After almost 24 hours of traveling and staying awake for about 28 hours straight, I can say that I have finally been reconnected with my family and friends. It is so hard to comprehend that my 7,171,200 seconds, that is 83 days, of Europe are over. I was able to experience and learn things I could never have dreamed of. This blog will cover my major takeaways and serves as a follow up to my London blog.
My classes abroad focused mainly on European history and the Holocaust. In the U.S., we all learn about the Holocaust, but nothing could have prepared me for learning about it in Europe. We were in the same area that all of these atrocities happened. We were learning about the Holocaust from our professor's family history. It brought my understanding to a completely new level. I heard personal survival stories and saw the devastation first hand. I walked the paths of millions of victims. I visited multiple concentration camps and saw the terrors. I saw with my own eyes the destruction caused by the Nazi regime. In the US, my classes always made the Holocaust sound bad but I still never understood the true immensity of the terror. I was always able to disassociate from my previous learning because it never truly affected me. Yes, it was always heartbreaking, but I still never understood what truly happened. I always received the glossed over version of history. I now carry around a heavy heart for all the victims and survivors. I have a new understanding of the atrocities that occurred and a new found passion on sharing my experience with others.
In my first blog post over London, I mentioned having a rather unique experience that would be revealed at the end of my trip and here it is! When I first arrived in Europe, I went to Europe with two of my sorority sisters. We had all been to Europe in the past, so we were feeling pretty confident. Do not worry this changed by the end of the day. We checked into our first ever hostel not really knowing what to expect and hoping it was nothing like the movie "Hostel." Everything started out wonderfully. We took our stuff up to our hostel room and started chatting with our French hostel mate. We probably talk to this guy for twenty to thirty minutes and everything seemed great. The hostel was nothing like the movies and we would be just fine, right? Wrong. A hostel worker came to our room, opened the door, glanced around, and ran down the stairs. Moments later, the hostel manager and a police officer were in our hallway. Our hostel mate was taken out into the hallway and arrested. We heard bits and pieces of the arrest followed by the clinking of the handcuffs. We sat in our room scared to death. What the heck just happened? Did we make the right choice? Were we about to die? The hostel manager came back upstairs a while later and talked to us about the situation. I guess the French man was arrested on sexual harassment charges from the day before. We were assured that the man would not be allowed back into the room and that the man was reported to the police by the hostel itself. Looking back, we were so terrified and we all just wanted our moms, but now it makes a great story that we can shock people with.
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Monday, May 18, 2015
Oh, the People You Will Meet ( Assignment #9, Category #3)
When we first arrived in Olomouc, we were told
so many different things about the locals. Our very first lecturer told us that
no one smiled, and everyone kept to themselves. I have to admit, this scared me.
I love meeting new people, and I am probably smiling 90% of the time. I was so
hesitant to be myself in order to seem like a local rather than a tourist.
However, I am happy to inform you that our lecturer was, for the most part,
wrong in his stereotype of the typical Czech.
People here are definitely
more reserved than people back in Nebraska. You will not receive a lot of
smiles on the streets or random hellos, but I can assure that the people are SO
nice. Walk into a shop and you will be instantly greeted with "Dobry
den" and again with "Na shledanou" when you leave. In my
experience, shop owners will talk your ear off even if you explain multiple
times that you do not understand. A few weeks into our stay, I met a lovely
elderly woman on the tram. I gave up my seat on the tram and helped her sit
down. During this time, she noticed that I was American, and she welcomed me to
her home town. She told me about her younger days teaching English and about
her children. She even mentioned the myth of the typical Czech and wanted to
make sure that the city was welcoming us. It was one of the best conversations
I have had in Olomouc. On the other hand, I have noticed that they are much
more blunt. Ask anyone how they are doing and you can expect nothing but the
truth. No one sugar coats things, so be prepared for some truth.
Now on to the local
university students. During the day, they seem to be much more reserved
and relaxed, but do not let this fool you-they know how to let loose. Once the
evening time hits, the students become very talkative and extremely welcoming.
Just this past Thursday we were invited to the History department’s annual BBQ
where I met many different students. We sat around in a circle with a few
drinks and a guitar. The students played different songs to which we sang along
to. It was just like being home. I have made so many Czech friends here whom I
will miss dearly. The number one thing to learn from this post is: do not let yourself
be blinded by stereotypes. Get out there and start chatting!
