Giggity giggty goo!

Thanks to all the friends who expressed concerns about me lately - well, I am alright :) It is just cabin fever and a huge burn-out I think. The end of the semester is near and I can do this. I just need to push myself for the last little bit.

It's been crazy here with the weather. The rain is so unpredictable - it can just drop on you even with the hot sun sizzling above your head. I don't have an umbrella because mine broke a month ago. I figured I will just leave it like that - most of the time I am indoors anyway. Didn't want to buy another umbrella here - one less thing to pack. So far I only got rained on once (half-soaked).

Pathology lectures and Pharm lectures are getting really intense. All the renal lectures, skin lectures, musculoskeletal and neuro lectures came one after another. High yield high yield high yield - everyone's brain is burning up. Repetition is key - but it's gotta be smart repetition. It is difficult to keep up with the lectures some days but I make sure I am not far behind.

I chatted with someone in first semester today - and I felt so jaded haha, He was still excited about everything here even though he was also tired of studying. I am just looking forward to having this term over with and having a good night's sleep. It is hard to buffer all this stress - a friend of mine had diarrhea for an entire week (not cuz of food this time - we ruled that out) not too long ago. My body mostly responds to stress by not letting me sleep well at night, like last night - I kept waking up every couple of hours.

:) But don't give up (wherever you are, whatever you do) - it hurts now and this may blur the outline of your goal. Just keep on moving and you'll see everything clear up again (if not, get new glasses with better correction).

ps. The title is a quote from the FAMILY GUY!! (it maintains my psychological well-being in time of stress)

It's a way of life.

I stopped by a local family restaurant to grab a bite yesterday, still bothered and frustrated by what has been going on lately in my life (some messy stuff not worth mentioning). There was a Dominican man working there with his wife. He had dreadlocks that brought me back to the high school era... Anyway, the TV was on at the simple little restaurant and Buffalo Soldier was playing in the background. I have always loved Bob Marley and really all Reggae artists. Not even noticing it, I started tapping on the table to the bubbly reggae beats. The man suddenly spoke, 'That's right, Mon!' I smiled and said, 'I love Bob Marley! His music relaxes me.' My friend sitting next to me said, 'I don't get him. And I don't get this kind of music.' This comment pulled a crooked smile out of the man and he said to us, 'Reggae, is a way of life.' For some reason, that sentence just stuck in my head. A way of life, that is, a lot of things we do or commit to doing - like Medicine. Although I wish it was as easy as listening to Reggae hahaha... oh man...

Hurricane season has arrived and the tropical thunders are hanging around. I still get frightened by those loud roars. They make me miss home, among other things. There is also a Dengue outbreak in the Caribbeans. One of our professors caught Dengue fever and has been out of commission for at least 1wk. Poor guy. I heard he lost 10lb already - and he wasn't heavy to begin with! I hope he gets better soon.

28 days till I fly home. But I am getting increasingly nervous about the upcoming exams. It is very weird - as I progress through the semesters I feel less and less ready, less and less competent. And the material has just been accumulating with no break. Is this just a burnout phenomenon? Gosh, I wish there was an antidote - 'cause coffee certainly stopped working, AGAIN!

Back to studying...

Light? Darkness?

Quick update before I hit the books again...

Our 4th semester banquet is tomorrow at 5pm. Me and my 3 musician friends are going to practice one last time before we head over to Fort Shirley (location of banquet) to set up. I am kinda excited but kinda not - due to the HUGE amount of material to learn for this mini AND ICM practical coming up. Sigh... I almost wanted to skip out on the banquet. But decided against it... this probably will be the last time that all (most) of my classmates are together, until graduation anyway.

Also, I am still waiting on a few apartments in Michigan to respond back to my questions...

Back to studying!

43 Days till temporary freedom... WORTH waiting for!

Getting closer and closer to the end of 4th semester... yet I am getting more and more nervous. The exams keep getting tougher and the information load keeps getting bigger. I pray that I will successfully make it through my second year and move on to my next step!

I finally started drinking 'milk' here after being deprived and becoming lactose intolerant for a significant amount of time. The milk here doesn't taste like milk though. Ok, the one I have in the picture is probably the closest tasting to real milk from back home. But still not the same. I just miss milk so badly...

Something exciting to share with everyone - our 4th semester banquet is coming up. I do believe it is happening next Saturday, which is 9 days from now. I know.. it is a little strange that it is happening in the middle of the term instead of the end. But now is probably the best time. Many people are leaving the island on the day of the final. I, myself, booked for the day after the final to fly home! So.. no time to party then! It will be nice to see everyone all together. I can't wait.

The MORE exciting thing is that 3 friends and I will be performing at the banquet. I hope it goes well. I am so stoked! We have 2 singers (I am one of them), 1 on keyboard, and 1 guitarist. And ALL OF THEM are absolutely AMAZING! We are going to do the song There You'll Be by Faith Hill - if you don't know this song, listen to it! It will get your emotions going... We felt that there really isn't another song that is more appropriate for this occasion - read the lyrics, they were written for us it seems!

Ok I gotta get back to studying. Will update soon!
ps. Our dogs are growing fast!

One quick update.......

I am going to MICHIGAN for 5th semester! We received the confirmation emails today and I got accepted :) Not a huge accomplishment but I am excited nevertheless. Now I just have to focus on passing this semester!!

The rest of updates will come after the Mini, which is on Monday. Wish me luck!