Weekend 1

Greetings!

After my last written post (not the pictures), Jenna and I went to see Bride Wars which was very cute, very predictable, and pretty funny. It was nice to hear things spoken in all American accents, so it was hard for us to exit the theatre and realize we were still in London.

Saturday morning Jenna and I finally slept in some and then headed over to Notting Hill to exlpore the charming neighborhood. Thankfully, they had a large street market and lots to see in the area. Unfortuntely it was very very cold (even a few snow flurries) while we walked around so it was a little uncomfortable and we headed for the warm shelter of a Mexican restaurant we read about in our guidebook. It was a great relief to have options besides Fish & Chips, Shephard's Pie, Bangers & Mash... The food here has been an overall letdown, so it was nice to get some chips and salsa and quesadillas. The people were very nice and Jenna and I vowed we would definitely go back soon. After that we planned on heading back home, but jumped off the tube at the same stop where I stayed with Mom & Dad before they left and hit a few pubs. Jenna and I called it our own mini-pub crawl and thoroughly enjoyed it. We headed home and prepared for another day in Lonon.

Sunday, we went to "London's Best Bloody Mary" stop called The Grenadier, which is near Hyde Park. The Bloody's were very good and we enjoyed the tiny pub and headed on our way. By the way, I had a great ham and cheese sandwhich with chutney, so it was 2 great lunches in a row! We headed out to Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens to do some leisurely walking as it was actually about 50 degrees and sunny. The area was very nice, but not as beautifully if in the spring with flowers/leaves on trees/etc. We then walked on to Princess Diana's memorial fountain and Kensington Palace where she lived. Very quaint and nice, but nothing huge and elaborate. We then did a little shopping and headed back to the dorms.

This week has started off nice and I have seen tons of different patients. The pace is much slower as I've seen approx 2-3 patients PER DAY, which is so different to things back in the US. These patients are very severly injured and require lots more time, but still the pace is much different. They hoist all patients in and out of bed, in/out of wheelchairs, etc. so those in the medical field can imagine the time it takes for this. I feel I will see a lot on this clinical, but things are very very different. I'm looking forward to getting more involved with patients and see what I can learn from this system here. Jenna and I, and possibly our friend Laura from Windsor, England that we met in orientation, may go to Bath this weekend. Keep tuned for more updates!

-Melissa