GoBoating on the Last Day

Yesterday, for my last full day in Copenhagen ( :( sad face ) my friends and I rented out a GoBoat.  These are small engine powered boats that have tables on them so you can eat and relax while exploring the canals of Copenhagen.  It was seriously a blast and I'm so glad we got the opportunity to do it on our last day here.

Here are some photos!

 This is what our boat looked like (though this is another group).  It was beautiful.  The area behind the boat in the background is Christiania, a self-proclaimed autonomous neighborhood.

Below are a few pictures of the doc of a street/pier with a bunch of bars and street vendors.  It was a busy Friday night.  And a warm one (FINALLY 80 degrees).

Pictured below are friends tubing their friend on a inflatable crocodile. 

The waster was nasty and freezing so I didn't go in.  There were also jellyfish (who knew).

 

Going through the smaller canals were my favorite part.  The two photos below are of the canals right next to my house.  I'm going to miss seeing that view every time I walk home.  It's honestly such a peaceful place and its incredibly beautiful.

Lastly, there was this jumping wooden thing that people could jump off into a pool of water that is sectioned off from the canal water.  It was closed but it looked really fun.

I'm off to the airport.  Can't wait to be home but I'm going to miss this place so much.  See you in the US!

Uh Oh!

Today I made a big mistake.  I was biking to school and put my wallet in the basket of my bike.  I bet you can guess that I then left it in my basket during my entire class out in public for anyone to walk by and grab.

Luckily the Danish are some of the most honest and trustworthy people I've ever met so it was still there 2 hours later right where I had left it.

-Crisis avoided-

A Danish Graduation

This week the Danes have all graduated from high school.  Though I think here it's called "secondary education" school.  Anyways, they have some crazy and really interesting traditions that are followed after they graduate and I've been witnessing lots of them this weekend.

All the graduates wear caps that look like marine/sailor hats?  Heres a picture.

Along with this,  the guys all wear something that looks like a white sailors uniform.  I don't think caps and gowns (like in the US) are a thing here.  

Whats really fun about what they do here is that groups of friends rent out these army bus/ garbage truck looking things and they party in them all weekend.  The weekend after they graduate is spent in these trucks in their outfits going from house to house (of the friends in the group) for further celebration and refreshments.  The day in the truck is spent drinking, blasting music, and screaming in the street with obnoxious megaphones.  There are huge banners all over the truck though I have no idea what's written on them.  When the truck passes, everyone stops and cheers for them.  

What a fun idea, though I don't get how they manage to stand for hours on end despite drinking continuously (though Danes do know how to handle their alcohol).  It must be tiring too.  I hear them from 4 blocks away screaming.  I bet their voices are all pretty shot after this weekend.  

Heres a closer picture of what it looks like.  I couldn't get close enough to take one so here's one from a website (sorry for the watermark).

I feel bad for the poor soul driving that truck around for a million hours.  Maybe he just wears earplugs.

Relationships Between Providers and the Individual in the Netherlands

This week has been crazy and I haven't blogged at all.  I apologize for not posting anything in quite some time but the next few blog posts will be all about my experience in Utrecht and Amsterdam.  Some of what I'll be posting is copied from a class blog, but I thought it would still provide great insight. 

Within our individual discussion with the General Practitioner in Utrecht and our lecture with a  hospice owner, we noticed a very refreshing similarity in the manner in which these two providers referred to the individuals they treated. The General Practitioner discussed how he loved watching his patients grow up; he cares for them throughout their journey from childhood to adulthood and into the final years of their lives. He mentioned that his patients become his family. Likewise, the hospice owner mentioned that she refrains from calling the hospice inhabitants “patients;” instead, she prefers to call them “residents.” She emphasized how essential it is to view the residents as humans and equals.

A large concern in the American healthcare system is that we are departing from a system centered on quality care to one that prioritizes quantity or the number of patients seen. As we continue our journeys into the medical field, it is vital and inspiring to hear such messages from experienced health providers. As we are exposed to patients through internships and eventually through our own practices, we hope to become doctors that not only provide medical services, but also ones that focus upon making our patients (or clients) feel comfortable with us and their health. We can only imagine that such relationships will increase the level of care an individual will receive. Moreover, it may impact the individual’s willingness to disclose information to their doctor and receive advice from their provider not only when it comes to medical practices, but lifestyles habits as well. Thereby, health providers can become not only tools for prevention of disease and illness, but also promoters of health and wellness. With better relationships between providers and patients, it is more likely that the patients will see their provider as an equal partner instead of a superior dictating their health. This hypothesis provides similarities to the democratic system in Danish healthcare where patients and providers work together to provide a health plan based on the individual. We suggest that within a health provider’s education and training, they participate in more courses that promote patient communication skills. This demonstrates the multidimensionality of healthcare.

The Netherlands

I've arrived!  At 4:50 am this morning I left the comfort of my bed in Copenhagen to begin my busy day of travels to the Netherlands for my study tour as a part of my class.

