PSU Magazine Spring 2003

though, the French l met were awe– some . l also met more Germans in Paris and hung out with them for a while. We went to the top of this chapel called Sacre Coeur. lt had a view of the entire city of Paris. We just sat up there with about 10 people and drank some wine. It has been pretty tough to find a place to stay in Amsterdam, which was also the case in Paris, but I'm getting by. In Prague Michael and Swedish friend, Carolina, pose out– side the largest dance club in Eastern Europe, Karlovy Laznke Club. August 9 From Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin Sorry it has taken me a while to get an email out. I'm stuck using the county library. I had to mail a postcard to myself from the library to prove my address and get set up. My Marquette benefits don't start until school starts. I haven't really gotten to see the dental school yet. They are still moving in the new equipment, so everybody is running around like a chicken with their head cut off. Sometimes l swing by for entertainment purposes. I spent the first four days here with– out electricity or phone. That was pretty interesting. They turn every– thing off in between tenants. Once it was on, I let the water run for a week to make up for it. Just kidding. Only three days. Kidding, kidding. It was more like five. North, east, west, and south are all backwards here. Every time I go north, l find out I'm actually going south, and the same with east to west. l argued for a while, but I've given up. It's made for a lot of walking. They have a saying here , "You go east until your head floats. " So east is towards the lake. I'm going to head down there today and walk along the waterfront. I've met a few people, but they are pretty tough-skinned here. September 9 I saw my first patient last Friday in radiology; it was a lot of fun. l think that some students didn't really feel they were ready yet, like the guy in the room next to me. Every time we came out to take a picture, he looked like he had seen a ghost. lt was a bit nerve-racking. On Wednesday we had the introduction lecture, Thursday we took x-rays of manikins, and Friday we had a patient for a grade. I assist in clinic all this week. The new curriculum moves quickly. We already know just as much in clinic as the sophomores. l have a test this week in dental materials and in histology and biochemistry next week. This past weekend I went out to one of the doctor's houses for a BBQ. He was trying to get the first-year class to join the student research group. I'm going to do it. I won't have a ton of time this year, but I can put in a few hours a week 1was told. This isn't the most exciting email. The first-year class is full of really good people, and I love the school. The city of Milwaukee, however, leaves much to be desired. September 30 Its been a while since I wrote most of you, but I'm buried up to my neck in books. I have been having tests every week, which allows me just enough time for about 4-½ to 5 hours of sleep a night. Except on Saturdays, when the rule is no alarm. The cat usually gets me up at about 8 though. With this new curriculum, we first– year students are in the clinic one to two years before most schools in the U.S. I have clinic every afternoon from 2 to 5, and I assist the upper classmen. I can pretty much put my head inside of a dead cow now and not have a problem, but this dude the other day hadn't seen a toothbrush in all of his 24 years. We are getting ready to fit him with an upper denture and a lower partial. Crazy! Twenty-four years old and the guy has no , and I mean nooooooo good teeth. Bummer. Anyways I have a histology exam tomorrow afternoon in the lab , and last week I had a big introduction to clinical practice exam that covered five subjects. lt wasn't that fun, but it went better than my first two large exams. In biochemistry I'm about six chapters behind, but thats about four chapters ahead of where I was before the last test. Everything is going really good oth– erwise. I am on a flag football team and we are undefeated. We play Thurs– day nights at 9 p.m. It's a riot. We are called the DK Fighters. On our shirt– fronts we have a tooth doing the Heis– man Trophy pose and printed on the backs are our dental related nicknames like high speed, resin, composite, deep pockets, etc. I need to hit the books for a bit before I crash, so I'll talk to you later! D