What my days are made of...

The third week of school is half way through and I am starting to settle into a routine, like most medical students here. On one hand, I do wish for more hours in a day so I could study more and learn more concepts. On the other hand, I like that I am pushed to learn how to learn, again. Medical school does seem impossible most of the time - given the amount of information loaded upon you daily, you have to know it all. I have been studying for 12 - 14 hours a day, precisely. Most of the time it is 13.5 hours. Now this may sound crazy to you (and it is), but many medical students here do a similar study marathon. I am exhausted by the end of the day and do nothing else but goto bed right when I step through the door of my apartment. It is challenging. I am being challenged to learn more than what I think is reasonable, challenged to have an amazing amount of self discipline, challenged to rest and sleep (relatively) enough, challenged to take time to exercise, challenged to stay calm, composed, and relaxed, challenged to not listen to what other students say (complaints, fear, stress etc), challenged to continue to have faith in myself and my abilities, and challenged to be strong inside and out and all over. And this list could go on... but my main point is that these are challenges I face every single day from the point I wake up to the second I pass out in my bed with my clothes on. Or maybe in my dream too... But learning about these challenges is what made my respect for doctors out there grow just that much more.

I have not had any coffee yet and I don't think I will (knock on wood). But I did have to drink a few energy drinks last week to stay alert and efficient. My purchase was driven by fear of falling behind in studying hahaha. However, I am creating a NEW challenge for myself this week (another one?.. see what I am talking about?). I am going to try to stay off of energy drinks unless it's around exam times. That way when I really need to stay alert it will work beautifully! Or, perhaps I won't need them at all if I learn how to stay awake on 6 hours of sleep per night without any stimulants!

Anyhow, I let myself loose during my study hour for a few minutes to just write this entry. Now I am going to get back to Histology! Love you all! The picture below is a photo I took (before school started) of Scotts Head in Dominica. It separates the Atlantic ocean and the Caribbean sea and I dipped wet my feet in both on the same day!!! ;)

Veggie fried rice is not bad here!

I have just made it through my first week of school. How do I feel about it? I absolutely love it! A few hours ago we just had our White Coat Ceremony. It was quite special, but went on longer than expected. The speakers had some really inspirational stories and I was reminded the reasons why I am here right now.

We have had the following classes so far: Biochemistry, Histology, Gross Anatomy, and DPS. Next week we will start Physiology and Anatomy lab, which I am more than just looking forward to doing! I can NOT wait! This week has been quite hectic I must admit. But I am starting to get a routine going (yes, I am one of those who need a routine in order to stay sane). Fortunately classes don't go on till late afternoon/evening most of the week until Semester 2, according to my friends who are in higher semesters. I am making sure I keep up with the lectures and just do what I am used to doing while studying for all these subjects. Medical school does give you 10x more material than undergraduate classes within the same time window. I am experiencing that fully right now. It seems overwhelming but as long as you keep up with the work and don't procrastinate then you will survive like the rest.

I met a wonderful girl here who also loves running. We are so much alike in terms of sports and personality that we really do motivate each other on many levels. I wake up between 0430 and 0500 for the one-hour run and meet up with her on the beach for the morning workout by the ocean. She is there every single day but I only do it three times a week. The morning runs here are amazing. All I see during my run are green trees, coconuts, mangos, cows, colourful scattered houses, and cute stray dogs everywhere. The air is moist yet cool at 0500hr - perfect for running. I tried running in the afternoon but the sun by then has already heated up everything on land. That makes running a bit less enjoyable.

The stress level on campus is not low, just like what other medical students say. And this is only the beginning yet. It only gets more intense from here! A neighbor of mine in my complex has left the school this morning to go home after 1 week of school. He has decided that this is not for him. Many of us who knew about this were shocked. But this happens and will keep happening. Some will leave, some will struggle, some will stay, and some will break down. Thus is life - especially the medical life. But this to me is a test. It is like the marathon I was training for - a test of my self-discipline, endurance, determination, balance, and humor.

My roommates and I are getting along very well. They are both very sweet girls. We help each other out around the apartment - our home! Sura just made tea for me this morning :) My landlord is a very kind lady as well. She drove me to the White Coat Ceremony today. Well, I did try to bum a ride as I saw her leaving in her car. I had my reasons though - I was dressed up and it was humid and hot and drizzling! Thanks to her, I got to the ceremony relatively dry. Once I get some photos uploaded I will post a few from the ceremony. Apparently I was the only one who wore a long coat, and everyone else wore the short one we got from Ross University. Oh well, no one called me on it so I assume it was okay. I just had to wear it because it said Vancouver General Hospital on the breast pocket - thanks to my lovely girl Jade!

Alright, I'd better get my stuff cleared off the table and go down to the beach to enjoy some sea breeze with my friends before I head to bed. Tomorrow morning is an early day for me - market time! Good night everyone!

Life of a different kind

How do I begin? This island is alive. You can feel it everywhere from the morning breeze rushing through the window to the smiles on people's faces to the super itchy mosquito bites all over your legs. I feel like I am home.

