Our lunches are packed in the fridge and the coffee pot timer is set. We are ready for week two, minus the fact that Julie and I BOTH forgot to wash our scrubs. There's probably a hospital rule against that. But, who can blame us?!? We had house guests! Julie's mom and one of my favorite Samford roomies, Anna came in town for Labor Day weekend. We finally had an excuse to splurge on Charleston cuisine and spend a guilt free day lounging at the beach (or pool in Julie's case-she thinks the beach is a hassle). I think we both found our visitors to be the perfect end to our first week of clinicals.

Speaking of clinicals...we just finished week one!!! I think the week ended without any trauma or major embarrassment. Success! Julie is starting in trauma and transplant while I am in general medicine. As I write this I'm thinking I may have received the easier of the two options. Regardless, I think we have both been floored by the knowledge of our preceptors. They know nutrition and they understand the disease states in which they work, but they also understand the hospital. They know the capabilities and limits of the kitchen, they know which doctors to paige and which doctors to find, and they know how to read the chicken scratch called medical documentation. Doctors clearly don't have to write the same handwritten note of application to med school as we do for a dietetic internship! We're learning to interpret, however, and we are daily encouraged by the wealth of knowledge possessed by dietitians barely older than ourselves. I really am confident that MUSC will fill us with that same kind of skill and ability.

On a somewhat repetitive note (I think I say this every time I blog), time seems funny right now. We already feel like we've been in Charleston for years, it seems like such a natural fit. I am constantly reminding myself, I've only know these girls a month! We have been so blessed by the easy flow of relationships in which we can confide or just share a mindless hour of reality t.v. I find myself missing them now that we are spread across campus, one-on-one with our preceptors. We became so accustomed to spending all day together in class. Now we don't even see each other for lunch! But, that makes our weekend reunions and gym dates all the sweeter. It's exciting to have a group of girls who are so similar in their love for dietetics to share these new experiences with. Who else would care that I wrote a tube feeding order by myself or that Julie took the time to find out her patient likes red jello but not yellow, thus he is now eating?! It's amazing how much we are learning and seeing, and the best part is, IT'S REAL. These are not case studies or text books. They are real people with real families and real needs, and we get to touch their lives. It makes that extra cup of early morning coffee go down a little smoother.

Thanks, to Aunt Nancy for contributing to the coffee fund, by the way!! I feel privileged to have been included in such a generous gesture! Julie and I are so lucky to have so many people faithfully encouraging us.

P.S. Does anyone have any good cactus recipes? Time is running out for our cactus leaf in the fridge...

Julie's mom treated us to a lovely dinner at Rou de Jean, a local french restaurant.

Anna and I after Sunday lunch.