The last few weeks have been packed. While I feel like I haven't stopped, I'm leaving for Continental Europe tomorrow afternoon and wanted to update this before I left. I am so excited about my three week eurorail trip, and I can't wait to see so many different cities and countries. I'm going to keep my own travel journal while I'm gone, but I'll be sure to post the highlights and tons of pictures when I return :). I know I will be thinking about all of my friends and family while I am gone and wishing you were all here with me. I'm also sure I will be thinking about my finals that begin in six weeks, but since I've been keeping up with the work I'm sure those will go well.
Anyways, I will start where I left off on my last entry from Monday March 15th. Monday night I went out dancing at tigertiger with my friend Jenni and her boyfriend who was on spring break. Monday is tigertiger's student night, so cover was inexpensive and there were a ton of London students. I had a great time dancing and meeting people, and I know it is something I will want to do again before I leave this amazing city. While Tuesday was a quiet day, Wednesday was quite an interesting St. Patrick's Day. Along with having the Practice of Medicine class as normal, our class spent St. Patrick's Day at the Old Operating Theatre and Herb Garret where we got to see what surgery was like before the use of anaesthetics and antiseptics. It was an amazing museum, and I'd recommend it to any medical student who happens to come to London. Friday I had my lab practical in my physiology class, which was an interesting experience due to the fact that one of us had to preform an exercise test in order for the rest of us to determine their VO2max. My friend Danielle volunteered, and while I kept trying to cheer her on, I was only making her laugh...I'm just glad I didn't have to do the experiment! After class, Danielle and I met up with Danielle's friend on spring break and Danielle's boyfriend to have dinner at Bella Italia, an amazing London Italian chain restaurant. While the week was nice, the week to follow would be one of my favorites in London.
Filled with Brits and a phi mu, this past week was absolutely brilliant. Two Sundays ago, my friend Sulin invited me over to her London School of Economics Flat building where her British friends hosted a tea society. It was so cool getting to talk and play games with the English students, especially since my flat is not very conducive to meeting people. While I loved the tea and cakes, I loved the company more. I spent the rest of the day studying at Sulin's flat along with our friends Rich and Joelle, and went to dinner at Nando's for a tasty chicken dinner. Since last week was my last full week of classes, Monday and Tuesday were spent writing essays. Wednesday however, was absolutely amazing since along with shadowing in the minor injuries unit, I also got to see the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra perform Stravinsky's The Firebird. Joelle found cheap student tickets and I loved listening to the orchestra preform. After the concert, our group grabbed brownies with one of Jason's female friends from back home. She is actually going into the air force and I was impressed by her stories. Nevertheless, my favorite part of last week was the last few days when Alex A. came to visit.
Alex is another one of my sorority sisters from Case, and after she graduated from undergrad she decided to spend a year teaching English to French students in Paris. I loved having her visit, and right after class on Friday we began our adventure. On Friday, we roamed through Kensington gardens, saw beautiful rainbows, went to the Peter Pan Statue from Hook, ate cupcakes from Hummingbird Bakery in Notting Hill, went window shopping on Oxford Street and Regent Street, had dinner in China Town with her French friend, and saw Chicago for half price. Our seats for Chicago were amazing, and while I'd seen the show in Cleveland, it didn't compare to the London performance. I also blew up an air mattress that I borrowed from Jenni by myself, and was quite proud of my accomplishment :). Saturday, we woke up early and went to platform 9 3/4 at King's Cross Station from Harry Potter and then made our way to Camden town where I got an amazing summer dress for just a few pounds. I then went back with her to Piccadilly Circus, stopping in Traflagar square to show her the lions and quatrefoils. While Alex spent the night with other friends, I did meet back up with her in the morning when we saw Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. Both absolutely amazing sights, I loved learning about all of the history of the British royalty. My favorite part though was seeing a 530 karate white diamond, which is the biggest diamond with perfect clarity in the world. I was sad to leave Alex at the end of the day, but I know she had an amazing time in London.