It has been 10 days since I arrived here and every single day has been crazy and interesting in its own ways. I have made a bunch of wonderful friends here - we had a potluck at my place just 2 days ago. It was delicious! We made everything from scratch, using the ingredients and vegetables we bought from the vendors on the island. Speaking of grocery shopping, there is a 'market day' here. Every Saturday starting at 5am the market opens with tons of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as the great blue marlin! Last Saturday I didn't make it because I could not wake up in time, but this Saturday I went with my big carry-on bag. And I loaded it with freshness! It was an interesting experience at the market. I was reminded of the times when my grandma took me shopping in the morning when I was younger. Great memories :)

I cooked my third meal last night - vegetable stir fry with scrambled eggs. Yummy! As I was eating it in front of my computer, one of my roommates arrived! She is super sweet and we had a nice chat. I have a feeling that we'll get along just great! Now we're just waiting for another roommate to get here on Monday and we'll be complete!

There have been so many adventures that I went on since I got here that it feels impossible to go through all of them. I tried snorkeling for the first time and it was a bit scary but exciting! I was fine until some water got in my tube and I started panicking hahaha but I got my fins and was floating fine! Perhaps what frightened me was the numerous sea urchins on the bottom of the ocean - they looked so close to me and I made sure that I didn't accidentally step on them. Yesterday I also went on my first ride in a speedboat! Man, what a rush! I forgot how much I loved speed (one of the reasons I got my road bike with racing tires). The waves underneath us were just bouncing the boat up and down as we flew forward in the blazing sun! It was amazing. The vast ocean looked majestic and calm. We found an octopus too while we docked at a secret beach to go snorkeling. This is a picture of it - just a baby :)

School starts tomorrow. I am excited about it! We'll see how everything goes then. Now I am gonna get ready to go on an island tour with my friends! Ciao for now!

Hello Dominica!

Hi everyone! I am finally sweating away on the island of Dominica. No joke. You really do sweat a lot here. I will tell the story about my very interesting journey from Vancouver and will try not to write a super long essay on that ;)

I kissed Vancouver goodbye on Apr 30 when I hopped onto the GreyHound bus with Dad. It was a beautiful day. Super sunny and hot - which was desired because Vancouver had been cool for quite some time. We didn't have any trouble going across the boarder, but I must say that I think people who work there should smile more. The fellow who checked me did not smile till he returned my passport to me and made a joke. Even though the joke was not all that funny but the smile was very nice.

We then got back on the bus and onto the highway in Seattle, heading towards the main bus depot. Then suddenly we heard the loudest 'kong kong kong' sound while a section of us bounced on our seats a little. The smell of burning rubber came next. GREAT!!! JUST WHAT I WANTED!! FLAT TIRES AND IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE :D After some struggling, the driver found out that the company can send someone to fix the tires and it will take 1.5 hrs to get to where we are. And the fixing process would be about 30 mins... I panicked a little, but not so much because the weather was too nice - and it was hard to get frustrated in nice weather. Long story short, the driver ended up waving down a tour bus to take me and some others straight to Seattle Tacoma International Airport! We got there earlier than planned...

We bought a muffin and yogurt from a Starbucks at the Seattle airport and they were SO SUGARY. And that reminded of the movie Supersize Me and the stats involved! ;) But I ate the food anyway. Then I hopped onto the plane and my Dad headed back to Vancouver. The flight from Seattle to LA was alright. It took about 3 hours. But for the first time I sat in the very very back row and really hated it - I couldn't put my seat back at all! How would you like sitting at 90 degrees for 3 hours? Then I transfered again from LA to San Juan and this was the brutal flight. I couldn't make myself comfortable in these seats and I swear I could almost feel the blood clotting in my lower body. The flight from San Juan to Dominica was in a very small plane. As we landed, the turbulence was so great that I thought we were gonna drop! But we landed safely. Guess what? Lots of staff at the Immigration Office were wearing masks! Of course, we all had some kind of swine flu :p

So how do I like the island so far? I LOVE it! About the beauty of it, I don't think I need to say much - I have picked a few pictures to put up here so you can judge. There is a photo of me on my day of arrival right outside my apartment. How do I like the heat? I am enjoying it but I have to say the humidity makes the air quite heavy that I am still adjusting to breathing it. You could really feeling your lungs working hard! Let alone the fact that this place is full of hills (which I love)! Dominica is indeed a nature island. Coming from Vancouver I was always living a city life but I am enjoying this change - despite the fact that I was pretty much starving for the first 2 days hahaha! Oh that thought makes me laugh... In fact I still haven't gotten any groceries because the stores are so scattered and the big market is a bit far from here. I need to do that soon!

There are banana plantations EVERYWHERE! Yet I still haven't had a single banana since I got on the island! Sigh... There are also so many mangos and coconuts! Man! I am so lucky to be living with my favourite fruits! :D I went out with a couple of friends I met here to the beach today and they convinced me to go snorkeling! I might just do that tomorrow and find some sea urchins and corals!

Lastly I would like to point out that right now it is around 4 30am here and I can't sleep. Maybe it is because of the party tonite? Or maybe it's the adjustment I still need to make? Anyhow, but that gives me a chance to update everyone :) Enjoy the pictures.