‘Twas the night before med school . . .

After an action packed week of moving to the other corner of the country, meeting my 80 classmates, and trying to psyche myself up for med school, its finally going to happen . . . med school and the much anticipated new chapter in my life starts in T-minus . . . 10 hours!

I can’t say I am excited so much as anxious . . . kind of like walking up the platform at the Dartmouth Rope Swing and looking down (the DRS is a 40 foot long rope which hangs over the river that you can use to swing you over the river at which point you are supposed to let go and do a swan dive into the river). I feel like I am getting ready to take that first step off the platform, feel the drop, the exhiliration and excitement. The important thing here, just like in the rope swing is conquering that first step and getting into the water, not to be pretty but to JUST DO IT.

Its weird, so much is different yet a few things remain the same. As with any cultural adaptation process, I have felt several emotional states during orientation. I went from excited and energized the first few days (to the extent that I was able to survive 4 hrs of sleep over two days, jet lag, coming to the first day of orientation without a car, place to live, furniture or any clue about living in the Upper Valley and still have the energy to meet and laugh with my classmates and spend a little QT with my family) to somber, thoughtful and a bit aloof in the final days of orientation as if taking a deep breathe before the plunge. Its funny but although I try to be the former personality (laughing, smiling, friendly), I find I am almost more comfortable these days as the latter, more thoughtful and withdrawn, independent and doing my own thing. So far, my classmates have been extremely supportive and adaptive to both Eugenes . . . Well, we shall see, classes start tomorrow.