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In recent years, the practice of referring to someone as an ‘alien’ has been contested by articles in the New York Times (“Time to Retire the Term ‘Alien ’ ”), Salon (“Stop Calling People Aliens”), and Immigration Impact, to name a few sources.  One of the definitions of the term, from the Oxford English Dictionary includes “unfamiliar and disturbing or distasteful,” so it is not surprising that many are calling for the abolishment of this term when referencing people. But then there is the pregnant alien of Bialik street in Beer Sheva: cartoonish, endearing, and a little odd, but more inviting than off-putting. Before seeing her for myself, I heard others refer to this pregnant alien and believed her to be a sculpture that was merely reminiscent of what was being described (something more abstract perhaps). When I happened upon her on a walk, I was thrilled to find out that, first, I am living in a city with a sense of humor, and that maybe this is the sort of place where being ...

Coming back from break is always a transition. It takes time to get back into the study grove, let alone get yourself back on the right sleep schedule. Jet lag is rough and a constant battle between when you should and could go to sleep. Balancing that battle alone with the introduction of new classes can be a challenge, but that’s part of the package when you decide to go to medical school in a time zone 10 hours ahead of home or decide to create a home 10 hours ahead of where you grew up. However you see it, time zones are hard to traverse. I guess that’s something most of us interested in global health will grapple with for the rest of our careers. Luckily, we had some engaging lectures to start off the semester. We had your typical physiology, pharmacology, and genetics classes. However, we also had the opportunity to participate in a Mind and Body 3-day elective facilitated by Dr. Haramati. This elective was focused on self-care practices, such as meditation, and could not have co...

We finished our first semester exams and are currently on break. As I flew back home, I couldn’t help but think, that means I’m 1/8 an MD! For many of us, this day felt so far away. Exam grades are trickling in and second semester of medical school is becoming an approaching reality.  I have been able to reflect on this past semester with some distance between those intense weeks of eat, sleep, study, exam, repeat. Here are a few tips to survive first semester exams (to future 1 st years)! 1.        Draft a Supportive Team The amount of information you are expected to know come finals is well, to say the least, a lot and a bit overwhelming. It is close to impossible to catch all the important details mentioned in class and studying this vast amount of information is much more fun when you are around other people. Find a few people in class that you can study with, be it talking about material you don’t understand, reviewing the stuff you know, teaching each othe...