some things

[fahye]

#1 - Thank you to everyone who suggested I read The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms! I really enjoyed it.

#2 - HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. I love these things. IT'S ALL TRUE.

#3 - Today part of our GP training involved roleplaying challenging consultations with professional actors and being VIDEOTAPED, then watching the recordings with our group and Discussing Our Performance :/ Not my favourite method of learning, but everyone had a different scenario (some of them were SO DIFFICULT) and discussing them all with a tutor was actually incredibly valuable.

#3 - My month-long rural GP placement will be in...

*drumroll*



It's called MACLEAN. The population is 3000! It is PRACTICALLY IN QUEENSLAND! Eight fucking hours from Sydney by car or ten by train! Goodbye, all hope of getting back for Supanova D:

One of my best friends has the same placement, though (AND A CAR), so we'll be roadtripping up the NSW coast together. And apparently Maclean has many wonderful coffeeshops despite its tinyness. As long as there's an internet connection, I think I'll be okay.

Comments

[baggers.livejournal.com]

An hour and a half from my former home! Oh, Fahye.

(It's really lovely up there. Not the GC, but that whole area of NSW is just delightful.)

[ineptshieldmaid.livejournal.com]

I remember Maclean! It's not far from Yamba, where my mother lost the diamond from her wedding ring.

You could potentially fly from Balina or Grafton if you wanted to zip back for Supanova?

[kayloulee.livejournal.com]

Oh, Maclean's not practically in Queensland, it's not on the Far North Coast, just the North Coast. ... I am such a Far North Coast girl.

But you should know that it is entertainingly Scots. I mean really. They've painted the bottom metre and a half of all the telegraph poles in various clan tartans. Oh yeah, and it'll be quite warm compared to here. I think. It's 24C in Lismore today, at least.

And yes, there is internet. :-)

[toujin1.livejournal.com]

OH that sounds really cool! I'm waiting for my course to send me off on an adventure, but no luck so far. You'd think studying environmental science would mean I get the chance to see something other than classroom walls... T^T

[fahye.livejournal.com]

My friend and I are contemplating a weekend in Brisbane! Or, I don't know, a day trip. I can't really afford to stay overnight. But I've never been, so it might be fun.

[fahye.livejournal.com]

There ARE planes from Grafton but they're $145 each way :/ That's one very expensive convention ticket.

[fahye.livejournal.com]

Anything north of Grafton counts as practically-in-Queensland in my book! What's your cut-off point, Tweed Heads?

[daygloparker.livejournal.com]

Maaaaaaaaaaan, stuff like this is so weird for me. If I drove for eight hours south, I could be practically in South Carolina; if I went north, I COULD BE IN CANADA (it is, apparently, only 7 and 1/2 hours to Montreal).

[fahye.livejournal.com]

Yeeeeeeah. Context:



Australia is roughly the same size as the USA, and the map in my post shows (most of) NSW. Our states are big! You have to drive for a really long while to get anywhere much.

[kayloulee.livejournal.com]

Cut-off for "things north of here are practically in Queensland"? Nah, Tweed's not the cut-off point, it's a twin town with Coolangatta on the QLD side of the border, so it's too close. Around my place, I guess. I live out the back of Mullumbimby in the hills/rainforest. It used to be 1 1/2, maybe 2 hours to Yamba from our place, but they might have upgraded the highway since then so I don't know now. I do know that it's 3 hours to Coffs Harbour.

[kayloulee.livejournal.com]

*laughs* I have Canadian and US relatives, and one of the most common things for them to say is that they had no idea "this place was sooooo big!". As it is, I'm living 12 hours drive away from home and I'm still in the same state :-).

[pirateygoodness.livejournal.com]

Ahaha, this is why I'm resisting tempting fate with rural placements. YOU CAN GO LIKE REALLY REALLY FAR NORTH AND STILL HAVE TOWNS, HERE.

Good luck, though! It sounds like it'll be a cool experience.

[bookshop.livejournal.com]

also, look how close to the OCEAN you are! OCEAN *grabs at*

[lizardspots.livejournal.com]

Good lord, that's far away! I am so glad that Britain is nicely compact so I won't be terribly far away from London no matter where my rural GP placement is - but you get to be near the ocean! How lovely! :D

That specialty chart is genius.

[schiarire.livejournal.com]

Oh wow! You will discover a TOTALLY NEW MODE OF LIVING. Like a bold adventurer!

[fahye.livejournal.com]

Rural placements are mandatory! NO ESCAPE.

[fahye.livejournal.com]

Heh, that's Australia for you. If you follow the coast down you can see how concentrated on the coastline the towns and cities are in NSW alone. Plus, Maclean is actually further from the ocean than Sydney, which has many delicious harbours.

[fahye.livejournal.com]

I'm amused that people think Sydney is somehow...NOT on the ocean? It has a Harbour Bridge! And many beaches!

Maclean is right on a large river though, which should be a whole different type of fun waterfront.

[fahye.livejournal.com]

Two weeks in I will have learned to make fire with rocks!