The RowStein Compendium: Return from off the face of the earth.

Hello all, DW here. When last you heard from us Japan was in the fullness of Spring and Minnesota was just plain full of snow. Needless to say much has happened in the intervening months. The semester came to a close with much grading, writing, and gnashing of teeth on my part, which means I have but one semester of coursework and a boatload of clinical experience to gain before graduating in a year. I had an amazing time visiting WR in Japan. And now we are only 31 days away from WR arriving back on the ground in Minnesota for good!

I'm hoping to share some of the stories and pictures from all that time over the coming weeks, but to keep from falling even further behind I want to jump ahead to the present and give you all a quick run-down of what is new here in the northern midwest.

Since getting back from the East I hit the ground running. After four days of prep (read: get over jetlag) I got to be a student clinician for the University of Minnesota Kids Who Stutter Camp. The name is not misleading, it's exactly what it sounds like, and it was a wonderful experience. Not only did it give me the opportunity to work with a new population of kiddos, it was amazing to see how the campers supported and shared with one another. Many of them probably feel isolated by their speech in their normal school environments, but around peers who share the same struggles they really opened up.

A picture from one of my bike rides to campus. The weather was a bit on the rainy
side (as those of you in the midwest know), and the Mississippi is nearing record highs.

Apart from my clinical work I had to start getting back up to speed in a literal sense as well. My good friend Drew and I are tackling the Buzz Ryan Sprint Triathlon two weeks from today, and the time I haven't spent on clinic work has been dominated by my attempt to get back in shape. I've gone back to cursing my existence five days a week (the same regimen which preceded WR and I's last Tri), and I'm finally starting to feel good about it.

Me attempting to not look sweaty as I took a pic for WR after
my first substantial bike ride of the year.

Since the camp ended two weeks ago, I have started at my second practicum placement working at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Saving me from excessive commuting, my benevolent supervisor generously offered me her and her fiance's finished basement which has made it a much less exhausting endeavor.

This is the building I'm working in over the summer. It's as swanky on the inside
as it looks on the outside. (image borrowed from the mayo clinic)

Like my second placement last semester, I am working with indivdiual's with voice disorders. So far it's been fabulous. I have had the opportunity to see a fair spectrum of patients, and I'm getting some great experience with learning Nasoendoscopy (which feels a bit like video games . . . but with more noses, mucous, and larynges). When I'm not filling people's nares with video equipment or learning/administering therapy I've been putzing around the neighborhood in Rochester, and for once the weather has been behaving itself.

A creek which runs near the house in Rochester. I will run there.

A lake just a little distance from the house in Rochester. I will swim there.

A park along the creek and before the lake near the house in Rochester.
I will vainly attempt to study there.

In any event I should skeedattle for now. Later this week I'll be visiting Madison Wisconsin for a conference, and I have some ducks to coax into rows before I'm ready for the journey.

Thanks for reading! We'll be back with an update from the other side of the world, and some flashbacks on our recent travels sooner rather than later. Oh, and don't forget to feed the fish.

DW

Pictures for Funsies