Eventful Easter Holiday: The Triumphant Return (Part IV of IV)

Destination: München.  Time of departure: 13.00.  ETA: 21.30.  Scheiße.  Although the train was 20-30 min. late, I was able to get a seat in a compartment to myself.  Score.  It didn't seem as if it would be that bad.  However, the conductor told me that the compartment in which I was sitting only was going to Villach, Austria (3ish hours away) when he came to collect tickets.  Although he said that I could stay until then, I'd have to change compartments at that time.  Ugh.  I decided to venture into the compartments of the train that were going all the way so I didn't have to worry about some mishap occurring and me being stuck in southern Austria.

Only one seat was available in the next compartment.  It was next to an attractive young woman who appeared to be my age (plus, a higher proportion of young people spoke English, so I figured I would actually be able to communicate with her).  I asked if the seat was available.  The first thing out of her mouth was: "FINALLY!  Someone who speaks English!"  Good life choice.  I sat down and we talked pretty much the entire train ride.  Denise was from Germany and was doing her Master's thesis research in Montenegro (something on tourism development and economics).  I found out that she was from Bonn!  I've been there!  Although she didn't live in Köln (Cologne), the neighbouring/COOLEST city in the country, THANK GOD her hometown wasn't Düsseldorf or I'd have had to leave.  There's a big rivalry between the two cities, and Köln wins in all of the right categories.

The train passed through Slovenia and Austria, which were both very pretty.  The mountains and the villages and cities that speckled the countryside make each country, especially Austria, great places to visit.  You can't help but think to yourself: "the hills are alive with the sound of music!"  Haha.  Darkness didn't fall until we entered Germany.  By that time, I was starting to get nervous about what was going to happen when the train arrived in München.  Denise was kind enough to call ahead to some of her friends (two of whom would meet us at the train station) and her mom to ask about the possible options for me once I got there.  The options didn't look good.  Apparently the French railway workers were striking, so travelling through the country was not an option: no Paris meant no Eurostar train (directly to London) and no Calais meant no ferry to Dover.  VRAIMENT ?!  POUR QUOI MAINTENANT ?  Je ne voulais que retourner à Londres ! WTF?!  The only choice was Belgium; one could get the Eurostar from Brussels or the ferry from Oost Ende.  At least there were other options than France.

We finally arrived in München and met up with Denise's friends.  All three were kind enough to help me locate the automated ticket machines.  However, the machine wouldn't let me book the ticket.  The route was mapped out--München to Köln to Brussels to London--but there was no option to purchase the seats.  That meant that it was sold out.  ARGH!  It said to see a ticket agent.  By then it was 22.  The ticket offices were closed.  NEIN!  We went to the information desk, but they said that they couldn't sell any tickets.  Denise and her friends said that it was possible to speak with the conductor of the train as they are able to sell tickets.  When they spoke to the men in charge of the Köln section of the train, the conductors said that it was all sold out and that I'd have to wait until the morning to get on another train.  That was apparently the best option.  The next trains weren't until 3 or 5.  However, after thinking about all of my options, I wanted to try and get as far as I could until there were no options left.  A section of the train was going to Stuttgart, and the woman who was in charge of that section of the train said that she could only sell me a ticket to there.  I'd have to wait to see if there were any seats when in Stuttgart.  The train left at 22.45 with me on it.  Tschüß, Denise.  It was the most abrupt "goodbye" that I've ever made.

As I went to pay for the ticket, the woman told me to wait.  There could possibly be a seat.  She'd check to see.  It was about 2 when we pulled into Stuttgart.  Still no seat available.  I bought the damn ticket to Stuttgart.  The heightened tiredness, along with the sobering fact that I'd be spending the night in a random German city train station, was starting to kick in.  It felt as if I was stranded.  A new conductor for the Köln section of the train was taking tickets, so I tried to see if there were available seats.  I wasn't the only person.  Too bad for me that everyone else could understand German.  The woman started to walk away.  I had to ask again if there were any seats.  I caught up with her and asked.  She coldly told me that she was checking, and that I had to wait there.  Just as the train was about to pull away, she came back and told the 6 of us who were waiting that there were in fact seats!  Finally--no dead end here!

