Italian Surprise!

Another comparison of this year to last: December 8, Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Last year, it was on a Monday, which happened to be my busiest day of classes every week. With the exception of chapel time and a brief hour between anatomy lab and band, I had no free time from 6:45 a.m. until after the Norseman hayride (and dinner and bonfire). Masses at St. Dominic were all during my classes and activities, so a contingent of us Norseman Catholics discovered that our only option was to leave the hayride early to go to Annunciation (how appropriate!), a small church a few miles outside of Northfield. Normally there would be nothing wrong with this; I had been to Annunciation before and didn't mind driving there. Last year, however, there was a snowstorm on December 8. By the time we left the hayride, the gravel roads back to Olaf were slippery under 2-3 inches. After picking up more churchgoers at St. Olaf, for a total of 8 (yes, 8!) of us in my tiny Saturn, I drove slooooowwwwwllyyyyyy through the quickly accumulating snow to the little church on the hill. Mass was warm and beautiful, and you could feel the little-kid excitement throughout the congregation because of the snow. As we left church, the snow was still falling quietly, peacefully -- and had deposited several inches on the vehicles. There was an attitude of congeniality despite the difficult driving conditions, and everyone helped each other clear the white powder from the cars. Everything about it -- the feast day, the people, the church, the weather -- was beautiful.

This year on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, I followed the Minnesota blizzard with interest, mostly because I wanted to be there myself. There's something about extreme weather that's exciting to me. Here in the Bronx, though, it was a sunny, warm day (although most of my classmates would skewer me for saying 40 degrees is warm). I decided to go to Mass at St. Clare, and I assumed the schedule would be the same as a typical weekday schedule, with Mass at both 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. I also assumed that, with the typical 15-minute daily Masses, I'd be able to make it to my 8:45 class on time. My assumptions were only marginally correct. I arrived at 7:55, heard the priest greet an old couple with a quiet, "Buon giorno," and thought nothing of it. We are, after all, in a very Italian neighborhood. Turns out I should have thought something of it. Since it was a feast day, the church was on its Sunday schedule, in which the 8:00 Mass is in Italian. And there was music. Music in Italian. After an initial moment of confusion, I realized what was happening, and then I started beaming. Mass in Italian! It was wonderful. I ended up being 10 minutes late for lecture, but it doesn't matter. It was a beautiful morning, with a joyous service, a sunny walk, and an Italian surprise.

Things That Made This Week Interesting

All throughout the week, I kept having experiences that made me think, wow, that was really cool/interesting/different. Being a busy little medical student, I didn't have a chance to write about any of them at the time, but here is a list of the things that I've done or the things that have happened that contributed toward this week being a good one:

- Interviewing my first "patient": Okay, the patient was an actor, but it was still an exciting challenge. On my turn, he decided to be irritated that I was just a student, rather than the real doctor; he was incredibly curt and sarcastic, but everyone told me I handled the situation well. I was able to get the information that I needed without getting flustered or frustrated, myself. Awesome!

- Einstein photo op: After a long class session, my friend Cat and I decided to take advantage of the beautiful afternoon and go take pictures of the campus. We're really lucky to have such a beautiful haven here in the middle of the Bronx.

Maybe later I'll post more pictures, but this is a taste of our surprisingly green, spacious campus.

- A successful case conference: Each week, we break into smaller groups to discuss a particular disease or case that relates to what we've learned in our Molecular and Cellular Foundations of Medicine (MCFM) course. This week, I felt really confident about my understanding of the interferon-gamma receptor and its relation to unusual sickness from mycobacteria. I even was complimented on my explanation of restriction digest results to the rest of the group -- score 1 for my summers at Mayo preparing me to understand the basic science of medical research!

- Making apple crisp: After a trip to the farmer's market during lunch hour, I was armed with some tasty Cortlands for my first apple crisp of the fall. New York has some decent apples, but I have to say I prefer Minnesota's selection. My roommates had never even heard of baking apples like Wealthy and Harralson before. Also, the Honeycrisps just aren't as flavorful out here. There's something to be said about the cold Minnesota winters and our spectacular apples.

Mmmm...combined with the banana bread from earlier, this apple crisp has solidified my reputation among my roommates and friends as the one who bakes -- and shares.

- First medical school final: Yes, final. We have officially finished the Genetics unit of MCFM. Next up: Immunology. But first, there's still the Histology midterm coming up this week.

- Playing the piano for the first time since leaving home over a month ago. I've missed it so much. It was a little weird playing the grand piano in Robbins Auditorium all by myself, but I got over it and stayed for an hour and a half.

- Preparing peaches for more crisp: The peaches that I had bought at the farmer's market were getting ripe, so I cut them up. They are now in the freezer awaiting their turn to bake. Something that is so beautiful about peaches is that not only is the skin colored, but underneath is also multi-toned.

So juicy, so ripe, and so pretty, even without the skin -- I love peaches.

