22 Days and definitely counting now!

So while you all focus on the upcoming feast of eating...and thanking is somewhere in there although Im pretty sure the US forgot why we HAVE Thanksgiving, Ill provide more stories. Actually I bet that some people have no idea what the story behind Thanksgiving is at all and they were born in the US.

Teacherisms:

Apparently "dead space" is "deadest space" when your professor is from Iraq. When you say pneumonia, you say the p as well. When you try to teach students about pleural space (space between the thoracic wall and your lung) you apply to to a marriage. The space is your marriage certificate, the lung is a woman who wants to go to the theatre, the wall is a guy who wants to go to a boxing match. So because of that certificate you have to compromise and go to a possibly violent theatrical performance. That's what the lungs and wall have to do when you breathe. Who is he married to?

Another: I was told today that if I shower too much the phermones I let out will be faint, so I won't be able to attract anyone - ever. I should start showering like 5 times a day :) I was also told that because we subconsciously react to phermones vs. odorants we can react to voluntarily, sorority house girls tend to have menstrual cycles that eventually occur all at the same time as you adapt to each other's cycle. That's a lot of girls being bipolar and moody at the same time! AHHH!

Cool: My cadaver, Harold, who is pretty much cut up in every direction, has a HUGE heart. Like one from a cow or something. But it is SO cool. He had a double bypass and his heart is massive! And get this, people STOLE some of the hearts from the lab - how messed up is that? Like what are you DOING with he hearts? I don't even want to imagine. SICK, people are sick.

I forgot to update you all on my snorkeling experience so here it is: It was okay. I had a hard time breathing through the tube but on the other hand it was absolutely beautiful to see the coolest creatures just feet from the beach. :)

We had a football game for the girls this past weekend whic they call "powderpuff" followed by the men's game. Amazingly, or maybe not, a ton more people came out to see the girl's game than the boys. And I got free juice!

I have listened to the same music over and over and over and over, for the last 3 months. I am going to be an expert on music soon. I even know the song that's coming up next on my ipod and I have like 1,000 or more songs. THAT is sad. So who's going to buy me my first "return" Chipotle burrito?! :)

And finally, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for all of you. Both friends and family. I love you all and in each of your ways, you all make my life complete and without you, it would be a more sad life. So thank you. I also am thankful for my stuffed animals, food - which I lack, or good food, and headphones, yes, headphones.

Love you all!

Barbara

My clumsiness

First before I get to the story, I am attaching a link to the song that I just recently discovered and I just love - maybe it has to do with the fact that it's called "Dirty Dancing" like the movie and they even mention Patrick Swayze's name in it, I don't know, but the beat is pretty good too. If you're interested, please check it out on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhUbnjgwgNo And YES, it is the New Kids On the Block, but it is very good. The video is a bit much and a little funny as a result, but the song is amazing!

Oky, so now on to my dumbness. So sometimes when it gets hot throughout the night here (which is often) I toss and turn a lot to find a cool spot on the pillow. Well last night was no exception except that at like 6 am as I flip over I happen to land, with my head, onto the edge of my nightstand. Let me just say it was not a nice pain in any way. BUT, I remember thinking, this hurts A LOT and then just going rightback to bed. I didnt even get up to look at it or even put something on it. I must have been exhausted. So today I have a HUGE bruise on the left side of the head and I can't sleep on that side. I wish I had taped it though because I KNOW it would have been funny to watch.

And last night, my friends ALMOST got into a fight. I think people need a break badly cause tempers have been rising fast and easy. One wanted to walk home, one wanted apparently to keep talking to this boy she has a crush on, and the one wanting to go home said something like "well I was making this about me and wanting you to walk home with me, but I guess we can make it about you" and the other one responded with "yeah, can we?" and walked the other way. I understand it was not pretty. Both are okay with each other today, but still. NOT GOOD. And people are dropping like flies from the study spaces, it's weird. Usually there is not a space left to sit where I study, today there were at most like 40 people here, normally it's like 200 or more. So far so good for me so don't worry.Im listening to the dirty dancing and it's making me feel much better :)

Oh and tomorrow, Im going snorkeling. I'm so excited, I've never been and it won't be anything amazing because it's just off of the beach here but some friends have the gear so we're all going - yay! I hear it's beautiful even off of the beach and not somewhere deep-ocean style.

And today I put on some pants and found out I have aparently lost some weight - hooray! :) They don't really fit anymore, just kind of fall! And I have muscles - yay! I lift more than some of the really skinny guys here (but they're guys non-the-less so it makes me feel better)...haha.

Okay and finally, another one of the famous professor stories. So apparently, one of the anatomy teachers, who is young (29) and from India, slept with two of his students back in India and then failed them when they broke up and that's why he is here because he was fired from his job there when the students told and proved the fact. But what made it more "real" here is that my friend Alex friended him as a joke on facebook and not only did he accept her request, he also messaged her with a "are you a first semester" so she said yes. He proceeded to ask her if it was her that he saw in a black dress and white shoes at the lunch area 2 days ago (why does he know specifics like that?) And she said yes, and he told her that next time, he would make it a fact to say hello and that she looked "very pretty." So yesterday she went in to ask him questions about anatomy that's she's struggling with and Alex has a few tatoos, one high on her neck and apparently he saw it, and started asking her all of these questions about it and asked if she had other tattoos - she does, but not in places a professor should see, like lower back, so she said yes and left it at that. Thankfully he didn't ask her to see them. Im sorry, all of this may sound innocent, but it seems like crossing the line a bit when it's a student and a professor. I told her that if she wasn't careful there might be problems because he teaches us next semester too. She's not interested, but still, you never know.

