I arrived safely back in Edinburgh at 7AM yesterday (Monday)
morning after a whirlwind two weeks in the US of A. My flatmates surprised me with an
early-morning sendoff, complete with hot chocolate, PB chocolate cookies,
flowers and a very thoughtful card. It
made my week, and I couldn’t stop smiling the entire way to the airport! Unfortnately,
I was not in the Lehigh Valley long enough to see many of the people I miss
very much! But it was so good to return home: hug my
parents, defrost in front of the woodstove, exercise with Dad, play cards with
Mom, eat my favorite American foods and sleep with my puppy. After a terrific day at home (featuring a
delicious birthday dinner: steaks w/mushrooms and onions, Mom’s famous Caesar salad,
and pumpkin custard) I left for a mock interview at Gettysburg College to
prepare for the 3 medical school interviews ahead. I detoured through Baltimore on my way from
Gettysburg out to the University of Pittsburgh, for a dose of American Football
with fellow birthday girl Maggie: Steelers over the Ravens 23-20 J I was lucky to spend
two days leading up to my Pitt interview with Grama, Grampa, and Uncle Dave in
Butler. Grama was diagnosed with Stage
IV breast cancer in September, but she has fought her way back to remarkable health.
I very much enjoyed spending time with
her and the family, decorating for Christmas and chatting over British tea time!
Pitt Med was impressive, a great program with lots of clinical opportunities and
flexibility to individualize the 4-year curriculum. After a full day of interviewing, I relaxed
with Gettysburg pal Alex and my brother Jon at FatHeads (best sandwiches in
PA). I arrived back in Emmaus just long
enough to unpack and repack before heading to Louisiana for an interview at Tulane
University. Alysha, celebrating her 25th
birthday took off from work and joined me for a long weekend of sister time,
exploring New Orleans together for the first time! We did the French Quarter, Frenchman’s St,
Bourbon Street, and the Warehouse district the first two days (complete with jazz
music, Hurricanes, Hand Grenades, and delicious Cajun food) before enjoying a
relaxing Sunday at the aquarium (petting stingrays, feeding parakeets), insectarium
(we ate bugs! and walked through the butterfly garden), and IMAX. I felt pretty good about my interview, which
lasted all day Monday. Tulane embraces a
‘work hard, play hard’ mentality, which has always been my personal motto. We arrived home very early Tuesday morning,
when Mom surprised me with a hotel room for both of us- she was driving down to
Virginia with me for my final interview! VCOM is a fairly new, osteopathic
college partnered with Virginia Tech. I
think this interview went the best (perhaps with two under my belt), and I was
super impressed by the high-tech facilities and gorgeous anatomy lab. All three programs were very unique, with
different pros and cons to each. I
should hear back from all three schools by the end of January! I was so glad to
be able to spend time with each member of my family while interviewing- they
made it such a special trip home J
I spent last night and all day today working on an assessment
that is due this Thursday (yikes!). I
registered for fiddle classes beginning in January, and I am off to a Christmas
ceilidh tonight (work hard, play hard- always!) Tomorrow Giulia, Susi and I are braving the
ice rink for some Christmas ice skating! I don’t have any fun new Scottish words this
post…but I’m sure after Christmas with a Scottish family I’ll make up for it
next week J
Wishing all my friends and family at home a wonderful holiday and Happy New
Year! And to all the Pizor-Yoders: as I’m not there to defend my title as
reigning champion in the annual tournament, I guess I get to carry it through
2013?!