ARSCHLÖCHER!  There were seats all along!  I saw two seats that were available (on which two men were propping up their feet whilst sleeping) in the compartment across from the fold-down seat in the aisle on which I was sitting!  Moreover, when the conductor was coming around to take tickets, she told me to sit in another compartment in which there was a free seat!  At least I was able to sit on something with cushions and catch a few hours of sleep until we arrived in Köln at 6.

The train was about 20 minutes late.  I still needed to buy the tickets to Brussels and London.  This was a problem because the earliest trains out were at 6.44 to Brussels and 9.30 to London.  By the time that I queued for the tickets and made it to the agent, it was too late to catch those trains.  In response to my request to be on the next train to London, he gave out a little laugh and said that the next train was not for three days.  FML.  After a minute or so of searching, he said that there was actually a seat on the 14.30 train (for arrival in London St. Pancras--which is a 7 min walk from my hall--at 15.30).  FANTASTISCH!  I'd arrive in Brussels at 10 and leave at 14.30.  PERFECT!  I'd never seen Brussels before, so I'd get to explore the city AND get back to London that afternoon!!!!!

Brussels was pretty, and it was a nice day.  Luckily the city's centre was small, so I was able to walk around and see many of the major sites before hopping on the Eurostar (which had an empty seat next to me!) to return home.  FINALLY!  What was supposed to be a 2.5 hour flight ended up being a 26 hour ride across the continent.  At least I got to see two extra countries, and saved $100 (when my flight refund is processed).  The adventure would have been a lot more fun if I didn't have to have been back for classes (of which I only missed three days)!

Fin.

Eventful Easter Holiday (Part III of IV)

Flight = cancelled.  School started the next day, and it was disappointing to miss class.  However, there was nothing that could be done.  The airline had a toll-free number, which I was able to call and get on a flight to London that left on Tuesday evening.  Fine.  Book it.  Michael cooked a nice lunch whilst I was sorting everything out.  After eating, I decided to move on.  Zagreb, Croatia was a two-hour train ride away and Michael said it was supposed to be nice (he was going there next).  I wanted to go to Budapest, Hungary, but it was too far away and there was too little time.  It seemed as if his research on Slovenia payed off (for the both of us!), so why not listen and go to Croatia?  There was nothing left to do or see in Ljubljana, so I purchased a return ticket to Slovenia and was on the next train out of the country.  The real adventure began.

The train ride to Zagreb, Hrvatska (Croatia) was pleasant.  We passed through hills and small towns, snaked along rivers and dashed across green fields.  We stopped at the border on both the Slovenian/European Union and Croatian sides.  It was actually kind of odd to go through a border on the continent that you actually had to show your passport and got a stamp.  It was obvious that EU membership/money made a difference to Slovenia.  You could immediately see the difference between the two countries--Croatia was visibly more run-down and poorer.  The countryside and villages through which we passed were decent, although the ride into Zagreb was not impressive (as was the case with Ljubljana).  Again, to use an apropos cliché, it was foolish to judge this book by the cover.

Zagreb was a bigger, more eye-pleasing version of Ljubljana.  The entire city could have used a thorough powerwash and re-plastering/re-cementing.  Actually, the old buildings with decaying facades looked quite rustic and regal.  There were plenty of green spaces that had trees and flowers in bloom, which were gorgeous.  The churches in the city were pretty, and the hill up which the city crawled and over which you could look over the city offered splendid views on the warm, sunny day.  Colourful restaurants and shops lined the upper town's (hill) streets were overflowing with people walking, chatting and eating under the outside tables with umbrellas.  It was very pleasurable.  However, I was anxious to get back to London.

Tuesday couldn't have come soon enough.  It seems as if I could only spend 1.5-2ish days in a city before becoming bored and wanting to move on.  The fact that I was missing class, and my friends who I hadn't seen in 3+ weeks, didn't help the matter.  I was constantly checking the internet at the crappy hostel in which I was staying (appropriately named, "Funk Hostel") for information on my flight and Gatwick Airport/British airspace.  The airline stated that there would be an update on my flight at noon, and the British airspace was closed until 19.00.  My flight was supposed to land at 19.25.  Gatwick's website, which provided updates about the status of the volcanic ash and resulting airport closures, stated that it was unlikely that the airspace would be open at all on that day.  Shit.  However, the day before I spotted the airline office from the place on the main square at which I was sitting for lunch.  It was time to go and check the status of the flight.  They told me to come back at 12 when the main office would provide them with information and they could act appropriately.  For curiosity, I asked when the next available flight was to London; it was Sunday.