Finally, last but definitely not least, today I accomplished one of my dreams in coming to London. I spent the entire day shadowing on Labor and Delivery at St. Thomas' Hospital. In total, I saw five healthy baby boys come into the world, three via cesarean and two using forceps. One of the forcep deliveries was meant to be a natural birth, and therefore the woman did not have an epidural...when I have babies I will definitely want an epidural haha. Also, it was really interesting to see the forcep deliveries because they are not typically used in America. Another interesting note was that they actually used heroine to give one of the women a spinal tap before the cesarean, which they would never do in the United States. I loved talking with all the doctors, junior doctors (residents), and the patients about the differences between the United States and the United Kingdom in regards to the birthing process. While I was tired and hungry after standing and not eating from 8:30-5:00 today, watching the beautiful babies being born was definitely worth it.
I'm going to miss London in these next few weeks, but I cannot wait to explore other parts of Europe. I'm sending lots of love across the ocean :) xx
Monday, 29 March 2010
Monday, 15 March 2010
Old Friends and New Places
No two weeks are ever the same in London. Last week was wonderful and busy, mostly as a result of shadowing physicians. As I posted in my last blog entry, I shadowed three doctors on Monday. However, in regards to unwritten experiences, last Wednesday I started the day shadowing in Neonatology in St. Thomas' Hospital with Anna C. It was really interesting to have the opportunity to explore the NICU and learn about some of the patients. Some of the most memorable parts for me included seeing notes from their parents posted on the walls. One of the dads even rewrote the song "Staying Alive" from his premature son's perspective. I also liked seeing some of the parents practicing Kangaroo Care, which is something I did research on at University Hospitals my freshman and sophomore years at Case.
After shadowing, Anna and I grabbed a quick bite before heading over to the Practice of Medicine Class. Immediately after class, I grabbed a tube to Victoria Station, where I was excited to see one of my sorority sisters Shauna G. Shauna was staying in South Hampton for spring break, and decided to see a concert in London with one of her friends last Wednesday night. Since I was seeing Wicked near the Victoria Station and she was arriving in London from the Victoria Station, we figured it would be the perfect place to meet up. I loved hearing stories from back home and talking to her English friend. We also had a pretty good dinner at Garfunkel's, which is a chain restaurant, before taking typical phi mu pictures and parting ways. I'm excited because I know I will be seeing at least one more phi mu sister in a few weeks when she comes to visit in London. Its so nice seeing faces from back home, and I love planning for visitors.
Once dinner was over, I rushed to the Apollo Theatre where I saw Wicked for the third time. (I'd already seen it in New York and Cleveland). Since its my favorite show, I, of course, thought it was wonderful, but the British accents definitely threw me off a bit. It was also really nice because since Butler organized it, the tickets were only 14 pounds which is significantly cheaper than anything I could have got on my own.
The rest of the week was pretty typical in that I had lots of classes and went to Borough Market for lunch on Friday. Saturday however, was our last pre-paid Butler trip, and we spent the day at Shepherd Neame Brewery and Dover Castle. While I was able to appreciate the history behind the oldest brewery in England, I'm not a beer drinker so the tasting aspect of the experience was not incredibly exciting. Dover Castle was beautiful though, and I wish we had more time to explore the grounds. Saturday was also Jason's 20th birthday, so Jason, Sulin, and I went to China Town in London to celebrate. I had a lot of different foods, including a preserved duck egg that Sulin told me was a century old. The day was also really nice because when I got home, I had a beautiful and tasty box of chocolates waiting for me from Jacob. I know I'm a lucky girl :).
Finally, Sunday (yesterday), I woke up early to grab brunch with Michele, Annie, Rebecca, and a few of Rebecca's friends. We went to this wonderful place on Bermondsey Street where I had fresh squeezed orange juice and eggs hollandaise. It was a very quaint restaurant, and I loved the huge windows. After brunch, Michele and I headed to the St. Patrick's Day festival and Parade in Trafalgar Square. While the parade was not exactly what I was expecting (I was thinking more along the lines of Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade), we had a lot fun seeing the Irish dancers and eating tiny freshly made doughnuts. There were hundreds of thousands of people there, and it was incredible to be a part of something so big.
Since I only have two weeks left of classes before break begins, I know I will be spending a lot of time reading and writing. Nevertheless, I know I will continue exploring London and loving being abroad.