- A tale of two Little Italies: Last night, my friends and I went to the famed Little Italy of the Bronx. We ate at Emilia's, a fantastic little restaurant on Arthur Avenue. It was across the street from Mario's, the restaurant where the famous scene with the gun-behind-the-toilet-with-the-chain-thing in The Godfather takes place. Then, today, I made my way back to the Little Italy of Manhattan for the San Gennaro procession. Since it was a perfectly warm and sunny fall day, the streets were packed with people. It was worth it for the zeppole and cannoli.

The statue of San Gennaro was brought through the streets, stopping at each stall so a blessing could be said.

As I mentioned earlier, the Histology midterm exam is coming up. I have not allowed that to stop me from taking my day off. Today has been filled with such excitement as making French toast for breakfast, shopping/browsing in Manhattan, meeting Andrea for the San Gennaro festival, going to Mass at the Most Precious Blood Church again, and watching some quality Arrested Development. I'm determined that tomorrow and Monday will be full of productive studying!

The Next Best Thing after Italy

After my visit to Ground Zero, I made my way toward Mulberry Street, the heart of the Downtown Little Italy. (The Bronx also has its own version of Little Italy; apparently there is a heated debate as to which one is better.) On the way, I passed by some cool-looking buildings. I didn't go into Trinity Church because I didn't realize how historic it was. Whoops. I did, however, stop briefly inside St. Andrew's Church, which is a beautiful little church located right next to the United States Courthouse (now called the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse, according to Wikipedia) and Foley Square. I also did not realize the importance of any of these places; I was simply attracted to the church because it looked cool. And the rain was picking up. And because I felt pleased with myself for being able to translate the Latin on the frieze.

Beati qui ambulant in lege Domini - always true, but even more appropriate given its location practically on top of a huge courthouse.

Afterwards, I continued my walk to Mulberry Street. Nowadays, Little Italy is being gradually crowded out by Chinatown, which surrounds the old Italian neighborhood. (Sidenote: I want to spend some time in Chinatown at some point, but my mission this week was Italian, so I mostly ignored the Chinese cultural opportunities yesterday. My process did not allow for forays into Asian territory...) This week, however, the Italians are hogging the attention: Next Saturday is the Feast of San Gennaro, the patron saint of Naples, and Little Italy is now in the midst of its annual 10-day celebration of the feast.

Each year, in Naples, the saint's blood turns from solid to liquid on his feast day. Also, prayers to San Gennaro are said to have averted destruction from the nearby Mount Vesuvius in the past.

Mulberry Street was a giant fair. Along the street was stall after stall of vendors, and all of the street's restaurants had set up extra seating in forward tents. Despite the rain, it was crowded with tourists (and locals) who had come for the great food and festal atmosphere.

A festive-looking Mulberry Street with a surly-looking Empire State Building partially covered by clouds in the background

I love all things Italian. I especially love the food. Luckily, I had planned to have a late/large lunch that day because of the timing of traveling to and from Manhattan as well as going to Mass. The only problem was choosing where to eat; what in the world could I base my decision on? Since I knew nothing about the area other than the fact that the festival was happening (clearly, this was one of many instances in which I was not prepared for the day), I had no background knowledge or experience to guide me to the best restaurant. I started glancing at the posted menus as I ambled past the restaurants' tents, and then I hit solid gold: one restaurant was advertising a festival special of $13 for a two-course lunch, and my favorite Italian pasta was listed as one of the choices for a first course.

Penne all'arrabbiata: so simple, but sooo good

Without even knowing the name of the restaurant, I asked to be seated, and I was given a table inside the actual restaurant (not the outdoor tent). I was disappointed at first since I would not be able to people-watch, as I had planned, but it turned out to be a nice break from the crowds. I had excellent bread, penne all'arrabbiata, eggplant parmigiana, a glass of Chianti, and an after-dinner cappuccino. (Sidenote: I took home my extra bread and used it to make French toast this morning. It was delicious.) The indoors location allowed me to relax, enjoy my meal at length, and do a bit of writing.

The cinnamon on the cappuccino was an unexpectedly tasty addition.

With a few hours to spare before Mass began, I wandered through the festival some more, taking my time to browse the shops and simply enjoy the sights, smells, and sounds. At one point, a small band marched past playing "That's Amore."

I especially liked their hats.

I loved the feeling of being surrounded by Italian pride, but it was not simply that. It was Italian-American pride. The descendants of the Italian immigrants who made New York their home beginning in the late 1800s are clearly proud of their heritage, as can be seen in the excellent restaurants, cafes, and shops that still line the Little Italy area. However, I would be willing to bet that most are just as proud of their American heritage and would be unwilling to leave the city. (It's probably a fair assumption, given that most are several generations removed from the original immigrants, at this point.) Case in point:

I haven't counted, but it seems the American and Italian flags are nearly proportional. At any rate, it looks like Christmas.

The vendors were colorful both to the eye and to the ear. Many beckoned the festival-goers to buy their treats: "Get yer sausages!" "We got pina coladas! Free refills!" "Try the cannolis!"

How's this for colorful?

Of course, all of the food looked good, but I was more than full after my abundant lunch. I did consent to a small sample of cannoli, though. How could I not? The last time I had cannoli was in Catania -- in Sicily -- the night I found out I was accepted at Einstein, and it was delicious.

Clearly this shop knows what it's doing when it comes to cannoli.

