Wednesday evening I had the opportunity to have dinner with a German colleague, Johannes Grundmann, at the local Brahaus (Restaurant/brewery). Dinner was outstanding (my second time there) as I enjoyed the pork loin with a mushroom gravy served with a German hash brown cake, and a delicious as well as hearty mixed veggie/pasta salad. My idea of a traditional German meal is to have pork (sometimes beef) with lots of gravy and potatoes (preferably fried). It's not healthy, but it rivals many of the best comfort meals in the United States. More importantly though, Johannes and I have discussed the possibility of him visiting to lecture in Evansville to USI Health Professions students (especially graduate students studying health administration). We are excited about the possibility of both faculty and student exchange between our universities regarding health administration/hospital management and public health. Indeed, the theme that I keep coming to as my time ends in Osnabruck is "We've only just begun" which describes the possibilities between USI and Univ. of Applied Sciences-Osnabruck. And mom, yes that is a band aid above my right eye, I bumped my head on a door as I was giving my final exam. Thirty-two and still clumsy after all these years. No worries though, mom, I'm fine.
Today, Thursday, we went to Essen and toured an old coal mine that previously was the area's economic powerhouse and is now a museum with shops, restaurants, and even...wait for it....a free swimming pool? Yes, I was surprised to see many young children swimming where coal was mined for a century. After another "traditional" German meal, which we all enjoyed and become a bit sleepy from, we were off to the University Hospital. The University Hospital in Essen was amazing. We first were greeted with caffeinated refreshment (much appreciated) and a short overview of the hospital's many treatment, teaching, and research programs. We then went a wonderful tour of the hospital campus and observed the many different buildings of specializations ranging from children's oncology, organ transplantation, neurosurgery, cardiovascular care, and other health services. Indeed the campus's facilities were first rate and we are truly understanding the strengths and challenges of the German Health Care System (too much for one blog post...you'll have to take my course next summer :)
Tomorrow we finish our last full day, which begins with a final yoga class, continues with intercultural competence, a farewell dinner at a different brewery restaurant, and our football rematch. As the students easily beat the faculty in our first match in Belgium (which was played in a small field at a rest stop on our way back from Paris). I feel ready as I was a bit rusty and had not played competitive football (soccer) since I was....seven years old. Now with 25 years of rust removed and local German ice cream on the line for the victor, I feel ready. I hope to enjoy the next couple days before I return to that Indiana heat and humidity.
Chews!!!
-Brandon
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