Culture Shocked

If you’ve ever chatted to someone about moving to a new city or country, going on exchange, or travelling abroad, you’ve probably come across the idea of culture shock. According to wikipedia, culture shock is characterized by disorientation people feel when they experience an unfamiliar way of life, after moving or travelling to a new place. Since it sounds like the kind of thing that only happens when you move to somewhere totally, wildly foreign, I wrote it off as something I didn’t need to think about. Edinburgh doesn’t exactly seem like an exotic, foreign place – the language is the same (even if the accent sometimes proves a bit tricky to understand), the systems for everyday things like shopping and banking are really similar, and there aren’t many dramatic cultural differences.

It’s Not Too Hard to IMAGINE!

On a crisp Saturday morning, I had the pleasure to drop by the IMAGINE Clinic. What is the IMAGINE Clinic you may ask? The Interprofessional Medical and Allied Groups for Improving Neighbourhood Environments (IMAGINE) Clinic is a student-run clinic which aims to serve the city’s most marginalized citizens. The clinic welcomes individuals who are unable to access the public healthcare system; those who do not have an OHIP card, a permanent address, or any form of identification.

IMAGINE sign

Winter To-Do List: The Procrastination Edition

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source: http://giphy.com/gifs/reaction-benedict-cumberbatch-raising-hand-DtMNbBu2KT1kY

Guilty citizen of the ProcrastiNation right here, everybody.

I’ve got an exam tomorrow, lecture notes and several hundred pages of readings to re-revise, and definitions to repeat over and over to myself until I sound like a broken record.

And yet, at this moment, I am doing none of those things. Instead, I’m sitting here making a list.

As I’ve mentioned before, I do love my lists. I’m already anticipating the end of my last exam this week and daydreaming about all the wonderful glorious things I could do in the time I’m spending buried nose-deep in readings.

So, out of this particular procrastination episode (or ‘study break’ as I like to call them), came a very detailed to-do list about what I plan to do after my last exam is over, which, for your amusement, I'll be sharing here.

THINGS TO DO AFTER LAST EXAM: