Poznan is a city in the western-central area of Poland and is the 4th largest metropolitan area of Poland. It is among the oldest cities in Poland. On Sunday morning we all boarded a small plane in 50s movie star fashion walking up steps from the tarmac. On our first day in Poznan we did a student guided walking tour, because apparently polish tour guides aren't the best match for solely English speaking tourists. Anyway we split into 2 groups and each of us presented on a stop of our tour. We saw the Imperial Castle of Poznan, the June 1956 Protests Memorial, the old city walls, the old market square (Stary Rynek), Poznan town hall with its ornamental ramming goats by the clock, and the Proserpine Fountain.
( me and my friend Kelsey)
Monday began our academic visits, for these we had to split into smaller groups, and my group first went to Poznan University Pediatrics department, where we had a tour of the hospital and a very length lecture from a resident who was not afraid to be opinionated and honest. His answers to some of our questions were quite eye opening like his response to a possible ebola outbreak in Poznan - "when the time comes I think we'll just improvise." And if that doesn't make you a little uncomfortable with the Polish healthcare then their lack of hand washing and how they cram 5 patients with gastroenterological diseases into one room, to share one bathroom, may change your mind. Now I know I'm really ragging on the Poznan right now but it was a little alarming, but that's not to say the doctors didn't care for their patients, and I certainly still learned a lot and enjoyed my academic experiences in Poznan, especially my trip tot he Obstetric and gynecological department of Poznan University Hospital.
The nest day on my visit to the OBGYN department we were lead around by a fast pace doctor who was on a mission to show us everything she could. In our time there we got to peak in on a C-section of twins. I saw that second little baby fresh out of the womb purple, though I only caught glimpses of the surgery through the window. Next we saw the end of a hysterectomy and the doctor picked up the uterus on a tray for us to see. The removed uterus had a very large tumor on the left ovary. And the surgical show doesn't stop there, next we were invited into the operating room (standing in the corner and told not to touch ANYTHING) and observed the entire procedure of a hystoscopy in which the surgeon removed polyps from the woman's uterus. It stood in awe watching that screen, thinking is is so awesome that I get to watch live surgery right now, as our guide constantly asked if we were feeling okay and not about to faint. On a different note from the rush of surgery, we also got to experience the more human side of a hospital. We got to speak (through translation) with women who were having difficulties in their pregnancies and had to stay in the hospital with fetal heart monitors strapped to their bellies. We heard them tell of how they got there and how its hard worrying about their child. We also experience the joy of new mothers as we visited with mom and baby who were going about their one of their first breast feedings. The bond between mom and newborn and they joy you feel from the love they already have for that brand new life was amazing to see. Overall our visit with the OBGYN department really showed me the ins and outs of a day at a hospital and I really got A LOT out of it. It reassured me this I want to be doing, working in medicine combines the exciting mental stimulation of surgery and diagnosing and the compassion and connection with other people that you get from interacting with patients.
Aside from academic visits we also went on a trip to an indoor water park and sauna. Now to be totally honest I was not psyched about this, getting in a bathing suit not during bikini season... no thanks . But, I really had a fun time. We all enjoyed the water slides and pools together. And we all got a little closer when we went to the sauna together. So Europe is a little more open about nudity and so sauna-ing in the nude is a totally normal thing, but for modest american values me, being naked with all my class friends was not ideal. I did however try it out when we all went in one with just towels on, but when some daring souls wanted to lose the towel and try out the other steam rooms, you could count me out. Even with out the full sauna experience, I really had a lot of fun.
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We also got to make our own pierogis which were heavenly. We we all donned some aprons and rolled some dough and then enjoyed a traditional Polish lunch. This was Tuesday which was also the Birthday of our tour leader Stephanie and one of my classmates Tucker. So we celebrated the big 25 and 21 with cake. Tucker celebrated his 21st in the American fashion later that night, but Steph celebrated in the Danish fashion. On your 25th birthday in Denmark, for some reason, you bombard the birthday person with cinnamon. so she woke up to a cute decorative plate of cinnamon at breakfast from our other tour leader Karen, but then was feeling paranoid all day of the looming attack of cinnamon that awaited her from Tucker and some others. Though she got the cinnamon she was promised eventually she still said it was a birthday she'll never forget.Some other events of Poznan include all showing up at the same Mexican restaurant when we were on our own for dinner (including our tour leaders who may or may not have not been happy to see us), enjoying 30 cent shots of polish vodka in a particularly good fig flavor, shopping, and enjoying some really cheap tiramisu flavored ice cream.
- Also look out for part 2: the second half of our trip, to Berlin
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