In retrospect (and Raphael)...

Living under a cloud during most of Raphael

Its seems so funny that its been only two months but so much has changed... I no longer feel completely out of my element on Saba and its even starting to feel a little bit like home. You no longer feel inconvenienced when the stores all close at 6 and don't open on sunday because it's just a part of life here and you forget that it's any different at home. Here restaurants have a limited amount of food so you have to let them know early that you are coming or you could be out of luck. You just forget that at one time this would have been an inconvenience. You get in to such a rhythm here between going warp speed for school and then running on caribbean time for everything else and in the end it all balances out.

The after afects of Raphael turned the world
orange it was amazing!

In fact I never really though about the changes until I started talking to some of the students who will be starting here in January 2013 and I started to remember how I felt when I was at that stage. Four months ago I was working at Starbucks and commuting in and out of Vancouver almost every day just trying to get everything done. I would spend the weekends that I wasn't working camping and trying to squeeze in every minute with my family and friends that I could before I left.  I remember switching in between feeling very excited and very very apprehensive since it was still a big unknown. You hear the rumours like Saba has a 50% drop out rate or they fail everyone. You don't really know what the living conditions will be like or what the island and locals will be like. Are they friendly? Is it safe? Will I be able to find all the "necessities" I am used to having access to? So many questions and no one really to ask (except for a few awesome upper semesters :) ).

Blood red sunset after Raphael

So if I could tell myself something four months ago to prepare myself for this journey it would probably be not to worry and just enjoy the journey. To appreciate every person here as part of your family and to help support them because they will be supporting you just as much. To expect it to be nothing like home but that it will turn into your home in no time. To appreciate the island for what it is because if you start hating the island you will go insane. Also to pack more socks and warm studying clothes, especially in hillside dorms (and class!) the AC works very well and I am always freezing.

Oh and to be careful with water usage.... we almost ran out until Tropical Storm Raphael refilled our cisterns for us. :) We lived through our first tropical storm with only a couple short power outages and lots of soaking med students!

Also an update! I found an awesome apartment for next semester and i'll be living with N. Its going to be awesome and I cant wait!!! Its in Windwardside so its closer to all the restaurants and big grocery stores and its just up the hill (about a 5 minute drive) from the Bottom so its still very close to school.

Block 2 Down

Yay another block down! This one was much tougher than the first one and especially the anatomy lab component in which only approximately 35 % of our class passed (got 70% or higher). The theory exams were mildly better but still left many people not getting the results they wanted (edit: all together with quiz marks, im pretty certain the average was a pass! Yay class!). Everyone is working harder and harder and you can see how people are really coming together to help each other out! There is not a lot of competition here, firstly because the exams are not curved and therefore, it doesn't help you if your classmates do poorly and secondly we are all going to have to battle against the stigma of an offshore school together so the better our class does the better we all look. At this point its really about trying to find what studying techniques work for you and if something is not working then you have to move on and try something new. We don't have enough time to go through the textbooks and really ingrain the information the same way many of us did in undergrad and instead we need to find a way to make the most of our time and study smart. I also feel like its important to trust yourself because deep down you know the information and you need to not let panic cause you to loose your head. We can't be perfect but we can do the best we can and we all deserve to be here.

Sitting in the water enjoying the view

After blocks we all enjoyed a day in the sun and headed down to Wells Bay for some snorkelling and enjoying the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean. A few of us went out to dinner at a place called El Momo which is actually a hotel but they do a vegetarian dinner on tuesdays and thursdays for 10 dollars and you cant beat the views from the balcony it was stunning! At the end of the dinner as we were leaving to walk down the huge hill to Windwardside all of the power went out and as we stood at the top of the mountain watching the lights go out one by one we saw the most breathtaking view of the stars. You could see so many and were so bright without any lights to interfere, its interesting though that the sky is so different from home, none of us could find the landmarks that we know so well like the big dipper. I wish I had a better camera and could have taken a picture but instead we just stood there and enjoyed the moment. Thankfully it was pretty bright with the moon and the stars so we were able to walk down to town without any problems.

Wednesday morning we were back to classes but thankfully the week seemed to go by pretty quickly and soon it was friday. Friday night was taco night! Some of us had brought seasoning packs from home and so we whipped together a feast and sat down with good company to enjoy! This weekend was tons of fun and you really learn to enjoy the times that you can relax because sooner than you know you are back to the grind.

Tarpon

Mmm Tacos!

Spot the flounder

There it is!

Also we've had some crazy weather with huge winds and the most intense downpours I have ever seen. At least our cisterns are getting filled! After the rains stopped and the sun was setting the entire island seemed to turn orange it was really cool.

The entire island turned orange!