After shadowing, Anna and I grabbed a quick bite before heading over to the Practice of Medicine Class. Immediately after class, I grabbed a tube to Victoria Station, where I was excited to see one of my sorority sisters Shauna G. Shauna was staying in South Hampton for spring break, and decided to see a concert in London with one of her friends last Wednesday night. Since I was seeing Wicked near the Victoria Station and she was arriving in London from the Victoria Station, we figured it would be the perfect place to meet up. I loved hearing stories from back home and talking to her English friend. We also had a pretty good dinner at Garfunkel's, which is a chain restaurant, before taking typical phi mu pictures and parting ways. I'm excited because I know I will be seeing at least one more phi mu sister in a few weeks when she comes to visit in London. Its so nice seeing faces from back home, and I love planning for visitors.
Once dinner was over, I rushed to the Apollo Theatre where I saw Wicked for the third time. (I'd already seen it in New York and Cleveland). Since its my favorite show, I, of course, thought it was wonderful, but the British accents definitely threw me off a bit. It was also really nice because since Butler organized it, the tickets were only 14 pounds which is significantly cheaper than anything I could have got on my own.
The rest of the week was pretty typical in that I had lots of classes and went to Borough Market for lunch on Friday. Saturday however, was our last pre-paid Butler trip, and we spent the day at Shepherd Neame Brewery and Dover Castle. While I was able to appreciate the history behind the oldest brewery in England, I'm not a beer drinker so the tasting aspect of the experience was not incredibly exciting. Dover Castle was beautiful though, and I wish we had more time to explore the grounds. Saturday was also Jason's 20th birthday, so Jason, Sulin, and I went to China Town in London to celebrate. I had a lot of different foods, including a preserved duck egg that Sulin told me was a century old. The day was also really nice because when I got home, I had a beautiful and tasty box of chocolates waiting for me from Jacob. I know I'm a lucky girl :).
Finally, Sunday (yesterday), I woke up early to grab brunch with Michele, Annie, Rebecca, and a few of Rebecca's friends. We went to this wonderful place on Bermondsey Street where I had fresh squeezed orange juice and eggs hollandaise. It was a very quaint restaurant, and I loved the huge windows. After brunch, Michele and I headed to the St. Patrick's Day festival and Parade in Trafalgar Square. While the parade was not exactly what I was expecting (I was thinking more along the lines of Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade), we had a lot fun seeing the Irish dancers and eating tiny freshly made doughnuts. There were hundreds of thousands of people there, and it was incredible to be a part of something so big.
Since I only have two weeks left of classes before break begins, I know I will be spending a lot of time reading and writing. Nevertheless, I know I will continue exploring London and loving being abroad.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Studying Medicine and Adventure Weekend in Wales
Once again, all I can say is wow :). These last two weeks have been incredibly packed, but I have been loving every minute of it. The main reason I didn't write last week is because I had my first paper due (yes I am working over here, haha), and had to devote a lot of time to researching and narrowing down a very broad topic for my sociological and psychological studies module. Along with writing the paper, the week after I got back from Dublin I had one of the most interesting Practice of Medicine classes so far. Paid, professional actors came in and gave the class different scenarios to work out in order to give us practice talking to patients. I'm happy to say I didn't have any problems with the task of dealing with a talkative patient, but it was interesting to watch a lot of my classmates go through the process and see how they dealt with different problems. I also had a lot of other good news last week, mainly in that I got accepted into the masters program in Bioethics at Case and that I am a grandbig in my sorority Phi Mu. In regards to the masters program, as a result of getting accepted into the Integrated Graduate Studies Program at CWRU, I will graduate with a B.A. in Psychology, two minors in chemistry and biology, and a M.A. in Bioethics all in four years. I am really excited about the masters since I have taken a few bioethics courses before and have absolutely loved them. I am also really excited to be a grandbig to Mara G., (Mara is my little's (Alexa F.'s) little) and am so happy that my sorority family is growing.
Last weekend, along with writing my paper, I spent Saturday exploring Portobello market in Notting Hill with a few friends. I didn't buy too much for myself, but I did manage to get another amazing cupcake from the Hummingbird bakery. The market was amazing and was filled with everything from vintage jewelery to freshly made crepes. There is still so much of London that I need to see, and I can't wait to spend a few weekends exploring. I also went on a hunt to watch the Canada vs. U.S. Gold metal hockey game on Sunday night which ended up turning into a night walk around London with another group of friends. We did eventually find a bar that was showing the game, but due to the building being filled to capacity and the fact that there was no places to sit, I ended up ducking out early. It was definitely an experience though, mainly because most people were rooting for Canada.
