PEARL: My Take on Housing

Prepare yourself. I’ve written out all of my thoughts on finding housing for the upcoming school year, and it’s a doozy of a post. That said, if you’re moving to Atlanta from far away (as I was) and you’re unable to visit before you start school (as I was), I think that this will at least be worth the 5 minutes it probably takes to read. At least, that’s my hope! Feel free to contact me if you’ve got any questions.

The first thing to decide is whether you want to live on campus or off campus. Clairmont campus is very nice: there’s an Olympic lap pool, tennis courts, soccer field, and shuttles that will take you to campus in about 10 minutes. The apartments are on the smaller side, but are very nice and will be well-maintained. Living at Clairmont also presents you with the option of getting a furnished apartment, which will save you the time and energy that you’d have needed to put into getting your own furniture. You can choose to have a roommate (who the housing office will set you up with) if you don’t have anyone specific in mind, but don’t want to pay the extra money for a one-bedroom apartment. The medical students who live at Clairmont tend to have enough people there to form their own little community, which I know they like. Unfortunately, with Clairmont the rates are relatively high for what you get. Also keep in mind that you will have to pay extra for parking in the Clairmont garage.

If you decide to live off campus, you’ll have lots of options. Obviously, you first need to decide if you want to try to find a roommate. If you do have a roommate, you’ll be able to get a nicer place with your money. Many incoming med students find roommates by connecting over our Learnlink conferences and/or meeting at housing weekend (if that’s an option for you!). I knew I wanted to live with roommates, but I didn’t want to live with other incoming medical students, so I found a room in a house for rent on the Off-Campus Housing Board (http://www.housing.emory.edu/off-campus/home.cfm). This website is fantastic – you can find lots of different housing options.

Once you know who you’re living with, you have to decide if you want to live in an apartment complex, a carriage house, a house, or some such thing. The complexes are nice, generally well-maintained, and usually have amenities such as tennis courts and pools. I have a lot of friends who live in places like these and really like them – Gables Rock Springs, Highland Square, and Post Briarcliff are three of the ones I hear good things about. There are LOTS of others. The complexes may be “cookie cutter” and a bit suburban, but they are definitely a solid option – you’ll pay less than Clairmont and know that you have a decent place to live. Unfortunately, the complexes can be targets for crime. There was a string of muggings at Post Briarcliff this past winter, including at least one armed mugging. Things seem to have settled down a bit since, but it is something to consider. I don’t believe this has deterred too many of my classmates from living in these complexes.

Finally, if you decide that you’d rather go off the beaten path, I highly recommend the off-campus housing finder. You can find a place to live on your own (lots of studios and efficiency apartments that are parts of houses, etc), or you can find a house or condo to share with others. Craigslist is another option, especially if you’ll be able to come down to look at places before you commit.

Overall, when you’re considering where to live, there are a few key neighborhoods you should know. Druid Hills is the local Emory neighborhood. There’s a small village with a few shops (pizza place, coffee shops, and my favorite – Falafel King). Avoiding driving to school every day is one of the key advantages to living in Druid Hills – if you can avoid Atlanta driving, I recommend it!

Another popular neighborhood is Virginia Highlands (the area surrounding Virginia and Highland on a map). Morningside (another neighborhood) is between the Highlands and Emory. In the Highlands, you’ll find lots of shops, restaurants, bars, yuppies, etc. It’s a very happy neighborhood.

Decatur is east of Emory and another popular place to live. There’s a very walkable downtown area, with lots of shops, coffee shops, and bars. There’s also a free shuttle that runs from Decatur into Emory every day (no driving!). You can find this shuttle and others at Emory transportation (http://transportation.emory.edu/shuttles.html) – living along a shuttle route is a great way to save gas money AND the environment!

That’s all I have for now! I hope that was helpful. Again, feel free to contact me via Learnlink if you’ve got any more questions. Ultimately, though, relax! It’s all going to work out great!

JACKIE: Kids are great, aren’t they?

I just got back from participating in one of the cooler things that Emory med students do (in my humble opinion, of course). As a member of YSEP (Emory SOM’s student run Youth Science Enrichment Program), I went to an elementary school in town to teach a class of fifth graders about the body. The premise was that we all (the class) worked for the “Human Body Corporation” and our company, like all companies in our glorious economy, needed to cut back on the number of workers it employed in order to save some money. So, the class split into 6 groups and I assigned each group an essential body part. Each group had to come up with a list of reasons why their assigned body part was absolutely necessary for the functioning of the Human Body Corp and therefore could not be laid off. (The premise seemed a little sophisticated for fifth graders if you ask me, but hey, who knows with kids these days.)

