Punchbowl Falls

Saturday turned out to be a GORGEOUS day, not a cloud in the sky. Good thing too cause I was going hiking with some friends. We hiked in the Gorge, which is absolutely beautiful this time of year. The Columbia river divides Oregon from Washington and that is known as the Gorge. Hiking destination: Punchbowl Falls. It was a pretty short hike - took about 30-40 minutes and I kept thinking I was in Jurassic Park or something. The trees are super tall and it's super green. Punchbowl Falls consists of the lower falls....

...which I totally would have jumped into 1) had I worn my swimsuit, 2) had it not been in the shade and 3) and it not been freezing cold water. Ok, let's be honest.....I totally would have jumped if someone had just said, "I dare you."

Ok, so it gets a little more crazy. Some dudes (in my group and other groups) decided they were going to jump off the cliff next to the upper falls. We're talking like 85 feet here. Crazy! You can't even see the water in this picture, but take it from me.....that is a TALL cliff. I stood where you see all those dudes standing and it's a loooong way down. Looks awesome though! It was fun to watch.

My New Pleasure Reading......

Portland Day 30 - Overcast

Portland Sunset. Granted not as spectacular as AZ sunsets, but this was the best I've seen so far. The bright colors didn't come through too well in the photo, but still beautiful with the clouds.

Today marks a month since I've been here and I've given you a glimpse into my life every one of those days. From here on out, I'll just be blogging sporadically and not necessarily every day. I have the feeling it's going to turn around from here on out. Ahem, get extremely boring I mean. The endless studying has definitely begun. I'll see if I can still give you insights into life in Portland and/or PA school. Until next time!

Everyone and their dog

I'm sure you've all used the expression "everyone and their dog" a million times without thinking about it. For example...."Who was at the concert?" "Everyone and their dog," meaning a LOT of people. Well, I've seen first-hand what that expression really means. Portland brings out the literal meaning of it. It's true. Everyone AND their dog are everywhere. People take them on walks, hiking, in their car, downtown.... You name it and they're there. I was driving home from the gym the other day and in front of me was a Subaru with a dog staring out the back window. Classic. Dogs here are just another member of the family!

Portland Day 29 - Rain

Yesterday we had a Welcome Picnic for our class with students, faculty, and family. It was fun to meet spouses, kids, parents, siblings, and dogs of classmates. I must say, just one more time, that I love my class! They are such great and amazing people. I'm looking forward to getting to know them even better. Sorry for the blurriness of the photo (I didn't take it.....)

Portland Day 28 - BLUE SKIES

Today was glorious, an absolute gorgeous day. The whole sky was blue all day. That hasn't happened once since I've been here. I got a few hours of study in at Summerlake Park after school..... I just had to be outside. I'm still feeling way overwhelmed...... There's just not enough time for everything I need to study and learn. Help!

Portland Day 27 - Evening Sunshine

Today was seriously the worst day ever. Ok, maybe not the worst, but definitely the roughest day of school yet. It started out with 2 hrs. of Statistics and then followed with 6 hrs. of Cell Physiology. We basically covered 8 mos. (2 semesters) worth of material all TODAY. It was an overload and I felt very overwhelmed. Still do..... The worst part of it was I kind of checked out during Stats and then for Phys, we have a new teacher that I'm not used to yet. I basically wasn't understanding anything that he was saying. He's kind of difficult to follow. I feel like he could explain things better, but maybe it's just the material. It was all supposed to be mostly a review, but all my prereq's are 6 yrs. old so I'm a bit rusty. The girl sitting next to me said she was bored and has heard this stuff over and over again, and here I am not understanding anything. Sometimes when I don't know what is being discussed I kind of just check out and disengage myself. That is terrible, I can't do that. I also couldn't decide if I liked taking notes better on the computer or by hand. I think that complicated it too. I came home today and spent another 4 and 1/2 hrs. going over everything. I was going to read the corresponding chapter and look over Stats as well, but I ran out of time for both. I know what I'm going to be doing this weekend.......... The real fun has finally kicked in......

Portland Day 26 - Scattered Sunshine

Yesterday was a good day. There was no lecture at school. We just practiced our vital signs and lab tests and then got checked off on them in front of a preceptor. We then had Q&A with some alumni that are now practicing PA's.

During lunch, a bunch of us went to a nearby park to play some basketball. I had organized it and everyone really had a good time. There was about 15 of us playing and about that many more watching. I'm used to playing basketball once a week with the dudes back in Provo so I decided to keep it going. I think we'll play every week from here on out. It's an outdoor court, which isn't ideal, but it's nice to be outside and it's close to school. These guys are good too. One of them played ball in college for 4 yrs. Sweet!

