The First Buds

From Boston

What a difference 4 months makes. While Boston has the terrible habit of lingering winters, the promise of spring is felt in the sun on a day like today and the small buds that are appearing on the trees around here. Even in class we are reminded that summer is not far from the horizon. We've started our last course for the first year, a combined block of Immunology, Microbiology, and Pathology. It begs the question, where has the time gone?

So in the spirit of spring cleaning, here is a recap of the last few months (with links to photos):

• December: Over the holidays, I saw both sides of my family visiting Las Vegas and Houston. As is always the case with my extended family, the predominant activity was going to restaurants and eating excellently.
• January: After the intensity of anatomy and genetics, January was a relative respite as we took a course in clinical epidemiology and grant proposal writing. This second class was a significant source of stress for many of us as we scrambled to make plans to do research or community service over the summer. Over MLK weekend, I visited a college friend who is a medical student at Dartmouth and had my first, very unsuccessful, experience with downhill skiing.
• February: Our most rigorous class of the year, physiology, was everything as advertised. We spent roughly a week on each human system (respiratory, cardiology, gastroenterology, nephrology, and endocrinology), and this was the first time since starting medical school that I truly felt thrown into the deep end of a pool with my arms tied behind my back. We also started our second semester course in medical ethics. Thankful for national holidays, I spent President's weekend in our nation's capital being patriotic with some SPHINX Buckeyes.
• March: The conclusion of physiology was gratifying because preparation for our final exam promoted working in groups to truly integrate the vast amount of material across human systems we had learned in the short six weeks. Directly following, I finally spent enough time visiting Columbus to feel settled at home, read leisurely, and visit friends.
  

As I recount this, I am chuckling a little bit at the pattern in each month consisting of and . There are experiences that have spanned this entire period including interviewing patients for our patient-doctor course, exploring my interest in the field of humanitarian relief, building friendships with classmates, catching up with friends who pass through Boston, having fun volunteering in the Boston area, and getting my only exercise through intramural volleyball.

While life is presently dominated by the day to day of preparing for class and assimilating medical knowledge and culture, thankfully, there are still times everyday when the tension breaks. Jokes are made, time is allowed to pass by, and the small things in life are appreciated. That is the promise of spring.

Old Columbus Town

The Oval at Ohio State

I wanna go back to Ohio State
To old Columbus town,
To the stadium to hear the band,
By far the finest in the land,
I wanna go back to Ohio State
To old Columbus town,
I wanna go back,
I gotta go back,
To Ohio

Adapted from Songs of The Ohio State University

It's hard to believe that it has been over a month since I moved from Columbus, but the start of college football season and Hurricane Ike's wrath have drawn my thoughts towards home to Dublin and Ohio State. We also just took our first exam (I passed!), so I suppose that signifies I am now officially a medical student. With that, here are some my reflections from the last couple days:

Things I Miss

The Oval- Although there is a large Quad at HMS that has had its fair share of Ultimate games, it simply does not compare to the grandeur of the Oval. Perhaps what I miss most about the Oval is its location in the flightpath into and out of CMH and watching the 737s and Embraer jets flying overhead.

High Street- It really is the central artery of Ohio State and Columbus. In addition to its numerous establishments (Larry's and Mama's Pasta and Brew come to mind), it was just so damn straight. Due in part to history, Boston has a serious problem of unintuitive street alignments and roads that change names in the middle of a traffic circle. High St. never looked so good.

Climbing, Backpacking, and Swimming- I will always remember the weekly trips to the OAC rock wall and the weekend excursions to the Red River Gorge and the Smokies as time that kept me kept me sane during these last four years. While I still miss the old Larkins pool, being able to swim in the new McCorkle pool these last couple years have forever spoiled any place that I could swim in Boston.

People- Well, duh. Of course I miss you all. This includes but is not limited to roommates who made living off campus easy, backpacking buddies who weren't afraid to climb the sheer rock cliff, Sphinx'ers who did the things that "secret" societies do, and all the students, staff, and faculty at Ohio State who were collectively an unending source of support and inspiration.

Things I Don't Miss

Losing football games- Although I was fortunate to not experience many losses while at Ohio State, whenever it did happen, I felt like a malaise spread throughout the campus for at least a week afterward. Here, I get a couple heckles but wounds heal much faster.

COTA- It gets an unfair rap, and I was a usually happy rider when in school. However, when compared to Boston's T, it is like looking at the differences between an iPhone and a pay phone.

The Olentangy and Scioto Rivers- The Charles may not be pristine, but at least it is blue and navigable by sailboat. For what Boston lacks in an Oval, it makes up with riverfront parks.

The transition from Columbus to Boston has been surprisingly easy. This is undoubtedly in part because I was able to spend time with my family here and getting to know new classmates for three weeks before classes actually began. Being able to connect with people through blogs, Facebook, gTalk (mjaung), and Skype (msjaung) have been essential too.

There are also reminders of home here. This includes fellow Buckeyes who have migrated to Boston as well as professors and classmates who are proudly from the Midwest (highlighted by a demonstration in lecture of glycolysis involving an ear of corn). However, I belive that the absolute best way to remember the past is to have visitors and make new memories in the present. Not to be confused with Back to the Future, that means come to Boston! I'll be waiting.

Hello, World

As an undergrad, I made a point to keep a journal every time I traveled abroad. This summer I was able to reread them as I was packing for school. It was fascinating how what I wrote shaped my memories from each experience and how much I had already forgotten.

So as I embark on my 4+ years in Boston, I hope to write more about studying at Harvard Medical School and life on the East Coast. Here and there, I'll write about current events or other miscellany things when the last thing I want to think about is medical school. Feel free to let me know if there's anything you'd like me to write about.

Cheers!