Turns out it's pronounced angina

February is different down here. Usually February is the coldest month as Boston temperature’s average in the single digits for the month. Oh, also there’s no Mardi Gras. The parades were an absurd amount of fun and the fact the entire city comes together for them enhances the experience. Outside of Mardi Gras, my February has been spent mostly hitting the books. The MCAT, NBME Shelf exam and my thesis due date approach quickly. As a break from the continuous studying and lab work I volunteered with Soul Nola once again. This time we planted trees in Mid-City. I enjoy working with the organization because the work they do is so obviously important. New Orleans is the most deforested city in the United States and with the constant flooding it is in desperate need of some trees. February Hours: 4 Hours Total 28 Hours

I spent most of my weekends in the month of January volunteering. First, I volunteered at the Habitat for Humanity restore. The Restore is a second-hand goods shop that sells furnishings, amongst other things, at a marked down price. The money from the Restore helps fund the construction done during build days. The next day I worked at the NFC playoff game selling raffle tickets. This was by far the most fun experience. Not only did I get to see the Saints win a playoff game at home but I helped raise money for the United Negro College Fund. The following week I helped SOUL Nola with planting trees in my neighborhood. I enjoyed planting trees because I got to instantly see the fruits of my labor. We also got free food which always makes it that much more worthwhile. In fact it was so fun I did it again the following week. This time we grabbed a few drinks after at the Wayward Owl Brewery.   January Hours: 24 Hours

It's looking like a Boston December so far. Well... kinda. It snowed today for about 10 minutes. I had the opportunity to work again this month with Habitat for Humanity. This time my classmates and I added the siding to a house. The process is slow and meticulous but I think we had the right squad for it. I plan on continuing my service hours with Habitat in the spring as well. December Hours: 8 Total Hours: 30

                November was my busiest month so far in this program. It was also somehow when I managed to do most of my volunteering. I first volunteered at an event called Iron Chef. I got paired with a local chef and seven 8 th grade students as we were pitted against 8 other teams to make the best meal. Our chef was the defending champion, so we were confident going into it. That was until they revealed the secret ingredient, papaya. The kids were still excited to get cooking despite the unanimous disdain for papaya. We didn’t win that day but making the seven layer dip with the students was well worth the hours spent. I was genuinely amazed at how good the students were at cooking. The second place I volunteered was at a private event to support Cystic Fibrosis. I got to hang out with my BFFL Steve and serve baby Lima Beans to the crowd.                 Apart from volunteering, I have stuck with studying for the MCAT with the crew and working in lab which is also picking up.

                Sweet Potato Festival has cemented itself as one of my favorite New Orleans events. The event, held at a local elementary school, allowed me to spend more time with the community relative to the other service events I attended. I got to work with the students as they made sweet potato smoothies using a bike blender, a bicycle flipped on its back and chained to a blender base. I honestly don’t know who was more excited about the bike blender; me or the youths.                  Deshawn, an absurdly bright second grader, talked to me about the gardening program at the school and explained how they learn to grow vegetables and learn to cook healthy foods with their garden. I couldn’t help feeling a little jealous as I wished I had a garden at my elementary school. However, I was more impressed with the attendance at the festival, how well the community came together, the number of vendors and volunteers working for free, and the fact that Deshawn, a second grader, knew w

The hunt for a good coffee shop in New Orleans continues. I have learned, however, when the clock strikes to 3 o’clock the night before an exam and you still need to learn the difference between Idarucizimab and Etaracizumab any coffee suffices. This month I finished with the cardiovascular and renal units, joined an intramural basketball team, got to see Ellis Marsalis play piano, and volunteered with my peers at Habitat for Humanity. The work done with Habitat for Humanity paralleled some of my projects from when I lived in the Dominican Republic. I think building homes is a very common form of service. After all, everyone needs a floor. While working in Las Canas, I helped pour cement floors in a few houses around the small impoverished town where I stayed. When individuals in an underdeveloped community get sick a dirt floor is a likely culprit. You can’t clean a dirt floor. Thus, any fecal matter that gets tracked in on shoes tends to stay in the floor. The floor being where