Two Weeks in Two Pages (not including pictures)!

So following the trend, my last two weeks have been pretty busy, something I’m sure you’ve guessed from the lack of posts! But I hope you’ll enjoy my best effort at a recap. . .

Starting where I left of we had a study tour in Jutland. We went to Odense on the island of Fyn, Veijle, and the second largest city in Denmark Arhus. We had 3 academic visits. Our first stop was the Hans Christian Andersen Children's Hospital in Odense, HC’s hometown. The guy gave us the most rushed tour the world has ever seen and then spent way too long talking about technology they use. He also talked a lot about congenital hyperinsulinism, which none of us really knew anything about. Cool?  We stopped by the HC Andersen museum and learned that he was really ugly and had a crappy love life being repeatedly rejected by everyone he developed an interest in. I hope if I ever get a museum people have something a little nicer to say! Then we tromped into the hostel, had some dinner, played some ping pong, belted out some T. Swift (my class a maybe 5 boys out of 24ish people), and had a great talk/facilitated dialogue with our awesome course assistant Astrid about the Danish system. 

 The next day we had a visit to the PET center and CFIN (Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience). This guy gave an awesome presentation about how CFIN is a leading research institution that uses an interdisciplinary approach. They have mathematicians and physicists and philosophers and musician and doctors and all sorts of disciplines all working in the same building and sharing space. According to CFIN the goal is “to understand the ability of the human brain to adapt to experience, during normal development, learning and interaction with the surrounding social and physical environment. In a cross-disciplinary effort, we employ this knowledge to understand the biochemical and structural effects of neurological disease or substance abuse. We believe this will ultimately lead to better understanding of neurological diseases and their treatment.” Awesome. Most importantly though, we learned that playing a computer game releases 8 times the dopamine as having sex. That explains a lot about boys and their obsession with Halo. Or Travian. They also took us on a tour and showed us the MRI machines, CT scanners and PET scanners. That part was surprisingly boring compared to the talk, but our guide kept chuckling to himself at his really bad jokes so of course I was amused. He was a right jolly fellow! Right after that visit we went to lunch at this really small restaurant on the coast of Denmark.

They served us amazing fish and followed up with and even more amazing desert. It was called chocolate lasagna, but it was layers of mouse and wafer and chocolate accompanied by a medley of fruit. Later, I utilized my snooping skills to  discover the desert cost $17!! I don't even want to know how much the fish was. I'd bet thats the most expensive restaurant I've ever been to. Thank God we didn't have to pay, DIS covered the bill!

SO GOOD!

The last visit was right after lunch and definitely my favorite. We went to Genera Practitioner's office outside Arhus. The guy was really great, and it was just a good insight into the Danish system. The GPs do everything. They remove moles, they give eye tests, they do minor surgeries and stitches, and they can deliver babies. They are basically the gatekeepers. If something’s wrong you go see your GP and if they can't deal you get a referral to them. The guy talked about how rewarding it was to form real relationships with his patients and how it was really nice that you saw them when they were sick and when they are healthy.  It was a lot of information that was really inspiring to me personally. I really want to be a GP in Denmark when I grow up! Another interesting thing we learned was that the US system costs just about twice as much as the Danish system per capita and covers 80% of the population (I'm using the term "covers" pretty loosely). The Danish system covers 100% of the Danes, allowing them to relax and easing the anxiety around getting sick. Our visits on the trip showed us that the low cost doesn’t translate into worse technology or care, it’s cheaper simply because its simpler.  90% of Danes are satisfied with the health system as a whole, and the number is even higher with GPs.While it definitely has it shortcomings, people are happy with it. The Danish system requires a very specific social(ist) mindset that’s lacking in the States, but in the continual debate about our own system I think there's something to be learned from the Danes.

