Dr. Joia Mukherjee, Medical Director of Partners in Health, and Tracy Kidder, author of "Mountains Beyond Mountains" spoke to the first year medical school class at the University of Minnesota today. If you have not read the book, stop reading this blog and pick up a copy because it will change the way you think about health inequalities.
Joia's response to my fellow med student's comment, "What can we do?" She said, "Study a lot and become very good doctors and read." I want to start reading more. I take the bus to school and now that I'm finished reading Kidder I'm going to pick up a few of the recommended books by our speakers.
Book List per speakers:
On Haiti:
1. Women, Poverty, and AIDS by Paul Farmer
2. The Black Jacobins by CLR James
On Africa:
1. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
2. King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild
3. Bury the Chains by Adam Hochschild
4. ? Old South Africa book describing labor laws and coal mines that paved the way for the HIV/AIDS epidemic decades later
Other:
1. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
2. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
3. A Woman in a Shaman's Body by Barbara Tedlock
Any other recommendations, please leave a comment. Thanks
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Dr. Paul Farmer and deye mon gen mon
The Haitian saying, deye mon gen mon, translated, “beyond mountains there are mountains,” is a perfect title for Tracy Kidder’s biography of anthropologist and Harvard Medical School alumnus, Dr. Paul Farmer. Kidder explains in Mountains Beyond Mountains, the Haitian proverb refers to a cycle where, “once you solve one problem, another problem appears, and so you go on and try to solve that problem too.” Farmer’s philosophy is that no problem is too big to tackle even when the problems are political and social mountains. Farmer encourages others to be altruistic and help eliminate health disparities and disease, acknowledging that his model is merely an example of what needs to get accomplished, not how to achieve it. Jim Kim, a friend of Farmer’s said, “If the poor have to wait for a lot of people like Paul to come along before they get good health care, they are totally f*cked” (244). Personally, I am both inspired by Farmer’s devotion to a philanthropic cause and disappointed to realize the limits of my own altruism. However, there are advantages and disadvantages to Farmer’s altruism. His patients benefit from his altruism yet he lacks balance with his personal life. Despite my personal limitations, I will sacrifice time, comfort, and family to help accomplish Farmer’s vision of world health and equity as a physician.
The Medical Professionalism Project outlines three main principles, the first of which is the principle of primacy of patient welfare. This principle, when the physician is not financial compensated is called altruism, yet in American health care is compensated and therefore it is a business. Altruism is a key aspect of building a patient-physician relationship, accomplished by developing trust through dedication to serving in the best interest of the patient. Altruism is what Dr. Paul Farmer does best. I believe there are many benefits to Farmer’s altruism. Primarily, his altruism benefits patients, which is everyone in the world who is in need of health care. Kidder reflects on Farmer’s method, “First, you perform what he calls “the distal intervention” and cure the family of [tuberculosis]. Then you start changing the conditions [including political situation] that made them especially vulnerable to TB in the first place” (293). Farmer re-emphasizes the idea that deye mon gen mon, despite a problem’s insurmountable appearance, it is important to attempt the ascent. Farmer redefines the notions of efficiency and cost-effectiveness, which in turn benefit his patients. His willingness to do “unglamorous scut work” is his secret to successful projects in poor places, like Haiti.
Secondly, Farmer benefits from his altruism. When Farmer hikes seven hours to make two house visits, he is helping himself and his patients. Critics refer to his house visits as inefficient; yet, Farmer insists the world’s problems are due to the false belief that some peoples’ lives matter more than others’ lives. He sees his patients in unsanitary conditions and suffering needlessly and it re-energizes his passions and gives him more power and authority to return to the United States and write about the health of populations. Critics view his altruism as egoistic because his work is selfish and accomplishes his personal goals, giving him power and authority. However, whether altruistic or egoistic, Farmer’s work follows a simple principle: everyone who is sick deserves help and he is a doctor.
His altruism has repercussions as well. Farmer is devoted to the principle of primacy of patient welfare that is admirable and self-sacrificing; however, difficult to duplicate. It would be difficult to be Didi and Catherine, Farmer’s wife and daughter, whom he has little time to see them. Kidder asked Farmer, “Where do you get off thinking you’re different from everyone and can love the children of others as much as your own?” He replied, “Love thy neighbor as thyself… I’m sorry, I can’t, but I’m gonna keep on trying, comma” (213). He rarely spends time with his family but it is sufficient to suit his needs. Does the balance, or lack thereof, reflect his altruism or egoism? People require a lifestyle balance with personal life. Farmer challenges the individualistic perspective that strives in large middle class, capitalistic, and democratic nation in favor of altruism.
Farmer believes that equity is the only acceptable goal. He transmits his anger from the systemic injustice into “something more productive, a dream of ending health disparities” (261). Dr. Ezekowitz said, “I think free care serves and important purpose, in that it centers people. Poverty … in front of you, it has a reality” (279). Farmer does not allow market forces, societal exigencies, or administrative constraints deter him from his dreams. He admires Cuba’s health care system: first-rate public health that is equitably distributed in spite of limited resources. However, Cubans pay the price in political freedom. Farmer argues it is a small price most people in the world would pay for freedom from illness and premature death. His philosophy is altruistic in theory but has repercussions socially and politically.
He has challenged and redefined limitations and notions of cost-effectiveness and efficiency in his projects in Haiti, Peru, and Russia. He delivers high quality medical treatment to his patients, regardless of whether or not they can afford the treatment. The repercussions of Farmer’s altruism involve redefining economic, political, and social systems, including admitting financial costs to developed nations. These repercussions are minimal to the tremendous benefits for his patients, the community, world health, and himself.
I agree with Farmer’s philosophy that no problem is too big to tackle. However, he has made me admire and resent his radical humanitarianism because I painfully acknowledge the limits of my own altruism. I believe that there are societal pressures that bestow females more family obligations making it more difficult for females, such as myself, to live Farmer’s altruistic lifestyle. I was struck by his devotion to the poor. Jim Kim said, “Paul has a gift for making people feel guilty.” I agree because Farmer makes other people feel inadequate, even though it is not his intent. Kidder explained: “Farmer counseled others to take vacations while taking none himself. He didn’t disapprove of others having luxuries, so long as they gave something to the causes of the poor. He demanded a great deal from protégés and colleagues, and he always forgave them when they didn’t measure up” (213). Farmer’s intentions are always to end health disparities. He acknowledges that there is a high cost to the wealthy in order to fix the world’s problems, including individuals sacrificing time, comfort, and family, as well as feeling remorse and pity (“qualities that sets us aside from roaches,” Farmer said). As Kidder writes, it is easy to take a passive role in world health, an epidemic called “collective amnesia.” Farmer helps people remember these issues, and acknowledges donations to Partners in Health with hand-written thank-you notes. I am impressed and motivated by Farmer’s altruism.
I value my family and my personal wellness, happiness, and health. Farmer’s altruism is my aim in life but I admit that helping others satisfies my self-interest. I achieve personal happiness and wellness, strengthen relationships, and lower my stress level when I help others. Overall, I believe in an altruistic philosophy. Farmer said, “I think, sometimes, that I’m going nuts, and that perhaps there is something good about blocking clean water for those who have none, making sure that illiterate children remain so, and preventing the resuscitation of the public health sector in the country most in need of it. Lunacy is what it is” (258). It is unfair to punish poor people for their lack of knowledge and unfair political situation that uses brutality, torture, and massacre and uses economic justification to perpetuate poverty. I will hike deye mon gen mon, tackling problems through volunteerism, locally and internationally, and financial support. Farmer is a motivating individual and I admire his altruism and dedication to world health.
The Medical Professionalism Project outlines three main principles, the first of which is the principle of primacy of patient welfare. This principle, when the physician is not financial compensated is called altruism, yet in American health care is compensated and therefore it is a business. Altruism is a key aspect of building a patient-physician relationship, accomplished by developing trust through dedication to serving in the best interest of the patient. Altruism is what Dr. Paul Farmer does best. I believe there are many benefits to Farmer’s altruism. Primarily, his altruism benefits patients, which is everyone in the world who is in need of health care. Kidder reflects on Farmer’s method, “First, you perform what he calls “the distal intervention” and cure the family of [tuberculosis]. Then you start changing the conditions [including political situation] that made them especially vulnerable to TB in the first place” (293). Farmer re-emphasizes the idea that deye mon gen mon, despite a problem’s insurmountable appearance, it is important to attempt the ascent. Farmer redefines the notions of efficiency and cost-effectiveness, which in turn benefit his patients. His willingness to do “unglamorous scut work” is his secret to successful projects in poor places, like Haiti.
Secondly, Farmer benefits from his altruism. When Farmer hikes seven hours to make two house visits, he is helping himself and his patients. Critics refer to his house visits as inefficient; yet, Farmer insists the world’s problems are due to the false belief that some peoples’ lives matter more than others’ lives. He sees his patients in unsanitary conditions and suffering needlessly and it re-energizes his passions and gives him more power and authority to return to the United States and write about the health of populations. Critics view his altruism as egoistic because his work is selfish and accomplishes his personal goals, giving him power and authority. However, whether altruistic or egoistic, Farmer’s work follows a simple principle: everyone who is sick deserves help and he is a doctor.
His altruism has repercussions as well. Farmer is devoted to the principle of primacy of patient welfare that is admirable and self-sacrificing; however, difficult to duplicate. It would be difficult to be Didi and Catherine, Farmer’s wife and daughter, whom he has little time to see them. Kidder asked Farmer, “Where do you get off thinking you’re different from everyone and can love the children of others as much as your own?” He replied, “Love thy neighbor as thyself… I’m sorry, I can’t, but I’m gonna keep on trying, comma” (213). He rarely spends time with his family but it is sufficient to suit his needs. Does the balance, or lack thereof, reflect his altruism or egoism? People require a lifestyle balance with personal life. Farmer challenges the individualistic perspective that strives in large middle class, capitalistic, and democratic nation in favor of altruism.
Farmer believes that equity is the only acceptable goal. He transmits his anger from the systemic injustice into “something more productive, a dream of ending health disparities” (261). Dr. Ezekowitz said, “I think free care serves and important purpose, in that it centers people. Poverty … in front of you, it has a reality” (279). Farmer does not allow market forces, societal exigencies, or administrative constraints deter him from his dreams. He admires Cuba’s health care system: first-rate public health that is equitably distributed in spite of limited resources. However, Cubans pay the price in political freedom. Farmer argues it is a small price most people in the world would pay for freedom from illness and premature death. His philosophy is altruistic in theory but has repercussions socially and politically.
