Week 6

So Week 6 officially over, not to mention, D and I have been living here for 2 months now. Hard to believe. So this week has been packed as far as school is concerned.  Midterms are all of week 8, so this coming week is our last week of lectures. Week 7 is actually a light week, not much new material, and several review lectures, which will be nice. The only problem is that to have a light week next week, we have had a crazy hard one this week. It is getting very intense, as we are counting down the study hours left before midterms! Midterms are almost 50% of the grade. Also finals are not cumulative, so it is like have a final for the first half of the term. It is really crazy when I think of how my "normal" has changed these two months. It is perfectly normal to look outside and see goats in the back yard, however due to the drought, there is not much grass for them to eat. Also normal to smell burning garbage on Saturday, because this is typically when people burn there trash. Still not really used to that smell! Also normal for me to start studying, realize that I am very hungry, look at the clock and am shocked to see that I have been studying for 4 hours. Hopefully having learned something in that time. Also strange to recognize people here. When we first got here, we obviously did not know anyone, but now, we see people we know at the grocery, and even just walking down the street. Which does make you feel like you are not in such a strange place. Oh, and my hair is growing.

 

This pic if for by buddy W, who often sports a very cool Mohawk, who I am totally copying his coolness. 

 

Ok, now I am just having too much fun with the camera on my computer. This is what happens to your brain on med school! So as a study break this weekend, D and I caught up on Survivor. It was wonderful, we downloaded them, and we even had popcorn. It was cooked on the stove but still. What a treat! I will probably have to wait until after midterm to watch anymore, but good season so far. Well, back to studying, talk to ya in March.

Week 5

So, after our quiz we went to the beach. Shiloh had lots of fun, she thinks that the tide is trying to get her, and it is great fun. That evening we went with some of our friends on a catamaran cruise.

 

We had a great time, it was only a two hour trip, but it included sunset and relaxation!

 

It was very lovely.

So about that quiz, I had to go talk to my AEP consular. Nice. I did do really well in bio-chem, but histology was my downfall. D was right opposite, great in histo, and crap in bio-chem. We both did average in anatomy. it only counts for like 3 percent of our grade. However midterms are in two weeks. The first on is March 8th and the last is March 12. Tomorrow we actually have our final in Bioethics, which is a short ( 5 week ) class that is 1 credit. Hopefully we will be ethical and do alright on that one. But there will be no catamaran afterward, as we have lecture that afternoon.

 

We have been studying really hard since that sobering quiz, not that we were goofing off before, but we have tweaked some of our studying methods. We have also added some books to our collection that we have heard positive things about, and so far, they have been very helpful. 

 

Well, back to studying. 

Holy Crap is it really Week 4

Saturday again. Done with another week of med school but this time there is a test at the end. We have our Unified Quiz this Monday, so we traded our free Friday night, for study night, and we will be going to the beach on Monday. So I had better do well on this quiz or else I have to go and talk to my academic adviser, and also my AEP adviser. So you defiantly have accountability here.

H stated that I must be funny, so I will tell you the funny joke that I made this week. D, our friend R and I were sitting in the student center eating lunch and watching soccer, because everyone here like soccer. The TV's there are always playing soccer games, not the tv's themselves, but they are showing soccer games. So D is stating that he doesn't really like soccer because they are always running around everywhere but they never score. Our friend R (who is a boy) agrees with him, and says that you really have to celebrate when you do score because it may be the only one in the game. I, being ever so cleaver, said "that is why European men are so romantic, they are used to working very hard and not scoring much!" hahaha Yes, that is the funnest thing that I have said all week. Sorry W, I know that it is not very appropriate!

I have not seen Survivor yet, so no one post any comments about it. We will be watching in on Monday night after our beach party. Happy Valentines to ME! Oh tonight D and I are going to watch the Vagina Monalogs, which is a play, and if you don't know about it, you should google it. I have never seen it, but will tell you my thoughts afterwords.That is our wild and crazy Saturday night. Not to mention studying, but that goes without saying. Oh, we joined an inter-mural volleyball team. So we just play one afternoon a week. I am excited to something fun and physically competitive. For some reason physical exertion distresses me. Will keep you updated on how that goes. Well back to the books, don't want to me in adviser's offices' all next week. G'bye

week 3

So another week done! So Sunday, Jan 31st, we attended a local event called, "Nutton but Mutton." It is an monthly event in our neighborhood that happens the last Sunday of the month. So it was this deal where you buy 3 Caribs for $10 and then free food (mutton). So the people had this HUGE pot set on an open fire outside and that is what they were cooking the mutton in. Although it wasn't really Nutton else, about 30 minutes before it was done, (it cooks for 2 hours total) rice was added. I was very surprised at how good it was. It actually tasted a lot like deer meat, but spicier of course because everything in Grenada is spicier, it is the spice island. That was much fun, then school all week. Tomorrow is Grenada's Independence Day, and we get Monday off from school. Monday is a national holiday, since the holiday fell on a Sunday. There are many event going on, a parade and a sailboat race, along with many other celebrations. There are lots of Grenadian flags flying, and many people are wearing the Grenadian colors. I happen to be wearing earrings and a necklace of the colors that was made by one of my neighbors. He actually is very talented and did a great job. D got a necklace also, but his is just black, where as mine is green, red, and white.

