Life has a way

The last couple of months have flown by so fast it's hard to recall what I've actually done since I've moved down here. Obviously a lot of school, some rotations, random patient write-ups and notes, and some fun times with some good friends; some of it has been good and some not at all, I suppose as all things are in life.

The semester officially ends on August 5, so just in a few weeks and there's still a bit to get done before then, but then it's back to study mode 9-5 for a week do to the review course I'm taking. Then I just jump into studying on my own and head back to Columbus at the end of September to do some more of that.

Ive been to the beach a couple of times now, am more comfortable with the driving around here and the freeways, the lack of English in many places and the craziness of our schedule...well that I may never get used to, but at least we're almost done. I've had a friend visit, an old friend start his education not far from where I live, met some good people, became better friends with others and explored the cuisine of Miami...probably more than I should have. I've cooked a decent amount and found out how much I love it if I had a little more time, kind of baked a few times but I still need to perfect it, and am trying to continue with the whole gym-going thing but a week-long sickness kinda put that at bay so now I'm desperately trying to get back to that too.

So thus far life is decent but I'm excited to leave this part of my life behind. It's been fun and it's been VERY very educational both school-wise and in so many ways life-wise too, but I'm ready for a new start even though it's just a different kind of continuation. I'm starting to notice changes in my likes and dislikes, what's important to me and what is not and it's making me feel like finally I'm getting somewhere with this "purpose" in life :)

Hope you're all healthy and happy!

Love,

Basia

Getting into the groove

I have a few more days before my comprehensive exam which I am a bit nervous for because the passing rate is usually very low for the first time and because there really is just a lot of information. It's amazing how much you forget! But I'm gonna do my best and if the worst happens, I will just have to take it again at the end of the semester. Cross your fingers for me!

This past weekend I went through a BLS and ACLS training meaning I am now not only CPR certified, I am also certified to run a code blue in any situation in general. It was a long weekend but I learned a lot and it was fun in a lot of ways too. If you remember nothing, know the ratio 30:2....30 compressions followed by 2 ventilations and repeat 5 times before a shock and before switching.

My back has been bothering me lately which is upsetting because I can't go to the gym, but hopefully it will resolve soon. As you all know I HATE meds, but I caved in and took an Ibuprofen because I couldn't even breathe without intense pain shooting down my back. And I'm not even sure how I caused this problem. :(

Yesterday I had my first rotation and I was lucky enough to get Dermatology. It was a very long day but it was still exciting and fun. We saw close to 40 patients all who had anything from warts to acne to moles to rashes to cancer. The doctor was a big goofball and his medical assistants right there with him so it was an entertaining experience as well. However, we did learn things when he tested our knowledge and we did get to speak with patients, take their history, diagnose them and honestly, practice our Spanish A LOT! In all, a good day. We are looking forward to the other days we get to go there but I'm pretty sure Dermatology is not the specialty I want to go into. It's an easy job, with great hours and pay, but in my opinion, not a very challenging specialty which I DON'T like.

And I will end this post by wishing my beautiful, sophisticated and quite amazing Aunt Barbara a VERY VERY VERY Happy Birthday! I will see you this weekend Ciociu!

Cium!

Basia

I'm Back

Dinner with friends in Miami

Well it's been exactly 3 weeks since I have officially been off the island and 2 weeks since I've been trying to get settled in my apartment in Miami, FL. It was definitely a bit nerve wrecking waiting for the final scores to come out but once they did, I was able to breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy some time with family and friends. I then took the 20.5 hour journey down to Florida by myself (which was actually a lot of fun for me).

So now here I am. Life is very different in Miami...definitely different from Dominica, but even from Ohio. I'm glad I'm here and glad to have this experience but so far it's pretty evident that Miami is not somewhere I could ever live long term. According to some of the locals, the hispanic population has expanded tremendously in the last 2 years which has led to what I call "little Cuba." Every store within a 5-10 mile radius has only hispanic workers, some of which speak English but most of which do not. (Even greeting cards are all in Spanish. I had a hard time finding English ones.) As you can imagine, that was quite an adjustment, but now seems like it's a way of life. The traffic is awful here, with no traffic only seen between the hours of 9pm and 5 am and which makes me wonder where people are going and why they are not working. It's also very hectic in general here which is to be expected in a large city, but I honestly miss the simplicity of island life...sometimes, I miss Dominica. Yes, I know, crazy, but I sometimes I do.

