Final Post
Wow, it's crazy to think how much can change in a single school year.... and recent events have shown us all how much things can change in a single month. Social distancing started a little over a month ago and already it feels like I can barely remember life before quarantine. Classes and exams moved online and it's a serious struggle now to get enough sunlight, social interaction, and variety.
However, I didn't feel like the quality of our classes decreased at all. It was great to see how hard all our professors worked to maintain the standards they set and it definitely showed results. Having just finished my last exam for my last class, it is very strange thinking that this blog post is my last assignment of the program.
Unfortunately we weren't able to volunteer anymore after quarantine started, but I think my experience with it was very rewarding. In my area at home, it felt like most volunteering opportunities available to us were geared towards college students or even organized by college students. In New Orleans, my friends and I barely had to try to look for volunteer opportunities because they were everywhere and attended by people of all ages and backgrounds. It was a great sense of community that I appreciated and I was able to participate in things that I didn't even know I could join.
While many aspects of this quarantine are inconveniencing, there are also some positive aspects too. With all this extra (too much) free time, it feels like all of us get a bit of space to breathe and relax. Even with medical school apps and job searching, I feel like I have enough time in the day to work on hobbies and not do anything rushed. I try to use a couple meals in the week to make more ambitious or time consuming recipes like steak au poivre, chicken katsu and noodles from scratch. I'm also trying out some interesting baking recipes like different types of macarons and tiramisu with homemade ladyfingers. Next up is probably chicken tikka and homemade croissants. Now that we are done with classes, I will probably find something interesting to learn on an online course. I'm also getting back into playing piano again since I bought an old keyboard to use until I go home and get back on my real piano.
Overall, this was a strange and unexpected end to a great year in New Orleans. I wish we could take better advantage of this great weather and spend more time exploring downtown with friends but regardless I loved experiencing this city and hopefully I'll be back as a Tulane med student.
However, I didn't feel like the quality of our classes decreased at all. It was great to see how hard all our professors worked to maintain the standards they set and it definitely showed results. Having just finished my last exam for my last class, it is very strange thinking that this blog post is my last assignment of the program.
Unfortunately we weren't able to volunteer anymore after quarantine started, but I think my experience with it was very rewarding. In my area at home, it felt like most volunteering opportunities available to us were geared towards college students or even organized by college students. In New Orleans, my friends and I barely had to try to look for volunteer opportunities because they were everywhere and attended by people of all ages and backgrounds. It was a great sense of community that I appreciated and I was able to participate in things that I didn't even know I could join.
While many aspects of this quarantine are inconveniencing, there are also some positive aspects too. With all this extra (too much) free time, it feels like all of us get a bit of space to breathe and relax. Even with medical school apps and job searching, I feel like I have enough time in the day to work on hobbies and not do anything rushed. I try to use a couple meals in the week to make more ambitious or time consuming recipes like steak au poivre, chicken katsu and noodles from scratch. I'm also trying out some interesting baking recipes like different types of macarons and tiramisu with homemade ladyfingers. Next up is probably chicken tikka and homemade croissants. Now that we are done with classes, I will probably find something interesting to learn on an online course. I'm also getting back into playing piano again since I bought an old keyboard to use until I go home and get back on my real piano.
Overall, this was a strange and unexpected end to a great year in New Orleans. I wish we could take better advantage of this great weather and spend more time exploring downtown with friends but regardless I loved experiencing this city and hopefully I'll be back as a Tulane med student.
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