The heat and humidity actually smacks you in the face when you arrive in a Houston summer. Quite amazing indeed, social acceptance of large armpit stains, and not altogether different that walking around in a city encased in a large sauna. I would be here for two weeks to work at the cancer center nearby, and was determined to get the full ‘Texan’ experience – with the exception of two-stepping, steak and large hats…all of which I decided would be bad for my health.
The medical center was incredible. A huge establishment serving thousands of patients each day, and I was happy to be working with a large team of accomplished researchers. Determined to impress these fellow nerds, I donned the shirt and tie and proceeded to stand at the bus station for 40 minutes waiting for a bus. This became a regularly scheduled pain-in-the-ass, as I realized that the timetables were printed for show, and that I should feel privileged that a bus turns up at all. Thus, each morning I would arrive bathed in sweat and proceed to the bathroom to attempt to restore myself to a somewhat presentable state.
Outside of work I sought to explore the state and made my way to the Space Center to touch moon rocks and eat astronaut ice-cream, to a wild-west bar with saddle disco balls, as well as some blues and Cajun food. My final weekend I made my way to Austin, which was, and I don’t see how it was possible, hotter than Houston. Undaunted I played my first round of disc golf, and toured the campus and downtown area of this very cool city.
Now, bathed in sweat, it is time to return to South Bend and get some work done. A very busy semester awaits, complete with applications to residency programs, the proposal of my dissertation research, and a new rotation at the regional hospital here in town.
Pictures: The cancer center, a space rocket, the waterfall, a Texas storm coming and the Austin campus.
After three years we had got very used to living together, and so it was really tough to pull away in the car and begin the drive back to the Midwest. I had about 30 hours ahead of me in the next two days, with much of that time to be spent with my thoughts – a frightening prospect at the best of times. I had arranged to stay in Montana and thus set off across Oregon, Idaho, the huge state of Montana, South Dakota and finally my destination of Rochester Minnesota. It is amazing how long you can drive without seeing signs of life, with incredible mountains and stretches of highway. I took a quick detour to see Mount Rushmore, which is pretty amazing to see in person, and provided me with my portion of American history for the trip. Despite the best efforts of various books on tape, Spanish lessons, my weight in snack food and a few phonecalls which dropped each time I came within view of a mountain, it was a pretty rough weekend. I was essentially delirious by Sunday evening when I reached Rochester and could have slept on a granite slab. I also had no interest in seeing my car for as long as possible. I spent the following week with a team at the Mayo Clinic, an impressive institution and a great learning experience. Then it was back into the Red Devil and a relatively brief 7 hour trip back to South Bend and school. The next month would be spent resurrecting my life here at school after my trip away, and then in August it is off to a hospital in Texas and to see what all the fuss about the summer heat is all about.
Pictured: The big men on the mountain, Montana…or South Dakota…no idea.
After a few trips around downtown Portland we were able to find a cute studio apartment just big enough for Jen and Gus. With the help of her family we were able to get it furnished and all setup in no time at all, and before we knew Jen was settled in a brilliant area of the city ready for her program to start. The Northwest area is great, close to parks and grocery stores, cafes and bars, and unfortunately within walking distance of plenty of clothing stores. After a quick weekend trip to Seattle it was time to Jen to start classes. This was going to be quite an adjustment, with a 5.30am wake up call in order to get to class on time. After making sure Gus didn’t cause too much trouble being left alone in the apartment for extended periods, it was time for me to get out of the way and head back across the country. So it is back to our long distance ways, emails and phonecalls aplenty. At least we are on the same continent this time, without a 14 hour flight between us. The next stage in our adventure begins…
Pictured: Jen’s new place, the rose garden nearby, Gus teething? and the famous Seattle Marketplace and first Starbucks.
So it has been many months since I sat down to update this page, and many events have come to pass in what seems a short amount of time. As I write this we are in PortlandOregon, preparing Jennifer’s big move back to the West Coast for school. But to back up a bit, the last time I wrote we had just arrived back from New York for the summer and were preparing for another academic year in South Bend. While the fall semester was relatively uneventful for me, Jen spent her time flying around the country interviewing for her Masters program. After gaining acceptance to many of the top 10 programs in the country she chose OHSU in Portland, a great city and close to family. She would start mid-June and therefore had six months of freedom to enjoy before diving into a hyper-intensive program for two years. It would also mean our return to the long-distant relationship, although perhaps an easier version being in the same country and only a four hour flight apart. We chose one of the more effective coping mechanisms and are currently living in denial of this fact until I leave at the end of June to return to school.