I have to tell you, I felt uplifted and inspired watching the kids brainstorm everything they knew about the human body, and then try to come up with reasons why their part was needed for the body to work. I know, I know- such a dorky med student thing to say- but when you spend so much time surrounded by people who have dedicated their lives to serving the human body, you forget that the average kid thinks it’s pretty fascinating too. When I briefly explained to them how each part worked, I was speaking with this super enthusiastic tone. Who knew that talking about the lungs oxygenating the blood could be so exciting!

Anyway, it was one of those moments you cherish during the day in, day out of medical school- one of those moments when you remark to yourself, “Huh- this stuff is pretty sweet.”

TONY: Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop

Med students may be the only people I know who complete four straight months of school, and then as soon as vacation starts, get in a car and drive for eight hours to do EVEN MORE WORK! Confusing? Terrifying? Perhaps. But isn’t that the kind of devotion to public service and the good of humanity that you’re looking for in the physicians of tomorrow? That’s how I choose to think about it.

But seriously folks, we just finished up our Cardiology block, and believe me when I tell you that this block will put some hair on your chest—the heart, as you’d imagine, really is not a joke. Somehow, we all made it through the exam and, finally, began Spring Break! The day after the exam, about twenty med students (myself included) headed down to New Orleans to try our hands at some much needed community service. We managed to get ourselves involved in some great projects—I spent a day caring for animals that had been left stranded and homeless by Katrina, for example. The real meat of our work, however, was the result of our partnership with the Lower Ninth Ward Clinic—a free clinic that serves the residents of one of the regions of New Orleans that was hit hardest by Katrina. As med students, our responsibilities were to go door to door in the surrounding community promoting the clinic, and performing free blood pressure readings and glucose screenings.

You can only understand the state of the living conditions in the lower ninth if you see it for yourself. You’ll have to forgive me for the lack of photos, but I was just too immersed in my experience there to start snapping away with my camera. Allow me to illustrate by making good use of my trademark verbosity: Imagine you’re in a working class, ungentrified neighborhood. The population is mostly African-American, the local public schools are not up to par, and crime is just another part of daily life. Now, take that neighborhood, and pound it with water so hard that over the course of four hours, it is twenty feet deep. Cars and bodies are floating past rooftops. Now wait for the water to go away on its own—don’t worry, it’ll eventually start to drain little by little, or simply evaporate. Now once the water is gone, leave the city alone. Do not touch it for three years. See the over growth of plants, and the sunken roofs, and the signs spray-painted onto the sides of houses that read ‘Please Do Not Demolish’. Have your visual yet? Good. Welcome to the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans—the vast majority of which remains completely devastated and uninhabitable nearly three years after the disaster.

Over 90% of the houses I was assigned to approach were still deserted. If people were to be found, they were in trailers next to their homes. The amazing thing about this day, was that the people that I met as I walked around this decimated neighborhood were in universally good spirits. Everyone was excited to talk, and thrilled with the work that we were doing for them in our free time. I spoke to one man who, the night that the city flooded, spent the night sleeping serenely on his own rooftop. He told me that he understood that people were angry, and could get frustrated with the slow pace at which the neighborhood was getting built back up. But for him, there was no time to be angry. Why? Because he was alive, and every moment was a gift. He then invited us to visit him in his trailer if we were in town for the holidays because he makes some mean fried chicken. How bout THAT for a spring break?

Of course, after spending a few days hard at work in the Big Easy, relaxation was absolutely necessary before heading back to school, so a few friends and I drove from New Orleans to Tampa for some fun in the sun. There are a lot of beaches in Tampa. Now, there are two things that I could do without in this world: shellfish and the beach. Shellfish are on the list because they kill me if I eat them. The beach? Well, I just don’t like the beach. I’d take a pool over the beach any day of the week. Thus I chose to express my opinion through my beach attire:

This is how old men (and Tony, apparently) go to the beach: sneakers, abnormally high socks, and an all-weather hat. Was I ridiculed by my compatriots for, perhaps, the strongest wardrobe choice I’ve ever made? Absolutely. But there is a lesson here that you can carry on through your med school career: Remain true to your convictions! I could have folded, and worn a “bathing suit” and “flip flops”, but then I would have ended up sunburned with sand all over my feet. It’s a metaphor for life. Think about it.

