Salo, Finland and the Operating theatre

Finally it seems that summer has arrived in Finland also. It has been really hot and nice weather about week. I have been waiting about two months and finally I can wear my summer clothes, jippi :). Yesterday my tutor and I had some picnic barbeque on the beach. It was really nice. Some people went even swimming, although water is not warm enough, but sun was shining and temperature were +25 C.

I have been practicing in operating theatre two weeks now. It has been really interesting, actually it is so exciting there, that sometimes it is hard to concentrate my anesthetic nurse role. There is very good team work and all the people are friendly and equal. The doctors are teaching me also, not only nurses, which is really good. In the coffee or lunch time, we are also together with surgeons and doctors, so it is like one big family and it really is supportive and nice working team. Relations are good and it is easy to come practicing and work.
As I have been here I understand that teaching/studying nursing is in Estonia quite high level. All the basic things that we need to know has been really useful here. When I was in school I thought there are some stuff that it is not so important or not so useful to learn, but when I came here and nurses, doctors are asking something I am very thankful that I have heard about these things and know at least something in basic nursing.
In operating theatre every day starts with coffee and welcome of operating theatre sister-in- charge. She is telling shortly what will happen in the day (what operations and which room) and which role everyone is doing and where they are. All the nurses have to do all the roles. There are four roles and nurses are working every day  in different room and they are changing their positions in their own team. The roles are: recovery room nurse, anesthesiological, circulation and scrub nurse. In my practicing time I will be in recovery room and in anesthesiological nurse role. 

Before operation: Waiting room for patients

A special room for C-sections only.

Railika Toim Õ3

Greetings from Bulgaria!

Sincere apologies because I haven’t posted for a long time. Meanwhile has happened a lot of things and at the same time nothing has happened. We went to Istanbul, which was wonderful. All the culture and all these people were so much different from Estonians. I’m really happy that I decided to take part of that trip. It lasted for 4 days and and I saw all of the most popular tourist attractions in Istanbul but I wish that some day I could visit again. After the Istanbul trip we had Easters which meant free week for us. I decided to visit Black Sea for 5 days with other estonians. We were happy because the season had not yet begun and therefore we got 5 star hotel quite cheaply. The hotel was wonderful and around 50-100m away from beach. Time passed really fast but sadly I didn’t had a chance to enjoy all the sun because I’m allergic to sun. I wished that the sun over there was different but it wasn’t and I got blister. So I had to enjoy the sun from under  the umbrella. Despite of that I really liked it. Going home is one month away. It might sound unbelievable but I would really like to go home. I miss my family,my friend and the fridge. I miss the fridge because I don’t have it over here. At the moment it’s 30 degrees in here and it would be sin to write something more.
Take care and have fun. I hope it’s summer over there in Estonia.
An interesting fact – Bulgarians can’t say my name. It seems that Teele is too hard to pronounce and so I am called Teila.

 See you soon!

The Malta experience

Hello!

Two months and three days now on the "Rock". The last weeks have been almost only "work-work-work". I have reached 245 hours of clinical placements so the 400 hour are not as far anymore. On Wednesday I finished my placement in ultrasound and yesterday started in CT. 

Ultrasound

The first day in CT was very interesting. It left a really good impression and I liked it because I got to do almost everything and the atmosphere in this unit was amazing. So Im looking forward to the coming time in CT, I will definitely enjoy it!

But I have also had some time to have some fun. Last Saturday it was the last and decisive football game of the Maltese football premier league, this game decided the winner. It was between FC Birkikara and FC Hirberians. Birkikara won 3:1 and ended the regin of FC Valletta, who have won the league the past years. It was very interesting to see this game, because I had a chance to compare it with Estonian Premier league. I think the level is quite the same, but the Maltese football is more agressive. But all in all it was fun!

Hirberians in white and black, Birkikara in red and yellow.

One morning I got up early to take some pictures of the sunrise. Exactly 6.00 the sun rose from the horizon. It was very beautiful. I also took a time-lapse of the sunrise, but it will take me some time to process.

5.45 am

Time-lapse

Almost there...

Right on time

Cactus blooms

Sunny greetings to sunny and warm Estonia!!!

Bye-bye!

Kristjan Noormets
RT2

Salo, Finland

Not far from Salo (50km) is Turku. I like this city very much, because it reminds me Estonian Tartu. Turku is University city, city of students and there is also Turku University Hospital, just like Tartu has own Ülikooli Kliinikum. Between Salo-Turku there is very good train and bus connection (even in nights), so it is good opportunity to visit Turku and have some partys there.

One place, which I really like in Turku and where I’d love to go again and again is Turku Castle. It’s built in about 13. century and has been growing quite big from the beginning. In the castle there is own small church inside, many dining rooms, king and queen rooms, prison, restaurant/cafeteria, many different exhibitions aso. Unfortunately there isn’t photographing allowed, so I couldn’t take pictures there, but I found one nice pic from internet.

