First Week in Germany

This first week in Germany has been the great experience I expected combined with the exhaustion I wasn't expecting. We have done so much already in so little time, and although I am dead tired at the end of the day, it has all been worth it.

Our first day of the program was really great because we got to see surgeries in the ORs of the University Clinics in Bonn. It was a huge learning experience as we got to see (in our pair's case) an orthopedic surgery in the neck, as well as the roles of the different people involved in the OR.

The rest of the days we got to tour the History of Anesthesia Museum and the German History Museum in Bonn, and we took a day trip to Cologne to see their beautiful cathedral, a Roman archaeological exhibit, and ELDE Haus, and old Gestapo prison. After every tour I feel more appreciative of scientific advances as well as architectural beauty, something I haven't ever really experienced in the U.S.. Although I left the ELDE Haus feeling sad, it made me more appreciative my life and how I have been allowed to live it.

On New Year's Eve we travelled to Berlin and celebrated the new year at the Brandenburg Gate festivities. It was a really fun night with all of my peers. We enjoyed music, performances, food and drinks. It was crazy to see that many people though and all of the mess in the streets that night. There were beer bottles and firework messes everywhere on the walk back to the train station! Dr. Wasser explained to me the next morning that the clean-up crew started at 3 am to make the city viable by the morning.

On New Year's Day we had a great tour of Berlin in which we saw a lot of great landmarks, including royal palaces, Humboldt University, Checkpoint Charlie, and the last remaining piece of the Berlin Wall. So far this trip has been amazing because of all the beautiful and memorable landmarks we've seen and the great food (my favorite has been Currywurst)!