By this time Michael was supposed to be arriving by train in Zagreb.  His train was late, so I enquired about train tickets to London.  They only had seats available on the train to München (Munich), Germany.  Another bloke, who was standing in the queue behind me, was waiting to book a ticket to get to Edinburgh, Scotland.  He too had no luck, and proposed getting the train to München and then renting a car to get from there to Paris (to catch the Eurostar train), to which there were no train seats available that day, or to all the way to London.  Michael finally arrived and I explained my situation as the Croat called his wife, who apparently was a travel agent.  After some thought and discussion, I decided to pass on waiting for the official announcement on the flight (which was 99% likely to be cancelled) and book the ticket to Germany.  That was the first of many decisions to take a train where I didn't know what the hell would happen on the other end.  When, if seemingly ever, would I get home?!

To be continued...  The end is next (I promise)!

Eventful Easter Holiday (Part II)

Checking the monitors for the latest flight information is good practice at the airport.  In doing so, I noticed that my flight to Ljubljana, Slovenia was not on the "abflug" (departures) board.  Shit.  Trying to find the Adria Airways--the national airline of Slovenia's--desk was a bit of a challenge, but I eventually located it.  The airport was busy, but nothing out of the ordinary seemed to be happening.  The agent told me that my flight was cancelled due to construction at the country's main airport, and that I should have gotten notification of the status.  I didn't.  He was surprisingly understanding and readily rebooked me on a flight to Klagenfurt, which is in the south of Austria near the border to Slovenia.  The agent said that the airline would cover my transportation to Ljubljana.  The friend that I was meeting there the next afternoon had told me about a city called Bled (pronounced "Blade"), which was on the way to Ljubljana.  Apparently it was supposed to be gorgeous, so I arranged to be dropped off there instead.  A bus could take me the rest of the way after exploring the city and surrounding area for a day.

The "mishap" actually worked out well--I flew closer to Bled and got a free taxi ride there.  The Austrian and Slovenian countrysides were pretty: mountains + small villages + clear rivers.  However, the best was yet to come.  Bled was one of the most stunning, picturesque places to which I've ever been.  WOW.  That word pretty much sums it up.  The tiny city was on a lake.  The lake was surrounded by hills, behind which were the Julian Alps.  In the middle of the lake was an island on which a church sat.  A castle to which you could climb sat atop one of the lakeside hills and offered gorgeous views of the surrounding areas.  WOW.

I spent the afternoon in Bled walking around the lake.  It seemed as if many people were only walking around half of it, but I convinced myself that it was probably worth it to walk round it.  That was a good life choice--the scenes just kept getting prettier.  The side opposite of the castle and city allowed you to see the mountains, as well as the castle and city themselves.  The sun kept peeking out among the intermittently spaced clouds, too.   The reflection of the mountains and church off of the clear, black lake was the best part.  WOW.  It took me about 3-ish hours to walk the circumference of the lake, but the fresh, warm air was a good de-stresser from the morning's events (and leaving Austria behind).

Once finished with the scenic walk, I hopped on a bus to Ljubljana (pronounced "Loob-lee-ah-nah"), the country's capital.  The ride on the way in made the city appear as if it was nothing special and not worth visiting.  Bled was still on my mind.  However, the city's centre was quaint and lovely.  I climbed the hill on which the castle atop the city was sitting.  It was much nicer than Bled's castle, with the exception of the views that it offered.  The city views were good, though.

After gauging the surroundings, I headed back to the hostel to meet one of my buddies from London, Michael.  We re-climbed the hill to see the castle and the city that was spread out beneath it.  We were then explored the city.  Not too long after we set off from the castle, it was time to eat.  The river that ran through the city's centre was too much to ignore, especially the bars and restaurants that lined it.  We spent the rest of the evening chatting and having a few drinks.