Turku University Hospital
Picture from: http://openbuildings.com/buildings/tyks-profile-26314

Turku Castle
Picture from:  http://travelingbymail.blogspot.fi/2012/06/kesamaki-finland.html

Railika Õ3

Madrid, Spain ! :)

Hola !

Unbelievable, it has been a month already and I am heading back home soon, since May promises to fly by like a jet plane and most of June I most probably be like "Oh no, last month!" Anyways, there's still time luckily! I think it is time to introduce you to my daily life here in Madrid.

So. Most important part of my daily life is public transport and more specifically the underground. Sounds dark and dangerous, but actually it is quite nice. There are ten different metro lines in Madrid and mine is number one (my lucky number!) which is the best since it goes from the South to the North and is nicely connected to every line, so it is good.

Oh and the metro lines have colours as well. I remember that when I got here I had to take line 8 from the airport. It is the pink line but to think that the train would be pink.. nope! My line is light blue and well, with good imagination and some blurry eye vision (coming home from a night out) it is actually!

But the metro is closed since 1.30 til 5.30 in the morning, so if I need to go home afterwards I need to use the night bus which mostly takes home just drunk people.. it is more like a drunk bus. The driver is sober though, so don't worry!

And every time I go home I pass this cool watermelon house..

And these cool pizza-delivery rollers..

And there are many people walking in the center of Madrid as well...

Or supporting wrong football teams...

Or standing by supporting on a cane only...

And when they get tired of standing, they sit on a cane.

And since everyone of us desires for a Prada or a Gucci bag, you can get them here as well..

And then you can really stand out...

Oh and I can not forget about music and dance since Spanish people love it! There is this one pretty awesome guy who plays on the streets and in the evenings in the metro and the cool thing about him is that his drums are pans and pots.

And you can find guys who dance.. I think it is dancing..

And well, it is not something that I really do every day, though I wish I could, but I went to practical training the other day and saw a sign "Banco de sangre" and I assumed that it is the blood bank, asked my tutor and I was right. So, what better way to spend your lunch break than donating blood. Though I should have waited for another 20 days since it hasn't been three months yet, but who cares. :)

Seriously, the best advantage of working in a hostpital! ;)

And last but not least! It is not connected to my daily life but it is like "Super-bad luck Brian" moment. I was out with couple of people and we were just chilling and drinking beer in front of some building. There was a black guy and his girlfriend as well next to us. So we were talking about random stuff when two guys are passing us. The black guy stops them and asks if they have any weed.. So one of the guys replies "We don't have weed, we are national police.." Watch out!

And the last thing, you are awesome! :)

Olá, boa noite a todos!

Hello, my name is Grete and I'm also doing my internship in the ERASMUS program- I study physiotherapy on the second year.

I see that most of the people have already kept you updated about the wonderful experiences we have all over Europe! Here comes another post about amazing Portugal and Lisbon...

The first thing most of the people here ask is "Why Portugal?". Well, I guess it's the weather and different culture that we northern people seek. Coming here has always been something I've wanted to do and I knew in my heart that it will one day come true...one way or another. I have to say, choosing Lisbon for my internship has been one of the best decisions in my life and it's truly a magical place. 

Olaias subway station

I came here 10 days before my clinical practise was supposed to start to get to know the city and find a place to live. Fortunately I had an opportunity to stay at a friends house for the first few days. 

The trip to Lisbon took me more or less 12 hours since I had to come with three different planes - Tallinn-Copenhagen, Copenhagen-Oslo, Oslo-Lisbon. You can imagine how exhausting this is and even tough we only have a 2-hour time difference with Portugal you can feel it very well. So I slept like a baby for the first night not even noticing the thunder storm outside.

My first home was in Olaias which the people here call a "gypsy place". It has the most beautiful metro station in the whole city and possibly even Europe.

The first days went by fast discovering this amazing city. I felt like I could walk anywhere without feeling tired!Getting used to the cobble stone covered streets of Lisbon that go up and down like a roller-coaster takes some time! But all this is worth it. Since the time for my first meeting with the Erasmus coordinator in school was not sure yet I had some time to relax. The weather in March is usually rainy and this year was no exception. Since there was nothing to do outside you must find other opportunities. So on my second day I went to check out the biggest shopping centre in Europe - Dolce Vita Tejo! Every girls dream I guess...still, you won't believe how quickly one can get tired there.

Centro comercial Dolce Vita in Amadora

 The weather wasn't good for days but I didn't want to stay at home either. Still a bit insecure about travelling in a   city I don't know but slowly everything started to make sense. And actually, I don't think I have for once felt out of place in here...it feels like home.

