A Couple of Days in Courtney's BUSY Life!

THE WEEKEND:
On Saturday, I was forced to wake up early in order to meet everyone at the gate at 8 am. In DC, we visited two colleges, George Washington University and Georgetown University. I personally liked Georgetown better. I think it's because I liked the atmosphere and felt more comfortable there. The reason also could have been because I felt a little rushed during the GW tour since we were late getting to the college. However, I must say the GW dorms were very nice! We also saw the Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial Wall.
On Sunday, I went to church with a friend on my floor, but we were 30 minutes late since someone at the church gave us the wrong time. Then, we had brunch and did some laundry. I just spent the day hanging out and relaxing. That night, we went to watch Les Miserables which was great! I always heard about how good the play is and now I know why.

MONDAY:
It was back to classes this day. At first, I wasn't looking forward to it because I had such a great weekend, but it was a pretty easy morning since it ended at 11 instead of 12 because at 11, one lab group went over to the biomedical library for an orientation. First we had a lecture on histology, the study of tissues. Then after break, Ms. Shuda went over the paper we have to turn in which is due our last Monday of the program, July 28. It is a research paper about any disease that interests us. I have not started on this yet, but I'm looking forward to it. In class, I do not feel like one of the stronger students. It seems as if the other students in class have already learned the material. Some of it feels like review, but most of the things we are learning are completely new to me. But I guess this is what this program is for. It should be challenging me. After lab, I found out I had a journal club meeting at 6:30. So before that time, I went over the article with a friend in my group. I felt very confused about the article, but during the session our group leader went over everything, so I feel like I understand it now. Oh & there was an ice cream social that night. It was pretty fun.
I give a shout out to my dad since it was his birthday this day! haha

TUESDAY:
This day there was an interesting lecture given by Gary Lincoln Collins and Steve Olszewski and they talked about forensic pathology. First, Mr. Collins talked about what forensic pathology is. Basically, they help determine the cause of death. Then, Mr. Olszewski showed us pictures from 7 cases they had and he explained how they were able to determine the cause. I was very interested during the entire lecture. However, I do not think this is a career option I'd like. The pictures were a little disturbing for me and I don't think I would be able to look at those cases everyday. Tomorrow, they will be back for another lecture. I'm sure I'll like this presentation as well. I decided to tie-dye a white shirt I bought on sale and I found out I got a package. It was from my family and it came at the perfect time, since I was starting to feel a little homesick. Cynthia, Susan, and I also met with Ms. Crespo to talk a little over some ice cream.

TODAY (Wednesday):
Today, Ms. Shuda lectured about microbiology and then one of the teacher assistants, Grace Lee talked to the class about nervous tissue. I felt a little lost during today's lectures, but I'm sure if I just read over the chapters in the book I will soon understand the concepts. After class, it was my lab group's turn to go to the library. We found out a few things about the library and the librarian showed us a couple websites we should check out to help us with the papers. In lab, we had to set up overnight cultures. This didn't take too long, so we had other activities to do in class. The group looked at the brain, eye, and heart of sheep. We also had experiments dealing with taste perception and nerve impulse speed. I had a lot of fun since it was more than just measuring different substances like we normally do.

Well, I have to go now since I have a journal club meeting soon!