It's true, I'm not clever enough to think of a better title...
Newgrange Day 2 (or, My Final Ireland Post)
4:49PM May 30, 2011 Philadelphia, PA
Yesterday was our last day in Ireland. We spent it finishing up case presentations, having a fantastic Irish dancing lesson outside in the beautiful weather, and taking a walk along the River Boyne. It was really wonderful. The weather was perfect, we were all officially done with our schoolwork in Ireland (we still have a few things due, but not until mid-June), and all we had to do was relax and pack for our flights back to the states.
The flight back went just fine. I’m going to need some melatonin to help me sleep tonight, but that’s not a problem. I almost had a crisis because I went to the wrong baggage claim in Philly and skipped customs. Thankfully, we do immigration in Dublin, so I didn’t have anything to worry about. I got my bag from the international terminal, checked in for my Buffalo flight, and made my way to the gate.
Now I’m just chillin out in the airport waiting to board my final flight for the day. It’s so nice to be back. I can’t wait to lay in my own bed, have my own space, and not have to wear flip flops into the shower (we’ve had some pretty awful bathrooms on this trip…)
I’m not sure if I will return to Ireland again. It is a beautiful country, but, because I was spending most of my time working, I don’t feel much of a connection to it. Maybe in a few years I will realize that I need to experience it again. As for now, I think I can take a little break from traveling (I say this now, but don’t quote me in a few months..) I’m really looking forward to having a relaxing summer in Pittsburgh. I’m only taking one online class and working 20 hours a week in the lab (maybe more, we’ll see). It should be really wonderful.
Well, I guess that’s it for now. Who knows when I will be updating this blog again. I’m sure it’ll happen, though.
Newgrange, Day 1
9:30AM May 29, 2011 Newgrange, Ireland
Yesterday was our first full day in Newgrange. We started off the day with breakfast and case presentations. Then, after lunch, we walked to the Newgrange world heritage site. Basically, the site is a bunch of underground passage tombs that were not only used to bury the dead, but also for religious sacrifices and a way to tell the time. These tombs have been around since before the Pyramids were built. The tomb we went to was the Newgrange one. On the morning of the winter solstice, the sunlight comes right through a “sun box” above the entrance way, and creates a small sliver of light in the central room. Of course, we couldn’t experience that directly, but the tour guide did a small demonstration using an electric light bulb. It was pretty amazing. I entered a raffle to be one of 50 chosen to come to Newgrange on the winter solstice. We’ll see how that goes… haha
After a dinner of vegetable soup and Irish stew (not my favorite, but at least I can say I tried it!) we went to the closest pub…which is a mile and half away. We didn’t get to stay very long, but it was a good time. I didn’t end up staying up too late. I just can’t on this trip for some reason.
Today is our last day here. It should be a lot of fun, but I will write about that later!!
The Last Few Days
9:43AM May 28, 2011 Newgrange, Ireland
So our last site visit was to a public hospital call St. James’s Hospital. We started the visit with a presentation on the differences between Irish and American health care, and why socialized health care isn’t something to be scared about. It was pretty interesting, but my notes aren’t very good so I can’t really repeat much of the information I learned.
Then we spent the rest of the time observing actual clinicians doing actual work in the hospital. I started out with the OT observation. She first changed the splint for a man who had recently had a graft on his hand. Then she did a consultation with a woman who had carpal tunnel. Next, I was supposed to observe a PT, but she had an important funding meeting that went too long, so I didn’t have a chance to watch her work. I ended Thursday following an SLT who was working in the stroke rehab ward. I watched her do an oromotor assessment (checking the strength of her facial and tongue muscles) and the exercises that she gave the patient to do on her own time. We also spoke with another patient who had almost no expressive language, so she had a communication book with images to help her communicate. Obviously, this last observation was my favorite.
Friday we just had one observation. Mine was with the clinical dietitian. The CDN that I observed was working in the lipid clinic, which specializes in high cholesterol. She saw three patients for a review session. They went over their progress with their weight loss and diet modification.
