Put on, take off your thinking cap

Every time I write I seem to make the entry longer than the last one. This week was incredible--we did some amazing things in the laboratory and I enjoyed some more good fun with my classmates.

Last weekend I finally got to see some people from my family! My grandma and aunt were visiting from Seattle for a wedding and so I joined them for dinner at the Olive Garden --yum yum! She was so kind-- she even brought me brownies, which are all gone now. That Saturday I attended a wedding, which was also attended by more family and friends from Seattle church. It was so good to see them and get to hang out for a bit. The wedding itself was beautiful--deep red and fall leaf decor, a gorgeous bride, and meaningful music, including "All I ask of you" from the Phantom of the Opera (I always thought that would make a beautiful wedding piece!!).

On Monday I went on my first "ward walk" where a couple of medical students get to follow around a resident for an hour or so and experience the hospital and listen to interesting patients. I was so excited to be in the hospital, and the resident was a really good teacher.

So I must tell about this week in laboratory! It was so exciting--we really had to put on our thinking caps (eNORMOUS amount of info) but at the same time, we took off some people's thinking caps. Yes, I really mean it--we cracked open the skulls of our cadavers and removed the brain!! Imagine our anticipation as we lift the lid, our eyes get wide and our ears center into the teacher as she snips away the connection between the brain and the rest of the body. I actually held it in my hands. It was kind of a spiritually enlightening experience as well. Think about it (haha)--I was holding a huge mass of tissue which physically contains the thoughts, memories, experiences, words, of this person. And yet--as Christians we believe that the soul continues on after death, the soul which has all these memories (how else would we know who we are in Heaven?), the essence of the person, their connection with God and other people. And so somehow even in those of us who are alive, there is something within us that is beyond tissue that will one day stand before God.

We also dissected the ears and eyes this week--amazing!!! The eye and ear are so intricately and perfectly designed, yes, designed. The Ear: designed for the transfer of sound waves in the air to waves in liquid to electical signals (in the case of hearing) and the position of fluid in the ear to give us a sense of three-demensional space and position. The eye transfers packets of light through various liquids and lenses to be changed into electrical signals which we perceive as vision. Both the professors were saying that hearing and sight actually take place in the brain--now that's an interesting thought! Without the brain we couldn't integrate these signals into a thought. Oh dear--I think I really am going to far with this philosophy stuff--but it's mind boggling (haha!)!

On the lighter side, I have really had a fun weekend, and so am putting up some pictures to tell the story. A bunch of us students went to a haunted corn maze--www.portlandmaze.org where people dress up in crazy costumes, hide in the corn and JUMP out at you and rustle the leaves as you wander the labrynth underneath a sliver moon and wide expanse of stars. Talk about having your system and senses on high alert! It really was scary because you know that there are creatures hiding but you don't know when they'll get ya. It's only fun because you're with friends and can hang onto each other and spook and laugh.

The only thing I like about Oct 31 weekend is it's a chance to play dress-up like in my childhood, hang with friends, and be creative. Thursday night I decided I would make a costume. And so in honor of the week's dissection I made an EYEBALL costume! My roommate thought I was pretty crazy I'm sure. I used whatever materials around I could find since I didn't have my parent's or grandparents' basements to raid. (By the way, that thing on my head is supposed to be the eyebrow).

This Saturday evening, Brian and Julie, a couple from my med class who are wonderful Christian people, had some of us over for a harvest pumpkin party. Julie is an awesome cook--she made a huge pumpkin stew, actually cooking a carved-out carving pumpkin and then putting the stew inside. Then when you eat the stew you scoop out some pumpkin too. We also carved pumpkins--and of course, dorky med students that we are, Brian got out Netter's anatomic atlas so he could carve a skull into his. A couple of the people hadn't carved pumpkins in a long time (or ever) so it was fun to see them get their hands all yucky. Of course, some of the people said "why didn't we just get some scapels?" we're so used to using those. Anyhow, we had a wonderful time of fellowship. I think I'm beginning to be able to let down and be my goofy self around people now that I'm getting to know them. Hopefully they don't mind or think I'm too wack :)