My first study abroad experience, I experimented with my personality, trying to be the happiest, most outgoing, most attractive person I could be. I really think I got the effect I wanted. People loved me and would exclaim, "NISHA!!" whenever I entered the room. But it got exhausting for me and I was so nervous around people the whole time and felt like I didn't really get to know anyone on a serious level.
This study abroad experience, I was completely myself. I wasn't putting on a show for anyone. And people still loved me.
So I think i will be more energetic b/c people love me anyway and I have more fun when i'm more energetic.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Extremely nice and incredibly close
I feel like I've been friends with my friends here forever. I don't feel like I'm really leaving. And I feel sad that I have bonded with people only to have to leave after a short time.
I made brownies for the floor and left it in the kitchen.
Diya told me that she has really connected with me and she feel slike she hasn't really connected with anyone else like that. I couldn't believe it. I thought, "But you connected with me because you're so friendly and outgoing. Not because I'm really anyone at all amazing."
Kasuni came by last night and said she was so sad for me to leave and that it wouldn't be the same when she got back and I wans't there.
Nisa left a card under my door.
I went out to a Malaysian resturant with Diya and had an amazing Laksa, spring rolls and dumplings. We then sat in the garden outrside our doorm and shared a bottle of wine.
I feel really like I must be a special person for so many people to have felt happy to have gotten to know me.
Tomorrow I'm off to my aunt Janet's.
I made brownies for the floor and left it in the kitchen.
Diya told me that she has really connected with me and she feel slike she hasn't really connected with anyone else like that. I couldn't believe it. I thought, "But you connected with me because you're so friendly and outgoing. Not because I'm really anyone at all amazing."
Kasuni came by last night and said she was so sad for me to leave and that it wouldn't be the same when she got back and I wans't there.
Nisa left a card under my door.
I went out to a Malaysian resturant with Diya and had an amazing Laksa, spring rolls and dumplings. We then sat in the garden outrside our doorm and shared a bottle of wine.
I feel really like I must be a special person for so many people to have felt happy to have gotten to know me.
Tomorrow I'm off to my aunt Janet's.
Whirlwind tour
When I got up the next morning I had tremors from the alcohol withdrawal. I was starving since all I ate the prior day was 2 sandwiches and a hot dog.
I asked the receptionisth what she recommened I do before leaving Praga and she emphasized walking around the castle grounds and walking over charles bridge.
I did both of these things and got bac, to my bus and headed to Brno to catch my return flight.
I asked the receptionisth what she recommened I do before leaving Praga and she emphasized walking around the castle grounds and walking over charles bridge.
I did both of these things and got bac, to my bus and headed to Brno to catch my return flight.
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Four beers in one night
I made my way back down the steep hill and came upon the tram stop. Now the smart thing would have been to go back on the metro the way I came, but I guess curiosity got the better of me and I thought I would try getting to the Old Town by the tram.
Now the beer tour pamphlet only had a tiny map of the beer tour starting point. It showed it between a Starbucks and a Hard Rock cafe. There was no larger map to indicate where in Prague this Starbucks and Hard Rock cafe were. There was only a picture indicating it was near the Old Town and Astronomical Clock.
I didn't have a map of Prague with me. All I had was the metro map. I literally guessed which stop might have been the Old Town based on a spot that was near the river. I figured the city would be small enough that once I got to that stop I could follow signs and find the Old Town.
The first tram came and left. I stood looking at my map wondering which tram to get on. When the second tram came, I figured I'd get on it. Then once on the tram, I looked on my map and realized I was heading in the wrong direction. Luckily when I realized this I was at a metro stop so I got off the tram, and on the metro, which is what I should have done back by the castle.
I saw another traveler (his gigantic backpack gave him away), walking slowly with a map in his hand. I worked up a smiget of confidence and said to him, "Are you as lost as I am?" hoping we could find our way together. "Sorry, no English" was his reply." I felt awkaward. "Oh".
I went up to the counter and shyly asked the station agent if he spoke english which he said no. I showed him a picture of the Old Town on my beer tour pamphlet and he pointed out the station I needed.
However, I got on the wrong side of the platform and when I came to the end of metro's line, I realized this, got off, and got on the correct side. Now I was going the right direction to the Old Town.
When I got to the old town, I was greeted by out door markets, musicians, and hundreds of tourist walking around. I found my way to the Astronomical Clock which was sticking up in the air. I thought it was a made up word, astronomical. It sounds like a made up word, like humongous, or ginormous. I asked for directions to Hard Rock, and when I found it, I located the location of the pub crawl.
I did have some reservations about going on the beer tour. I wondered what sort of crowd it drew. What if I was with really cool travelers who all found me incredibly boring? The beer tour pamphlet had a photo of a group of young attractive people having the time of their life and I was a bit intimidated by it. It was a risk I had to take.
There was also free internet on an ipad to use at the office and I went on expedia. No flights were remotely affordable. So I would be leaving Prague the next afternoon.
After I paid, I went outside, heard 2 Americans sitting and chatting on the steps and introduced myself to them. Immediately we started speaking American. Yes, we Americans have our own language, the way Jamaicans or Britans do. "Oh my gosh, really?" "Wow that's so cool" "I totally get what you mean". LOL. NO ONE ELSE talks like this. hahaha. No wonder the British people are always making fun of us.
My new friends were both from Chicago, recent university graduates, one working with autistic children, the other starting culinary school.
Our tour guide was an energetic Czech man who told us stories that I couldn't fully understand due his accent. I did take away the fact that Czechs drink A LOT. 150 liters of beer per person per year in fact. They drink the most beer per person in the world. And the prices are much responsible for this. Beer is cheaper than coke, lemonade and water. Czechs drink daily, mutiple times a day, starting with breakfast!
The first pub we went to was down in what looked like a cave. Our guide said with great pride, "See, you would have never known this was here!". I agree, but how is that good for business?
We were given an light beer and a dark beer. I had about half of each when he shouted to me across the room to finish my drink. "I don't drink that much! I have to pace myself if I'm going to make it to the end of the night!". He said, "That's typical of women. Always talking so much that they never finish their drink".
We had the famous Pilsner beer, famous really for being made in Czech. Its not something I would really order. And a darker beer I liked less than the lighter one.
We went to another pub where were were allowered to walk though the back where they make the beer. There were had another drink.
We finished in a pub with 2 more drinks. The most irresponsible and dangerous thing I could do was to get drunk in a foregin country. The worse I've done while drunk is make out with random people in clubs, jump over someones fence in Crete, and slide down an escalator in the Washington D.C. metro. I count myself lucky.
I was really careful to monitor myself. I had half of the two drinks at the first pub, and most from the second pub, so I was on my third drink at the last pub. We stayed at the last pub for a couple of hours getting to know each other. There was an Irish couple maybe in their mid 50s who told us about there couchsurfing experiences hosting ohter travlers. There was 3 other Americans who were doing a hop-on-hop-off driving tour of Europe. And a man to my right from Oslo, maybe about 50, who is a beer connoisseur his photographer companion, a man who looked in his 40s. We were a mixed bunch of all ages and backgrounds but found plenty to talk and laugh about.
The 2 girls I had introduced myself too said they out to be going at the metro closes at midnight. It was well past 10pm at this time. So I told them I'd walk with them to find the metro since I needed it to get to my hostel too.
We walked around the Old Town and Tameron told me the things she remembered from the walking tour she went on.
I stumbled on the sidewalk and nearly lost my balance. In my best British accent I said, "Mind the gap" and Tameron burst out laughing and said, "At least you learned something from living in London!"
We made it to the metro. I was really sad to part ways with them. I think they were worried too about me finding the hostel by myself but I told them I have the address and enough money for a cab in case I get lost. Tameron said, "I heard cabs are really expensive". It was my last resort.
Luckily no such thing happened. I got of at the stop I needed. Then I asked a Czech man which tram I needed for Delnika street. He was also going that same direction so we got on and off the tram together. And he was headed down the same street as my hostel so I wasn't alone walking to it from the tram. Now the street was pretty dark. Its was after 11pm at this point and there were just the handfull of people who got off at Delnika around. I suppose conceivably this man could have been lying about his true destination, lead me in the wrong direction, and do horrible things to me, but there is something about a friendly looking person with a nice smile when you're by yourself in a foreign country that makes you trust them.
Now the beer tour pamphlet only had a tiny map of the beer tour starting point. It showed it between a Starbucks and a Hard Rock cafe. There was no larger map to indicate where in Prague this Starbucks and Hard Rock cafe were. There was only a picture indicating it was near the Old Town and Astronomical Clock.
I didn't have a map of Prague with me. All I had was the metro map. I literally guessed which stop might have been the Old Town based on a spot that was near the river. I figured the city would be small enough that once I got to that stop I could follow signs and find the Old Town.
The first tram came and left. I stood looking at my map wondering which tram to get on. When the second tram came, I figured I'd get on it. Then once on the tram, I looked on my map and realized I was heading in the wrong direction. Luckily when I realized this I was at a metro stop so I got off the tram, and on the metro, which is what I should have done back by the castle.
I saw another traveler (his gigantic backpack gave him away), walking slowly with a map in his hand. I worked up a smiget of confidence and said to him, "Are you as lost as I am?" hoping we could find our way together. "Sorry, no English" was his reply." I felt awkaward. "Oh".
I went up to the counter and shyly asked the station agent if he spoke english which he said no. I showed him a picture of the Old Town on my beer tour pamphlet and he pointed out the station I needed.
However, I got on the wrong side of the platform and when I came to the end of metro's line, I realized this, got off, and got on the correct side. Now I was going the right direction to the Old Town.
When I got to the old town, I was greeted by out door markets, musicians, and hundreds of tourist walking around. I found my way to the Astronomical Clock which was sticking up in the air. I thought it was a made up word, astronomical. It sounds like a made up word, like humongous, or ginormous. I asked for directions to Hard Rock, and when I found it, I located the location of the pub crawl.
I did have some reservations about going on the beer tour. I wondered what sort of crowd it drew. What if I was with really cool travelers who all found me incredibly boring? The beer tour pamphlet had a photo of a group of young attractive people having the time of their life and I was a bit intimidated by it. It was a risk I had to take.
There was also free internet on an ipad to use at the office and I went on expedia. No flights were remotely affordable. So I would be leaving Prague the next afternoon.
After I paid, I went outside, heard 2 Americans sitting and chatting on the steps and introduced myself to them. Immediately we started speaking American. Yes, we Americans have our own language, the way Jamaicans or Britans do. "Oh my gosh, really?" "Wow that's so cool" "I totally get what you mean". LOL. NO ONE ELSE talks like this. hahaha. No wonder the British people are always making fun of us.
My new friends were both from Chicago, recent university graduates, one working with autistic children, the other starting culinary school.
Our tour guide was an energetic Czech man who told us stories that I couldn't fully understand due his accent. I did take away the fact that Czechs drink A LOT. 150 liters of beer per person per year in fact. They drink the most beer per person in the world. And the prices are much responsible for this. Beer is cheaper than coke, lemonade and water. Czechs drink daily, mutiple times a day, starting with breakfast!
The first pub we went to was down in what looked like a cave. Our guide said with great pride, "See, you would have never known this was here!". I agree, but how is that good for business?
We were given an light beer and a dark beer. I had about half of each when he shouted to me across the room to finish my drink. "I don't drink that much! I have to pace myself if I'm going to make it to the end of the night!". He said, "That's typical of women. Always talking so much that they never finish their drink".
