First semester of dental school winds down

At the start of November, the street in my neighborhood boasted vibrant fall colors....now the trees stand bare.

The sun sets into the Appomattox River as we await initiation into the dental service fraternity, Delta Sigma Delta.

November has flown by with several weeks of intermittent exams and clinical competencies and in anticipation for Thanksgiving break. At the start of the month, I enjoyed taking a weekend road trip with one of my classmates, her sister and their three dogs and cat to Leola/Lancaster, PA. During a dental class Thanksgiving potluck and at an initiation for the dental service fraternity, Delta Sigma Delta, I continued to get to know some of my classmates a bit better. All in all, I think I am feeling very much at home in Richmond and at the dental school...so much so that it felt funny to visit my parents during the holiday break. I don’t quite return ‘home’ when I visit them because they had recently moved into a new house; nonetheless, I can still recall my childhood norms when I am there. Adapting to different norms in Richmond, I’ve wondered if my experience is similar to that of the Israelites returning from exile in Babylon to ‘their forefathers’ land.’ The song below prompted these musings:

By the waters of Babylon

Where we sat down

And there we wept

When we remembered Zion

For the wicked carried us away, captivity

Required of us a song.

How can we sing our holy song

In a strange land?

So let the words our my mouth

And the meditations of my heart

Be acceptable unto you,

O God.

Text: Jamaican traditional

Music: Jamaican traditional

(Song cited from : Sing the Journey—Hymnal: a Worship Book Supplement 1. 2005)

After I had first heard the song and tried to repeat it mindlessly, I found myself replacing ‘meditations’ in the last stanza with ‘hesitations.’ Coincidence or not, it seems that both meditations and hesitations are a necessary part of exile, both of which should be held to a certain standard.

Beyond the bare corn fields faithfully stands the slope of Massanutten Mountain, a small part of the Shenandoah Valley.

It's a bit hard to visualize the mountains beyond all the infrastructure around my parents' neighborhood,  but the sunrise is spectacular, nonetheless.

As the whole world seems to have done during the past several weeks, I’ve begun to think about Christmas. In this activity, I encountered the below song and thought it related nicely to the above discussion about thoughts, hesitations and exile.

Firstborn of Mary, provocative preacher, itinerant teacher, outsider’s choice;

Jesus inspires and disarms and confuses whomever he chooses to hear his voice!

Text: John L. Bell

Music: John L. Bell

(Song cited from : Sing the Story—Hymnal: a Worship Book Supplement 2. 2007)

...Challenging, isn’t it? As I continue to explore my surroundings (location and people) and think about how they affect me, I hope to extend some hospitality both to those around me and myself:

Hospitality

I asked Love to help me
greet the stranger in myself.
I knew how to open my door to the world
and greet everyone out there as friend
but I didn’t have any kind of welcome
for the impoverished one within.
She was the weakness I couldn’t acknowledge.
She was the pain I didn’t allow.
She was the leper I’d tried to cast out the city,
the one who cried at night in lonely places.
I thought that if I let her in
she’d cause me no end of trouble, and I was afraid.

But Love helped me to prepare a feast.
We set the table, Love and I,
and then I did it,
I invited my stranger.
‘Answer the door,’ said Love.
‘You have nothing to fear.’

She came in slowly.

I put my arms around her
and embraced her in her rags
and we wept together for years of separation.
I sat my stranger at the head of the table,
gave her the best of food and wine
and, claiming her as my own,
began to introduce her to my friends.
‘But who shall I say she is?’
I whispered to Love.
‘I can’t call her a stranger now.’
Love smiled and said, ‘Don’t you know?
She is the Christ.’

Joy Cowley
Aotearoa New Zealand

We saw our first patient this month (for periodontal probings) and above was our last dental anatomy carving competency. The blue wax is my attempt to recreate a mandibular molar per the acrylic model.

As the remaining two weeks of the semester wind down, I look forward to revisiting San Luis, Mexico. I had gone with a church youth group two years ago to organize a Christmas program for children in the neighborhood. My childhood home church continues to sponsor the church-building and children’s activities in the area, but I hope to make an early trip (before the Christmas program) with some toothbrushes and paste : ) The local pastor and I will visit several churches in the area to hold oral health workshops for children and adolescents (though I hope parents will also tune in). I am excited to rejuvenate my Peruvian charla (lesson) on oral health and hope that I am able to explore possibilities for future oral health projects, perhaps partnering with local dentists.

Celebrating my second decade in Richmond, my new and bittersweet home

A quaint downtown railroad crossing in Greensboro, NC.