Later that evening I went to the temple with a few of my friends and then went bowling with some other friends. I broke 100 both times. Booyah!

Portland Day 25 - Overcast

Today at school we started practicing taking vital signs on each other and a few routine lab tests. Tomorrow we'll be checked off on them. The vital signs include blood pressure, pulse, respiration rate, and temperature (oral & tympanic). The labs include blood sugar check, hemoglobin check, urine dipstick, and rapid strep. I would love to practice on you all. It's fun to start doing some of the clinical aspect instead of just sitting in lecture all day. And the best part was I got to use my stethoscope for the first time!

I also braved the basketball court at 24 Hr. Fitness this evening as the sole female among 15 males. I decided I don't like playing with guys.....they think they're all that. I'm not an all-star, but neither are they.....

Portland Day 24 - Overcast

It's the middle of June and I still haven't been able to go outside in shorts and a t-shirt. What is this? Not to mention it's freezing at school. It's looking like I'll be wearing a jacket or sweater for the rest of the summer.......

Portland Day 23 - Rainy

My roommates appeared to be very social at first, but they don't really like going to FHE, Institute, or firesides. Well, I'm going without them then! Went to a great fireside tonight by the Portland mission president and his wife, heard some fantastic advice, and met some awesome peeps.

Oh and funny story..... I was recruited today to give the opening prayer in Sacrament meeting and my roommate, Katie, gave me some words of advice: You have to clear your throat once you get up there. Well, I was thinking: Why the heck? She then proceeded to explain that people would look up at me. And that's when I would smile. Haha, ok that last part is stretching it, but she said more people might notice me that way. Hmmm..... I didn't do it, but all she had to say was "I dare you." Too bad she hasn't found that out yet about me. But can anyone verify this? Is this really a secret trick that works....??

Portland Day 22 - Overcast

One of the best days yet, spent celebrating the famous Rose Festival with a great group of friends. Started off the morning polishing off, or rather attempting to polish off, the delicious "man-cakes" at the Stepping Stone Cafe. These pancakes are GINORMOUS! They are the size of the whole plate, as you can see. Well, imagine a stack of 3 of those. They were featured on the TV show Man vs. Food. I couldn't even finish off 1 whole one, but I attribute that to my side of eggs and hash browns. If I look tired, that's cause I just woke up not too much earlier. Note the time on the clock behind me. Worth it? Heck yes!

After breakfast we went to the Rose Parade. There were only about 4 or 5 floats with fresh flowers/roses though.....

The rest of the parade seemed to consist of rodeo queens and marching bands.

And don't forget the sailors who pulled in for Fleet Week!

We then wandered through Saturday Market, which I hope to check out wholeheartedly very soon and had lunch at Old Town Pizza. It has a haunted past, which you can read about on the website. Afterwards we checked out Powell's, the biggest and best bookstore I have ever been in. It covers a whole city block and is multiple stories. It's so big and you can get lost very easily so they have a store map you can carry around with you. Oh my gosh, I was in heaven. It's my new favorite place. I loved just wandering around and looking at all the books and the different sections. I ended up buying this book. Hopefully it's good and hopefully I get through it sometime in the next 2 yrs. while I'm busy studying my life away.

And my personal favorite part of the day:

Portland Day 21 - Very Cloudy

I got out of school early today so I decided to take a different way home. Bad idea. I got stuck in MAJOR traffic. It took me over an hour to get home and I was very annoyed with all of the chillax drivers that follow the speed limit, brake for yellow lights, and stop for every pedestrian. Not to mention the multiple times I almost got grazed sitting in the left lane while oncoming traffic was turning left. I love my back country road and will stick to it from now on.

Portland Day 20 - Some Sun

Key word is some....

I've decided that I'm going to go to Institute, no matter who or how many people show up. There may have been some social pressure to go in Utah, but there's definitely not any here. Regardless, I need to make it a priority. The only catch is it's 2 hrs. long, straight. No breaks.

Afterwards my friends Erin and Aubrey and I checked out the dudes playing basketball at the church. Bahaha, I mean we checked out basketball, which only dudes were playing. We'll start playing with them next week. I played every week with peeps in my Provo ward and will start playing here now. Except there was about 20 guys who showed up to play...... I'll just have to be on the winning team is all. Simple as that.

Portland Day 19 - Cloudy

Tough day...... 3 hours of class. This morning we took our class pictures that will soon be on the school website as the class of 2013, as well as our individual photos that our preceptors will eventually see once we start rotations. Who would have thought we'd have a whole morning off during our first month of PA school? Love it.