Okay, done. Hope you're all enjoying your weekend!

Love,

Barbara

Coffee

So I believe that I am officially addicted to coffee, because I now MUST have it to function properly. I have always enjoyed coffee, but I drink like 4-5 cups a day now and I get my sleep people so I better not got emails from you (ahem, mom) that I am not taking care of myself, because I am. But I just can't focus on studying unless I have a cup of coffee with me as well. And this makes me nervous because that's bad news for my teeth which get stained as a result. Therefore, I have been using whitening strips more - but my teeth get sensitive sometimes so it's like a lose-lose situation. Oh well, gotta pick my battles somehow.

Yesterday I had a few friends walk me home - the stray dogs. They would go ahead of me a bit in the dark, wait for me to catch up and then walk ahead a bit more, then wait again all the way to my door - then they left. I thought it was so cute. Names of all of them as known throughgout campus: Spotty, Limpy and like 4 new ones that I haven't quite caught the name of yet.

Yesterday was also my daddy's birthday so wish him a Happy Birthday! Good old Veteran's Day which you all got off,and I was in class for, very typical. And then today is Devin's Birthday, so wish him a happy one too:) And since we're on the birthday track, Ashley Taylor's Birthday is this upcoming Wednesday, so wish her one too - HAPPY BIRTHDAY EVERYONE! Sorry I can't be there to celebrate but we'll make up for it when I get back home in December :)

Today I learned more about male erections from a male teacher who seemed to love to say the word "Viagra" and "Ejaculation" followed by a smirk - now this may seem creepy, and it is, but because he also kept saying "I'm not going to test you on this slide" and "or this slide," I didn't care - less for me to have to know about something that a researcher will have to know about and not me. The only thing from those slides that I will someday use is that "an erection of more than 4 hours is bad" - too much blood flow there and that creates for a VERY uncomfortable situation for more than the party with the erection.

I also ordered my taxi to take me to the airport on December 16 when I go home and get this, I leave at 3 am for a 7 am flight because apparently Liat, the Caribbean Airline ALWAYS overbooks the flights and even if you HAVE a ticket, it's like a first-come, first-serve thing. There are never any assigned seats, so I have to get there early to get in line to make sure I get on the flight (after I paid over a thousand dollars for it). Once again, ONLY IN DOMINICA. So regardless, that day will be very long for me as I get home (if I ever get there) at like 10:30 pm US time and you all are at least an hour ahead of us so that's like a 20 hour day. I always have the urge to kiss US soil when I get back - and yes, I have done this before when I came back from Costa Rica last year after beng delayed 4 days as a result of a Hurricane.

I also realized this week that I see the same people every day and it's becoming awkward because I feel like I know them (how much coffee they drink, what they look like when they're sleeping - at their desks, what their smile looks like, their wardrobe, etc) and yet I have no idea WHO they are - a "hello" and/or smile seems to be typical but it's awkward cause I have no idea what their name is and what their story is, that's when you know it's time for a break. :)

Interesting fact: I have eaten "subway" for 12 out of the last 14 days for lunch. When I say "subway" I mean that the lettuce here is more like grass clippings, they usually don't have what you want or bread period (what sandwich shop doesn't have BREAD?), but yet somehow, it's the closest thing to home that I have and I can't get enough of it nor am I sick of it. But I beg you all that you not ONCE ask me if I would mind eating subway for lunch or dinner if I spend any time with you during the break because I will NOT be sending that time with you as a result. Chipotle on the other hand....

Okay, okay, I'm done babbling. There's only so much interesting information you can write when you do the same thing every day - I hope you're not all bored and/or think Im depressed - this is how I amuse myself.

Miss and love you all!

Barbara

Nicknames

I have picked up some very interesting nicknames while on this island: so what do we all think?

1. Babsy

2. Babinski

3. Barbarosa

4. Babs

5. Beebs

I think my favorite is Babinski - maybe it's cause it ends in an -inski and it works with my background since everything Russian/that side of the world ends in -inski it seems. Definitely interesting but I don't mind them. They are FAR better than Barbie - that is NOT okay.

Some of you have heard this sotry, so sorry but for the rest, it defines the idea of crazy:

