal cruise we kept the night going by going to a local bar and getting to know each other before we returned home to the hostel. 

May 16, 2018

Today waking up was a little difficult as yesterday I along with some others was awake for well over 36 hours. Nonetheless I was excited to travel to our first stop on the trip, Delft, the Netherlands! On the way to Delft we had to sit with someone we didn’t know and talk about things to help us get to know each other, it was so needed as many of us didn’t know anyone very well. We arrived in Delft and were able to have some free time before the walking tour to walk around on our own. Once the walking tour began we learned about Delft porcelain, the towns history, and Antonie Phillips van Leewenhoek. We even got to see his original microscope in the Delft city hall. After the walking tour was over Dr. Oli bought up tickets to go into both churches and we saw where Leewenhoek was laid to rest. The rest of the time in Delft was free time and me and 4 other students got lunch together in the main city square. After lunch, the group returned to Amsterdam where we visited the Micropia Museum. It was so cool getting to see microbiology up close and personal at this museum and it gave me a better understanding of what microbiology was really about, being as I am a health science student. I particularly liked finally getting to learn about water bears as I had been seeing them everywhere so far! After the museum and we had free time up until dinner where we ate together again. After dinner the same group that went to the canal cruise yesterday decided to go on a pub crawl. It was so much fun getting to know each other in a relaxed setting while getting to see Amsterdam in a whole new way!

May 17, 2018

Today we left Amsterdam and the StayOkay to go to our new location, Marburg, Germany. On the way to Marburg I was so surprised we didn’t have to stop at the border and show some kind of ID. It must be nice being able to go from place to place so easily here. We stopped at a gas station on our way to have lunch and then had an impromptu German lesson provided by Daniel. We learned numbers and some common phrases, it really is so helpful having a guide who is from the area. We arrived in Marburg in the afternoon. After checking into our rooms at the Welcome Hotel some other students and I went out to explore the city on our own. We climbed many hills and saw Marburg from up top while also admiring the church. After walking around a group of us met up with Daniel and had dinner together, while preparing for our fairytale night at the hotel. Marburg is known for its connection to the Brothers Grimm and each of us was tasked with reading a fairytale then presenting it to the group. Kenna and I presented on “The Raven”. It was really cool getting to see the fairytale trail in Marburg and how some stories told that night matched up with it. After storytelling, Daniel took us around the city for his version of a pub crawl. We got to try the local shot called a “Rusty Nail” and visited a local only bar called “The Cave”.

May 18, 2018

This morning we went to the Emil-von-Behring exhibition at the local University in Marburg. It was a small exhibit with most things being in German, but interesting nonetheless. There were a lot of photos that helped to understand what was going on I learned that he was the first person to receive the Nobel Prize in the physiology of medicine. After our tour we had some free time before we departed for our next activity. The group walked through Marburg stopping to look at several of the fairytale depictions throughout the town. A few of us had lunch at an Italian restaurant then returned to the hotel to get ready to go to the Max Planck Institute. We took public transportation to get to Max Planck and had to go on a little nature hike to finally find the exact location. Once we arrived we were all overtaken by the architecture of the building and being somewhere with so many amazing resources. We sat through some lectures of doctoral students who told us of really detailed and involved work of theirs. After that we had a snack break and then were broken up into two groups to take tours of the institute. We got to see several lab rooms, advanced microscopes, and hear about life in general working and studying at Max Planck. Before this tour I had never been in a formal lab setting so seeing all the resources and how smart all the people who worked there were, was really astounding. It was also really interested to see how vast the research is at Max Planck. Some was on humans and our functions while other research was on plants. I never knew microbiology encompassed so many things. After our tour we went back to Marburg and had a group dinner at an American diner; it was so nice to have some familiar food. After dinner we returned to the cave for some fun and as a farewell to Marburg and then returned to the welcome hotel for our last night.