I found all of the observations very interesting (except for the PT, obviously). It was nice to be able to apply everything I’ve learned about the different clinicians to a real-life situation. It also reminded me that I chose the right field and that I probably could not be an OT or CDN (and probably not a PT). Also, it validated the fact that I probably should not work in a hospital because I really don’t want to work with the elderly, and I was constantly concerned that I would see a patient with an IV in their arm.
Yesterday, at 4:00, we left Dublin for Newgrange. This is where we will be staying until Monday morning. We are now staying in a very nice lodge. The rooms are a bit smaller with less people, but it’s still 6 girls sharing one bathroom. As soon as we arrived, I felt so much more relaxed. The stress completely went away, even though I still had to finish my last journal and prepare for a presentation. However, it just feels so peaceful here. We get to sleep more and there’s no dressing up for work.
I’m still excited to come home, but I’m very glad that this is where we are ending our trip together.
The Past Few Days (DeafHear and UPMC Beacon Hospital)
9:38PM May 25, 2011 Dublin, Ireland
It’s been a while, and I am very sorry. The internet here is total crap, I’ve been busy, and contracted a wonderful cold last night.
Monday and Tuesday we went to DeafHear, which offers a variety of services to adults with acquired hearing loss. That includes hearing tests, dispensing of assistive technologies and aural rehabilitation classes. We had the opportunity to sit in on one of the lip reading classes, which was absolutely incredible. It was very interesting to see what I had learned about places of articulation for consonants and coarticulation of sounds applied to aural rehabilitation. I never realized how hard it could be to read someone’s lips, but even simple color words like blue and maroon can be easily confused just because so many consonants aren’t seen from the lips.
Today, we went to UPMC Beacon Hospital. It wasn’t terribly exciting, but we did learn a lot about private health care in Ireland. It was mostly lectures given by different therapists and specialists, which was sort of exhausting. I think today will become more interesting after visiting St. James’ Hospital tomorrow and Friday, which is a public hospital. It’ll be interesting to compare how the two hospitals function under the different health care systems.
Right now, I’m just trying to get my work done so I can go to bed early. I hate being sick, and I just need plenty of sleep to help myself get better. Only a couple of more days until Newgrange!
Dublin
10:15PM May 23, 2011 Dublin, Ireland
So, it’s been a little hectic since we’ve arrived in Dublin, so that’s why I haven’t updated yet. The first night in Dublin, I decided to stay in to work on my journal and get some sleep, even though a bunch of girls went out.
Sunday, me and two other girls decided to just wander around the city. We did some shopping and sight-seeing. After some exploring, we decided to make our way down to the Guinness Factory. It was pretty cool how it was set up, but after a few floors we decided we just wanted to get our free pint. We drank ours in the Gravity Bar on the top floor, which has a panoramic view of Dublin. It was really beautiful up there. We even saw a patch of rain come towards us from off in the distance and then pass through. After dinner and a drink with one of the advisors, most of us went out. We had quite the catastrophe (an injury and almost losing one girl), but everything worked out just fine. In the end, it was a pretty good night. Sunday was definitely my favorite day so far this trip (second to Giant’s Causeway).
Today, we went to our first visit of the week, but I will write more about that tomorrow (we’re going back tomorrow morning). After a quick dinner and a meeting about the upcoming week…and last night’s events…a bunch of us tried to go see Obama speak. He was supposed to be at Trinity College, just a 10-15 minute walk from where we are staying. Unfortunately, we were given the wrong time for his speech, and we ended up getting there almost a whole hour late. On the bright side, we got some flowers from his podium!
I definitely think I like Dublin a lot more than Belfast. It’s a much larger city, and we are in much closer walking distance to a lot of pubs and restaurants. I will be getting plenty of my souvenirs here. This week is going to be crazy, but I think I will enjoy it a lot.
NIGHTNIGHT by DEDDY