I went out to dinner with a few girls and one of the girls that came along was new (her name is Marela). She tells us that during her first week here she had to find a new apartment ASAP, so she goes on explain that basically before she moved here she went on facebook to the Ross University group and a girl messaged her to see if she wanted to live with her down here. After a few conversation over the phone and such, they decided to go ahead with it to save some money. A week after she gets here her roomate tells her and has something important to tell her and that she doesn't tell a lot of people. So Marela's like, sure, go ahead. Well this girl tells her that she is from the outside world. Marela's like "okkaaayy" weird, but okay. Then the girl tell her that they are actually sisters and that Marela's son (Marela is in her mid 30s) is actually her husband, and that they are meant to be here to change the world. Marela freaks, tell her she doesn't care anymore and doesn't want to hear any of it anymore. The girls starts yelling at her about "how could you" and "you'll pay for this," etc. So the next day Marela is like, okay Im going to be a doctor someday, I have to deal with these kinds of people so I have to give it a try and just listen. Next day she does listen and the girls goes on. She tells her that "they," meaning angels, told her she had to become an MD so that people believe her with that reputation and that by the age of 50 she has to write a book about her experiences. She says that Marela and her souls are just taking over people's bodies but that soon they will be free. This girls continues to say that she has been to therapy since she was 8 years old because her mom thinks she's crazy and she on two different depression pills and that 1/2 ofher family thinks she crazy but that the other half knows that she is a prophet, which according to her, she is. So Marela is freaking out by this time cause she's only known the girl for a week, and she decides that she will stay awake all night to see what happens because she just knew she had to. So at 3 am, her roomate wakes up and goes on the porch and just sits there for like 15 minutes, next thing Marela knows is that she hears her own room door slowly creaking open. THE GIRL SAT THERE AND WATCHED HER SLEEP FOR 20 MINUTES. Now I dont know about you all, but that's a little more than just kind of scary, on more than one level. I mean what if she was planning her death or something. So anyways, the next day, Marela knows she HAS to move out for safety reasons so she goes to the director here and tells her the entire story. The director agrees, Marela AMAZINGLY finds an apartment randomly and she goes home at lunch to pack so that her roomate won't know and I don't know, kill her because she has a meltdown. So she goes home and of COURSE, her roomate is home for some reason and not in class. But thankfully she says she is going to take a nap so Marela packs all of her stuff and takes it down to the shuttle waiting downstairs. And just as she is doing her last round around to check with her stuff, her roomate wakes up. Marela decides to at least tell her that she is moving, so she opens her door tells her and the girls freaks out and yells at the top of her lungs "I can't believe you're doing this to me, if you don't get out of my face right now, Im going to KILL you RIGHT NOW." Marela RAN downstairs and the bus driver heard all of it and was like "get in, we gotta get out of here ASAP." So an hour later, security pick up Marel'as roomate and they had to sedate her at the clinic here for the ENTIRE evening cause she was going crazy, yelling and threatening Marela's life. And the best part is that this girl is STILL HERE. They didn't send her home to the US. Marela has a restraining order against her here in Dominica. She's tried threatening her a few times and has tried to follow her home but somehow Marela has avoided her and she has late;ly left her alone since Marela's husband came to visit (he's a big guy). So anyways, once again, I repeat, there are some weird people here.

Don't you all just love my stories? They keep my life entretaining if nothing else. Haha. Oh and the picture is from Halloween. I was supposed to be Amy Winehouse, hence the very large hair. I think I look awful, and you can't see it but we even drew tatoos on my arms. I didn't have too many resources - so I had to work with something :) The other girl is my friend Alex, who is supposed to be Britney Spears cerca "Hit Me Baby One More Time."

Hope you all enjoyed that.

Babinski

It's been a while

Hello everyone,

It has been some time now since I've posted anything, so I thought I would try again. I had my second big test yesterday and I won't know my results until Friday because today and tomorrow are holidays for the locals and some of the departments are closed. I don't have class today, but I will have class tomorrow - oh well. I'm going to just relax since there is nothing to really study right now seeing as the test was yesterday. I guess I could study for the next practical or something, but I refuse to today. I have no idea how I did, but it certainly was not an easy test by any means. Ive talked to others and they felt the same way, and from what I understand (and rumors are well, rumors) that it normally is the hardest test of the 3 we take in the semester. Im really just glad to know that it's OVER.

Other than that, nothing exciting happens here. It's very much like High School and that gets old really fast. People judge each other here so much and then they gossip and I have heard so many rumors about people that it's absurb. I can see a girl dressed up from her normal scrubby look because she's going out and next thing I know, someone is saying that she's a slut, she made out with every guy that night, etc. And then the truth of the matter is that guys decided it was fun to say they made out with her because it was "funny" and now she looks like a whore. I mean it's ridiculous. I was getting up from my seat on the bus shuttle one day and I was carrying my bag and something equivalent to a gym bag and it took me a second to maneuver myself out of the seat and as I finally get up, this girl rolls her eyes at me and exhales loudly - I mean really? seriously? And then I overheard something saying that I was a bitch. Based on what, I have no idea. Im sure soon someone will say that Im a whore too because, Oh I don't, possibly because I work out and they don't so they're jealous or something of that nature. I can EASILY see this situation. It's frustrating to say the least and in the end it's like come on people, grow up! Problem is, I have to spend the next year with these people, the next YEAR! Maybe by the end I'll be the girl who like swims with dolphins or something or that I'm a mermaid - I wouldn't mind that one so much. Or maybe I'll be the girl who eats dead animals or something - that would be even more interesting. Well, anyways, you get my point. I want to go home at this point.

Hope all is well with all of you. 43 more days!
Barbara

Aria Grace Petry-Johnson

Congratulations to Seth and Mel for a new addition to their family, Aria Grace Petry-Johnson. She was born this past Sunday, after a LONG and I bet painful pregnancy, where Mel was a trooper. Weighing over 7 pounds, she gorgeous!

On a quick other note, life here is okay thus far. I have an exam in less than a week and a half now, and absolutely NOTHING exciting has happened to me - nothing. Although a professor of mine did equate a neutrophil (type of white blood cell) to a "navy seal" with "weapons of mass destruction." It was quite an exciting lecture - I picture her having pictures of these things in her house because they are apparently the "coolest cells in the body."

Barbara

Another teacher-ism

Dr. Riviere: "Kiss Sarah, Sarah." Me thinking in class: "What is he talking about?"