After this visit we made it to the hostel in Arhus. The bus took us down town and dropped us off basically so we could go spend a night on the town. So we went out to dinner with some of the girls in my program, and then explored the bar scene. It was a fun, but early night since the next morning we had a 5-hour bike tour through Arhus in the rain.  You can imagine how that went. Not the best recipe for fun, but I'm sure it sounded great in theory. The tour guide was a bit strange and his jokes just weren't translating well. There were times when I felt embarrassed for him. I hage that feeling. But we did get to see some cool things, like the garden at the royal palace and the oldest beer house in Denmark, where we weren’t allowed to have any beer (pictured below). Later it stopped raining and we got to walk around the gardens at the palace. The chance to talk with people I hadn't spent much time with and walk around the gardens definitely made it worth the soggy-ness.

After our we went to the modern art museum there ARos. We got hot chocolate (and a chocolate croissant) and then got a guided tour. Since we were there 2 hours late we only got to see one exhibit called "I love you" but it should have been called something much more explicit. I don’t recommend googling it! After ARos we hopped on the bus and headed home. Good weekend!

Roayal Palace in Arhus. NBD.

I spend the next week recovering from the study tour, completing my first round of assignments, and studying for my first round of tests. Tuesday was an awesome day in hospital class. We had a clinical day, so we practiced giving IVs and doing lumbar punctures on dummies. It was cooler than anything else we've done so far. And then we got to practice giving each other IVs! (ATTENTION ANYONE WHO DOESN’T LIKE NEEDLES: Stop! Do not read the rest of this paragraph.) My partner and I each put an IV in each other. Seeing needles in me makes me feel really light headed, so I was really worried that I would feel the same way when giving one. Not at all. I just stuck that needle right in the vein and had no problem. The doctor was actually impressed! The lumbar puncture went really well too. It wasn't super realistic, but the feel of inserting the needle supposedly felt the same. The needle is like 6 inches long and you have to kind of shove right in between the 2^nd and 3^rd vertebrae until you reach the spinal fluid. Then you pull the needle out and the spinal fluid drips right out! The only part that didn't go so well was when I was getting an IV put in. It was going in my right hand. My partner left the tourniquet on. She hadn't taken the needle out, but started to take the cap off so right as I looked up there was a needle in my arm and blood squirting out the IV. Thank god I was sitting down, because I would have fallen over if I hadn't been. Once the tourniquet came off it stopped squirting so much!

In the same class we learned how to percuss the lungs and listen to breath and heart sounds. Best class yet! Unfortunately that was a little overshadowed by my first test, which was in hospital class and much harder than I anticipated. Not because I didn’t know a lot of material or spend enough time studying, but because it was formatted like an obscure trivia test on the class so far. Luckily, I wasn’t the only one caught off guard.

Sørine was at a handball tournament so we missed her this weekend, but it was still a lot of fun. I spent the evening eating candy (since Friday is candy day!), watching Danish TV, playing cards, being introduced to new Danish music, drinking cider, and dancing to a band called TV 2 with my host families (my real host family + Peter and Melene’s family). It was a blast. Fridays are a day to spend with your family and relax from the week. Its very hygge (a Danish concept that’s hard to understand, but easy to feel)!  It roughly translates as “cozy” but its really the feeling you have when your sitting with family or old friends. Its that feeling of comfort and familiarity. You know when you feel it, but it has no translation so its hard to explain!

We spent Saturday shopping on the Stroget or the walking street. Carla, Pia, and I shopped around and took a trip up the round tower. The round tower is the oldest functioning observatory in Europe, but the real attraction is the panoramic view of Copenhagen from the top that Pia, Carla, and I are on top of on the left! King Christian IV built it  with a spiral ramp so he could take a carriage to the top instead of walking. 

Down down down they go!

Later that night we went to my host cousin’s 18^th birthday party. 18 is a big deal in Denmark, so there were tons of people. I would guess 30 or more.  It was a lot of fun, but in large groups I become acutely aware of the effort people have to make to speak English with me. It makes me so thankful for the community in my neighborhood.

