Niagara Falls

I got off to quite a rough start this morning scrambling out of bed at 8:01am, leaving me 24 minutes to get ready, eat, bike to the hospital, get changed and walk to the cerebral internal medicine ward.
I blame the Niagara.
To put it simply; the Niagara is a beer drinking style taught to me last night when we went out for dinner with a few members of the hospital staff, including the "freshmen", 2 girls who had just started. They took us to a nearby restaurant for sashimi, tempura, nato, pasta, ikura (salmon roe rice balls) and a beef/vegetable hot pot. The food was absolutely amazing and the night continued well when I chose to drink Japanese beer. "Friendship!" a woman says to me, quickly followed by "Kanpai!" "Cheers!" She also took this opportunity to play with my blonde hair and describe to me what she thought a "Canadian man" was to her. Just as I was saying "don't say lumberjack" she made the motion of swinging an ax and laughed. She quite liked the postcard of a Canadian mounted police officer that I brought with me as well. "Ohhhhhhh handsome!"
Then came the Niagara: 3 people pour beer together into your glass. When it reaches the top of the glass, you've got to drink it all without spilling any foam. I'm having first year university flashbacks.
I had a great night getting to know some of the staff members, eating sitting on my knees, laughing, learning Japanese and taking jokes about how I say "sumimasen" really well. Walking back to the hospital with Yano san also meant singing Bohemian Rhapsody...maybe (definitely) too loudly. The bike ride back was also a great experience.
New rule of thumb: don't underestimate the drinking ability of the Japanese and do not try to keep up with them....on a Wednesday night.

So this morning was rough. But, I managed to inhale a banana for breakfast and make it to the hospital on time (like a boss!). Also, a little hang over is quickly forgotten when you gets to observe surgeries! That's right, today marked my first ever time in an operating room only feet away from a surgical procedure! I observed two surgeries today; a brain surgery where a cerebral spinal fluid shunt was inserted into the brain to remove excess fluid and a varicose vein removal surgery. I was lost for words. It was absolutely amazing to be allowed to observe both of these surgeries! Plus, the head nurse Ogata san was an absolute delight. I plan on seeing her much more in the future (she noticed my excitement level of 117%). Also! One of the surgeons lives in the same building as me! Amazing.

Later tonight, Samantha, Ken and I helped Keiko san, a pediatrician at the hospital, during a weekly English language practice session. The sessions are aimed towards studying for the TOEFL (Test Of English as a Foreign Language), a test required to study/work in an English speaking country. So we helped three staff members to practice speaking English and got free cookies! :) These classes also run every week on Thursdays, so I'm sure to be seeing them often. :)