Butterflies (of the excitment variety)

Well hello there.

It's been a lovely week.

I have ordered myself a lovely, sleek, swanky and super sexy mac. I am very much excited for it's arrival! I'm sure it will make me blog lots more.

It's been a medium busy week and I've had lots of lovely catch ups with lovely people. I have Zumba'd lots and almost suffered death by ultimate abs! I have also danced and laughed lots.

Meeeow

I'm getting rather hopeless at keeping this thing spick-and-span.

This week has been a bit like being in a washing machine. It's also rained lots which has only added to this washing machine analogy.

We had Halloween and it's got very autumnal, I've learned a bit about guts and stuff(having started GI) and I have experienced the PURE AND UTTER JOY of the dessert sharing platter.



I have also smiled lots at the squirrels dancing around George Square gardens when I lock my bike outside the library and have had a fall out with a dog.



All in a week's work :)

Autumn sunshine

Lush...


End of neurology, start of GI, PBL, SSC, ICP, ICA. Deadlines, deadlines deadlines, knowledge overload, soaked in rain, cold, windy, sunny, darker. But whatever's going on the meadows always make everything a bit more excellent.

Yippee!

At long last it's finished! My world cushion is finally done and has certainly managed to use up a few beads :)

The magic of Zanzibar

Zanzibar is one of the most mystical, haunting and inspiring places I have ever been. Even the name Zanzibar sounds like something from a storybook.

First off it has the stunning beaches it's famous for...glorious white sand, palm trees and adorable little beach huts scattered along side. I don't mean to sound blase but I guess this is the Zanzibar I had thought of and pictured prior to my visit. But what I found Zanzibar to be was far more rich and delightful than that.

Bwejuu

It's rather an odd place, a mish mash of cultures, people and buildings. A juxtaposition of rich and poor, ornate and shabby, bitter and sweet. Wandering round the streets of Stonetown is quite something, almost magical. You can spend a whole afternoon weaving amongst alleyways and ambling round junk shops, you can dine on delicious fruits of the sea at candle lit night markets. But somehow all this luxury is at odds with what life is like for the locals. You can't help but feel that although tourism brings income to Zanzibar it has spoiled some of it's mystery and magic and not benefited many locals.




As I wandered round the place I felt like a was in a pirate film, and imagined what things were like before the days of the tourist. Indian trading of spices, jewels and gold, grand houses, no cars. It must have been quite something. Not that it would have all been good, a visit to the slave market more than emphasized this as we peered into the cellars feeling horrified by the conditions.

All in all Zanzibar to me felt like a whole different thing to anything I'd ever experienced. I look forward to visiting again some day.

Little girl standing in the doorway of Tippu Tip's house

So many adventures!

I have had a plethora of adventures since my last post so I have NO IDEA how I'm going to catch up on everything?!?

I think I'll start off with Pasua in the Kilimanjaro region of Tanzania.

Maybe I ought to go with a few pics to summarise...lazy I know :)

Karibu Pasua! This is the front gate of our lovely, if not slightly unorganised, school and our home for a month.

This is us looking ever so smart in this season's first aid africa polo and tourist trousers :)

Bandages!

Kilasiya waterfalls, Marangu, Mt Kilimanjaro.

What could be better than a road sign instructing you to dance?

Many a soda was enjoyed on hot and dusty afternoons.

Maize-doesn't really taste of much but fills a hole.

Annie, our little orphan puppy.

Whoosh!

Long time no blog- apologies!

Exams are done. Let's not think about them :)

1st year has been filed away into a series of folders...



Unfortunately not everything is so smooth. Why is packing about as much fun as well something not at all fun, like running with tweezers or stubbing your toe or finding a hair in your food or something like that...

Sweetie pie

Another homemade gift.



I am also pleased to report that there was an excess of sweeties :)

Tick tock

2 down 1 to go.

