Vocational day and other news

My first week in Germany was a mixture of amazing sights and exhaustion.  After a 17 hour trip plus a 7 hour time difference I was needless to say ready for a nap when we got to our host family's home.  Horst, Inge and Ämi (their black lab) were wonderful hosts.  They let me sleep for an hour or two after we arrived!  I woke up to a most enjoyable dinner of fresh bread, cheeses and various cold cuts of meat, and of course one or two cold beers!

The view from Horst and Inge's dining room was so beautiful.  Inge plants all the flowers and bushes, and the trees were already there!  It was so nice, we had to eat on their patio as well.  Sitting in the cool air with some coffee and bread talking about world issues was right up my ally!

As Sarah said, we got had the opportunity first to visit Soltau and then Hamburg.  It was wonderful to see so many people out shopping in the town market, riding their bikes through the parks and just meeting with each other, real "old world" flavor.

My first Vocational day!

The company I rode with is Deutches Rotes Kreuz, the German Red Cross.  They were a fantastic group of people and I was very lucky to have such understanding and helpful colleagues to help me with speaking the correct phrases in German.  Actually, all the things relating to the job were so close in pronunciation that we communicated very effectively about working as paramedics or Rettungsdienst, as they are known in Germany.  In America, we have EMT-Basic, Intermediate and Paramedics; in Germany the Basics are called Rettungsassistant, and an ambulance "eine Rettungswagen".  As a side note, I was a bit surprised to see that I was fairly average in height there! Dany (on my left) had me beat by at least 7-10 inches and maybe 10-20 pounds haha.

The day began much like it does for me normally at home.  Within 30 minutes of arrival at the station, we had a call...  I didn't yet have a chance to look over the rigs and see what was what, so for this one I just stood and watched.  A respiratory distress patient, with COPD, much like I see day to day at home.  Similar questions, similar order of techniques up to the use of pharmacological interventions.  The cots were very nice, but it was odd to me that there were two sets of wheels at the head of the cot.  One set was rigid for travelling and locking into the cradle, the other was on bearings to allow for the back to be steered around corners, and to activate this second set, a lever was used by the thumb and you pushed the cot down slightly to move it onto those wheels.

I was also impressed that all of their rigs were equipped with power load/unload ramps for the cots.  The crews were quite thankful for the reductions in back pain and the patients for a much smoother ride.  You could even make the cot float on pneumatic shocks while in transit!

The company also has a very wide range for where it will go to pick up patients, a rough circle almost 80km in diameter!  From just south of Hamburg to just north of Hannover!  Almost twice the size of my response area.

When we got back, I asked to get a better view of the back of the rigs and a run through of how they handle various situations.  I asked what kinds of drugs they use and was told they even paramedics can only use the most basic of medications without the doctor present.  I was shocked that they have full on doctors on staff in chase cars with a whole pharmacy in tow that responds to calls with the ambulance.  Full time!  The translated names were mostly of the same chemical names I was used to, so I knew most of their choices already and we could talk effectively about treatments for various illnesses.  Some drugs they used on a regular basis I had only read about in school or had seen used in the ER, and some that I use they could not ( Das ist verboten!)

I was happy to see Lifepak 12's and 15's on the trucks, the same ones I have used!  Even though it was all in German, I still knew what was where, and the most important ones were still the same.  Shock, Sync and Pace.

I asked about average pay scales as well, and when converted to dollars, most emergency personnel (minus doctors, of course) make a similar amount to me every week.  The big change was that they only work 12 hours at a time, and cannot work more than 10 hours of OT before they must rest for 12 hours.  Not like my 4 day straight work weeks at home! Haha.  Call volume was slightly less though, with only 3-4 calls a day for each truck versus the 5-8 for our service.  Perhaps this was because they have so many rigs working in one day. 5 crews of two were working today; two doctor/paramedic teams in a chase car, 2 paramdic/medic or basic teams in two rigs, and one transport car that served a similar function to a medivan at home.  They were all manual transmissions as well, which is cheaper in Europe than automatic.

All in all a fantastic day of learning and adventure.  The beautiful countryside was just how I pictured it, and I could see why so many German families chose to settle in the Ohio Valley and especially Illinois.  Lots of hills and Grünwald! (Woods)

Welcome to Germany and Sightseeing

The GSE team arrived in Germany on Tuesday morning, May 29 after 17 hours of travel. We were welcomed by members of the German Rotary clubs.

Right away, we were taken to Soltau for our first German lunch and meeting. We had a very traditional german meal, seen below.

After a brief presentation, we were off to our host family homes for some much needed rest and showers! My host family is Dr. Peter Pohls and his wife, Sabine. They live in a small village called Neuenkirchen (New Church). Peter and I went for a bike ride through his village and then we joined Sabine for dinner and a great conversation about birds! After that, it was off to bed to catch up on sleep before some sightseeing the next day.