He has challenged and redefined limitations and notions of cost-effectiveness and efficiency in his projects in Haiti, Peru, and Russia. He delivers high quality medical treatment to his patients, regardless of whether or not they can afford the treatment. The repercussions of Farmer’s altruism involve redefining economic, political, and social systems, including admitting financial costs to developed nations. These repercussions are minimal to the tremendous benefits for his patients, the community, world health, and himself.
I agree with Farmer’s philosophy that no problem is too big to tackle. However, he has made me admire and resent his radical humanitarianism because I painfully acknowledge the limits of my own altruism. I believe that there are societal pressures that bestow females more family obligations making it more difficult for females, such as myself, to live Farmer’s altruistic lifestyle. I was struck by his devotion to the poor. Jim Kim said, “Paul has a gift for making people feel guilty.” I agree because Farmer makes other people feel inadequate, even though it is not his intent. Kidder explained: “Farmer counseled others to take vacations while taking none himself. He didn’t disapprove of others having luxuries, so long as they gave something to the causes of the poor. He demanded a great deal from protégés and colleagues, and he always forgave them when they didn’t measure up” (213). Farmer’s intentions are always to end health disparities. He acknowledges that there is a high cost to the wealthy in order to fix the world’s problems, including individuals sacrificing time, comfort, and family, as well as feeling remorse and pity (“qualities that sets us aside from roaches,” Farmer said). As Kidder writes, it is easy to take a passive role in world health, an epidemic called “collective amnesia.” Farmer helps people remember these issues, and acknowledges donations to Partners in Health with hand-written thank-you notes. I am impressed and motivated by Farmer’s altruism.
I value my family and my personal wellness, happiness, and health. Farmer’s altruism is my aim in life but I admit that helping others satisfies my self-interest. I achieve personal happiness and wellness, strengthen relationships, and lower my stress level when I help others. Overall, I believe in an altruistic philosophy. Farmer said, “I think, sometimes, that I’m going nuts, and that perhaps there is something good about blocking clean water for those who have none, making sure that illiterate children remain so, and preventing the resuscitation of the public health sector in the country most in need of it. Lunacy is what it is” (258). It is unfair to punish poor people for their lack of knowledge and unfair political situation that uses brutality, torture, and massacre and uses economic justification to perpetuate poverty. I will hike deye mon gen mon, tackling problems through volunteerism, locally and internationally, and financial support. Farmer is a motivating individual and I admire his altruism and dedication to world health.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Notorious
How come there are only three words that rhyme with Pastorius? Two of them are muscles on my cadaver, sartorius and risorius, and the third is my nickname, notorious.
According to Webster's Dictionary "Notorious" was adopted into English in the 16th century from Medieval Latin "notorius," itself from Late Latin's noun "notorium," meaning "information" or "indictment." "Notorium," in turn, derives from the Latin verb "noscere," meaning "to come to know." Although "notorious" can be a synonym of "famous," meaning simply "widely known," it long ago developed the additional implication of someone or something unpleasant or undesirable. I prefer the former definition, widely known, as opposed to the latter. Either way, I routinely earn the nickname no matter whom I meet or what group of friends I hang out with. Even in groups of new friends, someone clever figures out the alliteration and Mr. Garber's nickname, "Notorious B.I.G." nickname at Chippewa Middle School will never leave.
According to Webster's Dictionary "Notorious" was adopted into English in the 16th century from Medieval Latin "notorius," itself from Late Latin's noun "notorium," meaning "information" or "indictment." "Notorium," in turn, derives from the Latin verb "noscere," meaning "to come to know." Although "notorious" can be a synonym of "famous," meaning simply "widely known," it long ago developed the additional implication of someone or something unpleasant or undesirable. I prefer the former definition, widely known, as opposed to the latter. Either way, I routinely earn the nickname no matter whom I meet or what group of friends I hang out with. Even in groups of new friends, someone clever figures out the alliteration and Mr. Garber's nickname, "Notorious B.I.G." nickname at Chippewa Middle School will never leave.
Monday, September 18, 2006
Six days and counting
Well folks, I've been so busy with anatomy that I forgot to write. For anyone who's interested, I'm in a relationship with a man named Frank Netter. We often sleep together and I have been caught drooling on him. He lets me study his anatomy day and night from many different positions. I like this guy! ;)
Anatomy, wow, I can't believe it's almost over! Only six more days with my crumbled cadaver, who currently looks like a marble Roman bust in Ephesus. Last Thursday, we took a hand saw and cut off through both humerus bones, while slicing through the well defined muscles of the upper arm, and through the rib cage, sternum, and intervetebral disc. Last week we hemi-sected the pelvis after sawing off both legs. A month ago, I would have thought this was inhumane, horrendous, awful, and plain wrong. However, I love my cadaver and he has taught me a lot. I've picked his butt fat, trimmed his fascia, defined and then sliced his muscles, hemi-sected his pelvis, castrated his penis, and now I'm dissecting tiny arteries and nerves that used to make this man smile and wink. Next week we'll hemi-sect the skull to dissect the tiny nuclei in the brain that make up the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
Today was especially interesting because we used wire cutters to snip bits of the mandible (jaw bone) and zygomatic bones off to expose the muscles, nerves, and arteries of mastication. The TMJ (temporamandibular joint) is a popular place for dislocations and it is obvious to see why when you pop it open in lab. Also, anomalies are awesome. Every body is unique and our teachers regularly point out the "cool" anomalies for other students to come look at. Our body has lots of these. On one hand, it's nice to have a unique body with a pelvic kidney (1 in 900), and on the other hand, it's annoying to study our cadaver when we are tested on the typical bodies and Netter's Atlas. At least our cadaver didn't have esophageal cancer for the torso test - that group was very unfortunate. I guess there will always be one part of everyone's cadaver that is different than the other eight cadavers in the lab. Oh well, c'est la vie.
On a side not, I'm looking forward to the Dedication Service where the med students plan a ceremony for the families of the bodies. I hear it is spectacular! Students perform on stage and produce a video documentary of students thanking the families for the tremendous contribution to medical education.
I'll write again soon, ciao
Katie
P.S. I'm super excited that I got into the Philips Neighborhood Clinic but then I was devastated to hear that it might be cut due to "financial difficulties." I'm reading Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains, again, and I hate how people say "Resources are always limited." It doesn't acknowledge how the resources had come to be limited in that given place, as if someone had imposed poverty there. However, resources are less limited now than before because medicine has the tools and treatments for preventing plagues and unnecessary suffering. How come the PNC is subject to "elimination" due to "resources" when it works out of a church basement, run by volunteer students, and serving a community that is desperate for affordable healthcare? I hope I get an opportunity to work there and make it a bigger and better place.
Anatomy, wow, I can't believe it's almost over! Only six more days with my crumbled cadaver, who currently looks like a marble Roman bust in Ephesus. Last Thursday, we took a hand saw and cut off through both humerus bones, while slicing through the well defined muscles of the upper arm, and through the rib cage, sternum, and intervetebral disc. Last week we hemi-sected the pelvis after sawing off both legs. A month ago, I would have thought this was inhumane, horrendous, awful, and plain wrong. However, I love my cadaver and he has taught me a lot. I've picked his butt fat, trimmed his fascia, defined and then sliced his muscles, hemi-sected his pelvis, castrated his penis, and now I'm dissecting tiny arteries and nerves that used to make this man smile and wink. Next week we'll hemi-sect the skull to dissect the tiny nuclei in the brain that make up the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
Today was especially interesting because we used wire cutters to snip bits of the mandible (jaw bone) and zygomatic bones off to expose the muscles, nerves, and arteries of mastication. The TMJ (temporamandibular joint) is a popular place for dislocations and it is obvious to see why when you pop it open in lab. Also, anomalies are awesome. Every body is unique and our teachers regularly point out the "cool" anomalies for other students to come look at. Our body has lots of these. On one hand, it's nice to have a unique body with a pelvic kidney (1 in 900), and on the other hand, it's annoying to study our cadaver when we are tested on the typical bodies and Netter's Atlas. At least our cadaver didn't have esophageal cancer for the torso test - that group was very unfortunate. I guess there will always be one part of everyone's cadaver that is different than the other eight cadavers in the lab. Oh well, c'est la vie.
On a side not, I'm looking forward to the Dedication Service where the med students plan a ceremony for the families of the bodies. I hear it is spectacular! Students perform on stage and produce a video documentary of students thanking the families for the tremendous contribution to medical education.
I'll write again soon, ciao
Katie
P.S. I'm super excited that I got into the Philips Neighborhood Clinic but then I was devastated to hear that it might be cut due to "financial difficulties." I'm reading Tracy Kidder's Mountains Beyond Mountains, again, and I hate how people say "Resources are always limited." It doesn't acknowledge how the resources had come to be limited in that given place, as if someone had imposed poverty there. However, resources are less limited now than before because medicine has the tools and treatments for preventing plagues and unnecessary suffering. How come the PNC is subject to "elimination" due to "resources" when it works out of a church basement, run by volunteer students, and serving a community that is desperate for affordable healthcare? I hope I get an opportunity to work there and make it a bigger and better place.
Sunday, August 13, 2006
First day of medical school
My so-called life is over and it happened like a sudden onset myocardial infaction. One day you're mooning boaters while riding a pontoon then sitting around a campfire roasting marshmallows thinking about the going away party drama and the next day you're sitting in a 250+ person lecture hall learning about the brachial plexus. Needless to say, I started medical school this week at the University of Minnesota. I don't mean to say that in a bad way, but basically the life that I'm used to - vacations, sunsets, soccer, parties - is over. The average age of my peers has jumped five years and 50% are married - talk about social pressures. BTW I came across this article in the Star Tribune today: http://www.startribune.com/218/story/609110.html )
I learned today that you should always eat a good lunch because at 1:25pm you head up to Jackson Hall to the Gross Anatomy labs. I wouldn't want to be that girl who lost her lunch and slowly slipped into a gumbo state. She was promptly dragged out by the TA and her body buddy. There are two guys and two girls per cadaver - collectivley called "Body buddies" due to the intimacy of which you get to know one another. There have are endless stories of doctor couples who were body buddies as a MS1. A cadaver is typically an elderly person who donated their body to medical education. They are like the beautiful and elegant Bodyworlds (http://www.smm.org/bodyworlds/) people without color. (If you haven't seen the exhibit at the Minnesota Science Museum - go see it before it leaves Sept. 5th.) The cadaver next to ours has her fingernails painted neon pink. This subtle aspect reminds me that these people, despite their plastic bag covered faces and colorless attributes, were living and breathing citizens in the recent past.
