A Weekend of Gardening and Hiking...
How is this my twelfth blog post! This week and weekend were
just as eventful despite not travelling. On Friday, our program went to the
Museum of Anesthesia right here in Bonn. The museum was really interesting. It
allowed you to walk through the history of pain management, from Morton’s use
of ether to modern-day machines equipped with all sorts of monitoring devices.
The tour was led by Dr. Wasser…I swear, Dr. Wasser could lead any tour he
wanted. I feel like he knows so much about everything! The museum also had a
mock set-up of a 1930s surgical suite, which I really liked. It took you back
in time and showed you how far medicine had come at that point and how far it
has advanced nowadays.
Saturday was the international big event. I think it’s
awesome that our program still got to take part in this Aggie tradition even
while living abroad. We met at the old AIB in the morning to kick-off this charity
event. There were sandwiches, pretzels, fruit, and coffee for all of us. AIB is
so kind. We then broke off into our teams and went to complete our respective
projects.
My team went to a retirement home near Bad Godesberg and
worked to clean up a garden that the residents like to enjoy. We weeded garden
beds for almost 4 hours! The garden beds looked so much better after we
finished, and the people working there were so pleased.
It’s a great feeling to know that our work will be enjoyed by all of the residents
of the retirement home. After gardening, I was exhausted and went home to take
a much deserved nap.
On Sunday, a friend and I hiked up to Drachenberg Castle.
The hike was a little steep at some points, but we made it to the castle and
even the ruins at the very top. The castle was right out of a fairy tale. The
view from the castle was spectacular. I told my host-mom about visiting the
castle, and she said her parents took her there when she was a little girl. She
said she decided as a little girl that she wanted to live there when she grew up.
Before making it up to the ruins, we stopped to eat lunch at
a restaurant. I had a great lunch of smoked salmon and potatoes, and it gave me
enough energy to make it to the very top. The ruins were cool to see. A lot of
kids were playing on them; I wanted to join, but I figured I should just take
in the view. The view of the Rhine and the mountains was so beautiful…definitely
worth the sore legs. After climbing back down to the bottom, we passed a gelato
place and gave in to the urge to get some. The place had my favorite flavor, Amarena
(black cherry), so I was perfectly content.
After getting home, it was time to study, as our second
physiology test is next week. There is so much material on this next exam! I will
be in hard-core study mode this next week up until the exam on Friday. On Tuesday,
however, my dad is coming to visit for an evening. He has a business trip in Europe
next week. One of his stops is in Dusseldorf, so he is making a pit stop in
Bonn so we can have dinner and hang out. It will be really nice to see him in
person rather than through FaceTime.
The sunday after the exam is the Bonn Marathon! I am signed up
to run the relay. I haven’t really been training, but I figured I’ll just keep
running until I physically can’t, then take a break, and repeat until I finish
my leg of the race. Something even more exciting follows the marathon. The week
after, our program will be in Paris! I love France, and I’m excited to finally use
the four years of French I took in high school. I just need to get through this
upcoming exam and 6 miles before I’m in Paris.
À bientôt, Paris!
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