Scones, Meatballs, and Weill Cornell

Hi, everyone!

It's a beautiful Saturday morning, and I'm feeling pretty good because I got to sleep in late. YES. Small victories in life.

Monday's endocrinology exam went well. Let's see what happens. I'm really loving this class though. I love learning all of the pathways and seeing how hormones control so many aspects of our physical lives.

That same day, I went to Bel Ami for the first time. I've passed by this French bakery so many times over the years and have never walked in because I always assumed it was too pricey and just too fancy for me. haha. But I was with someone, and he suggested that we stop by for some sweets. I'm so glad that we did! I got their apricot and walnut scone, and it was awesome! And it was $3, which is not too terrible. haha. They do have a $10 credit card minimum though so make sure that you have cash if you're only there for coffee and sweets.

We ended up going back to Bel Ami on Wednesday, and I got a brioche this time. It was great with some coffee from the Halal cart. We also went to The Meatball Shop that day. It was my first time being back since the summer before college started (back in 2011) so it was cool to be there as a 22- year-old. It made me think about how much of me had changed and what had stayed the same. The meatballs come in all sorts of varieties, and there is a vegetarian option, which I've heard great things about but have yet to try. haha. Definitely check it out. And the service was awesome! Our waiter was super polite and attentive. We went to the one on the Upper East Side, but I had a good experience in the Stanton Street location as well (the one I went to when I was 18).

On Tuesday, I went to an event about bioethics where one of the speakers was one of my former MHC seminar professors. It was funny because as soon as I walked into the room, he was like "Slavena?" haha. It was cool to catch up with him and tell him about what's going on with me as I graduate. I had him for seminar 3, and it ended up being one of the coolest classes that I took because it introduced me to philosophy and in particular, environmental philosophy, which is something that I had never been exposed to before.

I had to write 2 cover letters this past week for a couple of jobs that I'm applying for so I ended up going to see my MHC advisor so that she could look over them. She liked what I wrote so I just sent in the applications yesterday. I'm going to apply for some other things too and hopefully, I get something great to do next year. :)

Yesterday, I went to a tour of Weill Cornell Medical College, and there were a couple of former MHC students there. They told us about their experiences in med school, and why they chose Weill Cornell. I'm so glad I went because every one of these events motivates me to continue this journey.

S.

For this last semester, I've decided that I'll share one cool/interesting/thought-provoking thing that I happen to run across during the week:

Bruce Jenner's courage

Getting Through These Last Busy Weeks: Summer Plans!

As the weather warms up and due dates approach left and right, it can sometimes be a little overwhelming. For the next few weeks, I have essays and projects due almost every other day and then, of course, there are finals. Everyone deals with their stress a little bit differently, but the one thing that really helps me is knowing what I'm going to be doing in the summer and being able to look forward to it. I have a busy set of months until next school year, but busy doesn't have to be bad.

I was accepted into a summer program in Shanghai that I will be attending from the very end of June, basically July, to the end of August. I ended up applying for this program on my own, completely independently of help from Macaulay, Hunter, or Flagship, but even though that in itself was quite nerve wracking - I am so glad that I did. I can talk about the program and my experience applying for it on my own more in depth soon, but really I just wanted to say that it is really good to have something to look forward to. And it doesn't have to be a big thing. Besides this program, I'm also really excited to be able to watch my younger brother graduate from high school. That's going to be bizarre, but so so great. And I'm really excited just for warm weather! I went to Miami for Spring Break and got a taste of more consistently hot weather - I cannot wait.

So, if you are feeling a little bogged down in the stress of the end of a semester: just think of the things that you will get to do this summer. Even if you will be working or taking classes, make plans to do something special - just so that you can say "right, I need to sit tight now, and then I will get to do such and such." And, just remember that you can do this and everyone is rooting for you.

Florence Study Abroad Part VII: Milan and the Road Home

So here's the end of my Florence study abroad posts. It's feels so crazy that it was only 4 months ago that I went to Italy. And this summer I'll be going to France! So you'll be seeing lots more study abroad posts from me.

The final weekend in Italy, after I took my final, I took the train back to Milan and spent some time there before flying out early the next day. I only spent a day in Milan, but I covered some of the more famous sites.

 This is the original Duomo. The church was built over 500 years and had hundreds of different architects and designers. It took so long to build this church that it went through the period of Gothicism and into the period of neo-Gothicism. It's a beautiful monstrosity of a building. I climbed to the top which was terrifying as the roof is slanted.

This sign was hilarious and amazing. I think it was trying to warn us about the slanted roof of Duomo.

I was really proud of myself for recognizing this scene on the side of Duomo. This is the annunciation (I only saw about 400 other versions of this scene in paintings and churches).

 This car was just beautiful. (P.S. the police cars in Milan were all Lamborghinis; I don't know how they can afford that)

 The original Prada store in Galleria Vittorio. Kinda geeked out when I saw this as I'm still a bit of a fashion nerd.

 The inside of Galleria Vittorio; it's an outside, open-air mall next to Il Duomo

 Sforza Castle

The view of the Alps from the plane ride home. This is the view I had when I came to Italy and it was  an amazing reminder of how much had happened in three weeks and how beautiful this country truly is. Arrivederci Italia!