Saturday at a Royal Society

One of the perks about the LSHTM is that it is well-connected to the many different global health and medical societies of London, the UK and even the world.  The Royal Society of Medicine and the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (RSTM&H) are just two examples.  Not only are the School's students eligible for membership in these organisations, but we are able to attend the different meetings and conferences sponsored by them.  Today's meeting on neglected tropical diseases (NTD) was no exception.

Although it was a Saturday and I had to get up @ 7.30 to make the 9 meeting, the meeting was worth it.  The participants were treated to fascinating lectures on schistosomiasis, leprosy, lymphatic filariasis, etc.  The presenters were world-class as well; many of the speakers were World Health Organisation programme or office directors and staff, university professors who were the leaders in their respective fields and leaders in other global health organisations.  Attendees also were able to receive free membership to the RSTM&H!  Jealous?

Unfortunately, though, my parents left this morning to return to the States.  That put a damper on the day.  I had such a good time with them, as well as with my sister when I went to Spain to visit them all.  Hopefully they had a good time too! 

Granada (plus London) con mi familia

Every Friday, my course mates ask me: "Drew, where are you going this weekend?"  It was no surprise to them that this week I answered with a location outside of London: "Granada, Spain."  However, I had a reason to hop on a budget airline with its destination being another European country.  My parents would be visiting my sister, so I figured that I'd go and spend time with them because I would not be going home for Christmas this year.

We had good, quality family time.  Amy was able to take us around the city to show us the main sights.  The coolest attraction, by far, was the Alhambra.  This fortress was the last stronghold of the Moors in Spain.  Not only was the architecture and grounds amazingly beautiful (i.e. the arched doorways, tiled floors and walls, intricate wooden ceilings and carved walls), but the views of the city from the compound were beautiful.  ¡Me gusta!  I thought that the city's main cathedral was lovely, too, but it didn't compare with la Alhambra!

Now, my parents are visiting me in London!  They will be here until Saturday.  We are having a good time.  Unfortunately I have class during the day, so I am only able to see them for lunch, dinner and some of the evening following food.  This works out because they are able to see all of the sights that I have already seen, plus visit all of the touristy shops that I LOATHE.  I will be able to be with them all day Friday, though.

P.S.: Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Course Choices

Our selection for our modules in the upcoming terms, Terms 2 & 3, were due today.  It seems as if I wasn't the only one who was stressing out about which courses we should take; everyone was debating with others and themselves on which courses would be the best.  The course director for the Control of Infectious Diseases, as well as all of the literature pertaining to module selection, stressed how important our choices were and how it was difficult to change them once we submitted the form.  However, we were given some direction on how to go about picking the courses (i.e. choose the courses that are pertinent to what you want to do as a summer project and what you ultimately want to do as a career), in addition to the course descriptions and previous timetables.  It was still difficult to choose the six courses because many interesting and applicable to what I'd like to do, especially when a single time slot had several courses that would be useful.  Overall, I decided to go heavy on skills-based modules, which would give me a firm understanding of epidemiology and public health [studies].

After much vacillation between "final decisions" on what exactly to choose, this is what my next two terms look like:
Primary Health Care: Principles, Applications and Challenges
Design and Analysis of Epidemiological Studies
Disease Control Programmes in Developing Countries
Epidemiology of Communicable Diseases
Applying Public Health Principles in Developing Countries
Control of Reproductive Tract Infections/Sexually Transmitted Infections

I am happy with my final [final final final final...] decision.  It is possible to take courses, such as Health Care Evaluation and AIDS, as "distance learning" courses.  These won't count towards my final MSc marks, but I will be able to maximise my knowledge and experience here.
 

8 days + 4 cities + 2 countries & continents = 1 GREAT Reading Week

Half of the first term has already expired.  It has been scary how fast my short time at the LSHTM is melting away.  Since I am only plan on being here for a year, I decided to make the most of my fall break ("Reading Week" as it is called) by leaving Britain to explore Europe and the surrounding area.  I decided that Spain and Morocco were the perfect candidates for such an excursion.  I did bring school work with the intention of actually doing some reading, but, as per usual, I didn't get as much studying in as I would have liked.