This is my first "surgery." I volunteer the scalpel to my body buddies - fellow MIAC grads - but they insist that I start. I immediately realize that in surgery, there is a disadvantage to being left-handed. Why? I'd like to study the differences and challenges that lefties face in this world that right-handed people never realize. Anyway, I switch positions with one of my buddies and then I slowly cut along the sternum - a cut that can't go wrong. We dig into the abundant amount of adipose tissue using the "reverse scissors" and tweezers pulling method, exposing the axilla, a.k.a. armpit. This is cool.
After four or so hours hunched over formaldehyde preserved cadaver, I reeked. I reeked so bad that even after a shower, I could smell the formaldehyde under my nails as I bit into my apple at dinner. Sour apple, I'd say.
The best part of medical school is my peers (and faculty but I haven't become too acquainted with them yet). My peers and I played pick up soccer near the Mississippi River on Wednesday and then 20 of us went to see the Minnesota Twins choke against the Blue Jays. It was bonding in the nosebleed section. We talked cadaver and "Some TAs Like Sex And Pizza" - one of the dozen mnemonics I'll learn this week. Did you know mnemonsyne was a Greek goddess of memory? Anyway, I can't wait to go back to anatomy class tomorrow morning. I've learned 50 of the 2,500 anatomy words so far - whoohoo!
Also, cool blogs I found:
http://www.theunderwaredrawer.blogspot.com and http://www.califmedicineman.blogspot.com who discovered the "Ultimate Mnemonic - Frank Sinatra Takes Four Fifths Seagram’s Seven Each Night To Ease Tension," which stands for the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth thoracic vertebrae - brilliant! I feel stupider already!
I learned today that you should always eat a good lunch because at 1:25pm you head up to Jackson Hall to the Gross Anatomy labs. I wouldn't want to be that girl who lost her lunch and slowly slipped into a gumbo state. She was promptly dragged out by the TA and her body buddy. There are two guys and two girls per cadaver - collectivley called "Body buddies" due to the intimacy of which you get to know one another. There have are endless stories of doctor couples who were body buddies as a MS1. A cadaver is typically an elderly person who donated their body to medical education. They are like the beautiful and elegant Bodyworlds (http://www.smm.org/bodyworlds/) people without color. (If you haven't seen the exhibit at the Minnesota Science Museum - go see it before it leaves Sept. 5th.) The cadaver next to ours has her fingernails painted neon pink. This subtle aspect reminds me that these people, despite their plastic bag covered faces and colorless attributes, were living and breathing citizens in the recent past.
This is my first "surgery." I volunteer the scalpel to my body buddies - fellow MIAC grads - but they insist that I start. I immediately realize that in surgery, there is a disadvantage to being left-handed. Why? I'd like to study the differences and challenges that lefties face in this world that right-handed people never realize. Anyway, I switch positions with one of my buddies and then I slowly cut along the sternum - a cut that can't go wrong. We dig into the abundant amount of adipose tissue using the "reverse scissors" and tweezers pulling method, exposing the axilla, a.k.a. armpit. This is cool.
After four or so hours hunched over formaldehyde preserved cadaver, I reeked. I reeked so bad that even after a shower, I could smell the formaldehyde under my nails as I bit into my apple at dinner. Sour apple, I'd say.
The best part of medical school is my peers (and faculty but I haven't become too acquainted with them yet). My peers and I played pick up soccer near the Mississippi River on Wednesday and then 20 of us went to see the Minnesota Twins choke against the Blue Jays. It was bonding in the nosebleed section. We talked cadaver and "Some TAs Like Sex And Pizza" - one of the dozen mnemonics I'll learn this week. Did you know mnemonsyne was a Greek goddess of memory? Anyway, I can't wait to go back to anatomy class tomorrow morning. I've learned 50 of the 2,500 anatomy words so far - whoohoo!
Also, cool blogs I found:
http://www.theunderwaredrawer.blogspot.com and http://www.califmedicineman.blogspot.com who discovered the "Ultimate Mnemonic - Frank Sinatra Takes Four Fifths Seagram’s Seven Each Night To Ease Tension," which stands for the First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth thoracic vertebrae - brilliant! I feel stupider already!
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Honors
Whoa! Relief, like a brick lifted off the chest! I can breathe again! I love spring for 100 reasons, namely the birds are happy and singing, the tulips are blooming, and my honors thesis is completed and accepted. I want to celebrate!
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
The places I've been
Me in the US, where will my next road trip be? Kordy and Jon and I are planning on going out West - what does that mean exactly. Is it like going "Up North?" Who knows, I just can't wait to see my squishies! 
create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out ourCalifornia travel guide
What's next, Afrika?
create your own visited country map
create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out ourCalifornia travel guide
What's next, Afrika?
create your own visited country map
Monday, April 03, 2006
Home sweet home
I tried to update this earlier but it was lost in cyber space and I couldn't be bothered re-writing it until now.
I'm home. I have 40 euros in my purse and small scars on my hand and face.
Culture shock wasn't too bad except I think I'm going insane driving 300+ miles per week in my car, alone. I hate SUVs, vans, trucks, gas stations, pot holes, and parking meters. The number of strangers that I interacted with either by eye contact or smiling or a quick chat has diminished dramatically. There are days where I sit at home and don't see anyone except my dog, family and the security guard at work. Sad.
I'm trying to find a subletter to rent my room until the end of August because it's expensive and I'm pretty much broke. I still am waiting to get off the alternate list from Mayo Medical School but right now I think I'll go to the U of MN in the fall. Right now I'm working the night shift at Children's Hospital while writing my honors thesis on mitral regurgitation. Not fun!
So far I am drama free. Not much ex-bf and his ex-gf drama -thankfully. I've stayed away from the campus parties and I am enjoying big breakfasts and hottubin with my old roommates and new best friends. Life is good.
Now I'm planning my next trip: Africa. www.nytimes/marketing/winatrip
Graduation is around the corner: May 13! Whoohoo!
Thanks for reading, keep in touch
I'm home. I have 40 euros in my purse and small scars on my hand and face.
Culture shock wasn't too bad except I think I'm going insane driving 300+ miles per week in my car, alone. I hate SUVs, vans, trucks, gas stations, pot holes, and parking meters. The number of strangers that I interacted with either by eye contact or smiling or a quick chat has diminished dramatically. There are days where I sit at home and don't see anyone except my dog, family and the security guard at work. Sad.
I'm trying to find a subletter to rent my room until the end of August because it's expensive and I'm pretty much broke. I still am waiting to get off the alternate list from Mayo Medical School but right now I think I'll go to the U of MN in the fall. Right now I'm working the night shift at Children's Hospital while writing my honors thesis on mitral regurgitation. Not fun!
So far I am drama free. Not much ex-bf and his ex-gf drama -thankfully. I've stayed away from the campus parties and I am enjoying big breakfasts and hottubin with my old roommates and new best friends. Life is good.
Now I'm planning my next trip: Africa. www.nytimes/marketing/winatrip
Graduation is around the corner: May 13! Whoohoo!
Thanks for reading, keep in touch
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Attacked!
Valencia was amazing! Parks, beaches, sun, Lladros... but enough of the great times because tonight was SCARY!
I arrived in Madrid at 3pm and toured the wonderful Prado museum. Afterwards I walked back towards my hostel and stopped for a kebab on the main street. As I was walking, i noticed a guy following me and i stopped to look in a window and then turn the other way, letting him pass, when he grabbed my purse. He pulled out a knife and held it to my face. I held my purse tightly, not because it had money - a whopping 5 euros - but it had my journal and that is priceless to me. i screamed - help me, help me, help me - and then i kicked him. We swung around a bit on the sidewalk as i peed my pants screaming and then i was thrown into the busy street where a taxi slammed on his breaks and was honking. Two American girls came to help as the 16ish year old guy and i were spinning and i was kicking around in the street, and i was still holding one end of my bag and he the other. Finally he ran.
One of the girls cut her hand badly and was gushing blood along the sidewalk and had to go to the hospital. thankfully, i only had my chin and neck cut like a paper cut with the knife and my hand had a small cut too. Plus, i ahve my purse. There were Americans at the hotel who walked me back to my hostel because i didnt want to be on the streets alone and i havent left the hostel since. This is the first time since i have been traveling alone that i have felt scared. Everyone keeps saying that i am so brave for traveling but i am typically with other backpackers and most cities feel real safe, until now.
i leave for amsterdam tomorrow and it couldnt be sooner. then i fly home on thursday, arriving at 420pm. it is better that this happened later in my trip then at the beginning because i may have come home sooner.
thanks for reading, see you soon, adios
love
katie
I arrived in Madrid at 3pm and toured the wonderful Prado museum. Afterwards I walked back towards my hostel and stopped for a kebab on the main street. As I was walking, i noticed a guy following me and i stopped to look in a window and then turn the other way, letting him pass, when he grabbed my purse. He pulled out a knife and held it to my face. I held my purse tightly, not because it had money - a whopping 5 euros - but it had my journal and that is priceless to me. i screamed - help me, help me, help me - and then i kicked him. We swung around a bit on the sidewalk as i peed my pants screaming and then i was thrown into the busy street where a taxi slammed on his breaks and was honking. Two American girls came to help as the 16ish year old guy and i were spinning and i was kicking around in the street, and i was still holding one end of my bag and he the other. Finally he ran.
One of the girls cut her hand badly and was gushing blood along the sidewalk and had to go to the hospital. thankfully, i only had my chin and neck cut like a paper cut with the knife and my hand had a small cut too. Plus, i ahve my purse. There were Americans at the hotel who walked me back to my hostel because i didnt want to be on the streets alone and i havent left the hostel since. This is the first time since i have been traveling alone that i have felt scared. Everyone keeps saying that i am so brave for traveling but i am typically with other backpackers and most cities feel real safe, until now.
i leave for amsterdam tomorrow and it couldnt be sooner. then i fly home on thursday, arriving at 420pm. it is better that this happened later in my trip then at the beginning because i may have come home sooner.
thanks for reading, see you soon, adios
love
katie
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Suicide, Moulin Rouge, and Carnival
I wanted to save a few bucks so rather than flying from Berlin to Barcelona, I took two night trains with a "layover" in Paris. Who said you can't see Paris in one day? My train arrived late because a German railworker jumped in front of our train, committing suicide, in the middle of the night. I slept through the whole thing.
I met a guy from Paris and I tried to have a conversation in French but it quickly turned into English because my French is worthless. He told me how to see all of Paris in a day.
