(no subject)
Since I'm never really quite sure who's reading this, I'm posting the e-mail update that I sent to some people today about my first month of school. That way my journal will be relatively updated, and I can start trying to post updates more regularly:
"Things are good overall. Especially after I got past the first week when I didn't have phone service (my cell phone does not work in my apartment), internet, or cable, which, on the good side, was a help to my unpacking efforts since it eliminated most distractions. It was probably also good for my mental health since it was right after Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement. I'm only about 90% unpacked and am still trying to figure out how one person can own as many candles and tchotkes as I do and where on earth I'm going to put them all.
Baltimore is interesting - I think it would have been easier if I had moved from DC to Baltimore, but since I had my two years in almost rural NH and then 6 months in the suburban sprawl of NJ, it's been a little harder to adjust. The most difficult thing to get used to is that the neighborhood can change so much block by block. Like where I live isn't sketchy, but 1-2 blocks over, it is. Which means that I probably shouldn't go to the supermarket 2 blocks away at night. And it's very sketchy as soon as you step out of the Hopkins medical campus area. So my life has been feeling a bit bubble-like - I get up every morning, catch the shuttle a half block from my apartment, get off the shuttle in front of the school, stay in the school building all day long, and come home on the shuttle in the afternoon, without spending any time in the in-between areas. But I've been to an arts festival, some bars, an event that I can best describe as an "adult talent show" put on by the Baltimore Creative Alliance, part of an Orioles game, the local farmers' market, etc., and it's been fun. I definitely think there will be enough to keep me busy for the year.
So, since I actually titled this my adventures in public health, I should probably talk a little about school. There are just over 200 people in my class (the full-time MPH program) with another 80 or so starting the part-time program in the fall. About half the class are doctors or medical students, and then there are also several nurses and other health care providers. A third of the class is international, mostly from developing countries. So there is an interesting mix of perspectives. I've been making friends and still meet new people almost every day. I've probably talked to about 75 people in the class at one point or another, and overall most people are pretty cool.
This summer we take 4 required classes. Principles of Epidemiology and Environmental Health last for the whole summer. We are just finishing up Problem Solving in Public Health (where we learn about public health methodology and have to work on these awful group projects analyzing a public health problem - my group is actually one of the more functional ones so it hasn't been as bad as it could be. We're analyizing maternal mortality in Nigeria) this week and will be starting Policy, Law, and Ethics, which is the one that I'm most interested in.
Despite the fact that I had no choice about them and hate the fact that we start at 8:30 every morning, they are pretty good. I'm definitely learning a lot. To give you a sense of the scope, here are some issues we have discussed at some point: smoking/lung cancer; various other types of cancer; SARS; avian flu; food poisoning; lead poisoning from leaded gas and paint; injury prevention; HIV/AIDS; high teen birth rates among Latinas; obesity; heart disease; and diabetes. Of these, we probably talk about smoking and cancer at least once a day. I'm very much looking forward to the fall, though, when I can start taking classes in my concentration - I am going to be concentrating in women's and reproductive health with a domestic policy focus.
Okay, this is way too long already so while there are many other stories I could tell, I will end here. I am going to try to keep up more regularly with my blog so you can find future updates there."
Back to homework - what a strange thing to be saying...
"Things are good overall. Especially after I got past the first week when I didn't have phone service (my cell phone does not work in my apartment), internet, or cable, which, on the good side, was a help to my unpacking efforts since it eliminated most distractions. It was probably also good for my mental health since it was right after Sandra Day O'Connor announced her retirement. I'm only about 90% unpacked and am still trying to figure out how one person can own as many candles and tchotkes as I do and where on earth I'm going to put them all.
Baltimore is interesting - I think it would have been easier if I had moved from DC to Baltimore, but since I had my two years in almost rural NH and then 6 months in the suburban sprawl of NJ, it's been a little harder to adjust. The most difficult thing to get used to is that the neighborhood can change so much block by block. Like where I live isn't sketchy, but 1-2 blocks over, it is. Which means that I probably shouldn't go to the supermarket 2 blocks away at night. And it's very sketchy as soon as you step out of the Hopkins medical campus area. So my life has been feeling a bit bubble-like - I get up every morning, catch the shuttle a half block from my apartment, get off the shuttle in front of the school, stay in the school building all day long, and come home on the shuttle in the afternoon, without spending any time in the in-between areas. But I've been to an arts festival, some bars, an event that I can best describe as an "adult talent show" put on by the Baltimore Creative Alliance, part of an Orioles game, the local farmers' market, etc., and it's been fun. I definitely think there will be enough to keep me busy for the year.
So, since I actually titled this my adventures in public health, I should probably talk a little about school. There are just over 200 people in my class (the full-time MPH program) with another 80 or so starting the part-time program in the fall. About half the class are doctors or medical students, and then there are also several nurses and other health care providers. A third of the class is international, mostly from developing countries. So there is an interesting mix of perspectives. I've been making friends and still meet new people almost every day. I've probably talked to about 75 people in the class at one point or another, and overall most people are pretty cool.
This summer we take 4 required classes. Principles of Epidemiology and Environmental Health last for the whole summer. We are just finishing up Problem Solving in Public Health (where we learn about public health methodology and have to work on these awful group projects analyzing a public health problem - my group is actually one of the more functional ones so it hasn't been as bad as it could be. We're analyizing maternal mortality in Nigeria) this week and will be starting Policy, Law, and Ethics, which is the one that I'm most interested in.
Despite the fact that I had no choice about them and hate the fact that we start at 8:30 every morning, they are pretty good. I'm definitely learning a lot. To give you a sense of the scope, here are some issues we have discussed at some point: smoking/lung cancer; various other types of cancer; SARS; avian flu; food poisoning; lead poisoning from leaded gas and paint; injury prevention; HIV/AIDS; high teen birth rates among Latinas; obesity; heart disease; and diabetes. Of these, we probably talk about smoking and cancer at least once a day. I'm very much looking forward to the fall, though, when I can start taking classes in my concentration - I am going to be concentrating in women's and reproductive health with a domestic policy focus.
Okay, this is way too long already so while there are many other stories I could tell, I will end here. I am going to try to keep up more regularly with my blog so you can find future updates there."
Back to homework - what a strange thing to be saying...