savoy096

Wow, what a week!  First off, we finished up our CPR course and Hebrew Ulpan this week, each ending with a party and lovely chocolate selection. I don’t think I ate that much chocolate in my life (but it made for a great breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snack). We just completed our test today, combining a 1.5 hour written examination with curing dummies of choking and hemorrhages, as well as taking patient history and analyzing ailments. It was a rigorous exam, but somewhat fun, too—we came a long way! Outside of the classroom, I was privileged to spend my birthday here among my new MSIH friends this past Wednesday. We began the evening with a festive meal, going to Casa do Brasil and enjoying delicious meat (and for three of us who went all out, unlimited meat—prime rib, lamb chops, mallard duck, you name it!), and my friends surprised me by ordering dessert—which came with sparklers, flashing lights, singing, and dancing. After that, those who braved it and those who couldn’t mak...

Getting into the swing of things Orientation has really been getting going. Intense study for Ulpan continues, the test at the end of our intro to emergency medicine course begins to cross our minds, and we’re beginning to see the importance and loss of a Sunday as a day off. And yet, this hasn’t stopped us from having a good time! Mmmm, Cholent. Every weekend, many of my classmates—myself included—have been taking weekend getaway trips to places like Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. While I had also spend some weekends away, my classmate Moshe and I decided to instead take up the offer of one of our teachers to come over for Shabbat dinner, and then host a lunch of our own the following day. It turned out to be such a nice and relaxing Shabbat. The Margolis family were wonderful hosts, and we are thankful to them for their hospitality. Plus, a vegetarian Shabbat dinner was a nice respite from the norm. Lunch was also amazing, thanks to our guests. I whipped up a cholent/chamin/beef stew (or wh...

Church of the Holy Sepulchre   Wow, what an awesome first few weeks. It’s been a lot of work as of late, which is funny, as this is supposed to be simply the orientation and we don’t yet have eighty classes to study for. And yet, with ulpan, finding apartments, and our emergency medicine course, along with all the other mind-numbing tasks we’ve had to do thus far, we’ve had our hands full! Nevertheless, I have used the past few weekends to travel to visit friends. Two weeks ago, I went to Jerusalem with another student on the program to visit my friend Daniel, and we enjoyed getting lost in the Old City, a beautiful Shabbat overlooking the eastern mountains, and a Tisha B’av service overlooking the Old City. This dark day on the Jewish calendar marks the destruction of the ancient Temples of Jerusalem and the sieges and burnings of the city and its inhabitants, “all her gates are desolate, her priests sigh, her maidens are afflicted and as for her, it is bitter unto her” (Lamentati...