Qu'est-ce que c'est?

The stress definitely starts to build as I realize that anatomy class is just as confusing as the french class I had last night. With no background in anatomy, this in some way resembles a different language to me.

Quoi?

Had my first french class today. My prof spoke in French for 85% of the time. In a way it was overwhelming but on the other hand, I kinda enjoyed the intense, bootcamp nature of the class. It kinda made me feel like I would be forced to learn a lot and to really learn the language. We'll see how things go after she reads my paragraph to determine whether I've been misplaced in this class :D haha

Let the studying begin!

So foundations lectures are finally starting and surely enough, we had a whole day of it today - intense. Suddenly feeling a little overwhelmed about my new home, new friends, new program/area of study, new methods of learning, and of course new life. Wondering if I can get through this but of course it is too soon to tell. Can I survive the case-based learning? the strong smell of aldehyde in the anatomy lab? the lack of specific textbooks I can refer to? the interviewing of patients each week? standing in an OR for 6 hours straight? Only time will tell.

P.S. French class begins tomorrow!

Life as a student

Almost completed 1.5 weeks of school. Learnt lots about professionalism, ethics, leadership, physician wellness, and other relatively "softer" skills. Had a memorable birthday in Ottawa, for the first time in my life. Is still amused about taking out the garbage and bumping into classmates who are also doing the same thing. Was excited about an interprofessional case competition but then my team ended up with 7 med students and 1 health sci student - very interprofessional indeed. Still enjoying the art of cooking yet wished that I can do it in less time. Tip: don't cook when you're hungry, by the time you get hungry, you'll be rushing to get your meal done that it is highly likely your meal will turn into a disaster. You need to foresee hungry and prepare well in advance.

Loved the fact that we had a long lunch today where we managed to go out for lunch, go to the pharmacy, starbucks and loblaws. Fun times.

Watched very touching video clips in class which made me question my EI and wonder if I'm too sensitive. Think I have the imposter syndrome and have been doing a lot of reflecting, hence the lack of posts in the past week. I read an article last week about surviving first year. There were some very valid points there, mostly importantly the need to stop comparing myself to others and stop caring so much about what others think about me.

Back to school

Woke up early to in the morning to head to school to pick up my new computer! Smaller than expected but still nice. Carried my computer avec all it's accessories home and really trained my upper arm strength. Didn't know the walk home was so long until today. XD Finally "registered" and officially a student :) Met EVERYONE in the class via introductions from each student - crazy, I know. Found out I was the only commerce student and 1 of 4 BC'ers in my class. Went to some friends' house for lunch then back again for some more lectures. Need to get use to instruction in both official languages. I'm enjoying the benefits of living close to school since we got to go hang out at home after school and before the evening events. Was on time for the club presentations but was deprived of pizza since it ran out before we got there! Listened to a total of 44 club presentations then signed up for at least 10+ clubs. Went out for some authetic chinese food. Yum.

Adventures in Ottawa - Day 12

Time to raise some money for Cystic fibrosis screaming on the streets of Byward Market and saran wrapping a friend to a lamppost. Fun times. Off to lunch and to get dressed up for Toga night. Awesome times!

Adventures in Ottawa - Day 13

Started the day with a great start by setting off the smoke detector making pancakes. Long story short, didn't want to wake up roommate by turning on kitchen fan but ironically woke her up and scared her to death using the smoke detector. Lesson: You gotta do what you gotta do. Then off to do some grocery shopping. Went out for some pasta then off to our Hawaiian boat cruise! Loved it!

Adventures in Ottawa - Day 11

Slept in today and woke up to the smell of the yummy brunch that my awesome roommate made for us. Then did the laundry. Then headed out for a walk to school. Roommate was taking a nap when I stepped out and when she woke up she thought I was kidnapped XD. Oops. I'll probably have to leave my notes at a more obvious location next time. Headed downtown for a tour to community health clinics, had some pizza, then off to the traditional scavenger hunt.

Adventures in Ottawa - Day 10

Ate brunch at home to get ready for Day 2 of frosh - Med olympics! More sunshine!! More pranks. Signed up for volleyball and dance teams! Super excited! Went home to eat dinner then got dressed up in retro gear for some bowling. Saw the evening view of the canal tonight. It was beautiful.

Adventures in Ottawa - Day 9

First day of frosh week - full of pranks, bbq, sunshine, "speed dating", stand up comedy and lots of student swag. Awesome :) didn't know we were supposed to eat before the evening events.. came home at midnight and ate bowl noodles XD. Totally not good for my stomach. Need to plan better tomorrow.

Adventures in Ottawa - Days 7-8

Since my parents have gone home, I've been spending the last two days with my roommate and her family. They are super nice, yet I think my homesickness is starting to kick in already. Our days were full of some more shopping, returning and other fun stuff. I think I've been to Canadian Tire at least 7 times since I got here. It's strange since I would boycott them back in Vancouver. Fun times though. I think with all this shopping we have enough food and supplies till the end of December XD. After dinner last night, we saw some people with telescopes set up in the parking lot and apparently they were looking at Jupiter and its moons. We asked to take a peek and it was an amazing sight!

I don't remember if I have mentioned this but I think I've become a lot more germaphobic since I got here. Must be because of moving in a new place and all.