It’s only been slightly longer than a week since we got to
Germany, but so much has already happened. I want to first say that the
cultural and historical excursions have been an incredible eye-opening
experience for me. I do not intend for this post to cover every exact thing we
have done, but rather I would like this post to be a way for me to describe the
particularly interesting portions of the trip and my thoughts regarding them.
On December 27th, we arrived in Frankfurt and our group traveled by
bus to Bonn where we resided in Hotel Mercedes from the 27th to the
31st of December. After orientation at the AIB Study Center, our
group went to dinner in a traditional Reinish restaurant. I’ve heard that
German meals consist of half meat and half potatoes and that news is for the
most part correct. It’s interesting that diet is something so dependent on
where you live. More than the enivronmental cues, I think the cultural aspect
plays a huge role in this. For one, I don’t get why Germans don’t really like “leitungswasser”,
or tap water. They drink so much soda and beer. Personally, I’m not a drinker
of carbonated beverages so me and my water bottle have definitely bonded on
this trip. Anyway, on the 28th, we visited the University Clinic of
Bonn where all of us got to observe real surgeries. There were liver
transplants, hip and shoulder replacements, and vascular surgeries. I got to
observe an atherectomy in which a blockage was removed from the carotid artery
of a man. I didn’t get nauseous at the sight of the blood so that was a plus. For
lunch that day, we ate at a Turkish kabob eatery. Dr. Wasser explained that
there are many Turkish people in Germany because following WWII, Germany lacked
the manpower to rebuild as many men died in the war. So they allowed the
Turkish people to come into Germany to help in the rebuilding. An interesting
aspect is that Germany thought they would leave after the reconstruction was
completed, but many Turks stayed, thus leading to a permanent Turkish influence
in Germany today. Dr. Wasser held a lecture that discussed the various health
care systems of the world and it gave me a perspective on how different health
is viewed across different cultures. Access to health care is also so very
different among the nations of the world. It seems no one can agree on how
health care should be distributed. I thought it was interesting that French
people believe health is centered in the liver. German people think it’s
centered in the heart, and British people believe it is centered in the
gastrointestinal system.
On the 29th, we began with a lecture over the
Nazi Euthanasia killings. The Nazis advocated the killing of Jews, but they
especially wanted to get rid of the sick and handicapped people of German. This
was all in an effort to create a perfect
Aryan race. Afterwards, we visited a history of anesthesia museum that was
guided by Dr. Schoekel, a well-known anesthesiologist. He went over the
incredible field of anesthesia and went really in-depth into how anesthesia
developed. It covered everything from ether to isoflurane. To be honest, I started
to phase out near the end because of the detail in his impartings. I really do
find the field of anesthesia rather interesting especially because it has
implications in the research lab that I am a part of back at A&M. For the
next excursion of the day, Dr. Wasser took us to a post-WWII German history
museum and he talked about the changes that occurred within German as a result
of the Berlin Wall. With so much information about Germany’s involvement in
WWII, it seems that the history of Germany after WWII is often not emphasized,
especially in history classes taught in America (well, the ones taught in my
high school anyway). This tour also allowed me to remember that majority of
Germans during the Nazi regime were not at fault but they were the ones forced
to clean up the mess caused by the Nazis. In fact, many of the Ally bombings
took the lives of many innocent Germans. The social stigma that resulted from
viewing the atrocities of the concentration/extermination camps plagued Germans
for many decades after the war. It reminds me of the prejudice against Muslims
and Arab people after the 9/11 terrorist attack: it only takes the wrongdoings
of a few people to change the way the world looks at a certain representative
group of people.
The next day we took a day trip to Cologne; it was our first
excursion out of the city. after a 20 minute train ride, we emerged from the
station and immediately saw a grand view of the Cologne Cathedral. It’s one
thing to see pictures of it and study it, but it’s another thing to be right in
front of it. After taking an architecture history course in which I studied
Gothic architecture, I immediately identified elements of the structure. The
cathedral boasts impressive facades, pediments, sculptures, flying buttresses,
and spires on the outside. The tympanums under the recessed arches lining the
doorways tell biblical stories in picture form. On the interior, I noted the
elevations of the clerestory, triforium, and arcade, beautiful stained glass
windows, quadripartite ribbed vaults, pointed arches, apse, transepts, nave,
chapels, sanctuary, and narthex. I also met up with Hanna, a high school
exchange student who I haven’t seen in almost 3 years; it was great to see her
again. She temporarily joined our group for tours of the Cologne Cathedral and
the Praetorium. The Praetorium were the Roman ruins that are remnant of the
Roman Empire in Germany. This made me realize that Germany has so many
influences from its past; not just from the Nazi regime, but also from way back
in the time the Roman Empire had an influence as far West as Germany. Our last
destination of the day in Cologne was the Elde Haus, an infamous Nazi prison
from WWII. The tour included a look at the actual prison rooms and accounts
from survivors and victims. We even got to see a creepy Gestapo typewriter with
a special Gestapo symbol on one of the typing keys. This place definitely
evoked more emotion than a lecture over Nazi prisons that I remember back in
high school.
As the next day arrived, we packed up our belongings and
boarded a high-speed train that traveled at 200 km/hr towards Berlin. We
arrived at the Alex Hotel about 5 hours later and shortly after, headed for Straße des
17. Juni near Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column to celebrate until the
New Year arrived. It was an interesting experience but I got the chance to jump
off the ground as the old year expired and land as the new year began; it was
temporarily a sort of clean slate moment for me. We got to watch an impressive
fireworks display that lit the night sky up and I was able to experience my
first New Year’s celebration outside of the US.
Finally, throughout the trip so far, we have had free time
to go hang out, socialize, and eat dinner in various restaurants. I know I only really talked about the
educational aspects of this trip, but I
want to stress the importance of this experience for myself as an opportunity
to learn and grow as an internationally aware student, not just some
college student who studies abroad for fun and games. Overall, I like the group and I enjoy getting to know them, but
learning about medicine, history, and culture in Germany has been the real selling
point of the trip for me. I am excited to be in Berlin and I hope that family
and friends are doing well.
Auf wiedersehen until the next post! Hope you had a wonderful
New Year’s Eve.
Austin Wang
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