Trekking through time, and across Israel

Here's a week-by-week of my life in Beer Sheva!

August 21-28
This was our final week of "summer school" - intensive Hebrew and Emergency Medicine. We learned how to put in IV lines on each other. After puncturing the vein of my victim, I successfully maneuvered the needle back into the vein, attached the saline bag, and watched as it emptied into his vein. It was an adrenaline rush, but I think it helped me get over my fear of needles a bit. The 3rd years' where I was subletting had an "IV and Taco" party. I jumped in on that action too. Israel is not so concerned with things like, oh, diseases transmitted through needles and blood. People were bleeding all over the couch and floor and each other, not using gloves, and using Vodka as a rubbing alcohol substitue, not to mention the plastic juice bottle that was a stand-in for the biohazard container...no big deal. The blanket our EM drill group bled all over - meh, probably won't be washed. Needless to say, we all felt more inducted into the medical life, and as they always say, people who stick together stick together. (See, like stick with a needle and then stick as group - my attempt at wit was a little weak so I needed to explain). The week ended with our EM OSCE - a standardized exam to be licensed as a medic. I "high passed"! It was insane, there are 7 stations with 7 minutes to perform schemes like: "You come across a motorcycle accident. There is one victim lying with an amputated leg, and gas is leaking everywhere." Then you have to hurry and say out loud everything you're doing in addition to your conversation with the 'patient' which goes something like this: "Ok! Hi! I'm Claire! Assess the situation. Move the patient from the flames (make a sweeping motion with my hands). C-Spine stabalization (lean over patient and hold their head). Ok. Um. Sir, sir, are you okay? (Sir moans) Ok that means the airway is clear. How is the breathing. Take off the shirt, look for sucking wounds, please person over there get me oxygen,no don't put it in the flame, thanks, ok is there any hemmoraging? British flag dressing, (still bleeding), Oh shoot, put on the tourniquet. Pulse? Can you give me the hitchhiker's sign sir? Call for a backboard!" And so forth until you finish and look up at the reviewer hoping you didn't miss step 197. Then repeat with a choking baby in the next room.

August 30-September 2
Our first week of real medical school classes! We started off kind of slow with 3 cancelled classes (Microbiology and Cell Biology), which left us with Biochem and Histology. So I learned about Amino Acids, Red Blood Cells, malaria and parasites. The week was short because they gave us a day off - MY BIRTHDAY - for moving. But then again, I actually had to move and couldn't go off on some crazy adventure. Which was maybe a good thing because the peace talks in DC also began on my birthday, and everyone here generally grumbles whenever the word "peace" comes up knowing the non-peaceful demonstrations and tensions that arise as a product. Anyway, I spent most of the week hauling bookshelves and bags and books 30 minutes up the street to our new place (without a car). But what an accomplishment to have it all in a room! Fast forward to two days ago (9/13/10) and I finally had a furnished room (wardrobe and desk) to unpack my 2 bags from July 21st! On my birthday, I also finally received my loan check so I could pay for my rent and food and furnishings! Everyone made it very special though - my family sent 2 adorable "make-your-own-cupcakes" packages, I received a miriad of cards and birthday wishes, Irene found out about rum cakes I've been treated to in the past thanks to some phenomenal Richmond friends...(you know who you are!)...and made me a Mango Daquiri instead after searching all over Beer Sheva for rum. The Caribbean is quite a ways away. She surprised me with that delicious treat as well as my "cake" for the day - chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. And since there are no chocolate chips in Israel, that was a treat. Lisa was so sweet and had sticky notes that said "Happy Birthday Claire" on our door. Then we went out to the annual International Wine Festival in the Old City which felt like stepping into any classy party around the world - there were even accapella singers featuring songs like "Irreplaceable" by Beyonce. I certainly missed home, but turning 23 in Israel - kind of cool. :)

September 5-September 11
Experienced more Microbiology (disorganized, but has potential to be interesting - I feel like my "Biology in Popular Culture" with Dr. Lessem was a good life decision to prepare me for this class), Biochem, Molecular Biology, Hebrew, and IHM - Poverty and Health. Then, since September is the Jewish holiday month, we had Wednesday to Saturday off for Rosh Hashana (Shana Tova! Happy New Year!). One of my classmates hosted a huge group of us at his house for dinner. And they had southern barbeque brisket. I don't need to say anything else about the splendor of that night. But I will say that by tradition you begin the new year with apples and honey, sweetness for the year, and pomegranates. My roommate and I rented a car for the period to move some furniture (aka my desk), but also got to explore Israel! We went to the Dead Sea,Ein Gedi, Galilee, Nazareth, and stopped in Tel Aviv on our way back at the beach. We stopped by an Organic Goat Farm owned by an adorable, welcoming family - they offered us fresh cheese (infused with mint), yogurt, and free reign of their vegetable/herb garden. I am going to move to Galilee and skype in for lectures from now on...And by that I mean it was heavenly to be in such a lush, beautiful, FRESH AIR and Blue Ridge Mountain-esque place! Not to mention the richness of Biblical history, and the fact that for the first time I really gathered a sense of this country and could begin to pinpoint where I will be living for the next 3 years.

September 12-Today
Our first full week of classes (amazingly) - Learned some more about the epithelial tissue and played with slides in our "lab" examining tissues under the microscope. We also began immunology this week which is so fascinating to me. A large part of this really does have to do with my family...I'm realizing how much they subconsciously inducted both a better understanding, and a keener interest of fields like immunology and infectious disease into me. My Mom used to tell us "stories" as kids when we were sick about the armies of B-cells and macrophages and the 'cute little helper t-cells' getting ready to mount an attack against the foreign virion invaders. So yes, this is what plays through my mind when I'm in lecture, and it's these moments when I realize I both genetically inherited and was socially conditioned with traits to become a doctor. Tommorow is Erev Yom Kippur preceding Yom Kippur (for Christians, the sanctity but not the traditions are similar to Christmas Eve/Christmas or Good Friday/Easter). According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into a book, the Book of Life, on Rosh Hashanah, and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict. During the Days of Awe, a Jew tries to amend his or her behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God and against other human beings. The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private confessions of guilt. At the end of Yom Kippur, one considers one's self absolved by God. Children who are not old enough to understand the significance know it as the "day we wear white and can play in the street" (because there are NO cars or transporation services or even bikes/runners).

Last comment to conclude - (and thank you for trudging through the length of this post) - I am in Israel and with that comes a degree of hightened awareness to political tensions. Not by much because we're often left in the dark until a few days after an event, but when we watch 5 army helicopters land outside our classroom at Soroka (our hospital-and the one that services the entire Negev region), we usually know the IAF (Israeli Air Force) is active for a reason. Two weeks ago we awoke to a sonic boom from an Air Force plane (my guess, unconfirmed) that shook the city, and today we heard that two missles had been fired into "the Southern Negev" (near Gaza). This is definitely not uncommon, and these are not missles that the CIA uses - they can't lock onto a target and are not particularly deadly unless they land on you. I also have sensed the Lord's protection in very specific ways - literally seconds before the boom shook me awake I felt an encompassing peace and had a split-second dream in which a firm voice told me to brace myself and I watched in that dream the figure take hold of me in his arms. Totally crazy I know, but all of my senses have been tuned into listening for God here in this desert, and I have no reason to doubt that the peace and protection I felt on waking up to what should have been a disturbing sound were from Him. So I know I am safe here. BUT, all of this to say, continue to hope and pray for safety for me, this program, and Israel.