Lucky By Association...

This is apparently the week that boyfriends and girlfriends come to visit Saba. Many of my friends significant others have made the long trek down to this tiny island and have made many of my classmates very happy. You see it has come to the point in the semester where some people are starting to get very home sick and especially those who are trying to maintain a long distance relationship. We are over half way but we are still not quite on the home stretch. It also happens to coincide with when the weather starts to turn nasty at home and becomes nicer here.

Anyways, in our class (and im sure classes before ours), there has been a tradition born. When a significant other comes to visit they cook us a meal and I have to say I haven't eaten this well since I left home. This is how I am lucky by association. I may not have any one coming to visit but I have been very lucky to be invited to these amazing home cooked meals.

Seriously on friday we had homemade, everything from scratch, pizza from my friend S's boyfriend which was probably some of the absolute best pizza I have ever had! With a contribution of death by chocolate dessert from N, my roommate for next semester, it was delicious and will be requested again! Then on saturday my roommates boyfriend made us a full roast chicken dinner with roasted veggies, mashed potatoes, goat cheese and blueberry salad with homemade dressing, oh and delicious gravy! It was like sunday dinner at home and I think we all stuffed ourselves very full! These boys had some skills!

It was so wonderful to just sit back and enjoy the evening with someone else taking over your kitchen and being able to enjoy the company of some of these awesome people! This has to be one of the best weekends yet and I would like to send out a major thank you to all of the significant others who have come to have a vacation and yet have been so willing to cook us dinner. We appreciate you! (and hope you'll do it again next time you visit :) )

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!

Another Stamp In My Passport (St. Kitts Weekend)

Saturday morning sunrise

Goodbye Saba

I just arrived back on Saba from the gorgeous island of St. Kitts. Our school puts on trips midway through the block so that you can get the opportunity to see more of the Caribbean while you are staying here. This semester the island was St. Kitts and at 7 a.m. Saturday morning about 50 of us boarded a ferry to take the two hour boat ride. We woke up to a gorgeous sunrise on the rock and made the rounds to each of the dorms to make sure everyone was awake. Coffee in our cups we headed down to the school to hitch a ride with some of the locals who were also jumping on the opportunity to get away. We ended up in a truck with a very nice local couple who told us about some of the history of the island on the way there. They said that 50 years ago they bought their furniture from St. Kitts because there was nothing on St. Maarten yet. They also said that St. Kitts was the island you headed to if you needed to see any type of specialist doctor and sometime it would take two days to get there because they were sailing and depended on the wind. I love this island! Everyone is so friendly and hitching is the only way to get around.

We all boarded the ferry and climbed up to the outside upper deck so we could watch as the island faded into the distance. Its such a strange place but it has so quickly become home and especially after seeing another island I realize how much I appreciate it for all its quirks.

Soon we arrived at St. Kitts and got off the boat and headed straight into the bustle of downtown which was very different from Saba. There is obviously a lot more poverty here and you just don't feel the same sense of security. We were put in shuttles and taken to the gorgeous Marriott Hotel and as we drove along the coast you realize just how stunning this island is. It has lush green mountains but also has beautiful white sand beaches and endless crystal clear caribbean waters and is much much larger than Saba.

We checked in and after grabbing lunch headed directly for the beach and pools where we spent the majority of the rest of the day. We did get some studying in because I think we would all feel stressed and guilty if we didn't at least try to not fall behind. Later that evening we headed out for the most delicious Caribbean style dinner. We had everything you could every dream of as we sat on the beach at picnic tables watching a storm out over the ocean and being surrounded by good friends. The food was AMAZING and the owner Cathy and her daughter were so warm and welcoming, we felt so well taken care of and I don't think I have ever eaten that much food but every single plate on the table was empty by the end of the meal.

After Cathy's we headed down the beach to a little spot called Mr. X's Shiggidy Shack for karaoke and dancing on the beach followed by a midnight swim in the ocean and pools at the hotel. It was a magical evening and we all had so much fun!

After another day lounging in the sun we headed home to beautiful Saba and our studies! It's another stamp on my passport but its so much more than that as I was able to gain some more perspective and get off this island so I can come back refreshed and ready to work hard.

The main pool at the Marriott

THE BEACH!

