Calculate the Mass of the Sun

School has been busy. Real busy. Summer break is ovuh, boys and girls. We are currently in the renal system. Fun fact: there is a lot going on in your kidneys. On top of class material, our system leaders seem intent on asking me questions way beyond my mental capacity (which likely has something to do with my brain skills and possibly something to do with the level of difficulty of the questions). Here's how most of the renal system quiz questions read in my brain:

Ok yeah, just give me a second to multiply the renal artery by the derivative of aldosterone. You think I'm exaggerating, but, if I am, it's only barely. This picture, taken by a classmate a few weeks ago, seems more applicable than ever (the circular building is the medical school, by the way):

So. School is kinda tough. No surprises there. On the bright side, I just ate two gummy bear vitamins and they were really, really tasty. So... everything balances out, right? Right. Till next week!

An Apple a Day....

I'm back in action!

School started on Thursday. Am I happy? No. Am I devastated? Not really, no. I feel medium about it. I enjoyed my summer break, but med school isn’t going to learn itself. Apparently I have to do that. And the sooner I start, the sooner I finish.

Our first system is the infamous renal system. Lots of ions and gradients and tubules and stuff. It can get pretty confusing. Below is a picture of me on first day of school. First day of school pictures get less fun every year. I  miss the days of 101 Dalmatian lunch boxes and oversized Old Navy shirts. The good ole' days. Good news, though! Nineteen first days of school down, two to go!

• So...after school on Thursday and Friday, I decided I need a break (still trying to work my school stamina back up), so I went to New York City this weekend with Lauren. I love New York. And being there with Lauren was lots of fun. Here are the highlights, followed by some pictures.

• Walking around Central Park in the rain on Saturday morning.

• Enjoying some waffles and dinges from a great little Belgian food truck outside the park.

• Walking down Broadway to the Empire State Building, taking pictures of the city.

• Eating at John’s Pizzeria in building that was originally a church. The ricotta-peperoni was the best pizza I’ve in my life, no offense, Chicago pizza places that come in a close second.

• Wandering around the Metropolitan Museum of Art for a few hours.

• Eating soup at the “Soup Nazi’s” restaurant (for those Seinfield fanz out there)

• Attending church in a beautiful, old four-story brick building in Harlem. 

 

At the time of writing, I’m riding back to Virginia on a bus that has outlets and wifi. Technology these days. I wanted more than anything to stay in New York longer, but I have an 8 am class tomorrow. Back to the grind. Ready or not, M2 starts for real this week.

Rwrappin' up Rwanda

I know you loved the post title. Don’t pretend you didn’t. Took me at least 37 seconds to come up with it, so hopefully it was worth the time investment.

I’m writing this post to you from my house in the Abingdon, Virginia. So….retroactive drum roll, please….. I’m back from Africa!! As you might imagine, things got pretty crazy there towards the end, so that’s why I’m just now getting around to writing about it.

I’ll keep it simple. My last week was wonderful. Fittingly, it was more about people than places or trips or new experiences. Valentina and I went to our final Cub Hope meeting. I played Saturday Soccer with some of my Rwandan friends.  I spent the afternoon at Lake Muhazi with Vanessa and the orphans that she has been working with the past two years. I also had dinner and went clubbin’ (if you can imagine that in Rwanda) in Kigali with all of my UVa and Yale friends.  Here are some pictures:

 

 

On the way back from Rwanda, Ginni and I took a 3 day pit stop in Istanbul, Turkey. If you haven't been to Istanbul yet, stop reading this blog right this second, go sell your kidney on the black market, and book your trip. It's that great. Tons of history. Colors around every corner. Lively at all hours of the day. Great food. Nice people. Good weather.

Here are the highlights:

Visiting beautiful mosques (the Blue Mosque was one of the prettiest buildings I've ever seen in person)

Trying street food (we gave everything a shot: grilled corn, cherries, paninis, Turkish delight, chicken kebabs, baklava, orange juice (squeezed right in front of you), ice cream, assorted nuts, oysters from the Bosporus, etc.)

Exploring a football-sized underground Roman cistern

Walking along the Bosporus at sunset

Taking a 3-hour audio tour of Hagia Sophia (my "favorite building in the entire world," circa high school world history class freshman year)

Haggling for stuff no human being would ever need at the Grand Bazaar

Running into to numerous Russian speakers. Всегда люблпю говорит по-русский! Always love using my Ruski!

Walking around Taksim Square where all the protests were a few weeks ago.

 

After an 11-hour jaunt complements of Turkish Air, I landed in DC last Thursday. It's been an incredible (albeit short) couple of months. As is usual with me and traveling, I was equal parts sad to leave Rwanda and happy to get back to Virginia. I'm extremely grateful for the things I've learned, opportunities I've encountered, and the people I've met this summer. Coming to Rwanda was a huge blessing for me. As sad as I am that it's over, at least I have my memories (and a ridiculous amount of poorly-shot 18 megapixel pictures).  It's been an adventure. Thanks for tuning in. Next chapter: Med school, Year 2.  Classes start in a week! See you then!