I started at the Bastille and walked to the Cathedral de Notre Dame and Hotel De Ville, then to the Louvre (but didnt go in), through the gardens at Touleries (not in season so everything was rather brown and dead), down the Champs d'elysee to go window shopping at Louis Vuitton. Then through the arc de triomphe where I met some crazy fashion and design students from London. Three of the guys were wearing trendy shoes with pointed toe (one guy had gold shoes) and ladies trench coats with cashmere scarfs with very stylish haircuts (basically a side mullet) and carrying HUGE leather handbags. These guys were hilarious! We paid too much money to go up to the top of the Eiffle Tower as it was snowing and cold but awesome views. Then, the strobe lights came on and made the whole tower glitter - totally awesome! Then I had to get back to the train station to go to Barcelona since I nearly missed my night train the night before. Something about hopping right on the train makes me think I can arrived at the departure time whereas on planes you have to get there super early. Another day without a shower wearing the same clothes, oh well.
My sister, Anne, and i are in Barcelona and last night was carnival - crazy party! It starts in Cadiz, Spain and moves up to Barcelona but since the event is so big Barcelona cant host it so they moved it to a small town 20 miles away. We went with a large and noisy group, dressed as flamenco dancers with bright red lipstick. it was a blast! My noise-maker blew out before we got off the train - i felt bad for the other people on the train. "Carnival! Carnival! Carnival! Carnival!" "What are you watch out for?..." Our group (an Italian, a couple brits, canadians, kiwis, and americans) were yelling the whole time.
Well we are off to the outdoor Barcelona zoo and world class aquarium. The weather is beautiful, blue skies and temps in the 60s. Too bad I wont get this weather for a couple months when i get back. Boo! It is refreshing to not wear long johns for the first time in two weeks!
I am off to valencia, seville, madrid, and then amsterdam and home.
Adios!
I met a guy from Paris and I tried to have a conversation in French but it quickly turned into English because my French is worthless. He told me how to see all of Paris in a day.
I started at the Bastille and walked to the Cathedral de Notre Dame and Hotel De Ville, then to the Louvre (but didnt go in), through the gardens at Touleries (not in season so everything was rather brown and dead), down the Champs d'elysee to go window shopping at Louis Vuitton. Then through the arc de triomphe where I met some crazy fashion and design students from London. Three of the guys were wearing trendy shoes with pointed toe (one guy had gold shoes) and ladies trench coats with cashmere scarfs with very stylish haircuts (basically a side mullet) and carrying HUGE leather handbags. These guys were hilarious! We paid too much money to go up to the top of the Eiffle Tower as it was snowing and cold but awesome views. Then, the strobe lights came on and made the whole tower glitter - totally awesome! Then I had to get back to the train station to go to Barcelona since I nearly missed my night train the night before. Something about hopping right on the train makes me think I can arrived at the departure time whereas on planes you have to get there super early. Another day without a shower wearing the same clothes, oh well.
My sister, Anne, and i are in Barcelona and last night was carnival - crazy party! It starts in Cadiz, Spain and moves up to Barcelona but since the event is so big Barcelona cant host it so they moved it to a small town 20 miles away. We went with a large and noisy group, dressed as flamenco dancers with bright red lipstick. it was a blast! My noise-maker blew out before we got off the train - i felt bad for the other people on the train. "Carnival! Carnival! Carnival! Carnival!" "What are you watch out for?..." Our group (an Italian, a couple brits, canadians, kiwis, and americans) were yelling the whole time.
Well we are off to the outdoor Barcelona zoo and world class aquarium. The weather is beautiful, blue skies and temps in the 60s. Too bad I wont get this weather for a couple months when i get back. Boo! It is refreshing to not wear long johns for the first time in two weeks!
I am off to valencia, seville, madrid, and then amsterdam and home.
Adios!
Sunday, February 19, 2006
In a nutshell
Ok so the good and then the bad...
GOOD: Went to short track speedskating, front row, talked to US short track skater JP´s mom and said hi to Apollo Ohno, met the US figure skating pair and the US ice dancing chick and two US short track olympians
BAD: Got on the bus to go back to the hotel and was chatting when I heard my purse zipper open and before I knew it my camera was gone
GOOD: I had switched my 256 MB memory card to a small one 10 photos before so I didn´t lose much
BAD: While filing a report with the Torino police, I missed my train to Milan
GOOD: I met some business people who graduated from Notre Dame and were working with AT&T and bought me a few Jack and coke´s because they felt sorry for me and let me stay in their companies extra hotel room since I was homeless
BAD: Missed another A.M. train to Milan since I stayed up half the night
GOOD: Caught the next train to Milan, then the train to Brig, Switzerland, then the Matterhorn Express train to Zermatt, Switzerland.
BAD: White out conditions for two days
GOOD: Amazing snowboarding in the number one place in all of Europe!!!! One run was over 13 kms, or like 8 miles!
BAD: EXPENSIVE!!! Threw off the budget a bit!
GOOD: Apres Ski!!!!! Little restaurants and bars with live music inside and a DJ and fire pits on the patio, cheap drinks, and lots of fun. I met the nicest couple from San Fran, the only other Americans in the packed house, who were writing the trip off for business and, once again, bought all the drinks. Why don´t I get trips paid for?
BAD: Putting on the boots, gloves, and board three hours later.... haha that was fun!
GOOD: The blue sky that appeared out of nowhere when it was a total white-out on my LAST run of the day. Then, suddenly, to my left was the beautiful, towering, massive, pyramidal KLEIN MATTERHORN rising above all the other mountains while I slalomed for a half hour to the little alpine village of Zermatt, just in time for my train to Berlin, Germany.
BAD: Night trains
GOOD: Seeing my Macalester roommate Eric Kelsey in Berlin and hanging out in an awesome city for the next week.
Love you all! Keep in touch
Katie
PS there wont be any new photos for a while for obvious reasons. I did buy some cheap cameras so i wont be pictureless :)
GOOD: Went to short track speedskating, front row, talked to US short track skater JP´s mom and said hi to Apollo Ohno, met the US figure skating pair and the US ice dancing chick and two US short track olympians
BAD: Got on the bus to go back to the hotel and was chatting when I heard my purse zipper open and before I knew it my camera was gone
GOOD: I had switched my 256 MB memory card to a small one 10 photos before so I didn´t lose much
BAD: While filing a report with the Torino police, I missed my train to Milan
GOOD: I met some business people who graduated from Notre Dame and were working with AT&T and bought me a few Jack and coke´s because they felt sorry for me and let me stay in their companies extra hotel room since I was homeless
BAD: Missed another A.M. train to Milan since I stayed up half the night
GOOD: Caught the next train to Milan, then the train to Brig, Switzerland, then the Matterhorn Express train to Zermatt, Switzerland.
BAD: White out conditions for two days
GOOD: Amazing snowboarding in the number one place in all of Europe!!!! One run was over 13 kms, or like 8 miles!
BAD: EXPENSIVE!!! Threw off the budget a bit!
GOOD: Apres Ski!!!!! Little restaurants and bars with live music inside and a DJ and fire pits on the patio, cheap drinks, and lots of fun. I met the nicest couple from San Fran, the only other Americans in the packed house, who were writing the trip off for business and, once again, bought all the drinks. Why don´t I get trips paid for?
BAD: Putting on the boots, gloves, and board three hours later.... haha that was fun!
GOOD: The blue sky that appeared out of nowhere when it was a total white-out on my LAST run of the day. Then, suddenly, to my left was the beautiful, towering, massive, pyramidal KLEIN MATTERHORN rising above all the other mountains while I slalomed for a half hour to the little alpine village of Zermatt, just in time for my train to Berlin, Germany.
BAD: Night trains
GOOD: Seeing my Macalester roommate Eric Kelsey in Berlin and hanging out in an awesome city for the next week.
Love you all! Keep in touch
Katie
PS there wont be any new photos for a while for obvious reasons. I did buy some cheap cameras so i wont be pictureless :)
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Curling and luge and a kick ass party!
Olympic photos (20)
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=z6muajd.avszjii1&x=1&y=epb3l2
I woke up this "moring" at 3:30PM. It was a long day!
We woke up early yesterday to go to Pinerolo to see curling. The security to get through was 100 times more strict than the snowboarding half pipe the day before - maybe they think there is a bigger terrorist threat for curlers, who knows. Our seats were next to the families of the curlers - about 50 people - mostly from Minnesota and Wisconsin. They were decked out in patriotic gear - kinda like the 4th of July in February. The US team beat Norway, 11 to 6. I cant really explain the rules but it is like lawn bowling or botche ball but with ice and a lot more strategy and skill. The largest curling club is guess where... St Paul on Selby and Snelling. Who knew?! I'll have to check it out when i get back. We went out to lunch with the group and two of the people had tickets to luge that they werent going to use because the USA mens curling team had another game that night. Anne and I kindly offered to take them off their back. It took two hours to get from the curling venue to the luge and we were NOT properly dressed to stand outside for three hours but we didnt care.
The luge was fascinating. We had to watch most of the race from the jumbotron and then for the split second that the luger sped by your part of the track you could watch them. There were tons of accidents and one US luger went unconscious when she hit on the corner that we were standing at (i had just snapped a photo) and she was like spaghetti flying down the rest of the track - really scary! How would one get interested in luge? Crazy! We took the train back through the mountains down to Torino and ate pizza (a staple, cheap dinner). Anne had to catch the last train back to Milan at 10:50pm and she found a travel partner because we ran into the chick we met at halfpipe from Salt Lake who was also going on the last train.
Paul and I, my friend from Long Island who I met in Florence, went back to the hotel to get ready for the big snowboarding party. The US women took gold and silver earlier that day and the men did the same the day before. We took the metro and waited 25 minutes for a bus before we realized that there werent any running. We started walking and 30 minutes later we stumbled upon John's Garage and the party. It was a very chill party! They had snowboard videos playing on the jumbo projector, a sweet DJ, and good drinks. Atleast half of the people there were related to Danny Kass (the siver medalist) and he was there chillin too. There was only one bathroom - which proved interesting later in the night - but with less than 100 people it was ok. I met Danny and chatted for a while with his brother and cousins. Amazing! Super chill people! My new friends from Berkeley and Seattle that I met at the luge stumbled in at 430am - crazy how you keep running into people! We all took a cab back to the train station near where we are staying at no earlier than 630am.
It is 5 pm now and i still havent had breakfast. I suppose it is a lost cause. I did get on the Today Show around 8 am your time and got a pic of Katie Couric. What a freakin great night!!
