To Creighton and Beyond

Greetings from PiTTsBuRGh!!

Knee-deep in a 3-week internship on addictions, I am happily experiencing the East but thankful for my Midwestern and Creighton roots. 

Eight medical students were selected for this experience in Pittsburgh, and for the past week and a half we have been reminded (grudgingly) of the biochemistry and metabolism of drugs of 

abuse, have learned all about Pennsylvania's system for addictions, and visited several rehabilitation programs in the city. It's been pretty incredible.

I've been to AA meetings before, spent time in homeless shelters, been frustrated with how addictions affect the community, learned addiction and the brain,etc. But it's different here--the sponsors of the program have dedicated their lives to understanding addictions, raising awareness, supporting community programs, and everything in between. Never before have I felt such sympathy for addicts, never have I actually tried to understand who these people are and the nature of the chronic disease that they suffer from. Because 

addiction truly is a chronic disease, and I am discovering more and more what that means for its victims and those around them. Addict

ions affect everyone. (effect? I never know...)

On a lighter note, I have enjoyed getting to know the other students, and have done some "big city" / Eastern US things that have been pretty great. Perhaps my favorite is the TWO visits to Trader Joe's thus far (see picture of the excited

 TSTD pointing to the sign). After hearing about it for years from JEHF and other lucky customers, the anticipation to go to TJ's was huge and it was everything I hoped for and more.

I also found a long-lost super great cousin (LLSGC) who is also in Pitt for an intern-

ship this summer (although he is way smarter than me and doing an intense physics/engineering program with classified information and fancy stuff like that).  So LLSGC and I drove up to Niagara Falls this weekend... mmm roadtrips... We also went to a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game and sat really close. Drumroll please... I loved it!! I'm not a huge baseball fan (as most of you know), but we could practically feel the spray of tobacco spit from the players we were so close.

(REMEMBER: addictions affect everyone!!) It was really fun to watch.

Other things you should know: The Pittsburgh Penguins Hockey team won the Stanley Cup last Friday!! They beat Detroit in an exciting series, and the enthusiasm in Pitt is incredible. It is so fun to be in a winning city!! Yesterday we went to the parade downtown that all the players were in... 350,000 people showed up for the parade! It was incredible. 

Summary: addictions.... wowser; somehow Pittsburgh has made me a sports fan; I love Creighton, the people I met there, and my Jesuit education more and more each day; I have a long-lost super great cousin.

peace and love from Pitt

tstd