Another day in Paradise

A short update! I doing well. I just celebrated my birthday while studying for my anatomy exam which was the following day :/ My friends sang me happy birthday in the anatomy lab, can't say you have that every year. Today after the exam we were able to have some rest and relaxation at the beach. Thank you to all who sent me birthday cards, getting the email from school telling me that I have mail is super exciting. It's the little things :)

An AMAZING friend also sent me this basket full of goodies! Complete with school supplies, candy, movies, coffee and more! I love her to death and it really brightened my day.

Block 1

So anyone that is reading this, I'm sorry I'm very bad on updating.

The beginning of February was my first set of exams, Block 1. Here at UMHS, we take all of our exams on one day for all of our classes so I had exams from 8 am to 2 pm. I thought it would be terrible studying for all the exams at one time but it actually wasn't too bad if you keep up with the material. I passed all my exams with flying colors and I could not be more happy with the outcome. :)

Other than studying, I haven't been doing a whole lot. The island is small but nice and relatively quiet. The people here are very friendly. Food tends to be pretty expensive and they don't have a whole lot of options at the store. I sure miss a large supermarkets with everything under the sun.

Block 2 is coming up in a few weeks so I have been studying as the tests will continue to get harder as the semester progresses. The first semester is almost half way over and I cannot believe I've already been here for a 11/2 months. Time really flies. I am enjoying the beautiful weather and ocean as much as I can. Here is a typical night on campus.

My first couple of weeks

I have been meaning to post again but I have been super busy. I’ll probably try to post maybe weekly to update everyone on what is going on. After I arrive to the island, the next day we started orientation. This consisted of informative sessions, a tour of the campus and getting our ID. The President came from NY to talk to us as well which is really nice. During the evenings, we normally went out to dinner to get to know our other classmates.

The Saturday before classes started we had a catamaran trip. We went snorkeling and enjoyed the ocean. Some professors and the president joined us on this trip.

                                           Monday the 7^th was my first day of class!

The White tent is where we eat lunch everyday.

Mondays are my short day from only 1 -5:30, the rest of the days I go from 8-5:30 with a few hours of break in the middle. My routine includes Class, Eat, Class, Study, Eat, Study, Sleep and Repeat. This semester I am taking Histology, Cell Biology, Medical Ethics, Physical Diagnosis and Anatomy with Lab.

So far I really enjoy my professors; everyone is very concerned that you learn everything.

                              

The library, auditorium and ocean :)

Receiving my coat from Dr Garmon

Last Saturday January 12^th was my White Coat Ceremony! I officially received my white coat and am a student doctor. My parents were able to watch live online which was cool too. During the ceremony, we also recited an oath, stating we would never cause intentional harm to our patients. This coat symbolizes the hard-fought journey toward gaining admittance as years of constant, rigorous work have finally paid off; all of the pre-requisites of high school, ACTs, college, MCATs, AMCAS, and every other acronym you can think of are behind us; and becoming a doctor seems to be in sight at last.While it is only the beginning, I look forward to Graduation in the future which will surely be a celebration.

Dean of the University

My roommate and I

My class with the prime minister and professors.

I continue to tell my parents that it still hasn’t hit me that I am actually here, in the Caribbean, in Medical School. Each day I walk outside of class and see palm trees and the ocean and it hits me again that this is real. I am actually doing what I have waited my whole life to do. Please continue to keep me in your prayers as I travel through this amazing journey that God has blessed me with.

Finally Here

I have been meaning to post but have been busy getting my room in order. I made it here to the beautiful island of St Kitts! :) I'll start from the beginning to update where I've been and what I have been doing. Dec 30th, my parents and I drove up to Minneapolis so I could take my flight the next day. Packing my items was a challenge. I had to fit everything I needed in 2 suitcases and a carry-on. In Minnesota, my family tried everything from vacuum sealing plastic bags to sitting on it to make room for more items. I would say my Dad got the gold star for packing once again...

The next afternoon we drove to the airport. Here's me ready to go with my luggage, not looking!

