I hate trains.

Week three of my study abroad has definitely been my favorite. First off, I was able to observe some of the coolest surgeries I have ever seen. The first surgery I saw involved a lady who had broken her wrist. She had to get a metal disk put in and they screwed it down with about 7 screws. It was very cool to watch, but the second surgery was amazing. A man came in with a fractured and dislocated elbow. I did not realize the extent to how gory something like that can be. For about 45 minutes after they had made a large incision down the middle of his elbow, they pulled out over 15 small bone fragments. Some of the larger fragments they were able to piece together and screw back into his bones. There was so much blood that it started pooling to the ground. It was a very intense surgery, but the physicians had it under control and were able to successfully complete the surgery. After I was done observing, I decided to go change into my regular clothes and go home. I had thought that we had changed on the 3rd floor, so I found my way to some stairs and made it to the third floor. When I got there, it was a ghost town. There was no one there and it was completely under construction. I decided to go back to where I was observing surgeries and try and find someone I knew that could help me. However, I was unable to find my way back to my original starting place after going back down the stairs. From there, I started panicking and asking if anyone could speak English. Finally, I found my way to the front desk where no one spoke much English and they looked at me like I was crazy. Eventually, someone was able to speak English and helped me find my way to the changing room. I had felt so lost and helpless being lost in a hospital where no one could understand me. In the end, I was glad I was able to witness those two amazing surgeries, and I will know to be more aware of my surroundings next time. The week went by pretty fast since we started class on a Tuesday. The trip to Bingen was interesting. I enjoyed learning more about Hildegard of Bingen. After that, we took a cruise through the Rhine where we enjoyed the lovely scenery of vineyards, small towns, and castles. Once we arrived at our destination, we hiked up Marksburg castle and took a tour of the inside. We saw lots of rooms, including a bedroom, kitchen, dining room, and even a torture room! We got back pretty late, which was kind of bad since I had to wake up the next day at 4 am. So when I got home, I packed a bag quickly and went to bed. On Saturday Madison Davis, Madison Wood, Jackson, Emily, Sam, and I went to Switzerland. Madison and I woke up at 4 am and took a taxi to meet everyone at Bonn Central Station. At 4:30 in the morning, the train station is not where you want to be. We were walking past an alley way to get to a McDonalds, and we passed a large amount of blood on the ground. Right as we walked passed it, three cops pulled up and starting taping off the area as a crime scene. There were also many people shouting, drunkenly walking, and begging. I was uncomfortable being there, but the bus arrived early so we were able to sit and wait there while it took us to the airport. We eventually arrived to Interlaken, Switzerland at noon. We checked into our hostel and immediately started our day exploring the city. We took a train to the top of Harder Kulm, where we sat and had lunch while we enjoyed the views. After that, we walked around the city for awhile. We went and saw some animals, had drinks at a bar, and had a bunch of desserts at a hookah bar. The next day we picked out some souvenirs, which included swiss army knifes and chocolate. We went to the train station at noon for our train, but after many delays and cancellations, we arrived home late and completely exhausted. It was irritating to pay almost $200 for a train ticket and then for them to cancel the train and stick us on an already full train where we had to sit on the floor and stand most of the time. We went from the original one having only one small switch, to taking six trains where another was cancelled, too. Even though it was an annoying situation, we made the best of it. I am definitely glad to be home, but I already miss Interlaken. Also, it was my dogs birthday on Saturday and she is one year old, so I included some pictures of her enjoying her cake.