Realization: He was trying to sau Que Sera, Sera, which in Spanish means "what will be, will be." But he said is just like you would read what I wrote. It was hilarious. He also kept mentioning how Huntington's Disease stage 1 starts in your 30s and apparently one of the symptoms is "anamalistic sex" AND "strong sexual desires." Now, I get it, but he continued to mention this in class OVER and OVER again. Every time I read his notes or his name is brought up, all I can think about is "anamalistic sex" - THOSE TWO SHOULD NOT BE SYNONYMOUS.

Pictures

Alex and I at Bar deChamp

This is the bar. It's like the ONLY bar on this island, or so it seems. It has a roof, but as you can see, it is completely open to a DEEP drop :)

From left to right: Marissa, Me, Amira, Alex.

Another "A"

I passed my anatomy practical with an A apparently, and I am beyond excited. Now, normally of course, yes, this is exciting news, but it's more exciting because I thought I failed the practical. The tags on the practical were awful. They told us they weren't going to test us on the female breast, but they had 2 questions on there about it. Now, I still knew the information, but that's just not fair if you were a student who didn't. They said they weren't going to test us because not every cadaver in the lab was a female, so if yours wasn't, the only way you could see one is either through the pictures given to us in class - which are NOT realistic or you were supposed to go to lab on your own time and look at it if you were interested. Now, I did because I mean, it's cool to see what you're carrying (I AM a female - this is NOT up to discussion from any of you) and two, Im giving honest thoughts to OBGYN and that's kind of important in that position. So anyways, that was just one flaw of the practical, others included them trying to trick you in EVERY way they could like twisting an arm so that you really had to look where the muscle was/what it was. They cut other muscles so close to where they inserted that you couldn't quite tell that anything WAS cut, so you thought that what you were looking at was the top layer, but in reality it was the bottom/deeper layer. I mean craziness. I just NEVER, ever understood why teachers went to such extremes. They're supposed to be there to educate us not teach us how to mess others up - I know the information, but don't hide things in such a way that I can't figure it out. Some might say, well they do that because in real life you might miss something in a patient so this makes you be more careful and really look at things, but in real life, I would also be allowed to touch the person and move things around within the cavity (in surgery for example) if I wasn't sure what I was looking at - on the practical you can't touch anything and a lot of anatomy terms change based on landmarks within the body. So an artery changes names when it passes under, beside, over, etc. something, but if I can't see that something I can't really know for sure. You have a general idea of what area things are in, but when you give me two answers choices within that same area and nothing else to go off of, then I'm sorry but I doubt even YOU could answer the question had I done the same to you. So anyway, got an A but as you can see, the test upset me because I know a lot of people who did VERY poorly, but studying with them, I know they know most of their information and that test doesn't define them as a good or bad future doctor but in their minds, it's sort of like that - we tend to take things persnally here.

Oh and when we got the scores emailed to each of us, we were sitting in a lecture dealing with suicide, where one of the statistics was that female doctors kill themselves 3x more (rate) than male doctors because we tend to take things personally and really feel like we're not going to be good doctors if we do poorly, and that med school students are very in risk because it's such a stressful environment. For us, the teacher said it's even worse because we have to live on an island away from almost everything/everyone we know and care about that could be a support system. I mean the irony of it was a bit funny, but to some, it could be serious.

My Problem-Based Learning teacher is actually an emergency counselor on campus and she told us that thus far this semester, we have had more cases of suicide threats than EVER before on the campus within the time frame since school began (aka 1.5 months). No one has actually committed suicide, but some have been sent home/left school she said because they were honestly on the brink. So in all, needless to say, I was a bit nervous to check my email and when I did, I was thoroughly relieved.

On another note, there was another boxing match between the cows yesterday and this time, they were in my way as I was walking home on my path. I stopped, they stopped, they looked up, moved out of the way, and proceeded with their "fun" as the dogs egged them on. It never gets old - hehe.

Thank you all also for the constant emails and words of encouragement - they keep me going and they remind me that I'm NOT alone (don't worry, no suicide thoughts in mind).

Love you all!

Barbara

Funny Story

So I was at the clinic last night for like an hour, which is ridiculous in itself because I had an appointment, but that's not the funny story. So I realized that I apparently have ringworm on my tummy (a small spot) which is just a fungal infection, no big deal really, it just spreads is all but I got a cream, so it should go away. So anyways, Im sitting there and this big macho guy walks in and he has this HUGE rash all around his elbox area (cubital fossa if you must) and he sees his friend there and says "dude, I don't know what this is. I mean Ive had it for a week and didn't think anything of it, but now dude,I don't know. It's scary. I think it's from one of the cadavers - It gave me a disease." I started giggling because 1. Why is the inside of your ELBOW touching a cadaver - what are you doing with the cadaver and 2. The cadaver can't give you anything like that. He probably had a severe ringworm or an allergic reaction to something. I just thought it was funny, maybe you had to be there but it was so funny that he thought the cadaver gave him a disease. AND he was one of those "tough" guys haha:)

Okay, that was it.

Another test - haha

Okay, so I also passed the Histology Lab practical with an A, hooray! I have another practical test this friday for anatomy so Ill you all know how I did on that as well as soon as I have the results.