My backpack and carry-on were so heavy from my books; I about broke my back. I was stopped by security who had to UNPACK my amazing packing job to find nothing. I was then on my way to New York City.

Once I arrive in La Guardia airport, I took an EXTREMELY crowded bus to the subway. I then preceded to walk UP 2 flights of stairs with my 50lb bags. I was so exhausted and my carry-on handle broke and would go down :( My friend Bekah met me outside the subway with a winter coat and gloves since I had not brought a coat.

We got ready in her apartment for New Years Eve and made our way to Times Square. There were soooo many people and all the street were blocked off but we still got to see fireworks and be around a ton of people. We were exhausted and our feet hurt so bad we headed back to her apartment.

I got about an hour of sleep then the taxi forgot to come when we told them so I had to walk to hail another. I finally made it to the airport to find huge lines. I was able to check my small carry-on (which I finally was able to get the handle down after unpacking it and hitting it on the floor). In security, I was stopped AGAIN to check my bag. I was able to sleep all the way to Miami and then from Miami to St Kitts.

The UMHS welcoming committee was there to greet us when we came out of the airport. My 2 large pieces of luggage did not arrive so I had to wait but thankfully the next day they arrived. I was the last one dropped off and by the time we got to my place it was dark. I got to meet my roommate Monique, and her family quick then the school took me to the grocery store. I'm exhausted since the traveling was so long. This week is orientation, I will post about what we have been doing. Here's a pic of my "apartment building." I really like it, it was built in August and we are the first to move in so everything is brand new. :)

Campus Visit

My dad and I just got back from visiting the island! We started in Minneapolis with a little hiccup, I made it on the flight and Dad didn't because we were flying stand by. I arrived in St Kitts on Saturday and Dad flew all the way to JFK to make it to St Kitts by Sunday. The island looked like paradise. The volcanoes are beautiful and the ocean bright blue.

We stayed at the Ocean Terrace Inn which was fabulous, the staff were so helpful. It was away from the touristy part of the island and close to the Capital's, Basseterre, downtown. We went snorkeling, swimming, explored the city, and even took a ferry over to the sister island of Nevis. But most importantly we toured the school and housing.

The school picked us up from the hotel and we were given a brief tour. I was impressed by the buildings and think it will be a great fit for me! Most importantly, it is air conditioned ;) I got to speak with a faculty member as well at stop by the bookstore to get my patch for my white coat. I'm excited for Mom to sew everything on. After the tour, we met with the housing director and she drove us around to see many different areas that I could live in. I have my eye on this little green house on the corner right next to school. It's within walking distance which will be nice because I'm not planning on having a car. My roommate and I are very excited to move in!

Dad and I had a great trip over all and I am excited to move back in 2 months. Now it's a scramble to get everything together and pack up my life into 2 suitcases to move to the beautiful island of St Kitts.

Visiting the Island

On the 20th my Dad and I are going down to visit the island. I can not wait to visit the campus and look at housing. Another girl starting in January and I have decided to get a 2 bedroom apartment. I had been praying that God would find the right roommate for me and the timing was perfect. Tropical Storm Rafael hit St Kitts pretty bad last week so I'm sure the island will be a little different than normally but hopefully it will still be a relaxing vacation.

The beginning

Hello friends and family!

On June 14, 2012, I was accepted to the University of Medicine and Health Sciences in St Kitts. St Kitts is a small island in the Caribbean (see pic where the red box is). I was originally accepted for the September class but me being a planner needed much more time in order to relocate my life to another country. I decided to defer my acceptance to January.

Not only did I get accepted into medical school but I also got accepted at Walden University for a Masters program. I began my Masters in Health Care Administration in September and all classes are online. I am continuing to work full time at St Luke's Hospital in the ER while completing my classes. Come January, I will continue to take one Masters class a semester while I'm completing my Doctorate of Medicine. I will complete both degrees in May 2016.

I can not wait for this journey ahead. I know it will be a challenge so many prayers and encouragement are welcome!