People are also very fake and mean around here which is strictly different from the midwest. And to prove that I am not crazy, I recently met a neighbor who is from Indiana and going to PT school here and he said that was the first thing he noticed too. I have seen more BMW, Masarati's and Lamborghini's in a spam of 10 minutes than I have ever seen in a lifetime (TV not included of course). It's like you have to be part of a club to live here and have your own personal plastic surgeon because everyone is "perfect" and rude. Again, very much not something I relate to well. In a nutshell, I would describe Miami in these few words: Fake, Rude, Hectic, Upscale, EXPENSIVE, and fun if you let it.

But it's not all that bad. I mean I AM in America, the weather is usually very nice and I'm really glad to be having this experience overall. I have spent time exploring a little and there are some very neat places so I'll let you know things as I discover them. Currently, I'm studying for my comprehensive exam and school starts Monday, so life will also pick up a little with that, and I have enjoyed the variety of cuisine from a variety of cultures. Oh and I forgot, I also began experimenting with cooking now that I...wait for it...HAVE MY OWN KITCHEN!!!

As time goes on, and as my blog title change states..."Time will tell."

Until next time,

Barbara

I'm watching ants carry food in the library

Yes, I am watching ants have like an assembly line and they are carrying little bits of food across the top of the library cubicles, which are all lind up in a row. What's funny is that they keep bumping into each other as they go in opposite directions...haha.

Okay, so for those who I haven't told yet, I passed my last set of tests...hooray! I have another one this upcoming Friday and then round two of the ALL of the subjects again 2 weeks after that. So 5 weeks are over, about 2 months or so to go.

Tomorrow we get the day off, which is really nice because they have this thing called a Carnival, to celebrate their Dominican spirit. I will be going to the beach for a few hours, then studying SOMEWHERE since everything is closed including the library, then NOT going to the gym cause it's closed too...very frustrating. I will figure it out, I just hope I don't have to study at home.

Oh, right, the most exciting news: 1. A dude escaped from prison and is on the run for murder, and the PR also included that he was a plumber, which is supposed to what, makes us all feel better? Maybe I should ask him to fix my leaky sink while Im being kidnapped or something...so Dominican-like of them to put tha it there. 2. A volcano from 2 islands had it's peak collapse into it, sending ash flying and causing Dominica to be covered in ash for the last 2 days - thankfully, it's gone, We had to wear masks and "not go outside." 3. There was a forest fire last night about 300 feet from my apartment. I have to say after I got over the "this better not spread" point, it was very cool because it lit up the entire night and it looked very royal. They contained it, so no worries. And this all happened in the last like week or so, see my life IS exciting! :)

And back to my random subway stories, I of course had subway today, and they FINALLY got some chipotle sauce and MUSTARD for goodness sakes. They haven't had either in such a long time, probably a month, but they've had other shipments of the other items, I mean how hard is it to order some sauce with that? And mustard? That's the most basic condiment out there. I will never understand, ever.

My professors this semester aren't AS exciting as last semester, but my favorite one is back - the one who has the biggest accent and talks to himself while he still has his microphone on and who grew up in "Taliban land" as he calls it. He makes my days, I wish I could send you all a recording of just one..it's hilarious.

I hear the weather is fabulous in Columbus, and heck in the US in general - please send me pictures of snow, you in snow, someone you know in snow, snow splatter - whatever!

Miss you guys!

Barbara

Overdo update

Hello, hello everyone!

