July 20, 2011

Yes, I am alive...

... although most of the time I feel like sleepwalking. Today one of my classmates said "Hey, Anna - today you look less stressed - almost relaxed". Should I take that as a compliment?

The last few weeks have been busy. At least the theme for my blog  - survival - lives up expectations.

A small selection of events:

Apartment hunt - check. I finally found my home and by this time have enough material to write at least 4 thick books (thrillers) about househunting in Baltimore. Only problem now is that I have more or less NO furniture. Since I got desperate for a place to stay I ended up renting a "bit" more expensive apartment than planned on. So now I'm trying to be thrifty and buy stuff out of craigslist (svenska; typ blocket) and after much consideration ended up purchasing my very first item.

A bed? No
A sofa? No
A... chair? No

A knifeset. (Before you freak out (mamma), it's for cooking. Still don't know if it is a good or a bad sign though)

My new crib - before the knifset. Now it's so much more crowded.
Thanks to my classmate Andrew, a.k.a the excel genious of all times, I also have a futon that I sleep, eat and study on while observing my knifeset. After all the time I spent househunting, now that I finally found a place I have no time for filling it up (this is where Gustav comes into the picture - that is, if he ever gets here...?).



Academic culture chock - check
Currently taking five parallell classes, study work is piling up. This week we have mid terms so quizzes, essays and lab write ups circle before my eyes. I'm learning everything from the avarage lead lead level in an american persons' blood to fancy acronymes (IPAT, PAR, RR, ADMES, ETC...), gun prevention and calculation of standardized age-adjusted mortality rates. Although I am stunned by the workload, the MPH program rocks.


Swedish --> English - check
I am starting to think, dream and talk to myself in English and forgetting the Swedish words. NOT a good sign. If this goes on, I will never be able to go back to Hivprevention i Västra Götaland since my colleagues made a bet this would happen (just to clarify though; the English vocabulary used in some of the classes here freaks me out. I d.o. n.o.t. g.e.t. i.t.)

1st baseball game ever - check
 
Do I need to say more? Apparently, I got to witness a rariety: Baltimore Orioles winning.

The MPH 2012 cohort taking up about half of the stand

Many new friends and birthdays - check
This might sound like a cliché, but the best thing about the program is really the people I meet every day. Everyone is like cooler, smarter and friendlier than the other. And since we have 268 people in the program, the probability of someone having a birthday more or less every day is quite high. At least according to the MPH Facbook group. So, I'm gonna finish this post with a big HURRAA for one of the 267 - Alex, who is now an old man.

An awesome 1,8 % of the class enjoying a night outside of campus.

1 comment:

  1. Your mother didn´t – believe it or not – freak out – but your father is finally getting some gray hair ;-)
    Congratulations to the lovely apartment and all new friends!
    Take care over there!! Love you/ Pa

    ReplyDelete