Everything's Bigger in Texas

I am warning you all now before you start reading: this is going to be a long post.

For those of you who do not know, I recently went to the great state of Texas for podiatry residency interviews.  I wish I went there on vacation, but...thats besides the point. So, to make a long explanation short, the reason we have to go to Texas for interviews is because the "governing body" of the podiatry residency programs has this thing called CRIP (centralized residency interview process). It is an effort to help us struggling medical students lower the costs of all the traveling for interviews. So all the students and the residency programs throughout the country fly to Texas for a week of interviewing.  

Let me tell you about this whole interview process..it has got to be one of the most overwhelming, terrifying and stressful situations I have ever been in. The interviews are held in the Embassy Suites in Frisco Texas. (its a 45 minute drive from the Dallas/Fort Worth Airport...so a rental car was needed...what has that again about lowering the costs for students??????)  You walk in in your newly bought suit from Banana Republic (thanks husband!!!) into the hotel suite and you have NO IDEA what to expect.  One of my interviews was completely social, meaning, it was all the typical job interview questions (strengths and weaknesses, where do you see yourself in five years, blah blah blah). My other interviews were anything from "a patient comes into the ER" and I had to do a surgery "work up" on the patient (meaning I would go through and state all the steps I would do including labs, x rays, the type of procedure/surgery I would do, etc.) to "rapid fire" like academic questions; meaning; one question after the other for 30 straight minutes. Fun right? 

Oh God, flying and interviews..AGGHHHH

On top of the interviews being stressful, we had just taken our board exam less than a week earlier so everyone was talking about boards and if they think they passed or failed and stressing out. (side-note: they changed the rules for our national boards so for my year, we have to pass part two of boards to even get a residency program. So if twenty programs want you and you dont pass boards part two by the second try, you dont get a residency...no stress guys, no stress at all!) AND, there is a national residency shortage so about 30-40 podiatry students across the country this year will not get a residency program even though they are completely qualified.  So while you are at the Embassy Suites, everyone is looking and eyeing each other because we are all the competition.  I now know what it was like to be Katnis in the Hunger Games. 

Thankfully, my good friend Gemma is half Indian and has family in the hotel business, so we stayed about 15 minutes away from the Embassy Suites to get away from the madness.  I have to say that was one of the best decisions I made in that entire process.  It was nice to get away and not see classmates, doctors, residency directors etc. It was especially nice to be able to walk down to the continental breakfast in the pink and green pajama's in the morning without having to worry about running into any of those people. So, that was the interview part of Texas.  All in all, I think most of my interview's went well.  I didnt run out crying or screaming from any of them. I got some good feedback from some of them. Some I felt more confident about than others, but, its done, and thats a good thing. 

Gemma and I; making podiatry look good since 2009

Since Gemma and I are ones to make hard lemonade outtta lemons that life throws our way, we used some extra time we had in Texas and did some sightseeing. 

The first thing that was on the list was to go to the Sixth Floor Museum.  This is the JFK assassination museum.  It was fantastic!!! Even though that actual subject of the museum was upsetting and sad, they did a fantastic job.  Basically, they made the 6th floor of the Textbook Depository into a museum all about JFK's assassination. The corner where he was shot from on the floor was glassed off and preserved the way it was back in the 1960 and they had great audio and video exhibits as well.  

If you look closely, the x over in the left of the picture is where JFK was shot with the first bullet that hit him. 

Gemma on the first x, I was on the second x. I have to say, we didnt k now what to do for the picture. We smiled because thats what we are taught we are suppose to do for pictures, but it felt wrong smiling for a picture with something that has such heavy emotions surrounding it. 

The Sixth Floor Museum is something I HIGHLY recommend if you ever in the Dallas area.  Worth the time and money. 

The 6th window from the bottom on the far right was where JFK was shot from.

Our last day in Texas we went to the Fort Worth Stockyards.  This is an actual real working stockyard.  The cowboys bring the longhorns down the "main" street twice a day between the holding pens and where they keep them and auction them.  It was really cool to see. Everything surrounding the Stockyards was also very "Texas". Western wear stores, saloons, etc. 

within five minutes of being there Gemma and I found a real live Texas Longhorn. We paid $5 to sit on him and take pictures, which normally I would have been like, no way am I paying for that, but when else was I going to get the opportunity to sit on a living longhorn...I was suckered in. This is Gemma and I with the longhorn named Patron. 

Joe found the bar in the retail store.

After we went and had some lunch, Gemma and I wanted to do some shopping and went into this western wear store.  Well turns out, Texas knows how to do shopping because they have bars, with TV's in the retail shops. Our friend and classmate Joe came with us, once he found this, he was fine with us shopping:)

Waiting for the cattle drive to begin!!! And yes, I bought that beer in the western wear stores bar and the nice cowboy behind the bar let me know that we can walk around with drinks here. SCORE!!!

Real cowboys and real Texas longhorns. So cool!

The cattle drive was such a great experience. It was amazing that this cowboys just whistle and these big animals follow them. And they do this everyday! 

So that is what the majority of our Texas trip entailed.  We also had some great Mexican food and Texas BBQ.  I think its safe to say that Gemma and I would totally go back to Texas, as long as it wasn't for interviews. 

So, I will leave you with this last bit to end this endless blog...

I passed my boards! 

xoxo

L