Goodbye Saba

August 21, 2014

My time on Saba is over.

I thought that I would feel sadness when making my final flight out, but my mind was filled with positive memories that I have from there and a great desire to move on.

I am grateful for so much.

Wonderful teachers and mentors.

The opportunity to learn.
The support of my family.

A beautiful Caribbean island that I explored every inch of.

Feeling at home in my house on the cliff.

Some great classmates who now feel like old friends.

The good times and good people often outweighed the bad and I can’t even say that I didn’t love my time on the island BUT the environment can be toxic. It took a lot out of me. Especially this last semester. There are parts of me that didn’t get their fair chance to be expressed. I’ve been home in Cape Breton for three days and I can already feel a weight lifted.

My last few weeks on the island were stressful ones preparing for the Exit Exam. But it was all worth it in the end because I passed and I am happy about where I am at in my learning. I still have work I want to do before the Step 1 exam but I feel like I am in a good place to begin studying again. There have been a lot of rumors about shortcuts and cutting corners to pass this exam, but I can honestly say that I fought for every point on that test myself through old fashioned hard work. And I couldn’t be prouder of myself and everyone else who put their heart and soul into it too.

My last few days on the island, in contrast, were fun ones. I spent my time going to the beach and restaurants and going hiking. Dr. W and Dr. L had some of us over to their place for appetizers and champagne. There was a Basic Sciences graduation ceremony and a dinner at Queen's afterwards. Mom and Brian came down and we were able to show them the island. We did a weekend in St Maarten complete with sushi dinner for 20, casino shows with big booty women, rooftop beach bars, free VIP, and wine by the pool. Plus a day in Phillipsburg with Mom and Brian. And keeping with the past two years... there was drama until our final hours together.

It is a weird feeling saying goodbye to people you care about while knowing you may never cross paths again, but it's one that I've had practice with over the past few years. I can't count how many hugs I gave and how many times I said "all the best!" but I really did mean it.

Now I am relaxing at home for nine days before I pack my bags (again) and head to Antigonish (again) to live with Craig and his family while studying for the Step 1. We are hoping to write the exam in late October or early November. Then we are paper writing for a few weeks. Once those things are done, we will be working with our clinical coordinators to place us in a rotation in the US. We told them that we are very flexible in regard to location. Will hopefully keep the blog updated when we find out where this journey will take us next.

Last group of pictures from Saba!

Final CSA

My girls

The 5ths

Been a pleasure studying with this fool

Best roomies a girl could ask for

Toooooo many laughs

Lizards always found a way into the house

My house

Out for a walk the night before the Big Day

Craig discovered this little spot on one of his runs and shared it with me

It was only recently but it instantly became a favourite of mine

The girls ended up going to see it after I showed them my pictures of the view and we were able to convince Mom and Brian to hike up to it too

I can't seem to make this picture turn the right way but I love it because it shows the girls at my house right after the Exit - those mixed emotions of freedom and anxiety