1 month done! I feel like I'm an official Chicago resident now because of the following: I know the main streets, I know how to use the basic transportation systems, and I don't walk around looking confused and lost like a tourist anymore! YAY!
Things at work are going well- I'm treating more and more patients everyday. I seriously would say the highlight of everyday is the interactions I have with people. I absolutely love the variety of patients I have. One woman is an acrobat and she specializes in the trapeze and acrobatic rope. I got super pumped the other day when she said they have beginner classes and I'm considering doing them because that would be SO AWESOME! Another patient is a wife of an X-chicago Bears football player. She's a tennis player and we get to talk about tennis and work on tennis focused drills and I LOVE IT! Another patient is a Chicago cop and he LOVES to tell stories about all the crime in Chicago and it's entertaining to listen to but also slightly scary because it turns out that Chicago is really dangerous!!! Everyday we hear about at least 7 more people getting shot in Chicago. It's really crazy to live in a place with so much crime! The joke at the clinic is that I've had 2 of the 3 "welcome to chicago" events happen: 1) getting hit on the road by a car while biking 2) getting my car broken into and 3) getting shot at (the last one hasn't happened and hopefully never will!) I've seriously had so many patients that come in and have been seriously injured by being hit by a car- either while walking across a crosswalk or while biking! I am thankful that although 2 of the 3 have happened that I'm okay and I view them all as good little reminders to be careful! Most days here I feel like I'm in Spain again with the amount that I get "cat called" on the streets. It is a daily occurrence to get whistled at or yelled at at least a dozen times walking around my neighborhood. Some of the things people say is so ridiculous- one of my favorites from this week was "HOT HONEY" like really? If they're trying to win me over they're definitely not doing it effectively! I was thoroughly surprised when I was even walking with a guy on the street talking and you think that then the creepers would leave you alone if you're talking to another guy but that wasn't the case and the creepers kept whistling and honking!
Sorry I know I just complained about Chicago for a while but now I'll state something positive about the city. I love all the free events in Chicago- they have free concerts and movies in Millenium park all the time which I really enjoy taking advantage of with my friends here. This past week we went to the movie Chicago which was pretty fitting based on our geographical location!
I also had a new fun experience last week when I went to a speakeasy. I had never heard of them before moving here but people kept talking about them and I was confused what they were referring to. It turns out that its a nice "underground" cocktail bar with lots of really fun drinks. We went to one in a hipster area and the mood and lighting was super fun.
I feel like I'm not only learning a lot about life but I'm learning a lot about my faith. I am really trying to focus on having a constant convo with God. It's SO HARD. I often feel myself missing my friends and life from Iowa City as well as feeling overwhelmed about the stress of working with my boss and all the other unknowns about the city of Chicago but I keep reminding myself that I am on this adventure with God and all I need to do is just hold his hand, keep talking to him, and keep trusting him.
Psalms 37 "Trust in the Lord and do good, dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust in him and he will do this: he will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him...The lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him, though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord unholds him with his hand."
Monday, June 24, 2013
Birthday week in Chicago
I had such a crazyyy birthday week! This shouldn't surprise anyone that knows me at all because I feel like every year my birthday is crazy- I've been in a St. Lucia church with my family (we were the only white people present in the building) and they laid hands on me and prayed for my next year of life, I've been in Spain at a Flamenco bar and I was completely terrified of the Spanish men trying to teach me to dance, I've been in the middle of Yellowstone shoveling snow from our campsite on a week long backpacking trip with my family...the list goes on and on. This year I can check off "getting my car broken into on my birthday"! When I was walking back to my car after dinner I looked in and saw shattered glass EVERYWHERE. My car was parked on the street and someone had smashed the window and stolen my whole stereo system and old I-POD. Thankfully nothing else was left in my car that they could steal (unfortunately I learned that lesson the hard way last summer when I got my car broken into in July during my internship in KC when I was parked in the hospital garage and all of the possessions I had packed for my 6 wk rotation were stolen) I felt horrible for the people I was with at my birthday dinner because they're all new friends that I've only hungout with a couple times and we were standing outside in the rain trying to get ahold of the Chicago police for over an HOUR so I could make a police report but the police were so unhelpful! Finally we got ahold of them and my 4 friends crammed into 2 seats since the other ones were covered in glass and I drove them home but I couldn't see anything because my mirrors were fogging up and I couldn't turn on the defogger because my whole stereo/control system had been taken! All the girls I was with felt bad and kept apologizing because of course they've all lived here in Chicago for years and nothing like that has happened to them. But honestly I was laughing the whole time! I think God just likes to keep me on my toes so things like this just happen to me frequently.