We had the famous Pilsner beer, famous really for being made in Czech. Its not something I would really order. And a darker beer I liked less than the lighter one.
We went to another pub where were were allowered to walk though the back where they make the beer. There were had another drink.
We finished in a pub with 2 more drinks. The most irresponsible and dangerous thing I could do was to get drunk in a foregin country. The worse I've done while drunk is make out with random people in clubs, jump over someones fence in Crete, and slide down an escalator in the Washington D.C. metro. I count myself lucky.
I was really careful to monitor myself. I had half of the two drinks at the first pub, and most from the second pub, so I was on my third drink at the last pub. We stayed at the last pub for a couple of hours getting to know each other. There was an Irish couple maybe in their mid 50s who told us about there couchsurfing experiences hosting ohter travlers. There was 3 other Americans who were doing a hop-on-hop-off driving tour of Europe. And a man to my right from Oslo, maybe about 50, who is a beer connoisseur his photographer companion, a man who looked in his 40s. We were a mixed bunch of all ages and backgrounds but found plenty to talk and laugh about.
The 2 girls I had introduced myself too said they out to be going at the metro closes at midnight. It was well past 10pm at this time. So I told them I'd walk with them to find the metro since I needed it to get to my hostel too.
We walked around the Old Town and Tameron told me the things she remembered from the walking tour she went on.
I stumbled on the sidewalk and nearly lost my balance. In my best British accent I said, "Mind the gap" and Tameron burst out laughing and said, "At least you learned something from living in London!"
We made it to the metro. I was really sad to part ways with them. I think they were worried too about me finding the hostel by myself but I told them I have the address and enough money for a cab in case I get lost. Tameron said, "I heard cabs are really expensive". It was my last resort.
Luckily no such thing happened. I got of at the stop I needed. Then I asked a Czech man which tram I needed for Delnika street. He was also going that same direction so we got on and off the tram together. And he was headed down the same street as my hostel so I wasn't alone walking to it from the tram. Now the street was pretty dark. Its was after 11pm at this point and there were just the handfull of people who got off at Delnika around. I suppose conceivably this man could have been lying about his true destination, lead me in the wrong direction, and do horrible things to me, but there is something about a friendly looking person with a nice smile when you're by yourself in a foreign country that makes you trust them.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
When plans don't quite work out, go with the flow!
When I finally got on my way to the first site, it was after 3:30pm. I had been travelling since 5:30AM that morning. You would have thought I flew halfway around the world. That's what happens when you fly with Ryanair, or as I call them now, PainInTheAir.
I knew from past experience that Ryanair flies to airports outside the main city. I factored in 2 hours additional to get from the airport to the city when it took me over 3 hours. I had planned on going on WWII walking tour of the city that departed at 2pm. That was out the window. The second day I planned on going on a 3 hour walking tour of the city that started at 11AM. Ludek calculated that I'd need to be on at least the 12pm bus back to Brno to make my 5pm flight. So that was also out the window.
So much for my plans!
I mounted the steep hill that led up to the castle. I think the way up to the castle is meant for horses more than for human feet. Its incredibly steep and I had to pause a couple of times on the way up to catch my breath. (Plug for traveling: travel while your feet still work!).
Unfortunately, instead of entering the castle, I entered the palace instead. It was the first ticket window sign I saw and I popped inside, bought a ticket and realized it was the Lobokwich palace. Another plan frustrated.
The inside was room after room of portraits of the noble family. I was provided with an audio guide, narrative by William Lobkowich. It was an incredibly nauseating experience for me to listen to William Lobkowich brag about all the money that his family has. "Look at the portrait of my great grandfather. You can see the delicate silver woven in his robe. This is a sign of great wealth". Or "Look at the large emerald ring on my ancestors finger. On special occasions, my mother still wears that ring today". Or, "Its a proud thought for me to know that it was my great great grandfather who made it possible for Beethoven to write the 5th symphony". There was even a section in the museum on their pet dogs which Mr. Lobkowich mother emphasized were "portraits" in that you could tell which dog what which. Seeing that the Lobkowichs are so rich, why in the world am I paying to go inside their palace? I'm making them even wealthier.
Its one thing I have been disgusted with at being in England and that is seeing how wealthy some people are by mere inheritance. At least in America the extremely weathly people earned it from enterprenurship and then it stayed in the family. In England, its seems that the wealthy people were luckly enough hunders of years ago to know the king or be of some noble family. It can make you angry but then I thought about what I would do all that extra money if I had it. I may not wear expensive jewerely but how much does that really add to quality of life? I may not live in a big house but would that really make my life that much better at the end of it? I've done nearly everything I've wanted to do and I've traveled so much that it really doesn't matter to me if I don't have millions of dollars in a bank account.
After the palace, I walked futher up the hill and finally made it to the castle. It was much to late to go inside. I was really upset about not being able to see much that I wanted to find an internet cafe to see if I could get a cheap flight out of Prague later the next day. I also picked up a brochure for a beer tour and thought that would be a great way to see more of the city and to meet some people.
I knew from past experience that Ryanair flies to airports outside the main city. I factored in 2 hours additional to get from the airport to the city when it took me over 3 hours. I had planned on going on WWII walking tour of the city that departed at 2pm. That was out the window. The second day I planned on going on a 3 hour walking tour of the city that started at 11AM. Ludek calculated that I'd need to be on at least the 12pm bus back to Brno to make my 5pm flight. So that was also out the window.
So much for my plans!
I mounted the steep hill that led up to the castle. I think the way up to the castle is meant for horses more than for human feet. Its incredibly steep and I had to pause a couple of times on the way up to catch my breath. (Plug for traveling: travel while your feet still work!).
Unfortunately, instead of entering the castle, I entered the palace instead. It was the first ticket window sign I saw and I popped inside, bought a ticket and realized it was the Lobokwich palace. Another plan frustrated.
 |
| Views of Prague's city center from the castle |
The inside was room after room of portraits of the noble family. I was provided with an audio guide, narrative by William Lobkowich. It was an incredibly nauseating experience for me to listen to William Lobkowich brag about all the money that his family has. "Look at the portrait of my great grandfather. You can see the delicate silver woven in his robe. This is a sign of great wealth". Or "Look at the large emerald ring on my ancestors finger. On special occasions, my mother still wears that ring today". Or, "Its a proud thought for me to know that it was my great great grandfather who made it possible for Beethoven to write the 5th symphony". There was even a section in the museum on their pet dogs which Mr. Lobkowich mother emphasized were "portraits" in that you could tell which dog what which. Seeing that the Lobkowichs are so rich, why in the world am I paying to go inside their palace? I'm making them even wealthier.
The coolest part of the room for me was the music room where maybe 20 old violins and flutes were on display. I thought, how many violins does one person need?
Eventually I grew tired of the bragging. I started imagining what life would have been like. I imagined myself as a young girl, running up and down the palace halls, yelling for my mom or my sisters, looking out the palace windows at the great city views.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
I wish I was in Prague!
I'm already having Prague withdrawal.
London is so mundane now! I entered the bustling Liverpool station after getting off of the train that brought me from the airport and everything around me was so familiar: WHS books, Marks and Spencers, Boots, Cornish pastries, and Costa coffee. They are everywhere in UK and entirely absent in NY. I've quickly adapted to change. London feels like home. And I'm ready for my next adventure.
I sighed heavily on the train from Stansted airport. The breath that escaped was much like the steam let out of a pressure cooker. I was safe. Thank you God! I didn't lose my passport, camera, wallet or phone. I didn't miss my flight. I was let back into the country. None of the multitude of things I imagined could have gone terribly wrong happened. On top of that, I had a great trip.
The first special moment of my trip was when a Czech girl who knew me for 30 minutes, walked me to the ticket counter to help me buy a bus ticket, with her arm nearly linked with my arm. If you looked at us, you'd would have thought we were best friends, gossiping as we walked down the street together. How can someone be so friendly to a complete stranger? Or I should ask, why is it that I have so many walls when it comes to meeting strangers? Why am I so guarded? What am I protecting myself from?
I took a seat on the bus. It was a new looking coach bus, with fresh leather seats, and TV screen in the back of each chair. My bag of night clothes was on the seat next to me. A stranger got on the bus, and he looked like he was about to sit right next to me. "No", I thought, "there are two empty seats together across from me and my bag is on the seat." But this stranger decided it is better to sit with another human, even if she's a stranger, than to sit by himself. So I complied with his gesture, took my bag off the seat, and let the stranger sit down next to me.
He looked about my age, 28-30, the front of his hair gelled up, something a lot of European guys do, some acne scars on his face. "He's here to hit on me. I'm not sleeping with you", I thought. When I've been brought up by a grandmother and father who say, "all men want is sex", how was I to think that this stranger wanted anything else. I said hello. My first ice breaker was asking how to say hello in Czech.
Earlier when I had met the girl, I had an internal war about my shyness. At the airport, the girl told me she was going to the city center so I could follow her. I got on the bus right after her. And like a scared rat, I left her presence and took a seat near the rear of the bus. That was so stupid, I told myself! I could have at least had someone to talk to for this bus ride to the city center. A passenger in front of me got up and the girl was within reach. "This is your chance" I thought, but I sat glued to my seat in fear. "Now or never". I moved up a seat, tapped her on the shoulder, and started talking. "I'm from NY. I'm visiting for two days. What should I see?". And she smiled back and said the castle. We pulled into the station and I immedately had the payback for getting out of my comfort zone and striking up a tiny conversation. "Where's your hostel?" she asked. I showed her on my phone. "But that's in Prague. Are you sure that's your hostel?" My eyebrows wrinkle in confusion. "Where am I?"
Wow. I'm old enough to buy my own ticket, get myself up in the morning, and get on a plane and yet I end up in a city and don't know where I am. "You're in Brno". "But I thought this was the city center?" "Yes, its the city center in Brno."
OH MY GOSH!!!
"I'm so embarrassed!" I tell her. I'm afraid to ask the next question. "How do I get to Prague from here?" That's when she led me, her arm on my arm, to the ticket counter to buy a ticket to get to Prague. "And you can get all the free hot chocholate and soda on the bus that you want!" she said happily and waved me off.
The stranger settled in his seat. I started talking. Somewhere in the course of conversation, we both laughed. And then my guard came down. I'm still blown away that my new friend had balls enough to sit next to a complete stranger for a 2.5 hour long journey. We were opposites in so may ways, guy/girl, white/black, european/american. And yet that wasn't enough to scare him away.
I didn't find out his name was Ludek until we were nearly at Prague. "I am so happy you sat next to me! This bus ride would have be so boring otherwise!". This was such a change from my earlier self. He told me about a friend of his who loves meeting people from other countries, and how it rubbed off on him and I looked like I might have spoken english.
The bus attendent came around several times. Sure enough, the hot chocolate was free! All you can drink FREE hot chocolate, mochas, lattes, cappuchino or tea! And the biggest laugh is that you have to pay for WATER! LOL! Go figure!
When we got off at Prague, Ludek advised that I get my ticket for the return trip just in case the bus was full. He walked me to the ticket window and got the ticket I needed for me. Then he walked me to the metro and suggested I get a 24 hour pass. Since I didn't have any coins for the machine, he walked me to newspaper stand and asked for change. Then he helped me buy my ticket. He told me the subway has 3 lines, red, yellow and green, showed me where I was on the map, and then how to get to the castle.
