WGW: December 4th, 2019

Every week I send out an update to the medical school, which gets send out as part of WGW (What's Good Wednesday), an email where the associate deans of students compiles the professional and academic accomplishments and life events of the student body in an effort to help keep us connected even though we are spread out across lecture halls, campuses, and hospitals across the state. Usually populated by sporadic submissions of significance, after talking with friends before I left, I decided to twist the format to suit my needs to stay connected to my class. After the fifth week of consistent submission, my update was given it's own special place and title: Kassel's Corner. 

Greetings from the UK! Kassel Galaty (med20 interloper) reports that the strike continues in Cambridge (and all across England). There are still no classes or lectures (missed out on many fun topics like "The relationship between history of science and philosophy of science" and "The sciences of sexual desire"), but it will end tomorrow, just in time for the end of term party (mulled wine!) and the end of term. In the meantime, she celebrated Thanksgiving by taking advantage of the Continent and visiting an old friend in Barcelona, where it was as warm and sunny as you're imagining. Sorry not sorry. 

Upon her return to a country with actual seasons, she has started work on her second essay, which will look at the philosophical aspects of "professionalism." But since that doesn't photograph well, she also went to three nights of Advent services in beautiful chapels. She heard a BEAUTIFUL carol called "In the Bleak Midwinter," sat in candlelight as a choir sang, saw two and a half centuries worth of bored students' carvings (such lovely handwriting), ate mince pies (she remains unconvinced as to their value), and heard Voces8 sing Handel's Messiah in the Trinity College Chapel (which was completed in 1567, making one marvel at how many different choirs have sung the Messiah in that same spot). 

The weather has been aggressively sunny, and she also found the most Christmas decorations bar she's ever seen in her life (with cheap beer to boot, aka the mark of a very good pub).

She spent the morning talking to another student who's applying to med school now, and it filled her with love and appreciation for how lucky she's been to learn how to be a doctor with you guys as her classmates.

Cheers!