Winter Break 2012

WOW what a great break. 

You know a break was good when you actually feel rested and able to return to classes. I'm not quite ready to run back to patho lecture or listen to Gargamel berate our entire seminar five minutes into class; but I'm getting there. I don't have class till next Monday anyway. 

I have a few things I want to talk about specifically concerning my break, namely the type of people you see on airplanes and attempting to study at home but for now I'm just gonna jump through a general overview. 

I left Poland three days after class got out, and ended up on the same flight to the East Coast as several of my classmates. While I was going through security one of the Polish security guards asked me out- unfortunately I was too concerned about putting my shoes back on to respond coherently. It's a shame, he was really good looking.  


I arrived back in the US and made it to baggage claim before there were any real issues. As it happens I packed an apple to eat on the plane for breakfast. Unfortunately, I forgot about it and it was still in my bag when I set foot on US soil. Did you know they have fruit sniffing dogs in the airports? Well they do. So I got chewed out by the lady who had the dog for having an apple and then was sent to agriculture claims to forefit my apple to the authorities. It took me about an hour and a half to just get out of the airport. All because of an APPLE!!!! I know the concern for the ecosystem and all, but gee can't they just take the damn thing and call it good! 


I got to my Dads house and spent a few days there. During which time I woke up one morning with a searing pain in my eye, blurriness with some oozing, and extreme sensitivity to light. Apparently, I scratched the cornea in several places at some point between 3am and 6am. It hurt like hell and the doctor could see it without the opthalmoscope. So I had to get drops and patch it for about a week. The patch alone would have been fine, except I'm pretty much blind and need both eyes to see even with glasses. So what's my dad do in the grocery store, he walks away. It took me 30 minutes to find him- I considered having his name called on the loud speaker. 

We drove to my grandmothers house (my dads parents) for Christmas, because it's the halfway point between my moms and my dads. It's also nice because I get to see the whole family. 

Christmas day my sister and I drove to my Moms at the same time a blizzard decided to hit the coast. Odd seeing as it had been one of the warmest winters on record up until that point. We did the whole Christmas thing in the evening when my brother and sister-in-law, and niece got there: she's so cute!!! 

The next day my sister, mom, and stepdad drove to the local mountain to stay for a few days and ski. I used to be a ski patroller before I came to medical school and I miss it so much. It was nice to be back on the slopes and to see all my patrol buddies again!

We got back on Saturday and went to a sled riding party on a hill that was closed for winter maintenance. Unfortunately we had to actually walk up it (usually we just have someone drive, but we forgot two sets of chains). 

 After that my break was essentially over, my grandparents (my mom's parents) drove me back the seven hours south to my dads. It was kind of interesting since they have a truck with no back seats, but my grandma and I switched back and forth between the middle and the window.

I left on New Years day, ready for another "fun filled" year in Poland.