I visited a public health open house at University of North Carolina at Greensboro's Department of Community Health Education. I enjoyed walking through the city's downtown streets and then meeting the public health program's faculty and exploring the exciting public health opportunities that the future might hold. 

I followed the mysterious bubbles in the street to this shop.

Harsh realities of city life offer opportunities for optimism...

After the six armed robberies on a Monday evening in early October and the stabbing on Tuesday night (on/near the MCV campus), I was a bit discouraged about learning to appreciate life in Richmond (and envisioning an extended future here). As I cycled to school the following morning, I saw a man bending over to open up a flattened paper bag from BurgerKing. I’m not sure if he was looking for food or drugs, but my heart ached for the brokenness in whatever systems are involved that cause people to be so violent and unjust to one another. Richmond is proving to be hard to love as a home. However, similar themes are near and dear to any location...Later that day, my sister told me of a childhood friend couple that was processing a divorce because the husband had been seeing other women for at least a year while his wife busied herself with their toddler son and a college education. Although he had not reacted with any remorse, she was being blamed for ‘causing’ the situation in which her husband had an affair. Instead of support and sympathy, she received judgment. How unfortunate it is that we hurt not only those we’ve never met (homeless/criminals on the street) but also those who are nearest to us (family)?

Later that week, I attended a lecture by Rev. Ben Campbell, an Episcopalian priest, who analyzes such a situation in his book, Richmond’s Unhealed History. He suggests that there is a deeply moral and spiritual problem at play in the city: one of denial and hypocrisy. From the time that the first settlers erected a cross in the name of their English king until today, liberty has been juxtaposed with the bondage of others, just as more recent urban development entailed enclosing the city’s development complexes with six-lane highways that served the suburban middle class. All the while, Rev. Campbell explains, the repression of people creates bondage of denial and fear in the oppressor. We are not able to step into the future as a city (or even as authorities of a city) with hope if we are not willing to face the foundational brokenness on which this city has been built. Although I yearn to eventually relocate to a location that is small enough that I can influence these mutually exclusive ‘tiers of existence,’ I appreciated Rev. Campbell’s optimism in advocating to end “discrimination by transportation” by extending the public transportation down the main streets several miles to allow access to 80% of the jobs in the city (as opposed to the current 25% of jobs that are available via public transit).

I visited my parents for an early birthday celebration. My niece and nephew are growing too quickly!

It's great to get help blowing out your birthday candles from enthusiastic family members!

I accompanied my sister for a fall photo session before the storm (Hurricane Sandy) removed most of autumn's glory. The gang studies a flower-petal-filled fountain.

Yes, this is the fountain to which I was referring.

I only ride on the highways and the interstate on the weekends when I go shopping or to worship services but enjoy, even if only at these rare instances, keeping something edible in my car to offer to those that stand at the exits with signs like “need a little help” and “homeless and hungry,” among others. Many of the individuals’ faces speak much more accurately than the signs...others seem to have lost any expressive consciousness that would appropriate their cause. The times that I am fortunate to have something in my passenger seat to offer and a person to receive it, I have marveled at these people. Some explain that while most people think the homeless are dirty people, they shower daily by warming up water with a gas hot plate under the bridge (their residence). Others spill out an emotionless synopsis of their situation, how they became unemployed/homeless, to what violence they are subjected by their spouse/significant other or what they are doing to try to move from their situation. It has been most insightful and touching to hear the recipient say that they will share what I’ve given with “my girl-friend who’s standing across the street” or when I watch them walk off with my gift to a fellow vagrant (I use this descriptive term carefully and respectfully). I have heard of the homeless being very familiar with each other, often knowing each others’ bench or bridge, but I’ve never before witnessed such care extended by such needy. Not often observing similar acts of care in ‘the more fortunate circles,’ I feel honored to enter such a community, even if momentarily on the extending end. On the occasions that I pass one of these folks close to my home without something to offer, I resolve to return to the same place after fetching something from the house. More often than not, I return to a vacant bucket or a lonely cardboard sign on the ground, disappointed that my desire to help was not effected in time. In these cases, I’ve compared these evanescent beggars with angels, disappearing out of sight when I’ve not seized the initial opportunity to offer what I’ve set aside. Using a recently gifted (and growing) potato bread starter to bake sourdough bread, I realize that the two-loaf recipe is not at all inconvenient for this single Richmond-dweller. I hope to develop a tradition of Saturday morning bread-baking with the pleasant thought in mind that I may cross paths with someone who might welcome my extra loaf. I hope this habit will allow me to continually consider my discomfort with the realities of crime and poverty while still remaining optimistic towards each individual that appears on the side of my road.