 

So now I am officially Grenadian, as I am celebrating this festive event! So to talk to W now, Shiloh is doing very well. She loves chasing the lizards that are in the yard, and she loves the beach. Although due to an extreme amount of studying by D and I, she has not got to go to the beach since school has started. Also there are really large toads in the yard, and she enjoys chasing them as well, they are not as fast as those lizards!

She is getting bigger, but she is shedding like crazy!! We have a 3 day weekend, but next Monday, the 15 is our unified quiz. This is a quiz that has all four subjects, 25 questions per subject. This quiz is not worth many points but is supposed to give us an idea of how we are studying before our first real test, Midterm. So really we only have two test, midterm and final. The unified is for 1st termer's, to get an idea of how we will be tested. I am nervous/anxious. The quiz is over at noon, and we don't have class that day, so D and I have already decided that we are going for an afternoon on the beach. Shiloh included of course. Well, that is about it. Talk to ya later!

The Hair Cut

So here are the pictures, yes you may go ahead and laugh. I cannot hear you!

D said when he saw me,  "I thought that boy looked a lot like you" Nice. Also got the hair cut on Wed and it is Monday, so this is almost a week later!!

Week 2

G'Day everyone. I have enjoyed hearing all the snow stories! So week 2 has gone by MUCH faster than week 1. Not sure why, but last week, everyday seemed like a month, this week was over so quickly. We have moved from the back to the shoulder, arm, and hand. There is a lot going on there! Of course that is in the anatomy class, we also have 3 other classes, and they are really picking up the pace, and therefore taking up more of the studying time. Thursday was an exceptionally long day, we had our first anatomy lab, which totaled 4 hours, plus the normal 4 hours of lecture. Also I need to do some work in the library because I had to teach histology lab which was on Friday, so we were at school about 12 hours. Last night (Friday), D and I  meet with our new friend and neighbor M to have some Frequente BBQ. Frequente is the area/neighborhood that I live in, and every Friday night some of the ladies set up this grill on the side of the road and cook. They have BBQ chicken quarters and pork ribs. They also have "Lambie Waters" which is a soup like concoction that has lambie in it. Lambie is conch, and is actually quiet good. The soup also has vegetables and such. The three of us then went to the Dodgy Dock, which is this really neat place. It is actually a restaurant but it is floating on a dock. So you sit right on the water, there is a roof but no walls. There area a lot of sailboats docked in the bay and it is lit up nicely. They also have a few musicians, so the music is nice. Last night there was a drummer, saxophonist, and keyboarder. It was so relaxing, we met a few of our classmates who were also trying to not think about school for the night. Today has been a big study day, and tomorrow will be also. But we have CPR certification tomorrow, my CPR runs out in 4 months, so I have to get that done. Oh, almost forgot, got my haircut. My landlord was telling me that she knew this girl who "cuts white hair really good." So I was like, alright sounds great. Well, she said that she knew what a pixie cut was, so I said great, lets do it. I guess it is a pixie cut, but it is REALLY short. Also I think that she forgot that "white hair" is shorter when it dries than when it is wet, so not the best haircut ever. On the bright side, it is cooler, and I will save on shampoo. Well that is about it. Although I do not have time to write everyday, I do check everyday to see if someone has commented, so please comment, I really like to read them, plus it makes me feel more like this is a conversation, instead of me "talking" to myself! Hope everyone is enjoying their snow cream!


here is a picture of the campus
http://www.moderndaygilligan.com/2009/02/st_georges_university.html

End of week one

So, Friday was the last day of the first week of medical school. I would say that I have learn so much. So on Monday night we had our White Coat Ceremony, which is where you are called up on stage and a DR puts your white coat on you. Then as a class you recite the oath. We also had a reception afterwords.  Tuesday is when the real fun started, that funs name happens to be Anatomy. What an introduction to medicine. It was scary. We have not had our first Anatomy lab yet, but we will on Tuesday, but we have had our Histology lab, and it was quite impressive. I was expecting a microscope, but was greeted with a large computer screen. There were many tables in the room with these large flat screens, and your just sit at the table, 6 students to a table and you all look at the slides on the screen. For those non science dorks who may not know what histology is, let me explain. In histology you learn to look at a slide and tell what the different type of cells are, structure in or on the cell, and what function that cell does. Your are typically told what organ you are looking at, but histology is more concerned with cells and tissues. This class is to make you know what the normal cells look like, so that you can tell if the cell is abnormal. Right now all the cells kinda look the same, but I have been assured that they are not. Well, on another note, D and I went scuba diving today. We actually did two dives, both on coral reefs, and really had a great time. What is nice about diving in the Caribbean, is that the water is so warm you do not need a wet suit. Also the water was very clear, visibility was about 50 ft. We saw many fish and one lobster, no we did not take it. It was very pretty and relaxing. Also, I beat D on air usage. If you don't know, divers are very competitive on they're air usage. See, the less you use, the longer you can dive on one tank. It is not like you hold your breath or anything, it is just usually the better shape you are in, the less air you need. I beat him on both dives. Also I did the "roll backwards off the side of the boat" technique, you know the one they always do in the movies, which I had never done before, and it was quite fun!! Well that is about all, back to studying!