The Final Countdown

The final week in Bonn has gone by so fast. On Tuesday, I got to watch ear,throat, and nose pediatric surgeries in the OR. Being in the operating room was terrifying. I didn't want to be in anyone's way and tried not to touch anything. However the anathesialogist kept asking me to do things which terrified me too. I was scared I would hit the wrong button and kill the patient especially because every button was in German. Many of the procedural operations were similar to American hospitals which was cool to see how medicine in different countries can still be so similar. The anathesialogist explained everything he did. Towards the end he also let me help him anesthetize a patient. It was terrifying and exciting all at the same time. It was hard to concentrate and do all that he was telling me to do. In the end, I succeeded. During the surgeries, I got to watch them remove some polyps on patients throats and place ear tubes into the patients middle ear. Overall, it was a fantastic experience even if I wasn't watching open heart surgery (one of the students got to do this)

Wednesday we went on a Rhine cruise. The landscape was gorgeous and vineyards were all along the side of the mountain. Also there were so many castles! As soon as you passed one castle on the river another would be visible. Definetly not something you would see when going down a river in America. We toured Rheinfels Castleand got to walk through the mines with candles as a our light. Such an authentic experience. These mines were just dirt tunnels and when enemies were outside the soldiers would cause the mines to collapse. So like the first land mines! 

On our last day in Bonn, we talked about Nazis Medical Experiments. It was a hard topic to talk about but our professor did a really great job. The thing I found most interesting was that until after the Nurernburg trials there were no universal laws about human medical experiments. To me it just seemed like these things are implied, but in a court, they have to be established.

My last night in Bonn my host mom took me out to eat then to get a giant bowl of ice cream. Now when I say giant bowl, I mean giant. It was so hard to finish all of my ice cream but I did. It was such an amazing opportunity to stay with her while I was in Bonn. She was a very generous person and very informative always trying to answer all of my questions. I loved getting to experience German life with her. Saying goodbye this morning was hard.

Now, I am in Berlin for the last few days of my trip. I am excited to see what this city has in store!