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

t

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!