IADS- the winning report of the student exchange report competition

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Amazing Würzburg

by Adriana Górak and Marcin Przegaliński, Poland

Marcin and Ada, the students of Medical University of Lublin, were doing their work experience as part of IADS International Student Exchange Program from 1st to 30th July.  Their training place was the German city, Wurzburg, which is located on the Main River and blends in with the vine-covered hills of Bavaria.

We set off from Poland on 31^st June. After day long journey we reached the city at six o’clock in the morning, where we were warmly welcomed by NEO German – Alex Sokolowski. Then we went to Babelfish Hostel, where we were staying for the whole month. Because of the fact that the Hostel was put into service in April this year the conditions were excellent. We have a four-person room with bathroom and sea view. Once we were unpacked, Alex took us to a teaching hospital. Our student training was to take place there.

When we finally got there, we were enchanted by the teaching hospital. It was a modern glass building. Then with Alex we visited all departments, including conservative and periodontal dentistry, surgery, Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics. From all these departments we were given a warm welcome by kind and friendly people, who were always willing to show us everything. Once we familiarized ourselves with the teaching hospital we were invited to a surgical training course, during which we had a chance to practiced dental extraction and surgical suture on  pigs’ jaws. In the evening we were touring the city, admiring the baroque and Renaissance architecture.

Next day we welcomed Mathylda and Amaky, students from Ghana, who were to do their work experience with us. We were living together in the room and that is why we made friends with them very quickly and after some time we get to know much more about their country and some of their national dishes. We even tasted their African delicacies, which was not only a great experience but also a surprise for us as well. There were more surprises brought by our new friends, however, and the first one was an African vegetable, jame. Their soup with amazing flavour, made of fish in tomato souse, vienna sausage and onion, was also an interesting surprise.

Every day, we had to be present in the training hospital at six o’clock in the morning. We were observing and assisting various surgeries. Surgery clinic was our favourite place in the training hospital, where we could observe root resection, complicated extractions and how implants were inserted. We liked spending time in a orthodontic ward, too, especially in laboratory and at workshop. On Mondays we had lectures which were very useful for us; we were taking part in discussions on various clinical cases.

In the afternoons after trainings we were seeing the glamorous sights in Wurzburg and different neighbouring regions of the city. We were stunned by the number of grandiose monuments, delicious regional cuisines and wonderful wines, which are the pride of the city. From nearby vineyards we tasted different kinds of wines. A special attention deserves the baroque Würzburg Residenz, the Fortress of Marienberg, Würzburg’s Old Main Bridge (Alte Mainbrücke), Würzburg Old Crane (Alter Kranen) and  Falkenhaus with its beautiful Rococo façade. During our stay, we were happy to take part in Kiliani Volksfest, which was a festival celebrating the patron saint of the city, Saint Kilian. Every evening the city was filled with celebrating people dressed in Bavarian clothing. During this special period people could also spend their time at amusement park, where regional competitions took place as well. The festival culminated with fireworks till late in the night.

Every weekend we were spending time touring Bavaria. By using the Bavaria Ticket, which applied to all means of transport in Bavaria for up to 5 people for € 28 on weekends, we and our students from Ghana could visit a large part of the Bundesland – Nurenberg, Monachium, Garmisch Partenkirchen and Augsburg. In Augsburg Alex took us to the Body Worlds exhibition of German anatomist Günther von Hagens. Bavaria proved quite an adventure itself for us, which was an opportunity to get to know local landscapes, architecture and  many warm-hearted people. Every trip had an extraordinary effect on us and  enabled us to accumulate valuable experiences.

Summarizing our stay in Wurzburg, we must mention the NEO German Alex’s  significant helping hand. We could always count on him. Alex gave us access to a mensa card, thanks to which we received a huge discount at food canteen. We were also given mobile phones w

hich gave us possibility of permanent contact.

Thanks to the stay in Germany, which was an unforgettable and extremely educating adventure, we get to know not only the culture of Germany but also the culture of our friends from Ghana. The exchange bore fruit in many lifelong friendships. We are looking forward to come back here in the future. The Alex’s words have made a great print in our hearts: “The world is like a book – those who do not travel read only the first page”. We are grateful that  IADS gave us an opportunity to expand our horizons. The aim of the International Association of Dental Students (IADS) to unite the dental students of the world and allow them to exchange knowledge and experiences about dentistry at an international level was completely fulfilled.