By now, it was Sunday.  My flight was to leave from Maribor, 100+ km away from the city, at 18.35.  I had a few hours before I had to catch the bus to the airport, so Michael and I went to a national history museum to occupy the time.  By this time, stories were starting to circulate around the hostel of a volcanic ash cloud that was covering Europe and causing travel chaos across the continent.  We got back to the hostel around lunchtime to check the status of my flight.  It wasn't good news.  Little did I know that this would be the beginning of an epic journey to get back to London.

To be continued...            

Eventful Easter Holiday (Part I)

The Easter Holiday was scheduled to be three weeks long.  It started out with the weekend in Amsterdam!  What a crazy city.  I took the night bus because it was the cheapest option.  We went via the chunnel, from Dover to Calais, by train!  Yes--there are trains that can transport tour busses!  This was at 2-3 in the morning, so the sleep was not good quality.  However, the city made up for it.  The canals and cycles, in addition to the picturesque facades of the buildings that lined the waterways, were gorgeous.  You had to really watch out, though, with the cyclists zipping around the pavements and streets.  It was nice to walk around the city and stop in a few museums, which were free because I was able to borrow one of my Dutch friend's Museumkaart.  DANK U WEL, Ellen!  The best part of the trip was meeting up with some of my friends from Connaught.  The reason that I went was to spend time with them.  The timing wasn't perfect--I had to go a day earlier because of my schedule--but the 1.5 day that we spent together was great.  We walked around the city, ate at this delicious restaurant that Ellen recommended and spent time relaxing in bars and coffee shops.  We even rented cycles and did a boat tour!!!  Those were interesting.  However, despite the fact that I really enjoyed the Dutch/Amsterdam outlook and approach to life and activities that one could and should be able to do to enjoy and live it, it was time to go home after a few days.      


After the long, sleepless bus ride and wait in the airport, I made it back to the States, albeit extremely briefly.  It was wonderful to see a limited number of family members and friends, as well as eat the overly abundant greasy foods and not continually be surrounded by large amounts of people [who speak differently] in cramped quarters.  Michigan seemed deserted--no one walking or riding their bicycles and vast, empty, brown fields.  As familiar as everything was, I felt as if I was a only a visitor who was stuck in the middle of leaving that life behind and adapting to a new life in a far-off place.  Even though I'm going back to go to medical school and the thought occupied my mind, the feeling didn't abate.

As per usual, I was ready to return to London at the end of the extended week.  While going back home made me realise how much I appreciated the truly great people who I have in the States, it did the same for those in London.  It's amazing to think of the meaningful relationships that you can build in such a short time.  Hopefully they are able to stand the test of time and distance when the London-based portion of the academic year expires in a short two months when I finish exams and leave for Johannesburg, South Africa for my summer project!

Once back in London, it wasn't long before home caught up with me.  One of my cousins came to visit me in London.  He was on a business trip, but he was at least able to spare a half day of his time.  We saw some of the major sites of the city: Westminster, the London Eye, Buckingham Palace and St. James Park, etc.  It was a nice afternoon even though I had to venture into the touristy parts of the city.

The next day I embarked on my final European holiday during my time here.  This time it was to Bratislava, Slovakia.  Ryanair considers it as a Vienna airport, so I figured that I'd stop there before visiting Austria and continuing on to Slovenia.  Plus, I'm getting really spoiled in the fact that countries/cities in Western Europe are starting to blend together and becoming rather unexciting.  So, why not Eastern Europe?!

Bratislava was a bad life choice.  A better name would be "Boringislava".  It was a relatively small, unassuming city with a plain hilltop castle, uninspiring architecture and glum people.  The rain and cold didn't help, either.  It took me less than half the day to encircle the city's centre, climb up to and see the castle and weave my way in and out of the pitiful old town.  Absolutely nothing stood out about it, with the exception of it being ridiculously cheap.  LAME.  DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME.

The next morning, less than one day after my arrival, I ran to the bus station to get the hell out of there.  The next stop was Vienna, Austria.  NOW THAT'S WHAT YOU CALL A CITY!  Everything about it blew Boringislava out of the water: the palaces, buildings, monuments, churches, etc. were lovely.  It was still raining, but the city actually felt that it was both alive and thriving, in addition to having a rich history.            