Ciao!
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=z6muajd.avszjii1&x=1&y=epb3l2
I woke up this "moring" at 3:30PM. It was a long day!
We woke up early yesterday to go to Pinerolo to see curling. The security to get through was 100 times more strict than the snowboarding half pipe the day before - maybe they think there is a bigger terrorist threat for curlers, who knows. Our seats were next to the families of the curlers - about 50 people - mostly from Minnesota and Wisconsin. They were decked out in patriotic gear - kinda like the 4th of July in February. The US team beat Norway, 11 to 6. I cant really explain the rules but it is like lawn bowling or botche ball but with ice and a lot more strategy and skill. The largest curling club is guess where... St Paul on Selby and Snelling. Who knew?! I'll have to check it out when i get back. We went out to lunch with the group and two of the people had tickets to luge that they werent going to use because the USA mens curling team had another game that night. Anne and I kindly offered to take them off their back. It took two hours to get from the curling venue to the luge and we were NOT properly dressed to stand outside for three hours but we didnt care.
The luge was fascinating. We had to watch most of the race from the jumbotron and then for the split second that the luger sped by your part of the track you could watch them. There were tons of accidents and one US luger went unconscious when she hit on the corner that we were standing at (i had just snapped a photo) and she was like spaghetti flying down the rest of the track - really scary! How would one get interested in luge? Crazy! We took the train back through the mountains down to Torino and ate pizza (a staple, cheap dinner). Anne had to catch the last train back to Milan at 10:50pm and she found a travel partner because we ran into the chick we met at halfpipe from Salt Lake who was also going on the last train.
Paul and I, my friend from Long Island who I met in Florence, went back to the hotel to get ready for the big snowboarding party. The US women took gold and silver earlier that day and the men did the same the day before. We took the metro and waited 25 minutes for a bus before we realized that there werent any running. We started walking and 30 minutes later we stumbled upon John's Garage and the party. It was a very chill party! They had snowboard videos playing on the jumbo projector, a sweet DJ, and good drinks. Atleast half of the people there were related to Danny Kass (the siver medalist) and he was there chillin too. There was only one bathroom - which proved interesting later in the night - but with less than 100 people it was ok. I met Danny and chatted for a while with his brother and cousins. Amazing! Super chill people! My new friends from Berkeley and Seattle that I met at the luge stumbled in at 430am - crazy how you keep running into people! We all took a cab back to the train station near where we are staying at no earlier than 630am.
It is 5 pm now and i still havent had breakfast. I suppose it is a lost cause. I did get on the Today Show around 8 am your time and got a pic of Katie Couric. What a freakin great night!!
Ciao!
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Olympics!
Hey folks!
I am at the Torino Olympics (as you probably know) and I went to the men's halfpipe today (look for Anne and I on TV in the stands by a big USA flag and a girl in a pink hat). It was amazing!! Those guys get big air and doing crazy McTwists and 1080 degree spins!
We saw a women's hockey game yesterday (Russia vs Sweden) and tomorrow we are off to curling - anyone know anything about it cuz i don't!
Wednesday, I have an amazing ticket to short track speedskating in the FRONT ROW with a photographer that i met today!!! Not to shabby! I think I am going to scratch my travel plans to the French Riviera and chill in Turin - this press pass is money and the town is bumpin (especially the Bud pyramid/tent parties)!
Love ya, ciao!
Katie
I am at the Torino Olympics (as you probably know) and I went to the men's halfpipe today (look for Anne and I on TV in the stands by a big USA flag and a girl in a pink hat). It was amazing!! Those guys get big air and doing crazy McTwists and 1080 degree spins!
We saw a women's hockey game yesterday (Russia vs Sweden) and tomorrow we are off to curling - anyone know anything about it cuz i don't!
Wednesday, I have an amazing ticket to short track speedskating in the FRONT ROW with a photographer that i met today!!! Not to shabby! I think I am going to scratch my travel plans to the French Riviera and chill in Turin - this press pass is money and the town is bumpin (especially the Bud pyramid/tent parties)!
Love ya, ciao!
Katie
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Hockey game
We met some awesome USA Today journalists at the Bud party last night and got tickets to the hockey game, what we thought was the US but rather Sweden vs Russia at 3pm local time. I'll wave to the cameras. Life as a journalist is sweet! Ciao!
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Firenze and Venezia
Ciao! The Ponte Vecchio in Florence was picturesque, especially from the top of the piazzale michelangelo, but not as impressive as Michelangelos famous Davids perfect body! I met tons of new friends, mostly Aussie, at the hostel and we saw the superbowl at an irish pub with tons of other american study abroad kids and i spend the whole first half explaining them how they game is played, it was awful. needless to say we left after halftime because we were all bored.
I decided to go to Venice and it was amazying! Unlike anything you could imagine. The gondolas and the vaporetti get everyone and everything around like clockwork. The beautiful Basilica of Saint Mark has gold tiles and wonderful mosaics, similar to the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, but better.
I arrived in Torino this evening and I just missed the Olympic Torch, but hopefully will see it enter the stadium tomorrow at the Opening Ceremonies (from the outside). We found some cheap one star hotel for 50 euro a night!! We met some people in the press and we are going to go to some practices for cheap and maybe an event or two.
Ciao!
Miss you all!
Katie
I decided to go to Venice and it was amazying! Unlike anything you could imagine. The gondolas and the vaporetti get everyone and everything around like clockwork. The beautiful Basilica of Saint Mark has gold tiles and wonderful mosaics, similar to the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, but better.
I arrived in Torino this evening and I just missed the Olympic Torch, but hopefully will see it enter the stadium tomorrow at the Opening Ceremonies (from the outside). We found some cheap one star hotel for 50 euro a night!! We met some people in the press and we are going to go to some practices for cheap and maybe an event or two.
Ciao!
Miss you all!
Katie
Friday, February 03, 2006
Prego!
Ciao! Prego! Pizza! That pretty much sums up my time in Italy so far. I had a long ferry ride and a longer train trip to get to Pompeii (four transfers, but eh, it was cheap). We saw the sights a Pompeii - Mt Vesuvius erupted in 79AD and covered the place in ash - 25 ft deep so naturally, everyone died by asphyxiation and the city was covered up for 1700 years before someone trying to put in a road accidently found it. The mosaics from the brothels were the highlight but the Villa dei Mysteri also had beautiful frescoes and was totally intact (even with a secret passage). We ran into some high school Italians who were asking us direction and then we spent the next 20 minutes trying to communicate throwing out every foreign word we all knew. It was hilarious - at a pause in the conversation when we were flipping through our phrase books and typing in words to the translator, the Italian guy said "Me, very stupid!" Followed by, "Metal-leek" (and then he started signing a Metalica song - so random)
Rome is not as big as you would think. We walked at least 5 miles the first day alone and saw the Roman and Imperial Forums (aka more ruins), Ampitheater (aka Colosseum) and the beautiful and intact Arch of Constantine, Pantheon, many piazzas and dozens of fountains. Last night we were planning on sleeping on the floor of a hotel that one of the Purdue guys friends is staying at but that did not work out so much and at 11:30pm I was walking the streets with at 40 pound pack trying to find somewhere to stay. I was tempted to go into the only Irish Pub in town (that I happened to wander by where there were lots of American students) but the pack was preventing me from getting through the door.
Today I tried to meet my friends again to see the Vatican but by planning "to meet by the front" was a bad idea considering it is a whole country and it is surprisingly large. However, we managed to run into each other. I met these three guys in Athens, somehow found them in Patras to catch the ferry, left each other to go to Pompeii and found each other the next morning on the sidewalk going to the site, then, separated again so I could see Napoli and met up at a hostel in Rome, then separated last night and ran into each other and climbed to the top of the dome in St. Peter.
The Sistine Chapel was as awesome as they say - over 15,000 people see it each day! The museums were filled with so much stuff that I feel like I never really have to see any more museums again - especially greek and roman statues! The Basilica di San Pietro was the most impressive. Michelangelos masterpiece, Pieta, was the highlight, followed by the 350 step spiral stairs to the top of the dome (magnificent views inside of the mosaics and outside of the whole city). Tonight I am off to the Spanish Steps for a good ol backpacker pub crawl. Good thing the agenda for tomorrow is "count how many fountains there are in Rome." No small task but very relaxing!
Ciao!
Katie
Rome is not as big as you would think. We walked at least 5 miles the first day alone and saw the Roman and Imperial Forums (aka more ruins), Ampitheater (aka Colosseum) and the beautiful and intact Arch of Constantine, Pantheon, many piazzas and dozens of fountains. Last night we were planning on sleeping on the floor of a hotel that one of the Purdue guys friends is staying at but that did not work out so much and at 11:30pm I was walking the streets with at 40 pound pack trying to find somewhere to stay. I was tempted to go into the only Irish Pub in town (that I happened to wander by where there were lots of American students) but the pack was preventing me from getting through the door.
Today I tried to meet my friends again to see the Vatican but by planning "to meet by the front" was a bad idea considering it is a whole country and it is surprisingly large. However, we managed to run into each other. I met these three guys in Athens, somehow found them in Patras to catch the ferry, left each other to go to Pompeii and found each other the next morning on the sidewalk going to the site, then, separated again so I could see Napoli and met up at a hostel in Rome, then separated last night and ran into each other and climbed to the top of the dome in St. Peter.
The Sistine Chapel was as awesome as they say - over 15,000 people see it each day! The museums were filled with so much stuff that I feel like I never really have to see any more museums again - especially greek and roman statues! The Basilica di San Pietro was the most impressive. Michelangelos masterpiece, Pieta, was the highlight, followed by the 350 step spiral stairs to the top of the dome (magnificent views inside of the mosaics and outside of the whole city). Tonight I am off to the Spanish Steps for a good ol backpacker pub crawl. Good thing the agenda for tomorrow is "count how many fountains there are in Rome." No small task but very relaxing!
Ciao!
Katie
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Superfast ferry to Italy
I am sitting at an internet cafe with a couple guys from Purdue, Adam and Cris. We are recovering from our great night on the Superfast ferry from Patras, Greece to Bari, Italy (eight and a third bottles of wine gone within 2 hours of leaving the port but it made it really comfortable to sleep on the floor of the lounge because we were too cheap to buy an airseat or a cabin bed). It is fantastic! Cara I have a story for you...
