Glands and apartements.

Busy, busy, busy!

Yesterday I moved allmost all my stuff over to Ayan's place. It's time consuming to move around. Finding a place, pack all your stuff, drive it over to the new place, carry it to the new flat (which is, of course, in 4th floor, in a building without elevator), trying to find a free space on the floor.. Go for a new box. At the same time, two persons are moving out from the same flat. That means; their stuff is packed in boxes stacked all over the place, making it even more difficult and messy.

So this is what I spent my entire day (after school) on, yesterday. And I'm going to spend even more time on it today.. But there was a problem. I had to prepeare for slide-test in histology too.. The test has just been finished. I went to the lab without proper preparation, wondering if this was the day I would fail big time.. I didn't care to read to much during the class eihter (while waiting for my turn to be tested). I just went up and grabbed my slide, hoped it was from the gastrointestinal trakt or liver, and started microscoping it.

I couldn't recognice the slide. Or.. it looked like a gland. Pinkish lump of cells. I had to try to find out which glands it couldn't be. I found out that it wasn't pituitary gland, because there wasn't two distinguable lobes. Pancreas got Islet of Langerhans, the preparate didn't. Thyroid gland got big ponds of colloid surrounded by the glandular cells, there was no colloid. And adrenal gland got cortex with 3 distinct layers, and a medulla resembling early nervous tissue. The cells looked quite evenly distributed through the slide, so I decided it had to be a parathyroid gland, producing parathormone. Then my preparation time was up, and I had to start tellin my professor about the slide. Just in the same second I looked on the slide in the other microscope (the one used during the actual test), I recogniced two distinct layers. It was cortex and medulla of adrenal gland.. I wasn't prepared to answer questions about it.

Anyway. I somehow made to answer the questions of my professor in a way that made her quite satisfied.. I got a 1 minus (exellent minus). Sometimes it's just pure luck!

Greed

My mother grew up without electrisity. She have told me about the day when it came. She was about 8-9 years old (if I'm not wrong). She carried her youngest brother in her arms in her home when the brand new lightbulb in the kitchen lamp turned on. Her brother (my uncle) was terrified. He had never experienced this phenomenoma. But he couldn't be blamed, he was only about 1 year old. My mother grew up in an unindustrialized country. Her family was quite poor.

I grew up with only one state TV-channel. One state radio-channel. I can remember that I had to use my older brother clothes, or that my mum sewed clothes to me and my siblings. Some clothes was borrowed from friends and collegues of my parents.. But we mostly survived without starving.. And nobody noticed my old or homemade clothing.

Suddently something changed. I can remember our first computer. Internet connection. New tv- and radio-channels. My sister demanded spesific brands when my mother went to shop clothes to us. The rat-race on school, which music was in, which clothing was out, make-up, perfumes.. I hated it..

The shift is quite clear. From.. "we need, but can't affort it" to "I want it!" And even worse. "I want it, but I think it should be for free, so I'll take it anyway".

I can't say that I long back to my childhood without internet or several tv-channels. But I would like people to be a bit more humble about their fantastic situation. We are bathing in luxury in a world where people still die of simple diseases who could be prevented or cured by simple means (vaccination or cheap medicines). People dies of starvation while USA burns food for billions, just to keep the price up. And the only thing on our mind is that "I want this computer, for free!", "I want this music, for free!", "I want this land, for free!". While people dies, because their medicine is to expencive..

When will it all collapse?

Just another friday.

The alarm set off at 07.00, one hour after the construction workers started to use their powertools just outside my bedroom window. A nice start.

We had latin the three first teaching hours today. Even some of my other teachers on the faculty is referring to the latin teacher as "the dinosaur". Don't get me wrong. Our teacher is exellent. She knows a lot, and make us read. And makes us to understand the systems of latin language. Or.. It's not that she makes us. She forces us. It's not unusual that a poor student is leaving the classroom in tears. Or allmost in tears. She can be quite hush.

Todays test was hard, we had to decline nouns from 3rd consonant declension (masculine) with adjective from 2nd declension, then the same for 3rd vowel declension (masculine and neuter). Then we had to joint some expressions with prepositions, translate, find opposite and finally find appropriate greek nouns to combine with the endings -itis, -itidis/-oma, -omata/-otis, -otis and combine theese nouns (now patological descriptions) with different adjectives with appropriate genders..