One of my coursemates was able to meet me in Vienna.  She is Austrian, but comes from Salzburg ("The hills are alive with the sound of music"!).  Haha.  Sorry, Lisi--couldn't help it!  We spent my second and final day in Vienna walking around the city, climbing the tower of the main church and just hanging out/relaxing.  Her visit made my time in Wien.  I was able to meet several of her friends; they were very amicable and fun to be around.  The trip was starting to really become enjoyable!

Sadly, it was time to move on.  I wasn't ready to leave just yet, but the allure of the upcoming destination, Slovenia, allowed me to leave without being too loth to go.  Little did I know that my travels would soon become wrought with logistical mishaps...

To be continued.                        

Long Time, No Blog

Sorry, folks!  It's been a busy few weeks…

Friday, 5 March
Field trip!  My Epidemiology & Control of Communicable Diseases course held the day's activities at the Health Protection Agency's (HPA) Centre for Infections (CfI).  The HPA is basically the UK's version of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).  The roles and responsibilities are quite different in some aspects, but that's the best comparison to make!  The lectures on outbreaks of Salmonella and TB in the UK were the most interesting parts of the day.  If a career in HIV/AIDS doesn't work out for me, I may go into outbreak investigation and control.  It's exciting and is a great exercise for your brain!  Instead of food borne illness investigation, it would be something like ebola in Central Africa.  Now that's cool.

Wednesday - Friday, 10 - 12 March
More outbreak investigations!  ECCD was the culprit again.  The course is known for its outbreak control exercise, where you are assigned in a team and have to investigate, define and implement control measures for an outbreak of a disease [in W. Africa after a funeral].  It was great, but tiring.  We had to interview the "attendees", perform statistical analyses and write a four-page report that was due on Friday night.  It was gruelling to spend extended hours sitting in front of a computer screen, articulating what was happening or what needed to happen or why something was happening and writing a coherent report.  In the end, I enjoyed my group and think that we did well.  The School is excellent for providing seminar experiences that make learning fun and interactive!

Alas, things will only get busier.  There are only two weeks left in Term 2!  This year's flying!

Intellectual and Not-So-Intellectual Week

Weekend (too bad it's basically over...)!  Is it just me, or do the weeks seem to be getting longer?  Here's the breakdown:

Monday- The second half of the second term began.  My courses for the next five weeks are Designing Disease Control Programmes in Developing Countries (DDCPDC) and Epidemiology and Control of Communicable Diseases (ECCD).  As you can probably tell, the School fancies acronyms.  I don't blame it; try saying the names of my courses, in addition to my school--the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine--10 times fast.  Each course should be worthwhile: in DDCPDC, I'm working extensively in a group to tackle malaria in southeast Liberia and ECCD has been rumoured to be one of the hardest, but most beneficial, courses taught at the School.  I'm looking forward to a challenging but rewarding term!

Tuesday- The Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the UK, Sir Liam Donaldson, visited the School to speak about the role of the CMO in the UK, his career and his achievements.  The UK's CMO is the equivalent of the US's Surgeon General.  The presentation was captivating, especially when Sir Donaldson spoke about his role in addressing several hospital trust scandals that rocked the country in the past decade (i.e. dead children's organs being harvested without their parents' consent OR under misleading circumstances, with the bodies being disposed of as general rubbish). The high calibre of lecturers and presenters at the LSTHM continues to be impressive!

Wednesday (day)- A second, extremely influential individual spoke at the School on his [former] role in the UK [government].  The previous top drugs adviser for the UK [Home Office], Professor David Nutt, gave a presentation on harm assessments for regulating drugs.  In short, he was sacked by the Home Secretary for criticising the drugs policy in the UK.  The "criticism" was based off of scientific evidence showing how alcohol and tobacco are more dangerous and harmful than some illegal drugs (i.e. marijuana and ecstasy).  Click here for a good BBC article on the story.  It was a phenomenal presentation on the relationship between science and politics, and evidence-based policymaking.  I'll keep my opinions on the story to myself (I'm sure you can guess some of my thoughts and the side that I take... Ask if you're inclined to do so) so you can make your own decision on how you feel about both the il/legality of assorted chemical substances compared to others and the role of [independent] advising [on/for science] in government!          