Studying in the shade, that may have
been the most comfy studying area I have
ever studied in... I need one of those chairs.

Dinner at Cathy's

The Ferry

Hard to tell if he's studying or napping

Sunset on the way home

Gorgeous sky!

What life has become...

Wow its been a while! Last time I posted was just before block 1 exams and all I want to recall about those two days is that I am done and I made it through.

After blocks we went out for dinner and swimming and just enjoyed not having 200 new slides to study from that day. Right as exams finished we also had our first Caribbean rainy season downpour and I don't think I have ever seen anything like it! It lasted about 10 minutes and then it was gone and we continued to enjoy the evening.

The next day we were right back to the grind and having finished lower limb we started on the upper limb, which thankfully, has many similarities to lower limb. Next up intrinsic muscles of the back and thorax.

My life here has become very routine and usually looks something like this:

6:45 Wake up
7:30 Leave for Class

Post Block Relaxation

8:00-10:00 Histology Starts
10:15-12:15 Gross Anatomy

12:15-1:00 Lunch

1:00 to 3:00 (OR 3:15 to 5:15*) Anatomy Lab
*depending on the week

Also on thursdays we have DPR (doctor patient relationship) for two hour in the alternate time to lab, the class is split in half for lab and DPR so we alternate times.

Then when I get home I usually try to get some studying in before making dinner. Then obviously more studying. Try to get to bed before 11:30 pm and get a decent nights sleep (apparently the key to survival here).

Contrary to popular belief there is time for fun in between trying to balance cramming the daily masses of information we are given and sleeping ... Mostly what you hear about when you are talking to someone in medical school is the hard work and how many hours they put into studying. Lots of times we will make dinner with each other (like homemade turkey lasagna YUM!) or spend time studying and drinking lots of Chai (Thanks R & A for this great addition! They make fabulous Chai from scratch and are teaching us the ways). Its important to take the time to get to know your peers and enjoy the people around you.

Time passes so strangely here because as of tomorrow I have officially been here one month but it feels like I have known the people here for so much longer.

Crabby Visitor

Hanging out at Scouts

Homemade lasagna with the boys

Block Weekend 1

Break time...

Its block weekend which essentially means the weekend before a huge test and I have no life. In case you don't know our semester is separated into 5 blocks with an exam at the end of each section (or block). For us first semesters our lab exam for block one will happen on monday morning and its a bell ringer. For those of you who have never heard of a bell ringer consider yourself lucky! Pretty much you have one minute at each station and you have to look at whatever structure they may have tagged on the cadaver or X-ray and figure out what it is and answer any question they ask about it. The questions range from what is it, to what does it do, to what muscle/nerve/vein has the opposite function to the structure that is tagged. These exams can be tough unless you really know your stuff (and we have "learned" the entire lower limb at this point), it means i'll be spending lots of extra hours in the lab this weekend. Then when your sixty seconds is up you move to the next spot and if you didn't figure it out in time then too bad because there's no going back. We had a mock exam thrown by the upper semester lab TA's (teaching assistants) which was great, it gave us all a chance to try out a bell ringer and become familiar with the feeling of being under pressure in the lab. I didn't do too poorly but thankfully I have a couple days to improve. Then after the bell ringer we have another two exams on tuesday for our histology lecture and anatomy lecture. Its going to be tough! Theres so much information for all of the classes but i'm definitely not alone.

Our class has a really great sense of community here because we are all far from home and we are all going through the exact same things. I've never been around a group of people who is this diverse and comes from so many different backgrounds but we are all united in a common goal... to get through this program. Its a very cool experience and I am very lucky to be around the people who are a part of this group!

 

I know that there are already plans in motion for some pretty cool post block activities (diving, hiking, swimming, not studying... for at least a day :) ) and so now I need to get back to studying so that I can enjoy those activities guilt free! I'll leave you with some pictures of a birthday cake I made for my fantastic new friend and classmate N.... I never want to make another cake without modern baking tools, we don't even have big mixing bowls, I had to use our large pot (never mind making the icing)... but it was well worth it and was pretty darn tasty!

Yes this is what the sunset looks like every night here...I pretty much live in the most beautiful place in the world (except for BC :)
)