We arrived in Hannover on the 6th of January and found
our way to the Hotel “Haus Martens”. It was a nice and chill evening as there
was nothing on the program for the rest of the day. Aaron and I roomed together
for this leg of the trip and we found the accommodations at this establishment
to be quite pleasing. But just some thoughts that are running through my head
at the moment: I’ve realized that on trips like this, there’s a point when you
get tired and you just want to go home. I’ll call it a withdrawal feeling. It’s
not that I don’t like being in Germany, it’s just that with everything that’s
going on, I just can’t grasp the right feelings and everything just feels so
unstable. I’m hoping it’ll get better from here on out. Overall, Germany has
definitely been worthwhile and I still truly believe study abroad is something
every student should do as it really opens your mind to a whole new perspective
and way of life.
On January 7th, we took a train together to the Nephrology Department of the MHH where we visited Dr. Kielstein, a doctor who spoke with us about the German health care system. It’s strange that I didn’t really get the impression that things were way different outside of the US; I think that’s why study abroad is so important: it really makes you aware of things and ideas that you never really thought about. Basically, Germans all receive health insurance and it is all subsidized by the government via high taxes (about 14-15%). We discussed the ethics and guidelines of organ transplant in the EU and also discussed kidneys and dialysis. We even got to see a dialysis patient and the doctor went over how a dialysis worked. I honestly was slightly lost because my foundation knowledge is not yet up to par with an incoming US medical student. We had lunch in the menza of the MHH and we then took a train to the Hannover Zoo. Since it was winter, there were not many animals available to view and the number of people there was quite low. Our tour guide was this nice lady who showed us the lions, giraffes, wolves, zebra, and another small variety of creatures. Our tour concluded with a visit with the veterinarian of the Hannover Zoo, Dr. Kumerow. She talked about anesthetizing animals to do procedures and the various methods of doing so. I never knew that so much went behind the scenes of a zoo! After this tour, our evening was free so I decided to take it easy and relax.
On January the 8th, we returned to the MHH, but this time it was to visit Dr. Jan Schmitto, the country’s youngest head of a cardiovascular department at the young age of 35. I was taken aback when I heard that. He had a big discussion with us over heart replacement surgery and ways to prolong the life of a patient still in need of a heart transplant. He even brought in a patient awaiting a heart transplant; he had what I think is called a left ventricular assist device. Since I haven’t studied the heart (or anatomy/physiology for that matter), I was slightly lost throughout much of the discussion. The heart is a tricky organ and it really made me think about how important PREVENTATIVE medicine is. Prevention is almost always the best cure for any condition. To be frank, I slightly zoned out of some of the discussion because my glasses broke during the lecture; I was fairly concerned about losing the one screw holding my glasses together. Although I would have to wait until the hotel and train to fix my glasses, I was fortunate to have my prescription sunglasses on me. I forgot my regular spares back in the apartment. So as Dr. Wasser described, it was a cool look like “Gangnam Style”. We didn’t get to eat lunch since the talk went over time and we had to get over to the Axolotl research center for the next activity so I ended up sharing really nasty crackers that were healthy and reminiscent of sawdust pieces. This actually brought up a conversation where I talked with Susanne and Dr. Wasser about the importance of nutrition and exercise in a healthy lifestyle. Apparently, Germans are getting influenced by Americans to eat more junk food and the country is getting bigger every year. After we arrived at the Axolotl research center, we listened to Prof. Dr. Kerstin Reimers and one of her graduate students talk about the axolotls and what they do in the research lab. They are thinking the ambLOXe gene plays a huge role in the regeneration of lost limbs in the axolotl. So far, their research has found that exposing mice to the gene improves the rate of wound healing. The eventual goal is to see if regeneration of human limbs may be one day possible. Moreover, I visited the spider room where many spiders live freely. The point of having this room is so that Dr. Reimers’s lab can study how spider silk can act as a sort of conduit for nerves/cells to grow. This phenomenon results in faster wound healing and Dr. Reimers is also trying to study this as well. In addition, we got to see the axolotls in their laboratory habitat and it was all in all a very neat experience. Upon conclusion of our visit, we returned to the Hotel “Haus Martens”, picked up our luggage, and made our way to the Hannover Airport for Vienna. After an hour and a half or so of flying, the plane arrived in Vienna. We took the fancy airport train into the city and took the U4 until we arrived in Roussauer Lande. From there, we took a very short walk to Hotel Deutschmeister. Everyone resided in the first floor of the hotel (really the 2nd floor) for the last leg of the trip. Sometime that evening, Connor, Cassie, and I set out for some late dinner and after a short and chilly walk through a snow-blanketed city, we found a hot dog stand that was open from 10 PM till 6 AM. When I got back, I basically passed out because I was so exhausted!
