This week started out really fun
and everyone was happy. However, as Wednesday and Thursday rolled around the
demeanor began to change. The group, myself included, started to realize our
stay in Bonn with our host families was coming to an end and we would have to
say goodbye.
Monday was a day trip to Koln zoo
and a free afternoon. As far as the size of the zoo goes it was, in my opinion,
no comparison to the San Diego and other large American zoos. However, what
gave this zoo a boost in my book was the special tour we received thanks to Dr.
Wasser’s and Olivia’s connection with people. The tour was hands down the best
one I’ve ever had at a zoo. First of all because we were allowed to go into the
elephant indoor cage and be somewhere no one else can normal pay to go see. The
second reason is because we got to feed and pet giraffes. This and more added
immensely to the quality of the tour, as well as the knowledge our guides held.
Once we were released for our free afternoon we didn’t do anything that noteworthy.
We had lunch at an awesome, for Germany standards, Mexican food place. It was
in no way shape or form in the same league as Tex-Mex, but who can beat that?
After lunch, we headed back to the zoo to see the hippo exhibit and across to
the aquarium. Both were small for the size and amount of animals they held, and
also were very humid inside. Past that, we had a quick snack in town and then
headed home for the day.
Tuesday I think is going down as
one of the most insightful and interesting days of the program. Tuesday was
surgery day for us, which means we went to the Bonn university clinic to
observe a bunch of surgeries. In my room I saw a tonsillectomy, ICD
replacement, removal of a tumor in the throat, and heart bypass. It was a
spectacular day for me, probably not so much for the patients. In some cases
the surgery was like a fine artist painting a beautiful painting and others it
was like a mechanic striping down an engine. The two heart cases involved a lot
of cutting, digging, and spreading. The most painful looking one was the ICD
replacement when the surgeon was digging around in the flesh for the device
with his fingers. Now I know why patients wake up all sore and in pain from
surgeries. Not only are they being torn open, but they are being prodded and
poked too. The shortest surgery out of the four was the tumor removal. It took
about five minutes. This one made me feel like a mad scientist because a laser
was used and we had to wear glasses to protect our eyes from the beam. After
experiencing the operating room it makes my decision after next year even more
difficult. I would love to go into medicine and become a doctor, but I’m afraid
the job market after this year won’t be the same. I would much rather continue
with the medical engineering side and develop the new most innovative medical
device. It combines the two best things for me the opportunity to help humanity
and the ability to build things for a living. My dad always tells me, “If you
do what you love for a living it’s no longer work.” That’s what I’m striving
for; I just hope I have the foresight to pick the correct path now.
Wednesday is definitely up there
with boring days on this program. The Hildegard museum was interesting, but
short lived. Once inside there really wasn’t much to see and the garden
outside, for the most part, seemed dead. Sadly it only went downhill from
there. The Rhine cruise was hot and crowed. Most of the other students even
feel asleep in their chairs. As for me, I’d watch as the castles passed by and
occasionally took pictures of the ones I could obtain without people in them.
The last program event on Wednesday was the tour of “Cat Elbow” castle, which
was cool at times and a little boring at others. I think the best part of that
tour was when we got to crawl through the tiny tunnels and use our phones as
flashlights. I couldn’t imagine being a castle guard walking through those all
the time, it would be miserable. The last major event on Wednesday was our
final dinner with our host families. With my host family, it was only my host
mom and I at first, so we each made our own thing for dinner. However, after
that we bonded some more, got to know each other, have fun together, and once
everyone was back take some group pictures. We even broke out some drinks she
had bought at the store to try that night. It was a happy and sad night for us
all, even after our short time together it felt like a second family and it was
sad to have to part ways. Hopefully one day we will see each other or visit one
another again.
Thursday was only a half-day as far
as program events. We had one lecture in the morning followed by an
interrogation by Dr. Wasser. The interrogation wasn’t too harsh though. He only
asked us one question, “What surprised you about Germany?” To which my response was that Germans
like to ask your opinion about very controversial things and get a little
defensive about their opinions. My second surprising thing was that most
Germans museums for the most part leave out a majority of Nazi affiliated
articles and events. It might have been that I just passed over them, or they
are trying their hardest to just glaze over it and erase their past. Thursday
afternoon was uneventful. All we did was make our way to Rome via train and
plane. So, per usual my next blog will be from Rome. Bis dann…
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