I am off to Pompeii to see more ruins and then we are going up to Rome. I am relieved to be in a country with a reasonably easy to understand language (well it is similar to French - thank goodness i took eight years). I love hearing overhead messages on airplanes, trains, and ferries that are probably important but they only speak in Greek, or Turkish, or Dutch. Isn't English the common language? Then why don't they say the message in English. Oh well, as long as I know what time to get off. The internet is expensive (1 euro for 15 minutes),
Ciao!
Katie
Pictures of Turkey and Greece on Kodak Gallery
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=z6muajd.96906zf5&x=1&y =-hmd981
I am off to Pompeii to see more ruins and then we are going up to Rome. I am relieved to be in a country with a reasonably easy to understand language (well it is similar to French - thank goodness i took eight years). I love hearing overhead messages on airplanes, trains, and ferries that are probably important but they only speak in Greek, or Turkish, or Dutch. Isn't English the common language? Then why don't they say the message in English. Oh well, as long as I know what time to get off. The internet is expensive (1 euro for 15 minutes),
Ciao!
Katie
Pictures of Turkey and Greece on Kodak Gallery
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=z6muajd.96906zf5&x=1&y =-hmd981
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Blizzard #2
The two days we had in Arakhova were the only two days that the Mt Parnassos ski resort were closed. We decided to see the sights at Delphi and then head back towards Athens and the Peloponnese (we thought that migrating south would result in warmer weather).
We woke up early expecting to go skiing but learned that it was closed again due to high winds. We headed to see the ancient sight of the Oracle at Delphi. Unfortunately, the site was "too icey" and so we had to settle for a walk through the awesome museum (filled with statues from the pediments of the Temple and gifts to the Oracle) and a beautiful view of the valley.
We tried our luck at another site, the Monastery of St. Loukas, but as we turned off the main roads to the site the snow drifts were insurmountable with our little Renault rental, and obviously not open due to the lack of previous car tracks.
The drive down was exciting as we ran into a blizzard. For the next hour we were the only car without chains on our tires trecking on the main road back to the Nat'l Hwy. We almost made it until we were on the entrance ramp to the hwy when we got stuck and I jumped out to push, snow spraying from the tires in my face. After that we were golden, experienced MN drivers can handle anything! A three hour trip turned into 5.5 hrs but we escaped the thunderous snow storm and are relaxing in the seaside town, Nafplio.
Today, more ruins at Epidavros, a center for medicine in antiquity. The famous Temple of Asklepios, father of medicine and the favorite "bunch of rocks," aka ruins, for my dad. I found the most impressive theater yet (and I've seen A LOT on this trip!) A world-renowned acousitic wonder as it passed the pin-drop test from the center of the orchestra as someone else stood at the very top of the 14,000 capacity theater. WOW!
Next, two hours of rock climbing... well not exactly. We explored every corner and lookout tower of the 18th century Palamidi Fortress with views of the sea, Nafplio, and snow capped mountains. It felt like a setting for some war movie.
Getting lost on the way to the Bavarian Lion, we landed on a dirt road to the Monastery of the Metamorphoses. Again, not much to see at the site but a pleasant drive with the opportunity to see the beautiful Greek countryside with olive groves and goats a plenty. We slowed down to watch the sunset from the swingset on the Bouboulinas, a waterfront promenade. Off to dinner at 10pm,
kali nicta!
Love,
Katie and John
P.S. Shout out to Goff, McLam and Lizzard! Thanks for your emails and when there is dirt to report - not to worry you will be the first to know! (PS i'm traveling with my dad...)
We woke up early expecting to go skiing but learned that it was closed again due to high winds. We headed to see the ancient sight of the Oracle at Delphi. Unfortunately, the site was "too icey" and so we had to settle for a walk through the awesome museum (filled with statues from the pediments of the Temple and gifts to the Oracle) and a beautiful view of the valley.
We tried our luck at another site, the Monastery of St. Loukas, but as we turned off the main roads to the site the snow drifts were insurmountable with our little Renault rental, and obviously not open due to the lack of previous car tracks.
The drive down was exciting as we ran into a blizzard. For the next hour we were the only car without chains on our tires trecking on the main road back to the Nat'l Hwy. We almost made it until we were on the entrance ramp to the hwy when we got stuck and I jumped out to push, snow spraying from the tires in my face. After that we were golden, experienced MN drivers can handle anything! A three hour trip turned into 5.5 hrs but we escaped the thunderous snow storm and are relaxing in the seaside town, Nafplio.
Today, more ruins at Epidavros, a center for medicine in antiquity. The famous Temple of Asklepios, father of medicine and the favorite "bunch of rocks," aka ruins, for my dad. I found the most impressive theater yet (and I've seen A LOT on this trip!) A world-renowned acousitic wonder as it passed the pin-drop test from the center of the orchestra as someone else stood at the very top of the 14,000 capacity theater. WOW!
Next, two hours of rock climbing... well not exactly. We explored every corner and lookout tower of the 18th century Palamidi Fortress with views of the sea, Nafplio, and snow capped mountains. It felt like a setting for some war movie.
Getting lost on the way to the Bavarian Lion, we landed on a dirt road to the Monastery of the Metamorphoses. Again, not much to see at the site but a pleasant drive with the opportunity to see the beautiful Greek countryside with olive groves and goats a plenty. We slowed down to watch the sunset from the swingset on the Bouboulinas, a waterfront promenade. Off to dinner at 10pm,
kali nicta!
Love,
Katie and John
P.S. Shout out to Goff, McLam and Lizzard! Thanks for your emails and when there is dirt to report - not to worry you will be the first to know! (PS i'm traveling with my dad...)
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
The road to Arakhova, Greece
Heckuva Day! The adventure continues as we left Athens for the beautiful town of Arakhova. The morning started off grim as we overslept our alarm, took forever to get the car rental, got stuck with a stick shift that was parked downhill on a hill (good thing Dad had drivin' one 20+ years ago), nearly ran over a dozen mopeds while battling the horrible (worse than L.A.) traffic in downtown Athens back to the hotel, got lost driving up to the Acropolis and probably should have parked the stupid car and walked up, were nearly blown off the top of the Acropolis by the katabatic winds (but the Temples were impressive and worth the trip and 18 euros), battle traffic again to Hwy. 1, and then we felt like we were home free to Northern Greece. We were wrong!
The overcast skies turned to a drizzle, then rain, then snow and sleet. We should have thought twice when we saw the first car spinning its tires on the ice and snow or the next car the spun around, hit the guard rail and turned around to go home, but no. We, experienced Minnesota drivers, continued up the mountain to our destination. With exactly 13 (unluckly) kms to go, we started spinning the tires and reving the engine, stuggling to get out of second gear on the sheer ice. I hopped out to push while dad attempted to steer us away from oncoming traffic. That failed and we were stuck in the oncoming lane and forced to reverse the car into the shoulder. A kind Greek couple stopped to help and despite the communication barrier, we were able to understand that they would take us to Arakhova and we'd call the tow truck. We passed no less than a dozen other stranded cars on the road and a tow truck - so Dad hopped out to join the tow truck while I continued to our hotel with the nice couple. Three hours later we were reunited.
However, I found out later that dad's adventure continued. Eventually, after many failed attempts to put chains on the tires of the other cars that were stuck, our turn came. The tow truck man had our car on the dolly and was securing it while Dad waited in the truck patiently. Just then, an oncoming car came over the hill a quarter mile away. Dad thought, "He'll slow down, he'll go around us." But then he realized that this car was not slowing down and was not turning to go around the tow truck. Then "CRASH!" the windshield cracked and the car was totaled. Luckily, no one was hurt and our rental car was ok. Another hour passed until they were able to return to the town.
The cost: 200 euros. The memories: priceless! Oh what a night!
Turns out all the roads were closed for the next day and Athens shut down due to snow emergencies (mind you it only snows there every two years). Even the snow resort, Mt Parnassos was closed due to snow - go figure! We scratched our plans and were stranded in our cozy chalet, in the beautiful and quaint town, Arakhova. The end!
Love, Katie
PS Greek Photos:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=z6muajd.45u75tlt&x=1&y=eg53el
The overcast skies turned to a drizzle, then rain, then snow and sleet. We should have thought twice when we saw the first car spinning its tires on the ice and snow or the next car the spun around, hit the guard rail and turned around to go home, but no. We, experienced Minnesota drivers, continued up the mountain to our destination. With exactly 13 (unluckly) kms to go, we started spinning the tires and reving the engine, stuggling to get out of second gear on the sheer ice. I hopped out to push while dad attempted to steer us away from oncoming traffic. That failed and we were stuck in the oncoming lane and forced to reverse the car into the shoulder. A kind Greek couple stopped to help and despite the communication barrier, we were able to understand that they would take us to Arakhova and we'd call the tow truck. We passed no less than a dozen other stranded cars on the road and a tow truck - so Dad hopped out to join the tow truck while I continued to our hotel with the nice couple. Three hours later we were reunited.
However, I found out later that dad's adventure continued. Eventually, after many failed attempts to put chains on the tires of the other cars that were stuck, our turn came. The tow truck man had our car on the dolly and was securing it while Dad waited in the truck patiently. Just then, an oncoming car came over the hill a quarter mile away. Dad thought, "He'll slow down, he'll go around us." But then he realized that this car was not slowing down and was not turning to go around the tow truck. Then "CRASH!" the windshield cracked and the car was totaled. Luckily, no one was hurt and our rental car was ok. Another hour passed until they were able to return to the town.
The cost: 200 euros. The memories: priceless! Oh what a night!
Turns out all the roads were closed for the next day and Athens shut down due to snow emergencies (mind you it only snows there every two years). Even the snow resort, Mt Parnassos was closed due to snow - go figure! We scratched our plans and were stranded in our cozy chalet, in the beautiful and quaint town, Arakhova. The end!
Love, Katie
PS Greek Photos:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=z6muajd.45u75tlt&x=1&y=eg53el
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Athens
Check out Zach's professional photos of the J-term Turkey trip: http://homepage.mac.com/zacharyteicher/turkey2006/Menu5.html
Athens:
I did not have any problem meeting my dad at the metro station, thankfully, after all my trouble with traveling. The weather was beautiful yesterday (60s) and the forecast rain so we decided to climb Mount Lycavittos to watch the picturesque sunset right away. Better than the view was the Despina bakery on the way down - thank you Elizabeth - it was to die for! Then took a 13 hour nap - so much for an early start. Traveling is tiring.