Classes at VCU were canceled on Monday due to the storm...but it would be too much to ask Lyubov to stay put. I traveled back to Harrisonburg to finalize the purchase of my new interstate sidekick, a Nissan Versa.

As I headed back home on Monday afternoon, the scenic overlook between Waynesboro and Charlottesville still boasted Appalachian beauty, despite the dense fog that Hurricane Sandy brought.

This song challenges me to embrace bittersweet life in Richmond:

Jesus Christ is waiting, waiting in the streets;
no one is his neighbor, all alone he eats.
Listen, Lord Jesus, I am lonely too.
Make me friend or stranger, fit to wait on you.

Jesus Christ is raging, raging in the streets,
where injustice spirals and real hope retreats.
Listen, Lord Jesus, I am angry too.
In the kingdom's causes let me rage with you.

Jesus Christ is healing, healing in the streets;
curing those who suffer, touching those he greets.
Listen, Lord Jesus, I have pity too.
Let my care be active, healing just like you.

Jesus Christ is dancing, dancing in the streets,
where each sign of hatred he, with love, defeats.
Listen, Lord Jesus, I should triumph too.
Where good conquers evil let me dance with you.

Jesus Christ is calling, calling in the streets,
"Who will join my journey? I will guide their feet."
Listen, Lord Jesus, let my fears be few.
Walk one step before me; I will follow you.

Text: John L. Bell and Graham Maule
Music: French traditional; harmonized by James E Clemens (2001)
(Song cited from Sing the Journey--Hymnal: a Worship Book Supplement 1. 2005.)


It's hard to believe that I've completed twenty years of life today. I've easily accepted the fact; now it's only a matter of recognizing what that means for tomorrow and beyond.

Hope you're staying warm during these last chilly and moist days of October : )

Seasonal progress: some things pass away and some open up

After a long weekend, I realized how appreciative I was to be at school past six o’clock; I was eager to be headed home but was content with admitting that here is where I “belonged.” I am determined to enjoy this membership to its fullest during these four years.

3 classes complete

It’s hard to believe that I am eight weeks into my dental school career! The first year class has completed their first three courses (Gross Anatomy, Neuroanatomy, and Operative Dentistry (dental simulation clinic portion). Last week, we began Dental Anatomy, in which we carve teeth out of wax to study their intricate details. It has been exciting to re-enter the world of microbiology in our Infection and Immunology course. We’ve been meeting several new clinical instructors in our Clinical Dentistry class (which includes introductory Periodontics, Evidence-Based Dentistry, and basic clinical skills). We will transition into a non-computerized simulation clinic to continue developing Operative Dentistry techniques. Now that we’re not in cadaver labs for 3 hours a day, we are wearing our class scrubs; all 97 of us in hunter green with our names and graduation year embroidered on the scrub top. Being amidst a mass of green is becoming a comforting norm. It is also becoming comforting to interact with and pass alongside upperclassmen in other colored scrubs, a reminder that they’ve been through all that awaits us. The next few weeks appear busy so that the remainder of the semester may fly by.

After three days (a total of about 11 hours) of work, I submitted my maxillary central incisor (#8) wax carving. The task is tedious but very enjoyable so long as I don’t dwell on the time or the graded outcome of the end product.

MOM Project in Grundy, VA

This past weekend, I participated in a dental RAM (remote area missions) project in Grundy, VA, located in the southwest mountainous region of the state. The VCU School of Dentistry devoutly organizes these Mission of Mercy (MOM) Projects and generously allows several students to take part in the experience.

We were told that Grundy, VA is a town no bigger than 5 miles in diameter, home to around 1,000 residents. The three-story shopping plaza (with a parking garage on the second floor and a Wal-Mart on the third floor) were distinctive recent changes to the town, although quarries and coalmines are still the most prevalent employment options.

I enjoyed assisting with restorations (fillings) as well as washing the suction lines with bactericidal chemicals after each patient and scrubbing instruments after operative use. It was wonderful to be working on teeth on real live people (as opposed to our typodont dummy in the simulation clinics). I was glad to be reminded of the interpersonal aspect of dentistry, a core reason for my pursuit of the career. I also enjoyed seeing and assisting several dentists from Harrisonburg and meeting others. It is great to work with and learn from clinicians that are passionate about helping underserved areas. I am hopeful that my post-dental school NHSC service site will foster more of these interactions.

When visiting the town’s Wal-Mart, I was bewildered to see an escalator at the store (one that carried both shoppers and their carts)...No wonder we have to continue stripping the Appalachians of their gentle slopes—how else would we operate several escalators 24/7?! But the connection between coal mines and the superfluous technology doesn’t seem apparent, despite that the two are less than five miles apart.