May 19, 2018

We checked out of our hotel early this morning and said goodbye to Marburg, the Welcome Hotel’s delicious breakfast and our first tour guide Daniel. We then met our new guide Lina who took us on the bus to head for Strasbourg, France. Upon arrival in Strasbourg I knew things would be different than they had been, but I could not have expected how different. For the next several days we were going to be staying in the Chateau de Pourtales, an old castle that has so much history it was hard to keep up. The former lady of the house, Melanie, is said to still have her spirit roaming around; I hope to have an encounter. We had a welcome reception held by both the owner of CEPA and the Chateau which was very lovely. We then settled into our rooms before heading out to do some grocery shopping to prepare for the coming days. Pentecost was the next two days and we were told things would be closed so we needed to buy food and snacks to be able to eat. Unlike our other accommodations, the chateau was situated outside of town meaning we had to walk to a bus stop and then bus into town. The walk to the bus stop was farther than I expected, but a nice time to think and look around at the landscape. After we were shown the bus stop we continued walking to the grocery store. At the grocery store my sister and I searched all over for some familiar foods trying to navigate the French language and brands. It was actually really fun, and something I wouldn’t have even considered doing if I had been on my own. We had to carry all out groceries back to the chateau, which was also a little bit of a challenge but also a nice change from the usual home routine of grocery shopping. Back at the chateau we did some school work as a group then decided to go to town before things closed the next day to try some local food for dinner. At dinner I got a traditional meal of Alsatian smoked ham, and potatoes that were to be dipped in a mix of cream cheese, onions, garlic, and pepper. It was actually quite good. After dinner the group got some gelato and took in the sites of Strasbourg and the giant cathedral. We took the bus and walk home, and we then met up with Lina for a mini French lesson and some games to get to know each other better.

May 20, 2018

This morning my sister and I decided to take advantage of going to our first ever catholic mass in the Strasbourg cathedral. It was rainy and a bit chilly, but we still decided to go and I was so glad we did. Getting to experience religion in another culture and country is unlike any other. It was also incredible to get to attend a service in a church that is older than the United States. Hearing the organ play from down the street to summon us inside was really something I will never forget. After mass was over a group of us had lunch at a place down the street. I shared a Tarte flambée, a traditional dish of the Alsatian region. It was very delicious! We then met up with the rest of the group and went on a walking tour of Strasbourg. We learned of its history and even say a bullet still lodged in the side of a building from one of the wars! We also visited petit France and learned more about the cathedral. After the tour, several others and me decided to go to the Orangerie, the oldest and largest park in Strasbourg. There we went to the zoo and marveled over a swan in the lake. I was especially excited today because as a group we decided to all cook dinner together! My job was first to toast bread for the cheese and sausage. It was quite the experience cooking with 22 other people in a kitchen you aren’t familiar with, but we made it work. After the bread was done cooking my next task was to direct the making of the Tarte flambées. I was a little nervous getting such an important job culturally, considered I had just had one for the first time a few hours before. Making them turned out to be very fun and easy and I really want to try to find the ingredients and make them back home. We also had some spritzers flavored with the elderberry flower, some elderberry pancakes, and some crepes! Everything was so delicious, and it was even more delicious because it was all homemade by us. After dinner we told some ghost stories as a group and then played games with Lina.

May 21, 2018

Today was one of the days I was most excited about because we not only got to go to a winery, but we also got to visit 3 different small towns in France. After traveling down, the Route des Vins and getting commentary from our tour guide Maria on each village we passed through we stopped at the winery Achille. The winery Achille is a privately-owned winery that has a selection of Alsatian white wines. It was really interesting getting to connect how microbiology and the production of wine interplay as we toured the production areas. We got to try several delicious wines while enjoying the view of the vineyard and each other’s company. For many of us this was our first-time wine tasting! We then departed for Riquewihr to have some lunch and explore another small town. At lunch I was going to try snails but chickened out and instead just heard about how they tasted from other people on the trip. Some people decided to go on a hike but me and others stayed back and walked around more doing some window shopping and eating ice cream and macaroons. It was a really relaxing afternoon. After leaving Riquewihr we traveled to Colmar and had a walking tour by Maria. We got to walk around and see the historic architecture and even got to see the statue of liberty by bus on our way out of town. We left a little early because of rain and returned to the chateau. We made a pasta dinner with some other students and had a relaxing night of games, like we had the nights before.