Our view from the Hotel Cecil is the famous Acropolis but the morning clouds and drizzle were a bit disappointing. The ancient Greek Agora was impressive compared to many of the sights in Asia Minor because there is more effort and money in the reconstruction, namely the Stoa of Attalos, which houses a museum. Overlooking the Agora is the famous Haphasesteion, the best preserved classical temple in the ancient world. I am impressed that democracy started here (marked by another bouletereion, a theater-like structure for the council procedings). Later we visited the Roman Market place, the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian's Arch, and the original 1896 olympic stadium, nestled into the hillside, also known as Killimarmaro.
The rain picked up so we headed to the National Archaelogical Museum, the home of many of the most classical statues and artifacts in greek history. The statues were incredible and they were set up chronologically. My favorite statues were of the infant Eros, son of Aphrodite. My dad preferred the bronze Poseidon throwing his trident (admiring his own physique from his younger days :). Then we wandered down to Syndagma square and the Parliament building where we were entertained by the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - soldiers in colorful shirts, white skirts, and tasseled heels marching around. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the hotel, learning that if we wanted heat, we have to ask the front desk to turn it on - no wonder we were freezing last night!
Tomorrow we will rent a car, drive up to the Acropolis, then drive to the Monastary of St Loukas and stay the night in Arachova. Tuesday we will explore Delphi all day and then ski on Wednesday at Mt. Parnassos. Take care!
Katie and John
Athens:
I did not have any problem meeting my dad at the metro station, thankfully, after all my trouble with traveling. The weather was beautiful yesterday (60s) and the forecast rain so we decided to climb Mount Lycavittos to watch the picturesque sunset right away. Better than the view was the Despina bakery on the way down - thank you Elizabeth - it was to die for! Then took a 13 hour nap - so much for an early start. Traveling is tiring.
Our view from the Hotel Cecil is the famous Acropolis but the morning clouds and drizzle were a bit disappointing. The ancient Greek Agora was impressive compared to many of the sights in Asia Minor because there is more effort and money in the reconstruction, namely the Stoa of Attalos, which houses a museum. Overlooking the Agora is the famous Haphasesteion, the best preserved classical temple in the ancient world. I am impressed that democracy started here (marked by another bouletereion, a theater-like structure for the council procedings). Later we visited the Roman Market place, the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian's Arch, and the original 1896 olympic stadium, nestled into the hillside, also known as Killimarmaro.
The rain picked up so we headed to the National Archaelogical Museum, the home of many of the most classical statues and artifacts in greek history. The statues were incredible and they were set up chronologically. My favorite statues were of the infant Eros, son of Aphrodite. My dad preferred the bronze Poseidon throwing his trident (admiring his own physique from his younger days :). Then we wandered down to Syndagma square and the Parliament building where we were entertained by the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - soldiers in colorful shirts, white skirts, and tasseled heels marching around. We spent the rest of the afternoon in the hotel, learning that if we wanted heat, we have to ask the front desk to turn it on - no wonder we were freezing last night!
Tomorrow we will rent a car, drive up to the Acropolis, then drive to the Monastary of St Loukas and stay the night in Arachova. Tuesday we will explore Delphi all day and then ski on Wednesday at Mt. Parnassos. Take care!
Katie and John
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Wraping up the Rock N Roll/ Higher than Sophia Turkey Tour
We wrapped up our Rock N Roll (or as Andy Overman likes to say, the Higher than Sophia) Tour on the 19th with a great farewell dinner. The trip included so much that time flew by and before we knew it, it was time to leave.
I spent the last 22 hours on trains from Istanbul to Athens but I finally arrived this morning at 6:30am. Turkey and Greece are surprisingly similar, except Turkey has a stronger Islamic influence (evident by the dozens of domed mosques and minarets along the skyline). Both languages are hard to understand but Greek is easier to read once you learn the letters (thank you organic chemistry). My dad is flying in at 2:30pm today and we will explore the acropolis overlooking Athens for sunset.
I have been traveling a lot lately, so let me recap what happened in the last week.
The Macalester group spent four nights in Kusadasi (a resort town in the summer), a night in Hierapolis (water pipe and Efes all night long!), and back to Istanbul for three nights. We visited more Greek and Roman ruins (hence the Rock N Roll tour). Along the way were Priene and Miletos (two cities built on the grid plan with streets that meet at 90 degrees no matter what the incline and both with impressive theaters), Didyma (where we saw the oracle at the Temple of Apollo), Selcuk (the ultimate cultural experience: camel wrestling!), Aphrodisias (center for art in the ancient world), Hierapolis ("resort town" in ancient times because of the cascading hot springs), and Sardis (home to the largest ancient synagogue with beautiful mosaics).
My Favorites:
SITE: Ephesus, because of the preserved facades in front of the library, agora, Temple of Hadrian, and Trajan's Fountain (except the water used to fall three storeys and they didn't restore the pillars to full height), as well as the theater. Some of these entrances were reconstructed but most of the ruins are in great condition.
THEATER: Pergamon, because of the spectacular views.
MUSEUM: Aphrodisias, because it was the center for art in ancient times and I only wish I was that good! The excavations have found dozens of larger than life marble statues and reliefs. The attention to details was amazing!
The integration of Persian, Greek, Roman, Christian, and Ottoman cultures is interesting. For anyone who has played the game Risk, holding/capturing Turkey is hard because it is at a major crossroad in the world. This is evident in the numberous empires that have conquered and established major cities and trade routes in Turkey. It is a country unlike anything I have seen; the whole country is an outdoor museum. They treat their ruins like national parks in the U.S. Their tour guides require extensive training (like going to college) and every tour group is required to have one (a bit of a misunderstanding on our part because our professors have PhD's in the subject; nonetheless we picked up a tour guide).
Thanks for reading! For those of you starting school on Monday, have fun!
Katie
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Troy, Pergamon, Smyrta and Epheus
Wow! Turkey is full of cool stuff! We are having an amazing time learning basic Turkish (enough to use the Bayan and order Börek), sightseeing, and drinking fine Turkish wine.
I recently discovered that the Greek (300-30 BCE), Roman (until 4th cent. AD), Byzantine (not sure on dates), and Ottoman (1X00 until 1923) empires flourished all along the coast of Turkey - leaving tons of marble and stone ruins for archaelogists to dig up. Interestingly, they date the buildings and settlements based on the ceramics found at the sites. These empires typically added on to the previous work so a variety of architecture is found among the ruins.
Ephesus was the most impressive - home to one of the seven wonders of the world: Temple of Artemis, goddess of fertility. This temple - now a hole in the ground wıth one reconstructed column - was over 400 ft by 250 ft at the base and had 130 columns at over 60 ft each. The entire thing was made completely out of marble! The ancient town of Ephesus was home to St. John and the Virgin Mary (they both died here and there were large churches built in their honor during the second century AD). The most impressive ruin was the library at Ephesus because its is largely intact from over 2000 years ago (see photos). The large marble streets of Ephesus were lined with fountains and large marble and bronze statues that rested on marble bases with Greek inscriptions. Currently, most of the statues are in museums or were taken for gifts to emperors but the bases remain.
The theater at Pergamon was amazing! This Greek theater (later used by the Romans) was located in the hillside with spectacular views of the countryside and river valley. The capacity was 100,000 people (the theater at Ephesus was similar but less impressive with capacity of a mere 25,000 people).
The weather is nice, 50s, and today I got a bit sunburned. Our hotel overlooks the Greek island of Samos. We are at Kusadasi, a resort town in the summer but rather calm in the off season.
I uploaded more photos, please sign in to Kodak gallery following the link below to see them. http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=z6muajd.4687rrdd&x=1&y=78vgf0
Güle güle,
Katie
I recently discovered that the Greek (300-30 BCE), Roman (until 4th cent. AD), Byzantine (not sure on dates), and Ottoman (1X00 until 1923) empires flourished all along the coast of Turkey - leaving tons of marble and stone ruins for archaelogists to dig up. Interestingly, they date the buildings and settlements based on the ceramics found at the sites. These empires typically added on to the previous work so a variety of architecture is found among the ruins.
Ephesus was the most impressive - home to one of the seven wonders of the world: Temple of Artemis, goddess of fertility. This temple - now a hole in the ground wıth one reconstructed column - was over 400 ft by 250 ft at the base and had 130 columns at over 60 ft each. The entire thing was made completely out of marble! The ancient town of Ephesus was home to St. John and the Virgin Mary (they both died here and there were large churches built in their honor during the second century AD). The most impressive ruin was the library at Ephesus because its is largely intact from over 2000 years ago (see photos). The large marble streets of Ephesus were lined with fountains and large marble and bronze statues that rested on marble bases with Greek inscriptions. Currently, most of the statues are in museums or were taken for gifts to emperors but the bases remain.
The theater at Pergamon was amazing! This Greek theater (later used by the Romans) was located in the hillside with spectacular views of the countryside and river valley. The capacity was 100,000 people (the theater at Ephesus was similar but less impressive with capacity of a mere 25,000 people).
The weather is nice, 50s, and today I got a bit sunburned. Our hotel overlooks the Greek island of Samos. We are at Kusadasi, a resort town in the summer but rather calm in the off season.
I uploaded more photos, please sign in to Kodak gallery following the link below to see them. http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=z6muajd.4687rrdd&x=1&y=78vgf0
Güle güle,
Katie
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Warning Trojan Horse Ahead
We arrived today in Gallipoli, which is about four hours SW from Istanbul. Driving down the Asian coast of Marmara would take longer so we drove west and then crossed the Hellespont by ferry, where Alexander the Great crossed the Marmara on his quest for world domination. The air was brisk and we could taste the exhiliration of victory. However, the ANZAC and Ottoman troops in WWI were not so lucky. Over 110,000 people died here in 1916. This bittersweet strait is deadly, even for Leander and Hera (an old poem that tragically ended when they drowned swimming across the strait). Nonetheless, our trip is cool but it is freeeeeezing cold.
Today it didn't rain, which is a nice change. Earlier we stopped at an ancient Byzantine castle and ran around on the walls and bunkers - it was fun. Two people have gotten sick so far - hopefully it isn't because of the dead chicken heads we were playing with in the streets - haha just kidding. Hopefully the rest of us will stay healthy, but if we don't, our group is essentially a walking pharmacy, so I think we'll be okay. I bought a mosaic lamp and a Turkish rug yesterday -whoops it's a good thing I have a job. So much for traveling on a budget.
We're seeing Troy tomorrow, then on to Pergamum (Bergama), Sardis, Smyrna, Priene, Epheses, and Didyma. I'm excited! Check out the Macalester homepage, my picture is on the front page www.macalester.edu. Bye!
