Final Days in Bonn

I can't believe our last week in Bonn is officially over! I will definitely miss that city. But even though it is sad to say goodbye, I had a great time those four days. Monday, we took a day trip to Cologne to visit the zoo. Having not been to a zoo in quite a while, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. We were fortunate enough to be able to hand feed some giraffes, which was great, and we had a behind the scenes tour of the elephant exhibit! For lunch, we some delicious burritos that reminded me of home. Some of us then went back to the zoo, to see the hippos and the aquarium. We attempted to go to the chocolate museum, only to find out that it is closed on Mondays. 

Tuesday, we got up bright and earlier to attend surgeries! This was my first experience ever being in an operating room, and I have to admit to being a little nervous. I got to watch a triple bypass surgery which was incredible. I was fairly confident going into the day that I didn't want to be a surgeon, and even though I enjoyed watching the surgery, I can now confirm that that is not the right career path for me. Still, it was fascinating to watch the doctors work. One of the most surprising parts was when they put the patient on the heart lung machine. Since blood was no longer flowing through the chambers, the size of the heart was significantly reduced.  After surgeries, we had class about Hildegard von Bingen and Paracelsus, who were both important contributors to the history of medicine. It was interesting to learn about these two figures, even if it is hard to understand some of their theories based on what we know now. Tuesday night, Jacobs host sister out on a concert for us, which was really cool. 

Wednesday, took a trip to Bingen for the Hildegard museum. It was one of the smaller museums we have been to, but I thought it was neat that they had a garden with the plants she had written about. Next, we took a cruise on the Rhine, although I think the term cruise is being a little generous. Regardless, I enjoyed the relaxation and was very thankful that we didn't get rained on, as was originally anticipated. We went to a castle in St. Goar, which was definitely the highlight of the day. We crouched through little tunnels, were serenaded by Dr. Wasser in the cellar, and got to see a spectacular view from the top. I had my last dinner with my host mom and sister, and we said our goodbyes that night, since they would both be gone before I woke up on Thursday. It was sad, but thanks to the Internet, I know we will be able to keep in touch!

Thursday was our last day in Bonn. We had class in the morning about the Nuremburg doctors trial. It was strange to hear some of the arguments that claim the experimentation a good thing. I think one of the most important parts of this whole program is that it forces us to see things from different perspectives, which is extremely beneficial. We had our final pre departure meeting in preparation for Berlin and then it was officially the weekend! I will definitely miss Bonn, but I'm so grateful for all the experiences I had there!