Monday, May 11, 2015
"The Final Solution to the Jewish Question" -Trips to Terezín, Auschwitz and Auschwitz II: Birkenau (Assignment #8, Category #9)
A handful of our lectures have focused on Judaism and the Holocaust. The professors have presented me with a much rawer, uncensored version of antisemitism. The fact that over five million people were murdered by a single group of people following one man's ideology is incomprehensible. Hitler managed to get a large group of people behind his "Final Solution". How was it possible to brainwash an entire country into killing a group of people? Historians will never know. We can not think of the Holocaust as a thing from the past, it must be remember and serve as a warning to all. I was able to gain a new emotional awareness of the Holocaust by visiting three different concentration camps: Terezín ,in the Czech Republic, and Auschwitz I and II, in Poland. This blog post may be graphic, but it does not even come close to the real horror the victims felt while being held prisoner in the concentration camps.
"Arbeit Macht Frei" translates to "Work makes you free" and was a common phrase among the three camps. Jews and other prisoners were forced to complete twelve hour work days in harsh conditions with malnutrition. The saying was not meant to give false hope to prisoner; rather, it means that the prisoners will die of exhaustion and achieve spiritual freedom.
Terezín was a small fortress of a town occupied by Nazis and turned into a Jewish ghetto and concentration camp. The already existing fortresses meant that Nazis did not have to build a structure. The main fortress served as a Jewish ghetto while the small fortress served as a prioson.The Nazis used Terezín as a "model" camp. They convinced the international Red Cross that they were doing the Jews a favor by providing them a nice little town where the could live in "freedom." Nazis forced prisoners to put on a show or be killed. Kids were allowed to be "educated" and people played sports. This show of happiness kept the Red Cross from further investigating other Nazi camps. They even canceled their visit to Auschwitz. In the camp. 1500 Jews were prisoners and over 500 of them were tortured to death. The others were transported to other camps or remained in the camp. The total number of prisoners who passed through the camp amounts to over 32,000 people.
The group cells of the old camp each housed 100 prisoners(top right). While these cells were crammed full of prisoners, nothing compares to the cell reserved for Jewish prisoners. This cell felt crowded with our tour group of 25, but Nazis often forced 60 Jews into the tiny space(middle right). Jews were forced to sleep standing up, had no toilet, and were given a tiny hole to receive fresh air(bottom right). We took a walk through the "Execution Tunnel" to reach the other side of the camp. This tunnel was walked by prisoners facing execution. It was dark, damp, and dreary. The experience was almost too much for me to handle. I was walking the same path hundreds walked before, but while I was able to continue my day prisoners saw their last glimpse of life. After regaining my mental stability, our group walked to the new section of the camp. Nazis added on to the camp by adding new group and solitary cells. The new group cells were used to house 400-600 prisoners at a time. The 125 solitary cells were used to house 15 prisoners in one cell. Imagine 15 people in a space barely large enough for two twin beds.
Outside of the Terezín camp, we visited a former school house for children of the ghetto. The museum showed how children lived in the ghetto and general history of the two fortresses. The walls of the first floor of the building were covered with the names of children imprisoned in Terezín and other camps. Original drawings and poems of the children were displayed. The following poem really made my heart ache. It shows that children knew all too well of their fate in the ghetto.
The last block we visited was the prison with in the prison. It contained three different methods of torture: suffocation, starvation, and standing. Cell 18 was the starvation cell where prisoners were housed without food until they died. One polish priest, St. Maximillian Kolbe, sacrificed himself in place of a man with a family that was still alive. The priest was placed in a starvation cell where he survived for days until the Nazis killed him. Cell 20 was a suffocation cell where forty people would be shoved into a room without a fresh air source until they died. The last cell is 22, the standing cell. Theses cells were so small the only way to enter it was through a small hole at the bottom of the wall.Prisoners would be crammed into the tiny space and forced to stand until the work day started. This process was repeated until the prisoners died of exhaustion. Outside of this block is a small courtyard used for executions. The prisoners executed here were used as examples to the other prisoners. Often, other prisoners only heard the screams because Nazis boarded the nearby windows. Everyone was subject to execution here, even small children and babies. Our guide stated that Nazi did not "waste" bullets on the children and babies, they simply smashed their heads against the wall. This was often done with the family watching.
