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| Note Soroka Medical Center in the background |
Shalom everyone! My name is Ross Green and I am the class of 2015’s blogger of the month. I apologize that I’m starting this so late into the month, but I think that this delay alone can explain to all of my readers out there what is going on here at MSIH right now… exam prep! For us first-years mid-terms are just around the corner, and it is very apparent. With less than four weeks until our first exam, the dreaded medical library has transformed into a social gathering, everyone is there (while at the same time it’s still a dreaded place)! Let’s be honest though… I’m sure you’re not reading this to hear about exams, those come with the territory of Medical School, even in Israel unfortunately.
On a more exciting note, the Israeli Ben Gurion students have finally arrived and started their studies. It’s pretty crazy how this city transforms into a completely different place when all of the students are here. Don’t get me wrong, I have truly grown to like Be’er Sheva (no, I’m not just saying that), but now that the main spoken language is no longer Russian and the average age has dropped by 30 years, I feel much more at home and enjoy meeting new people around the city each day!
For the first week of school, the student association of the university put together many different events around the city. Even though a few events were rescheduled due to a “rain day” (let’s just say the rockets are back), they were a lot of fun! The most entertaining of them so far was a street party held just across the street from Soroka Hospital. Along with a large bar and local food/attractions, the Israeli rock band HaYehudim performed a free concert which attracted thousands of students (it seemed like the entire student body was there). Personally, I didn’t arrive to the concert until near the end (there’s the exam studying again… sorry) but for the two hours or so that I was there I really got to witness the vast diversity of the student population here; From long haired dread-locks, to T-shirts with VERY random English sayings on them, everyone seems to have a place here at BGU! What I really thought was funny (and reminded me that I was in Israel) was that as soon as HaYehudim left the stage, the rock concert converted into a street-wide disco! Seriously… A DJ got on stage and everyone went from bobbing their heads to going crazy and dancing! Pretty amazing to see, and a lot of fun to be in! Well, I guess that’s all for now. I’ve never blogged before so I hope this is what you were hoping for. I wish that there was a lot more going on right now, but unfortunately school has really seemed to take over right now! Next time hopefully more will have occurred and I’ll be more exciting to read! OH, before I go, there is one more very exciting event that occurred within our class this week. For those of you that haven’t heard, we had a not so fortunate event occur a couple months ago when our own Nicole Magpayo (MAG-pie-oh) was struck by a car by a not-so
responsible Israeli driver. Just this week though, she finally gave her crutches back and is walking again! It was like watching a new child learn how to walk again, but I’m very glad that her healing process went so well. Here is a little flash-back to the not-so-mobile days. - blogger of the month, Ross Green