Picture the
scene: It’s the 16th of May, a Thursday. The air is icy cold and the
wind chills to the bone. It is most definitely winter; the sun hasn’t even
risen yet. I am not a morning person, by any stretch of the imagination, but
today is different. I sling my bag onto my shoulder, grab my breakfast up from
the table, and- Oh my… my heart is beating a little bit faster, and some kind
of excitement takes flight within me… as pick up the starched, white coat I now
call my own.
The first of
four anatomy practicals- I have been waiting for this all year. I couldn’t wait
to walk the corridors of the Fisan
building, notwithstanding the formalin-laden air.
About an
hour later, I walk into my first lecture for the day- Anatomy. Imagine my
disappointment when I find out that we have to split up, and not many of my
friends are in my group. See, being alone makes me uncomfortable. And if that
wasn’t bad enough, I was stuck with the most boring practical of the lot:
osteology. Don’t get me wrong; it’s interesting and all, but so not what I
wanted my first practical to be. I want to, you know, cut people up and stuff.
[Medical students tend to have a somewhat dark sense of humour… in case you
hadn’t already realized.]
Lucky for me
though, I did have one friend accompanying me, and we arrived a full 15 minutes
earlier than necessary. Eager little rascals, I’m telling you. So we wait. And
wait. And wait. We pull on our lab coats, suddenly mighty professional. But
still, the time passed sluggishly. We do eventually make it through the door
though, but have to pull on these ugly booties. They don’t match, they’re all
filthy, and some were even wet… I shudder to think what with.
Slipping and
sliding past cadavers like that’s a normal thing to do, we find a work table
and sit down. And proceed to play with bones for the next two and a half hours.
Yeah, I was bored. But, to be completely honest, it was a cool experience… I
just wouldn’t waste so much time on doing it again.
Yes,
unfortunately, my very first anatomy lab experience was nothing to write home
about. Or, in my case, gush to your parents about as soon as you get home. No,
they did the gushing- wow! Look at you, all professional. Yeah, you get the
picture. I love ‘em to bits, but I was formalin-induced starving, and my back
was killing me. I just wanted to eat. And sleep. At the same time. With my
midyears really closing in very quickly, I should’ve been studying. Instead, I
curled up in bed, and was dead to the world for at least 10 hours. I never do
that, never for that long.
Ah well, the
life of a student. You attend lectures. You eat. You study. You sleep. Not
always in that order. Sometimes, the more skilled [or experienced] among us do
it all at the same time. This life is killing me, slowly but surely. But I
wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.