"Arbeit Macht Frei" translates to "Work makes you free" and was a common phrase among the three camps. Jews and other prisoners were forced to complete twelve hour work days in harsh conditions with malnutrition. The saying was not meant to give false hope to prisoner; rather, it means that the prisoners will die of exhaustion and achieve spiritual freedom.
"Work makes you free" signs at Auschwitz I and Terezin |
The group cells of the old camp each housed 100 prisoners(top right). While these cells were crammed full of prisoners, nothing compares to the cell reserved for Jewish prisoners. This cell felt crowded with our tour group of 25, but Nazis often forced 60 Jews into the tiny space(middle right). Jews were forced to sleep standing up, had no toilet, and were given a tiny hole to receive fresh air(bottom right). We took a walk through the "Execution Tunnel" to reach the other side of the camp. This tunnel was walked by prisoners facing execution. It was dark, damp, and dreary. The experience was almost too much for me to handle. I was walking the same path hundreds walked before, but while I was able to continue my day prisoners saw their last glimpse of life. After regaining my mental stability, our group walked to the new section of the camp. Nazis added on to the camp by adding new group and solitary cells. The new group cells were used to house 400-600 prisoners at a time. The 125 solitary cells were used to house 15 prisoners in one cell. Imagine 15 people in a space barely large enough for two twin beds.
Outside of the Terezín camp, we visited a former school house for children of the ghetto. The museum showed how children lived in the ghetto and general history of the two fortresses. The walls of the first floor of the building were covered with the names of children imprisoned in Terezín and other camps. Original drawings and poems of the children were displayed. The following poem really made my heart ache. It shows that children knew all too well of their fate in the ghetto.
"A little garden
Fragrant and full of roses,
The path is narrow,
And a little boy walks along it,
A little boy, a sweet boy,
Like that growing blossom,
When the blossom comes to bloom,
The little boy will be no more."
The records kept by Nazis claim that a total of 33, 210 lives were taken in the Terezín Ghetto between November 24, 1941 and August 20, 1944.
Infectious diseases: 3,045
Malignant tumors: 534
Glandular and metabolism disease: 155
Respiratory diseases: 6,511
Digestive tract disease: 9.159
Blood and Heart disease: 4,720
Nervous system diseases: 1,630
Urinary Tract infections and STDs: 513
Miscellaneous: 103
Old age: 6,530
Suicide: 259
Accidents: 51
Terezin alone shows the damage and destruction of the Nazi regime, but the most infamous symbol of the Nazi rule is Auschwitz. Throughout my schooling, I have learned again and again of the horrors of Auschwitz. I had thought that I had mentally prepared myself for what I was going to see, but honestly it was impossible. The area was full of sorrow. Nothing in my life could ever compare to the hardships these prisoners faced every day. I walked the same paths prisoners walked everyday. Except while I was learning about history, these people were fighting to survive.
Auschwitz I housed 20,000 prisoners. The Nazis were so "good" at deception they got people to buy their own train tickets to Auschwitz. People blindly purchased their tickets to death. Transports were done in cattle carts. 80 people with 25 kilos of luggage each were crammed into a single cart
without food or water or toilets. Transports lasted 7-10 days and few survived the trip. When transports of prisoners came, their fate was determined by one physician. He decided who had a "chance" and who should be eliminated immediately. Only 25% were seen as helpful to the Nazis and allowed into the camp. Among those who never stepped foot in the camp are the elderly, children, and the mentally ill. All belongings brought by prisoners were sorted and kept in buildings at Auschwitz II: Birkenau. Rooms were filled with the prisoners personal belongings. Displays showed tens of thousands of pans, shoes, glasses, hairbrushes, and luggage. One display showed two tons of human hair, shaved off of 40,000 dead women. (All murdered prisoners were shaved. This is what is left of the evidence.) Nazis sold this hair to textile companies for carpets and used it as filler in mattresses. This was one of the worst things to see at the camp. This hair is all that remains of 40,000 women. These women were daughters, mothers, wives, and friends. Their lives were stolen from them.
