Lindsay Donovan '06
Urban Studies - Chicago
ldonovan@monm.edu
Woodstock, Illinois

December 2, 2005

Hello,

Things have been pretty crazy here in Chicago. We are coming to the end and all of our semester long projects are due. Yesterday I gave a presentation showing part of my research that was done in Chicago and that was a big load off my back because it was a huge part of what I have been doing. Today we had to turn in our journals that we have been doing all semester as well....60 pages of journals and pictures....Wow! Next week won't be as bad but still very busy.

It has been really cold here and super windy...being on crutches with ice everywhere and wind....not very fun....but I am managing. Next weekend is my birthday and it is also the last weekend of the program so I think we will all be going out and having a good time...I can't wait.

It was nice to go home for Thanksgiving...one of the perks of staying in the U.S. I guess. It made me miss home and Monmouth but at the same time I am starting to get sad because I am not going to be seeing most of these people again.

It is kind of weird to come to a program and meet all of these wonderful people and then have to say goodbye after only 3 months. I'm sure there will be some emotional goodbyes. Looking forward to my last semester being at MC....can't wait to come back and see everyone and talk to the other people that have gone off campus. Hope everyone is well...see you in January!

Lindsay

November 10, 2005

Hello,

To bring you up to speed...I had to change rooms last semester for a foot problem...yeah...ummm...it was so much worse than it was made out to be by the doc in Monmouth. I ended up having to have two surgeries to fix my foot and now I just broke it and maybe did some more damage that requires surgery. So....I am definitely seeing the side of being disabled in the city. Boy does it kind of suck sometimes. I guess it makes me stronger though!

As for Cook County Hospital it has been a great experience. I am getting such a well-rounded experience. I work with this super devoted workaholic that lives for County and has been around as the head of the quality assurance department. I have gone to a lot of meetings but I have also had some concentrated time with patients. I cant even begin to describe how much gang violence has such a huge presence. So many gun shot wounds and broken jaws and I saw a man that was beaten so terribly that he was in a coma and you could barely recognize his face. It is also really interesting to see all about what the poor have to do in order to get basic health care.

The pharmacy has been my topic of interest because people have had to wait so long for their medicines...the average wait this summer was 18 days!!! I am actually doing research right now in the inpatient pharmacy to try to get data in order to get more pharmacists hired. Who would have thought that all of my research experience would have actual real world meaning some day. It feels good.

Other than that the program is great...sometimes a little too much busy work but I have had so many great experiences. I wish that more people would come to this off-campus program. I know so many people that would benefit from this experience.

Lindsay

October 30, 2005

Hello All,

This weekend I had a really good time. Kurt came to see me for the last time and we went back to the Lincoln Park Zoo and saw some really cool stuff but the best part was going to the Lincoln Park Conservatory. The flowers were incredible and it makes me wish that I could live in a "paradise" but then I realized that it was too dang humid in there!!! I would need my inhaler...lol. Things are going fairly well in the city.

Things have been getting hectic with projects and of course my patience for public transportation is almost gone. I am so sick of having to leave an hour and fifteen minutes just to get to Cook County Hospital.

Gotta go because I have to write and write and write something for a huge research project that I am doing at the hospital for tomorrow....uuugggghhhh! Give me a shout will ya!

Lindsay

October 15, 2005

This weekend Kurt came and we went to the Lincoln Park Zoo because it is FREE!!!! We saw some really cool gorillas and tigers and seals! We realized when we were about to leave that we had only seen the bottom half of the zoo but we are going to check it out when he comes next time. There are supposed to be polar bears and rhinos and stuff like that up there.

Then we went to Millenium Park and took pictures by "The Bean" and some by the water area. It was a really nice weekend weather wise so everyone was out and about. Then we went to Giordanno's and had really awesome deep dish pizza...this was the first time that I had "Chicago Pizza"...Yum!

After that we found Garretts popcorn and got some of the cheese carmel mix....I got to have some but Kurt wanted to take it home for his family along with the pizza leftovers. Then I went and bought gloves because it started getting colder and I figured I probably need some good thick ones for the windy city. Hope all is well.

Lindsay

October 5, 2005

Hello All,

This week everything is starting to get really hectic. I kind of thought that coming to an off-campus program would be less written work and more experiential learning, but I was wrong. It is like being at school and having the same work load but also having to go on two field trips everyday and plan for travel time!!!!

We are doing this project where we have to go through the communities that we live in and find assets within the community. We have to interview people like crazy and find out so much information which is cool but exhausting.

Because you guys are all probably curious my foot is doing ok. I got off of the crutches but now I am more sore than before because it is all me and no help from the sticks. We walk around so much that my foot is very large and colorful every night when I ice it. I am going to physical therapy, which is torture but at least it is in a big athletic club where I can go swimming and all that fun stuff.

My roommate situation is going fairly well. Meera and I get along fantastically. I have been trying some restaurants out and there is an awesome Mexican restaurant right by my apartment. I also live within a block of the Aragon and the Riviera. That is pretty cool. Last weekend there was a boy band in town and there were all of these preppy white teenagers everywhere and it was pretty hysterical seeing them screaming about "seeing one of the band members."

As for me I am going, going, and going!! A lot of the times I am out the door before 8 and am getting back after 7 at night. Furthermore it is late and I am going to get to bed. Hope all is well with everyone and shoot me an email if you guys get the chance.

Lindsay

September 27, 2005

Hello!
I promised to email about the Urban Studies Program and this is the first time I have had my hands on the internet so sorry for the delay. I am interning with a doctor at Cook County Hospital. He deals with a lot of administrative issues and is the head of many committees because he is the head of Quality Assurance for the hospital. His motivation in life is to make the health care system safer, affordable, and more organized. Basically I get to go to all of these meetings and listen to the great minds of Cook County Hospital, UIC, and Rush.

I have already been to two medical conferences as well. During the month of October I will be following him on rounds and seeing patients with him. Basically it is a wholistic public health care education.

As for the city, we have been so busy! We never stop going. It is really interesting the way it is set up because it is basically like a field trip everyday that we aren't at our internships. I have already seen many social service agencies and talked to an Alderman.

I live in the Uptown neighborhood, which is the northside about a 1/2 mile from the lake!!! The food is awesome. There are a lot of mental health agencies in my neighborhood too. Hopefully I can learn a little more about those agencies while I am here. I live with three other people from the program on the 17th floor with a view of Wrigley Field from my window. I pass Wrigley Field everyday on the "El". I am already feeling like an exert on public transportation. Well that is about it for now. Hope all is going well. I will try to email you guys and give you updates. Talk to you later!

Lindsay