I still don't really get if it's proper to call it the Netherlands or Holland?  If anyone knows... please inform me.  When I asked some Danish people they were so confused as to why I would ever call it the Netherlands.  Here they say Holland but I've also heard people say that Holland is a specific part of the Netherlands.   So yeah, I'm very confused.

For most of the plane ride I tried to sleep.  Unfortunately for me it was extremely unsuccessful and my neck just felt kinked the whole time.  I am really exhausted now as I'm typing this.  Flying over the Netherlands I saw a ton of fields and even more cows.  Each little plot has upwards of 50 cows which is crazy.  We landed in Amsterdam and got a nice coach bus to Utrecht where we will be staying for two nights (out of 4).  Utrecht seems very industrialized (from what i've seen thus far).  Unlike Copenhagen there are not as many cute shops or cafes.  I'm sure this won't be the case when we next go to Amsterdam.   I'm sure my opinion will change after a day or two here.

We had lunch at a wonderful restaurant called Harbour.  Two meals a day are included from our program on our study tour.... and they definitely didn't skimp on the quality of food.  We had huge sandwiches (that had 3 layers of bread with various veggies, cheeses, meats, and egg in it).  We then got fries, tea, brownies, cheesecake, and coffee.  Let me just say that fries here are way better than in the US.  When they get cold they stay crunchy which is way more appetizing than soggy cold fries.

Next we went on a field visit to the GGD (pronounced Che Che Deh).  There are 26 of these preventative health centers in the Netherlands and combined they serve about 16 million people.  They are run by the government and focus on all areas of prevention (TB, sexual health, vaccinations, environment, obesity, etc).  Six different workers talked to us about their jobs and what they do specifically in the GGD.  It was really interactive and fun.  We also got a TON of free stuff.  People in Europe are SO generous when it comes to trying to please a crowd.  We got free hats, jump ropes (part of activity), mints, candy, key chains, portable cellphone/iPod chargers/camera charger, bike seat cover (a MUST in northern Europe), drinks, notepads, pens, and more.  A highlight was the cheese platter....... great cheese.  I applaud you, Netherlands.

Now I'm sitting on my bed blogging as my assigned roommate sleeps in the bed that is set up directly next to mine.  Were basically sleeping in one big bed which is a little too close for my comfort.  I guess theres no such thing as having two non-touching beds which is okay.... but I literally have never met her before.  I'll make do.

I can't say what's on the agenda for tonight.  I'm extremely exhausted and were all stuffed to the max.

I'm Becoming a True Dane

There's a huge canal bridge that I need to ride over every day to get from the island where I live to Copenhagen.  This bridge is steep and it stinks to ride up every day in both directions.  Today it seemed a little harder than usual to muster up the strength to get up.  Usually I make it a little competition and see how fast I can ride up it and how many people I can pass.  This morning, I was peddling furiously on gear 1 and I was moving like a snail.

I also noticed a weird rubbing noise but I was never sure if it was my bike or someone around me so I ignored it.  After riding to class and riding home I felt my tire.  It was completely flat and free of air in the front.  I feel like that's extremely bad for the bike, and the tire frame (if that's a thing).

Soon, preferably when it's less rainy, I need to get back to the bike shop and hope they have extra tires.

Never in my life have I popped a tire or flattened it (not sure exactly how it happened).  Like I've said before, people here are intense about their biking. So I guess now that I'm experiencing my first bike "overuse"problem it means that I'm one step closer to becoming a true Dane.

Rainy Day..... Every Day

On my home from class today I got soaked from the rain.  It rains almost every day here so by now I'm actually pretty used to the constant drizzle.  Either the forecasters here are pretty bad at their job or the weather is unpredictably spontaneous because it is never forecasted to rain but it does ALL OF THE TIME.  

I bike to school every day.  Luckily today I didn't bring my laptop.... unlike yesterday when I also got soaked riding home from school.  Today I came prepared with plastic bags.  Most people here come prepared for the rain in that they have plastic seat covers they put on top of the wet bike seat so they don't get embarrassing wet spots on their butt.  Usually I just suck it up and walk around with wet pants.  Today though,  I covered my bike seat really quickly so that rain wouldn't get on it and then sat on it immediately. Biking here is FAST.  The constant peddling at quick speeds and biking against the rain make it great for getting absolutely drenched.  

Another funny thing about here is that though it is always raining, it never ever storms.  I keep waiting for the day when I'll see a flash or hear a boom but it never comes.  I guess it rains more often but less intensely.  Maybe it's like that a lot of Europe?

Proof:

** Note the back of my legs are completely dry from sitting down on my bike.  

When I got home I had to peel all of my clothes off of me and hang them up.  My wet clothes from yesterdays rain adventure were finally dry and I replaced them with todays wet clothes.  I wonder if this will just be a cycle.... I need rain pants or something I guess.