I want to apologize, first and foremost, for not posting near as much as I used to (especially when I first started this blog almost 3 years ago) but life just gets so busy that I forget to update all of my readers. We are just over halfway through our second semester, and it's two weeks into spring. The weather has warmed up considerably since our so-called "winter", the worst of it being 1 week of scattered showers, and it basically feels like summer. That means that beach days are about to start again soon! We actually could have gone already this past weekend because it was about 25 degrees on Sunday, but we'd already planned to go on a long run as part of our half marathon training so we couldn't bail on our running buddies. Once you get behind on your distance training, it's more difficult to make up the lost kilometres. For example, last weekend we had mapped out a 12.5km route in the charming Canada Bay (ya, we had to check it out),
but we got lost and ended up running only 12km, so this past weekend we had a 1.5km increase instead of the planned 1km. It doesn't seem like half of a kilometre would make that big of a difference, but it does when you're running in 25 degree heat with no breeze to cool those beads of sweat running down your face. The scenery definitely helps distract you though, and we've discovered some absolutely beautiful parts of Sydney in these past five weeks of training.
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| Badu Mangroves in Bicentennial Park - Sydney Olympic Park |
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| The idyllic Iron Cove |
Saturday would've been a better day to run since it was cooler, but it ended up being a write off due to our ridiculous Friday night festivities with our fellow Canadians (the physios). They'd just finished their mid-semester practical exams that they'd been studying for for weeks, and us OTs also proudly passed our first practical exam ever so it was time to celebrate! Let's just say that we wouldn't have survived Saturday without our big brunch at the delicious Pancakes on the Rocks. Oh, and for those of you who aren't sure what practical exams are, they're 1-on-1 ten minute tests that can be on absolutely anything you've learned so far in the semester. A few examples include measuring someone up for a wheelchair, walking frame, crutches or canes, lifting someone from a bed with a hoist, guiding the blind and using a slide sheet to move someone up or down a bed. This semester is definitely a lot more practical than first semester! In Biomechanics we've been applying our more creative sides, making hand, thumb and finger splints as well as casts...
We even do clinical simulations, which are just as effective for learning as real fieldwork. The actors that are brought in to be our patients are ridiculously in character; at one point during our first simulation I was completely convinced that he actually had Multiple Sclerosis. I mean who can keep up a tremor for hours on end, while being interviewed, doing assessments and having to concentrate on a ton of other MS symptoms simultaneously?! An amazing actor is who. Kudos to Sydney Uni for finding these people! There's always a down side to the up side though, and the down side involves our last month of the semester having extensive assignments due every single week until exams. However, this means that we only have one final exam, so we can't really complain! At this point, everyone is just looking forward to the mid-semester break coming up the weekend after next. We've planned to head down to Melbourne with some friends for the week, but not just for some of the most delectable food in Australia. We're taking two of those days to drive along the gorgeous Great Ocean Road, and we're keeping our fingers crossed for some breathtaking dawn and dusk photo ops of the infamous Twelve Apostles. We'll also be visiting the colourful Brighton Beach Boxes, St. Kilda's seafront stretch, and the adorable penguins on Philip Island. We will try our absolute best to NOT think about all of the work we have to do when we get back to Sydney. The final stretch of the semester will be a long one! But don't fret, I'll pull time out of nowhere to share some Melbourne stories :)