The birthday week wasn't all horrible though! I was able to have several celebrations here in Chicago- Tuesday I got to reunite with my college roomie of 3 years because she lives here and is in PA school. I experienced my first deep dish Chicago pizza and it was delicious but so filling! Wednesday was my actual birthday and people at work were so kind. My boss gave me a card and a gift card, someone else brought me a birthday cake, someone else gave me beer, and all the patients told me "happy birthday" and gave me millions of suggestions about how to celebrate a birthday in Chicago but none of them knew that I wasn't getting off work until 9pm so it's hard to celebrate with that little time left in the day! One older patient asked me if I was 19..haha! My birthday night is when I got to go out to eat with my roommate and her wonderful friends. They are so welcoming and kind to me! In Chicago it's really popular for restaurants to be BYOB places so we went a really cute one called Bite Cafe and they had wonderful food.
I had the best weekend ever with my family. First of all, we had the best food including a good Italian restaurant (where they gave me free and delicious Tiramisu and played Happy Birthday over the restaurant speaker), a Brunch place called Bongo room (where we had red velvet pancakes, key lime pie pancakes, strawberry rhubarb french toast), delicious Vietnamese food which was fun to try something new and different, and then another fun BYOB place that had fun Cuban food. We had so much fun together exploring the city. We stayed at a really nice hotel in Lincoln park and got to do lots of exploring and walking around there. We got to hangout at the beach and walk around on my favorite lake path where you can see all the skyline. One highlight was rollerblading with Vince on the path. It's so beautiful and there's great people watching! We went to the Shedd Aquarium which was wonderful to see all the sea creatures there and it was great because my future sister-in-law, who knows a ton about marine biology, joined us and taught us some interesting things! Then we hungout downtown at Millenium park and got to enjoy all the beautiful sites and it was a gorgeous day! All around it was an amazing week and an amazing weekend. I feel so blessed and loved by the people in my life so thanks to everyone for the birthday calls, messages, cards, and gifts! MUCH LOVE!
The birthday week wasn't all horrible though! I was able to have several celebrations here in Chicago- Tuesday I got to reunite with my college roomie of 3 years because she lives here and is in PA school. I experienced my first deep dish Chicago pizza and it was delicious but so filling! Wednesday was my actual birthday and people at work were so kind. My boss gave me a card and a gift card, someone else brought me a birthday cake, someone else gave me beer, and all the patients told me "happy birthday" and gave me millions of suggestions about how to celebrate a birthday in Chicago but none of them knew that I wasn't getting off work until 9pm so it's hard to celebrate with that little time left in the day! One older patient asked me if I was 19..haha! My birthday night is when I got to go out to eat with my roommate and her wonderful friends. They are so welcoming and kind to me! In Chicago it's really popular for restaurants to be BYOB places so we went a really cute one called Bite Cafe and they had wonderful food.
I had the best weekend ever with my family. First of all, we had the best food including a good Italian restaurant (where they gave me free and delicious Tiramisu and played Happy Birthday over the restaurant speaker), a Brunch place called Bongo room (where we had red velvet pancakes, key lime pie pancakes, strawberry rhubarb french toast), delicious Vietnamese food which was fun to try something new and different, and then another fun BYOB place that had fun Cuban food. We had so much fun together exploring the city. We stayed at a really nice hotel in Lincoln park and got to do lots of exploring and walking around there. We got to hangout at the beach and walk around on my favorite lake path where you can see all the skyline. One highlight was rollerblading with Vince on the path. It's so beautiful and there's great people watching! We went to the Shedd Aquarium which was wonderful to see all the sea creatures there and it was great because my future sister-in-law, who knows a ton about marine biology, joined us and taught us some interesting things! Then we hungout downtown at Millenium park and got to enjoy all the beautiful sites and it was a gorgeous day! All around it was an amazing week and an amazing weekend. I feel so blessed and loved by the people in my life so thanks to everyone for the birthday calls, messages, cards, and gifts! MUCH LOVE!