As another brutal Midwestern winter descended upon us we were able to travel much of the spring semester. We had the wonderful wedding of Jen’s sister Steph to Kyle, which was a beautiful event in Southern California. A quick trip to Charlotte for a conference gave us our first view of North Carolina, and then our first trip to Canada, venturing to Montreal for another conference. The city was beautiful and we had plenty of time to see the sites and murder the poor French language.
As we move closer to present day, and the winter began to ease, we drove to Missouri to collect my replacement from a shelter there. Augustus, a very regal name for a very cowardly dog, is a cross between a beagle and a pug and is presently a stomach on four legs. One thing to note has been the phenomenal gas this small dog can produce, to the point you can actually locate him in a room of people based on the expression on their faces. This little guy will be keeping Jen company in Portland for the year, and then probably moving in with me while Jen does her second year rotations. The two weeks of constant supervision, sleep deprivation and houstraining before our departure to the West Coast was by far the most effective form of contraception, and despite it being nothing compared to caring for a child, has made us seriously rethink having children.
So now we are close to our most recent adventure, a final roadtrip across America and Canada to the West Coast and Jen’s home for the next two years. We couchsurfed our way across, Augustus in tow, and checked out the University town of Madison-Wisconsin, the amazing hospitality of aspiring bed and breakfast owners in Minnesota, and messed around with helicopters and night vision goggles at the Air Force base in North Dakota, before jumping across the border into Canada.
In Canada we drove through the Canadian Rockies and spent time exploring the spectacular BanffNational Park. Incredible views in every direction and a wonderful way to sample the beauty of the country. One complaint however is the astounding price of alcohol and has made me rethink the sacrifices needed for a universal health-care system.
Pictured:
The worlds largest truck, the sleeping dog, Banff National Park, a Subway lunch with a view and Montreal cityscape.
I have to admit ~ it took a lot less time that I thought it would to go completely insane while driving home from New Hampshire to South Bend. I had stopped at a friend's lake house for a night of rest and recuperation before I was to attempt the 15 hour trip back to the Midwest. Despite being armed with 5 hours of Spanish lessons on my ipod ~ in no time I was engaging in wonderfully insightful and captivating conversation with myself . I passed through some beautiful places ~ Vermont being the highlight ~ and the drive actually went quicker than I thought it would ~ thanks largely to consuming enough coffee to kill a small horse.
Once back at Notre Dame we began to settle in properly to our new surroundings. Just prior to leaving for NY we had pooled our resources with a friend from the program and the three of us had moved into a townhouse together. It was a pretty amazing lifestyle upgrade ~ having just been built a year or two ago, and includes a garage (yes that's a big deal) and is so close to ND you can see the campus. So, as we now settle down for another semester ~ we have begun carefully planning the next trip…
Pictured: The Lake House, Vermont, and our new digs…
So the insanity of a few months on the East coast took its toll ~ and this blog was one of the many victims ~ but we are back in sleepy South Bend and with the corn growing slowly I have time to relax and make a few notes on our time in New York.
It began with a whirlwind twelve-hour drive to New York ~ pleasant and scenic for the first two hours ~ then ten hours of torture. We made it to our new home for summer just north of the city in Hastings on Hudson ~ a town along the river where we would be minding a friends cat in exchange for staying at her townhouse. Fortunately, the cat is 15 years old and moves about two-feet per day ~ making it a very easy job. We were also surprised to find that our new home had a nature reserve as a back garden ~ complete with deer and a resident woodchuck ~ so not exactly the city living from last year in New York.
The next six weeks were packed with work and sight-seeing ~ the sort of schedule that is a lot of fun but takes a year or two off your life. This year we pulled in every contact known to man ~ and managed to find our way into a taping of the Daily Show ~ our preferable news source ~ and then a tour of CNN and the floor of the Stock Exchange. With the benefit of our car we made day trips to the Hamptons, Fire Island and Connecticut ~ and visited family in Philly. We also managed to catch a game at the soon-to-be demolished Yankee Stadium ~ and tracked down the only English and Australian fish-n-chip shops in NYC (The Aussie tucker was much better of course).
The summer flew by ~ next stop was Los Angeles for Jen and Boston for me ~ before we would both meet back in Indiana to start another semester.
Pictured: Our ‘back-garden’, sunset across the Hudson, and the Yankee’s game.