Wednesday (night)- FOOTBALL MATCH!  I've now been properly introduced to English culture and lifestyle.  A few of my coursemates and I went to a Premier League football (the 'Merican translation, of course, is "soccer") match between my local London team, Tottenham Hotspur, and Bolton.  It was a BLAST!  Half of the experience was the game (Tottenham won 4-nil!), with the other being the audience.  The stadium was PACKED and resonated with the drunken fans' chants and songs.  Furthermore, the way that many of the fans spoke was brilliantly entertaining: "hey, friend"= "oy, mate!", "my" = "me", etc.  Many of my British mates say that you can tell the social class of someone by his/her accent.  The more you encounter the wide array of people who live in/around London, the more you realise that it's true...  The bobbies on horses and riot police outside of the stadium also added a thrilling element to the experience as well!  Sadly there were no [exceptionally] rowdy football hooligans on which the bobbies needed to use their equipment.  Honestly, it was probably one of the most fun sporting event to which I've ever been!  I love the UK.            

Thursday- It's been waaaaaaaaay too long since I have seen a theatre production.  One of my hallmates was in the UCL production of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure.  I went to the show with some of my fellow hallmates.  The acting was rather good, and it was refreshing to be privy to an aspect of the fine arts once again!       

Polish Pal

Last week was Reading Week.  I actually spent the first half of the week in London.  This was supposed to be used for school-related projects or work.  However, the second half of the week--Thursday through Sunday--was allocated for travel!  One of my co-workers at Cedar Point lives and studies in northern Poland, Gdańsk to be precise, so I figured that I'd give her a visit because we became good friends over the summer and weren't able to meet [in Dublin] as we planned.

The long weekend was really great.  Daria and I were able to have a relaxing, stress-free time.  We explored Gdańsk's centre and harbour, in addition to the nearby cities of Sopot and Gdynia.  Each of the cities were located on the Baltic Sea, and were bitterly cold.  There was quite a bit of snow on the ground as well.  It actually reminded me of Michigan (with a bit less sunshine and more Eastern European flavour, though)!

It was nice to catch-up with one another and to see someone who I knew from the States.  We couldn't be bothered to see absolutely everything in the cities and always be in "tourist mode".  We watched a couple films, hung out with a couple of her friends, frequented coffee shops and talked about what was happening in our lives.  Although the topic of conversation usually related to our experiences as servers at Cedar Point (or seemed to end-up there) and had time to reflect on my (and our) experiences there, I enjoyed myself.

Summer Project Secured!

What a whirlwind of a week!  If I wasn't in the library working on my two assessments, I was having some sort of meeting.  It felt like Alma, Part II.  Although my eyes hurt from staring at the computer screen all week trying to transcribe my arguments and thoughts regarding Primary Health Care and epidemiological study design and analysis, I was able to make substantial progress in defining my summer project.  I met with my project supervisor, who was in town, and tutor.  It went well.  We were able to discuss ideas and set some deadlines (the first of which is this Tuesday!).  My research topic will probably be the influence of clinical setting, policy guidelines and patient experiences on acyclovir access and use in treating herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) genital ulcer disease (GUD) and controlling HIV type 1 (HIV-1) infections.  Exciting, right?!  I'm pumped.  Nothing is 100% certain, but I'm pretty sure that I'm GOING BACK to SOUTH AFRICA!  It's great!  As with everything, though, there are a few aspects of the project on which I'm being a "Debbie Downer": 

1) The research would take me to Johannesburg, not Cape Town.  Cape Town is where my South African host family lives and I am familiar with the area.  Plus, the city and Western Cape is gorgeous.  There's no way that I could visit because of time and distance.  I only have about 6 weeks to do my in-country research and the cities are 1400km (~870mi) apart.

2) FIFA World Cup.  This 'Merican doesn't care for soccer.  The entire world (minus the States) will be watching or attending the matches that are taking place all over SA this summer.  Prices are going to be higher for plane tickets and necessities, tourists will be present en masse, etc.  Ugh.  I just need to be smart about how I go about my daily life.

Everything else should be fine.  I should be gone from mid-June to the end of July/beginning of August.  Med school starts the second or third week of the month, so I may just come home right from SA.  It may be too much of a bother to come back to London.  I wouldn't have a place to stay!  Only time will tell.

