Status: Return to home and summer plans<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

I've finally made some decisions, I'm so bad at deciding these things. But I'm coming home with Maija, her dad and her boyfriend. We're going to have a little road trip through the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Europe. Can't really remember the route, at some point France, some ferries and finally Stockholm – Turku. So I'll be in Finland the morning of 11^th June. And starting work 12^th June. Working in the nursing home Koukkuniemi until 25^th June when I switch to university hospital and surgical emergency room. Work there for three weeks until we have Stockholm reunion around 12^th July. Then I have three weeks off and I should probably write my dissertation, which I haven't done the whole spring. Hate the project, but then again, who wouldn't? Then another week of work in Koukkuniemi the second week of August, and then back to uni and start of small clinics: paediatrics, ob&gyn and ENT. We'll see how I adapt back to Finland, I've heard that it's not the easiest thing in the world to come back from an exchange. And I have some additional fun problems to solve.

 

Status: Physical

Last couple of days not so good, yesterday fever rose close to 39 degrees and throat is  sore as hell. Today I got antibiotics for tonsillitis, without a swab! So I'm hoping I'm in those 40% who actually have bacterial tonsillitis instead of viral, cause that would mean I'd soon be better with the antibiotics. Once again I'm shocked how easy it is to get antibiotics here, no wonder if they have a huge problem with antibiotic resistance. Our guidelines (and the research behind them) clearly state that you can not tell between bacterial and viral tonsillitis on the basis of symptoms. And my god, who actually prescribes penicillin taken FOUR times a day, when you have take it into an empty stomach or at least an hour before food!? But that's not for professionals;) So I'll probably change it to two times a day. Then I'd actually have some sort of chance remembering to take the drugs…

4. BBC News website – after just 5 minutes you can carry out a fairly intelligent discussion about subjects you knew nothing about earlier.  Also very effective procrastinating the time spent on internet avoiding studying because you almost feel like you're studying. Like I learned a lot about World Bank and not so much about pathogen associated molecular pattern receptors the other day. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

3. My ideal job: the party whip. I think I show some amounts of natural talent for the job. I don't know if the job actually exists though, might have to do some politics first. I've been thinking about transferring to politics anyway, my natural meanness would be a lot more suited for that than medicine. Although I am trying to avoid getting the professional crisis in addition to the ongoing personal crises. But on the other hand why stop now when you can mess up your whole life, let's get professional life and health too! Anyway, I have a strong sense of "kaveria ei jätetä". When we were in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Amsterdam we were writing descriptions of each other. Maija wrote about me "keeps the group together". And I definitely tend to aim for that. It annoys me when things are unorganized and people do not function efficiently as a group.

2. Words like procrastinate, bright eyed and bushy tailed, to bag someone/something, that you shouldn't use the verb bag because it tends to make other non-Australian people laugh, allotments, Saltire, cold sore, inept (actually knew that before I came but adopted it to my active vocabulary here – cheers Sam), heaps of something and my personal favourite innuendo (who knew there actually was a word for the thing?:) And also that I can't learn new words just through hearing them, I need to see them written (Don't know why I bother going to lectures btw cause I never remember the stuff from them and then revising to exams get huge enlightenments like yeah, they actually did try to teach me this… I'm just not an auditory person). Thank god for messenger.

1. Exchange will fuck up your relationship. At any rate you're going to have some sort of crisis, whether the relationship survives it varies. But the crisis itself is inevitable. And when feeling down I turn to other people, and that puts me in a better position than the people who completely shut down and turn inwards. Annoying to my friends perhaps, but good for me;) And if anything, this has taught the meaning of friends to me.

Woah man, that's some deep stuff.

