The First Day of the Rest of My Life.

Today was the first day of class. I never get sick of saying that. I love school.

We started with Microanatomy (a generalized term for Histology/Pathology). Three hours of lecture that basically reviewed everything I had allowed my brain to forget from genetics and microbio. My professor is nice, lively, and German (from Munich). Thankfully her accent is not a problem for me to understand.

Next came Physiology, a class that I find interesting but very scary. We immediately jumped into the nervous system, and the prof seems to like pausing to ask people questions in the audience. Which would be fine if I:

A.) had ever taken any physiology/anatomy courses in the past and

B.) weren't in class for the very first day so was unprepared to answer questions about material I didn't even know existed.

My spontaneous question was: "what is the cranial nerve #9?". This came just after he asked some other student about nerve #10, which they answered correctly. WTF. I, of course, just silently shrugged my shoulders as I had absolutely NO intention of wasting the student's time trying to think of an answer. Which, in case you were dying to know, was the Glossopharyngeal (#10 being the Vagus). I totally had that one.

Scintillating, isn't it?

The bonus side is I'll never forget those two nerves so long as I live.

Following physio we had a nice leisurely lunch overlooking the ocean (anywhere you are on campus you are overlooking the ocean). Then we were off to Gross Anatomy, which was being cut short so that we could go home and get pretty for the White Coat Ceremony.
Or so we thought.
25 minutes after class was supposed to start, a nice 'mature' gentleman came waddling into the classroom to ask us why we were sitting there. All 100+ of us. He then proceeded to tell us that Gross Anatomy had been cancelled for the day due to the ceremony. Nice.
Later in the day I walked the incredibly steep duo of hills to return to campus for the ceremony. We were all a little goofy about it, assuming that it was just some cheesy event where a bunch of people talk and we leave. But surprisingly, I found myself tearing up a number of times listening to the speakers talk about what this ceremony means for us (yes, even I have tear ducts). They lead us up on stage one at a time, circa high school graduation, to present us with our coats. Then a professional photog snapped a shot of us after we came down the stage, complete with a pretty teal tie-die backdrop (not sure when those photos are available).

Mandy caught this shot of me getting my coat. Not a great one, but you get the idea.

Kristin, myself, and Christin.

Myself with Kelly and Matt.

A gaggle of white coats.

After the ceremony there was a nice reception (read: free food and soft drinks), and I introduced myself to the dean. He seems very nice, and really likes outdoor activities. He just got back from Kite-Sailing (?), and he participates every year in the triathlon, which includes a swim across the 2 mile straight between St. Kitts and Nevis.

After the ceremony it was straight back to the room for some organization and studying. Studying was a bit hard, though, as I had no binders in which to organize the humongous mound of papers we were given. Must break down and purchase the super-duper expensive ones at the bookstore...

One last thought: I am amazed at the sheer amount of information these profs give us. In a matter of a day, we reviewed what would have taken 2-3 weeks in undergrad. So please, don't be sad if I fall behind on correspondence over the next few months. I have a feeling I will be building a fort out of chairs and blankets so that I may truly live in the library.