It was time to part. I gave him a hug and said "thank you so much!" The subway just pulled in and I rushed to get on it. He shouted the name of the subway stop once more, "Malostranská!". I turned around and shouted back, "Yes, the one with the 'M'!", smiled and waved goodbye. I was now on my own.
London is so mundane now! I entered the bustling Liverpool station after getting off of the train that brought me from the airport and everything around me was so familiar: WHS books, Marks and Spencers, Boots, Cornish pastries, and Costa coffee. They are everywhere in UK and entirely absent in NY. I've quickly adapted to change. London feels like home. And I'm ready for my next adventure.
I sighed heavily on the train from Stansted airport. The breath that escaped was much like the steam let out of a pressure cooker. I was safe. Thank you God! I didn't lose my passport, camera, wallet or phone. I didn't miss my flight. I was let back into the country. None of the multitude of things I imagined could have gone terribly wrong happened. On top of that, I had a great trip.
The first special moment of my trip was when a Czech girl who knew me for 30 minutes, walked me to the ticket counter to help me buy a bus ticket, with her arm nearly linked with my arm. If you looked at us, you'd would have thought we were best friends, gossiping as we walked down the street together. How can someone be so friendly to a complete stranger? Or I should ask, why is it that I have so many walls when it comes to meeting strangers? Why am I so guarded? What am I protecting myself from?
I took a seat on the bus. It was a new looking coach bus, with fresh leather seats, and TV screen in the back of each chair. My bag of night clothes was on the seat next to me. A stranger got on the bus, and he looked like he was about to sit right next to me. "No", I thought, "there are two empty seats together across from me and my bag is on the seat." But this stranger decided it is better to sit with another human, even if she's a stranger, than to sit by himself. So I complied with his gesture, took my bag off the seat, and let the stranger sit down next to me.
He looked about my age, 28-30, the front of his hair gelled up, something a lot of European guys do, some acne scars on his face. "He's here to hit on me. I'm not sleeping with you", I thought. When I've been brought up by a grandmother and father who say, "all men want is sex", how was I to think that this stranger wanted anything else. I said hello. My first ice breaker was asking how to say hello in Czech.
Earlier when I had met the girl, I had an internal war about my shyness. At the airport, the girl told me she was going to the city center so I could follow her. I got on the bus right after her. And like a scared rat, I left her presence and took a seat near the rear of the bus. That was so stupid, I told myself! I could have at least had someone to talk to for this bus ride to the city center. A passenger in front of me got up and the girl was within reach. "This is your chance" I thought, but I sat glued to my seat in fear. "Now or never". I moved up a seat, tapped her on the shoulder, and started talking. "I'm from NY. I'm visiting for two days. What should I see?". And she smiled back and said the castle. We pulled into the station and I immedately had the payback for getting out of my comfort zone and striking up a tiny conversation. "Where's your hostel?" she asked. I showed her on my phone. "But that's in Prague. Are you sure that's your hostel?" My eyebrows wrinkle in confusion. "Where am I?"
Wow. I'm old enough to buy my own ticket, get myself up in the morning, and get on a plane and yet I end up in a city and don't know where I am. "You're in Brno". "But I thought this was the city center?" "Yes, its the city center in Brno."
OH MY GOSH!!!
"I'm so embarrassed!" I tell her. I'm afraid to ask the next question. "How do I get to Prague from here?" That's when she led me, her arm on my arm, to the ticket counter to buy a ticket to get to Prague. "And you can get all the free hot chocholate and soda on the bus that you want!" she said happily and waved me off.
The stranger settled in his seat. I started talking. Somewhere in the course of conversation, we both laughed. And then my guard came down. I'm still blown away that my new friend had balls enough to sit next to a complete stranger for a 2.5 hour long journey. We were opposites in so may ways, guy/girl, white/black, european/american. And yet that wasn't enough to scare him away.
I didn't find out his name was Ludek until we were nearly at Prague. "I am so happy you sat next to me! This bus ride would have be so boring otherwise!". This was such a change from my earlier self. He told me about a friend of his who loves meeting people from other countries, and how it rubbed off on him and I looked like I might have spoken english.
The bus attendent came around several times. Sure enough, the hot chocolate was free! All you can drink FREE hot chocolate, mochas, lattes, cappuchino or tea! And the biggest laugh is that you have to pay for WATER! LOL! Go figure!
When we got off at Prague, Ludek advised that I get my ticket for the return trip just in case the bus was full. He walked me to the ticket window and got the ticket I needed for me. Then he walked me to the metro and suggested I get a 24 hour pass. Since I didn't have any coins for the machine, he walked me to newspaper stand and asked for change. Then he helped me buy my ticket. He told me the subway has 3 lines, red, yellow and green, showed me where I was on the map, and then how to get to the castle.
It was time to part. I gave him a hug and said "thank you so much!" The subway just pulled in and I rushed to get on it. He shouted the name of the subway stop once more, "Malostranská!". I turned around and shouted back, "Yes, the one with the 'M'!", smiled and waved goodbye. I was now on my own.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Bath
I feel silly for pronouncing Bath as the British say it, that is Bah-th, but when you say it the American way, it sounds less elegant.
I was advised by my cousin to book a ticket in advance as fares are much cheaper. I booked my bus ticket over a week ago and got a return trip for just under 15 pounds. It was much cheaper than the train and also much cheaper to go on a weekday.
I hadn't planned on traveling during my visit here so I didn't pack any thing that would have been useful, like a small overnight backpack or sneakers. Luckily, Karen wears my size and loaned me her sneakers (trainers as they call them) and I had a sturdy plastic bag that closes with a string. All I took as far as clothes was underwear and a pair of tights. I planned on rewearing the dress I wore down.
I left my dorm a bit late and was fretting the whole tube ride to the station. When I got off, I sped walked/ran to the bus station, some blocks away from where the tube is. I was also worried that they would give me a hard time about my ticket. I had an e-ticket but didn't have a printer so took a picture on my droid instead.
When I got to the bus, the driver luckly didn't give me a hard time (I wasn't so lucky on the return trip). But then I got really confused as to the side of the bus I was supposed to enter. I went to the right side of the bus by habit and then didn't see a door. Then the bus driver opened a door on the left side, but it looked like he was getting in. Then I thought about how I always get in the side opposite of my cousin when I get in her car so I asked the driver, "which side am I supposed to get in?". It must have seemed like such a stupid question since there was only one door and I got a question in reply, "Which side do you think?". I felt so stupid! I got on, sat way in the back and sank in my seat when I heard him walk down.
It took me just over 3 hours to get to Bath by bus from the Victoria station in London. Bath looks a lot like other small UK cities like York, Cambrige, Oxford, and Manchester. There a main road lined with chain stores-- Marks and Spencers, H&M, Zara, Carphone Warehouse, Cafe Nero, etc. It usually not easy to get lost. You may walk around in a circle but the city is so small and walkable that eventually you'll find your way back to the main road. I set out to find my hostel to check in and drop off my stuff. But as I walked pass the Roman Baths, I figured since my bag was light enough, I would check in at the end of the day. I grabbed a sandwich at Greggs, and headed straight to the Roman Baths.
Entry to the Baths and fashion museum was 13 pounds for a student. I asked where the guide was and was lead down to the location where the picture is taken below. There are signs posted all over that warn about "uneven surfaces" and "do not touch or drink the water as it is untreated". No one heads the second sign. There were people sitting along the edges of the bath, much like you would see people do by the edges of a swimming pool. Just sitting, bathing in the sun, chatting and taking pictures. Everyone bends over to put there hand in and then exclaims, "Wow, its really warm!". I was no exception.
The uneven surfaces indeed feel like an earthquake ratteled the site. The ground is made of large rectangular stones, maybe 3' x 4' and they form angles and crevices. My motto for traveling is to travel while your feet still work!
The Romans were lured to what is present day Bath by the discovery of the earth's natural hot springs. Water makes its way towards the center of the earth, where it is heated. The heated water rises and through faults in the earth, breaks through the earths suface. Over a million liters of water flow from the spring each day, enough to fill a bath tub completely every 80 seconds in a day. To the Romans, naturally flowing hot water was a gift from the gods. They also believed that the baths had healing properties.
The baths in the video are a small section of what is a large complex which contains heating rooms (like a present day sauna), a freezing bath, and a temple.
Those wealthy enough back then to afford it, would enter the bath. They would oil their body in a mixture of olive oil, a scent like rosemary, and sand as an exfoliant. They would then go to the heating room which would cause them to sweat profusely. The room was constructed with several minature columns beneath the floor that created a bit of space between the floor and the earth below. This would cause the hot air to rise and circulate through the room.
After the hot room, they would go to another room and scrape the oil off there body. If they had a slave, the slave would do this. The oil from the body of athelets was vauled back then and would be collected and sold.
The Romans hated body hair so any hair remaining after the scraping would be plucked. Then they would dip in the freezing pool to close their pores.
Finally, they would come to the baths featured in the video where they would socialize, gossip, and swim. Men and women used the same baths until Hadian became emperor and forbade the shared bathing of both genders. It was later restored to both genders.
I met an American lady who was from Kansas. I realize how much I sterotype because I was surprised to see someone from the mid-west in England traveling. She was visiting England with her husband whos job requires him to travel.
After the tour, I stopped for a nutella crepe and oreo gelatto. With all the walking I knew I would be doing I figured I could indulge. Then I and met outside Bath Abbey for a free mayor's walking tour of the city.
The tour began at the Bath Abbey cathedral. We then walked to the Avon River. The Pulteney bridge spans the river and is lined by shops on each side such that it doesn't even appear to be a bridge when you are crossing it.
We walked to the Circus wich is an elegant row of apartments that are arranged to form a circle. A garden is in the center. Nicholas Cage used to own one of the apartments but sold it. The price to live there is about 1-1.5 million pounds.
We walked to the Royal Crescent which is another span of apartments arranged in a half oval. Its said the circle is supposed to represent the sun with the cresecent representing the moon. There is a large garden in front of the crescent which was open to the public in victorian times.
Not too far from the cresecent is a road that was the setting of a scene in Pridge in Prejudice, and the apartment where Jane Austen lived.
We stopped outside of the Royal Hospital. Hundreds of years ago, it took in people from all over England who had no money to pay for medicial care.
The tour was excellent. The guide was knowledgable. He didn't just memorize a script. He was able to answer questions that people had. I asked him how he learns the information and he said it takes several months to train. They read several books and go on other guides tours but always have to look up any information to make sure its true.
After the tour I visited the Fashion Museum where I unfortunately dropped and broke my camera. :( I can't take clear pictures from it any more but it does take video. The gallery had styles from the 1920s. It had a corset which straps on much like a life jacket in front, with strings in the back to tighten it. Mine wasn't so tight, probably because I'm already so tiny but the girl next to me said she could hardly breath! There is also a skirt which was much to big for my waist. It felt really cool to have it on. I really wanted to twirl in it.
After the museum, I went into a bookstore. I was offered a cup of tea, complimentary! The worker asked me what I wanted. They ran out of peppermint so I had a fruit and mango tea served in a box with a cup, pot of hot water, and a biscut (cookie). I almost felt compelled to buy a book! haha. That must be how they afford to give free tea.
It was evening time by then so I headed to my hostel. It was 20 pounds a night, a bit costly for a 16 bed dorm room. I was given a paper with the numeric code to enter the room, and clean bed sheets for the night. Only three other girls were checked in to my room. The room was very clean. The bathrooms were fairly clean as well. There are lockers in the room. The hostel offered dinner you pay for so I had cottage pie. I sat down across from two people, from Nigeria and Angola, who actually live in the hostel as they attend university in Bath.
