To anyone who's been reading up on these entries- I apologize, but I am simply just no good at keeping up with this whole blog/journal thing. However, I did want to do one more entry to include pics from the end of my trip and to do a brief overview on my time abroad...
I did get involved. I ended up rowing for the New College novice A boat, which was a great honor since the team pretty much serves to prepare novices for the women's firsts, similar to what would be a varsity crew. This was my first time rowing but I LOVED it!!! it was such a great workout, and my team got along very well. Funny thing is that it turned out we were all American, which gave our British coaches plenty to joke about with us. We were actually pretty good- taking first in one regatta (race), 2nd in an ergs (rowing machine) race, and 2nd in a regatta of about 20 boats. The biggest regatta of the year, the Christ Church regatta, was cancelled due to poor river conditions, which was a dissapointment since we were projected to do very well and maybe even win. However, all of the fondue, dinners, and other quality time my team and coaches spent together outside of rowing more than made up for that.
I'm still waiting on my grades for the semester, but I'm hoping that I did well. I really enjoyed my tutorial on medical anthropology, where I studied the prevelance of diabetes among indigenous and ethnic minority populations. I also had a tutorial in immunology, and a seminar in church history. Since we covered the reformation and the city of Oxford has so much history in this time period, it was great to be able to actually visit some of the sites where events of the English Reformation took place.
I had a chance to travel after the semester to France and Germany. In Germany, I flew into Berlin and met up with my friend Maria, who I went to Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp with when I was 16. She is now married and going to school. I also went to Blue Lake with my friend from France, who I met when I was 17. She lives in Strassbourg near the Germany/Switzerland border.
After the semester I spent one day at home before flying to Temple University in Philidelphia, PA for my first medical school interview. Within two days I heard back and found out that I got in! I also had an interview over break at Wayne State University in Detroit, and I will be hearing from them at the end of January. I have more interviews to come, so hopefully by spring I will have an idea of what I will be doing next fall.
I really appreciate all of your prayers and support during my travels! Last semester was financially draining between the horrible Pound-Dollar exchange rate, application fees for med school, and traveling, but God definitely provided and I have been so blessed by the last 4 months and I really look forward to what lies ahead. I left a lot out of this long entry because there's so much that I saw, learned and loved I'd have to write a book or something, so hopefully I will be sharing some of those memories with you in person...