May 22, 2018

This morning we attended the guest lectures of Dr. Edouard Hirsch and Dr. Charles Behr. Both are doctors at CHRU of Strasbourg in France. Dr. Hirsh came to speak to us about his opinions on medical practice and the difference between personalized medicine and precision health care. He also enlightened us on how his life is affected his medical practice, both personally and professionally. Next Dr. Behr spoke to us about how to obtain a medical degree or a PhD in another country, specifically France. It was very interesting to learn the differences between admissions, cost, and time spent on each degree on the US and in France. Although I don’t want to be a doctor, and I’m pretty sure I don’t want to attend school aboard this presentation was very informative. When the presentations were over we had some time to have a picnic lunch at the Chateau before heading to the bus to go to our next activity, Chocolatier Weiss. At Weiss we were able to try almost all the chocolates that were available. They were all so delicious and hearing little tid-bits about how they were made, made me appreciate the art of chocolate making even more. After we had finished our binging at Weiss, we had free time to roam around Strasbourg. My sister and I walked around until we found some other group members, we shopped with them for a bit then decided to go and get some dinner. As we were walking to dinner we happened upon some other members of the group and Lina and began an impromptu tour of the best places to eat in Strasbourg. We finally decided on a restaurant and of course ordered some Tarte flambées for one of our last nights in the Alsatian region. After dinner we walked around the city for what felt like hours, caught and bus and went home to talk more then go to bed to get ready for the next day.

May 23, 2018

To prepare for the early morning and the activities today we were told to research some facts about both the European Molecular Biology Laboratory and the German Pharmacy museum. It was nice going into the day knowing some things and ready to ask questions if needed. We arrived at EMBL around 9:30 and began our visit with a lovely welcome presentation, and then had a short break before reconvening to talk about the importance of bioinformatics and iTOL. After both presentations we had a tour of some of the laboratories and got more information on internships and other programs they offer. I thought it was so interesting how it is their policy to now have anyone employed for over 9 years. After EMBL we headed to Heidelberg for some free time before the German Pharmacy museum. Lina, myself and a few others went to have a traditional German lunch of pork medallions and German noodles; it was so delicious! After lunch we met the rest of the group to head up to the castle to enter the German pharmacy museum. From my research the night prior, I was really excited to see these exhibits. It was really cool learning how both medicine and pharmacy have evolved so much over the years. Its crazy to think that people thought that unicorns were magical, and that the skin of serpents could help heal someone. I wonder what people will think about us and our practices years from now? After the tour we had a workshop on how to make salves. Before this trip I had never heard of a salve, so I was curious as to what we would be making. The process turned out to be really fun and it was especially enriching getting to make them with a small group of my peers! After salves we returned to the bus to head back to Strasbourg. My sister and I finished our food we had accumulated over the week and took some time to explore the chateau property further before we left for Switzerland the next day.