After a busy previous day, I was grateful that January 9 was
not as hectic of a day. I had a good breakfast at around 9 AM and we set out
for a Medical History Walk. On this tour, Dr. Wasser showed us buildings of
historical and medical importance. It was very interesting and I was definitely
into the tour. I actually answered a question: Boccaccio wrote “The Decameron”.
It was an important work during the time of the Bubonic Plague. We all met up
at St. Stephen’s Cathedral after lunch for a tour of the interior and
crypt/catacombs. It is an impressive Gothic/Romanesque cathedral, but it pales
in comparison to the one in Cologne. We had a guide walk us through the church,
but like stated earlier, the most interesting part was the tour of the crypt
and catacombs. They had great rulers buried there and mass graves for others.
Organs were kept in jars filled with alcohol that were sealed in other jars
when they leaked. The creepiest part was probably the not renovated part of the
catacombs. They had mass graves filled with countless skeletons and bones and
they even had a room that was made of a “wall of bones and skulls”. Eerie.
After the tour concluded, we had a free afternoon. I found a music store called
Musikhaus Doblinger. There I poured over their oboe music collections and found
sheets for Mozart’s Concerto in C, the Strauss Oboe Concerto, and an arrangement
of Pavane pour une infante defunte (I think that’s how you spell it) for oboe
and piano. It cost about 60 USD but now I can say I brought something back from
Europe. At 7 PM, we had a group dinner at Restuarand Pfudl. It was really
great; I ordered a Johannesbiershaft (Pago), a small order of risotto, and a scrumptious portion of Fiabergoulasch. It was so good and I had
a great time. Afterwards, I think other people went out, but I decided to go
back to the hotel to relax. I basically say this every night, but after the
day’s activities, I don’t have the energy to go out; it’s just so much more
relaxing to lie around and do nothing.
As January 10th drew to an opening, I finally
realized that this trip was coming to a close. Funny how trips start so slow but
then speed up as time goes by. It’s such a strange perception. In addition,
every trip I’ve gone on in the past has this pattern: “I like being away… I
want to go home… I don’t want to go home…” Today, our group took a trip to Pfizer, a
flagship international pharmaceutical company, to visit an office branch in the
outer areas of Vienna. The presentations were very professional and included
folders with information, candy, and beverages. The two speakers were very
informative and interesting because they really helped me get a fresh
perspective on why drugs are so expensive. These companies need to recover the
costs of research, development, and testing during the time that they have a
monopoly on the recipe. After that, generic drugs can attack and reduce the
profits that the brand name companies need for further research and development
of new drugs. I was really grateful for this presentation as it definitely
helped me get a better perspective on the medical industry. On a side note, I
definitely think I need to take pharmacology at A&M before I graduate. We
had a nice lunch break near the Hotel and Kitty, Ari, Connor, Cassie, Aaron,
and I went to a really nice restaurant where I had a potato/mushroom soup with
cheese cream pasta. We even got free tap water! From there, we all met up at
the Sigmund Freud House/Museum where Dr. Wasser began with a lecture about Dr.
Freud and his life story/accomplishments/theories. It was all very interesting
and I learned a lot about the impact he made in the field of
psychiatry/psychology. We then proceeded to have a short tour on the museum in
which we went through Sigmund Freud’s works and his personal effects. It was
neat to see a tangible part of history right in front of me. In the evening, we
proceeded to the Vienna State Opera House, checked our coats, took pictures,
and enjoyed the opera. The name of this particular one was “L’Italiana in
Algeri”. I love the overture as I had already played principal oboe on it. This
evening was awesome as it was really great to experience this musical
masterpiece in a cultural setting.
