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McLennan Dentistry Rotation Journals

Below are my daily journal entries for our dentistry rotations in McLennan, Alberta. Two dental hygiene students (Seema & Brittany) and two dental students (Kevin & Sam) went together to explore this wild countryside. All of us come from different ethnic groups: East Indian, French, English, and Chinese. What a bizarre combination. Gonna be fun.

The Crews

Seema Daredia: I’ve been told I’m the first Muslim visiting this rural town!?
Hometown: Calgary, Alberta

Brittany Elloway:: Gilmore Girls - simply the best.
Hometown: Vancouver, British Columbia

Kevin Schade:: Yeaaah~~~ Flames, baby.
Hometown: Calgary, AB

Sam Tsai: Where is my Northern Light? And…where is the beach?!
Hometown: Vancouver, BC

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This ends the conclusion of my dentistry rotation in McLennan—an unforgettable experience in this Alberta North.

The McLennan dental assistants are too dangerous. Every time when I went out with them, I always got dizzy; aka, drunk according to Rita’s dictionary. That translates to a total of 5 hangovers in 2 weeks! My highest record is now from McLennan: 4 shooters and 6 beers. As a comparison, last time I went to High Level & La Crete, I only had one hangover because I only went to bar once.

Upper: McLennan Dental Clinic reception area - panoramic photo
Lower: A panorama of staff room (left to right: Collette, receptionist; Rita, dental assistant; Kevin, dental student; Melanie, dental assistant)

McLennan Dental Team (from left to right)
Sam Tsai - dental student
Seema Daredia - dental hygiene student
Dr. Lysechko - supervising dentist
Brittany Elloway - dental hygiene student
Kevin Schade - dental student

On our way home to Edmonton

Left: One last look at our McLennan apartment
Middle: Somewhere in Valleyview over Smoky River
Right: Sun setting

Valleyview, Alberta, Canada

Upper left: Highway from Valleyview to Grand Prairie
Upper right: A sign on highway
Lower left: A moose sign (wait…is that a caribou? Or, a moose? I remember I asked Kevin this question while driving somewhere in Swan Hills. Kevin said, “a moose is an animal that looks like a moose, you know what I mean, Sam?” Thanks Kev, that was very very helpful!!! Then in McLennan we saw a TV commercial with two talking animals. Wait…which is moose, which is deer, or which is caribou???)
Lower right: Highway #43

See more photos from McLennan here.

Upper left: Winter Sun in McLennan
Upper right: A camp ground behind our residence
Lower left: Smoky River Ambulance
Lower right: McLennan Hospital

Our residence in McLennan

Today the hospital was testing fire alarm. It was so loud that Rita and I decided to improvise ear plugs from cotton rolls and Kleenex. We also gave Travis (the patient) cotton rolls to plug his ears.

It was our last night in McLennan. Time to clean up dishes, and pack up luggages.

Kevin Schade and I spent our last night with McLennan dental assistants (Rita & Melanie) in McLennan Hotel Bar—the only bar in McLennan. Where else can we go, you know?

Some more happy moments that will last forever.
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Wednesday, January 31, 2007 was our “Labour Day.” Kevin Schade and I were doing lab work on denture cases after the clinic hours, while the hygiene girls (Seema Daredia and Brittany Elloway) were waiting for us. How nice.

Kevin focused on lab work, while Seema played the play-doh and stuck it on Kevin’s curly hair.

Parking lot in front of McLennan Hospital.

That night we decided to leave the lab at about 6:30pm, have dinner and watch TV, and then come back to the lab at 10pm to finish the rest of the lab work. Feeling lazy to cook, we ordered pizza and salads from Caesar’s Steak & Pizza restaurant—one of the two restaurants in Town McLennan. It’s not bad; at least you have a choice between the two. Then we watched dvd “Prison Break”. Oh, boy, the show was so good that we decided to postpone the lab work till next morning and Friday morning.

Front yard of McLennan Hospital with some xmas trees. The sign says “Light up a memory. Smoky River Palliative Care En Souvenir.”

See more photos from McLennan here.

I took these moon settng pictures on January 30, 2007 before going to McLennan Dental Clinic.
a - 7:10am
b - 7:12am
c - 8:08am
d - 8:08am
e - 8:09am
f - 8:09am

These are sunset pictures in McLennan before I went out with Kevin Schade to McLennan Hotel to have some drinks with the dental assistants (Rita and Melanie).

Panoramic view of sunset in front of our McLennan residence.

These are some beautiful moments in Town McLennan, but…I still want to see my Northern Light!!!! Where is it???!!!

See more photos from McLennan here.