I moved to the wrong city.

I should have gone to school in Connecticut. Problem is I LOVE PORTLAND. There is so much to do and see here. There's always something going on. People get out, play, and are involved in the community. My sister texted me the following the other day, "Do you ever study?" Seems like I've played a lot lately eh? It's true, I have, but I've had a low key class this week. It's back to the hard core studying this week. I gotta get it all in while it's still summer though! It's actually been super hard for me because I love to play and I love to be social, so turning invites down has been a killer...... 2 more weeks and it's officially summer for me (week break). Like I said, just 2 more weeks......

Kayaking the Tualatin River

That title might be a misnomer. We indeed had kayaks and even went down a mini waterfall, but "floating" the river might be more appropriate. Wait, not even that......"paddling" the river is more accurate. Most of the river was stagnant and not really moving. Man, was it an adventure though! I loved it. There were 2 of us to a kayak, but mine and Brittany's decided it wanted to start deflating on one side only. We were wondering why we couldn't paddle straight.....haha. It finally got so low that 3 of us all piled onto one kayak while Kate maneuvered the flat one. Turns out we miscalculated time to go 5 miles. The stagnant water may have had something to do with that. Basically we were paddling half the time in the dark. It was awesomeness. I love adventures such as these.

P.S. Don't you just love my bright pink life vest??

White Coat

This week we had our 4 day long Geriatrics course. 4 days is nothing, and even though I don't think I'm interested in Geriatrics, I was excited for the course as that is who I'll be working with when I go to Nicaragua in December. We got lots of practice interviewing a few elderly patients in a group and then going to an assisted care facility and interviewing an elderly person on our own. I got to interview Mr. Williams who claims to have done the following when he was younger: road construction, bull rider in the rodeos, Baptist preacher, civilian worker on army base, paramedic, blacksmith, volunteered at prisons, veterinarian, small airplane pilot, and truck driver. Hmmmm......not sure what to believe.....if so, he had a great life. He even said the same thing himself! It was fab to finally get out into the real world and practice some of the things we have been learning in school, PLUS it was our first occasion to wear our white coats.

Tiiiiiimber!

Tuesday night I went to the Portland Timbers MLS soccer game vs. Argentina with my classmates. They've only been professional for 1 year and in Portland for 1 year (previously Portland had a minor league baseball team). Fans are hard core though and are all decked out in their green Timbers gear. Such a rowdy and lively crowd too. I hear this is the best place in the whole country to witness a soccer game. I can see why too.....such high energy. Games are always sold out.

The first half was exciting with two goals by the Timbers within a few minutes of each other. I sat here in the upper section with the whole two rows of my classmates.

Second half I moved to midfield on the 4th row......amazing view!

Good thing I moved closer too, otherwise I wouldn't have gotten my picture with the mascot! Another reason the Timbers are so cool is because of their mascot. Except he's not just any old mascot......he's Timber Joey, a lumberjack. He literally walks around the stadium with a ginormous chainsaw that's actually ON and it's REAL. Every time the Timbers score, he cuts off a chunk of a log, which is then awarded to the player who scored at the end of the game. Best mascot EVER. Unfortunately you can't see the ginormous chainsaw in the photo....

To build breast cancer awareness, the Timbers and Providence (local healthcare group similar to IHC) were trying to set the world record for the most fans wearing pink gloves in the "Pink Glove Dance." Yes, we sported them. Yes, we danced. Yes, that green man is my classmate Zach. No, he did not make it on tv. Yes, the fans around us loved it.

And here is Providence Medical Center in Portland with the "Pink Glove Dance" for your enjoyment. This is a MUST WATCH....you will get a kick out of it.

Who says the medical profession is all work and no play?

Service in the Park

A few weekends ago there was a YSA conference for all of Portland with a movie in the park Friday night; speaker, lunch, service project, dinner, and dance Saturday; and combined church (about 7 wards) Sunday. Erin, Matt, and I opted for the service in the park where we plucked off all the old flowers off the bushes so the new ones can grow in come Spring.