As mentioned in my prior entry, I used to thrive on hostels for socializing and fun. There were few things more exciting to me several years ago than the thought of meeting a really hot foreign guy, chatting and flirting, knowing I'll probably never see him again in your entire life, so why not have a bit of fun. That has zero appeal to me now. So after dinner I went straight to my room, and climbed into bed. It was really weird sleeping in a room where strangers had the same code and would enter anytime of the night. Even though it was an all girls room, I felt a paranoid worry and fear that I could be raped. I was woken up a bit as the girls came in later on in the night but eventually settled down to a deep sleep.
I hate this next topic but I feel its worth mentioning. I always feel like one of 5 black persons in an entire city when I travel. On the one hand its frustrating to see so few black people. But on the other hand, I'm glad I can at least shatter some sterotypes about blacks by meeting people overseas.
I was advised by my cousin to book a ticket in advance as fares are much cheaper. I booked my bus ticket over a week ago and got a return trip for just under 15 pounds. It was much cheaper than the train and also much cheaper to go on a weekday.
I hadn't planned on traveling during my visit here so I didn't pack any thing that would have been useful, like a small overnight backpack or sneakers. Luckily, Karen wears my size and loaned me her sneakers (trainers as they call them) and I had a sturdy plastic bag that closes with a string. All I took as far as clothes was underwear and a pair of tights. I planned on rewearing the dress I wore down.
I left my dorm a bit late and was fretting the whole tube ride to the station. When I got off, I sped walked/ran to the bus station, some blocks away from where the tube is. I was also worried that they would give me a hard time about my ticket. I had an e-ticket but didn't have a printer so took a picture on my droid instead.
When I got to the bus, the driver luckly didn't give me a hard time (I wasn't so lucky on the return trip). But then I got really confused as to the side of the bus I was supposed to enter. I went to the right side of the bus by habit and then didn't see a door. Then the bus driver opened a door on the left side, but it looked like he was getting in. Then I thought about how I always get in the side opposite of my cousin when I get in her car so I asked the driver, "which side am I supposed to get in?". It must have seemed like such a stupid question since there was only one door and I got a question in reply, "Which side do you think?". I felt so stupid! I got on, sat way in the back and sank in my seat when I heard him walk down.
It took me just over 3 hours to get to Bath by bus from the Victoria station in London. Bath looks a lot like other small UK cities like York, Cambrige, Oxford, and Manchester. There a main road lined with chain stores-- Marks and Spencers, H&M, Zara, Carphone Warehouse, Cafe Nero, etc. It usually not easy to get lost. You may walk around in a circle but the city is so small and walkable that eventually you'll find your way back to the main road. I set out to find my hostel to check in and drop off my stuff. But as I walked pass the Roman Baths, I figured since my bag was light enough, I would check in at the end of the day. I grabbed a sandwich at Greggs, and headed straight to the Roman Baths.
Entry to the Baths and fashion museum was 13 pounds for a student. I asked where the guide was and was lead down to the location where the picture is taken below. There are signs posted all over that warn about "uneven surfaces" and "do not touch or drink the water as it is untreated". No one heads the second sign. There were people sitting along the edges of the bath, much like you would see people do by the edges of a swimming pool. Just sitting, bathing in the sun, chatting and taking pictures. Everyone bends over to put there hand in and then exclaims, "Wow, its really warm!". I was no exception.
 |
| Putting my fingers in the bath and truly the water is warm! |
The uneven surfaces indeed feel like an earthquake ratteled the site. The ground is made of large rectangular stones, maybe 3' x 4' and they form angles and crevices. My motto for traveling is to travel while your feet still work!
The Romans were lured to what is present day Bath by the discovery of the earth's natural hot springs. Water makes its way towards the center of the earth, where it is heated. The heated water rises and through faults in the earth, breaks through the earths suface. Over a million liters of water flow from the spring each day, enough to fill a bath tub completely every 80 seconds in a day. To the Romans, naturally flowing hot water was a gift from the gods. They also believed that the baths had healing properties.
You can see the steam rising form the surface of the water
The baths in the video are a small section of what is a large complex which contains heating rooms (like a present day sauna), a freezing bath, and a temple.
Those wealthy enough back then to afford it, would enter the bath. They would oil their body in a mixture of olive oil, a scent like rosemary, and sand as an exfoliant. They would then go to the heating room which would cause them to sweat profusely. The room was constructed with several minature columns beneath the floor that created a bit of space between the floor and the earth below. This would cause the hot air to rise and circulate through the room. After the hot room, they would go to another room and scrape the oil off there body. If they had a slave, the slave would do this. The oil from the body of athelets was vauled back then and would be collected and sold.
The Romans hated body hair so any hair remaining after the scraping would be plucked. Then they would dip in the freezing pool to close their pores.
Finally, they would come to the baths featured in the video where they would socialize, gossip, and swim. Men and women used the same baths until Hadian became emperor and forbade the shared bathing of both genders. It was later restored to both genders.
 |
| Glass of water from the hot spring. It takes "mineraly" and warm. As our tour guide put it, "One glass will last you a life time!" |
I met an American lady who was from Kansas. I realize how much I sterotype because I was surprised to see someone from the mid-west in England traveling. She was visiting England with her husband whos job requires him to travel.
After the tour, I stopped for a nutella crepe and oreo gelatto. With all the walking I knew I would be doing I figured I could indulge. Then I and met outside Bath Abbey for a free mayor's walking tour of the city.
The tour began at the Bath Abbey cathedral. We then walked to the Avon River. The Pulteney bridge spans the river and is lined by shops on each side such that it doesn't even appear to be a bridge when you are crossing it.
 |
| Putney Bridge across the Avon River |
 |
| Looking down the Putney Bridge. Now it looks like a regular street! |
We walked to the Circus wich is an elegant row of apartments that are arranged to form a circle. A garden is in the center. Nicholas Cage used to own one of the apartments but sold it. The price to live there is about 1-1.5 million pounds.
We walked to the Royal Crescent which is another span of apartments arranged in a half oval. Its said the circle is supposed to represent the sun with the cresecent representing the moon. There is a large garden in front of the crescent which was open to the public in victorian times.
Not too far from the cresecent is a road that was the setting of a scene in Pridge in Prejudice, and the apartment where Jane Austen lived.
We stopped outside of the Royal Hospital. Hundreds of years ago, it took in people from all over England who had no money to pay for medicial care.
The tour was excellent. The guide was knowledgable. He didn't just memorize a script. He was able to answer questions that people had. I asked him how he learns the information and he said it takes several months to train. They read several books and go on other guides tours but always have to look up any information to make sure its true.
After the tour I visited the Fashion Museum where I unfortunately dropped and broke my camera. :( I can't take clear pictures from it any more but it does take video. The gallery had styles from the 1920s. It had a corset which straps on much like a life jacket in front, with strings in the back to tighten it. Mine wasn't so tight, probably because I'm already so tiny but the girl next to me said she could hardly breath! There is also a skirt which was much to big for my waist. It felt really cool to have it on. I really wanted to twirl in it.
After the museum, I went into a bookstore. I was offered a cup of tea, complimentary! The worker asked me what I wanted. They ran out of peppermint so I had a fruit and mango tea served in a box with a cup, pot of hot water, and a biscut (cookie). I almost felt compelled to buy a book! haha. That must be how they afford to give free tea.
It was evening time by then so I headed to my hostel. It was 20 pounds a night, a bit costly for a 16 bed dorm room. I was given a paper with the numeric code to enter the room, and clean bed sheets for the night. Only three other girls were checked in to my room. The room was very clean. The bathrooms were fairly clean as well. There are lockers in the room. The hostel offered dinner you pay for so I had cottage pie. I sat down across from two people, from Nigeria and Angola, who actually live in the hostel as they attend university in Bath. As mentioned in my prior entry, I used to thrive on hostels for socializing and fun. There were few things more exciting to me several years ago than the thought of meeting a really hot foreign guy, chatting and flirting, knowing I'll probably never see him again in your entire life, so why not have a bit of fun. That has zero appeal to me now. So after dinner I went straight to my room, and climbed into bed. It was really weird sleeping in a room where strangers had the same code and would enter anytime of the night. Even though it was an all girls room, I felt a paranoid worry and fear that I could be raped. I was woken up a bit as the girls came in later on in the night but eventually settled down to a deep sleep.
I hate this next topic but I feel its worth mentioning. I always feel like one of 5 black persons in an entire city when I travel. On the one hand its frustrating to see so few black people. But on the other hand, I'm glad I can at least shatter some sterotypes about blacks by meeting people overseas.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Disappointing news
I heard back from the fellowship I applied for and "unfortunately your proposal was not selected". :( Boooooo. They were "impressed" with my "commitment" something they probably say to everybody. And the "small amount of funds I require may be available from other sources". Yes but the honor of being selected won't be available from other sources. Oh, I'm disappointed. I really thought I would get it. My project was both peds and education, the same values of the person the fellowship was named.
Monday morning I went to obesity clinic. What surprised me was a girl with a BMI of 40 who I would have guessed had a BMI of 30. The consultant said that that goes to show how common obesity is now a days that obese people don't seem that large.
In the afternoon I went back to the British Museum and went on a Medieval Europe tour.
In the evening, Jess and I saw the musical Sweeny Todd. London's the perfect place to see it because it is set in London and Sweeny Todd's barber's shop is on Fleet street, which in fact is just down the road from the theater. We had excellent seats and got a great price on the tickets thanks to Jess!
Imelda Staunton plays Ms. Lovett. You may also remember her as Professor Dolores Jane Umbridge in the Harry Potter movie Goblets of Fire.
Jess and I waited to get signatures after the show. We actually had to purchase the program for 3 pounds 50. They aren't for free! But they are larger than US playbills and on thick quality paper. We got the autograph of Micheal Bell, but unfortunately Imelda Staunton had exited before we got there.
Today I skipped clinic. Shadowing has gotten pretty dull. I went back to the British Museum, went on the India and Islamic tour. I stopped at STA travel and picked up brochures to Latin America and Asia, two places I'm planning on going next year. Call me crazy for planning my next trip even though I'm still in London. I then took the tube to Piciadilly circus, walked around a bit, and stopped in Marks and Spencer where I picked up an kentish bramley apple puff pastry pie and some custard which made an excellent desert.
Tomorrow I'm heading to Bath, where I'll tour the Roman baths, spend the night in a youth hostel, and the next day take a day tour to Stonehenge, and Avebury with other stops in between.
When I backpacked in Europe in 2006, I was all about youth hostels. They are a great way to meet fellow travelers to go out with or stay up with drinking and socializing in the hostel. But now 6 years later, I feel so awkward and nervous staying in a hostel! I booked a 16 bed female dorm room. I don't even want to take a shower there! lol! So I think I'm just going to pack underwear and a shirt and basic toiletries like a toothbrush, deodorant, facial soap and lotion.
6 years ago I also had no problem traveling by myself. Eating dinner alone in a restaurant didn't bother me at all. I feel differently about it now, but if I wait until I have someone to travel with, I'm going to miss out on a lot.
My grand aunt and uncle, Delta and Silvester (Selvin) , left Jamaica and moved to Bath where they started a grocery store. It was in Bath, England, my cousins were born. Karen showed me on google earth where their store was which today is another store. Eventually my grand aunt and uncle got tired of living in England, and left Bath for Jamaica. Since Karen was the youngest she went back to Jamaica with her parents, but the rest stayed on in Bath, and eventually moved to London.