With paper writing and classes, this past week was mostly devoted to studying and writing. One of the coolest parts of the week was again the Practice of Medicine class where we learned how to take medical histories. The class was made even more exciting because the guest lecturer went to Case for his residency. I love how well known my undergrad institution is in the medical field and I hope it will assist me on my path to medical school.
All in all, my favorite parts in the past two weeks definitely occurred during the past few days. This past weekend I went to Wales for the IFSA Butler Adventure Weekend. Since the trip was originally included in our tuition fees, over 200 students studying abroad in London left Friday morning for a five hour coach ride to northern Wales. After arriving at the Queen Victoria Hotel in Llanberis, we had a buffet dinner and then had a pub quiz with various categories. While the hotel reminded me a little bit of the hotel from "The Shinning," I had a great time Friday night exploring the building and talking to one of my roommates for the weekend.
Saturday morning we had to be up bright and early for our two adventures. Since I registered early, I got my first choices and was able to go on the half day hike and go repelling. When I signed up for the half day hike, I was definitely thinking more along the lines of nature walk, but while my heart was racing, I made it to the top of one of the mountains in Snowdonia. I felt fantastic after the hike, and am hoping I get to do a little more hiking when I get back to the states. I also did repelling in the afternoon, which was a blast, even though I was admittedly a little scared. Since I've done repelling before in tenth grade, I knew what to expect. Nevertheless, standing on the side of a cliff made me over think my fear of heights. It was definitely worth it though, and I am so glad that Butler put this trip together for us since I would never have organized something like that on my own. Saturday night we had a wonderful dinner at the hotel and had a pretty amusing dance party afterwards. While the music was not exactly what the majority of us wanted to hear, we all had a good time dancing and meeting new people.
Sunday morning we woke up early for breakfast and headed to the seaside town of Llandudno before heading back to London. The town and the weather was beautiful, and I'm glad I got to walk along the pier and have inexpensive fish and chips. We then got back on the bus and went home, all while singing songs and catching up with people from the first orientation.
Finally, even though I was exhausted from the weekend, yesterday was absolutely incredible. I began my day at 6:30 in the morning, and saw two abdominal myomectomys (the removal of fibroids) for three hours, one cardiopulmonary bypass surgery with six bypass grafts for four and a half hours, and nine general practice consolations for three hours. While the abdominal myomectomys and gp consultations were incredibly interesting, my favorite part was definitely the cardiopumonary bypass surgery. Don't read the rest of this paragraph if you get squimish!!!! Anyways, Josh, another one of my classmates from the Practice of Medicine Class, and I were always positioned perfectly so that we could have easily reached out and touched everything during the surgeries. While I have seen a a ton of different Ob/Gyn surgeries, the bypass was so different than anything I had ever seen before. This was mainly because we saw them use a surgical saw to cut open the patent's sternum and then saw the lungs working and the heart pumping. Due to the surgery being a bypass, we also saw them shut the lungs and heart off while the cardiac surgeon placed grafts from the I.M.A.s, a radial artery, and a long saphgnous vein around the blockage in one of the arteries. Finally, it was incredible to see the surgeons tie the chest back together with surgical steel. It was so interesting, and all of the doctors were wonderful in that they answered all of my questions. I also liked how the doctors were listening to Led Zeppelin and ACDC while they were preforming the surgery since it reminded me of surgical experiences I have had while shadowing in the U.S.A. While the bypass surgery was a lot bloodier than I thought it would be, Josh and I learned so much that could not have been possibly taught in a classroom.
I am really excited about the rest of this week as well since I will be doing a lot more shadowing, seeing the musical Wicked again, and going on another day trip with Butler. I am definitely expecting the next few months to be even busier than then the first two, and I am so happy to have this opportunity to study abroad. Keep sending emails and I miss everyone back home in the U.S. :).
