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EDSA Visiting Program
Bucharest - Belgrade
5 - 11 November 2007

   It was Monday, 5th of November, when a group of five students from Belgrade’s School of Dentistry met in front of the train station. We were about to leave for Bucharest where we were supposed to attend the Exchange Program for the students of Dental Medicine. Our school is pretty much a newbie in this Program, and this was the first time for all of us to go on this kind of a trip. While the boys (only two of them, our heroes) were showing off with their amazing strength by putting our huuuuuuuge suitcases on the top berths in our compartment the train finally left. We were on our way to Romania (:

On Tuesday, early in the morning, we arrived. I was on the line with Cris, one of our host students, who was waiting for us. We easily recognized him, mostly because of his sleepy and frozen face. It was sooo cold that morning! He lead us to our Hostel where we had a bit of a rest and a few hours later him and Monica came to pick us up and take us to the School. First, they gave us an introducing tour through the center of Bucharest and showed us the way to school. That day we didn’t have a very busy schedule, we only attended the prosthetics labs. The assistants and other students were really kind and interested in showing us around and talking to us, so we were feeling very comfortable and welcome (: In that evening a few students we met that day took us out for a quick drink, because we were still tired from a trip, but it was still a great great day (:

The next morning Cris came again to pick us up, this time with a surprise – coffee and some pastry for all of us! Oh, happy faces (: That day we attended pediatrics dentistry class and after a break for lunch and a bit of sightseeing we also attended orthodontic class. Maybe those labs were the biggest surprise for us, because they were much different from the ones we had back home. But the assistant and our colleagues were great and we caught up with this different method of work really quickly. In the evening we went for a walk through Bucharest and then for a few drinks and a chat with our Romanian colleagues in a nice pub (:

Thursday. Free morning before our obligations at the Faculty. Some of us went for a walk around Bucharest, while the others (sleepyheads (:) were having some extra sleep (beauty sleep, I should say (:). We all met at the School where first we finally met Irina (: and then we attended surgery class. Afterwards we wondered a bit through a Shopping Mall (paradise for girls, of course) and in the evening finally – paaaarty (: It was also one of our host’s birthday and the others made him a surprise in a great club with a live band. It was a fantastic day!

It was sooo hard to wake up on Friday morning and we had such a busy schedule. So, no mercy, everybody had to wake up on time and make themselves beautiful – first we had a meeting with the Dean. He was great, talked to us, asked us about our School and our country, about our impressions of the visit and then showed us around the Implantology Clinic. Then, a visit to our Embassy. And then, finally, free afternoon! Monica showed us around Bucharest, and since she studied for a tourist guide, she really knows a lot!! We saw the Residence of Patriarch and a monument of a man who united Romania. I think this was the day when it came completely natural to us to talk in English all the time, even among ourselves (: That evening was the right time for another party, this time in a big and cool club..

After only a few hours of sleep we were on the road again! Irina and the boys took us to the mountains! More specific, to the mountain Sinaia to show us castles! It was lightly snowing when we got there, and it was the first snow for us this year (: Great! We were really impressed by the castles and took millions of photos there! Afterwards, we had a real traditional meal and by the time our lunch was over it was REALLY snowing outside (: Woohoo! While we were driving back to Bucharest, we were all already making plans for that evening – our last evening there (: New club, some new and some old people, but great fun again (: I still can’t believe how little sleep we had those days but I have almost never hears any of my colleagues complaining about it.. We just wanted to see it all (:

Sunday was the last day.. We quickly packed and put our entire luggage in one room and hit the road. The girls went with Vlad for a Tour through the Parliament, something you MUST see when you come to Bucharest and the boys, who have already visited the Parliament one of the previous days, went for a walk around with Irina. A few hours before our train was supposed to leave, we all met at Irina’s place. Most of our hosts were already there. They all came to say goodbye to us (: After picking up our luggage, we and our complete host family went to the station. We said goodbye to all of our hosts and made them promise us that they will all come for a visit to Belgrade (: They’d better keep their promise! We’re not joking (: (: (: Exhausted, we were sleeping the whole way back.. when we woke up, through windows we saw familiar sights – our city (:

I’d like to use this opportunity to thank all of our host students – Irina, Monica, Alina, Cris, Vlad, Mircea and all the others for being so great to us and so patient in showing us around; also all of their assistants and professors, and their Faculty’s Dean for their hospitality. We are all looking forward to March this year when Romanian delegation will come to Belgrade, for another Exchange visit (:

It was a great experience, both professional and private, and we can only hope that this Program will grow bigger every year (: This trip will definitely be one of our favorite memories from our student’s days (:”

Dina Dabic
5th year student
Belgrade’s School of Dentistry

THANK YOU ALL FOR ATTENDING!

 
 
  
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