May 24, 2018

Today we departed from the Chateau to head to our first town in Switzerland, Basel! Before we could get to Basel though we had several stops along the way. Our first stop was in Titisee to visit the lake and have some lunch. The lake was so pretty and peaceful because we got to the town so early on a not so busy day. I decided not to go for a swim but did stick my toe in and took some time to take in the scenery. After the lake me and some others decided to walk around the town for a bit to find lunch. We decided on this place right on the water and had some traditional sausages with bread. After lunch we walked around some more in and out of local shops before stopping to buy some strawberries to sit and eat at the park while we waited to go on to our next stop. We left Titisee around 2pm and went to our next stop the Brewery Rothaus. This tour was on of my favorites of the entire trip because it was so well organized and informative. When we arrived we were all given a brezel and shown a movie on the production of beer and how Rothaus was different from other places. I found it interesting that Rothaus sources their water from their own private spring and is state owned. After the tour of the facility we were able to have dinner at their restaurant. We had a traditional dinner and got to sample some of the famous beers, and had black forest cherry special. It was so delicious! When dinner was over we were finally on the way to our final destination for the day; the youth hostel Basel. We arrived around 9pm, checked in, then had a quick orientation session to the hostel, the area, and the touched base on the activities for the next day. After orientation, a group of us went out to explore the town and hopefully begin some of our interview assignment. We ended up meeting several local people and having a really good time our first night in Basel! 

May 25, 2018

After a late night last night we got up this morning ready to head to the Ricola show garden in Nenzlingen. We got to learn about the herbs Ricola uses through an interactive scavenger hunt, a tour of the whole show garden, and were able to sample some fresh mint right out of the garden. This was a really informative tour and I found it fascinating how Ricola started and that their name is an acronym of the original founders and location! After our tour we were able to have a lovely picnic on the Ricola lawn and take in the scenery of all the mountains around us. It was so bucolic. As we were about to leave the people who showed us the garden gave us all very nice goodie bags with assorted Ricola products to take home with us; that was the cherry on top of a perfect tour. As a group we decided to hike around the mountain back to our bus instead of going the way we came. This short hike turned out to actually be quite long and not in the direction we were intending, but fun nonetheless. The bus driver picked us up where we came off the trail and we headed back to the hostel. Dr. Oli told us of a place in Basel where France, Germany, and Switzerland all meet and you can walk between the countries, so a group of us decided to go and find this place before our fondue dinner. We used public transport and some local children to help us get there and after a little over an hour and a half we finally made it. The trip was only really supposed to take 20 minutes but it was fun learning the transit system and being lost together. The point was not what we were expecting but still a novelty so we took our photos and made a plan to make it back to the hotel. Because we were so far and didn't have much time we decided to Uber back to the hostel and made it right in the nick of time before the fondue was presented. We had unlimited cheese, bread and wine so after dinner everyone was presumably really tired and full. Tonight was the night we were to present our findings from our interview assignment so we had a group meeting to talk it all through. We learned what Europeans really think of Americans and dove into some deeper topics about American culture and how we were all raised. After the class meeting a group of us decided to go explore the town again and we ended up at the same night as before. In an effort to spice things up we decided to go somewhere else as well and it actually turned out to be pretty fun and something totally different from what we had been doing. After another long day and night we returned to the hostel to get some sleep. 

May 26, 2018

This morning was different than other mornings because we got the opportunity to sleep in, and my sister and I gladly took it. After having so many late nights and early mornings it was necessary to get some extra rest going into the last few days. At 1pm we took public transport to the Anatomical Museum. This was one of the tours that I could really connect with as I have taken many classes on the human body and physiological functioning. I couldn't believe they had real bodies from babies in each week of pregnancy and a real hand that we were able to pass around. It was engrossing getting to learn about the body and its processes while looking at it close up. After the tour my sister, some others and I went out to have a late lunch/early dinner. This was the first time I had eaten all day so I was especially hungry and the food was so good. After dinner we went for some snack shopping then retuned to the hotel and talked for a few hours with other people on the trip. Everyone got really scared because some people found ticks on them; luckily me and my sister didn't have any. We then returned to our room to freshen up for our last night in Basel. Per usual, we went to the same two places we had been at the previous nights and got the catch the Liverpool vs. Madrid soccer game. It was so fun being around so many lively people. After our night out we returned to the hotel to pack our bags and get ready for Fluhli tomorrow. 