Im taking a short study break and decided to write on my blog cause I think I last posted like 2 days after arriving here, it's time again, even if nothing exciting happens to me :)

So for staters, I have a huge test on monday and had one today, which was hard. I have no idea what I got, but Im pretty sure I hit above the average, so long as I do that, Im good. Im still not happy with it because it was supposed to be a practical, aka...what is this and that, vs. a test (which Im taking on monday) that asks secondary and tertiary questions. But oh well..we'll see. So wish me luck monday cause I have a 3 hour test covering 7 subjects all together.

Thus far things have been pretty good. I actually like the island now and have no problem with living here except for the distance. Ive become friends with a lot of ppl and getting to know more every day. Some of them are 4th semester and thats good for me for tips on school things, but it's sad cause they're all leaving at the end of the semester (unless they fail the semester and have to repeat) and some are actually pretty cool people. My other friends, the ones I always spend time with, have ALL been sick since we got here, it's weird. Alex has been vomiting for days with diarrhea (she thinks she ate something/has a bug), Marissa has had a deep cold for the last 3 weeks, and Amira is more tired than normal always. But so far, I haven't contracted any of it...thank goodness :)

All of them were really good on my birthday, they all got me gifts, took me out and made the day special...it was a really good birthday actually. :) For pictures, see facebook.

Im still hitting the gym daily, well Thursday is my day off, and it's sort of a part of life now..its nice to say that. I feel stronger in my legs, which was part of my goal - it's working :) Im running, and I hate to run, and arms are okay. I still want that flat tummy, but Im not that disciplined to get rock-hard abs or anything...so Im settling for small tummy..or whatever u call it, toned but not like Im on steroids kind of stomach. Ive actually been associated with being in the gym "all the time" but some people which is completely different for me from my normal Columbus life...again, not a bad reputation to have.

School is good. Im liking what Im learning for the most part, minus biochem cause we have to memorize pathways that are totally useless, but whatever, ill store it in some small part of a brain lobe for a while. Our teacher for that is also Britishand he hates America, so he always comments on how fat americans are, how we have to change everything from like celcius to fahrenheit, etc. It's frustrating, and especially because he's a fatty himself, but apparently we're all starving the rest of the world because we eat too much meat, which could feed 1/3 of the world if we were all vegans...again, he probably eats an entire cow daily. The others are alright. One got fired cause everyone hated him and it's good cause he was a bad teacher. He was a smart man, but he wasn't meant to be a professor, but to be a researcher and article writer type of guy.

Post mini on monday we have another beach bash, which is free food, drinks, water sports, etc. Im looking forward to it. Then the monday after we have the day off because it's "Carnival" which is a huge festival here and a national holiday...Ill be studying because I have another test that friday...it never ends!

Ive fallen in love with a stray dog here, he's old but he's always so happy, I just LOVE him. He's always happy to see me and he'a furry. For a picture, again, check facebook.

Okay, I must go now. So far, Im good, so dont worry about me. Oh and to leave you with a quote from my professor: On lactation - "women have very large and luscious milk-producing breasts..." Coming from him, it was alarming :)

Miss you all!

Barbara

Round 2

Hello all, it's been a while since Ive posted anything on the blog, I just realized this, but Im back for round 2, finished semester 1 strong and passed - yay! Sadly I know a few people who did not so they are now repeating. Approximately 100 people didnt pass I believe.

Thus far, and it's only day 3, life is not so bad. I had a bad first day because our school decided to change how their printing works and no one could print or when they tried, it didnt come out. Now it's day three and things seem to be working a bit better. I still think the last system worked just fine, but that's just me - whatever.

Im feeling much more "at home" hear this semester mostly bc I know where everything is and most of the ins and outs of the uniiversity and the professors and such. I watch the first semester students and I kind of feel bad for them, they are still making friends, figuring things out, and just look stressed and lost - we all feel much better.

I also finally got my baggage (3 days later) and ALL of the food was all over my suitcase, with an explotion of like 6 of my ramen noodle bowls, and of course, shampoo, which customs didn't bother to wrap back up when they took it out of the bag it was in.

Okay, lunch time, gotta go. Ill write again this weekend if something fun happens...right....:)

Barbara

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