What I Really Learned in Med School

I was very pleased to be learning about the Nervous System this block in class. Finally something I am already comfortable with. I knew that neuroscience thesis was good for something. Some neuro pictures that I love...  

Block weekend is around the corner once again. We found a great 3-bedroom apartment with an amazing view for next semester. We also found the perfect little car to zip around in that we will be getting in April/May once we move out of the dorms. Big thanks to Ryan and Amy for all their help. My histology group did our presentation last Monday morning. We did the Determination of Rickets. It is an intimidating thing to stand in front of so many brilliant minds and pretend that I know what I’m doing, but it went well and I’m happy it is out of the way now. Did I mention I dissected a human scrotum on Valentine’s day? Good times. Beverly's 23rd birthday was on Saturday so Phung and I baked a cake and cupcakes for her and they were delicious. I also received a care package from Daniel this week! Always exciting to receive a piece of home. I already added a similar picture to this one but I liked Sarah’s version better so I am posting it again. J

Chelsea took some amazing photos of the island. Enjoy!  

A few post-block pictures.     Before going out Friday night (after exams)   Saba med's finest doing backstreet boys kareoke   Sarah and me   Hike down The Ladder   Perfect saturday afternoon activity   Old customs office on the way down   Clear water and a beautiful day for snorkeling. Believe it or not there is sand once you walk out a few feet into the water      

Craig decided to climb a mountain without a trail the other day and he got a few great pics that give an idea of what the island looks like on a bigger scale. I love the panoramic shot.   The peak here is Mt. Scenery that we hiked the first week. Islands in the distance. Boats to the left. The houses are in The Bottom (the "town" I live in).      

Block week again! Our second set of exams (Block II) are on Monday and Tuesday of next week. In the meantime, I was very excited to receive a care package from Maman! Most eventful part of my life this week. She sent lots of snacks - pringles, doritos, tostitos, almonds, mini eggs (they didn’t last long), brownies, jelly beans, etc – as well as spices, Puffs (with lotion), candles, cute sticky notes, and my favourite yellow shirt that I missed while packing. The best part though was the mail and the cards. I have the cards up in my room now.   Yay! As a general note, I love all your messages and e-mails and I’m sorry if I don’t get back to you right away. That’s the main reason I created this blog – so I could let everyone know that I was alive and well and all that even if I didn’t have the time to chat. Melissa's man came for a visit this past weekend. He brought me a sleeve of caramilk bars so of course I was an instant fan. They tried to fish for goats using ...

Some more pics of us down by the water... how original. But it is pretty much the only active thing to do for fun here besides hiking. We scheduled a study break for Saturday afternoon and got some sun. The water was (again) too rough to swim, but we frolicked in the waves and got a little tanning in. I love exploring different parts of the island - we've tried to go to a new place each time recently.   Our neighbours upstairs invited my roommates and I over for supper Saturday night and we had the most delicious pasta I've had in a while. We wanted to bring a nice bottle of wine over, so I went down to the grocery store and found the most expensive bottle I could find. It was 18 dollars. We said we would have them over next time so if anyone has any easy recipes to feed 8-10 people... send them over.   I am really missing having the option of Tim's or Subway or any fast food at all. Also my vaccuum-sealed milk is just not cutting it. One treat I've discovere...

First set of block exams are over and block II is in full swing. Figured I would update here before getting around to responding to your e-mails because that may take a little longer.   We went down to the water to swim/snorkel after blocks. It was a little too rough to go out very far at all, but sitting in the shallow water with a few drinks wasn't so bad either. Afterwards, we went to supper at a place called Saba's Treasure and I had a cheeseburger and sweet potato fries which was such a treat... red meat is hard to come by here.   We have a 2 hour break at lunch today so I'm pretty excited to be sitting on the balcony in the sun. It's "82 degrees" here right now which is about 28 degrees Celsius.    School work has been steady... and by that I mean it is non-stop so I don't really do anything else. We have switched up some study habits though in hopes that next blocks will go even better.   PS I check my mailbox every day JUS...

Taking it all in

Quick update while I am on a study break. First set of exams - what we call "block exams" - are Monday and Tuesday so it has been pretty intense for studying lately. I am hoping to take a few hours on Tuesday after the exams to relax, go down to the water to do some snorkeling, and have a glass of wine (or two). We picked a coconut off the tree yesterday and drank the coconut juice out of it. Yum. The novelty of the beautiful weather and scenery has not worn off yet - such a great mood booster. I learned pretty quickly that my love for anatomy greatly exceeds my love (or lack thereof) of histology. I love taking courses that I find interesting and that I feel are relevant to my future career, but of course learning the basics comes with some dry material too. We kept track of who we were meeting and we have someone in our class from each of the 10 Canadian provinces (5 Nova Scotians!) and many US states. It has also been so interesting meeting people who were ...