A few days had passed and I had to start looking for my own place to live. There are a lot of helpful groups  and pages on Facebook that Erasmus students use to find rooms to rent but I found mine on a portuguese website called OLX. I recommend to go and check out the apartment before making any deals because the pictures can be very deceptive. Portuguese people are mostly very kind and helpful people who happily invite you in their home. A lot of them don't speak English but most of them understand it a bit because of the Hollywood movies on TV. My point is that you shouldn't be scared and there's always a way you can manage :)

I moved into my own apartment on the fifth day and my home was now in Anjos (means "Angels" in Portuguese !) It's located on the green metro line and is not considered to be the best in Lisbon. Anjos itself is not that bad but it's next to Intendente which is truly a ghetto. There are many-many different races living in here because of the former colonies of Portugal all around the world.

Hills and cobble stone

Decpite the not-so-good reputation of the green metro line a lot of Erasmus students choose to live near this one. Probably due to the more reasonable rents and maybe the fact that this line takes you directly to down-town where all the fun is happening :))

I think I can be pretty happy with my choice because the bills are included in the rent, there are a lot of shops nearby and the metro is 3 minutes away! Also a bus that stops next to my house takes me to my hospital where I do my internship. Perfect...although I enjoy the 40-minute walk there in the mornings! Another great thing is that I have a backyard which is more than most people in big houses can enjoy.
The life in Portugal isn't cheap comparing to Estonia (note that in Portugal the mean salary is about 200 euros higher). Some prices are the same, some are higher when we talk about food and other things you need for daily living. Clothes, shoes and accessories are 2-3 times cheaper but for a small room in an apartment you have to pay pretty much the price of an entire 1-bedroom apartment in Tartu. Ofcourse depends on the neighbourhood and conditions...
When doing your Erasmus in Lisbon I advise you to find a place where the utilities are included in the rent and note that renting a room without a window is illegal in here.

Anjos is on the green line

I was alone in here for the first few weeks before Liina and Kristina joined!

Alameda park near Anjos - one of my favorite places to chill!

Finally I got to meet some people from my school - another thing to get used to is the portuguese minuteness. When someone wants to meet you at 10 am then you better not expect anyone at least before 10:15. Well, what can I say...they just like to take things slowly! So I waited for my teachers for a good half an hour just to get the information that I have arrived at a bad time because the Easter holiday will start and last for two weeks :D  This meant that I will probably not start my clinical practise before April.
Ofcourse I didn't really have anything against taking some time off and enjoying my stay here for another two weeks...

I only wish the weather would have been better! It was raining pretty much every day until April...until I and Liina had to spend our days in a hospital." What a shame" we thought when we started our clinical practice in the Curry Cabral hospital on the 1st of April. Fortunately we can enjoy the weather afterall - there are only 3 work days in the week ;)

Tejo river - looks more like a sea doesn't it?

The hospital and physiotherapy in here are different from what we are used to at home. At first it was strange to work in a big gymnasium with 20 other physiotherapists together. But it's actually a lot of fun! And one can really learn a lot from just watch other therapists work...
A day doesn't go by without us laughing and having fun. And the patients seem to like it as well since they always say how much they enjoy coming to Curry Cabral.

Pastel de Natal - yummm!

Although most of the patients don't speak English we still find a way to understand eachother. The thing I probably miss the most in here is the communication part. I love to talk with the patients and sometimes just listen to their stories. You can imagine what a wonderful feeling it is when a patient can speak English with you! Still, It is not essential to speak the same language to really connect with someone as I could experience myself when one of my patients brought me a big box of the best portuguese pastries! I must be doing something right :)

Everything is going great so far and I'm very glad I decided to do my internship in Portugal. I have seen some  things I probably would not see in Estonia and I hope there's yet a lot more to come! This experience can not be underestimated.

Praca do Comercial - has a wonderful view of the river
and one of the bridges crossing it

Besides working we also have time to enjoy the Erasmus life and meet a lot of new people. The students in Erasmus program are awesome! Although 3,5 months is not a long time I've still managed to make good friends who are always ready to help.

We have physiotherapists from all over Europe in here and we try to do something fun together when possible. There are also different unions for Erasmus students (ESN, Life Lisboa etc) that arrange hundreds of parties, trips and other activities. Long story short there's ALWAYS something to do in Lisbon! This city doesn't sleep...

Painting is fun!

Talking of fun activities...me and Liina decided to go to this special tandem day arranged by the ESN Lisboa for people with special needs. It was the most touching experience! We visited a small nursing home near the river and spent hours with the most amazing people - played games, painted, danced and hugged....they love to hug! :)
This is the kind of thing that makes you feel so warm inside and you  you just can't stop smiling!

Borboleta :)

 I really hope that we can do something like this again before I leave Lisbon. Something for the heart!

Takes a little to make a girl happy!

Team 1 (my team!) 

Team 2!

 The pictures we painted will be hanged on the wall in their home! I made sure Estonia will be there too! :P

This is a very quick overlook of the time spent here and this could not possibly be described with words good enough!

I'll keep you updated about the warming weather and other great things in here !!

 Beijo! xxx
Grete