Oh that - that's a cell

We have a test per week for the next four weeks, so we are all buried in books.  However, one can only study so much each day - so I'm taking a break and updating you all on my happenings.

This last week, we had our first histology practical test.  When the second years described what it would be like, they explained how that there would be forty microscopes set up and we would have a minute at each one to identify the structure before a whistle informed us it was time to go to the next station.  I was certain the 'whistle' part was a joke...

It wasn't.

That's right - for forty minutes, I may as well have been on a leash begging for treats.  The test was a nightmare - there were literally three slides for which I identified the structure as "a cell of some sort."  Considering histology is the study of cells, I supposed I was technically right, but I don't think it got me any points.

In any case, I did end up passing (in medical school, unless you do really well, you either pass or fail), which was as surprising as it was relieving.

In anatomy last week, we dissected the heart and lungs (VERY interesting) and this week we are dissecting the abdomen.  Here's the deal - when you watch videos or see pictures of abdominal dissections, it seems like it will be really cool.  After all, here is the part of the body where the structures are large and easily recognizable.  What you don't find out until you are actually in the room is that the intestines smell really, really bad!  Today, I felt like I was going to pass out many times, and finally sat down far from the cadavers to study after deciding I had seen (read: smelled) enough.

On Saturday of this week, we have our first anatomy practical - same deal as histology minus the microscopes.  I'm still deciding what my default answer is going to be, but am leaning towards "a muscle of some sort - probably the type that pulls." :-)

What a difference five days make

This morning (at 12:30am), I kissed Brooke goodbye at the airport.  A few hours later I took an anatomy test and will collapse into bed as soon as I finish writing this.  The last five days have been some of the happiest of my life.

Brooke got here on Wednesday and we spent the next five days touring Beirut, studying, and enjoying each other's company.  I feel like I'm a battery which has just been recharged.  The morning was tear-filled as we said good-bye, but this afternoon I noticed something I hadn't felt in months - happiness!  The test was impossible and the assignments are stacking up, but I didn't care - I'm in medical school in a beautiful place and I have a beautiful, supportive girlfriend.  How much better could life get?

If four years from now I have an MD, it will be because of the confidence she instills in me.