After latin, we had two embryology lectures. It's very interesting, and important to know about the embyonic developement. Unfortunatly, my class can be quite noisy during these lectures. Yes, I know it's last lecture on a friday, but please! Don't make it a "knitting club". We can gossip in the breakes and after lectures. I get quite embrassed everytime the teachers have to interrupt the lecture to calm down the class.

And after last lecture I wished all classmates happy easter, and went to the computer room. Siti stopped me and gave me a folder about islam. I'll read it, but it probably wont make me a muslim... Thanks anyway, Siti! :)

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Edit: 3 photos from my desk today.

1. four of my 16 tables of endings and their declensions
2. A paper with tasks in the first a-declension (there is 5 declensions, most of them divided to more groups due to gender and rules for declining the vocab)
3. A overwiew of my desk. Notice the mp-3-player distal and lateral of my notes ;) Music keeps me alive here..
   

Faculty ball 2008

-whisky - check
-gin - check
-fruit salad with vodka - check
-beer - check
-sparkling wine - check
-tonic water - missing!
-ice -check
-ball gown - check
-accesories -check
-make-up - check
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As you can see, almost everything is ready for the pre-party! And then there will be a ball (due to the rumours)...
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Edit: There was a ball, later on. But then my camera shut down.. :/ At least, here is a picture of me and 3 other girls, ready for partying!

This week ended.. finally!

Oh, I'm so glad. This week is over, just 10 hours to go. I have to read today, make up for all I missed this week. It's a bit boring, though.. And I have to clean my flat. :/

Yes, that's true. My parents called me on thursday. Just the usual stuff; we are doing fine, we are going to our summer house this easter holiday, how are you?

I told them that I've finally found THE dress for the faculty ball on wednesday. And they replied; don't you got enough dresses here in Norway? Eh? I'm in Czech republic, it's to late to send them down. And i don't believe that all of them fits me anymore... And I doesn't got a proper ball dress. And I actually like to wear something new from time to time. And it's my money!

Yeah, right. I have to revice latin and czech.. See ya.
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Edit: Jeg, SiljeCam og Jes dro til en restaurant i nærheten, for middag og kaffe på en sen søndags ettermiddag i begynnelsen av påska. Det var kjempekoselig det, helt til det begynte å lukte ganske så ille der vi satt. En eller annen på ett av nabobordet hadde helt tydelig sluppet en smyger. En av de som virkelig lukter ille. Sjarmerende land, sjarmerende folk! Det er en grunn til at jeg skriver denne ekstrakommentaren på norsk... :P

Flu, yeast and paramecium.

I hate having the flu. Coughing, sneezing, fever, head ache, sore throat, runny nose.. And the school continues with all the tests, lectures and practicals. I just have to scare myself up from the bed and hope that I might will survive the day (I have done it so far). Today, 5-6 of my classmates, our professor and I had the same problem. Unwanted viruses visiting our bodies. It didn't help much that the very same professor sent one of our "good" classmates home with the flu last week. He managed to infect us all. Thanks a lot!!!

Thus, this have, so far, been a very boring week. I hope to get better soon. Hopefully during this afternoon, please. I need to read. Typically me! Ahhhrg!

I murdered a whole colony of innocent creatures today. The where living happily in a tiny drop of water, feasting on some yeast cells.. And I killed them, coldblooded. I think my biologyprofessor liked my actions against them. The creatures is called paramecium, and look like shoes. They are one-celled organisms with cilia. And the cilias was the objectives of today laboratory class in biology. The killing is a sideeffect; paramecium doesn't survive for long if they are exposured to light, which is an important feature of the light microscope. As our dear professor presentet it; objectives today is to study the paramecium's cilia. An extra entertaniment bonus is that you're gonna see organisms die in real time, without risking any punishment. This is not something you kan do later on in your studies; not with lab animals, and of course not with patients! Of course, you will se people die, but not because you killed them, and not as an entertainment bonus..

I kind of like our professor...

Norwegian dinner.

We had our big dinner today. Me, SiljeCam, 4 of my classmates, 4 of Siljes classmates and then Siljes flatmate.