First on the list was Barcelona, Spain.  My sister, Amy, is currently studying in Granada, which is in the south of the country.  I had never been to Spain before, so I figured it would be appropriate to make sure that my little sister was doing well by visiting her.  We both heard stories of how Barcelona was a picturesque city, culturally different than the rest of Spain in its Catalan hertiage, with many things to do and see, so we went!  The visit was a spectacular start to the week: the weather was warm, the monuments were appealing and the city's pace was relatively laid-back.  Our weekend rendez-vous started off at the Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudi's unfinished cathedral.  It was off to Gaudi's Parc Güell, which also boasted unique and interesting architectural features.  We slowly made our way across the city to pass the rest of the day, and finished the evening with a stop at the Picasso Museum and a water, light and music show at the Magic Fountains.  Another park, the Parc de Montjuïc, and the castle within it was the highlight of our second day.  We took the cable cars up to the castle, which boasted gorgeous panoramic views of the city.  Before parting ways, we visited Las Ramblas, a major thoroughfare for shopping and down the city's centre and Barri Gòtic (Gothic Neighbourhood).  Sadly, our time together in Barcelona finished before we were able to see anything else.

Amy and I both went south after parting ways: she to Granada, and me to Marrakech in southern Morocco.  This was my first trip to a predominately-Muslim country.  What a phenomenal cultural experience.  It didn't feel like I was in Africa, but in the Middle East.  It's easy to see why North Africa is classified with the Middle East in reports and other endeavours: the climate was warm, dry and not far from a desert, the major religion is shared and many foods and other cultural practices are similar.  If you ever have a chance to go to Morocco, GO!

Whilst in Marrakech, I was able to meet one of my course mates who also was visiting the city.  It was nice to have company as in Barcelona.  We were able to visit several crowded souks (markets), hidden and crumbling palaces, ancient tombs and ornately-decorated madersas (Islamic schools).  Too bad we couldn't go into any mosques because we weren't Muslim, otherwise we would have basically seen just about everything in the Medina (the walled, old city)!  Not only was it nice to see the sights during the day, but the main square--in which snake charmers, monkey trainers and assorted vendors selling fruits, souvenirs and crafts were located--turned into steaming, white-roofed food stalls at night.  We ate at Stall no. 95, where only Moroccans were eating.  That is a good sign; the tourist stalls were overpriced and selling the exact same things.  We made a good choice because the lentils and mint tea were delicious.  It only set us back 15 dirhams, or 1,5€ (about $2).  Not only were these experiences culturally and historically rich, but the food was amazingly good and cheap, too!  Also, given that Morocco was an ex-colony of France, I was able to speak French with basically everyone!  I really would like to continue to better my language skills since I was already starting to get a bit rusty from not speaking it regularly for about a year now.

The 1.5 days that I spent in the city was a good introduction, but not enough as was the case in Barcelona.  However, it was time to catch the train to Fès, a city the northern part of the country.  The train ride was long--8 hours (Marrakech in the centre south to Casablanca and Rabat [the capital] on the Atlantic coast to my final destination in the centre north)--but nice because I was able to meet some extremely kind Moroccans and see vast parts of the country: deserts, mountains, the ocean, fields and many communities, both large and small.  I had conversations with a young businessman working on microfinance, an elderly couple heading into the capital for business and a Master's student who ended up showing me the way to my hotel in Fès.

I was less-impressed with Fès than what I expected to be.  I stayed in the new part of the city and had a hard time finding my way into the Medina.  However, once there, I was able to wind my way through the narrow, food and souvenir stall-lined passages to eventually find some of the famed madersas and tanneries.  These sights were impressive, but I had lost the initial awe from being in an unfamiliar place with an unfamiliar culture.  Furthermore, I was getting tired of people hassling me to come into their stall for "just a look" and random people trying to act as my tour guide.  Too bad for them that I was an increasingly-annoyed, cheap and [relatively] poor student.  All I wanted to do was spend the day exploring the city--I didn't care if I got lost (if I did, I would have went nuts).

After spending the typical 1.5-2 days in the city, I moved on.  This time it was to Madrid.  The cheapest flight from Morocco to London was via Spain.  Before I went on holiday, I couldn't decide to which major Spanish city I'd go: Barcelona or Madrid.  I settled on both!  I was quite exhausted by the time I arrived.  I saw all I wanted to see in the subsequent 1.5 days, though: the Palacio Real, Plaza de España and de Cibeles, the Prado and Reina Sofia Museums (the latter houses many of Picasso's works, most notably "Guernica"), Puerta del Sol, the Gran Via, Botanical Gardens and Alacá Gate.  By Sunday, despite the fact that I had a wonderful culturally and historically rich holiday, I was ready to return back home to London.  Madrid never slept!