On another note, I was coming back from the gym yesterday and as I was filling up my water bottle, I heard a ton of barking in the small field we have between classroom where students play soccer or throw a ball around or whatever. It was dark at this point. I walk over and I see these two cows going at it (I think they were playing, but it looked like they were fighting). The funny part is that the stray dogs in Dominica, were like egging them on. So everytime they would hit each other with hteir heads, the dogs would bark and just run around them, it was hilarious. Eventually one of the cows ran away and the whole spectical was over, but for like a good 7 minutes it was one of the most entertaining things I have probably seen in this country. It was like a boxing match :)

Other notes about my one professor for Histology and the things he says:
1. "Funny blood will flow out" - in relation to what would happen if an aortic septum would mutate in formation
2. "placentar" - this is what he calls the placenta
3. "yumbylylical cord" - the umbilical cord
4. "hanky panky" - saying he knows we all do it, but that he doesn't
5. "Teet cells" - trying to say teeth
6. "I'm not normal, you're all normal" - he just said it in the middle of lecture

He is SO funny - sometimes you're like WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!?!
Another professor likes to write MATER in his notes when he really wants to say MOTHER, and for a good 15-20 minutes the row I sit in was trying to figure out what the heck mater meant. We figured it out. He's a little odd too, and possibly sexist because he was lecturing us about masectomies and said that he doesn't recommend to women to get a full one because "men like us tend to throw them out afterwards." I mean WHAT THE HELL! If I want to cut off my breasts to save my life, who cares, they're just breasts!!

So anyway, it's very diverse in terms of teachers. I saw one of them at the gym yesterday, that was funny - he was one of those people that pretends to work out, kind of does a few things, checks his phone, etc. Another was playing soccer in the field I mentioned and he was just wearing a white cut-off, see-through tank-like top (he's British). It's strange to think they're people too and have normal lives :0

Test 1

Hello all!

I passed my first test as most of you have already heard because I put it on facebook and emailed family and such, and I guess we find out the final and actual score by tomorrow (or so they say). I'll let you know if it changes anything because it very well could if they throw out questions.

So after the test we went out to the beach bash(sponsired by the school, but basically paid by us in our tuition) which was a lot of fun - we had burgers/ribs, music, FREE JUICE - which is ALWAYS exciting, and water activities. Then people always stay out by the hotel bar (right outside of my residence) and get drinks there and just well, hang out. Following this activity we went DANCING- yay, my favorite activity. We danced for like 1.5 hours straight and I forgot how much I missed something as simple as movement - it made the entire experience SO much better. It was of course outside because there are no inside bars here really (or none that I know of at least) and I was sweating my butt of but it was a good workout and an overall fun evening out with some of the girls I met here. My friend Alex is hilarious, she cut her foot open on the beach because she walked into a tree stump so the EMS stopped by and wrapped it for her because it wouldn't stop bleeding and because Staph infections are common here since the water is not fully clean - I think they were overly excited because they just sit around and wait for people to call and they were there in like 5 minutes (on foot - they dont drive here for that kind of stuff unless you're dying). So when we went dancing I thought for SURE she would be in pain, but no, the girl basically crawled on the floor while dancing and I think she got the attention of a few locals. It was hilarious needless to say and something I could never do, but more power to her - she even had a dance to a Brittany Spears song (imagine that). We left at 1 am when everyone else was arriving, which is sad because we had class at 9 the next day and MOST of the class didnt make it - I had 7 hours of sleep, I was fine. We're hoping to go dancing this Friday though, so we'll see if that actually happens.

Tomorrow I have my Histology practical exam, worth 7% of my grade in that class and the rest of the day off, so I will be in the anatomy lab for a while after that because I have my anatomy practical the following Thursday and it turns into a mad house this weekend because everyone wants to look at the bodies again. Everyone will still be in class on Friday (or at least the other semester students will) so Im hoping to get in before there is a huge rush. Then Saturday I have a "mock" practical at 4:30pm so I will for SURE be there for that.

Now off to yet another antomy lab - today I get to record our dissection,which is of the arm. This should take like 4-5 hours. Miss you all - 69 more days!

Barbara

My Cow

Ithought I would put up a picture of my cow - named her Apolla :) The other day she ran towards me and I was a bit frightened that she would knock me down (play a clip of running of the bulls in Spain in my mind) but she came to a halt right in front of mean and gave a grunt. So I extended my hand to her and she licked it (a cow's tongue is like a cat's, a little rough) and then she was disinterested so she starting eating grass/sniffing manure and that's when I took the picture. I also have a picture of the crab that lives in a hole right outside of my apartment. He hangs out at night and then when he sees me coming, he takes cover in the hole. I think we have a connection too. My nature island is finally starting to come alive and "talk to me," or maybe I'm just going crazy - whichever it is, I'm okay with it.

Time for an update

Hola!

Okay, so I have officially been here a month now, hooray - I can say Ive lived in another country for a month, and other than Ukraine/Poland, that's the longest Ive spent in any country. Im really used to life here and sometimes I forget that Im NOT in the states - this usually happens during my long study sessions because Im in doors and you cant always tell where you are if windows are not in sight. The only time I still really see a difference is when I eat because it's a different eating schedule than Im used to normally and different foods. Ive been pretty dedicated to the gym since day one, and go every day except for Wenesday and it relieves my stresses a little bit and allows me to NOT look at science for a while but usually very old, gossipy magazines that they provide for you. I have my test on Monday and Im ready to just get it over with. But I have Friday off (always before the Monday tests we have) and my test it at 1pm Monday and then a beach party to follow. They provide water sports (Im not sure if these are free or not) and free food, drinks and t-shirts. And then the whole process begins again because there's another test in another 4 weeks or so.

On Monday, I woke up sick and now feel like Im carrying around a ballooon on my head. I think this occurred because it's so hot outside and inside in every building, the AC is running on freezing - literally. People bring blankets, sweatshirts, coffee/tea, scarves and hats just to stay warm when they study, so even though I bring sweaters, it's still cold - and lack of sleep and this environment maybe is why Im sick - let's hope this only lasts a few days.