So next stop on our whirlwind tour of the USA was South Bend, Indiana ~ home to Notre Dame and of course…us. We welcomed my parents into our humble apartment…and then gently informed them that we were moving to a much bigger place…in three days. My parents were great sports about it ~ and did not object too strongly to becoming hired help for a few days and we shifted our things into our new home closer to campus. We of course convinced ourselves that my parents would actually ‘like’ to help…you know…part of that always present maternal instinct…one look from my father quickly dispelled this idea. So…after our bedroom became a storage area for our bikes ~ we decided we needed more room and that if we pooled our resources with a close friend ~ we would be able to upgrade from our apartment to a townhouse ~ complete with an attached garage for those cold winter mornings!
During the move we took time to show my parents the campus and the surrounding suburbs…the river and the downtown area…a quick trip South to Amish Acres…and of course…multiple stops at Starbucks to satisfy my mother’s heroin-like addiction to frappuccinos.
Then to complete our Midwest adventure we headed to Chicago ~ the setting for the Blues Brothers ~ and a great city to finish the trip in. We were able to sample Chicago style pizza at the famous Tastes of Chicago festival ~ and make our way along Navy Pier and the Magnificent Mile to see the sites. It was a wonderful end to the trip ~ but so sad to have to say goodbye. The final part of the role-reversal was watching my parents walk through security this time ~ comforted by the fact that it will only be six months until I return to Melbourne.
Jen looked nervously out of the car window at the many possible hiding places for bugs as we arrived at our cabin in the Redwoods. It was a beautiful location, complete with a river, wildlife, and a fishing inspired cabin to stay in. It had been a fast and furious trip up the coast, and we were all looking forward to a day or two relaxing. My mother had recently developed the wonderful ability to find enjoyment in some of the most unlikely places…including most notoriously her fascination with ice-dispensing fridges. Now based on the population density in American compared to Australia ~ creature comforts and technology are a little cheaper and thus more accessible in the US. Having said this however, watching my mother’s fascination and happiness as ice-cubes fell out of the refrigerator door into her glass, even the worldliest American citizen would wonder in which recent year Australia first generated electricity.
After a slower drive along the beautiful Oregon coastline ~ we arrived in Portland to stay with Jen’s welcoming uncles and their families. We were very well taken care of ~ with Luis ~ who is soon-to-be Portland’s most famous tour guide ~ providing us with a local’s view of this beautiful city and its surrounding suburbs. Then it was off to Jerry’s property whereby my father set about taking notes for their own property in Australia, Merryn returned to her teenage years and spent time with Wendy’s horses, and I decreased my chance of fathering children by riding a four-wheeler through Jerry’s property. We had a wonderful time in Portland and were sad to leave after such a short stay.
It was a wonderful end to our West coast adventure ~ and great to see Jen’s family again. We finally boarded an overnight flight, looking forward to awaking the next morning in South Bend Indiana.
It was wonderful seeing my parents again after so long ~ and great showing them some of the sites Los Angeles has to offer. After a sad goodbye to Jen's family we loaded up the "tank" which we rented for our West Coast trip and set off along the coast to Monterey, Big Sur and finally San Francisco. The coastal road provided spectacular views for us as we drove along ~ incredible cliffs and beaches that rivaled the Great Ocean Rd (no sign of decent fish'n'chips though). It was once again very strange to have my parents in the back seat and taking them on a holiday ~ all planned by us (I never want to be a travel agent) ~ to their credit there was very little noise from the back and I did not have to threaten to turn the car around...
After a good number of hours in the car we arrived in San Francisco for the night. My parents enjoyed their first American 'diner' experience (followed by brutal American indigestion...) and then the following day we set off on foot to explore the city. My parents loved the city...slightly less by the time we finished walking the famous hills/streets...and then ended the day with an enjoyable dinner with some old friends.
Admirably, my parents have been willing to try almost any gastronomical experience we can offer...as long as we preface it with 'this is American'. So far they have enjoyed Ben & Jerry's famous icecream, clam chowder in San Francisco...and the piece de resistance - peanut butter and jelly Uncrustables...
The next stop would be the Redwood Forests of Northern California and a quick two day rest on our journey to Portland, Oregon.
It was just as we had imagined...a darkly lit room...tension filling the night air...Walter "The Costa Rican Don" Herrera sat in the shadows...his face shielded...only the glow from his cigar visible in the dark as the 'muscle' (Sara) stood steadily by. The foreign visitors were ushered in...assured that the Don was eager to meet them...and so after five years together, our families were to finally meet.