Bicycling amidst the mountains

Earlier in September, I visited my parents in the Valley and was surprised by how much I missed the ever-present mountain-scape. I just couldn’t get enough of the sun(rise/set) coloration and the soothing effect produced by sensing the ridges enveloping me round-about. Perhaps I was experiencing that which Weidensaul explains in the introduction to his book, Mountains of the Heart:

“...mountains in general seem to exert an especially profound grip on the human imagination. Whatever the reason, I get twitchy when I spend too much time in a place where the highest point on the horizon is a telephone pole or a grain silo. I need to be able to look into the hills and know that I could disappear into them when the tame world gets to be too much, like a promise of refuge always waiting on the doorstep” (VII, Introduction)

While in the Valley, I participated in the Bike Shenandoah (“cycle for service”) event. I signed up for a 30-mile ride but resolved to cycle from my parents’ home in Weyers Cave to Harrisonburg (where the ride began). Meeting my relatives at a park in Bridgewater after the ride for a family picnic, I totaled 57 miles--I’m glad I didn’t sign up for the metric century ride!

Being in transit or indoors in the city (Richmond), I hadn’t even noticed the mountains’ absence but was still able to recognize my nostalgia for the Valley’s topography when visiting. Perhaps I will act on this affinity and gravitate towards someday settling near the rounded Appalachians.

Fall is in the air

It’s been very exhilarating to catch a whiff of crisp autumn air during these past few days. I am especially eager to welcome fall and winter this year as I left wintery VA in January for temperate Honduras and Peru returned during mid-spring, at the end of April. I await the completion of my twentieth year at the end of the month and hope to catch a bit of the Valley before the trees develop and lose their glory.

A new NHSC scholar in town!

Richmond: a city on the James River

The first month of dental school has flown by, consistently with what we'd been told about the duration of our training, that "the days are long but the years are short." It has been interesting to interact with such a diverse group of professional students. I've been challenged to consider the modes of communicating or socializing that might bring me closer or farther away from my classmates. I have found one of these major 'modes of socializing' to be off limits due to my age and am not sure that age is the only thing that will keep me from acquiring a taste for 'going out with friends.' I continue to enjoy commuting by bike but have been numerously advised against cycling in various parts of the city at various times of the day. Feeling unwilling to actively distrust the people by whom I am surrounded and in contemplating the differing values that separate me from many of my classmates, I sorrowfully appreciate the social norms and problems that divide us as a people. I hope that I don't grow used to finding and interacting in social circles of comfort and security, while being ignorant of the lives of those with whom I can't so easily connect.

The Virginia War Memorial, honoring named soldiers of various wars

The logo of the organization with whom I am partnering as a dentist-in-training

On a joyous note, I received notification on August 31st that I am awarded the National Health Service Corps Scholarship. This entails the NHSC fully supporting my 4 year dental training in exchange for a 4 year service commitment in a Health Professional Shortage Area of my choosing. I am thankful for the relief of professional school loans and look forward to beginning my dental career in an underserved area where health practitioners strive to create a healthier community. These two factors (lack of colossal loans and placement in an underserved area) may allow me to pursue public health training, a discipline that continues to interest me. In this regard, receiving this award seems like an important milestone in the course of both my professional career and my personal life. Thinking about such 'stepping stones' and 'connecting the dots,' I reminisce offering one of my favorite Psalms to the daily pre-clinic devotional (about which I posted on February 24, 2012 when I concluded my volunteering experience in Honduras). Then, I had noted that verse 2 of the Psalm suggests a subtle ever-present exchange of action (speech) and substance (knowledge). I resolved that experiences happen (as day cycles into night) whether or not we take advantage of or appreciate them. Today, I am conscious of the fact that the heavens and firmament (all that surrounds us) allows everyone (regardless of 'speech or language') to equally experience the same cycle. I hope you can also appreciate the beautiful scripture passage:

19 The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.

² Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.

³ There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

⁴ Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,

⁵ Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.

⁶ His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

⁷ The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

⁸ The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

⁹ The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

¹¹ Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

¹² Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.

¹³ Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.

Memory: what a wonderful part of being human. We don't, however, get the choice of remembering exclusively the pleasant. 

...And so I journey onward, challenged to honor the opportunities I've had and continue to be granted with fervent effort.