I got a package from home yesterday and it was better than Christmas. I got things like fruit rollups, cereal, like 5 varieties of crackers, BEEF JERKY!!!, gum, cereal bars, etc. It made my day and I of course ate like a queen last night :) Im hoping it will last me until December, so Im going to ration it a little bit but it was the best thing that could have happened to me yesterday - thanks Mom and Dad!

I have a little over 2.5 months left -see you all in December!

Barbara

More Pictures!

Frustration

Hello all,

I have now been here for 3 weeks and 2 days and am halfway into my third week of class. In 1.5 weeks I have that first test I keep mentioning and it's starting to really scare me. I too a practice quiz yesterday and I didnt get an A, and that scared me. I realized I knew al of the subjects I just had to go over definitions of certain words again and then it made me feel better. Then I found out that these quizzes are much harder than anything we'll actually have on the test, and that made me feel great. But still, Im starting to freak out a little bit. So I keep reading, re-reading and pushing myself. I went to bed at 2 am last night - not a good idea. I had to have a lot of coffee today but I feel pretty good right now, not tired. Still, not a good idea - I have to get used to getting sleep and making myself go to sleep. Taking anatomy was a good idea in college because it is helping me so much right now while others are really nervous about it, along with all of the other stuff we have to know.

So I had a mini breakdown last night, but Im okay today. I just have to keep going. I tried to remember why Im here and that an 80% in med school is an A. But only 120 questions on this test from ALL 6 subjects we study, but then each of those 6 has 7-8 subjects within them and about 2-3 questions will be on each of those subjects. But think that we have like 4-8 hours of lecture PER one of those small topics and that's enough time to give A LOT of information on each of those subjects, so really I have like 48 topics or so and 2 or 3 questons from each topic that will come out on the test -so know EVERYTHING!!! It's just scary and they give a lot of tricky questions.

Oh well, I will push on :) I gotta get through this and I DO enjoy the information I;m actually learning vs. learning what we had to in undergrad and hating every minute of it.

Well, gotta get back to studying so I can pass this test. That was my venting session in a way.

Barbara
p.s. - I have decided to name the cow that I see every morning (or most mosrnings) Apolla because she reminds me of a cat I know. He's male, so I made the name female. He's orange, the cow is orange. He likes to rub on shoes and she likes to rub on poles. He's fat and she's QUITE large, especially in proportion to the other cows around her :)

CORRECTION

correction: it's a 16 km gut, not a 26 km gut - still, that's a little ove 145 football fields (to check, please use the idea that 1football field = 0.11 km)

New facts - Ill try to make them interesting

My histology class gave me this fact today (with some background too):

So cells within the body either get murdered or commit suicide on a daily basis, actually billions of them do, daily. In adults its like 10 more billion than in adolescents. So anyways, if cells did not die in some way, an average adult human would have a gut that spanned 26 km in length - that's a little distrubing isn't it. I think it's hard enough to lose a gut now, we would all just give up at that point.

In my Doctor-Patient Relationship class (a break from strict science), I learned that Dominicans have a very long and arduous funeral process as opposed to Jews who have to bury the body within 24 hours - they "steal it from the ICU before anyone can decide what's next." All this coming from a short, 60-something, mumbling, I believe, French professor, who is just so absolutely adorable. I love old people.

Oh and more exciting news, I bought the best things since sliced bread today, TURKEY BREAST- deli style. It was expensive ($12 for 9 ounces) so I'll be using it only every once in a while until October (when the expiration date comes), but it was worth it. They don't have things like that here normally. I was so excited - especially since if you all know me well enough, I'm a huge meat fan - I get cranky when I don't eat meat. I even had a conversation with a real-live, moving cow today. She's always there on my way to and from school, so I might just begin a friendship; she's nice and she's always eating (just like me). :)

Alright, now time to re-read a lecture from today and then go to bed. I have Friday off because it's "US reseachers present research" day, so all the faculty have to attend and none of the students. Therefore, 3-day study weekend (the pool will be included in there somewhere and the beach for a few hours), but then catch-up and full review.

Barbara

In between classes

Hello everyone,

Im in between classes so I thought I would write a quick note:

So far I have learned that sperm are the major cause of mutations, so look at it any way you want - men are the major movers of forward evolution OR they really just mess things up, like causing mutations for new diseases (or old), wich they do through these mutations sometimes.

I also learned that females are the ones who give newborn children (all of the newborn children) their mitochondria, which is the major energy creating enter of our bodies, so ha. But it also uses pretty much most of the oxygen that we acquire to create this energy, so take your pick of how you want to see it.

Just some quick facts for you :)
Barbara

Happy Birthday Eugene!

I'll make this one a little shorter than others because I haven't done too much since the last post, but today is my cousin Eugene's 21st birthday so if you now him or see him, please wish him a happy birthday. Im so sad I couldn't be there to celebrate with him, so help me in doing so. We'll have to really celebrate in December :) 94 days and counting until I get home.

Also, I went on my river tubing tour today and it was more like white water rafting, but so completely fun. I fell off on the first set of rapids and bumped my butt like 12 times on the rocks on the way down, butIm okay. It was a little scary but it as also kind of fun. I had a helmet on and a life jacket for those of you who just inhaled at this description. Im fine. dont have pictures from it really because I didnt want to get my camera wet, but I do have one from afterwards when we're on the bus, and a picture of the mpsquito bites I have - I look like Im infected but the reality is mosquitos thrive in a humid environment and apparently, on me as well.

