Monday, October 22, 2012

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.

4 comments:

  1. Hello!

    I was accepted to Saba's entering class of fall 2013, and I was wondering if you can answer some questions for me.

    First; do you mind giving me an estimation of how much it costs per year to attend Saba (including tuition fees, living expenses, travel, etc)? I am aware that this question differs depending on the person in question, but I am just interested in having a general idea of how much it costs to help me budget for my future educational expenses…

    Second, is it true that Saba lowered its passing grade from 75 to 70?

    And last but not least; is it true that Saba planning on increasing its class size in the near future?

    I look forward to hearing from you...

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  2. Hi!

    Firstly congratulations on getting accepted!

    My budget may change when i'm out of dorms but in my experience its been about 11500/semester for tuition (i think this generally goes up a bit every year) but first semester is a little more expensive because you have to get the temporary residence permit and i think thats around 300. For living expect around 700/month for rent, utilities, internet, etc once your out of dorms. As for food I spend about 400-450/month depending if I eat out or not but it can vary. I think those are most of my big expenses so far. Of course my expenses and budget may be completely different from any other students experiences.

    Saba did indeed lower its passing grade to 70 percent, my semester is the first one that has been 70... it went into effect mid last semester.

    As for increasing size, I highly doubt it because it is a very small island and can only support a certain amount of students and I think it's pretty much capped off.

    Thanks, hope this helped!

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  3. Thank you so much for your reply! It definitely helped. I hope that I am not making you uncomfortable by talking about financial matters. I did an extensive search on the total cost to attend Saba, but most of the search results on google are 4-5 years old. Anyway, it’s my understanding that as a Canadian, you’re entitled to utilize the Student Line of Credit to finance your medical education. Based on my search results, that’s about $180,000 limit for that type of loans. My question is, do you know (or have you heard from other students in your class) that the $180,000 is enough to finance the 4 years of medical education?

    Just an FYI, I don’t eat out and I’m rather very careful with my money. I live so close to Canada, so I think my travel expenses will be similar to yours… so please feel free to give me a response solely based on your experience. I am aware that you’re not a financial aid counselor and you can’t speak on behalf of your class…. but your best estimation and experience will suffice.

    Thanks again for your time. I truly appreciate it.

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  4. I'm not really sure. I would just put together an estimated budget and then go talk to a couple of banks and see what they can do for you. It varies a lot depending on who you talk to. I found lots of information on valuemd... you might find people who have had more experience.

    Also I found this blog really helpful and its pretty much what I based all of my information on before I came http://www.caribbeanmedstudent.com

    ReplyDelete