Cornell and Beyond

moles are haunting my dreams

It’s 3:37 AM in the morning, so needless to say this will be a short one.

It’s a bit tangential, considering I haven’t really discussed my career goals on this blog yet, but I am taking the MCAT’s very very soon. If you don’t know what the MCAT is, be happy about that and try to stay ignorant for as long as possible. MCAT makes the SAT look like a walk in the park.

Besides being a test designed to strike fear in the hearts of already overanxious pre-medical students around the nation and generally demolishing any inklings of confidence that may have somehow(!) sprung up, the MCAT is a measure of General Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Verbal Reasoning, Writing and of course, Biology.

Who knew Organic Chemistry would come back to haunt me, again! I can’t enjoy the beautiful Ithaca summer weather when I’m worried about amines and converging lenses and moles. Moles are haunting my dreams. And I’m not talking about the furry cute moles. I’m talking about 6×10^23. Don’t even get me started on galvanic cells.

That’s it! I’m going to bed! MCAT, we’ll meet shortly, and when we do, I’ll be ready for you.

finally

I’m back in the good ole USA. I guess I need to start calling it that instead of “the states”. And I suppose it is finally time to look back over my time in England. (I’ve put it off for long enough.)

I’ll say this, it gave me some amazing experiences. When else can you see the ruins of Pompeii, tour Westminster Abbey, and visit Dublin, all within a couple of weeks? When else is the pronunciation of every other word a matter important enough to discuss in depth and heatedly. (And I was in England!) Basil, aluminum, tomato, even leisure and scone!

I’ll tell you something else, we may speak the same language, but it is not a coincidence that there is an ocean between us. A few days before I left, I commented to my flatmate that I found the level of personal information people were willing to put up on facebook slightly disturbing. She replied jubilantly, asserting that “the British reserve” had rubbed off on me. While I’m not sure if this case, I’d like to think that these past 5 months helped me grow more than I would have been able to do at Cornell.

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that these were not the best 5 months of my life. I was dealing with some rough personal events and being away from home exacerbated things. But on the other hand, being abroad let me reflect on things quietly, without being disturbed by other opinions, values, and ideals. So I will say that I would do it again, without hesitation, if I had to do things over. Just because it wasn’t the best 5 months of my life, doesn’t mean it wasn’t amazing and worthwhile.

Which is why I’d like to conclude with the suggestion that if you are considering going abroad, definitely look into it seriously. You’d be surprised at how the costs come out, so don’t let finances get in your way. Studying abroad is definitely not for everyone, but if you have that desire, don’t let anything hold you back. I would only say carefully think about where you want to go. Because although you’ll be in a foreign country, a city is a city is a city, just as the countryside is the countryside is the countryside. Also, don’t feel discouraged about language barriers, as that’s what your stay is for. (If I had to choose a different place to go abroad I would probably choose France so that I could challenge myself at that other level. Imagine coming back fluent!)

OK, enough of that inspirational, motivational jazz. That’s all for now. Cheers!

Goodbye

I am officially 3 days away from leaving England. It is one of the most bittersweet moments (or arguably, several days) I’ve ever experienced. On the one hand, I am crushed about leaving all the wonderful people I’ve met here. On the other, I’m incredibly excited to be seeing friends and family again, and getting back into the familiar groove of the 607. (Ithaca.)

Last night I said goodbye to one of my flatmates. We sat in the park till late, on the top of the hill overlooking the electric lights of nearby towns, with Cabot Tower illuminated as if out of a movie. We talked about everything, from the American electoral college system to Mean Girls. I made her promise to come visit me. Sigh.

Then today, I said goodbye to the place I volunteered for the past few months at a local hospital. They were all so nice, and since I had been going two days a week, I had gotten to know a lot of the people there quite well. They got me a cake that said “Good Luck Caroline” and flowers. It’s a little embarrassing but I almost cried on the way home. I held back though: I’m not even leaving yet!

Well, I know I promised a thought-provoking and intimate recap of my time here, but I don’t feel up to fully confronting the realization that I will be leaving. So I hope you’ll bear with me, I will do it…I just need a little time to say my goodbyes. I’ll leave you with a very apropos song:

Here’s to the nights we felt alive
Here’s to the tears you knew you’d cry
Here’s to goodbye
Tomorrow’s gonna come too soon

~Eve Six, ‘Here’s to the night’

Well, here’s to goodbyes, the bittersweet ones.

if you didn’t have enough of your own finals

Perhaps it might be of interest to you how finals go in the UK.  (If not, you might want to skip this entry.)

First and foremost, they were spread out.  Very spread out.  Finals last from about mid May to mid June.  That’s right, a month full of exams.  One good thing is that there is a paucity of frustrating, last minute cramming.  (If you handle the situation right.) Which is also the bad thing because sometimes it seemed like this was the month that would never end.  Also, I had it easy, with only 4 exams during this period.  I overheard someone saying that they had 10, yes TEN finals in the period of as many days.  Yikes!

Second, most of my exams were essays.  This was nice because they were straightforward (for the most part) and basically required you to just know your stuff.  You might be saying, well, duh, but it was a relief to me after some of the exams I’ve taken at Cornell.  (Bio101 anyone? Need I say more?)

Third, some people complain at Cornell when finals are worth 40% of your grade.  None of my finals were 40% of my grade.  One class it was 100%, another 70%, and another two were 60%.  Yikes again!

Fourth, here in England people revise.  There is no studying.  Only revising.

Fifth, and this might be a glitch at Bristol, but I was bussed to two of my finals to an ultra-secret location 15 minutes away.  OK it wasn’t so secret but it was really random.  Still not sure why they did this.  Shrug.

OK, I can’t think about finals anymore.  Instead I will leave you with English phrase of the day.

“Bad luck” – equivalent to the American “That sucks”

I really want to bring these phrases back with me but I am afraid that without the accents involved they will ring empty. Sad face. 11 days till I am completely without the accents I have grown so fond of. Sigh.

Enough tangents! I’m off, but stay tuned for a thoughtful recap of my entire semester in review.