I'm a bit tired now, so I wont write that much. But the dinner (pinnekjøtt med kålrotstappe og potet) was said to be delicious. And the dessert (cloudberry cream) was definitly Mei Yee's favourite.

I just love pinnekjøtt (which is salted, soaked, damped and grilled lamb ribs). And it was about perfect. Thanks, Silje! Lets go norwegian some other day too!

Shopping, Pardubice and the 80's.

Well, what to say. I waked up with a painful head ache today. Latin test? No way! Now I have to go for the credit, but I probably had to do that anyway. I will email my teacher and excuse my abcense, then she might accept it.

After being at the faculty for half hour (found my lost lab-coat again!), I went home and slept for 2-3 hours. It really helped!

Then I, SiljeCam and Jes had an appointment. We were going to shop dresses for the faculty ball together. Evita was the place. They have som really nice gowns! Jes found a cute, white dress which mached her perfect! I found a couple of gowns, but they didn't have my size (I'm not suprised), though, they had size "extra large pregnant elephant", just missing all the sizes between "model" and "XXXL elephant". The seller said (in czech, so we believe she said) that she could call the other Evita shop in Pardubice, and make them send my favourite dresses in my size and colour to the shop within 1,5 week. Yay!

So we bought Jes' dress, and went out of the shop. And decided to go to the central station (hlavni nadrazi), just to check the timetable for trains to Pardubice. It was just 5 min to the next train, so we jumped on! We arrived Pardubice after a while. And felt completely LOST. SiljeCam approached a very nice girl in red shoes. She looked like she liked to shop. And of course, she knew where to go shopping! 300 meters down this street! And we went. And found TESCO. Yap.. On our way back to the train station we found a vietnamese shop which had gowns. In a large range of sizes and colours and fabrics. But after some rounds with silk and polyester, we decided to leave Pardubice. We didn't find Evita.

Back on the train we found out that 2 out of 3 girls was hungry. I wasn't hungry. But we went to the chinese restaurant in HK as soon we arrived our beloved town. A beer and some food later, a very strange trio with even stranger humor was observed walking towards old town. And then we saw her. THE 80's leftover woman. I and SiljeCam haven't laughed that much since.. eh.. last weekend or someting. Fasion in Czech Republic (maybe exept Prague) is not following rest of Europa.

SiljeCam and I decided to go to Prague in two weeks if Evita can't show us some apropriate gowns within that weekend. What a day!

Headache inc.

Ohh.. This wasn't a very good day. I knew it allready when i saw my schedule for the first time 3 weeks ago:

3 hours of histology practical
3 hours of anatomy practical
3 hours with czech language

It was okay until my czech teacher decided to skip our 1,5 hour lunch breake, and just give us a half hour. Microscopy + formaldehyde + no time for lunch (had to go home and fix something) + no possibility to take a breake = severe headache. Luckily, my classmates have allready told our czech teacher that we would love to swop the time for our class, and she finally agreed. Hopefully, we will have our class on tuesdays from 07.15 instead of thursdays from 14.00 as now. And in the mean time (until the changes gets confirmed) we will have our long breake back, thus starting at 15.00. It will definitly help! I just hope that our dear exchange students will manage to take their credit quite soon, because we can't make changes until they're finished. Their timetables doesn't fit ours.

Then there are a few more things that happens:

-Tomorrow we will have our first semester test in latin. I'm not prepeared. I tried to learn all the endings of all declensions exept 3rd wovel-declension, but my thursday-head wouldn't let me.
-I'll go shopping for a gown tomorrow. There will be a faculty ball in a couple of weeks. I promise to post some photos and descriptions later!
-SiljeCam and I are going to arrange a traditional norwegian dinner (pinnekjøtt) saturday. We have invited a lot of classmates from different parts of the world. Hopefully, they will find salted, soaked, damped and fried lamb ribs with "mashed swede" (kålrotstappe) tasty..

Partytime!

I had the privilige to invite a lot of my friends here in HK to a small party in my flat on friday. And people showed up! :) What a great time we had!

Thank you all for making my birthday a day to remember! It was a great party thanks to you people! And thanks a lot for nice gifts, it warmed my heart!

Hope to see you all soon back in "casa sorrow".. Hope I didn't scared you with my taste of music!

Until then; Na shledanou!