Last weekend, along with writing my paper, I spent Saturday exploring Portobello market in Notting Hill with a few friends. I didn't buy too much for myself, but I did manage to get another amazing cupcake from the Hummingbird bakery. The market was amazing and was filled with everything from vintage jewelery to freshly made crepes. There is still so much of London that I need to see, and I can't wait to spend a few weekends exploring. I also went on a hunt to watch the Canada vs. U.S. Gold metal hockey game on Sunday night which ended up turning into a night walk around London with another group of friends. We did eventually find a bar that was showing the game, but due to the building being filled to capacity and the fact that there was no places to sit, I ended up ducking out early. It was definitely an experience though, mainly because most people were rooting for Canada.
With paper writing and classes, this past week was mostly devoted to studying and writing. One of the coolest parts of the week was again the Practice of Medicine class where we learned how to take medical histories. The class was made even more exciting because the guest lecturer went to Case for his residency. I love how well known my undergrad institution is in the medical field and I hope it will assist me on my path to medical school.
All in all, my favorite parts in the past two weeks definitely occurred during the past few days. This past weekend I went to Wales for the IFSA Butler Adventure Weekend. Since the trip was originally included in our tuition fees, over 200 students studying abroad in London left Friday morning for a five hour coach ride to northern Wales. After arriving at the Queen Victoria Hotel in Llanberis, we had a buffet dinner and then had a pub quiz with various categories. While the hotel reminded me a little bit of the hotel from "The Shinning," I had a great time Friday night exploring the building and talking to one of my roommates for the weekend.
Saturday morning we had to be up bright and early for our two adventures. Since I registered early, I got my first choices and was able to go on the half day hike and go repelling. When I signed up for the half day hike, I was definitely thinking more along the lines of nature walk, but while my heart was racing, I made it to the top of one of the mountains in Snowdonia. I felt fantastic after the hike, and am hoping I get to do a little more hiking when I get back to the states. I also did repelling in the afternoon, which was a blast, even though I was admittedly a little scared. Since I've done repelling before in tenth grade, I knew what to expect. Nevertheless, standing on the side of a cliff made me over think my fear of heights. It was definitely worth it though, and I am so glad that Butler put this trip together for us since I would never have organized something like that on my own. Saturday night we had a wonderful dinner at the hotel and had a pretty amusing dance party afterwards. While the music was not exactly what the majority of us wanted to hear, we all had a good time dancing and meeting new people.
Sunday morning we woke up early for breakfast and headed to the seaside town of Llandudno before heading back to London. The town and the weather was beautiful, and I'm glad I got to walk along the pier and have inexpensive fish and chips. We then got back on the bus and went home, all while singing songs and catching up with people from the first orientation.
Finally, even though I was exhausted from the weekend, yesterday was absolutely incredible. I began my day at 6:30 in the morning, and saw two abdominal myomectomys (the removal of fibroids) for three hours, one cardiopulmonary bypass surgery with six bypass grafts for four and a half hours, and nine general practice consolations for three hours. While the abdominal myomectomys and gp consultations were incredibly interesting, my favorite part was definitely the cardiopumonary bypass surgery. Don't read the rest of this paragraph if you get squimish!!!! Anyways, Josh, another one of my classmates from the Practice of Medicine Class, and I were always positioned perfectly so that we could have easily reached out and touched everything during the surgeries. While I have seen a a ton of different Ob/Gyn surgeries, the bypass was so different than anything I had ever seen before. This was mainly because we saw them use a surgical saw to cut open the patent's sternum and then saw the lungs working and the heart pumping. Due to the surgery being a bypass, we also saw them shut the lungs and heart off while the cardiac surgeon placed grafts from the I.M.A.s, a radial artery, and a long saphgnous vein around the blockage in one of the arteries. Finally, it was incredible to see the surgeons tie the chest back together with surgical steel. It was so interesting, and all of the doctors were wonderful in that they answered all of my questions. I also liked how the doctors were listening to Led Zeppelin and ACDC while they were preforming the surgery since it reminded me of surgical experiences I have had while shadowing in the U.S.A. While the bypass surgery was a lot bloodier than I thought it would be, Josh and I learned so much that could not have been possibly taught in a classroom.
I am really excited about the rest of this week as well since I will be doing a lot more shadowing, seeing the musical Wicked again, and going on another day trip with Butler. I am definitely expecting the next few months to be even busier than then the first two, and I am so happy to have this opportunity to study abroad. Keep sending emails and I miss everyone back home in the U.S. :).
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