The last thing that I did before leaving Little Italy -- and Manhattan as a whole -- was go to Mass at the church that claims San Gennaro as its patron. The Most Precious Blood Church was beautiful inside, full of paintings commissioned in memory of neighborhood families with extremely Italian names.

Church of the Most Precious Blood, referring both to Christ and Saint Januarius (as we call him in Anglicized language)

Mass was surprisingly short, only 30 minutes, adding on to my week of really short Masses. I guess that's what you get when there's no homily or music. It ended with a procession to the front to kiss the relic of San Gennaro, which I hadn't known about beforehand. I was moved by the reverance expressed by the crowd who had gathered there to celebrate Mass and the beginning of the saint's feast.

As I walked to the subway, I picked up a whopping pound and a half of nougat, the ubiquitous white treat being sold throughout the streets of the festival. Later that night, my friends and I labored to hack through its surprisingly hard core so that we could enjoy tasty morsels of nuts and sugar that had the taste of marshmallows. This was the perfect supplement to the popcorn that we ate while watching (and making fun of) a ridiculous B movie about genetically engineered killer sheep. It couldn't have been a better day.

A pound and a half of nougat -- that's amore!

Learning Something New...

So there's that old saying that you learn something new every day. Being a medical student, I don't believe this saying will be difficult to fulfill. However, what I've learned today has nothing to do with being a student:

My dinner tonight.

What is that magnificently mauve mass in the middle of my noodles? It is chicken. It was excellent chicken -- I cooked it with olive oil, butter, garlic, rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, red pepper, half and half, and wine. It had a spicy bite and wonderfully aromatic Italian flavors. I learned, however, why we cook with white wine: so your chicken doesn't turn purple.

Glorious Food

I couldn't resist. In my previous post, I noted the giddy trip we took to a local Italian bakery. Now I feel obligated to share the glorious splendor of our meal and dessert.

For dinner, we had Laura's amazing concoction of peppers, onions, corn, and beans over whole wheat couscous and topped with avocados. This was accompanied by Allison's beautiful salad (not pictured) as well as my fresh green beans and carrots with hummus.

Lots of vegetables to make up for the dessert that would follow...

Next came dessert, which Joanne and I were very proud of. I already described it, with the exception of the delicious crisps that Allison provided. See it for yourself.

Cinnamon-sugar bakery crisps, cappuccino gelato, chocolate cannoli, and tiramisu

How can you feel anything but blissful after a dessert like this?

I think we're going to try to do meals together regularly. It sounds perfect to me.

White Coat

I've officially been a medical student for 2 days now. Initial impressions: We're going to have a lot of work to do. It's not bad yet, but it will get "worse" quickly. There's more to do than there could ever be time for, especially with the city tempting me with all it has to offer.

Well, that's not so bad. Our first classes have been an introduction to and/or review of cellular structures. I'm not a huge fan of cells -- I just don't find them interesting. I know I could gain a lot of potential enemies from that statement, but least I'm being honest! At any rate, I certainly realize that it's entirely necessary to understand the basics before we can get into more interesting stuff like systems and diseases, so I won't complain, at least not too much. Our first set of courses is comprised of histology (the study of microscopic structures), molecular and cellular foundations of medicine (basically genetics, biochemistry, etc.), and introduction to clinical medicine (learning how to take patient histories and things like that). We'll begin anatomy in October, once we've finished with histology.

Last night was our official induction into medical school: We had our white coat ceremony. This meant that we were all gathered into Robbins Auditorium with family and friends (including Andrew and Mom), and after speeches were given, Einstein alumni cloaked us in our brand new white coats, the symbol of the doctors we will become. Our coats are awesome; they have the Einstein patch, our embroidered names, and a lapel pin that says "Humanism in Medicine," something that is really important at Einstein and, in my opinion, in medicine as a whole.

White coat status: Received.

(Side note: I just took a break to go to an Italian bakery up the street with my friend Joanne. A few of us are making dinner together tonight, and Joanne volunteered to bring some dessert. Being a huge fan of all things Italian, I imposed my presence on her as she investigated the options. We are now in possession of 2 iced mochas, 4 chocolate cannoli, a giant slice of tiramisu, and an overflowing quart of cappuccino gelato.)

After the ceremony, there was a "cocktail reception" which was actually a giant tent filled with catered goodies. I had sushi, dumplings, and rice noodles, along with really fudgy brownies and wine. Einstein definitely treats its medical students (and their families) well. Here's to 4 years of excellence!

In other news, this past weekend was yet another chance to venture into Manhattan. As Andrew and I were walking from Rockefeller Center to his hotel, we happened to come suddenly upon St. Patrick's Cathedral. Its majestic spires of stone looked slightly out of place among the glass and steel of the nearby skyscrapers, but it was more beautiful for that. Inside, the large space was full of tourists and the familiar smell of incense, not unlike many of the churches I saw in Italy. I have this unreasonable desire to go to Mass at every church in New York City. I know there's next to no chance that I would ever be able to accomplish this, but it would certainly be an incredible experience. We'll see...

Slightly out of place, but ever the more awesome for that fact.