Revival

Renewal. Regeneration. That seemed to be the theme for the past week. From Axolotls to rest, rejuvenation was certainly welcome.

The first weeks of the program were incredible and fast-paced, but by the half-way point of our trip, I was definitely getting worn out. Then came the third week. We still traveled, but with more experience now. Managing train switches is becoming old news, I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that I’m in another country, and, honestly, this past week was wonderful.

It was very nice to have a few days in Bonn to start the week and recover from our whirlwind tour through Munich, Vienna, and Prague. Having class at the AIB felt more like the normal school routine I’m used to, and what better to relax you than anesthesiology? Really though, meeting Dr. Stoeckel was a complete honor, and being giving a tour of his mostly personal collection? It was unimaginably spectacular. Of course the sugar high from Haribo later that day re-energized us all.

Our visit the Hannover Medical School certainly brought to light current medical techniques used to give new life as well as plans for future revival. Artificial rotors that relieve stress on the heart muscle by pushing blood throughout the body and external filters that remove toxins from the blood when the kidneys are incapable certainly bring about new life, not to mention the actual physical replacement of those malfunctioning organs with transplants.Our glance into the potential future of medicine at the MHH showed us that new life can start anywhere, whether it be in the form of new skin cells encouraged to grow more quickly by spider silk, or the regeneration of entire limbs by Axolotls.

Then of course we experienced the rejuvenating properties of the entire climate of the island of Norderney, including its air, water, and mud. The tour of the clinic showed us how psychological as well as physical renewal can be possible.

Taking day trips over the weekend sounds exhausting at first, but in reality, this weekend was the most relaxing one so far because once in the city-of-the-day, we could walk where we pleased and just enjoy ourselves. Spending Sunday strolling along the Rhine in Cologne was the perfect close to a relaxing and renewing week three.

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A Week Gone By

I can't believe I've already spent an entire week in a foreign country. Sometimes it feels like I've been here much longer, but at others, it seems like I've just set foot in Germany for the first time. Every once in a while, I'll look at Victorian-era building or see something written in German and the fact that I'm over 5000 miles from home will hit me so hard I just have to take a moment to let it sink in again.

Many of those moments occur when I'm sitting at the breakfast table at my host family's house and notice the milk isn't milk--it's milch. Either way though, it still comes from cows, and I'm grateful to Family Schuck for housing and providing me with it amd many other delicious foods. The family all speak English incredibly well, so communication is usually very easy. They're always checking up on me and making sure I'm making it from place to place without problems, that I slept alright, or that I have enough food. They are very considerate and caring, and their experience with other study abroad students definitely shines through.

Being a study abroad student traveling across Germany and the bordering countries is definitely different than just being a tourist on summer vacation. When we go places, we're going to learn things, not just point, look, and take pictures, although there's certainly plenty of that going on, too. We've had historical tours of each of the three main cities we've visited so far: Bonn, Köln (Cologne), and even München (Munich), where we went on our free weekend. We've also visited museums, including the Haus der Geschichte (House of History) in Bonn where we followed the progress of Germany from immediately after World War II to present day, and Elde House, the former Gestapo headquarters and prison where we were able to see the inscriptions left on the walls by the prisoners and learn some of their personal stories. In Köln, we were also fortunate to go on two spectacular tours--one of the zoo where we went behind the scenes and fed an elephant, and one of the Köln Dom, Cologne's magnificant cathedral where we ventured 70 meters high and experienced an incredible view of practically the entire city. Both tours were also educational--we learned some of the zoo's history and how they care for dorm of the animals, and at the cathedral we learned much about its construction and how they are continuing to repair it today.

Learning has definitely been the central theme of this trip, along with incredible of course. We've only had a short time in the classroom so far, but every class has certainly been worth while. With Fenja, we learned much more of he German language, including other useful sayings, verbs and how to conjugate them, and many other words we just wanted to know. We also learned about the culture of Germany from a German's point of view, not the stereotypes applied by us ignorant Americans. With Dr. Wasser, we've only had two class times, but in that short amount of time we've learned much about the different health care systems around the world, and how the US health care system is a sort of mixture of many of those models.

After a week spent learning, traveling, and thoroughly enjoying myself, I can safely say that my feelings of anxious-nervousness were completely unnecessary, and that I'm still anxious-excited for the rest of my trip. I can't wait for Week Two, this time spent in Vienna--the city of music, Siegmund Freud, and, my favorite, the Spanish Riding School.

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