Today it didn't rain, which is a nice change. Earlier we stopped at an ancient Byzantine castle and ran around on the walls and bunkers - it was fun. Two people have gotten sick so far - hopefully it isn't because of the dead chicken heads we were playing with in the streets - haha just kidding. Hopefully the rest of us will stay healthy, but if we don't, our group is essentially a walking pharmacy, so I think we'll be okay. I bought a mosaic lamp and a Turkish rug yesterday -whoops it's a good thing I have a job. So much for traveling on a budget.
We're seeing Troy tomorrow, then on to Pergamum (Bergama), Sardis, Smyrna, Priene, Epheses, and Didyma. I'm excited! Check out the Macalester homepage, my picture is on the front page www.macalester.edu. Bye!
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Istanbul Photos
Click the link to see some photos:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=z6muajd.4687rrdd&x=1&y=78vgf0
thanks
katie
http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=z6muajd.4687rrdd&x=1&y=78vgf0
thanks
katie
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Hey you dropped something... my heart!
Istanbul is filled with vendors and friendly people who want to "Help you spend your money" as one man said today. My other favorite line that we get is, "Hey you dropped something... [look down]... you dropped my heart." Gag me! The men are very friendly (women are not common in our tourist/historic district). We were told that if we smile the men may think that we love them and that we well take them back to America and marry them. AH! Oh well, we always walk around in a group.
The food is great and very filling! Endless bread baskets of all types followed by huge entres of kebabs and pides (bake pita with cheese and meat), which are amazing! After, we have Turkish tea (today it was apple) in little Tukish tea cups (great size for taking shots). I feel like our schedule consists of sleeping, eating, eating, (well, we walk around the looking at really old buildings in between eating), naping, and eat again.
Today we went to the Dolmabahçe Sarayi, a 285 room palace built ın the 1800s for the Ottoman Sultan and his many wives (and mother), as well as administrative and enormous celebration salons/rooms. Later, when Turkey became a state, the president, Ataturk, lived (and died) there and now it is a museum. I have never seen so much crystal - one chandelier weighed over 4.5 TONS!!! The palace was impressive! I wouldn't mind being the Sultan's mother or wife since the palace had dozens of Turkish baths that were entirely made of marble.
Other than the 5am call to prayer, 30 degree weather and constant drizzle, the airplane mishap, oh, and the lack of hot water or water pressure for showers, we are having a great time, honestly! Good night!
Katie
The food is great and very filling! Endless bread baskets of all types followed by huge entres of kebabs and pides (bake pita with cheese and meat), which are amazing! After, we have Turkish tea (today it was apple) in little Tukish tea cups (great size for taking shots). I feel like our schedule consists of sleeping, eating, eating, (well, we walk around the looking at really old buildings in between eating), naping, and eat again.
Today we went to the Dolmabahçe Sarayi, a 285 room palace built ın the 1800s for the Ottoman Sultan and his many wives (and mother), as well as administrative and enormous celebration salons/rooms. Later, when Turkey became a state, the president, Ataturk, lived (and died) there and now it is a museum. I have never seen so much crystal - one chandelier weighed over 4.5 TONS!!! The palace was impressive! I wouldn't mind being the Sultan's mother or wife since the palace had dozens of Turkish baths that were entirely made of marble.
Other than the 5am call to prayer, 30 degree weather and constant drizzle, the airplane mishap, oh, and the lack of hot water or water pressure for showers, we are having a great time, honestly! Good night!
Katie
Thursday, January 05, 2006
İ made it to Turkey!
İ knew that flying on the cheaper airline was a bad idea. I thought it would be like Sun Country or something but it was not!
The number to call to confirm the reservation was disconnected so i showed up to the airport early just in case. İ discovered that the 9am flight was changed to 745am and i was a mere 5 minutes early. İ was the last one board (but İ got to sit in the first row). The plane was supposed to take 3 hours yet they did not bother to tell me that we had to go to Antilya first (a resort city on the Turkish Riviera on the Med. Sea way south of Istanbul). Then we back tracked to Istanbul, but NOT European Istanbul - Asian Istanbul! İ arrived three hours late but I was fortunate because one of the professors on the trip noticed that i was arriving at a different airport and kindly sent her cousin and a van to pick me up two hours away. İ dont know what i would do with out her. I was frantıcally finding a bus to take me to the other side of Istanbul when I saw a Turkish man with a wirery fro and a sign that said KATIE PASTORIUS, thank God!
Well, Turkey is interesting! There are 16 million people who are mostly Muslim, poor, and unemployed. There are schoolchildren selling tissues, flowers, and cinnastix in the middle of the freeway (where the cars are at a standstill because two million cars cannot drıve on the same road at rushhour - it is nuts!) . However, the food is GREAT! Tons of bread with spicy sauces, doners, and Kebabs - not like at home but roasted lamb, chicken, and beef served with cous-cous and tomatoes (for only 5 dollars!). I am stuffed from dinner and I think I need to walk ıt off. Around the hotel is the historic district - ıncluding the Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazzar, and the Blue Mosque.
No more planes for me (until i fly home)! Have a good day
Katie
The number to call to confirm the reservation was disconnected so i showed up to the airport early just in case. İ discovered that the 9am flight was changed to 745am and i was a mere 5 minutes early. İ was the last one board (but İ got to sit in the first row). The plane was supposed to take 3 hours yet they did not bother to tell me that we had to go to Antilya first (a resort city on the Turkish Riviera on the Med. Sea way south of Istanbul). Then we back tracked to Istanbul, but NOT European Istanbul - Asian Istanbul! İ arrived three hours late but I was fortunate because one of the professors on the trip noticed that i was arriving at a different airport and kindly sent her cousin and a van to pick me up two hours away. İ dont know what i would do with out her. I was frantıcally finding a bus to take me to the other side of Istanbul when I saw a Turkish man with a wirery fro and a sign that said KATIE PASTORIUS, thank God!
Well, Turkey is interesting! There are 16 million people who are mostly Muslim, poor, and unemployed. There are schoolchildren selling tissues, flowers, and cinnastix in the middle of the freeway (where the cars are at a standstill because two million cars cannot drıve on the same road at rushhour - it is nuts!) . However, the food is GREAT! Tons of bread with spicy sauces, doners, and Kebabs - not like at home but roasted lamb, chicken, and beef served with cous-cous and tomatoes (for only 5 dollars!). I am stuffed from dinner and I think I need to walk ıt off. Around the hotel is the historic district - ıncluding the Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazzar, and the Blue Mosque.
No more planes for me (until i fly home)! Have a good day
Katie
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Eindoven
Traveling across the world is exhausting! It is 4:45pm local time in Eindoven, Netherlands. I just woke up from a 4 hour "nap"/full night rest. My plane from Minneapolis was delayed due to high winds in Boston. I thought I'd totally miss my flight from Boston to Amsterdam - luckily I wasn't the only one transferring and as soon as we landed they rushed the 11 of us to the front of the plane and we RAN through the Logan Airport to catch the flight - our luggage wasn't as lucky! I couldn't sleep on the plane so I watched Corpse Bride a few times. When I landed in Amsterdam I had to wait two hours for my luggage (along with the other unlucky Minnesotans). Oh well, at least it came!
My advice to you: don't be cheap! For example, I was cheap and bought the cheapest flight to Istanbul. However, I had to leave from Eindoven. Do you know where Eindoven is? I didn't! I hopped a train from Amsterdam at 8:45am and two hours later I arrived in the center of Eindoven - the centrum. The train ride was interesting because it went through mostly poor and industrial areas outside Amsterdam and the countryside where there are LOTS of sheep, green grass, and old, brick rowhouses! It seems that everyone knits and everyone wears hand knit-looking things but I'm yet to find a yarn store. I randomly sat by a nice lady on the train that was from Mpls - her son goes to Mpls Southwest - small world. So far she is the only person I've talked to because I can't understand anyone else. I found a cheap bed and breakfast and I crashed! Tomorrow I'm taking th 6:30am bus to the airport and I'm off to Istanbul. My stomach is growling - probably because I haven't had anything to eat in the last day except a pizza, clementine, and an apple. That's my next mission.
Anyway, Eindoven is crazy! There are bikes EVERYWHERE! Thousands of them parked in bike racks lining the centrum. There are fully functional bike paths/lanes on many roads -more people bike than drive. In addition, there are pedestrian only streets and thousands of shops - Cara you'd be in heaven (and they have and H&M)! In the center are a skating rink and a carousel and tons of little Dutch kids. Take care, thanks for reading
Katie
My advice to you: don't be cheap! For example, I was cheap and bought the cheapest flight to Istanbul. However, I had to leave from Eindoven. Do you know where Eindoven is? I didn't! I hopped a train from Amsterdam at 8:45am and two hours later I arrived in the center of Eindoven - the centrum. The train ride was interesting because it went through mostly poor and industrial areas outside Amsterdam and the countryside where there are LOTS of sheep, green grass, and old, brick rowhouses! It seems that everyone knits and everyone wears hand knit-looking things but I'm yet to find a yarn store. I randomly sat by a nice lady on the train that was from Mpls - her son goes to Mpls Southwest - small world. So far she is the only person I've talked to because I can't understand anyone else. I found a cheap bed and breakfast and I crashed! Tomorrow I'm taking th 6:30am bus to the airport and I'm off to Istanbul. My stomach is growling - probably because I haven't had anything to eat in the last day except a pizza, clementine, and an apple. That's my next mission.
Anyway, Eindoven is crazy! There are bikes EVERYWHERE! Thousands of them parked in bike racks lining the centrum. There are fully functional bike paths/lanes on many roads -more people bike than drive. In addition, there are pedestrian only streets and thousands of shops - Cara you'd be in heaven (and they have and H&M)! In the center are a skating rink and a carousel and tons of little Dutch kids. Take care, thanks for reading
Katie
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
I'm leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again
Hey I'm leaving in a few hours for Boston then Amsterdam then Istanbul. I am excited to get away again because I've been stressed lately. It seems that there is always too much going on and not enough time to do it. Oh well, I'm on vacation now!
It was great to see my old roomies (Lizzard, Mel, Sarah Simrall, and Emmy) at Martins last night - I'll upload the pics for you ladies next week. Happy New Year everyone (no hangover for me, I went to be at 10pm - sweet, NOT (we had to drive home from Colorado at 5am on the first). Have fun and stay in touch!
Katie
It was great to see my old roomies (Lizzard, Mel, Sarah Simrall, and Emmy) at Martins last night - I'll upload the pics for you ladies next week. Happy New Year everyone (no hangover for me, I went to be at 10pm - sweet, NOT (we had to drive home from Colorado at 5am on the first). Have fun and stay in touch!
Katie
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