Can't focus when it's so beautiful and sunny. Studying in the garden is like a combination of being on Spring Watch and The Beachgrove garden.

About the funniest thing that happens is when the pigeon attempts to land on the birdfeeder in a flappity, clumsy effort.

Blossom, possum?

Today I have been trying to study.




I can't really grumble about all this study malarkey when this is my walk to uni...







Pretty nice, huh?

We also had some excitement on the street this week when someone smelled burning.



In other news I have been injected with typhoid and rabies today. Over and out.

De ja vu

Study study study...I have just finished some splendid wall charts about neural control of respiration hence feel able to procrastinate on this blog.

I have made more butterfly art.

I totally loved my butterfly map creation (modest as I am) so decided to make a variation on it for a friend's birthday which is approaching.

I made it from a variety of pretty pictures...a Ladybird book, map, old design magazines, sheet music etc.

365 days lovlier

This week has been a week of birthdays. Everyone seems to be having one!

I always like to give hand made presents as it's a bit more personal and because I love to make things (hence, rather selfishly, I get to have lots of fun!). My auntie was one of this weeks many birthday girls and she is without doubt THE MOST DIFFICULT person to choose a present for! She does however love walking and travelling and this year I had an idea for once! I made her this out of old maps I found in the Oxfam Bookstore...





I also made these, as no birthday is complete without a great big splodge of chocolate overindulgence!

Human electrons

Today I got a bus to a GP surgery.

Busses and surgery waiting rooms have something in common which baffles, saddens and amuses me. When people get on a bus, they don't just get on and sit down. Oh no, once they have their ticket their eyes are skimming around carefully calculating where they can sit to be as far away from any other passengers as possible. People getting on busses are like human electrons, repelling each other and strategically positioning themselves at optimum distance apart. Each row is carefully filled with a single passenger until, heaven forbid, someone will have to sit next to someone else (and even then they often prefer to go upstairs). Then, once seated, eyes frantically try not to make contact with each other. The doctors surgery is much the same, eyes darting around, everyone wondering what's wrong with everyone else.

I find this all rather odd. Now don't get me wrong...I'm quite sure most of the people on buses are very friendly, but that's just it?!. It's like we've got so used to this bizarre behaviour and accepted it as norm.

That's why I love children and old people. You can always count on the baby in the waiting room to get the people cooing, or the toddler to point and ask questions loudly and whenever I meet an elderly person at a bus stop they always have a tale to tell.

I think this is great.

Yesterday, I said I would Until the time had passed

This little poem pretty much sums it up...

Procrastination is my sin

It brings me naught but sorrow.

I know that I should stop it

In fact, I will tomorrow.

Flutter by

This week has zoomed past!

All in all it's been a pretty good one. I now know a lot more about synovial joints, osteoclasts and rheumatoid arthritis, which is always a good thing.

More importantly I enjoyed a lovely picnic on the meadows this week. The meadows look great at the moment with so many daffodils and crocuses. Every time I walk across to the old anatomy building I get a taste of summer (though it's not very warm!). I keep meaning to take a picture!

It seems to be a time of year for birthdays. I like to try and make presents to give people but with exams looming time gets in the way. I made some butterfly birthday cards the other day out of old magazines though...


In between birthdaying, babysitting and butterfly-carding I have been trying to get my head in the books. It's funny how much you feel like tidying your room, or rearranging stationary when you have a million other things to do!

Hmmm....where to start?

I've never tried this blogging malarchy...but hey, why not?!

So here goes...

I guess I shall just use it to ramble my rambliest thoughts and such.

Was back to uni this week...back to the final stretch before exams-eeeeek! If I'm honest it's quite nice to be back into the hectic routine (or should I say blurry mish-mash of lectures, PBL, SSC and a heap of other acrynoms)! But yeah...back to the books and the anatomy classes spent wondering around just about distinguishing fingers from toes!

Seeing as my Spring break has only just ended I thought I'd add a dash of the holidays with these...