-tony

KEVIN: “I was born here”

By most accounts, Emory SOM has one of the latest spring breaks in any school. Ours was in mid-April, and mine was not particularly eventful. I spent some time with the girlfriend and also some other friends who still live back home.

I frequently forget that San Francisco can be a chilly, windy city, and I was fiercely reminded of this fact during my break. The girlfriend, herself a transplant from LA, wanted to visit our beach. The sight was worse than usual:

I had completely forgotten that we had an oil spill last November, which hasn’t yet been cleaned. We watched children and dogs play in sand-grease for about ten minutes and then left.

This was actually the highlight of my vacation.

—

I’ve actually been postponing my entry until someone else mentioned the FANTASTIC Kanye West concert that we attended on Sunday night. Although Mr. West hails from “Chi-town,” he was born in “A-town” and made note of it during the show, during his performances of “The Good Life” and “Homecoming.” Ant and Tony were there and I am hoping that they managed to sneak a camera into the show. If any of you readers have a chance to attend one of the tour’s stops, I highly recommend doing so, especially if you like having your senses assaulted by fog, fire, light, and live music.

ANTOINETTE: Slainté

By the end of the Cardiology module, I was slightly burnt out. It was April 11 and we hadn’t had a day off since Christmas break. I was tired of studying. I was (truth be told) tired of being around the same people every day. I was tired of anatomy. I was tired of being tired. It’s a familiar litany of complaints and I resisted going into complainer-mode. My gut reaction: Man up, Ant. You chose this life. So what’s a girl to do?

After 8 hours of testing, I hopped on a plane, crossed the Pond, and landed in London Heathrow the next day. It was a glorious spring break spent doing nothing and everything. I roamed around the city. I putzed around Hyde Park. I had afternoon tea at Harrod’s. I caught a Chelsea football game. Then I crossed the Irish Sea for a six-day jaunt through County Clare, Galway and Dublin where I drove on the (gasp) left side of the road. I’m a bad driver to begin with so trust me, it was a big deal. If you end up coming to Emory (which you should), I’ll only answer to Ant O’Nguyen.

But I also had time for some reflection. Note: don’t expect any grandiose epiphanies here; my self-awareness only runs so deep. A break was definitely necessary for my soul, but it also put things into perspective. Earth to Ant. Medical school isn’t that bad. I was meeting folks from around the world and from all walks of life. My friend and I ended up traveling with Staale V. for 3 days, an eternity in the land of backpacking and transient, fleeting “friendships.” He’d taken a year off from his studies in Oslo and was living in Galway for the year. Usually, I drool at the mouth and twitch in envy when I think about others on long-term trips abroad: seeing new sights, leaving the comfort zone, getting eaten alive by bed bugs, bearing witness to other ways of life. I love it all. Then it hit me. I wasn’t really envious of this guy’s life, or anyone else’s for that matter. It was a timely and much-needed reminder.

Amidst the powerpoints, anatomy demos and exams, life is still pretty sweet at the good ol’ EUSOM. I just had to remember that I have to take care of myself before I can take care of others. Not that I’m really taking care of anyone at the moment, but you get the point. Now, I’m re-juiced, re-energized and ready to get back to it. No pity party for this girl.

So on that note, here’s to good health and good times. Slainté.

PEARL: Can you DIG it?

Emory hosted its revisit weekend last Friday, which was great fun. The revisitors got to attend our small group PBL (where we discussed upper gastrointestinal disease), hear some amazing stories about things that happen at Emory (cracking open the sternum for a heart-lung transplant, starting up a program to teach inner-city high school students medicine and science, and many other things), and – best of all – attend our “Apollo Kauffee Haus,” an eclectic talent show that must be experienced to be fully understood. DIG – our dance interest group – choreographed and performed a short number for AKH that I’ve linked to below. There was certainly more to revisit, which I’m sure some of my fellow bloggers will be writing about.

From left to right in the opening formation, the dancers are Dena, me, Howie, Laura (the first soloist), Austin, Mike, Eric, Nayla, and Ny-Ying. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7bHeRpkEmo