Hey all. I haven't die yet, even though it might seem that way judging from my very low blog activity. I have every intention of writing chronologically about everything that has been going on, our Manchester/Liverpool trip for example. But, this week exams (Wed and Fri) and then possibly I have time to update the blog. But in the meanwhile, Laura and Anna-Riitta can fill in the gaps. Other than exams, I haven't got much to tell. Blind panic about returning to Finland, no work, no friends (since they are all working), no nothing to look forward there. Okay, that might be a bit over exaggerated, but that's almost how I feel;) But I can't stay here either, friends here are all disappearing somewhere so I guess I'm coming home, just don't know when exactly. Possibly the first week of June if nothing interesting to do comes up. Sadly I'm not the kind of person who travels alone, although I'm starting to consider that as an option, I guess it beats sitting at home doing nothing except feeling sorry for myself.

I better return to immunology now before this post turns into something even more depressing:D

Skotlannissa ollessa on tullut oleiltua myös hostelleissa, kahdeksan paikkaa nähty and I’m still counting, hopefully. Joten päivän listan aiheena on suihkut, sehän näissä hostelleissa mielenkiintoisinta on. Mukaan otetaan vain yhteiset suihkut, joten en-suite huoneet Glasgowssa ja Liverpoolissa jäävät pois, samoin Amsterdam. Amsterdam nyt ei olisi muutenkaan kelvannut, koska vertailu Skotlantiin nyt vaan ei olisi reilua… :D Ja tämänkertaisessa listassa jaetaan vain ykkössijoja, osanottajien vähyyden takia. Joten meillä on neljä eri kategoriaa jaossa.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

1. Pahin suihku

Ehdoton voittaja on Carbisdalen linna highlands-tripillä iSocin kanssa, pelkkää_kylmää_vettä. Huonolla paineella, joten painajainen pitkittyi kaiken lisäksi. Kategoria voisi olla myös nimeltään ”pahin suihku joka kuitenkin annetaan anteeksi koska kyseessä on linna” sillä eihän sitä nyt voi odottaa linnasta ihan kaikkea;) Kauneuden – ja linnojen – vuoksi täytyy kärsiä.

 

1. Paras suihku odotuksiin nähden

Voittajana on Hattersin hostelli Manchesterissa. Suihkun ovessa oli lappu ”odotatko täydellistä lämpötilaa? Silloin käy suihkussa näinä aikoina…” Odotukset olivat… no, eivät kovin korkealla. Esim. kts. edellinen kohta, täällä on tottunut pitämään odotukset matalina LVI-puolella. Joten kun suihkusta tulikin lämmintä vettä (tosin uimahallimaisesti nappia painamalla 15 s välein), yllätys oli kerrankin positiivinen.

 

1. Parhaiten organisoitu suihku jos haluat välttää julkista alastomuutta

Isle of Skyen Broadford. Minähän suomalaisena olen kohtuullisen sinut kaikenlaisen julkisen alastomuuden kanssa (vaikka Tampere-taloa en olekaan kiertänyt, kuulemma suhteellisen iso rakennus kun sitä lähtee syntymäasussaan yöjalkaan kiertämään. Alkoholilla ei yleensä ole osuutta tähän päätökseen) mutta oletuksena on kuitenkin julkisen alastomuuden minimointi. No Broadfordissa joku oli ajatellut asian fiksusti. Ongelma on siis päästä suihkuun, peseytyä ja pukea puhtaat vaatteet päälle muiden näkemättä. Broadfordin suihkuissa olikin näppärästi suihkukopissa kaksi suihkuverhoa, joista toisen takana peseydyttiin ja toisen taakse voi jättää vaihtovaatteet odottamaan ja näin ne pysyvät kuivina.