Sunday was another busy day. We went swimming in the early afternoon. Swimming not only involves splashing in the water, but running up the stairs to the water slide several times, jumping off the diving board, and a trip to the sauna. By the time we were done, I felt relaxed, tired, and dehydrated. Luckily we haded home out of the rain for hot chocolate and a movie called Blue Man. That evening, Peter and I cycled down to Parken Stadium, home of F.C. København, for a futbol match between the two big rivals in Denmark. It was FC K vs. Brøngby. My host dad is a huge FCK  fan and equipped me with a jersey. DIS had bought us tickets, so I went to our nosebleed seats to sit with Lindsey who managed to get an extra ticket for her neighbor Jesper. Watching the game was a lot of fun, and FCK won 2-0. The Brøngby fans were insane though. There were fires and flares on the stadium, and some of the flares were thrown onto the field at the FCK keeper. One of the fires is shown above! I even witnessed one guy was beating another with his Brøngby flag! There was a whole line of police in neon yellow jerseys and Parken security in neon orange that intervened whenever a fight started or flare got tossed.

The flares...ON THE FIELD!

Yes, its blurry. But I really like it and it captures the atmosphere of the game and my frustrations with my camera all in one shot!

Well, that’s it for a recap of the last 2 weeks. Friday my host family and I will head back to Arhus for a weekend visit, which I’m looking forward to. More to come, though I can't promise how soon!

Love,

Anja

This Time There's Pictures!

One thing I've noticed about my time in Denmark is how full the weekends are. Luckily for me, my first class on Monday starts at 14:50, so I have most the morning to relax! Two weekends ago the girls in my host family and neighborhood ran a 5K.

Team Vanløse! Go team!

Since I haven't ran/exercised since before the MCAT ruled my life, it was quite a feat! Luckily I managed to survive and post a respectable time. It was a really fun race and we all had a pretty good time, but I think everyone was pretty disappointed by the goody-bags at the end! All we got was a granola bar and some advertisements! My host sister Sørine was unable to run because she was playing in a hand ball tournament. We went to see her play, and she did awesome. You'll have to google handball because for me to explain it would take much longer than I have, and being completely honest I'm not sure I really understand the rules. It appears to mixture of basketball and soccer, but it gets pretty complicated. After the watching the match I spent the rest of the day dancing to "Bring It On" with the girls and playing in the yard. Usually the girls and I make two teams, put on ridiculous outfits or wigs, and play a game similar to baseball. The best part is usually the creation of a team name, "uniform", and cheer. This time it was the Klara and Sørine vs. Carla, Asrid, and I. I think we lost.

The Owls, Klara and Sørine

I think we were the dogs? Maybe. Carla, Astrid, and me. I just love Carla's face, and I'm not sure why Astrid has a bag over her head...

Following the trend, this weekend was also quite busy! On Friday night, the boys in the neighborhood were running a 5K race. The girls in the neighborhood decided to seize the chance for a girls night in! We went shopping at H&M, and then on the way home we blasted the music in the car. I couldn't help but laugh when Pia, my host mom, cranked up the music. Sørine kept turning it down to 10 and Pia kept turning it back up. Finally Pia gave up, exclaiming "My kids are so boring!" I've witnessed this exact argument many a time in the Tjaden house hold. The only difference is that the roles are exactly reversed. Usually Savannah is cranking the music, while my mom is turning it down until Savannah gives up and yells at her for being boring! Once we got back we put on more music and danced all around the house and I showed the girls how to head bang.

Astrid on girl's night. Never complete without crazy costumes!

Carla was pretty good at it. We all made dinner and then spend sometime playing yard games until the mosquitoes became unbearable. Lindsey came over just in time for the candy, oreos, and Danish TV. We watched this weeks episode of Talent (Denmark's version of American's Got Talent). The next morning Lindsey and I went to an art class with Pia. Unfortunately I misunderstood and the art class was not in a castle. It was just in the same city. But the city was called Helsingør, and the castle is the one Hamlet is set in. It was a wonderful class, and in addition to good company, there was plenty of good food. The class really focused on using color and is structured for people who aren't amazing figure draw-ers (aka people like me!). At first, I absolutely hated my painting. By the end of class and with some help from the ever-so-artistic Lindsey I am proud to say that I am very happy with the final product -- Thanks Lindsey!

