trip to Tromsø

Karin & I spent a few days in Arctic Circle, staying in the city of Tromso. We took a direct flight to Tromso on Sunday, arriving around 1 pm. We were greeted by 2 smiling faces when we landed: Mandy, my friend from high school, and her friend, John. They are both studying in Tromso for 6 months. It was really fun to see Mandy again and to have tour guides around the city! We took the bus to the city center and they helped us find our hotel and check in. We stayed at the Viking Hotell Tromso, only a few blocks from the clinic we would be shadowing in. After getting settled in, Mandy & John went back to their place to work on homework and Karin and I walked around the city and picked up some dinner. Enjoyed take out while watching cable TV that night.

Gunhild, one of our professors at the dental school, arranged for us to spend Monday and Tuesday in a speciality clinic in Tromso. On Monday morning, we walked to the clinic to meet the staff and get orientated with the clinic. We spent the day working with a tennelege (dentist) specializing in perio- Kari, and her two tannepleies (hygienists) Rande & Solveig. We learned a lot about their periodontal program, control appointments, and protocols. There are only 2 periodontists in northern Norway, Kari in Tromso and one in Finnmark. Therefore, the waiting list to become a patient of Kari's is over 2 years. We spent most of the day observing control appointments and asking questions. The clinic also houses many other dental professionals, including an endodontist, prosthedontist, orthodontist, and two general dentists. After clinic, Karin & I walked around the shops in the city and ran into Mandy shopping! 

On Tuesday, we returned to the specialty clinic again and spent the day with all the specialists. It was really interesting to pop in and out of rooms to get a taste of what each specialist does. We saw some crazy decay and a gigantic cyst with the general dentist, unique cases with the endodontist, and learned more about ortho with the orthodontist. The orthodontist practicing at the clinic had actually spent a semester as an exchange student at the U of MN when he was in dental school! He lived in Psi Omega and was on the rowing team! He kept asking us about Moos tower and faculty! We had a great day on Tuesday in the clinic and were sad to say goodbye to everyone there! Mandy & John met up with us after clinic and we attempted to hike a snowy mountain, sadly it was impossible because the trails were covered in snow and the cable car had shut down by the time we got there. It was still a nice sunny day! We said goodbye to our hotel and headed to Mandy's to stay. Made some awesome tacos with the North Americas- Karin, Mandy & me from Minnesota, John from Iowa, and Anna from Canada- it felt like home! 

We had Wednesday free to explore the city. First, Karin & I took a tour of Tromso's brand new dental school. It just opened in 2007 and it was the most beautiful dental school I had ever seen! Brand new technology and the building was very modern- like art. After our time there, we headed to the Tromso Museum to learn! John, Mandy, Karin & I walked around the exhibits and learned more about the Sami people. The Sami are the original inhabitants of northern Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Russia. Went back to the city center and continued to explore and walk around. Soon it was time to grab our bag and get to the airport! We were so sad to leave Mandy & John- they were such great hosts! But we were ready to get back to Bergen, where it gets dark at night! The crazy sun in Tromso never set- it was always light and it messed with our sleep cycles! We flew to Oslo and then Oslo to Bergen, I was hoping that there would be a Starbucks in the Oslo airport...I have been craving my usual for a while now but I think it will have to wait to the journey back when we have a layover in Amsterdam. Karin & I arrived back to our place around 1 am and hit the sack! Had a lecture this morning with our favorite, Gunhild, and then spent the afternoon in a public health clinic seeing patients. Now I need to unpack from this trip and get re-packed for the weekend. Leaving tomorrow (Friday) for Oslo! Roadtrip with Yi Hu!!!