Arriving in New York City

I was so excited by the time we were flying over New York City.  I've never been here before and I have always wanted to come.  I don't like sitting in window seats on flights because I get motion sick when I look out the window, but I couldn't help myself.  I love this picture of Central Park with the wing of the plane in the top left corner.  After taking a few pictures, my motion sickness kicked in and I prayed that I wouldn't get sick before we landed (I didn't).  After arriving, we waited for our luggage and luckily it all arrived then we found a cab and headed to Astoria, Queens.  Our landlord was waiting for us and we headed into our little two bedroom, one bathroom apartment straight away.  We decided to move around some of the furniture, which involved literally taking the furniture apart and putting it back together again.  Farley had a blast with this.  Then we decided to explore the area.  It is a cute and quaint area.  Apparently this is an area of town with lots of Italians and even more Greeks and the restaurants show the heritage of the immigrants who moved to this area.  However, it isn't just Italians and Greeks anymore: it is an incredibly mixed area of New York with just about everyone you can think of living in the area.  No one looks out of place. There are lots of fruit stands, bakeries, and butchers on the block.  The majority of the businesses are local, but of course, there are at least two Dunkin' Donuts within a two block radius of the apartments (I prefer Starbucks and there is one 1.5 blocks away.  There are also local coffee joints).

On Sunday, the 1st of August, we headed to Flushing, Queens to find the hospital we would be doing our clerkship at.  If we were driving, it would only be 15 minutes away, but since we are taking the public transportation, it takes us an hour.  I wish I was like a local New Yorker, who can read and be productive on the train.  I get too motion sick to do much of anything.  I don't think the New York trains make me as motion sick as the Miami trains or the BART in San Francisco.  I think the NYC trains move slower because there are more stops.  Anyway, we found the hospital and were ready to go on Monday.  After getting back, we joined a gym, which is just two blocks from our apartment, The Rock.  I don't love going to the gym, but I know that I have to work out and my apartment is too small to work out at home.  Besides, the fee is enough to motivate me to go.  I don't want to fee like it was a waste of money!

On Monday, we headed to the hospital.  We had to do a couple things with occupational health, before they would let us get started with our rotation.  First, we had to have another urine drug screen and second we had to get fitted for N-95 masks (masks that keep out T.B.).  I couldn't get an appointment on Monday, but accompanied Farley to his appointment and they decided to let me go on Monday as well.  After finishing up, we headed home to run more errands (you always need stuff when you move to a new place) and go to the gym.  We also walked down to Astoria Park.

Tuesday, we headed back to the hospital for orientation, which wasn't really much of an orientation.  Then, we were off to the psychiatry department to start the rotation.  Farley was assigned to the "C&L" department for the first week (consults and liaison).  I was assigned to the inpatient unit.  I will write more about the experience later.  The rest of the week, we just went to the hospital and the gym.  We have to be up at 6:00am, which I have not had to do in a long time so adjusting has been a bit difficult.  Overall, it was a good first week.