Yeah, disgusting I know. For the record, it hurt like heck. I decided during my bus trip to school that I should probably go to the doctor, and once I arrived at the school my teacher helped me find a local ear doctor. I went to the doctors office, only to be told he was operating in a different office across town. So, being determined as I was, I decided to jump on a few buses and navigate my own way across town via the small map on the brochure provided to me by the nurse at the front desk. It was so unbelievably cold (it usually is- but I wasn't really prepared to go hiking across town all morning) and I was only wearing my thin fall jacket with a thin sweater underneath. I believe my thoughts at one point were, "I can't believe I'm going to get pneumonia over this stupid bump." However, so far so good. No signs of pneumonia. I had to hike up some serious hills (this clinic was located on the side of a mountain, kind of like a straight out of Heidi scene where you're off to find some magical medicine doctor or something) and cross some bridges but finally i made it. Upon arriving there, the receptionist was clearly confused by my American- German accent and just threw a random form at me and before I knew it I was in a German operating room (the tray still had the goo from the guy before Me's nose.. ew?) and the German Doctor took one look at me, told me I need to have a minor surgery to fix it, and that he thought that it was a piece of earring in my ear (I knew it wasn't, by the way). He told me he didn't have time for the operation right then, so he told me to call back at 5 to see if he had time later. I then went and met with my program director who told me she would take me to the appointment. Turns out he didn't have time at 5 last night, so I had to wait until 7:30 this morning where he stuck me with a HUGE needle for anesthetic and then cut it open to find.. tadaaaaaaa. nooo earring. So, I won the bet (we made one after I told him I thought it was just cartilage) and he gave me a bottle of champagne for winning. It was quite the scene. On a downside though, I now have to return tomorrow to have tissue removed from my ear which is apparently the root of the problem. I guess there is a ball of tissue which is on the side of my ear and was irritated, then in flamed and now infected, so he has to remove it. Just great. Oh well. At least it won't hurt anymore. After the procedure this morning I had what looked like a eye patch but on my ear.. and it tied over my head and under my chin. I looked so... unique. People were definitely staring on the bus. Oh well. A whole new meaning of fashion statement! I'll put up those pictures later.. I forgot to upload them.
In other news, I went to Frankfurt! Basically, if Chicago and London fell in love and had a baby, you'd have Frankfurt. Originally I always hated Frankfurt due to airport and train station frustrations, but I had never been truly out into the city. It's gorgeous! It is super busy of course, but also super Victorian old style. My program went to a museum about the Jewish history in Frankfurt (super interesting by the way) and then I basically spent the rest of the time wandering around the city with a few friends. We stopped at a pub to have the famous "Apfelwein" (Apple wine). I thought it would be just like some apple cider (I had the alcohol-free version) but definitely not. It was the most bitter beverage I've ever had in my entire life. If for some reason you find yourself in Frankfurt and are tempted to try the local delicacy, please, just please, refrain. It essentially tastes like horse pee in a cup. Just don't do it. I don't care how friendly your waiter is, how anxious you are to try the local cuisine or how cute the little etched glasses are. DON'T.
OK, I'm glad we went over this. We headed back on the the train around 8 (now that it is October, I have a student's travel pass which allows me to travel through the German State of Hessen for free on all trains, buses, boats, etc) and headed back to Marburg. Here are some beeeautiful photos :)
Here's the link to more...
http://picasaweb.google.com/113919949355390501172/20101009?authkey=Gv1sRgCLab-sLUktLmcw&feat=directlink
So yep. Off to Hamburg this weekend! Today I had my culture course exam, tomorrow the language course exam (kill me now..) and then Wednesday is our speaking exam. Real University classes start Monday, and I'm pretty excited to see how it all works out. I'm off to master the cooking of broccoli.
fyi, you ear is disgusting. is that the one that you have pierced on top? if that happens to me i will scream.
ReplyDelete