 

1. Odotetuin suihku

Kisa on suhteellisen tiukka. Arran on kyllä tiukka vastus, kuuma päivä ja hikoilu Goat fellillä. Mutta ehkä voittaja on kuitenkin Roybridge, toinen vaellusreissu siis. Vaikka oletuksena oli vain jääkylmä suihku, oli pakko ottaa kuitenkin päivän vaeltamisen jälkeen. Ja kun vielä sai lämmintä vettä, en todellakaan välittänyt vedenpaineesta tai mistään muustakaan oikeastaan. Sivumennen sanoen Lauralta tippui kuulemma suihku kädestä Suomessa ekaa kertaa suihkua ottaessa Skotlannista tultua, vedenpaineeseen tottumaton raukka:D

Because I’m a bad, bad person who doesn’t update her blog very often, I’m just going to have to trust that my trusted readers will understand this slight curve in the timeline. Bear with me. This road trip happened quite a while ago now, in Easter. I’ve actually written this right after we got back but I just get VERY irritated with my internet connection nowadays which makes all internet related activities SLOW, UNREALIABLE and ANNOYING. So forgive me my apprehensiveness with uploading pictures etc. blog updating business. But here’s the original thing anyway. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

 

Road trippin’ with my two favorite allies, fully loaded we got snacks and supplies. It’s time to leave this place it’s time to steal away, let’s go get lost anywhere in the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />USA. With these words from RCHP we started our trip. With the exception that I had three allies and not in the USA. And hopefully not lost. But we did get lost; it took us over an hour to find our way out of Glasgow… very different to drive than walk. And the most futile road work ever didn’t help our way out of the city. They had closed down one lane of the main road leading out of Glasgow, and then had altogether four men sweeping dirt out of the road. Very impressive traffic jam though, almost feels like you’re out in the big world;) But that was about it, unless you count sheep as traffic. Our aim was Isle of Skye: Rohan when the sun shines, Mordor when it rains. But we saw the Rohan side. 

 

Somewhere before Skye

 

 

Eilean Donan castle. Sun was shining from the wrong direction, so if not happy with the results, consult turist postcards from Scotland for a clearer image.

 

 

Traffic jam in Skye. We also saw a sign which said: SLOW CHILDREN. Yep, thanks for sharing, people of Skye.

 

One point in road tripping is that you spend a lot of time in a car. Our car was registered for two adults and two children. Keeping that in mind our blue thunder was amazingly spacious. Although we did suspect that the alarm system in the car was pretty much the stickers saying that the car has a security system. And you couldn’t lock the doors any other way than from the outside with the key. And when you’re in a car you also have a lot of time to speak. Discussions of who should be voted of the car (Survivors style road trip) and suggestions for immunity challenges.  Pointless, pointless jokes. “…that’s what she said!”. But you do learn a lot, like Dillon’s life motto that it’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission (how true) and that if it ain’t fixed, it’s not worth breaking, and if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing fast. Other things we learned that Lurpak (butter) and Philadelphia (cheese) come in somewhat similar looking packages, except where it says BUTTER in the package of Lurpak. Not something that Sam noticed. And the human brain is a peculiar thing, it can let you think you’re eating Philadelphia if that’s what you’re told, even when in fact you’re having just a thick layer of butter on your toast. And that you can feed four people for £15 for three days, with dessert! Dice games, pub quiz (we didn’t get much sympathy although we explained that for our group questions about BBC in the 60’s were slightly impossible) and just so many beautiful views. And a nighttime walk in the starlight (and after quick negotiations with Dillon identifying the North Star for our Southern hemisphere friends. Note: Dillon should have known this instantly, the Alaska state flag has the Big Dipper/Plough/Otava/Sickle and the North Star!).

 

 

Just outside our hostel in Glenbrittle.

 

 

This sheep (which Gayathri named Pigman) knew how to pose.

 

Most people probably haven’t considered taking the route Perth – Edinburgh – Glasgow when returning from Isle of Skye. Neither did we actually. But that’s the route we took any way. Perth was probably somewhat conscious decision, Edinburgh more or less result of “yes, that was the exit we would’ve wanted to take” incident. But we did get to go over the Firth of Forth bridge. So it was all good.

 

Our happy wanderers. Dillon, me, Sam and Gayathri.