Overall, I had such a great time over Reading Week.  I was glad that I was able to explore several unique and culturally diverse places (thank you Ryanair and easyJet for your almost comically cheap flights).  I will admit that I was a bit over ambitious, as per usual, in trying to maximise my [travel] experiences over the week in going to so many cities/destinations.  I do feel that I was able to gain an appreciation for the peoples, cultures, art, architecture, etc. of each place that I visited, though.  Sadly, though, I feel as if I did a naughty thing by venturing beyond Europe's borders--I now am even more curious and willing to take chances on going to more "exotic" places in less-travelled and less-developed countries.  Merde ?

It's back to Spain this weekend (Granada) to spend time with my parents (who are over to visit my sister and I).  However, Dublin follows that as the city of choice for the 1st weekend of December and Germany + Greece? or Turkey? or ??? over the Christmas holiday...

...I promise that I am going to school here in London, haha.

                                 

An Eventful Week-ish

This past week/week-and-a-half have been rather busy.  In addition to my school commitments--reading, preparation for lectures, etc.--I have had several non-school functions that were notable.  I am trying to find a balance between school and the MANY activities that are part of living in London.  Hopefully my efforts aren't in vain.

Halloween in London isn't much different from the "holiday" back in the States.  Everyone my age, where my age is the range associated with being a student in uni, takes it as a chance to go out and have a good night out on the town.  Let's just say that trick-or-treating wasn't on the agenda.  I don't think that it is for little children, either.  I'm not exactly sure, so take that statement/observation with scepticism.  Regardless, I couldn't decide what to be.  One of my mates who lives in Connaught Hall with me was going out to Camden Town, a London borough just north of mine (Camden), to get a costume.  After seeing all of the touristy shops/stalls in the markets, I decided to go as an obnoxious American tourist.  It was awesomely bad: I got sun glasses and a tie with the Union Jack plastered on them, as well as an "I ♥ London" shirt to go along with my fanny pack, tour book and camera.  With my shorts, long socks and American-style 'trainers' (tennis shoes) on, pretty much everyone knew what I was when I arrived in the bar for the [Connaught] Hall's Halloween Party.  The costume was well-liked.  I had a blast getting to know my hallmates better and celebrating Halloween.

Another fun event that occurred over the week was the city-wide event of turning on London's Christmas lights (Tuesday, 03 Nov.).  A few of my classmates and I decided to go after class.  The main venue was on Oxford Circus, where Jim Carrey (the American actor) was to be this year's celebrity guest to turn on the lights.  There were tons of people.  We were kept waiting for the main event by several music acts, several of which were famous groups (I had no clue who they were--the Saturdays, Taio Cruz, etc.--because I am still a naive foreigner when it comes to British pop culture).  However, the main event wasn't very spectacular.  Jim Carrey was somewhat funny, and Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, who accompanied him was rather bland as well (he is quite quirky in interviews and other public appearances, but that really didn't show through).

  
And finally, in between the aforementioned events and some school-related activities over the past few days (i.e. I led a seminar on health policy networks and issue groups with a classmate), there was today: Guy Fawkes Day!  Britons commemorate the failure of this gentleman's attempt to blow-up the British Houses of Parliament with gunpowder in 1605.  He's the bloke with the mask in the movie "V for Vendetta."  Remember, remember the 5th of November!!  I could spend a substantial amount of time explaining the event, but am too lazy right now.  Haha.  Google "Guy Fawkes" or "Guy Fawkes Night" to get a better understanding of this event.  Or simply check out these Wikipedia articles on Guy Fawkes and Guy Fawkes Night.

A few of my hallmates and I went out to see the traditional fireworks, bonfires and other pyrotechnic events that take place throughout the city.  We were going to go to Primrose Hill (apparently one has panoramic views of the city), but we decided to go down to the River Thames to check out the Parliament Building, London Eye and Westminster area.  As you can see from the picture, Mr. Fawkes and his conspirators failed in the Gunpowder Plot because the building is still there!!!  It was SPECTACULAR!  We could see fireworks in the distance.  They were above the beautifully-lit buildings.

The past week/1.5 week has been great.  I have managed to successfully juggle studies and school responsibilities with social events in London.  Next week I have Reading Week, which is the equivalent to Fall Break.  I will be visiting my sister, Amy, who is currently studying in Spain.  We are meeting in Barcelona for the weekend.  After that, I will be travelling to Marrakesh and Fès, Morocco for 5 days.  Before returning to London, it's off to Madrid, Spain for the final weekend of the week!!!  This is my first holiday outside of the UK since arriving here to study.  It should be GREAT!!!  Expect a post after 14 Nov. when I return.