Monday morning I went to obesity clinic. What surprised me was a girl with a BMI of 40 who I would have guessed had a BMI of 30. The consultant said that that goes to show how common obesity is now a days that obese people don't seem that large.
In the afternoon I went back to the British Museum and went on a Medieval Europe tour.
In the evening, Jess and I saw the musical Sweeny Todd. London's the perfect place to see it because it is set in London and Sweeny Todd's barber's shop is on Fleet street, which in fact is just down the road from the theater. We had excellent seats and got a great price on the tickets thanks to Jess!
Imelda Staunton plays Ms. Lovett. You may also remember her as Professor Dolores Jane Umbridge in the Harry Potter movie Goblets of Fire.
Jess and I waited to get signatures after the show. We actually had to purchase the program for 3 pounds 50. They aren't for free! But they are larger than US playbills and on thick quality paper. We got the autograph of Micheal Bell, but unfortunately Imelda Staunton had exited before we got there.
Today I skipped clinic. Shadowing has gotten pretty dull. I went back to the British Museum, went on the India and Islamic tour. I stopped at STA travel and picked up brochures to Latin America and Asia, two places I'm planning on going next year. Call me crazy for planning my next trip even though I'm still in London. I then took the tube to Piciadilly circus, walked around a bit, and stopped in Marks and Spencer where I picked up an kentish bramley apple puff pastry pie and some custard which made an excellent desert.
Tomorrow I'm heading to Bath, where I'll tour the Roman baths, spend the night in a youth hostel, and the next day take a day tour to Stonehenge, and Avebury with other stops in between.
When I backpacked in Europe in 2006, I was all about youth hostels. They are a great way to meet fellow travelers to go out with or stay up with drinking and socializing in the hostel. But now 6 years later, I feel so awkward and nervous staying in a hostel! I booked a 16 bed female dorm room. I don't even want to take a shower there! lol! So I think I'm just going to pack underwear and a shirt and basic toiletries like a toothbrush, deodorant, facial soap and lotion.
6 years ago I also had no problem traveling by myself. Eating dinner alone in a restaurant didn't bother me at all. I feel differently about it now, but if I wait until I have someone to travel with, I'm going to miss out on a lot.
My grand aunt and uncle, Delta and Silvester (Selvin) , left Jamaica and moved to Bath where they started a grocery store. It was in Bath, England, my cousins were born. Karen showed me on google earth where their store was which today is another store. Eventually my grand aunt and uncle got tired of living in England, and left Bath for Jamaica. Since Karen was the youngest she went back to Jamaica with her parents, but the rest stayed on in Bath, and eventually moved to London.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Getting lost in London and Dancing to Reggae!
My cousins are serious party animals. Jeyvonne had warned me about how late she goes out at night. Usually she leaves at 12:30 and stays out till 5:30. This is my 45 year old cousin with a 14 y/o daughter and a partner at home she refuses to marry because "once you get married, men think they own you!".
When I got to her place on Saturday, I was completely exhausted from the day. I spent the morning finishing my IRB and submitting the scholaraly project proposal. Thus I got a late start on sightseeing. The main thing I wanted to do was to spend the day at the British Museum and go on the various tours they have. These are 30-45 minute free introductory tours done at the various rooms, like Roman (which I went on), Asian, African, etc.
Getting there turned out to be a nightmare! My tour book told me to get off at Totternham Court Road, which I did, but I got so lost I ended up walking passed 3 tube stations before I realized I was going in the wrong direction. I was wearing my healed boots since it was raining and my feet were aching when I got there. Not what you want for a museum! When I got there, a tour was just literally about to leave, and it was the 2nd to last one of the day.
When I got back home, I wrote in my blog, mostly just because I needed to rest my feet before heading out to my cousins. When I did leave, it was another traveling nightmare. The Barbican station, which is just blocks away from me, was closed this weekend (every city is plagued by annoying transit closures!). I had to get on at the St. Paul's station, which doesn't take that long to walk to, but since my feet were killing me, I decided to take the bus. The bus driver told me that the St. Pauls stations was closed to buses (WHAT??) and I'd have to walk back from the next stop. She dropped me off told me to pass 2 lights, but as I was walking, I had no idea where I was. As rain started to trickel down, tears began to seep from my eyes. My feet were aching and I was carrying duffel bag of dirty laundry. After circling around, I finally found St. Paul's station.
When I got to Lewisham I made another silly transit mistake. I thought I was on the bus that stopped right outside my cousin's flat. So when I didn't see it, I assumed I wasn't there yet and went down 2 more stops, to the end of her street, which happens to be down a hill. I had to walk all the way back. It was not my night!
When I reached my cousins, she, her partner Micheal, and Jada (their daughter) were eating dinner and watching this crazy UK show called "Take me out". Its sorta like the bachelor. A guy has 20 girls to choose from to date. As the host introduces the guy, girls can switch off there light (lol, I love the drama) to say they are not interested. This poor guy worked in a fish market and I think that turned off a lot of girls! I told them about my traveling mishap but that even if I had to sit the whole night in the club, I was determined to go. Jeyvonne said that there weren't any seats there! Even the shoe-box of a club I went to with the girls in Dalston had seats!
Jeyvonne told me to have a nap before going out, which I thought was hilarious since it was 10pm. But I did manage to snooze and was woken up by her alarm clock. When she got out the shower I told her my feet were killing me and I didn't think I could manage. But as I thought about it, I realized I quite simply was not going to die from pain, so I decided to suck it up and go! I'm glad I did!
We were very lucky to get parking right by the club. As Jeyvone entered first, the bouncer searched her bag, as he does everybodies, and I though also checking ID. When I came to the bouncer, and showed him my ID my cousin was like, "What are you showing him that for?!". I said, "I thought you were doing that!". They all had a good laugh at me.
So this club plays only reggae music. I like the first bit of it. I knew one song, Tempted to Touch, but easily was able to dance to the rest. It felt soooo good!!!! Especially after my last clubbing was entirely Techno. I felt like I was in the Carribean dancing on a beach somewhere. Jeyvonne got me a gin and tonic and both her and Karen made fun of me for liking it.
Then the DJ changed and the next one was awful. He kept talking and screaming over the songs.
My cousins kind of just stood on the wall, not looking like they were having much fun. I wondered why they tourture themselves to stay out if they aren't going to dance. I kept looking at my phone's clock.. 3:10, 3:23, 3:50. I was quite ready to go but wasn't going to be the party pooper. There was one guy who was actually sleeping, standing up!!! My cousins and I kept watching, waiting for him to topple over but he had remarkable balance, lol. Eventually, they had enough of the music and we left around half past 4.
When I got downstair, Karen and her daughter Leah were there, chatting away. They come by Jeyvonne's every Sunday. Its really beautiful how close there family is. Karen made it to church that morning!
The first dress looks like it should be on a 5 year old. The red outfit looks like a hand me down that has been stretched too much in a washing machine. No sense of fashion, whatsoever.
When I got to her place on Saturday, I was completely exhausted from the day. I spent the morning finishing my IRB and submitting the scholaraly project proposal. Thus I got a late start on sightseeing. The main thing I wanted to do was to spend the day at the British Museum and go on the various tours they have. These are 30-45 minute free introductory tours done at the various rooms, like Roman (which I went on), Asian, African, etc.
Getting there turned out to be a nightmare! My tour book told me to get off at Totternham Court Road, which I did, but I got so lost I ended up walking passed 3 tube stations before I realized I was going in the wrong direction. I was wearing my healed boots since it was raining and my feet were aching when I got there. Not what you want for a museum! When I got there, a tour was just literally about to leave, and it was the 2nd to last one of the day.
When I got back home, I wrote in my blog, mostly just because I needed to rest my feet before heading out to my cousins. When I did leave, it was another traveling nightmare. The Barbican station, which is just blocks away from me, was closed this weekend (every city is plagued by annoying transit closures!). I had to get on at the St. Paul's station, which doesn't take that long to walk to, but since my feet were killing me, I decided to take the bus. The bus driver told me that the St. Pauls stations was closed to buses (WHAT??) and I'd have to walk back from the next stop. She dropped me off told me to pass 2 lights, but as I was walking, I had no idea where I was. As rain started to trickel down, tears began to seep from my eyes. My feet were aching and I was carrying duffel bag of dirty laundry. After circling around, I finally found St. Paul's station.
When I got to Lewisham I made another silly transit mistake. I thought I was on the bus that stopped right outside my cousin's flat. So when I didn't see it, I assumed I wasn't there yet and went down 2 more stops, to the end of her street, which happens to be down a hill. I had to walk all the way back. It was not my night!
When I reached my cousins, she, her partner Micheal, and Jada (their daughter) were eating dinner and watching this crazy UK show called "Take me out". Its sorta like the bachelor. A guy has 20 girls to choose from to date. As the host introduces the guy, girls can switch off there light (lol, I love the drama) to say they are not interested. This poor guy worked in a fish market and I think that turned off a lot of girls! I told them about my traveling mishap but that even if I had to sit the whole night in the club, I was determined to go. Jeyvonne said that there weren't any seats there! Even the shoe-box of a club I went to with the girls in Dalston had seats!
Jeyvonne told me to have a nap before going out, which I thought was hilarious since it was 10pm. But I did manage to snooze and was woken up by her alarm clock. When she got out the shower I told her my feet were killing me and I didn't think I could manage. But as I thought about it, I realized I quite simply was not going to die from pain, so I decided to suck it up and go! I'm glad I did!
We were very lucky to get parking right by the club. As Jeyvone entered first, the bouncer searched her bag, as he does everybodies, and I though also checking ID. When I came to the bouncer, and showed him my ID my cousin was like, "What are you showing him that for?!". I said, "I thought you were doing that!". They all had a good laugh at me.
So this club plays only reggae music. I like the first bit of it. I knew one song, Tempted to Touch, but easily was able to dance to the rest. It felt soooo good!!!! Especially after my last clubbing was entirely Techno. I felt like I was in the Carribean dancing on a beach somewhere. Jeyvonne got me a gin and tonic and both her and Karen made fun of me for liking it.
Then the DJ changed and the next one was awful. He kept talking and screaming over the songs.
My cousins kind of just stood on the wall, not looking like they were having much fun. I wondered why they tourture themselves to stay out if they aren't going to dance. I kept looking at my phone's clock.. 3:10, 3:23, 3:50. I was quite ready to go but wasn't going to be the party pooper. There was one guy who was actually sleeping, standing up!!! My cousins and I kept watching, waiting for him to topple over but he had remarkable balance, lol. Eventually, they had enough of the music and we left around half past 4.
I had made tenative plans to go to a flower market with Jess on Sunday, so I got myself out of bed when I got up, and put in some laundry. Jada was up already making banana fritters and tea. I was so impressed! She really can cook. In fact, she was laughing at me when I was trying to tell them I knew how to cook ackee and saltfish, a dish I'm planning on making for Jess, since I thought you are supposed to boil the ackee, which your not! If you do, it'll turn to mush! I was so exhausted that I went back upstairs, got into bed and didn't get up till 3:30. The flower market didn't happened.
When I got downstair, Karen and her daughter Leah were there, chatting away. They come by Jeyvonne's every Sunday. Its really beautiful how close there family is. Karen made it to church that morning!