Yesterday we visited the cities of Soltau and Hamburg for sightseeing. We walked around Soltau, enjoying the markets and the village. It was a cold day, but walking around helped keep us warm.

After lunch in Soltau, we drove to Hamburg. There, we went on a bus tour of the city, followed by a visit to St. Michaels church. The view of Hamburg from the top of the church was beautiful! And of course, before leaving, I had to eat a hamburger in Hamburg (note: German hamburgers are not the same as American hamburgers!).

We arrived back in Soltau for a barbecue with our host families to wrap up the day.

 

Today, we will be doing our first vocational visit. I will be going to a chemical industry plant. More later!

-Sara

 

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. - St. Augustine

May 28 & 29; Days 1 & 2

We departed on our new adventure from Bloomington, IL at 11am on May 28. We arrived in Soltau, Germany around 12pm on May 29th. What we didn't realize was that the adventure was really beginning on the flights. We flew from Bloomington to Atlanta, Atlanta to Amsterdam, then Amsterdam to Hannover. In Atlanta we encountered an hour long delay on the tarmac. In Amsterdam we did some shopping in the airport and walking just to get the blood flowing again. In Hannover we were greeted by a wonderful welcome team and whisked away to our first meeting and presentation. But first, we lunch! And it was Delicious! Schnitzel and potatoes. I think Germany and I are going to get along famously. After our presentation we met our home stay families, went to our homes, and took a nap! That evening we spent getting to know our families. Debby and I have the same family for our first stay - Dr. Claudia Holzenbein and Dr. Hanno Lampe and their twin daughters Luisa and Lena (however, Luisa is currently in South Africa). That evening I was able to join Claudia at the gym for a exercise class being held for patients of Cardiac surgery or those with Cardiac issues. Here in Germany, and doctor must be present for such group exercise classes. That being said, for those of you at home: I have some new exercises for you!

Debby and I spent the evening chatting with Hanno and Claudia in the BEAUTIFUL garden the rest of the evening.

Things I learned these two days:

1) If you fill a water bottle that has a straw in it with water and then get on a plane, said water bottle will explode when you open it. Sara said, "That's a science a thing; I'll explain later." And she did. She now has to explain all science related phenomenons.

2) Our uniform Polo tops dry very, very quickly. Please refer to #1.

3) I am not sure how I feel about the Autobahn quite yet.

4) I am pretty sure I am going to love it here.

May 30; Day 3

Today was a day of tours: a waling tour of Soltau and then a trip in to Hamburg.

Soltau is not a very large town - population of around 20,000. We began by taking a walk thru Bohme Family park that had a wonderful fountain and stepping stones for kids (and yes, we stepped). We then strolled the market area of town then toured the Toy Museum. YES! A museum full of toys! Classic toys, such as doll houses, masks, and figurines. We ate lunch at the Soltau Therme which is a pool. A thermal pool that is heated by natural hot springs. This is also where I have my vocational day tomorrow.

From here, we were off to Hamburg! We took a double decker bus tour - which I have to say is not nearly enough time in Hamburg. There is so much history here, and very distinct districts - it felt similar to Chicago. As difficult as it was to get my barring, Hamburg, which is Germany's 2nd largest city with a population of 1.2 million people, did not seem like a vastly crowded, bustling city to me. Maybe it's because I was on a bus. We then paid a visit to St. Michaels church - the first church in Germany. BEAUTIFUL!! It was built in 1750, the steeple was rebuilt in 1906, and after WWII it had to be rebuilt entirely. We went to the top of the dome for the best views of the city before heading back to Soltau for a cook out with our home stay family.

Things I learned today:

1) Today was the beginning of what is referred to as "Sheep Cold". Back in the day, sheep were sheered and then a cold spell would hit for about 10 days - the thought being the cold would kill the weak sheep. Well, the 10 days have begun!! And I am not prepared.l

2) A Hamburger in Hamburg is not what you would think. It's really more like a very thick tenderloin. But it is still delicious.

-Lindsey

 

Arrival in Amsterdam

The District 6490 GSE Team left the Bloomington airport at 11:00 a.m. Monday, May 28, and arrived safely in Amsterdam at 6:30 a.m. local time Tuesday, May 29 (11:30 p.m. central time) after experiencing an hour long delay in Atlanta due to some engine trouble. Outbound coordinator, Kevin Miller, and former district governor, Ray Ropp, were there to send us off.

 

In about an hour, we will be boarding our plane to Hannover where we will meet up with some of our German counterparts at the airport. Then, we hit the ground running, heading straight to Soltau for a rotary luncheon meeting. Since the time change and flight had us in the air during the evening hours, we have basically skipped sleep for the night!