It’s finally January 11, the next to last day of the
program. As I am approaching the end, I am actually getting sad that we are so
close to leaving Vienna (and Europe in general). I don’t really want to be
thrown back into the rigors of A&M so soon. Anyway, it was an early day as
we left at 8:45 AM to go to the AKH to meet up with current Austrian medical
students who were to take us to various medical museums around the vicinity of
the medical university. The first stop was actually snow. It started snowing
and we all took time to observe and admire it. Growing up in Houston all my life
really made this snow a special experience. We then had a quick visit in the
Vienna Medical School, followed by a presentation given by Professor März about
medical education in Vienna. It’s a way different system than it is in America,
but it evens out roughly in the end. It’s just so strange to me that the
concept of undergraduate education is foreign to many who live in Germany and Austria.
One point that really got me in the lecture was about knowledge retention. He
displayed a pyramid showing the percentage of information retention following certain
teaching methods and it gave me insight into how I should learn and study back
in the states. I guess studying abroad can also teach you how to study when you
are back home! After his lecture, we walked through the light snow until we
arrived at the Narrenturm, the Federal Pathologic anatomical Museum. It was an
old building with a very graphic interior. This place has a massive collection
of human medical anomalies. It’s definitely not an ideal location to go to if
you are easily grossed out. But following that exhibit, we had a nice lunch at
a restaurant where I ordered a light dish of Zanderfilet with tomatoes and
spinach. After lunch, we went to the Josephinum, which boasted a huge collection
of anatomical and obstetric wax models. They were made over 200 years ago and
the glass cases used to protect them are so unique that they aren’t even
capable of being replicated to the same precision anymore. These models were
used to teach medical students and are basically the reason why we have those
beloved lab practicals today. I initially thought this museum was small, but if
you try to see every single wax model, you get overwhelmed pretty quickly. Finally,
because today was the next-to-last full day of the trip, Dr. Wasser took us out
to a really nice café called Demel that served delicious coffee and cakes.
January the 12th was definitely a difficult day
for me (and for all of us I assume). This was our last full day in Germany. I
kept counting the hours until my first organic chemistry lecture of the new
semester and it didn’t make me feel any better. We all went to see the morning
exercises of the Spanish horses. Two hours later, it was exciting to go to
lunch as we were ready to die of boredom watching the horses. I met up with
everyone and admired the impressive statue of Maria Theresa as we entered the
massive museum. It began with a guide tour where we went through exhibits of
jewels, moon rocks, meteorites, the Venus of Willendorf, prehistoric fossils,
and live bugs. It was a short tour but very fascinating. As we wrapped up the
program, everyone returned to the hotels to relax and finish packing up. Later
that evening, we went to a typical Austrian restaurant for the farewell dinner.
It was tough realizing that this was my last dinner of the trip. Looking back,
I can say that although there were bumps in the road, this trip was every bit
worth it for the experiences and the sites. We celebrated with great food, company,
and drink. Afterwards, other people decided to go to the Funky Monkey at around
10 PM, but I chose to return to the hotel as my flight was really early the
next morning.
I had to wake up at around 4 AM to pack up what I couldn’t the
night before. I then got ready and met up with everyone taking the 5 AM shuttle (Me,
Aaron, Leo, Patrick, Max, Tyler, Sam, and Kaitlyn) down in the lobby where Dr.
Wasser bid us farewell. We got dropped off at the airport shortly afterwards and I started the journey back home.
From there, well, you know the rest…
To end, I want to say that this trip was a wonderful
experience and I made some great memories. From the perspective of just getting
back, there are a few points I want to make. If you haven’t studied abroad, DO
IT. Even if you think you don’t have the time. So many people don’t go abroad
in their undergraduate years and they regret it. It is overstated but study
abroad should change you and make you see the world differently. But you have
to do it right; merely showing up won’t do anything. That’s because you need to
approach the opportunity with an open mind and a hunger for learning. Try
things that you normally wouldn’t back in the States. You may surprise
yourself. I didn’t think I would ever eat apple sauce with horseradish and I’ve
learned that sparkling water isn’t so bad. Make mistakes when trying to
communicate with people in another language. Sure you get laughed at, but how
else can you learn a language this late in the game? Also, make sure you pack
light, but pack right. I packed light, but I didn’t pack right: it’s cold in
Germany and I wasn’t properly prepared. I’m saying a lot of things that I
should be saving for the post-trip blog post so I’m going to stop myself here.
Hopefully I won’t end up sounding like a parrot in the next post.
So until next time (Spring 2014?), auf wiedersehen!
Austin Wang
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