Contagion

My classmates and I went and saw Contagion this week. We justified the $20 (yes, that is the "normal" price INCLUDING the student discount) and the loss of precious study time because the movie was about what we are studying. Marion Cotillard and Kate Winslet both play Epidemiologist. Notice the frumpnastyness of Kate Winslet's character--hopefully I don't end up like that. I'm hoping to be more of a Marion Cotillard. If you want to attend class with me (I mean seriously who doesn't?!) and don't want to pay for the plane ticket, go see the movie. As long as Hollywood keeps producing movies like this, I don't think I need to keep attending my Epidemiology class--they're practically the same thing!

24 Hours of Pizza

When given the opportunity to travel to Bologna, Italy for the sole purpose of eating supposedly the best pizza in the world; did I really have an option to say no? Nope. Did I travel to Italy just to eat pizza? Yep. Was it as good as I was promised? It was pretty good.

We landed at 9am and by 10am we were in line eating our first slice. I was obsessed with the aubergine(eggplant), yellow pepper, and mushroom one. It was pretty magical.

Least you think we did nothing but eat pizza we also ate lots of gelato. In between pizza and gelato, we explored Bologna. It is a beautiful, traditional Italian city. We climbed 500 stairs to the top of a leaning tower and saw views of the city. We couldn't have asked for better weather and I've decided that Italy is my favorite European country...at least for now.

In case you're planning a trip to Bologna here is the place to get the best pizza...in the world.

School: Week One

I'm alive...barely. I survived my first week of school while simultaneously killing all the bed bugs in my room--I think. While my classes are intense, I am enjoying them which is probably an indication I haven't really got into the hard stuff yet. I am taking the following classes: Health Economics*; Statistics for Epidemiology and Population Health; Extended Epidemiology; Principles of Social Research; and Health Policy and Power. I am also taking an elective basic math class since the last math class I took was in 1999. Here are a few things I'm learning:

-The World Health Organization (WHO) ranked the countries with the best health care systems. The study looked at health achievement, protection against poverty, and responsiveness to patients. Sadly, the US did not even make the top 20. Who grabbed the number one spot--France. So if you're sick, the city of lights might not be a bad place to live.

-If you get cholera, you could loose up to 40-50 liters (8-11 gallons) a DAY in diarrhoea. (I also learned the Brits spell diarrhea this way).

-mathisfun.com is saving my life! Who knew 5th graders and I would be learning the same thing.

-Foreigners don't feel as affectionate for deodorant as American do.

-The US spends 16% of its GDP on health care. The UK spends 17% of its national budget on health care and the whole country (including me!) get free medical care.

The world's youngest orthopedic surgeon is in a few of my classes. Apparently, he wrote the entire health strategy for the country of Pakistan. I've seen every episode of the Bachelor AND I can name every man Kim Kardashian has ever been engaged too. Take that Doogie Howser!

To celebrate the completion of week 1 of grad school I am heading here for 24 hours to get allegedly the best pizza in the world. It better be worth it!

*Considering my bout with Econ in college this may not be the best idea, however, it is required. For those that need a quick recap, I had to take Econ twice at BYU and it wasn't by choice. I bet you didn't know that when you fail a class you don't actually get a "F" you get an "E" instead. And just because the only reason I passed Econ the second time was because my morbidly obese teacher slipped on some ice and fell the last month of class and had to miss the last few weeks, took pity on us for missing so much class, and passed us all, doesn't mean I can't do ok in my Econ class now. I hope.

Getting Lost in a Heatwave

Last weekend London was experiencing a heatwave. I use the word loosely considering it was 86 degrees, however for October in London that is record breaking. I am learning quickly that you have to enjoy the sunshine while you can here as it doesn't last long. Many children here are vitamin D deficient and have to take medication during the winter months to compensate for the lack of sunshine. I guess I have that to look forward too. In order to act like a local, I decided to spend as much time outside as possible. First on the agenda was a jog through Regents Park which is right up the street from my house.

Isn't it gorgeous? Wanting to explore as much of the park as possible, I entered a different place then I exited. Bad move considering I had only been there one other time. I got lost and my jog turned into a 2 hour nature walk through my neighborhood. On the good side, I now know a lot more of my hood.

In the afternoon, I met up with some friends at Hampstead Health. It is a seven hundred acre open are of health and woodland stretching along a ridge in north London. The poet, John Keats lived on the edge of the Hampstead Health and its said that many of his poems were inspired by the landscape there.

There are lots of nature trails, grassy fields and ponds where you can swim or fish. Not ever missing a chance to wear my swimsuit in October, I jumped at the chance to go to the swimming ponds. We all met there separately and again I entered the heath from the wrong side and ended up on a nature walk that covered almost every one of the 700 acres. I finally arrived at the ponds with enough time to enjoy the weather.

People keep saying the weather is rubbish here but I have yet to see it. I hope the "heatwave" lasts a little longer.