So anyways, please wish Eugene a Happy Birthday if you know him and I'll try to post soon again.

Barbara

One week down

Hello everyone!

Okay, so the first week of classes is officially over and for once, I'm not feeling overwhelmed, amazing. I think that honestly it's because I'm able to study every night for a few hours, review what I learned, then read ahead, so that by the time I have a class I have read the material three times (pre-read, lecture and review lecture). Then I review all the information on the weekend and then I will do so again before the first mini exam in three weeks. One doctor'd philosophy is that you have to read material at least 5 times before you can fully remember it - I'm trying it.

Yesterday I had my white coat ceremony, which was actually very nice and very insiring. We had the chief of surgery from a hospital in Cape Cod (Dr. Brooks) come down to speak and his insight were interesting. He works with a lot of Ross students and he mentioned that in his experience they tend to work harder than other med students because for some reason we feel we need to prove ourselves to everyone who went to school in the states, but it allows us to become great doctors because we focus on feedback more, etc. That was a new way of looking at it. He also mentioned that his biggest lesson throughout his career was that yes, you must know the information, but more importantly, learn how to be kind and how to listen. He told us a story of a guy who came in for surgery and in recovery the Dr, Brooks checked on him, checked his vitals, etc. Then when his daughter was allowed to come back in, he said she didn't ask her father if Dr. Brooks had changed his bandages or took all of the vital signs and didn't miss anything, no, her only question to him was "Was he nice to you? " That kind of stuck with me.

I also learned about the history of medicine and how it is actually very much related to the art of hairdressing. Apparently in the old days, hairdressers used to not only cut hair, shave beards and other typical hair dresser jobs we think of, but they also pulled teeth, did minor surgeries and wore lab coats as well. So interesting. Not until 1993 did schools start doing white coat ceremonies and today about 90% of them in the US do, so some don't at all - I think it's a shame because it gets you pumped up and it makes you feel good that you've made it at least THIS far. And the white coat came from the discipline of science of course because doctors believed that because medicine's roots are science, they should wear lab coats just like scientists did. However, traditionally science lab coats were beige so shortly after the idea was adopted, they changed the color of white to represent cleanliness and sterility - things a doctor should elude when dealing with the human body. I had no idea, now I know and apparently so do you :) Oh, and that when graduate in 2013, the graduation ceremony is held in Madison Square Garden in NYC - HOW TOTALLY COOL??!!!!

Other than that, nothing too exciting on this side. Im sitting in the "barn" which is just a large study space that's in the shape of a barn and I'm getting ready to get back to studying and reviewing. Tomorrow is river tubing so I'll be sure to let you know how that goes.

Enjoy the weekend!
Barbara

Three days into class

me in the waterfall :)

So it's now the end of the third day of class, aka, Wednesday. I have now learned more in the last 3 days than I did in 2 quarters at OSU - funny isn't it :) So far it's okay because I'm not involved (yet) so I study every single day for 5-6 hours after class, re-reading my notes, making flashcards, etc. Im usually in the library until 11 or so and then I head back to shower and usually make my flashcards as I watch like 30 minutes of TV. Im in bed usually by around midnight, although last night it was more like 2 am - hehe.

My trip on Sunday was AMAZING, very eye-opening and beautiful. I saw 2 waterfalls in one day, a boiling hot spring, a lake in the mountains where the temperature was like 30 degrees cooler than Portsmouth/Picard which are the two towns that Ross University takes up and everything in between during the car ride. It was beautiful, so please take a look at my faceook profile to see pictures from that, I can't post them all here. Driving here is crazy, because everything is on a hillside, and you could easily fall to your death wthin seconds, and the crazy thing is that they don't really use the break that often, they just drive by each other and SOMEHOW, they don't hit each other, i'ts amazing really. The car crash rate here is FAR lower than the US by ratio and we have rules.

This Sunday I'm going river tubing, which will actually propel me down the river, not me having to push myself like many times you do on rivers in the US. It's a 4 hour trip and Im really looking forward to it. After that, it's all study, I'm not going anywhere until nxt Semeser cause it's all just too much wth everything I have to study.

I have three exams every semester, called minis, and then a final cumulative exam. My first one is in October, covering aproximately the first 4 weeks - they are always on a Monday. I also start Anatomy lab next week where I will actually get to DISSECT the bodies, rather than in undergrad where you could just play with the already dissected ones. They have some pretty cool technology here - my favorite. So far, the doctor-patient relationship class is my favorite because it deals with communicaton rather than science as well as heathcare policie and reform, that interests me MUCHO! and gives me a break from the every day :) My least favorite is anatomy lecture because when I ask what specifics I need to know (in lab its very specific in lecture its less specific), he tells me that I need to know all of it, so just go step by step. I undersand this, but I would like to know what I need to know to pass this particular semester, not the entire 4 years of medical school - that part is obvious, EVERYTHING!!!

Oh well, that's what the weekend are for, studying your butt off :)

And classes here are not a M-W-F type thing. They change daily and from week to week. So today I could have 3 hours of Biochem, followed by Doctor-Patient Relationship for an hour and then an hour of anatomy. Tomorrow I'll have 2 hours of Physiology, 2 hours of Histology and 4 hours of lab. Then Next week on the same days, it's completely different.

Ive been going to the gym daily, which gives me a nice break from the rest of the day of studying and I think I'm pretty much settled in :)

Off to study now.

