Whitesburg, KY

That's where I'm going for my four-week AHEC rotation beginning May 26. It's about 4 hours southeast of Louisville, and about 20 miles from the Virginia border. The closest thing that people have heard of is Hazard, which is about 40 minutes northwest.

Even the people who are from Kentucky are telling me that I'm going really hard-core with my rural site.

They're housing me at the Super 8 motel, which has its pluses and minuses. First of all, I was afraid I'd have to stay with a host family, and I'm always really awkward in those sorts of interactions. So it's nice to be able to keep to myself during the evenings. Plus, it's definitely nice to have housekeeping service and free continental breakfast in the morning, as well as free internet. I even checked with Verizon, and I should have cell phone service while I'm there. On the downside, I don't think the motel has a mini-fridge or microwave... I'll give them a call tomorrow to find out, though. I definitely don't want to be living on fast food -- or even restaurant food -- for 4 weeks. Plus, it's a Super 8 bed. For 4 weeks.

The doctor I'm working with is supposed to be really nice and a great teacher, and he's reportedly very excited to have me come.

I've been doing some internet sleuthing and here's what I've found out:

• Whitesburg seems to be about 5 miles long
• In 2000, its population was 1,600
• According to Google Maps, it boasts a McDonald's, a Long John Silver's, a Mexican restaurant, a Pizza Hut and Little Caesars, a Wendy's, a Dairy Queen, Subway, Lee's Famous Recipe Chicken (maybe I'll finally try it, since I haven't tried it in Louisville yet) and 4 local restaurants, including one called "Jumbo House."
• There's a Walmart. I kid you not, when Eric and I drove through eastern KY on the way to visit his sister in Abingdon, VA, last year, I commented that I could survive in any of those towns for my AHEC rotation, as long as it was big enough to have a Walmart. I got my wish, it appears. Whitesburg's Walmart is not a super-Walmart, though; the closest one of those is in Hazard.
• There are a few grocery stores.
• There are two places of lodging: the Super 8 and the Parkway Inn.

It actually looks like a cute little town. I'm ready to be all nostalgic about it from afar, as Eric's sister is about Appalachia (well, she waxes nostalgic from within Appalachia). One week in June, it will host the Seedtime on the Cumberland festival, which I might explore. And it seems to be known for its local hiking trails, which could be fun.

I am not, however, so excited about the patients I'm going to see. Diabetes? Ick. Not that it's all going to be diabetes... but a lot of it will be, I'm sure.

So anyway, I'm being optimistic. While I'm gone, my new roommate is likely to move in, so I'm going to spend the next two weeks making this apartment roommate-ready (that means I have to confine all my crap to the tiny master bathroom and move a lot of my stuff out of the office, dammit) and eating a decent amount of the food I have stocked up in the pantry.

Rural Kentucky, here I come!