Catch-up

Dear Blog,
I haven't forgotten about you. Honest.

I was unable to post throughout the rest of my vacation because I couldn't get a good internet connection. To make up for it, here are some pictures from the trip:

We had a brief reunion with our German friends, the Grzybowski's. We met them when we lived in Kiel, Germany, for a year.We haven't seen them since June 2003!

Go-Kart racing with my uncle (the neurosurgeon) after work. I'm in the back to the right.

We made a one-week stop-over in Italy and visited my friend Julie & her relatives. We took a day trip to Limone (above).

Alex and I at the arena in Verona, Italy.In Verona, at the Ponte di Castelvecchio (the bridge of the old castle)

Berchtesgarten, also known as the "Eagle's Nest" - Hitler's mountain retreat

Me at Berchtesgarten

In Salzburg, Austria, eagerly eating the LARGEST pretzel known to mankind. I was starving and those of you who know me well, know that I NEED food.

Europe, as always, was a wonderful experience. Probably my favorite part was visiting the hospital in Hamburg, Germany where my uncle works. I shadowed him for two days and sat in on meetings, neurosurgeries in the OR, clinic and more! My uncle gave me a "kittel" (in English, a doctor's coat) so I would blend in (two patients thought I was a German doctor!!!). I was able to understand and learn alot because I speak German. Also, one of my uncle's colleagues is half Canadian, so when the German didn't work out, we could resort to English. It was interesting to draw cultural and medical comparisons/contrasts between Bongolo Hospital (Gabon), University of Rochester's Strong Memorial Hospital (Roch., NY) and the Universitaet's Klinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf (Hamburg, Germany). One thing I observered is that the Germans definitely have sterilization down. Sterilization is no joke in Germany; they take it quite seriously. OR scrubs are not allowed out of the OR complex. You have to strip and put regular clothes back on or different scrubs designed for other parts of the hospital (like the ICU). The hospital supplies OR rubber clogs for everyone. These also get left behind after used in the OR. If you want to go to the bathroom, you have to leave the OR complex and put on a new pair of scrubs before going back into the OR. It is serious business.

After returning home, I again faced the challenge of adjusting back to life in the U.S. for the second time this summer. Every time it is a challenge, but this time it was a little easier since Europe and the U.S. are not as different as Africa and the U.S.!

I have one more week of summer vacation left, and then it is back to school! Coming up...This semester, I'll be taking Physics I & lab, Cell Biology & lab, Medical Ethnobotany, Medical Ethics & Society, Junior Seminar (exclusively for Biology majors) and completing Independent Study with the Religious Studies Dept....YIKES! Will I need God's grace & strength or what? There will be no other way to survive this semester.