Barbara

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This is afw more pictures of my room, andas you can see, it's not that big, but it works for me, so that's enough.

Today I found out that the cows do actually belong to people, somehow the locals just know which one belongs to whom and they just let them wander, wherever.

Last night I went to a local bar with some of the people I met and it was amazing. The bar is made on the side of a mountain and overlooks everything, it's beautiful. Sunsets are therefore quite a sight to see from that view. The funny thing is that in the US they'll pour a splash of rum in a rum and coke and mostly coke, but here, the rum is cheaper so it's mostly rum and a splah of coke since they have to import it.

I also went to he largest grocery store here and its just packed with the oddest combination of things: Jello is near the Q-tips, condoms near the gillet razors and the milk, it's so funny. And they have other things you can purchase there like rope or duct tape bt it just looks like a huge garage sale. There are stray dogs that live on the island, hey all have a name: Paw because he has a whitepaw, Limpy because he limps on three legs and whitey because he has white spots on him even though he's a black dog. And all three of them are friendly, tey travel together and everyone on the island knows them. There is a student organization that works to keep them de-wormed, fed and overall healthy, but they live outside.

Today it is like 92 degrees outside, but it's beautiful. I think 'll head to the gym for a bit, maybe start looking over some of my slides for Monday and head to the beach. Tomorrow is my Island tour - lots of hiking and waerfalls - SO EXCITING!

More things I have learned

1. When people say their office is open from 8-5, they mean they can take their lunch break whenever they want and for however long they want, so you're shit out of luck if you come when they're gone.
2. When it rains heavily, which is often here, some portions of campus are closed. Not theschool portion of course, more like the gym and activities center - shocker!
3. People here are SO friendly. It's refreshing but sometimes you think "really, you just gave me your home address? No on in the states would EVER think of doing that."
4. Printing is basically free here. I have a 14 dollar allownace to print per week. My tuition probably pays for a majority of it, but who cares, med school prices here and in the states are very close in price.
5. There are study spaces designed for each semester student and if you take an older semester student's space, you're in big trouble.
6. Fruit is like God's gift on this earth.
7. Fruit juice from Dominica is even better.
8. Cable TV can be a homesick remedy-it's helped me.
9. Skype is even better.
10. Being able to use a credit card makes me feel like I'm not going to run outof money-which is always good.
11. I can eat a hearty meal here for under 5 dollars and it won't be BAD or FAST FOOD.
12. My uture professor already invited me to her house for tea - she says only one of her 6 daughters is left, the rest have moved, so why not.
13. The average age of a student here is 29.
14. The largest population of students is from Canada - I was thoroughly surprised by this actually.
15. A trip through the mountains with a guide for 6 hours only costs $14 American dollars and includes a lunch - NEVER would you get this on any other kind of tour or in any other country for dirt cheap. I'm going on Sunday.
16. And river boating is only $10, which I'm doing next Sunday.
17. There are babies EVERYWHERE on this island, like 20% of the students here move their entire families down.
18. The professors are all mostly retired professors who were highly known in their areas in the schools they worked at for 30+ years, in the states or other countries.
19. Safety is not really something we need to worry about here. The biggest threat is burglary but that mostly occurs wth people who leave windows open before they leave for class or are plain stupid.
20. There is a local beer here - and it's comparable to a Heineken in taste I suppose.

Moreof these to come as I learn from day to day. But life is good here, it really is. I'm a little homesick, but it's getting better by the minute.

Barbara

Now that I'm here

It's my first official day here, well it's pretty much over now, but first day down and a ton more to go. It's hot, so hot actually that I don't even know why I bother to shower. I've unpacked all of my things and they all have a place, just how I like it - OCD. I have a TV that goes out twice a daybecause power outages here occur eery few hours. I do have running water, thank godness, but parts of the showerhead g over my curtain and leak on the floor - hopefully they will fix this shortly. My AC is also leaking water into my apartment and hopefully that will ALSO be fixed tomorrow. Last night I slept in 90 degree weather - it wasn't fun or pretty - I woke up puffy and looked like I took a sweat shower.

I got a few things done today: Got a phone so I can call home once in a while and mostly Travis probably :), I got a bank account(a 2 hour ordeal), got my latop configured, got an ID, paid to have electricity so I wouldn't sleep in 90 degree weather tonight, walked like 12 miles, ate ritz crackers for lunch.

Things 've learned thus far: Don't count on ANYTHING, if u like cocoa pebbles then get ALL of the boxes at the store, there may not be any for the next year. If you have a problem of any kind, it may take a week to resolve. Good Service here means a wait of like 25 minutes at the fast food places. rain falls every 15 minutes as if on a timer and rains for exactly 30 seconds. The beach has no sharks. The water is crystal clear blue. The chicken may or may not actually be chicken. The two american places here (subway andKFC) run out of food all of the time. KFC ran out of chicken last night - haha.

So it's certainly interesting and this is my home for the next 16 months - here I go.

Barbara

Evening Before

So it's the night before I leave and I'm finally feeling excited. Of course I still have anxieties and fears of what is to come, but I'm sure I'll be fine. It's not like I've never traveled before. My biggest fear right now is honestly the baggage and making sure that it all gets there because I change planes 4 times on this trip and I'm on the brink of all of the weight and size requirements.

Okay, so a quick hello and now I'm going to go and do a few things that I won't be able to do for the next 3.5 months: Watch TV on a flatscreen, eat home cooked food, take a bath and hang out with my family.

Goodnight!