I DONT WANT IT TO END

We have two weeks left here. Two. 2. Zwei.

I think that finally sunk in today and I think its crazy. I've only been in Europe for about 4ish weeks...that is NOT enough. I have a huge list going of things I have to come back and see because as I said in my last blog, there's just not enough hours in the day to accommodate everything I would want to do!

Hm, okay my last blog left off after Vienna. So we have Barcelona, Bonn, and Paris to cover!

So Barcelona was incredible. So beautiful. We stayed in a youth hostel somewhere in the middleish of the city and we were in a 12 person ladies room. We definitely didn't think about how the bars stay open until 6am and people dont leave to go to them until 2am!!! So we had constant light and noise throughout the night with all the girls coming and going so not much sleep happened in Barcelona. But you wouldn't know it by everything we did! We saw the Sagrada Familia Basilica and took a tour to the top and we had an amazing view of the entire city (pics attached!). Its incredible to me how many basilcas, churches, and cathedrals I've seen - I feel like an expert. But more on that later. Anyway, we also went to the ~beach~ and it was beautiful. The water was COLD but it was so clear and beautiful I toughed up and went in for a picture (also attached). The last big thing we did was the Parc Guell. We weren't able to get into the museum-y area so I'm honestly not quite sure what it was built for or anything but it was also beautiful. And also some of the cheetah girls movie was filmed there so that was my main reason for wanting to go hehe.
On our way home we flew to Cologne then had to figure out how to get home!! So it was an adventure but we made it alive.

Our week in Bonn wasn't too too crazy busy thank goodness. I was excited for a few days of r&r after the Barcelona weekend. Monday was classes and the organ factory. The lecture was comparing the different health systems around the world - and it really made me think. Im in an organization called Children's Miracle Network Dance Marathon (aggie dance marathon) and we raise money for affiliated hospitals to provide treatment for families who can't afford care from basic level treatment up to funding life-saving procedures. So basically every hour of my day that isnt studying is devoted to this organization but if we had more of a universal healthcare system then the majority of the children we fund treatment for would have care without significant cost. I do realize there are many exceptions to the rule and many people still have to pay for some treatment, but the cost wouldnt be a million dollars as it is for some families in our country. But I cant imagine Americans as a whole seeing the benefit in that unless someone like Trump proposes the bill for universal healthcare. Aka "Only Nixon could go to China,"
 The next day we went to the university clinics and WOW that was amazing. I could never just bop between OR's in the states like I did here. I saw a laparoscopic shoulder surgery of a young woman, an adenoid removal of a little boy, the inner ear bones being replaced with a metal thing so an old man could hear again, some of the eggs saved from a 17 year old cancer patient, an OPEN HEART SURGERY of a 6 month old (that was,,,just wow), and I saw the surgeon pull the sternum of a man back together after an open heart surgery. So in all, I have decided that yes I am in the right field and I do was to be a practicing physician. But I have been going back and forth between anesthesiology and general/private practice and now I'm even more stuck because I love them both. Thankfully I will not be choosing a specialty for another 6 years or so, so thats a future Maddi problem.
The next big thing we did was Cologne!! It was beautiful. And I've never seen a nicer cathedral than there in Cologne. Its so helpful to have a guide, I love being able to understand exactly where I am and what I'm seeing I definitely get more out of it.
This weekend in Paris was amazing too! I'm so happy I was able to get back to Paris before going home - thats definiely a place I want to spend more time in. We went to Notre Dame and it was also beautiful! But in a different way. I liked the Cologne cathedral more because it just felt more authentic - probably because in Notre Dame they were selling stuff all inside the church which I feel is disrespectful. But there was a noon mass going on so I was able to see that and being Catholic it was really cool! On saturday night we went and sat on the grass in front of the Trocadero and watched the Eiffel Tower light up. The lights were yellow, red, and black for the Germany flag  in solidarity with Germany after the Munich shooting. So it was cool to see that!

All in all this trip has been amazing and I dont want it to end. But at the same time I miss home a lot...so who knows