My tree! I did art!

Saturday night was spent continuing work on our paintings. By the end of the night though I was very satisfied with my product! I'm pretty interested in trying another owith a technique called sampling, but I'm not sure how I'll get them home! Sunday we all rode our bikes to an art gallery opening. They served champagne and it wasn't even 10:00. The art wasn't very impressive, but the bike ride was a lot of fun. Once we came back we decided to continue our bike riding to the DIS picnic. It was in a park on the coast. Its really easy for me to forget that Copenhagen is on an island, and this was a good reminder. The last bit of the ride followed the shore line, and in the distance you could see Sweden. At the picnic my family got to meet Lindsey's neighbors who were very nice. After the picnic we took the train home since we had already biked about 28K that day. I spend the rest of the day attempting to homework I had neglected and was mostly unsuccessful.

View from the park.

Astrid and I down by the beach.

Klara, and if you look very closely you can see Sweden in the background.

The last week in classes was mostly uneventful. However, we did get to go to the Thorvaldsen museum for my art history class. Thovaldsen was a Danish neoclassical sculptor. He marble sculptures look a lot like ancient greek sculpture and they are huge! Even for someone who isn't well versed in art like myself it was pretty awesome to see. In Human Health and Disease (from now on referred to as "hospital") we took our first patient history. The 98 year old man bounced into the room with only a cane to aid him. I was shocked at how sprightly he was! He was a total entertainer and loved the attention of the 22 American students. He was so sweet. If all my future patients could be like him I feel like my life would be complete! Tomorrow we leave for a short study tour. We'll be visiting Jutland, the peninsula part of Denmark. We'll tour several hospitals and spend the night in Århus, the second largest city in Denmark.

This is my walk to school in the morning. Pretty, eh?

Discovering Denmark

Well, as usual its taken me quite a bit longer to get going on this than I would have liked! I've been in Denmark for almost two weeks. Better late than never, right? I'll try to be better from here on out.

My first couple weeks were been a whirlwind, but I've settled into a nice rhythm already. Our study abroad adviser from Seattle U said that the first week abroad is characterized by excitement and euphoria commonly referred to as the honeymoon stage. So far, that has been my exact experience. While I've had some initial stress, I'm adjusting quite nicely. This is in large part due to my fantastic host family. I live with Pia, Peter,  Carla, 11 and Sørine, 13 in a district of København or (Copenhagen in American) called Vanløse which is only about 6 km outside the city.Vanløse is a wonderful neighborhood. The houses are beautiful brick and the families in the area all seem to be good friends. People are in and out of our house all the time, especially Klara and Astrid, two girls who live down the street. My second day in Denmark, Lindsey (who was staying with me at the time) and I were invited to Klara's 14th birthday party. It was a wonderful introduction to the culture of the Danes. It consisted of the most amazing hot chocolate I've ever experienced, lots of time eating food and conversing with those around you, a boche ball tournament all over the yard (and the street!), three delicious layer cakes, and decorations that were exclusively Danish flags! This was all over the course of 8 hours! As it turns out, birthdays are usually quite a long affair. It really is a celebration for the whole family.

 Getting to know my hosts and their friends has been the best part of my time in Denmark so far. I firmly believe I could not have been matched with a more suitable family. I've spent some time getting to know both the girls, and they are lovely. Carla plays soccer and has already taught me to count to 10 in Danish. We bonded over babysitting the neighbor kids one day. If you can, imagine two young children launching themselves at you from their parent's bed while shrieking in a foreign language. The two kids live next store and are named Hannah and Tobias. They are so sweet, and very well mannered, I just happened to walk in during one of the games they like to play! Sørine joined after her handball practice (google Danish handball for a description) and was there to put the kids to bed. Afterward Carla, Sørine, and I had some cake and chatted while waiting for Tobias and Hannah's parents to return. I couldn't be more impressed with my host sisters' in every respect. Peter and Pia have also been wonderful hosts. Pia is an artist, and has invited me to come with her to an art class this Saturday that she and her friends go to twice a year. I think it will be quite fun, and the best part . . .  its in a castle! In the words of Lindsey, I'm excited to see what bursts out from my creative sphere. Its been repressed for quite awhile! Peter and I have had some great conversations ranging from football (aka soccer) to politics. Both he and Pia always have insightful things to say and I always appreciate them sharing their opinions.

