Getting Settled in....

We found a house! Its just under 10 minutes to walk to campus fairly nice but very empty. Finding a furnished place was near impossible..... or crappy. We hit up a garage sale where some lady was moving to another country and bought up as much as we could. We have been scouring signs posted on campus and at bus stops for people trying to get rid of stuff. We have the two essential pieces: a bed and a fridge! Being able to buy groceries was a nice feeling. We still lack a microwave, blender, chairs for our ktichen table, couches, etc! So we are a long way away but nothing is urgent. We should have internet set up in a week. It's expensive. There was an article in the paper, where this Aussie who has been around the world, made fun of the Aussie internet setup. Apparently, the locals don't use the internet much because they don't know what it can do. Just basics like email. Anyways, in a program like mine, where they require you to have internet access for research it's semi annoying.

Speaking of my program, this paragraph is going to outline how its run. So if you don't care continue reading after this paragraph! They do what is called a problem based learning (PBL) model. Everyone is in a group of 10 for the year. (Actually mine only has 9....one guy never showed up!) They give us a problem with triggers, eg John, 58, complains of chest pain... And then as a group we have to figure out all the possibilities (Yes, Derek, we use a white board and its just like "House"). The one this week was a drunk 20 year old who crashed into a tree. He broke his leg which rupture his femoral artery and also has a leaking pulmonary vein. The lectures all correspond to what is going on. So we covered anatomy, physiology, etc of the cardiovascular system and the leg. And then we get a public health lecture on the toll of drinking. And the effects of alcohol on the body. It makes the lectures seem all over the place but apparently this is the way to do it. They also keep telling us to focus on 'breadth not depth'. And that they use a double spiral system of teaching and go over all the topics in first year and then, in second year go over all the topics again, but in more detail.

Random fact that I learned from the former Australian Surgeon General who went to UQ: The symbol of medicine is the rod of Asclepius, not the Caduceus. The Caduceus is the symbol with TWO snakes intertwined on a rod. Apparently this is wrong, despite being used by over 75% of practices (not the associations) in the USA (I wikipedia'd that fact) AND the US army's medical division. The rod of Asclepius is a symbol with ONE snake winding up a rod. It comes from Apollo and passed down through various people, at which point it was the symbol of Hippocrates - the guru of modern medicine. The Caduceus has a much less reputable past! It was the symbol of Hermes, the God of Messengers, who was also the patron lord of gamblers, thieves, tricksters and alchemists. In another random fact, the school of medicine's logo here revolves around the Victorian cross. Which the queen used for herself despite not knowing its past with the crusades. And has a skull on it! The skull is from Ashintosh Macopenjy who was the doctor aboard the Endeavour. That's the ship James Cook sailed when he discovered Australia and everyone in Aus learns about repeatedly. For some odd reason, the school of medicine has this guy's actual skull. He died in 1775. It's the mascot and sits at everyone meeting of the med society. It's very weird. They also named their charitable wing after him.

This past weekend was a long weekend! Saturday was australia day. Which brings out everyone's Aussie colours, friendly cheers and drinking hats. On sunday, me and my housemates hopped on the subway and took a ride to the Gold Coast. It is a fantastic beach! Once my arm heals (its coming along nicely by the way - I don't use the sling anymore), I'm eagerly looking forward to learning how to surf! While we were at the beach we visited with some silly wannabe teachers. Luckily, it was beautiful and sunny....because yesterday it rained all day. The aussies are still pleased (because of the drought). It's like they haven't had green grass for a decade.

Also, I'm probably going to become the Queensland Reds BIGGEST SUPPORTER! They went 1-14 last year...good for last place. It's only going up from here! That's the Rugby union team in the super14.