Every morning, the 20 all-American chemjocks listened to lightning-paced lectures, and every afternoon, they did labs equally quickly.

"I liked making urea--dried piss," joked DiAntonio.

And every night, they studied and solved problems for several hours "Major league cramming was done in the bathroom," he stated.

Often, shower to stall to sink discussions took place. "It was either in the bathroom, on the bus [to the science building], or at meals," and they chose to discuss other topics during these scarce moments of relaxation, said DiAntonio.

"In retrospect, the whole thing was fun, though at the time, it was painful," he added. To unwind, "We did your standard juvenile camp acts, but with a vengeance."

The 19 boys and I girl often screamed, sang (indistinguishable from the screaming), and played hearts, not to mention practical jokes.

The proctors sometimes opened their doors at 6 a.m. only to have "nine pizza boxes fall in on them," he said.

DiAntonio fooled around a lot because he was sure he would not make it to Germany. After the first test, for instance, a proctor asked him. "Aaron, have you ever studied thermodynamics before?"

Six labs and three tests later, however, Aaron and three other guys were chosen to represent the U.S.

During the one week break between Colorado and Germany, DiAntonio had to work, and did not have time to study.

The next time he woke up, he was with 68 boy and 8 girl international chemstuds representing West Germany, Greece, and other European coutries.

DiAntonio said that he spent the second day taking a five hour theory test, and the fourth day doing competitive labs all afternoon, leaving the other eight days free for fun.

At night, DiAntonio often joined his cohorts in the bar downstairs, where he would drink German beer and German "applevine," and would discuss issues great and small.

"The Germans were very aware of American politics," he said, adding that during his heated discussions, he would temper his conservative beliefs in the interest of diplomacy.

Day excursions included trips down the Rhine. "There are lots of castles in Germany," DiAntonio observed.