Usually on Sundays we sit chatting around the table. Leah is very outspoken and starts a lot of the banter. At one point today she was telling Jeyvone how she lying that she can go to Jamaica and retire without brining Jada with her. We also look through British tabloids and comment on things like prince Harry dancing to reggae music when he visited Jamaica a couple of weeks, and the controversy over having so many non-British people competing for the UK in the Olympic games.
I brought up how buddy-buddy Obama and Cameron appear, and immediatly they staring talking about what an awful dresser his wife is. They showed me a picture of one of her lastest fashion failure's in the tabloid (below, last picture). It looks like something my grandmother would wear to church. They said that Michelle Obama always looks so stunning and why is it that Cameron's wife has to go all the way to America looking so awful.
I brought up how buddy-buddy Obama and Cameron appear, and immediatly they staring talking about what an awful dresser his wife is. They showed me a picture of one of her lastest fashion failure's in the tabloid (below, last picture). It looks like something my grandmother would wear to church. They said that Michelle Obama always looks so stunning and why is it that Cameron's wife has to go all the way to America looking so awful.
The first dress looks like it should be on a 5 year old. The red outfit looks like a hand me down that has been stretched too much in a washing machine. No sense of fashion, whatsoever.
Catch-up!
I missed writing over a couple of days so this is catch-up!
Wednesday I didn't feel like going to clinic in the morning so I worked on my IRB, had lunch in the kitchen with the girls, and went in the afternoon. It was oncology clinic. One of the girls has ALL and most of her treatment is being monitored by the pediatrician, not the pediatric hematologist. The pediatric specialist here train for the same amout of time as a general pediatrician, and a general pediatrician can declare "an interest" in a speciality field, and be the main consultant for nephrology, hematology, etc clinics. So I asked the consultant I worked with when does a patient actually see a pediatric hematologist. She said that it is at the start of their treatment. After that, the general pediatrician monitors resposne to chemo and cell counts. I would be too nervous to have my kid see a general pediatrican for that. I mean, think about the responsiblity and training you have as a fellow in the states! Its no where near what the STs (aka SHOs)/residents" here do, which is just observe in clinic! The other thing is that all doctors get paid the same, based on the number of years they spend working for the NHS. It works out to be about 110K for entry to 160K for working more than 7 years. I don't think I'll ever be a doctor in the UK!
Last Thursday I had a very sad day in clinic. It was IBD clinic and the consultant let me see her new patients. The first one was a 15 y/o girls with BRBPR for 6 months. She was evaluated by her GP who thought it was hemorrhoids and nothing was done. She continued to bleed and have abdominal pain, saw another GP who recommended a colonoscopy but she never got one.
The second girl was the one who broke my heart. She is 11 y/o and had a 1 year history of oral ulcers, up to 20 at a time. She saw a dentist and an orthodontontist who attributed it to stress. She later developed severe crampy abdominal pain, and a vulvar ulcer. Her mom told me she had missed the last 2 weeks of school, and I was tying to understand if it was fatigue or from her surgery. However, during this questioning the girl got extremely upset. She started crying, and covered her face with her hands, and wouldn't look at me. I did my best to ask what was bothering her, focus on the positive by saying I thought she was a very lovely girl. During her exam, I sat right by her in the bed and made heart beating sounds and gurgle sounds when I listened to her abdomen. That brought a small smile. When the consultant saw her and told her she would need a blood test that day she lost it again. She was almost inconsolable. I wanted to tell her its okay to be scared and that I still get scared when I get shots but I let the SHO do all the reassuring.
Thursday after clinic I had dinner by Jess' friend's place. We made a greek salad, with chicken and pita bread, had Rose wine, chatted, and watched an episode of New Girl and Downton Abbey.
I went to clinic on Friday morning but due to an annual review, CF clinc was closed to students, and I didn't want to do derm again, especially since I'll be doing in in May. I took the train to Greenwich, most famously known for being the location of Greenwich Mean Time. It is also the birthplace of Henry VIII and Elizabeth the I, and will be the location of the equestrian events during Olympic games.
On the way to the train station, I got off at the Tower of London.
Here I am standing with a foot in both the east and western hemispheres. The silver line is the Greenwich Meridian, at 0 degrees longitude.
A couple of summers ago I was at the Tropic of Capricorn in Namibia. I've now had my body sectioned by the 2 bisectors of the earth!
The river Thames with the Millenium dome way in the background. I walked past a gate that had a sign that said the gate is never to be padlocked as a measure of saftey. A very tiny part of me wished I could go down to look for Roman clay sculptures!
I next went to the the Victoria and Albert museum.
Its hard to appreciate from the picture but I really liked this sculpture. Its made of jade, a material our tour guide explained, that is very hard to sculpture because it is so hard. This is of 10 geese, each look different and each is actually a small box that can open allowing you to store things inside.
These giant vases were made by a modern british sculpture who had to go to China to make it because no other
And here is a picture and video from the Museum of London:
Tonight I'm going out with my cousin to celebrate her friend's birthday at a reggae club.
Wednesday I didn't feel like going to clinic in the morning so I worked on my IRB, had lunch in the kitchen with the girls, and went in the afternoon. It was oncology clinic. One of the girls has ALL and most of her treatment is being monitored by the pediatrician, not the pediatric hematologist. The pediatric specialist here train for the same amout of time as a general pediatrician, and a general pediatrician can declare "an interest" in a speciality field, and be the main consultant for nephrology, hematology, etc clinics. So I asked the consultant I worked with when does a patient actually see a pediatric hematologist. She said that it is at the start of their treatment. After that, the general pediatrician monitors resposne to chemo and cell counts. I would be too nervous to have my kid see a general pediatrican for that. I mean, think about the responsiblity and training you have as a fellow in the states! Its no where near what the STs (aka SHOs)/residents" here do, which is just observe in clinic! The other thing is that all doctors get paid the same, based on the number of years they spend working for the NHS. It works out to be about 110K for entry to 160K for working more than 7 years. I don't think I'll ever be a doctor in the UK!
Last Thursday I had a very sad day in clinic. It was IBD clinic and the consultant let me see her new patients. The first one was a 15 y/o girls with BRBPR for 6 months. She was evaluated by her GP who thought it was hemorrhoids and nothing was done. She continued to bleed and have abdominal pain, saw another GP who recommended a colonoscopy but she never got one.
The second girl was the one who broke my heart. She is 11 y/o and had a 1 year history of oral ulcers, up to 20 at a time. She saw a dentist and an orthodontontist who attributed it to stress. She later developed severe crampy abdominal pain, and a vulvar ulcer. Her mom told me she had missed the last 2 weeks of school, and I was tying to understand if it was fatigue or from her surgery. However, during this questioning the girl got extremely upset. She started crying, and covered her face with her hands, and wouldn't look at me. I did my best to ask what was bothering her, focus on the positive by saying I thought she was a very lovely girl. During her exam, I sat right by her in the bed and made heart beating sounds and gurgle sounds when I listened to her abdomen. That brought a small smile. When the consultant saw her and told her she would need a blood test that day she lost it again. She was almost inconsolable. I wanted to tell her its okay to be scared and that I still get scared when I get shots but I let the SHO do all the reassuring.
Thursday after clinic I had dinner by Jess' friend's place. We made a greek salad, with chicken and pita bread, had Rose wine, chatted, and watched an episode of New Girl and Downton Abbey.
I went to clinic on Friday morning but due to an annual review, CF clinc was closed to students, and I didn't want to do derm again, especially since I'll be doing in in May. I took the train to Greenwich, most famously known for being the location of Greenwich Mean Time. It is also the birthplace of Henry VIII and Elizabeth the I, and will be the location of the equestrian events during Olympic games.
A couple of summers ago I was at the Tropic of Capricorn in Namibia. I've now had my body sectioned by the 2 bisectors of the earth!
I next went to the the Victoria and Albert museum.
And here is a picture and video from the Museum of London:
A victorian dress. How did women pass through doors with this thing?
Tonight I'm going out with my cousin to celebrate her friend's birthday at a reggae club.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
An acute emergency in clinic
Today I went to clinic around 11AM. It was peds rheum clinic. I saw an 15 y/o girl with JRA who complained of TMJ, left shoulder, and ankle pain, an 11 y/o boy with ankalosying spondylatisi who complained of back, ankle, knee, and wrist pain, as well as palpitations, and a 16 y/o girl with JRA with left knee pain.
The boy turned out to be a very ill. The whole interview, he was souched in his chair, his head was down, it took him forever to find his words. In retrospect, he was very lethargic. But at the time, I thought, "What is wrong with this boy? Is he developmentally slow? Or just very shy an intimdiated by doctors?". I thought maybe there was a cultural barrier too since he was Bengali and the father was using an interperrture. The physical therapist who examins pts during rheum clinic noted he was wearing an insulin pump. The registrar (=PGY3) asked about his sugars. He said that last night they were 32 mmol/L (=579 mg/dL in US system). The doctors eyes nearly came out of his head. He kept making sure he heard right. "Thirty-two?? As in in greater than 20?" he asked to clarify. He asked if the dad called the diabetic nurse and the dad said no. I couldn't believe it! I wanted to scream to the dad, "Do you know how high that is, how dangerous that is?" Then we found out the boy had also been nauseous and feverish. We looked at his tonsils and they were so enlarged, practically touching one another. The registrar phoned down to the A&E department, spoke to the doctors there and told them that he was sending down a pt from clinic.
If I were that doctor, would I almost have missed how sick this child was? Its such a scary thought to think that maybe if I was the one seeing this patient I would have sent him home after having focused on joint paint. It was rheum clinic after all. I can't imagine how guilty I would feel if someone died of DKA the day after I saw them in clinc and sent them home. Really, in clinic, you are meeting someone for the first time and have to assess them based on your judgment and experience, if you think they are well or if something is off. I thought something was off when I saw the boy slouched over in his chair, searching for his words. But not knowing what exactly it is, its hard to know the next step. In fact, prior to mentioning the sugar, the physical therapist, who had worked with the patient before, told the registrar that the patient didn't seem his normal, cherry self, but we all thought it was due to his worsening joint pain.
After morning clinic, I took the afternoon off and visited the Museum of London. The musuem begins with the pre-historic era and mostly describes the changing geography of London. For instace, the Thames river used to be far north of London. Over thousands of years, it moved southward, and has become more narrow and nore steep. According to our tour guide, if you walk along the banks of the river today, it is not uncommon at all to find clay pieces of pottery or tool from the Roman era. How cool! This is because the tide of the river is constantly turning over the sand so things that were buried are coming to the surface. Most of the collection in the museum was found from digs in the Thames. Water is great at preserving things like shoes, arrowheads, and skulls, because when an object becomes water logged, it locks out air. Air is what causes objects to decay.
As you move though the museum, the displays also progress forward in time. For instance, we walked though the Roman era, and saw marble sculptures of Roman gods. The great fire of London which took place in the 1700s is also on display. In fact, the famous dome of St. Paul's Cathedral was NOT the original design. Instead, St. Paul's church had an arched steeple. The dome was built after St. Paul's was destroyed in the Great Fire.
I think I liked the Victorian era the best. Dresses the ladies wore were on display. There was also the walls of a prison cell in the Tower of London on display and you could see people's carvings and graffitti on the wall.
I ran out of time before finishing the museum but must go back, especially as it is free!