Adieu to summer

I've finished up my work in the microbiology lab for the summer (just as I've begun to develop better experimental techniques). I hope to look into repeating the wonderful experience next summer as a dental student researcher. Besides working in the lab this July, I went to the Wise County RAM health fair to assist with dental extractions/restorations. It was great to meet some upper class dental students and be a part of the effort with them. I look forward to continuing my involvement in the MOM Project dental service events. I recently participated in a local bike race and continue to enjoy thus commuting during the week. I've had the opportunity to learn how to change a flat tire, but hope such a recurrence in the future won't make me late to class. This past weekend, I was pleased to host my cousins (one of which was visiting form Germany), an aunt, and my grandmother. Showing them around Richmond gave me a settled and at-home feeling.

One of my housemates introduced the practice baggie washing and recycling but had taken the drying stand with her when she moved several weeks ago...so I put together a DIY version. I also enjoyed using my mom's recipe to make the famous Russian red beet soup Борщь (or 'borscht').

Today was the first day of orientation at the dental school. It is interesting to be one of 97 in the same thing (a dental class)...it's almost like being a twin (x 97!!). [I wonder if that is what church and being part of The Body should feel like.] Although we have all stepped in the same boat, we are quite a diverse group, coming from 18 states and many ancestral lands, boasting 3 pilots and a cancer survivor, and bringing together very diverse experiences and interests. I sense the possibility of a strongly bound class developing during these 4 years. Although I am accustomed to (and might prefer) solitude, I look forward to the challenge and reward of contributing to and being a part of the dental student community.

I have been reading "The Divine Conspiracy," by Dallas Willard, a book loaned by a friend and will mention an interesting snippet. In talking about accurately envisioning the world and experiencing God's Kingdom, Willard suggests that the 'heavens' (tou ouranou), as mentioned in Acts 11:5-9 when Peter sees the descending sheet with unclean animals, is better translated 'air' or 'atmosphere,' giving it a more intimate and omnipresent feel than 'sky' or 'heaven.' He further notes that the gospel of Matthew was authored by a Jew who used the same phrase (tou ouranou) to represent Jesus' Kingdom of Heaven, which is called the Kingdom of God in other gospels and throughout the New Testament. Willard explains that it was common Jewish practice to use a phrase for heaven (tou ouranou) in place of God's name. Thinking about the Kingdom of God/Heaven as the Kingdom that exists in the 'air' or 'atmosphere' challenges us to pay closer attention to the workings of and our involvement in it as we live our daily lives.

I'm looking forward to the rest or orientation week and starting dental classes next week. Wish me well! : )

Kiptopeke State Park

Kiptopeke State Park is probably known for its artificial reef, the World War concrete ships.

Dr. Charles Johnson (General Practice, Richmond) and me at the VSU Cares MOM Project in Petersburg, VA.

During the month of June, I have continued working in the microbiology lab (mostly growing biofilms and analyzing the gene expression of various strains), settling into my home (painting my room and tending to the garden), and adapting to life in Richmond. There have been some ups and downs (on the day I successfully isolated RNA from biofilms, I got into my first bike accident on the way home), but I've also had some excitement (my housemate reported me missing while I was at a two day dental service trip with the MOM Project). During the last week in June, I went camping with my family on the Eastern Shore and had the opportunity of visiting the Eastern Shore Rural Health System community health clinic and interview their medical director. Pictures throughout this post retell some of the camping trip. Enjoy! : )

Andrew, my nephew, found my headlight a necessary accessory during his pretend play on a chilly morning.

Ellie, my niece, points to a cicada perched on her shoe.

Bon voyage--a fishing expedition with grandfather.

My brother and his wife didn't join us on the camping trip but their girls made for great camping company.

Andrew with my parents.

What would a walk without grandfather be?

Ellie scurries ahead to our 'photo shoot' location on the ocean shore near the pier.

...while mommy (my sister) and daddy snap a picture, reminiscing pre-parenthood days.

It is often hard to keep kids in a carriage, but Merrari and Lorena found every opportunity to ride it a treat.

Skipping along with grandpa...

On the dock...

Smiles and sunshine!

Hermanas y amigas: Merrari was born in El Salvador and her younger sister, Lorena, in Virginia.

Ellie never misses an opportunity to entertain all those around.

The sun continues to set on the pier.

...only so many smiles and then comes teasing.

Diva shadows!

Still on the go...

The family

Mom and me

Sparklers on the shore

A shore silhouette 

Andrew caught a few of his first fish on boating trips with grandpa.

Lorena and Merarri share a floaty to navigate the waves.

Ellie and Anastasia at the campsite

The recently purchased van gave my dad an electrical puzzle.

And so the camp photos come to a close.

I am looking forward to participating in the Wise County MOM Project dental service event in July and will continue working in the research lab until August. I hope to report more about the city next month. What's new with you and yours?...do send a comment or email update : )