Another block was dedicated to the living conditions of Auschwitz. Prisoners were given around 250 calories worth of food each day. This number was carefully calculated by Nazis to give prisoners 2-3 months to live. This allowed for turn over rates in the camp and kept the workers fresh. Breakfast was coffee like water, lunch was rotten vegetables and supper was a black piece of bread and a smidge of cheese or jam. The hospital at the camp existed not to help prisoners but to conduct medical experiments. Many attempts at prisoner sterilization occurred in the hospital. The most known physician of the camp was Josef Mengele, the Angel of Death. He had spent much of his time performing experiments on identical twins and dwarfs.
Original cattle cart used for transport |
Another block was dedicated to the living conditions of Auschwitz. Prisoners were given around 250 calories worth of food each day. This number was carefully calculated by Nazis to give prisoners 2-3 months to live. This allowed for turn over rates in the camp and kept the workers fresh. Breakfast was coffee like water, lunch was rotten vegetables and supper was a black piece of bread and a smidge of cheese or jam. The hospital at the camp existed not to help prisoners but to conduct medical experiments. Many attempts at prisoner sterilization occurred in the hospital. The most known physician of the camp was Josef Mengele, the Angel of Death. He had spent much of his time performing experiments on identical twins and dwarfs.
The Execution area |
Auschwitz I had a gas chamber used for executions. 1,000 prisoners were instructed to strip and remember where their clothes were. They then piled into a dark empty room where they realized no shower was going to happen. 12 cans of zyklon B were dropped in through the chimney. 20 minutes was all it took to kill 1,000 people. The weak died first and people piled on top of each other with the strongest climbing the mound of bodies for a breath of fresh air from the chimney. After another 30 minutes, prisoners were sent in to drag the bodies to the crematorium. It took 24 hours to cremate 340 people. This meant three days for Nazis to dispose of evidence. ( By the way, disposing of the evidence meant using human ashes as fertilizer and dumping them into rivers.) This gas chamber was too inefficient for the Nazi's goal and prompted the creation of Birkenau where 1,500 bodies could be cremated at once.
Birkenau was even worse then Auschwitz. The camp was four times bigger and consisted of wooden buildings with no insulation. Birkenau was an extermination camp that housed 200,000 prisoners at a time.Three toilet rooms existed for every 8,000 prisoners giving prisoners 30 seconds to use the bathroom only twice a day. Survivors claim that being employed as a
bathroom cleaner was the best job you could have at the camp. They scooped sewage out of the cement structures all day, but they were allowed a certain amount of freedom. They could use the bathroom whenever they wished, and Nazis rarely stepped foot in the building so they could relax. Birkenau housed multiple gas chambers much larger than the ones at Auschwitz and much more efficient. Prisoners were sent to take a shower and were never seen again. Other prisoners were sent in to dispose of the bodies by cremation. The ashes were then thrown into the pond next to the chamber. This pond still exists today and now serves as a memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. Every 2 months this group of prisoners was changed. The previous group was murdered and the next group started by disposing of the previous groups bodies The Nazis did this as a precautionary measure. At the end of the war, all gas chambers at Birkenau were destroyed as a final attempt to destroy evidence of the Nazi's crime against humanity.
Birkenau was even worse then Auschwitz. The camp was four times bigger and consisted of wooden buildings with no insulation. Birkenau was an extermination camp that housed 200,000 prisoners at a time.Three toilet rooms existed for every 8,000 prisoners giving prisoners 30 seconds to use the bathroom only twice a day. Survivors claim that being employed as a
Top right: entrance to Birkenau, Top left: memorial to victims, Bottom right: pond with ashes Bottom Left: remnants of chamber |
Of all three Auschwitz camps, over a million and a half people were murdered. 90% of that 1.5 million people were Jews. A memorial was created between the two main gas chambers of Birkenau. It consists of twenty-three slabs with the same saying in twenty-three different languages. Each language is representative of all victims. I believe the memorial says it all. The slab says:
"Forever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity,
where the Nazis murdered about one and half million men, women,
and children, and mainly Jews from various countries of Europe.
Auschwitz - Birkenau
1940-1945"
Monday, May 4, 2015
Language and Communication (Assignment #7, Category 4)
I have touched briefly on how difficult the
Czech language is to learn, so you can imagine I know very little of this
lovely Slavic language. It is so different from English because the Czech
language often has three or more consonants in a row -something rare in
English. I never realized how much I appreciate vowels until I came here.