The boy turned out to be a very ill. The whole interview, he was souched in his chair, his head was down, it took him forever to find his words. In retrospect, he was very lethargic. But at the time, I thought, "What is wrong with this boy? Is he developmentally slow? Or just very shy an intimdiated by doctors?". I thought maybe there was a cultural barrier too since he was Bengali and the father was using an interperrture. The physical therapist who examins pts during rheum clinic noted he was wearing an insulin pump. The registrar (=PGY3) asked about his sugars. He said that last night they were 32 mmol/L (=579 mg/dL in US system). The doctors eyes nearly came out of his head. He kept making sure he heard right. "Thirty-two?? As in in greater than 20?" he asked to clarify. He asked if the dad called the diabetic nurse and the dad said no. I couldn't believe it! I wanted to scream to the dad, "Do you know how high that is, how dangerous that is?" Then we found out the boy had also been nauseous and feverish. We looked at his tonsils and they were so enlarged, practically touching one another. The registrar phoned down to the A&E department, spoke to the doctors there and told them that he was sending down a pt from clinic.
If I were that doctor, would I almost have missed how sick this child was? Its such a scary thought to think that maybe if I was the one seeing this patient I would have sent him home after having focused on joint paint. It was rheum clinic after all. I can't imagine how guilty I would feel if someone died of DKA the day after I saw them in clinc and sent them home. Really, in clinic, you are meeting someone for the first time and have to assess them based on your judgment and experience, if you think they are well or if something is off. I thought something was off when I saw the boy slouched over in his chair, searching for his words. But not knowing what exactly it is, its hard to know the next step. In fact, prior to mentioning the sugar, the physical therapist, who had worked with the patient before, told the registrar that the patient didn't seem his normal, cherry self, but we all thought it was due to his worsening joint pain.
After morning clinic, I took the afternoon off and visited the Museum of London. The musuem begins with the pre-historic era and mostly describes the changing geography of London. For instace, the Thames river used to be far north of London. Over thousands of years, it moved southward, and has become more narrow and nore steep. According to our tour guide, if you walk along the banks of the river today, it is not uncommon at all to find clay pieces of pottery or tool from the Roman era. How cool! This is because the tide of the river is constantly turning over the sand so things that were buried are coming to the surface. Most of the collection in the museum was found from digs in the Thames. Water is great at preserving things like shoes, arrowheads, and skulls, because when an object becomes water logged, it locks out air. Air is what causes objects to decay.
As you move though the museum, the displays also progress forward in time. For instance, we walked though the Roman era, and saw marble sculptures of Roman gods. The great fire of London which took place in the 1700s is also on display. In fact, the famous dome of St. Paul's Cathedral was NOT the original design. Instead, St. Paul's church had an arched steeple. The dome was built after St. Paul's was destroyed in the Great Fire.
I think I liked the Victorian era the best. Dresses the ladies wore were on display. There was also the walls of a prison cell in the Tower of London on display and you could see people's carvings and graffitti on the wall.
I ran out of time before finishing the museum but must go back, especially as it is free!
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Clinic, museums, and upcoming trips!
This morning I went to endocrine growth clinic and saw several patients with growth disorders. One of them looked about 8 years old but was really 14. He has idiopathic growth hormone deficency and is being treated with growth hormone. The second was of a patient who was 6 years old in the bottom 5th percentile for growth. She likely has short stature and normal growth hormones since her rate of growth over the past year was 4 cm. The most interesting girl for me was one with hypochondroplasia. Like achondroplasia it is due to a mutation in the FGFR3 receptor, and the extremities are disproportionally shorter than the trunk. However, the height is much greater than that in achondroplasia. She is also on growth hormone which actually can make the disproportion more severe by mainly increasing trunk length.
After clinic I decided to go home. Its getting hard to stay motivated to go since no one is keeping track and since I'm mostly shadowing.
At lunch, I was happy to see several of my friends in the kitchen. So we had a nice chat about euthansia since there a man in the UK with locked-in-syndrome wanting someone to euthanize him, how dangerous it is to bike riding in London, and the crazy bus drivers here (I don't think people here drive worse than they do in NY).
After lungh, I finalized my plans and booked tickets for the trips I want to take before I leave. Next week Wednesday, I'm going to take a bus up to Bath, spend the night, and the next day do a tour of Stonehenge and Avebury. I'm really hoping to stay at a couchsurfer's place that night. I email a lot of girls I saw on the website but so far no one has been able to host me. I hope I do find someone not only because it would save money, but also because the idea seems so cool to stay at a total stranger's place for a night. I wish my landlord would let me host people so I could also meet people from around the world.
The following week, I'm taking a trip to Prague on Monday and Tuesday. I'm super excited about this trip. I've been waiting to go for years since people rave about Prague. And I got a great deal on tickets with Ryainair.
Jess and I made plans to check out the Imperial War Museum this afternoon. She got off around 3:30 and we meet at the tube and headed over together. We spent most of the time in the Holocaust exhibition. I throughly enjoyed it. One thing I thought was strange was that there was a sign saying you have to be 14 or older to enter. ??? What's the logic behind that??? Surely 14 y/o olds watch more gruesome things in the movies or video games.
After the museum closed Jess and I stopped at a nearby pub for dinner and drinks. We both got the house special, a cottage pie-- minced/ground beef with mashed potatoes on top. We chatted a couple of hours. She actually spent most of the time studying for her boards in pubs in Cardiff where she was visiting her boyfriend. I think its a great atmosphere to study since there always seems to be one really obnoxious person in Starbucks who makes it impossible to concentrate or there are no tables. I think its so brave to go to a pub by yourself and read but I'm going to try it because I'm so bored at nights with nothing to do and I just sit in my room. Its too uncomfortable for me to read in my room so I end up surfing the web for hours until I fall asleep.
Sometimes I wonder if its okay that I'm not doing much on this rotation. I thought about taking a PICU rotation in addition to my general peds-subi just to sort of challenge myself in a way. So far I can't bring myself to sign up for it knowing how intense it will be. So I'm just going to enjoy life being easy for now.
I also am thinking of dreading my hair when I get back to the States. I think the Coppola treatment has given me insomina.
After clinic I decided to go home. Its getting hard to stay motivated to go since no one is keeping track and since I'm mostly shadowing.
At lunch, I was happy to see several of my friends in the kitchen. So we had a nice chat about euthansia since there a man in the UK with locked-in-syndrome wanting someone to euthanize him, how dangerous it is to bike riding in London, and the crazy bus drivers here (I don't think people here drive worse than they do in NY).
After lungh, I finalized my plans and booked tickets for the trips I want to take before I leave. Next week Wednesday, I'm going to take a bus up to Bath, spend the night, and the next day do a tour of Stonehenge and Avebury. I'm really hoping to stay at a couchsurfer's place that night. I email a lot of girls I saw on the website but so far no one has been able to host me. I hope I do find someone not only because it would save money, but also because the idea seems so cool to stay at a total stranger's place for a night. I wish my landlord would let me host people so I could also meet people from around the world.
The following week, I'm taking a trip to Prague on Monday and Tuesday. I'm super excited about this trip. I've been waiting to go for years since people rave about Prague. And I got a great deal on tickets with Ryainair.
Jess and I made plans to check out the Imperial War Museum this afternoon. She got off around 3:30 and we meet at the tube and headed over together. We spent most of the time in the Holocaust exhibition. I throughly enjoyed it. One thing I thought was strange was that there was a sign saying you have to be 14 or older to enter. ??? What's the logic behind that??? Surely 14 y/o olds watch more gruesome things in the movies or video games.
After the museum closed Jess and I stopped at a nearby pub for dinner and drinks. We both got the house special, a cottage pie-- minced/ground beef with mashed potatoes on top. We chatted a couple of hours. She actually spent most of the time studying for her boards in pubs in Cardiff where she was visiting her boyfriend. I think its a great atmosphere to study since there always seems to be one really obnoxious person in Starbucks who makes it impossible to concentrate or there are no tables. I think its so brave to go to a pub by yourself and read but I'm going to try it because I'm so bored at nights with nothing to do and I just sit in my room. Its too uncomfortable for me to read in my room so I end up surfing the web for hours until I fall asleep.
Sometimes I wonder if its okay that I'm not doing much on this rotation. I thought about taking a PICU rotation in addition to my general peds-subi just to sort of challenge myself in a way. So far I can't bring myself to sign up for it knowing how intense it will be. So I'm just going to enjoy life being easy for now.
I also am thinking of dreading my hair when I get back to the States. I think the Coppola treatment has given me insomina.
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Oxford
Broad Street
I first came upon Shelodnian theater.
Sheldonian Theater
Bodleian library
Just behind the library lies Radcliffe Camera. The word camera is taken from a latin word which means a circular room. The dome of Radcliffe Camera is probably most distinct for its blue hue that stands out in the city's skyline..Radcliffe Camera
I walked down along Cattle Street and got to the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin. You are able to climb up to dome to get an aerial view of the city but I couldn't find where.
University Church of St. Mary the Virgin
I then went to Christ Church.College on Algate street. This college has several claims to fame. Lewis Carrol was a student of mathematics at this college. Also the Great Hall is where scenes from Harry Potter were filmed. Unfortunately, it was closed to visitors when I was there due to an event. The college is unique in that it functioned as both a college (center for student education and living) as well as a cathedral. It was founded by Henry VIII.Christ Church Cathedral
Library of Christ College
Outside the college lies a large meadow that stretches to the Thames river which cuts through Oxford.After visiting the college, I got lunch at Tescos and headed back up to Broad street to see the Ashmoleum museum. Entrance is free. The museum houses work from the Egyptian period, through 17th century European Art.
I wandered into a bookstore and got my old PI a postcard since she did her PhD at Oxford and I thought it would bring some nice memories. Then it was time for my tour.
Seeing the Boldeian library was a real treat. Everyone had to put their bags in a chest. We weren't allowed to carry anything inside. Our guide was an American, who apologized for not having an authentic british accent. He's doing a PhD in history at Oxford. The library is a deposit for all the books published in the UK. This includes childrens books in case one day someone wants to study childs literatures. Of course because there is a limited amount of space, the library across of it is being expanded and another one is being built somewhere in England. Back in the day, the library had no book shelves. Instead, books were displayed on a sort of table and students had to read the books standing up. The books would be chained to the table. He showed us an example of a book with a huge chain attached to its cover which was then chained to the shelf. Students still use the books to this day. Most of the books though are in Latin so these are very smart students! It was really magical to be in the middle of this library with thousands of voulmes of huge books several hundred of years old.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Nando's and St. Paul's
Tonight was soooo amazing! Kasuni, Diyvia (from London), Rosie (from China) and I went to Nandos. Its a resturant that originated from Mozambique-Portugesese people in Johannesburg. Its found globally, in several countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and in D.C. The chicken is cooked in a Peri-Peri marinade. Peri-peri (or pili-pili) is Swahili for chili pepper! Its also called Galinha a Africana, which is Portugese for "Chicken the African Way". When the Portugesee settleld in Mozambuique they were introduced to peri-peri by the Mozambiques and began incoroporating it into thier cusine.
The resturant sells chicken that is flame grilled and marinated in peri-peri spicy sauce. You can get medium, hot, or extra extra hot. I think I would have gotten the extra hot were it not for Divya and Kasuni who warned me that it was really really spicy. I remembered trying some of Hiral's home made pizza that was too spicy for me and decided to get the medium.
This really was good chicken. I liked that is was flamed grilled and not fried since a lot of fried food upsets my stomach. The quality of the chicken wings was really good too. There wasn't a lot of fat or rubbery skin and I could easily eat the chicken right down to the bone. The outside was crips, spicy and full of barbeque flavor! They also sell chicken liver!
