One of the girls who studied in my group recommended me a moving company called Achilles. You can either store your belongings at their warehouse during the summer and pay a monthly fee or move your things to a new address.
The last days have been busy in Gdansk. Matilde and I have been packing and moving all our stuff to a new apartment. We moved here with 30-40 kilograms each and after 9-10 months living in Poland we end up having more than double the weight. Furniture, kitchen stuff, desks, chairs, etc. A never-ending story. One way or another moving is always stressful.
Two young men came on Saturday at 11:30 AM and carried the heaviest things. It took us 2 hours from door to door (3rd floor to 3rd floor). They did an amazing job. I am still impressed by their speed and strength. The hourly rate is about 130-150 PLN depending on how high you live. They were really professional and I absolutely recommend them too.
I had to deliver the key back to the agency by Sunday at 11:00 AM. Thus, my last night was spent at La Guitarra hostel. It had been a while since I spent a night in a hostel but I loved it. Good atmosphere and comfortable beds. Plus you get to talk to young people from very different backgrounds and hear a lot of random stories.
For the first time, someone asked me what my impression of Poland and Polish society is after living almost a year in Gdansk. My answer was ‘I don’t really have an opinion about that.’. It might sound weird but I feel like I live in a big bubble which absorbs all my time, effort and willpower. It is all about school, weekly tests, presentations, exams, and so on. Sadly, there is no time to actually live or experience life in a foreign country.
Now that I am back in Oslo I can finally break free and enjoy the summer. What a great feeling!
As medical students, we must do a summer internship (a total of 120 hours). First-year students work as nursing assistants. You can work in your home country (in which case you are responsible for finding a place on your own) or in Poland (a placement will randomly be given to you). Since I worked as an assistant for 3 years prior to medical school it was rather easy to get a summer position in Oslo.
I really want to write about the last exams but I want to do it in a separate post.
For those of you who are starting medicine in the fall: enjoy the summer to the fullest! Recharge your batteries completely because you are going to need good stamina. Classes start on the 2nd of October but you must be in Gdansk on the 25th of September for the Orientation Week.
I don’t necessarily recommend any reading before you start. I did not do it myself and it all went well. However, I am not going to lie: reading a little bit beforehand will help you once you get started.
No need to go deep. Just try to get an overview of the bones, joints, ligaments, vertebral column, etc. For that, you can use books or youtube. A particularly good youtube channel is anatomyzone. Watch the tutorials on upper limb and you will start strong. The amount of information thrown at you, in the beginning, might be overwhelming if you have no idea of what to expect from the lectures/labs. However, if some of the structures are already familiar to you the ‘eureka’ moments will come faster.
In the meanwhile relax, sleep long, be as social as you can be, do all the fun stuff you can think of and have an unforgettable summer!