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Week 2
I made it through week 2 and the good news is that I didn’t get lost as much! The first week I got lost at least 3 times. On my first "30 min run" I ended up running for 1 ½ hrs because I didn't know which turns I had made in the first place (obviously I'm used to running and not paying attention to where I turn because I knew my routes in Iowa City so well). But then my first bike ride I went 8 miles out of the way on my trip home because I couldn't remember how to get back...haha, rough start but I am definitely getting better!
A highlight from my week was the Polish elderly couple
that comes in 3x/wk and they call it “couples therapy” because the wife comes to rehab her
shoulder and the husband comes to rehab his knee and they sit at tables next to
eachother and chat throughout treatment. When they’re doing exercises across the gym from eachother the
husband always takes a “water break” but really he goes over to check on his wife to make
sure "she’s doing ok". It’s seriously the most adorable thing ever because it's so obvious how much he loves her. The wife is always doing completely fine but he just wants an excuse to go see her and also he wants a break from his exercises. (By the way the
other reason I love this couple is because they bring us coffee everytime they come
too- they’re just so stinking cute and sweet.)
A highlight from my weekend was having my dear friend Kelsey Jo come visit me. It was a rough week at work so it was encouraging for my soul to have her here and we had SO MUCH FUN! We walked and biked everywhere- to both fun restaurants and fun festivals. I think Kelsey would say her favorite activity was Chicago's Rib Festival (kind of like a farmer's market except all BBQ ribs at every stand). We had delicious Thai and Indian food on differnet nights. We also hit up downtown Chicago and saw all the tourist sights and did some fun shopping. We seriously had the best Chicago weekend anyone could hope for and I'm so thankful for it!
Here's one of my funny stories from the week...I was sitting down for my 10 min lunch break and catching up on all of my patient notes when a young man who had just finished a PT session with another PT came up and said “Do you know where the PT you're working with is?” I told him he had stepped out quick for lunch so then the young man progressed to ask one of the best pick-up lines of all time: “Hey you look familiar, have I seen you before?” I told him no but he decided to just sit down right next to me and chat while he “waited” for my PT to come back. A 5 min conversation turned into a 15 min convo and he ended up asking me if I wanted to go out on an all day cruise on his neighbor's 6 bedroom yacht that is worth 4 million dollars (he’s in grad school but his summer job is to be in charge of looking after/driving this yacht). (Sidenote: While this conversation is happening you have to picture all of the other PTs and patients in the clinic observing this awkward interaction because not often in the clinic do you see a patient just sitting down chatting/flirting with a PT student because everyone else in the clinic is either a) working on patients and doing hands on things or b) exercising) Anyways, eventually my PT came back but this guy just kept talking to me and completely ignored my PT even though he said he was "waiting for him". So this young man kept telling me more about this yacht and finally my PT jumped in a few minutes later and said “So am I invited too or is this just for Anna?” then it got really awkward...haha. Now I’m the joke of the whole office and people call him "yacht boy" and supposively I’m "yacht girl". If there is anyone out there who wants to ride a yacht then please come join me and "yacht boy" because I’m not quite sure I feel comfortable taking him up on this offer alone!
Sunday, June 2, 2013
First thoughts....
Week 1 over! (if you can count it a first week since there
were only 4 work days) The week started rough when I had to be there at 5:15am
the first day and didn't leave until 4:45pm. We were busy the entire day and my
CI gave me an entire eval in spanish. My PT skills and spanish skills are no
where near ready for that level of performance so it was pretty intimidating! Wednesday was another 11 hr day and I
almost found myself in tears when my CI was getting upset with me about things
that he assumed I knew but he had never communicated to me. He's someone that only likes things done his way and if you don't do it his way then you will get chewed out. Thursday was a little
better because I decided to roll with the punches and try not to let his snide comments bother me.