Ordering food in a
restaurant is almost like playing Russian Roulette. I close my eyes, wiggle my
finger, and throw my finger down to see what I will be eating today-at least that
is how it was initially. When we first got to the Czech lands, I had absolutely
no knowledge of food words such as chicken or fish, but luckily I have picked
up that kuře or kuřecí maso means chicken. I can know scan menus
looking for kuřecí and at least know that I am getting something with chicken.
Fortunately, most restaurants either have a "translated" menu or a
waiter who know bits and pieces of English. I say "translated" menu
because often the menus make little sense in English or sometimes the dish
could be described as chicken meat with the [word does not exist in English]
sauce. That is kind of scary right?
Communicating with
locals is a completely different experience. The other day, I walked into a
souvenir shop and was greeted by a friendly Czech woman who knew no English.
The language barrier did not stop her from talking off my ear. I could pick up
on little bits of what she was saying, but most of the conversation was blank.
She understood that we were from Nebraska, but she did not understand me when I
said it was in the middle of the United States. So, we began an impromptu game
of Pictionary. She used the air as her drawing board and put California in the
bottom left and New York in the top right. With her holding her hands to
symbolize the states, I took my hand and placed it directly in the middle to
show her the Cornhusker state. She laughed and began talking again. From
what I gathered from her hand motions, I believe she said she had gone swimming
in California. We semi-successfully had a conversation not knowing much of each
other's languages but by reading body language and hand gestures. It was actually
kind of fun!
I have realized during my
European travels just how fortunate I am to know English. English has replaced
Latin as the common communicating language between different countries. This
means that most people, especially my generation, know basic English. I have been
told that European children begin learning English in grammar school. This
ensures that they will be able to travel around Europe and communicate with
others. While this is great for me, I still feel slightly ashamed that I, as an
American, know little of other languages. Our schools only require two years of
a foreign language, and it is taught after our critical period, a time span in
which the brain is more susceptible to acquiring languages. This means that
outside of the critical period, age 5 through puberty, learning a language is
much more difficult. I am fortunate that English is my native language, but I
need to show my appreciation for other cultures by at least communicating
mannerisms in the native language. Natives, in my experience, appreciate any
attempt you make to speak their language. Just give it a shot!
Monday, April 27, 2015
The Spring Break of a Lifetime( Assignment #6, Category 10)
After our class field
trip to Vienna and Venice, we were free to explore Europe for about a week. My
group did an island tour around Venice and then went to Rome, Vatican City,
Paris, and Barcelona. That means four countries in less than two weeks!
The island of Burano |
Once we got back on
"solid" ground, we were off to Rome! By the time our train arrived in
Rome, it was already evening. We decided to explore Rome in the dark! Our only
stop of the night was to Trevi Fountain, but we were left
disappointed. The fountain was under construction, so we had to settle for
throwing a coin into a mini pool of water. Hopefully this substitute fountain
will still fulfill the role of Trevi fountain and my wish will be
granted! In order to overcome our disappointment, we filled our stomachs
with the best homemade ice cream I have ever had. It was located right next
door to our hostel, so we came back on multiple occasions.
Pope Francis greeting the crowd. |
The last morning in
Rome was spent revisiting Vatican City. Since we first visited it on Sunday,
everything was closed. We bought a last minute tour through the Vatican City
Museum, Sistine Chapel, and Saint Peter's Basilica. I spent a little more than
I would have liked, but it allowed us to see everything we wanted to see in
just a few hours. I still can't quite wrap my head around being in the same
room that Michelangelo once was.
We took an evening
flight to Paris, but took our night easy. The next day we set off to the Palace
of Versailles. It was my second time here, but yet it seemed like the first.
