Hospital, Beaches, Day trip to Cannes, etc

Wow. I have failed at upkeep of my blog...je suis tres tres desolee!!!!

Okay here I go...

Wed:
Well I started my shadowing at the hospital and I am in love! Les petites bebes sont tres tres mignonnes! (= the little babies are the cutest ever!) Normally I just follow Sarah, an intern in her second year, around and get to watch her and the Dr do rounds. Its crazy how much responsibility she has for being my age... she is super nice though and if I have questions she tries to help me out...
Mostly I get to watch them examen babies from birth up to two years old and for the most part they are not seriously sick, but because they are so tiny they must be hospitalized for fevers/coughs/infections etc.
The hospital where I get to work is the most beautiful hospital I have ever seen, and the view of the beach from each examination room is breathtaking...

After that we had class and learned about the "Medecines Legistres" who are kind of like our equivalent to Medical Examiner (like from CSI... who does autopsies, but in France they also help with judicial cases to help figure out if fractures were accidental or not and things like that...). 

And after that I just wandered around Nice for a while and then some diner with my host family and then some skyping and then bed for a tres tres fatigue Olivia.... 

Well Thurs:

The hospital went about the same way, except because I lost track of Sarah (haha) I got to spend the day with the "grands enfants" (=children between 2 and 18). So that was also interesting... just a little something different...

And then most of the students who work at Lenval went to the plage (=beach) to eat out packed lunches (which are always a little random and wayyy to much food haha). It was nice to just get to relax and enjoy the sunshine!! 

Then on to more classes... nothing too interesting that day, haha.

THEN on to the Musee Chagall (a museum showcasing the art of Chagall), it was interesting... but after a WHOLE day of work the last thing I was in the mood for was more listening and standing- the tour guide pretty much described in detail to us what EVERY color and EVERY symbol meant in almost EVERY painting...  but the paintings were at least interesting to look at. Just not my favorite... but hey to each his own I guess!

Friday:

Only the hospital in the morning!!!! It was soooo amazing to be able to have a free day in the after noon! Almost all of us met on the beach for our dejouner (=Lunch) and it was so fun to get to finally hang out with everyone without being in class/shadowing etc...


But after that I went with Melissa to her house where she is staying and it is in the very very far east Nice.. but there is a beautiful view from her house...And we laid out at the pool at her house ...and saw 13 year old french children have a hissy fight, it was tres amausant!! Bon, alors... apres (=after) we ate at a cute little creperie (=place that makes crepes) and then we went out to a little bar with some others of the group AND these french medical students who we met on Tuesday. Learned lots of things like "carpet" is their equivalent of "extremely drunk". And the meaning of "Giclette" (...trust me: you don't want to know...).Very important things like that. But fun evening overall, and a good way to get to know the group and more about french culture (even if it is not very "proper" french culture... haha...

Sat:

Saturday was probably the most fun and relaxing day yet! 14 of us took a day trip to Cannes to see the film festival (and its vedettes = stars) and to go to the beautiful beaches! After we figured out how to work the train (=complicated), we were on our way to Cannes.  Cannes is a pretty small town and it is possible to walk everywhere... and it is sooo beautiful. We first walked along the outskirts of the festival and saw the red carpet (empty..but still!) and took some pictures around.

Then we saw from afar a cute little village with a church on a hill and decided to explore it! We ended up splitting up into two groups and ten of us walked up the hill to explore... it was so worth it. The view was sooo beautiful and also it was just nice to see all the old buildings with all the character and charm. Then, on the way down from the village we stopped at a cute little cafe to eat lunch. I had a delicious ravioli... yum. Also, because we are American and loud of course we got yelled at by some wiley old Frenchman who "couldn't hear the birds!!" bahaha. Sorry Monsieur.. haha.
Apres: la plage!! (=beach!) It was so beautiful, and with actual sand (because Nice is only rocks!!). We laid around and chatted and some of us even got in the water... but it felt sooo good because the sun was chaud (=hot!). It was nice to just sit around and get to know everyone. And they are all great...and with some good jokes about Tennessee (baha...) and other things/states we were able to become a lot better acquainted :)
Anyway, after the beach, and after stopping at Macdo (=McDonalds) to get Vera her much craved Big Mac, me and Nick found relatively cheap/still good place for diner. And this time the whole group was there!  Also fun...and delicious as always...
Well after that we walked back to the train station (and after a game of "Ninja" while we waited for out train to arrive at the station) and tried to get on the train back to Nice, we got on the wrong one. This train we got on still went to Nice, but it was the TGV (aka it was quicker and more expensive). Well, we realize this too late and the doors have already closed. And get yelled at by the conductor... but after he realized we weren't going anywhere (aka we were stuck on the train..haha) he told us it was not that big of a deal and to just ride this train. Good- since we have no where else to go... so that was kind of an adventure.

And so it was Sunday:
Today I went to mass with my host parents (who sing in the choir... so I sat alone... but it was still nice) and it was interesting to hear all the prayers etc that I know in English said in French. They gave me a book so I could follow along and say the prayers out loud so that made it so much easier... but good experience definitely.
Then we picked up my host dad's mother and drove out to my "host-uncle's" house for lunch etc. My "host-uncle" (brother of my host dad) also hosts a student, Nabil. First of all, we ate the most delicious lunch of all time. Meat, potatoes, salad, bread, and after, fruit, chocolate cake, crepes with assorted fillings...mmm. We chatted about geography of where me and Nabil live and the US etc...and of other random US vs France things. Then we took about a two hour long walk (which was good since I ate my weight in food haha). But because they live way the the East we got to walk along a beach and port called Cagnes Sur Mer and it was also beautiful. I didn't take pictures.... but all the flowers and beaches and little boats and little cafes.
Then we came home at about 7ish...and then a small diner but with big conversation. We talked about the difference in "public health" in France and the US and how in France it is easier to be healthy and there are more incentives/ways to be healthy. More walking, smaller portions, more sport in general done by the public, healthier and fresher/non-chemically foods, etc. And also we chatted about the differences in the "university" system in both countries...especially the med school difference. Because in France there is no "Undergrad", they go straight from lycee (=high school) to their university (but specialized like law school/business/medical...). If you want to know more, just ask me haha, it is way to much to get into here. We also chatted about the differences in the hospitals of the two counties...also complicated topic but interesting definitely!

And now here I am... whew. I need to stay more on top of things, eh?

Well tomorrow, my host family + the dad's mother and I are all going to their "country house" for the majority of the day. I am excited to just chill and read some homework (=Montaigne, not fun...but maybe if I do it in a lounge chair on the terrace??? I hope...). So I am looking forward to that.

But now I need to sleeeeep!
Bonne Nuit "Y'all"

Liv