Friday was great- I overhead my CI talking about how well I'm doing in the clinic and that
made me feel much better about the situation at the clinic. I know that I have a lot to grow in and learn but it's nice
to know that at least I have potential.
One thing I learned at work this week is just how much I love people. I love the 4'11 Hispanic elderly woman who is so cute and I have the priviledge of teaching her how to walk properly while we chat in Spanish. I love the Polish elder who has been battling with colon cancer and he told me about how he was so depressed with the cancer and chemo and he thought he was on his deathbed but after starting PT his emotional and physical well being has completely turned around. I love the athletic kids who come in and my CI says "hey, heres the exercises we've been doing and we need to progress them" so then I get to use any piece of equipment in the gym and design new exercsies to challenge that specific muscle group we need to strengthen. I seriously think I could design challenging exercises programs like that all day, everyday. I just love working and helping people.
I decided my main goal for my clinical is to make every single patients' day better. I realize this is a hard goal- sometimes the patient doesn't want to be there so it's hard to have passion while working with them. Other times you're not in the mood because you have 3 other patients you're working with and a million other notes and things to catch up on. Even though it will be difficult I really want to strive towards the goal of making every patients' day better in some way- whether small or big. Along with making every patients' day I decided I want to pray for every single patient I see during the day. I dont care if that's 10 patients a day like I would see in Iowa or if that's 18 patients that I will see in a day in Chicago- I want to pray for every single one of them, every single day. It doesn't have to be a long prayer or anything extravagant but just a short simple prayer that God would bless them.
I feel challenged and committed to learn from every single patient I encounter and every single PT I work with as well. It doesn't matter whether I want to be like them or I want to be the opposite of them, I know that I can learn something from everyone I meet. From my CI I learned that patients really like feeling respected and I also have learned many valuable PT skills. From one of my young patients I learned about the activism work that she is really involved in in the city and I also learned how there is a naked bike ride in Chicago every summer (one is taking place next weekend and for anyone thats wondering I will not be taking part in it. It was a hard decision but I just didn't feel comfortable with the idea of being NAKED on a bike- that's seriously messed up. The worst part is that 1000's of people do it. Dang this city is crazy!)
so to sum up my goals for my clinical:
One thing I learned at work this week is just how much I love people. I love the 4'11 Hispanic elderly woman who is so cute and I have the priviledge of teaching her how to walk properly while we chat in Spanish. I love the Polish elder who has been battling with colon cancer and he told me about how he was so depressed with the cancer and chemo and he thought he was on his deathbed but after starting PT his emotional and physical well being has completely turned around. I love the athletic kids who come in and my CI says "hey, heres the exercises we've been doing and we need to progress them" so then I get to use any piece of equipment in the gym and design new exercsies to challenge that specific muscle group we need to strengthen. I seriously think I could design challenging exercises programs like that all day, everyday. I just love working and helping people.
I decided my main goal for my clinical is to make every single patients' day better. I realize this is a hard goal- sometimes the patient doesn't want to be there so it's hard to have passion while working with them. Other times you're not in the mood because you have 3 other patients you're working with and a million other notes and things to catch up on. Even though it will be difficult I really want to strive towards the goal of making every patients' day better in some way- whether small or big. Along with making every patients' day I decided I want to pray for every single patient I see during the day. I dont care if that's 10 patients a day like I would see in Iowa or if that's 18 patients that I will see in a day in Chicago- I want to pray for every single one of them, every single day. It doesn't have to be a long prayer or anything extravagant but just a short simple prayer that God would bless them.
I feel challenged and committed to learn from every single patient I encounter and every single PT I work with as well. It doesn't matter whether I want to be like them or I want to be the opposite of them, I know that I can learn something from everyone I meet. From my CI I learned that patients really like feeling respected and I also have learned many valuable PT skills. From one of my young patients I learned about the activism work that she is really involved in in the city and I also learned how there is a naked bike ride in Chicago every summer (one is taking place next weekend and for anyone thats wondering I will not be taking part in it. It was a hard decision but I just didn't feel comfortable with the idea of being NAKED on a bike- that's seriously messed up. The worst part is that 1000's of people do it. Dang this city is crazy!)