Diyvia is a first year medical student who also wants to go into pediatrics. Kasuni wants to be an oral pathologist and is in a 1 year masters program. I asked Divya about medical school tuition which she said is 3,950 pounds and about 3500 pounds for living expenses (about $16,000 a year). She couldn't believe it when I told her our last financial aid budgent for 1 year was $80K. Queen Mary University also offers scholarships off free tuition to the students who are in the top 10 of their class. She explain that students from Cambridge and Oxford come to Queen Mary for thier clinical rotation since the expose is really sparse near these universities. She also told me about "vajazzle" a trend here where women put on glitter studs on their vagina! How gross! Theres also one form men called pajazzle and guess where those go. She also wants me to try banoffee (combination of banana and toffee) a desert she said was really good. She asked about what music is popular in the states right now.
The girls told me that this is the first time they've gone out together! Usually they hang out in the dorms. And they were so happy they met me and felt like they've known me for a really long time even though its only been a little over a week! I told them how mutual the feeling is.
Nando is right by St. Paul's Catherdral. After dinner, we took the elevator up to the 6th floor of a building complex. There's an amazing rooftop bar and a lounge that you are free to walk around. The dome of St. Paul's Cathedral is right in front! Its illuminated at night. You can walk down the rooftop lounge and the dome is so large right in front of you that you feel you can reach out and touch it! I'd really like to come back in the day time to take better pictures. There is also a view of the London eye and the London suppository, lol, as I heard its similar structure called in Barcelona. We just had a great time on the roof time, loving the view and taking pictures. It was the first time Divya and Rosie had been up there.
You can easily get "lost" in the magic of the streets around St. Pauls. Walking around, I felt like Gil, the novelist, in the movie Midnight in Paris, who imagines himself to be in Paris during the 1920s. Its like you are walking down streets and you know its 2012, but the things that look so old are so well preserved that you're mind easily slips away to the 1600s. I felt like at any moment I could see a horse with a suited gentleman on top trottling down the street.
We walked through Smithsfield market which is a meat market that is most active in the early hours of the morning. My friends told me that if you come really early you can see cow and pigs hanging. I'll try it one morning! It was also the site where William Wallace, one of the great Scottish heros in the Scottish War of Independece, also depected by Mel Gibson in Braveheart, was executed by the British. Its also right by the night club Fabric which Divya told me was rated the NUMBER ONE CLUB IN THE WORLD! Wow! I hope I can check it out one night!
I decided not to go to the peds surgery clinic in the afternoon and instead went back to Baker's Street to get a novel at Oxfam. On my walk today, I passed by the site where Charles Dickens lived when he wrote 3 of his novels, and a manor house used by Henry the VIII and Elizabeth the I. I found the book Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder which Ana my roommate raved about and picked it up along with Memoirs of a Midget by Walter de la Mare because its from 1932. The cover looks like it could be a collectable and I have small hopes that one day it will be worth more than the 2 pounds I paid for it. I also got a Frodors guide to London, which inspired me to take a day trip to Oxford tomorrow.
One of the medical students told me today that if I wanted I could spend a day with the major trauma section of the hospital and see the cases that come in via helipad. I feel a bit reluctant to do say because now I'm comfortable with the people in the peds department and it will be hard to branch out and try something new. But I know I'll regret it if I don't so I really hope one afternoon next week I give it a try. I'm also looking forward to metabolic and oncology clinic on Monday.
I was a little happier than I normally am while seeing patients in derm clinic today and I think its becasue in general all the derm patients are healthy. I guess its has taken a small toll on me seeing so many kids who are unwell.
The resturant sells chicken that is flame grilled and marinated in peri-peri spicy sauce. You can get medium, hot, or extra extra hot. I think I would have gotten the extra hot were it not for Divya and Kasuni who warned me that it was really really spicy. I remembered trying some of Hiral's home made pizza that was too spicy for me and decided to get the medium.
This really was good chicken. I liked that is was flamed grilled and not fried since a lot of fried food upsets my stomach. The quality of the chicken wings was really good too. There wasn't a lot of fat or rubbery skin and I could easily eat the chicken right down to the bone. The outside was crips, spicy and full of barbeque flavor! They also sell chicken liver!
Diyvia and Kasuni
Rosie and I
Diyvia is a first year medical student who also wants to go into pediatrics. Kasuni wants to be an oral pathologist and is in a 1 year masters program. I asked Divya about medical school tuition which she said is 3,950 pounds and about 3500 pounds for living expenses (about $16,000 a year). She couldn't believe it when I told her our last financial aid budgent for 1 year was $80K. Queen Mary University also offers scholarships off free tuition to the students who are in the top 10 of their class. She explain that students from Cambridge and Oxford come to Queen Mary for thier clinical rotation since the expose is really sparse near these universities. She also told me about "vajazzle" a trend here where women put on glitter studs on their vagina! How gross! Theres also one form men called pajazzle and guess where those go. She also wants me to try banoffee (combination of banana and toffee) a desert she said was really good. She asked about what music is popular in the states right now.
The girls told me that this is the first time they've gone out together! Usually they hang out in the dorms. And they were so happy they met me and felt like they've known me for a really long time even though its only been a little over a week! I told them how mutual the feeling is.
Nando is right by St. Paul's Catherdral. After dinner, we took the elevator up to the 6th floor of a building complex. There's an amazing rooftop bar and a lounge that you are free to walk around. The dome of St. Paul's Cathedral is right in front! Its illuminated at night. You can walk down the rooftop lounge and the dome is so large right in front of you that you feel you can reach out and touch it! I'd really like to come back in the day time to take better pictures. There is also a view of the London eye and the London suppository, lol, as I heard its similar structure called in Barcelona. We just had a great time on the roof time, loving the view and taking pictures. It was the first time Divya and Rosie had been up there.
You can easily get "lost" in the magic of the streets around St. Pauls. Walking around, I felt like Gil, the novelist, in the movie Midnight in Paris, who imagines himself to be in Paris during the 1920s. Its like you are walking down streets and you know its 2012, but the things that look so old are so well preserved that you're mind easily slips away to the 1600s. I felt like at any moment I could see a horse with a suited gentleman on top trottling down the street.
We walked through Smithsfield market which is a meat market that is most active in the early hours of the morning. My friends told me that if you come really early you can see cow and pigs hanging. I'll try it one morning! It was also the site where William Wallace, one of the great Scottish heros in the Scottish War of Independece, also depected by Mel Gibson in Braveheart, was executed by the British. Its also right by the night club Fabric which Divya told me was rated the NUMBER ONE CLUB IN THE WORLD! Wow! I hope I can check it out one night!
Kasuni and I in Smithfield Market
I also had a great morning in clinic today as well. Today was peds derm clinic. Today I told the consultant that I was in my last year of medical school after which she asked if I'd like to clock in my own patients. I told her I'd love to. But as it happened only one patient was there at a time so I ended up seeing all of her patients with her. She was great teaching consultant because when we examined the child she asked me to descibe the affected skin and tell her what I thought it was. The first case was of tinea capitis. I also saw eczema, psoriasis, vitiligo, alopecia areata and pityriasis rubra pilaris type IV.I decided not to go to the peds surgery clinic in the afternoon and instead went back to Baker's Street to get a novel at Oxfam. On my walk today, I passed by the site where Charles Dickens lived when he wrote 3 of his novels, and a manor house used by Henry the VIII and Elizabeth the I. I found the book Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder which Ana my roommate raved about and picked it up along with Memoirs of a Midget by Walter de la Mare because its from 1932. The cover looks like it could be a collectable and I have small hopes that one day it will be worth more than the 2 pounds I paid for it. I also got a Frodors guide to London, which inspired me to take a day trip to Oxford tomorrow.
One of the medical students told me today that if I wanted I could spend a day with the major trauma section of the hospital and see the cases that come in via helipad. I feel a bit reluctant to do say because now I'm comfortable with the people in the peds department and it will be hard to branch out and try something new. But I know I'll regret it if I don't so I really hope one afternoon next week I give it a try. I'm also looking forward to metabolic and oncology clinic on Monday.
I was a little happier than I normally am while seeing patients in derm clinic today and I think its becasue in general all the derm patients are healthy. I guess its has taken a small toll on me seeing so many kids who are unwell.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Dinner near Baker's Street
Today after lecture, Jess and I went out to eat at Comptoir Libanais, a Lebanese resturant near Baker's Street. Baker's street is famous for being the fictional residence of Sherlock's Homes. It used to be dominated by high class London residences but is now mostly shops, pubs, resturants, book stores, and cafes.
Jess is an amazing person. She spent 6 months traveling thoughout Australia, New Zeland, India, and SE Asia! I wish I was able to travel for that long. She even worked in a hosptial in India when she traveled there. She also had an amazing job working at the Yankee's stadium as a statistician for the broadcasters during Yankee games.
I was in general pediatric clinic today and saw a 5 y/o girl with hematuria, 14 y/o girl with migraines, 10 y/o boy with enuresis, 9 month old by with possible acondroplasia (dad noticed feet were disproportionatly short), and a 6 mo old boy with eczema. I don't have an April elective scheduled yet, and today after I read though the survey of electives, I really appreciate how chill this elective is. I see diverse conditions, some very rare, other very common, and feel zero pressure and zero responsiblity. I get in at 9:30, stay in morning clinic until about 12:30, go to lunch, then come back for afternoon clinic from 1:30-4:30. I can go to any clinic I want or A&E and thus no one would miss me if I didn't come, but I want to see as much as I can!
Tomorrow night, Diva and Luny are going to take me to Nandos, a chicken store that they've been raving about. They say all Americans love it and that P Diddy wanted to open a branch in the states. Sarah, Tess, Carly, and Gina are going to a dinner and a friends place and then going out in the city. I may meet up with them later.
The first pictures below are of our night out in Dalston. The last are of this evening.
Jess is an amazing person. She spent 6 months traveling thoughout Australia, New Zeland, India, and SE Asia! I wish I was able to travel for that long. She even worked in a hosptial in India when she traveled there. She also had an amazing job working at the Yankee's stadium as a statistician for the broadcasters during Yankee games.
I was in general pediatric clinic today and saw a 5 y/o girl with hematuria, 14 y/o girl with migraines, 10 y/o boy with enuresis, 9 month old by with possible acondroplasia (dad noticed feet were disproportionatly short), and a 6 mo old boy with eczema. I don't have an April elective scheduled yet, and today after I read though the survey of electives, I really appreciate how chill this elective is. I see diverse conditions, some very rare, other very common, and feel zero pressure and zero responsiblity. I get in at 9:30, stay in morning clinic until about 12:30, go to lunch, then come back for afternoon clinic from 1:30-4:30. I can go to any clinic I want or A&E and thus no one would miss me if I didn't come, but I want to see as much as I can!
Tomorrow night, Diva and Luny are going to take me to Nandos, a chicken store that they've been raving about. They say all Americans love it and that P Diddy wanted to open a branch in the states. Sarah, Tess, Carly, and Gina are going to a dinner and a friends place and then going out in the city. I may meet up with them later.
The first pictures below are of our night out in Dalston. The last are of this evening.
Cat and Sarah
Izzy and Gina
Tess and I
Me, Carly, Tess, Izzy, and Sarah
Jess and I on Marylebone Road
Comptoir Libanais
My lentil soup and Morrocan bread
Jess and her mint tea
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