You know you are a medical student when...

...you say you are going to eat just to get it over with. (the exact words from a fellow med student)
Our Mini II was rough, a solid reminder of Mini III in first semester. The grades came out today and I regretted checking them right after I did so. Biochemistry was my worst grade, AGAIN, even though I always study the hardest for this subject. Sigh... sometimes you are just left speechless by the unexpected, undesirable outcomes. Effort in vain? Sometimes it feels like that. A professor apparently wrote part of the exam even though he did not teach any part of it for this mini - the reason why some unfamiliar questions were on the exam. The MPS was really low for Physiology (58) and Anatomy (55). In the case of Anatomy, where 55 is the absolute lower range for MPS, it means that as a class we did terrible. But I don't think we are stupid? Maybe that tells us something about the exam itself... A lot of students were dreading the grades update. I saw lots of frowning, sighing, and head shaking since the scores were posted. These Mini's can make or break you in a way - there is a cumulative final at the end of this semester covering all the materials of Semester 1 and 2. A lot of us are banking on doing well on the Mini's to cushion the potential 'fall' on the final exam. But looks like that hope is nearly shattered for many students.

Now there are positive things to talk about here. Don't let my med school rant fool you! Since this week has been somewhat light, a couple of friends and I went to a local restaurant called Riverside... because it's located by a river, literally! It's got really good food but overpriced (like the rest of Dominican restaurants and grocery stores). I had a grilled chicken sandwich with a salad on the side. Yum! However, tomorrow I am finally resuming my Saturday market routine so I can have my Blue Marlin again. We chatted as we ate about how easy it is to lose yourself and everything that's important to you in your 'previous' life in all the studying here. And we try to make sure that doesn't happen. I can't begin to tell you how many students here - who are smarter than smart folks can ever be - are socially inept and completely lack empathy! It is still shocking to me, as I am usually sensitive to others' emotions and can pick them up relatively quickly. I do admire how smart some of those people are, but I hope they get better at picking up emotions - for patients' sake.

It's 10pm here and there is a Splash Bash party going on. Many friends of mine went. I didn't go because this week is my relaxing week... even though I have been sleeping 8 hrs a night for the past 4 nights. It is amazing how one full 8hr sleep after sleep deprivation makes you realize how exhausted you are. I couldn't drag myself out of bed this week at all without effort. But today I felt great and I am back to the grind! Med school... I am going to show you what I am made of! Definitely not Tofu ;)