1. make every patients' day better
2. pray for every patient
3. learn from every single person I encounter
"Great is thy faithfulness"
I'm starting out an awesome journey- 9 weeks Chicago, 9 weeks North Carolina, 9 weeks Colorado, 4 weeks boards studying, 4 weeks Kenya, and then who knows where I'll live/work???? Only God knows the answer to that one! I'll be living mainly out of a suitcase for the next 9 months with no real "home". I'll be working my tail-end off- trying to learn as much as I can at work and trying to make good connections at work so I can have a good job in the future. Also, I'll be trying to make new friends and enjoy the fun places that I'll be! My goal is to have as many adventures as possible in this upcoming year.
It's so hard to leave my best friends from school and my life in Iowa City because I absolutely LOVED it! I was so incredibly blessed by the people in my life there. I left Iowa City a completely different person than I arrived two years ago and all that is because of the work God did in my life through the people that He placed in my life. For those of you who don't know I got baptized on Cinco de Mayo and it was so neat to have all my loved ones from Iowa City there- everyone who has helped, encouraged, and supported me through these last two years of growth. It meant a lot to have them there as I declared "God my future is yours- whatever it is that you have in store". It's so hard for me to say that because I want to tell God "Hey this is my plan if you could go along with it and bless it that would be great..." but that's thankfully just not how God works. I fully trust that God's plan is so much bigger and better than mine. One of the songs we sang the day of my baptism was "Great is thy faithfulness" and it was so perfect because I was so tempted to think my life was changing for the worst because everything I loved and held so dear was ending but the hymn was a great reminder that God would continue to be faithful and constant. I actually am so excited for what's ahead because I think it gives God so much space and room to just blow me away with His future for me. I can't wait to see all the surprises he has for me and to see all the little ways he speaks to my heart- whatever it be through...whether it is a rewarding patient interaction, a great quiet time, a beautiful summer night, or a conversation with a new/old friend. I dont know much about my time in Chicago and what's ahead after that but the one thing I do know is that God is faithful. He has me here in Chicago for a reason and I'm so excited for it. I'm pumped for this journey and I have this awesome vision of me walking it hand and hand with the lover of my soul, Jesus.
Let the adventure begin!!!
"Great is thy faithfulness.
Great is Thy faithfulness, oh God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
to Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k1WhFtVp0o&noredirect=1
It's so hard to leave my best friends from school and my life in Iowa City because I absolutely LOVED it! I was so incredibly blessed by the people in my life there. I left Iowa City a completely different person than I arrived two years ago and all that is because of the work God did in my life through the people that He placed in my life. For those of you who don't know I got baptized on Cinco de Mayo and it was so neat to have all my loved ones from Iowa City there- everyone who has helped, encouraged, and supported me through these last two years of growth. It meant a lot to have them there as I declared "God my future is yours- whatever it is that you have in store". It's so hard for me to say that because I want to tell God "Hey this is my plan if you could go along with it and bless it that would be great..." but that's thankfully just not how God works. I fully trust that God's plan is so much bigger and better than mine. One of the songs we sang the day of my baptism was "Great is thy faithfulness" and it was so perfect because I was so tempted to think my life was changing for the worst because everything I loved and held so dear was ending but the hymn was a great reminder that God would continue to be faithful and constant. I actually am so excited for what's ahead because I think it gives God so much space and room to just blow me away with His future for me. I can't wait to see all the surprises he has for me and to see all the little ways he speaks to my heart- whatever it be through...whether it is a rewarding patient interaction, a great quiet time, a beautiful summer night, or a conversation with a new/old friend. I dont know much about my time in Chicago and what's ahead after that but the one thing I do know is that God is faithful. He has me here in Chicago for a reason and I'm so excited for it. I'm pumped for this journey and I have this awesome vision of me walking it hand and hand with the lover of my soul, Jesus.
Let the adventure begin!!!
"Great is thy faithfulness.
Great is Thy faithfulness, oh God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
to Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!
Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k1WhFtVp0o&noredirect=1
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