Versailles is a magnificent palace covered in gold and crystal. I cannot fathom
how much the palace is truly worth or how Kings justified spending so much
money on a single place. Trust me, I'm not complaining but I think there could
have been better uses for the money. Nonetheless, it is definitely an
unforgettable sight. After the palace, we ventured off to the Eiffel Tower
where we took the typical tourist pictures before setting off for the
Catacombs. The Catacombs are a series of underground tunnels that run
throughout Paris. They are filled with over 6 million skeletons that are all
arranged. Piles of bones are intersected by skulls to create art. It was a very
eerie experience to walk down tunnels with skulls "starring" at you
from every direction. I would suggest that anyone in Paris visit the Catacombs-
it really is an unforgettable experience. After our journey through the
underground of Paris, we headed back to the Eiffel tower to grab a night view
of the city. I had already climbed the tower once, so I convinced my friends to
take the elevator. We were able to the last part of the sunset from above-
something only seen in movies. Even in the busy city of Paris on the tourist
filled tower, I was able to forget about everyone around me for a while and
enjoy the view.
Our last day in Paris
included a trip to Notre Dame and the Louvre. Notre Dame is
a beautiful example of Gothic architecture complete with gargoyles. We then
left to the Louvre where we saw many famous pieces of art. We headed
to find the Mona Lisa before we set forth to navigate the Egyptian wing of the
Louvre. I was able to a mummy and multiple Egyptian artifacts. Our trip through
the Louvre was cut short when my friend began to feel ill.
We hurriedly made it to our last stop of the day:
the Ponte des Arts Bridge. The bridge is covered in locks that
symbolize an everlasting love for those who place it on the bridge and throw
the key into the river. Unfortunately, in recent years the city had to remove
many locks due to structural compensation-yikes. A few of us continued on
through Paris and found ourselves back at the Eiffel Tower. We planted
ourselves by a nearby fountain, placed our feet in the water, and enjoyed the
view. It was a great way to end our time in Paris.
La Sagrada Familia |
Monday, April 20, 2015
Austrian Hospitals (Assignment #5, Personal Topic)
As mentioned in my last blog post, I had to go to a hospital
during my stay in Vienna. I had not been feeling the best for the past week,
but by the time I decided I needed medicine all of the pharmacies had closed
for the Easter Holiday. I planned on just grabbing so medicine at a pharmacy
while in Vienna and just resting in my room, but that did not happen exactly as
planned. Our first stop in Vienna was the Treasury. I could tell that I was
getting a bad headache throughout the museum, but all of the sudden my body
felt like it was on fire. I somehow managed to deliriously get through the last
third of the museum and was lucky to find two of my friends at the exit. They
escorted me out of the museum shop where we were fortunate to find one of our
program directors, Martin. Martin came to the rescue and hailed a cab. I'm not
for sure how things would have gone if we were unable to find Martin. He was
the only one in our group that knew German. I can't really remember the taxi
ride except for the last few minutes. You would think hospital emergency rooms
would be easy to find anywhere, right? Wrong. The taxi drive took a sequence of
turns to navigate through a windy ramp up to the emergency room access of the
hospital. Where he let us off at didn't even looked like a hospital out of a
horror film. EMTs, nurses, and other hospital employees were by the entrance
smoking and playing on their phones, something you would never see in the
States. They instructed us to go down this long hallway find the emergency room
and after what seemed like forever we finally found it.
My rough floor plan of the ER |
The emergency room was
basically one large open space. This space included a reception area, a nurses
station, ten hospital beds and a small waiting area. We waited in line at
reception only to be told to see the nurse first. The nurses station was int
the back right corner of the room, sectioned off only by a thin curtain. Here my vitals were taken along with
my symptoms. I was running a 104°F with a blood pressure of 177/103 which were
definitely a cause for concern. The strangest part was that a nurse sent me down a windy hall with
nothing but a yellow line on the
floor to guide my incoherent self to the restroom and back to collect a urine
sample. I walked through the crowded waiting room with a Styrofoam cup in hand
and made my yellow line journey with the help of the wall for support. I can't
say that that was the safest or most ideal way to do this, but it is something
I will never forget. After I returned to the nurses station, I was handed two
slips of paper and instructed to go to the reception desk.
At the reception desk,
I filled out one short paper on my personal information. It only asked for my
name, DOB, address, and insurance- a nice change from the stack of papers one
must fill out at an American hospital. I had to pay a 150 euro fee for using
the hospital. This fee included two urine tests, two blood tests, an
ultrasound, and three or four IV's of medication. Not too bad for a hospital
that does not accept private insurance. I then had to go down another hallway
and sit outside of a door to see a specialist. Once my name was called, I
followed a doctor into a room filled with medicine and machines. I laid on the
bed while a doctor and two nurses communicated in German for most of the time.
Occasionally, the doctor would tell me to do something in English before continuing
on in German. I was completely lost in what they were doing. The only thing I
could do was have faith in them. I was probably in this room for an hour and half
to two hours. Here I had an ultrasound done, blood tests done, and two IVs. I was
told that my final blood test would determine if I could leave or if I had to
stay. The doctor believed that with my vitals and temperature that I would be
forced to stay overnight. Eventually, I was allowed out of the room and
instructed to lay on one of the ten bed in the open room. Here I was given two
more IV bags of medication while I waited for my final blood test result. The
IV was inconveniently placed in my arm rather than my hand. This meant I had to
hold my arm straight for over three hours.
While laying on my
hospital bed, I could see all of the other people laying on the beds and
everyone in the emergency room, something very different than any of my
previous emergency room visits. Once my IVs were finished, I was shooed off of my
bed by a German speaking nurse. With a needle still stuck in my arm, I sat in a
chair in the waiting room until my blood test results were finished. Ill
individuals were pushed around the waiting room on beds and in wheelchairs,
something I had never experienced before. I'm
sure that my name was called on the intercom a few times, but it was all in
German so we could not understand it. Luckily, my doctor came and found me. He
took me into the same room as earlier and told me some of the best news I had
ever received: I could leave the hospital! I was written a German prescription
and sent on my happy way. Martin called us a taxi and away we went. I have
never been so relived in my life. The thought of staying at the horror film-esque
hospital for an entire night was one of the most terrifying things I could think
of. The only thing that went through my mind were images from different horror
films I had seen. I was convinced that if I stayed over night my experience
would be the same as in the movies. (Weird I know, but I wasn't completely with
it after all of the medication I had received.)
We took a cab back to
our hostel where we left Martin. Keyli, Jessica, and I grabbed some well
deserved KFC and ice cream. After all, we deserved it! The next day Martin took
me to a pharmacy and communicated with the pharmacist to get my medication. My
medications were only 30 euro without insurance bringing my grand total to 180
euro or $193.29. It is amazing how cost friendly European health care is. In Nebraska
I am sure that my emergency room visit and medication would have cost that if
not more with insurance. Martin shared with me that healthcare in the Czech
Republic is free except for dental work. I can not even imagine having a
healthcare system like that in the United States. It was
I am so thankful for my
friends and Martin. Keyli and Jessica gave up an afternoon in Vienna to keep me
company during my emergency room stay and if it weren't for Martin we probably
would have never made it to a hospital. Things could have been much much worse
and I am so fortunate to be 100% back to normal.
The two V's: Vienna and Venice (Assignment 4, Category 8)
It has been awhile since my last post because
we have been traveling for just shy of two weeks. It has been an exhausting but
rewarding time. As a class, we went to Vienna, Austria and Venice, Italy before
being sent our separate ways for Spring Break. Vienna was a very
cultural city. Our first day is pretty much a blur to me. We started the day
off by visiting the city's Treasury. This place had important items from the
Austrian and Holy Roman Empire. It was interesting to see relics from so long
ago. We were given free time after the Treasury, but my time was unfortunately
spent in an Austrian hospital. (More on that experience in a future post.) The
next day we attempted to see a horse show, but were disappointed to find out
that the "show" was a training day. I made sure to make a mental note
to research things before I buy tickets. Luckily, one of the guys in our group
talked to the chief and we were able to get a partial refund. We used our
refund to visit the city's Natural History Museum. It was amazing and is
probably one of the best museums I have ever
visited. The museum was filled with colorful jewels, rocks, and fossils. We even found a meteorite from Nebraska and a gift snapping turtle from South Dakota. It was cool to see something from home so far away. I was able to see my very first dinosaur fossils including a T-Rex! My favorite exhibit was one that focused on the evolution of man. I was able to see skeletal remains that showed how man evolved, something I never imagined being able to see. The museum even had a set of Neanderthal footsteps stamped into stone. It was covered with glass and I was able to walk literally in their footsteps. It was an experience I will never forget.