May 27, 2018

We left Basel today to head for the Swiss countryside in the town of Fluhli. We were told Fluhli was going to be very different from every other place we had been so far, so I was excited for a change of pace and scenery. On our way to Fluhli we traveled through such nice areas of Switzerland. I later found out that we had driven through the Entlebuch, which is the first biosphere reserve in Switzerland. We arrived at the Emmentaler Schaukaserei around 10:30 ready to start the tour. Emmentaler is the official swiss cheese and we even learned how to pick out authentic swiss cheese. This tour was all encompassing and incredibly educational. Not only did we get to walk through the entire process of making cheese, we also got to try and compare several different kinds and got to dress out in hair nets, plastic lab coats, and shoe covers. Getting to do all that made this tour one of the best we had been on thus far. My favorite part of this tour and probably the whole trip was when we got to “hear” the holes in the swiss cheese. Swiss cheese is tested very thoroughly, and each round is even graded on well the holes sound! We also were left with the quote that “Happy cows make the best milk and thus the best cheese!” After the tour was over and we had eaten all the free cheese we got back on the bus to head to Fluhli. We had many local snacks on the bus for our on-the-go lunch. We arrived in Fluhli and it was nothing short of picturesque and rural. We were staying on the main road close to the school, nature, and of course all the cows. We had some free time before we were to leave for the essential oil making so my sister and I headed out on an impromptu adventure. We went all the way down the river and explored its banks. After that we met up with the rest of the group and starting on our walking tour of Fluhli to get to the essential oils. On the way we got a little lost and ended up taking a roundabout way through nature to get to our destination; it was really pretty but quite tiring after not having sufficient food that day. We Arrived at the essential oil place and met Silvia who told us about how she uses local ingredients to produce al of her various products. We got the opportunity to be our own mixologists and make our own! This was a really relaxing addition to this day. After we were done we started walking again but this time to get to our group restaurant destination. After dinner we had free time and me and some others went to explore more of Fluhli and the surrounding area. We played in the Vitaparcours fitness trail, picked some local flowers, enjoyed the river, and acted like kids again on the various playgrounds. Towards to end of the night we got some snacks and then played card games with the rest of the group until we went to bed.

May 28, 2018

This morning we met a local guide who took us up the mountain to the Kneipp Area Schwandalpweiher. Basically the Kneipp area was a local park that allowed people to de-stress by doing various "treatments" that were offered. We walked over various objects to revitalize our foot sensations, dipped our arms in freezing water, and used a hose to cleanse our face. The best thing we did there was walk through a sub-freezing treading pool in order to invigorate our legs and blood vessels. It was so cold it was almost painful but then afterwards it felt really nice. After some free time at the Kneipp area as a group we went to the next town over, Sörenberg, to ride the gondola and get some lunch atop the mountain. This was such a nice and relaxing afternoon. We got to play on the playground, the obstacle course, and relax in suspended chairs from the huge trees. There was even snow that we of course, being from Florida, were enthralled with. My sister and I decided to sit out of the optional hike and instead took in relaxing more on the mountain top. After everyone came back from the hike we began walking down the mountain to go back to the hotel. Once we were back in Fluhli, my sister, a friend and I went to get some Fluhli famous ice cream sundaes. It was so good. After indulging ourselves we went back to the hotel and got some work done for our class and started preparing for our last departure the next day. 

