Yale

Yale: (n) Elihu, 1648-1721, English colonial official, born in America: governor of Madras 1687-92; principal benefactor of the Collegiate School at Saybrook, Connecticut (now Yale University)

Ana had morning classes until 11:30, which meant my departure from Boston could be no later than 8 a.m. I could not have gotten any less sleep the night before, which of course meant day 3 of skipping my morning run. This was beginning to become a dangerous pattern. Reluctantly, I said my last goodbye to Paul and began the drive to Connecticut. For as tired as I was, I remained exceptionally awake for the drive which was shorter than expected. My early arrival gave me plenty of time to find street parking and sort through the mess of my belongings in the Mustang before Ana returned from class. Mondays being her busy days, I tagged along to experience a day in the life of a Yale graduate student. We took what may have been the cleanest public bus I have ever ridden to campus for lunch. Of course, Yale University has a gorgeous campus and nearly every building resembled those of the law quad at the University of Michigan. It was much more quaint and peaceful here than at Harvard University. This city was fortunately organized on the grid system which I believe contributed to its lack of chaos and commotion. We used the time between various scheduled appointments and classes to catch up on life since Honduras. Ana worked at the Gracias campus of Vida Abundante Schools in Honduras while I worked in La Union from 2010-2011. My frequent visits to the city of Gracias afforded us the opportunity to build a friendship over the course of the school year. Both of us having moved from Honduras to the U.S. recently, her starting grad school, and me traveling the coast, afforded plenty to talk about as we walked from doctor appointment to toxicology class. The subject of toxicology I find particularly interesting, unfortunately the lecturer, rumored to be a bit dull, was unable to hold my attention for long before the drowsiness set in. It was then I elected to return to Ana's apartment to freshen up and rest before the evenings activities, which included a global health seminar. Again, the subject highly interesting but the execution of the lecture was somewhat of a let-down. For a graduate seminar at Yale University, I expected more from the speaker. The meat of his lecture was very fluffy and filled with redundant information presented on less than quality lecture slides. Ana was satisfied, I was critical. Attendees of the seminar were provided with a pasta dinner which we followed up with a birthday cake celebration for one of Ana's friends to conclude the evening.

Tuesday morning I was alarmed by my own reflection in the mirror, at least what I could see of it. My eyes had nearly swollen shut and my cheeks were puffy and dotted with an itchy rash of sorts. I was having an allergic reaction to something, ON MY FACE! But what? The number of times I have had any sort of allergic reaction to anything in the course of my existence I can probably count on one hand. A shower helped to the point where I could see again. I was not in the clear yet, but it would do for now because Ana and I had a campus to tour. She had the morning off which gave us time for a proper walk around Yale which was a bit like walking through castles and old cathedrals. The beauty could have distracted me all day, but Ana had class and I had a trip to New York to make.