Ready, Get Set, Learn!

Today was my first official day of classes! Our biochemistry professor seems like a decent guy. He is an American so there are definitely not going to be any language barriers, which is always a plus. The material itself is going to be challenging because it is directed towards a clinical understanding. In my undergraduate biochem class, we simply had to know the material and regurgitate it. Now we must know the material and apply it to patient based questions. This will definitely help prepare us for clinicals.

The next professor, anatomy and histology, was another story. He is 29 years old! Yes, you read it right. He has his PhD and has been already working for AUC for 3 years. He is from Australia and is by all means one of the most arrogant people I've ever met. I'm sure he knows his material, but come on...he doesn't need to treat us like we are teenagers. Quoted from the Aussie's mouth, "What is really going to piss me off is if any of you try to come into my office wearing a hat and chewing gum. I will tell you right then and there to leave." Sounds like a sweet guy..

The afternoon consisted of anatomy lab. Today we didn't have to put on our scrubs being that we were simply going to walk through the lab and learn some general rules. I'm so glad that I had the opportunity to work in organ and tissue donation. That experience was so valuable and has set me apart from most of the other students. More than half had never seen a dead body before let alone cut one open. It makes me feel confident and excited to help others get through it.

All in all, a good day. We were given AUC leather portfolios with free goodies inside. They included a refridgerator magnet with a word of wisdom from the 5th semester students that left the island at the beginning of August. Mine is a great piece of wisdom and already means so much to me. It was written in Japanese and translated as follows:

"To fall seven times, to rise eight times. Life starts from now."

My First Day As An MS1

I am officially a medical student! Today was only a half day of orientation, but we received our books, IDs, and most importantly, our white coats! My friends and I went early to establish our "assigned" seats for the semester (all our classes are held in the same lecture hall). It was very exciting to be welcomed as DOCTORS!

The class size is a whopping 160! 15 of the students are from India, while some are from Iran, Belize, Taiwan and even Egypt. There are also students representing 33 of the US states with the highest number from Texas, Michigan, Florida and New York. 73 of the students are women and 87 are men. There is only 1 other girl in my class that has blond hair!

Anyways, the day was quite informative. They had the chief of police come and tell us a few of the laws of the island. Here is an excerpt from the pamphlet we received:
How can you legally defend yourself?
"Self defense is a tricky issue. First and foremost, the possession of mace sprays or pepper spray, or worse, firearms, are prohibited. So, even when used in self defense the user is liable for prosecution. Bear in mind that the possession of an illegal gun leads to pre-trial detention and a sentence of one year imprisonment! In terms of self defense, the defense must be proportional. If someone simply mad mouths another person, that person cannot stab that man and plead self defense. If someone picks a fight and starts beating, the person under attack can of course hit back, to stop the attack. But it has to stop here. If the attacker flees, you are not allowed to go after him and hit him some more, just to get even!"

I was really surpised by the prohibition of mace especially since I brought some down. I actually had it in my backpack while this speech was going on. What it comes down to is this: if someone is trying to hurt me rest assured that I am going to whip out my mace and squirt them. End of story. Honestly, is the man trying to break into my house going to go to the police station and report me for having mace? And if he does so and gets away with it then the police here are corrupt afterall!

well tomorrow is the first day of class. I will post again tomorrow to let eveyone know how it went. Don't worry mom, Allison's mom took pictures of us today before heading off to school. We were even standing in front of the bright yellow school jeep!

I Think I'm Gonna Be Okay

I am pleased to announce that I have made my first 5 friends on the island! Last night all "newbies" were supposed to show up at the Sunset Beach Bar to get to know each other. Well only 6 of all 160 students showed up, myself included. But, I am so glad that I went. The people I met were very outgoing and seem like people I can become good friends with. One girl, Allison, is temporarily staying in the condo next door with her visiting parents. She and I went to the bar together and are going to dinner tonight as well. I think she might be a keeper!