That's this summer, though.  Let's live in the day.  In keeping with that mentality, I went back to Stonehenge yesterday with some friends.  I basically went for the company; the awe of Stonehenge is a first-time-only-affair.  Once is enough.  The wind was bitterly cold, too.  That sucked.  I did see something new.  We were dropped off at Old Sarum, another ancient site (an old fort).  It was more stones and excavated earth.  Wow, I'm becoming quite spoiled...!                        

Beware: Assessments Ahead!

It's assessment time.  Boo!  For each of my modules--Primary Health Care and Design & Analysis of Epidemiological Studies--I have an "essay" that requires me to interpret, make recommendations on and identify problems with an approach to applying principles in public health and health care.  The tasks are interesting--I feel like I'm in MUN again, where you need to do research and identify ways to fix problems in international health.  Despite the writing part, it is actually quite fun.  I truly enjoy thinking about and trying to address ways to improve health care infrastructures and health service delivery.  

The upcoming week is the final week of the module (one [almost] down, two to go before my summer project!).  Everyone's becoming quite stressed.  However, I've finished my PHC assessment (due on Wed.), and am over the word limit, so I have more work to do on it before it's due on Wed.!  I have yet to start writing for DAnES.  This assessment is due on Friday afternoon.  I spent all day re-reading the paper that needs to be critiqued and planning how to attack it.  Yeah--I'm actually making outlines now!  Who would have thought?  There's plenty of time to finish, though; classes occupy only half of the next week and I just have one meeting with my tutor and possible project supervisor!  I'm actually looking forward to it!  Plus, Reading Week is the week after that!

The pressure from my impending deadlines hasn't been unbearable.  I've been trying to balance better my academic and social life.  It's actually been quite successful.  Several of my hall mates have started to invite me to watch movies, go to the pub, explore London (i.e. last week we roamed around Hampstead Heath, a posh neighbourhood in NW London with a gigantic park).  They are really great; not only are they fun to be around, but we are able to have intelligent conversations about politics, life as foreigners, our studies, general interests, etc.  Wanting to go out  forces me to get my school work done in a timely manner.  I guess being with friends has taken over some of the extra time that's leftover from participating in seemingly 100's of after-class extracurricular activities.  It feels like I'm having an enjoyable time, without the expense of being unproductive, for the first time in a looooooooong time!

 

  

Job Skill-less

Over the past few days I've been attending events put on by the University of London (UoL) Careers Centre.  Despite the fact that I'm not looking for a job after I graduate, why not take full advantage of the [free] services offered by the School and uni?  I'll need to find work someday.  Additionally, it's always good to get tips on making applications, writing CVs, interviewing and simply seeing what the employment market is like (and what it takes to do well while trying to de-mystify and stay in it!).

Firstly, it sucks not being an EU/EEA citizen.  Visas for the UK are on based around a points-based system (PBS).  Even though I'd be able to qualify for a special type of work visa that allows UK grads to stay in the UK and apply what we've learned, it's still difficult to qualify for the required number of points that are needed to work and live here (i.e. you need points that are derived from your current "maintenance funds", isn't that what you are trying to earn through your job?!?!?!!).  It's understandable that a country looks after the needs of its own citizens first (the US is no saint, and is just as guilty!), but it's intimidating.  The student visa was hard enough to secure!

Secondly, UoL career fairs stink.  Yes, it is extremely important to "network" with possible employers to find out what they are looking for in possible employees.  However, why are there never any fairs that are actually accepting CVs to HIRE people (or at least give them internships)?  C'mon, UoL.  This is the second time that you've done this.  The recession is over (barely, though, for the UK...), and health workers are ALWAYS needed!  Furthermore, not everyone wants to work in the developed world 100% of their time.  How about brining in some organisations that work (at least primarily) in Africa, UoL?  Latin America or Asia are just as good as well!

Those are only a few more reasons why going to med school looks better and better each day!    

Some good news, though.  I got a 4 out of 5 on my Health Policy, Processes & Power end-of-term essay (mind you that there are no partial points given!).  Too bad the mark didn't count.  It's nice to know that I can completely BS something and still get a kick-ass grade.  Sorry, I needed to brag and prove to some of you skeptics (i.e. Kate Bruder) that I am actually studying and not just taking [too many] holidays. :)