Oh, and I totally chickened out on playing basketball. There were just too many guys and not a single girl. Maybe next time.....

Portland Day 18 - Cloudy

I met a dude at the gym tonight. He invited me to play basketball with the bros tomorrow. I'm feeling a little rusty, but I think I'll go check it out and show 'em what I got.....

Portland Day 17 - Cloudy

I started a new class today. Clinical History. I'm learning how to elicit information from a patient to obtain all pertinent information to make an appropriate diagnosis. Too bad you're not around for me to practice on..... It's going to be loads of fun. I'll also learn how to do some routine lab procedures to test for different things. I'm excited to have a class with a little more hands-on opportunities and more practical applications.

And how the heck did THIS happen?? It almost made me late to school with all of the traffic. It happened about one block from my school. Crazy....

Portland Day 16 - EVEN MORE SUNSHINE!

This post is going to be about church. I'm not quite sure how I feel about the Singles' scene out here yet. I've heard it's supposed to be pretty good. Until I showed up to church the first day here and everyone was like 18. Ok, that's stretching it. I've been to church 3 times now and each time it gets better. I met some really great quality people today and am getting to know more and more people. The ward is actually an older ward, but there are a lot of kids that come home for the summer.

Here's the thing though. I'm not used to being in a ward of 18 - 30+ yr. olds. My last ward back in Provo was FAB. Everyone was mostly older, around the same age as me and mostly going through the same life experiences. Here, however, there is such a different mix of people. You have people making comments in class about their high school days, about college, about work experience, etc. I just feel like the quality of church here isn't where I would like it to be. Not anywhere near my last ward in Provo. Ok, near, yes. But that's about it. I guess it's my time to SHINE!! I'll show 'em how it's done..... At least it's a very social ward/stake and there is always tons to do and opportunities to meet new people. That's the good aspect of it. Very social.

Portland Day 15 - MORE SUNSHINE!

Mt. Hood, a little over 11,000 ft. It's a rare day when you can actually see it. And in case you're wondering, the roses haven't bloomed yet......

Portland Day 14 - SUNSHINE!

I finished my Genetics class today. One semester's worth of material smashed into 3 and 1/2 days. SO much information! Aced my test. On to the next class!

Funky Smell

Ok, so I've noticed this really funky smell in different places and I can't figure out what it is. It's in my classroom at school. I smelled it walking into the gym the other day. And I noticed it in the temple today. I thought it might be some type of material (i.e. plastic, wood). Then I thought it might be a person in particular, like something they have eaten is emanating from them. But it smells exactly the same in the different places. Is it a Portland smell? Vegans? Hippies? Organic nutsos? I really have no idea. Whatever it is I don't like it.... What do you think? I wanna hear some theories!

I LOVE my commute!

I love driving. I was a little worried about my 25-30 minute drive each way to school every day, but I couldn't pick a better commute. It's a 2 lane road out in the countryside through farm country. There's fields, orchards, vineyards, alpaca farms, horses, you name it. The road has a lot of twists and turns, which I love, so it makes the drive interesting. Not to mention there is no speed limit. It's like driving the autobahn. Sometimes I feel like I'm riding the train through Germany. The view is about the same. It's fabulous!

Oregon Traffic vs. Utah Traffic

There are a few interesting differences between driving here and back in Utah:

• In Utah everyone speeds down the interstate going 90 mph, weaving in and out of traffic. Well, here no one is in a hurry at all. They all go the speed limit and are very polite drivers, a more chillax atmosphere.
• In Utah, everyone speeds up at a yellow light to make it through the intersection. Yellow light here means brake immediately.
• Here, a flashing yellow light on the left turn arrow means yield.
• Everyone here will stop for you to cross the street, even if it's a fairly busy street. If you're a BYU student south of campus, good luck crossing that street to get back home!
• One more thing....no talking on the phone while driving in Oregon.

I Am WHO's Look-Alike?

Or more appropriately, WHO's my look-alike? One of my classmates told me yesterday that I remind him of one of his really good friends, both looks and mannerisms. After my reaction, he said, "Exactly. That's something she totally would have done too." Since I've been in Portland, a few other people have told me the same thing. I get that a LOT. Even before Portland. It's interesting. I must just have a familiar face I guess....

Portland Day 13 - Rain/Shine

It's gonna be a great weekend....

This is highly unusual for Portland. I think there's been rain everyday since I've been here in fact. Everybody and their dog (upcoming post on that subject...) is going to be out and about.

Portland Day 12 - Lots of Rain

My second day of PA school:

8 hours at school. 2 and 1/2 hours of group study. 1 and 1/2 hours of individual study. 12 hours total.....of Genetics. Let the fun begin!