After our two days in Vienna, we embarked on an over seven-hour bus ride to Venice,
Italy. On our bus ride, I was able to see my very first mountain range: the Alps. The beauty of the range can not even be expressed in an image. It was truly breathtaking. Our first afternoon in Venice was spent getting lost all over the Island. We walked into a few of the city's churches, and enjoyed our dinner on the waterfront while watching the sunset. We got lost again on our way back to our hostel and ended up making a giant circle around the island. Getting lost was so easy to do on an island composed of dozens if bridges and winding alleyways for streets. Getting lost gave us the opportunity to explore sections of the city we never would have seen and made us work together together to interpret Italian street signs to get back to our hostel. The next day we visited Saint Mark's Basilica and the Doge's palace. This palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the ruler of the old Republic of Venice. It was built with beautiful Gothic architecture next to St. Mark's Basilica because St. Mark's was the Doge's personal chapel. Interestingly, the palace has prison cells on the east wing of the palace. These cells were referred to as Pozzi, the wells, because they were dimly light and damp. Eventually, the cells were outgrown and a prison was attached via bridge to the palace. This bridge is called the Bridge of Sighs because prisoners and their loved ones would sigh at the last sight of each other when crossing from the palace into the Prison. I can't even imagine how crossing the bridge felt. Prisoners were teased by their last glimpse at freedom and the beautiful pier. We spent our last afternoon in Venice getting the best pasta I have ever had and enjoying a gondola ride. Our homemade pasta was from a small shop down a dark alley and served in Chinese takeout boxes. (It was kind of sketchy but it is rated as one of the best places to eat in Venice.) Our gondolier took us on a thirty-minute ride through the canals of Venice. It was honestly one of the most beautiful and peaceful things I have ever done. I still can't quite imagine living in Venice and driving boats everywhere. There is a boat for everything: postal service, garbage service, delivery service, taxis, police, and ambulances.It was truly an eye opening experience in the 'Floating City.'
visited. The museum was filled with colorful jewels, rocks, and fossils. We even found a meteorite from Nebraska and a gift snapping turtle from South Dakota. It was cool to see something from home so far away. I was able to see my very first dinosaur fossils including a T-Rex! My favorite exhibit was one that focused on the evolution of man. I was able to see skeletal remains that showed how man evolved, something I never imagined being able to see. The museum even had a set of Neanderthal footsteps stamped into stone. It was covered with glass and I was able to walk literally in their footsteps. It was an experience I will never forget.
After our two days in Vienna, we embarked on an over seven-hour bus ride to Venice,
Italy. On our bus ride, I was able to see my very first mountain range: the Alps. The beauty of the range can not even be expressed in an image. It was truly breathtaking. Our first afternoon in Venice was spent getting lost all over the Island. We walked into a few of the city's churches, and enjoyed our dinner on the waterfront while watching the sunset. We got lost again on our way back to our hostel and ended up making a giant circle around the island. Getting lost was so easy to do on an island composed of dozens if bridges and winding alleyways for streets. Getting lost gave us the opportunity to explore sections of the city we never would have seen and made us work together together to interpret Italian street signs to get back to our hostel. The next day we visited Saint Mark's Basilica and the Doge's palace. This palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the ruler of the old Republic of Venice. It was built with beautiful Gothic architecture next to St. Mark's Basilica because St. Mark's was the Doge's personal chapel. Interestingly, the palace has prison cells on the east wing of the palace. These cells were referred to as Pozzi, the wells, because they were dimly light and damp. Eventually, the cells were outgrown and a prison was attached via bridge to the palace. This bridge is called the Bridge of Sighs because prisoners and their loved ones would sigh at the last sight of each other when crossing from the palace into the Prison. I can't even imagine how crossing the bridge felt. Prisoners were teased by their last glimpse at freedom and the beautiful pier. We spent our last afternoon in Venice getting the best pasta I have ever had and enjoying a gondola ride. Our homemade pasta was from a small shop down a dark alley and served in Chinese takeout boxes. (It was kind of sketchy but it is rated as one of the best places to eat in Venice.) Our gondolier took us on a thirty-minute ride through the canals of Venice. It was honestly one of the most beautiful and peaceful things I have ever done. I still can't quite imagine living in Venice and driving boats everywhere. There is a boat for everything: postal service, garbage service, delivery service, taxis, police, and ambulances.It was truly an eye opening experience in the 'Floating City.'
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