May 29, 2018

Today we left the small town feels of Fluhli and heading for the city. On our way to Geneva we stopped for a quick lunch in Gruyere, a medieval town in the upper valley of the Saane/Sarine river. We had a traditional lunch with Gruyere cheese before leaving to go to Broc. In Broc we visited the Maison Cailler chocolate factory. We learned about the different production stages of chocolate and chocolates history in a very Disney like fashion. At the end of the tour we got to try chocolate using all five of our senses then got spoiled with an all you can eat/try chocolate bar. It was so delicious and the perfect ending to an awesome tour. Our tour guide, Lina, bought us all a cup of dark hot chocolate to share and it was so different from the hot chocolate at home. After we left Cailler we were bound for our last stop on the trip, Geneva. Once we arrived in Geneva checking into the hotel proved to be quite chaotic but once it was done everything was fine and we had such a nice room! We had a quick orientation session and then a walking tour of the city with a local guide. On the tour we learned about the history of Geneva and she gave us some recommendations for local eats. We all ate dinner together, then my sister, some others and I got some ice cream before going back to the hotel for a class meeting. At the class meeting we signed thank you cards for all our tour guides, and then broke into groups to research then present on the WHO, The Red Cross, and MSF. After our meeting a group of us went out to explore the Geneva nightlife and had a good last night with our guide Lina. 

May 30, 2018

This morning we met our new coordinator Gaetane, after saying goodbye to Lina, who took us to the bus stop to travel to the World Health Organization. Once we arrived we got to have a informational lecture about the organization as a whole and some opportunities for students like us to get involved. This lecture was especially memorable because we got to do it in the Executive Board room- it looked very official. After that we attended another lecture on working at the WHO and then one on emergency situations. Each was informative and I found it really cool that most people who work at the WHO are well into their careers, meaning its not a starting job but something people go to when they have a lot of professional experience. After the WHO tour we sprinted over to the bus to head to the Médecins Sans Frontières, also known as Doctors without Borders. We had some time before the tour started so we all went out to the pub next door to have lunch together. At MSF we learned about the organization and also how to get involved as professionals. I liked hearing about people's experiences firsthand and how the organization decides to do what is does. After MSF we had free time for the rest of the night. We went back to the hotel to change clothes and then explored Manor, a swiss department store chain. It was huge and unlike any department store we have in the states. After we left manor we headed for the lake but on the way we got stuck in a really bad rain storm so we camped out for a bit at a little roadside restaurant. After waiting there for almost an hour and a half and the rain showing no signs of slowing down we deiced to brave the rain and run back to the hotel. We finally made it back completely dripping wet but laughing the whole time. After changing again we went out to get some dinner then came back to the hotel to play games and talk before going to bed. 

May 31, 2018

Everyone woke up today knowing it was the last day so we all wanted to make it last as long as we could. We had our last European breakfast of bread, Nutella and yogurt and set off for the day to our last stop: The International Red Cross Museum. This museum proved to me more enjoyable and educational than I had originally expected. We were taken into 3 different themed sections, restoring family links, minimizing natural risks, and defending human dignity. Each has a special significance to the Red Cross and we got to learn about each in depth on our guided tour. My favorite part of this tour was actually knowing about some of the things that were talked about before entering. For example, in my IB Spanish class we learned about the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo and it was talked about at the museum. Overall this museum was awesome and I would recommend it to anyone and I would like to return to it. After the tour we had free time until our farewell dinner. Some others and I ventured around Geneva and saw the point where the the Rhone and the Arve rivers met, we ate some lunch at the all famous Globus, window shopped then returned to the hotel to pack before our last night. At 7 we met to depart for the Restaurant Edelweiss to have our fondue farewell dinner. The restaurant was so authentic and we got to enjoy live unique music and also all got the chance to play the Alphorn. It was a lovely last night all together laughing and reminiscing on all the things we had seen and done of the past few weeks. After dinner we all went out for some last laughs then returned to the hotel to await our departure in a few hours. 

​

June 01, 2018

At the early time of 3am we began our journey back to the United States. My sister and I, along with two other group members took a taxi together from the hotel to the airport. When we arrived at the airport it was still quiet as we were there 3 hours early. After some stress my sister and I made it on our 6:10am flight to Lison, Portugal where we had a 3 hour layover before our 10:40am flight to Miami. Both flights were easy and before we know it were were touching down in Miami, Florida at 2:30pm. It felt so nice to be home and we were both so excited to to see our mom, our house and our pets. The trip was awesome but nothing feels as good as being in the comfort of your home! 

​