All first semester students take the same classes at the same time. Here is my schedule:
8:00-9:20 Mon-Fri Biochemistry
9:30-10:20 Mon-Thurs Anatomy/Embryology
10:30-11:20 Mon, Wed, Fri Histology
1:30-3:30 Mon-Thurs Anatomy Lab

I'm thinking I'll come right home after lab rather than stay and study at school because of the Simpson Bay Lagoon Bridge. This bridge goes up 3 times a day to allow megayahts into the lagoon. The times are 9:30, 1:30 and 5:30. Basically there is one main road around the island. When this bridge goes up (max 20 min.) the traffic stops. So I'm pretty much going to try to avoid being on the road at those times!

Tomorrow morning there is a bus tour that the Student Government is doing. I figured I'd go to meet more people and refresh my memory of where things are on the island. Then, Monday is orientation and Tuesday is the 1st day of class!

On a side note, I tried on a sample white coat today for sizing and felt so grown up. It's hard to believe that my dreams are coming true. Can't wait for the Ceremony on the 8th when Ryan can watch me be inducted.

Well I better go get ready for dinner. I'll let you know how the rest of the weekend ends up.

A True Islander

Well after many grueling days, I was finally able to bring home our very own Jeep Wrangler!!! Ryan and his dad (Alligator Allan) worked forever on something that happens within seconds in the states: getting money. You see everything on the island takes 10 times as long as it would back home.

We came down here with $8 grand in traveler's cheques only to find out that no one here wanted to cash them for us! Strange right? So we had to make an appt. with the bank and open up a savings account only to turn around and withdrawal the cash we put in. Then came the issue of getting a MoneyGram from the States. We sent over $9200. Thinking we were going to finally get the car on Saturday we left the bank very dissapointed and pissed off. MoneyGram only lets you send funds over in $2500 increments so because ours was one large sum they wouldn't give it to us! Allan had to then wake up at 6 am and go to the MoneyGram in Pinetop. However, no one there knew what to do or how to do it. To end this long annoying story, we didn't get the Jeep when Ryan was here.

But, the good news is that last night I received 4 separate MoneyGrams and payed for our awesome yellow Jeep! It's great...I feel very beachy in it and there isn't another one like it on the island. So pretty much the purpose of this post is to brag about my new Jeep and say a million thank you's to Allan and Ryan for doing everything they could to make this happen.

Goodbye

Selling off our home in Tucson was indeed sad, but at the same time it meant the beginning of the next phase of my life in St. Maarten. Then came the dreaded moment of saying goodbye to my family and friends. To say that this was difficult would be an understatement.

With our bags packed, Ryan, Bentley, and I made the long journey to the Eastern Caribbean. By the grace of God, we, along with all of our luggage, made it safely to the island! The reality that I moved to another country finally set in.

For the last 5 days Ryan and I were able to lay the foundation for a new life in a new home. I realize that I could never have done this without him. In this country we are the minority and very much the outsiders. Because of this it is harder to accomplish day to day things such as purchasing a cell phone. You are an outcast from the moment you step off the plane. That feeling brings about a great sense of loneliness.

While I knew from the start that Ryan wouldn't be able to stay here with me, I didn't want to acknowledge it until the moment came. Well that moment came at 8:50 am this morning. I know that he will be back the first week of September for my White Coat Ceremony, but we have never been a part for more than 5 days. It's hard right now because I'm living in a different country and I haven't made any friends yet. School starts next Monday, and I am eagerly counting down the days. At least some studying will help keep my mind off everyone and everything I miss back in the States.

I want to thank everyone for your prayers over our travel and life in St. Maarten. I want to thank my husband for being my best friend, my lover, and my knight in shining armor. And most importantly, I want to thank God for all the blessings he has bestowed upon me and my family.

For God has not given me the spirit of fear: but of power, and of love, and a sound mind. - 2 Timothy 1:7