Life in a Polish Med school
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Well that's it
2nd year is finally finished.I passed Biochemistry and (eventually) passed Histology. You should know that I got a 3.5 for the Histology class after the retake, so I feel pretty good about it. I still have to retake Physiology. I wasn't feel really well the week before the test, plus I as burned out of studying for Biochem.
Now it's all over. I'm heading home.
See you guys later.
-John
In the pursuit of the perfect cup
Coffee (or any caffeinated beverage) is a must for students in the Medical field. Many come here never dreaming that they would enjoy coffee, but by the time they leave they probably couldn't get through a day without one.During my last few years here I've mostly drank crappy instant coffee, but I've recently branched out and discovered what is currently my favorite way to make that special black drink.
A Coffee Press (also known as a French Press) and a thermos.
It takes a little more time each day to make a cup, but that's why there's a thermos. You make a full craft in the press, then pour it into the thermos to savor through the day.
Next time I make a cup I think I'll make a video and put it on youtube...
-John
Hazzah!
I passed Biochemistry.Barely, but I passed. 2 more big exams left to go...
-John
I'm still alive!
Here's something fun to do. Go study in a foreign country with only a 3 month visa because the people working in the dean's office at the school are all far too lazy to help you get a temporary residency and then figure out what to do when you're time is up.Last time I went to the UK and got harassed at the border so I decided to go somewhere else that wouldn't be as much trouble and a lot cheaper.
I went to the Ukraine!
I spent 13 hours on a bus full of Polish and Ukrainian people (almost none of which spoke English) to a city called L'Viv (though pronounced L'Voov), which is right across the border. It was, to say the least, a little surprising. The alphabet there is Russian (or whatever) so you can't even try to figure out what the hell any of the signs mean and even fewer people speak English. Driving through the city on the bus I thought it might be okay. Yes the city busses look more like vans and the trams look like they're being held together by rust and all the roads are cobblestone instead of paved, but there were some beautiful old buildings and lots of old communist memorials and it was a nice day, so it might be okay. I could at least wonder around a take pictures...
EXCEPT!
The bus station where I got off was way the hell on the other side of the city. Far far away from the middle of the city and since I had no idea where anything was or how to get there or how to read any of the signs I was stuck. At the bus station for another 12 hours waiting for the next return bus back to Warsaw. By the way, Warsaw is pronounced Varshava (you don't even want to know how it's spelled) in Ukrainian and if you pronounce it incorrectly you're going to get the wrong ticket out of there.
I was able to get some food, luckily Ukrainian sounds enough like Polish that I was able to buy a decent lunch. For the most part I was left alone, the guards asked me what I was doing when they noticed that I was hanging around doing nothing. Luckily one of them spoke a little English so I was able to explain that I was just waiting for a bus and they left me alone as well.
Then there was the 12 hour bus ride back to Warsaw. Yesterday was also a holiday, which means the usual hourly trains back to Lodz were not running. I had to wait another 6 hours for a train. 43 hours of little sleep just to get a stamp in my passport. I got home took a shower and passed out.
Staring out my window out at Lodz though, I realize how much worse it could be. At least most people my age speak English here. And it's spring, so there's a lot of green outside. I'm glad to be back.
-John
A little Sonic in you...
As many of you might have seen, a baby girl was born in India with two faces. The condition is called Diprosopus, also known as Craniofacial duplication. I wasn't really interested in the story, until a friend of mine pointed out that it's caused by my favorite protien, Shh also known as Sonic Hedgehog Homolog.Sonic Hedgehog Homolog is so called because of where and how it was discovered. It seems that a gene was discovered while doing research on fruit flies to see how a simple egg turned into the segmented body plan that most animal life follows today. Tinkering with the hedgehog (hh) gene caused strange mutant larvae that appeared stubby and "hairy", which inspired the named hedgehog.
Later, research in mammals showed 3 homologous genes that in turn produced 3 proteins that were named Desert hedgehog, Indian hedgehog and Sonic hedgehog. Indeed, the last gene/protein structure was named after the very famous, Sonic the Hedgehog from Sega.
Shh is the most widely studied (as far as i can tell) and it plays critical roles in mammalian (and indeed all vertebrates studied) development of nearly every structure that requires complex patterning. This includes the brain, limbs, spinal cord, and it is believed the face. Studies and experiments have shown that many facial deformations, including Diprosopus could be caused by mutations in the Shh gene.
What does this mean for the little girl? That she likely (though not necessarily) has other disorders inside her body that could need surgery to fix. She currently appears healthy, but CT scans would certainly rule out any underlying malformations. I understand that the family does not want any medical intervention for their child, as she is now being held as a goddess. I wonder though, does that count as child neglect? Who's to say.
-John
Pictures!
In a spirt of energy, I decided to finally upload some new pictures. They're pictures i took last semester of Poznan. Sonu and I went to visit our friend Simon who goes to school there. It's an excellent showing of how a Polish city could be.-John