Back to business!

How about starting up this blog again?
It’s summer and I have nothing much to do but to work. And this could, once again, be used as a means to keep the English going and gather thoughts.

I suppose I owe you an update. Or, actually, I suppose you need one in case you want to be able to follow what’s currently going on in my life. And that is sort of a must if I want you to keep reading. Which of course I do.

Last time I wrote was November 26th, my 22nd birthday. I’d just started the Biochemistry course which had me panic struck at times, and pretty much destroyed my Christmas vacation. I did, however, really enjoy seeing old friends and family over the holidays, as well as revisiting a ski-resort area where I spent all my winter breaks as a child. Eventually, I did well on the Biochem exam and started a new semester by welcoming the new students in the same way that we were welcomed in the fall. I was one of three officers for these events, something that was decided at the PPK (the end of the initiation period party) dinner in the fall. The Biochem exam and the arranging of the initiation totally sucked the energy out of me as there were some pretty intense twists to the planning of all that. And, although I enjoyed every moment of it of once the circus was under way, I did get really sick and I was definitely rather relieved once the three weeks were over.

Study-wise this semester has been varied. We started with a cell biology course with some medical genetics and histology incorporated in it. It was interesting and quite fun at the beginning, but the further we got, the more I started to dislike it. I think it was because of the length of it all. It just never seemed to end, and towards the final days of studying for the exam, I was so sick of the material I could hardly stomach to even look at my books. But the test went well, although just the thought of it still gives me the chills. 7 hours and 7 questions.

Then it felt like spring came to Uppsala. And it came along with a pretty easy and mostly very interesting course; “Homeostasis and Endocrinology”. My view of the town of Uppsala changed quite a bit during this time, and I must admit I really like it now despite the cons of every smaller town in the world, that is the lack of anonymity. But it does live up it the spring, no question about that. Especially when it’s warm and sunny out. There are so many traditional events that take place in Uppsala during the spring. There’s Valborg, the Spring Prom, concerts with different choirs (Mine being one of them) the openings of different clubs and restaurants. Time just rushes by, and suddenly summer’s here, we’ve passed through more than half of June, Midsummer is over and all my friends have left Uppsala for summer jobs, travels and catching up with old friends.

I’m spending my summer at Danderyds Sjukhus, one of the big hospitals in Stockholm. I work as a nurses’ assistant at a unit for patients that are released from their medical treatment but in too poor a condition, physically or mentally, to be able to return back home. It’s a great opportunity for me as a med-student to see the health care system from this perspective and I’m learning a lot. I want to think it’ll make me a more humle and respectful doctor in the future. The job is frightening in many ways since I’m actually responsible for people’s lives for the first time in my life. It’s enriching knowledge wise because I’m a total newbee, and it’s hard, both physically and mentally. Watching some of these people and learning their tragic life stories sometimes just makes me want to cry. Knowing that my coming into work each morning could perhaps ease the lives of these poor people a little bit, makes it worth every second.

So that’s where I am as of right now. I’m looking forward to feeling more safe and grounded in my position at work, to see all my old friends and to just gather enough thirst for more medical knowledge so that I’ll feel energized enough to start up the second year of my med-school career.
Over and out