To everyone's relief, The Don gave his approval of the foreigners, and my parents were warmly welcomed to Los Angeles. Over the next five days we sought to show them a little bit of what LA has to offer, as well as enabling them to relax and recover from their jet-lag.
My father completed his mission and arrived at an Air Museum with Walter within 24-hours of arriving in the USA, while my mother strangely enough chose to avoid this excursion in favor of getting to know Sara better. The Herrera hospitality was wonderful and my parents were able to meet everyone, although my request for name-tags was ignored by all. We also made important pilgrimages to the Getty Center, Hollywood, UCLA, Laguna and a bonfire on the beach.
Rejuvenated and happy to have been able to meet so many of Jen's family, we packed the olds into our rental car and set off for the next leg of this crazy journey. It is a truly bizarre experience to be taking your parents on a holiday...complete with them sitting in the back of the car marveling at my ability to drive a motor car on the 'wrong' side of the road. Our next stop was San Francisco...with a trip up the famous coastal road of Highway 1 ahead of us.
The sun had set by the time we pulled into the R Ranch, a group of cabins located in the Sequioa National Forest. The beauty of the surroundings more than made up for the strangely inadequate ranch name as we settled into a cabin that was much closer to 'nature' than Jennifer prefers to get. It is a strange tradition that any trip into the 'wilderness' (well compared to LA) must be accompanied by the consumption of sufficent alcohol to fill a small swimming pool. This aside, the next day we set off on our hike through the Trail of 100 Giants...a stunningly beautiful path that provided sufficient time and natural splendour to make us all feel wonderfully and rightfully insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Convening with nature is an exhausting task...and thus we returned to our cabin and made our way to the swimming pool to greet our fellow nature lovers. Everyone has their own way of appreciating nature of course...the 15 year-old security guard for instance liked to show everyone the dead rat he had just found in the pool you got out of, while regailing you with local ghost stories...brillant. As night fell once more we were greeted by some more locals, including a fox and an over-confident racoon, and then it was back to civilization and reality.
As I believe I have mentioned previously ~ graduate students sign 13 month yearly contracts when they enter the program...in effect agreeing to be working...or at least pretending to work...the entire year. This is ironic really given that the majority of graduate students have continued their education for the very reason of avoiding full time work. This said, as students, we are afforded the luxury of the summer break...three months of the year during which we are excused from classes and seeing patients. Of course, it is during this three month break that we are expected to work fervently on our research and papers...and it thus with guilty and mischievous looks that students discuss their summer plans.
It is thoughts such as these that drift through my mind as I sit next to the pool in Southern California. My research making fleeting appearances as I remove my shirt to reveal a second sun…a chest so magically white that it could only come about with the special combination of a Scottish bloodline and four months of a Midwestern winter. For the coming week Jennifer and I will be catching up with friends and family in LA ~ then…wait for it…my parents arrive on their first visit to the USA. After five years together, our parents will finally meet...after which we will be road trippin’ up the West Coast…a wonderful combination of “Meet the Fockers” and the Griswald’s Summer Vacation.
Quote of the Week: Jennifer ~ “I think I want to work as a medical interpreter at the hospital…how do you say ‘interpreter’ in Spanish?”
With the weather improving we are beginning to realize that every man and their dog has some connection to a house by a lake...somewhere...somehow. It is here that summer days are spent ~ relaxing, drinking and engaging in a vast array of water sports.
In the past two weeks we have had the opportunity to sample this lifestyle ~ with trips to Lake Michigan and to a smaller lake further East. We went kayaking - thus enabling Jen to fall in the water (naturally) and me to get sunburnt (naturally)...and then spend a few lazy hours sitting on the pier or walking the beaches as the sun dropped below the horizon.
In bigger news ~ Jen bought a bike ~ and is learning to ride (without training wheels cause she is so hard). Updates and pictures to come.
This past weekend we headed to Chicago to catch up with an old friend...the famous or infamous...Kaz. Kaz was one of my roommates at UCLA; we lived in a small room which somehow accommodated five dashingly handsome intellectuals that year. Kaz was one of those unique characters who you would find half-naked cooking rice at 3am as you return from a bar...or who would hand out shots of sake failing to tell anybody that he had just boiled the liquid. It was great to see him though ~ a night spent catching up, drinking and developing great admiration for any individual who can consume more than one slice of Chicago style pizza.
Pictured: Old and new friends...and finally flowers take the place of snow in South Bend, Indiana.