As I mentioned, the neighborhood is a tight knit group. Every Monday our family has dinner with Peter, Melene, and their two girls Klara and Astrid. The girls are all good friends. Carla and Astrid play football together, and both Klara and Astrid are frequently around. The other day we played a game of circle ball, which is very similar to baseball. Carla, Astrid, and I took on Sørine and Klara. Its hard to say who won, because the focus was the ridiculous costumes each team used for their uniforms! The five of us spend a lot of time playing games outdoors when its nice, and cards inside when its not. I've adopted Peter and Melene's family as my second host family! Its also nice to feel like I have something to give back. My being here is helping everyone, but particularly the kids with their English. I know very little Danish, and what I can say I mostly can't pronounce. Thus, the default is English. The small language barrier has already began to crumble around me!

Classes started exactly one week ago. I'm taking five, which is a change from my usual three on a quarter system. Knowing that I want to be a doctor, I tried to focus my courses on medicine, while still fulfilling my core requirements for Seattle U. The result is a blend of  medicine and culture. My Human Health and Disease class is taught by two doctors at Frederiksberg Hospital. The hospital's strength is internal medicine, and is expertly staffed. Seeing as internal medicine is a field I'm strongly considering, I feel lucky to have such a placement! Besides learning about the Danish health care system, the class focuses on basic medical skills like how to write a medical report, take patient histories, do clinical examinations, and general diagnosis techniques. We will spend time with actual patiens, and even have the opportunity to practice giving each other IV's and possibly even learning how to give a lumbar puncture (but not on real people as far as I understand!). So far it looks like it will be an excellent and unique experience. In the states, most these things are saved for medical students so this really is the opportunity of a life time. To stick with my focus on medicine and my goals of graduating on time I'm taking a Biomedical Ethics class. Thanks to Abstract Algebra, I'm used to more abstract thinking, but ethics is another whole ball game. Philosophy has never been my strong point, but I'm actually really enjoying the class so far. Its focus on case studies should allow me to gain a better understanding of the ethical considerations behind clinical medicine, which I find both interesting and relevant. I also hope know more about ethical theory will help me formulate a stronger foundation for arguments and decisions I make in the future.

In terms of culture I have three classes; Religion and Politics in Europe, Art in the 19th Century, and Danish Language and Culture. Religion and Politics explores the dynamics between church in state across Europe. We've already had some interesting conversations and I think I'm set up for an exiting semester  (it feels funny to use that word). My art class is the first art class I've taken. Its basically an art survey class. The main perk is that we get to tour all the big museums in Copenhagen for free! Danish is very difficult. Its made even more challenging by the fact that there are three extra vowels (æ, ø, å) which are practically impossible for me to say. However, with the help of Carla, Sørine, Astrid, and Klara I'm making quite a bit of progress. They love to help. I suspect its because they really enjoy laughing at my terrible pronunciation. They say a word and I repeat it back. Most the time I'm thinking "Good, that sounded just like what they said". But then the peals of laughter start, from which I generally infer that something about my pronunciation wasn't quite right. However, I've taken my revenge with the word "rhinoceros" which is difficult for them because of the r's. Unfortunately, Carla managed to master it right away, but it still works for the other girls!

The social scene at DIS feels a lot like freshman year welcome week. Theres a lot of fast friendships that wear of quickly. Most schools sent larger groups of people together rather than individuals or a few people. For example, Dennison University has around 40 students here. It makes for a rather interesting social dynamic! Luckily, among the 800 I've met a few girls in my HHD class that I really enjoy. Together with them and Lindsey, I've discovered the joys of chocolate croissants, hot chocolate, and exploring a new place with new people.