Pages

Friday, January 25, 2013

5th term for the Doctor-Man

So, what does 5th term have in store for the Doctor-Man-To-Be? Here's a little run down: 5th term consists of 4 classes, with the big one being Pathophysiology. Although you spend most of your first 2 years at SGU hearing about term 4 and Pathology the 13 credit monster- don't be fooled, Pathophysiology may be a slight step down, but it's no easy walk in the park. It rings in a close second at 12 credits and is not lacking for material. The other 3 classes are Pharmacology (drugs, drugs, drugs!), Intro to Clinical Medicine (5th term students go to the a local Grenadian hospital twice a week to get some actual hands-on experience. The hospital in Grenada is not exactly what we are used to in the States, which adds to the experience! But, there is no AC and Nick will be wearing dress pants, a dress shirt, AND a white coat (he's a doctor!)... so to say he will be a bit toasty during his couple hours a week there is putting it lightly! Nick's super excited about the hands-on work though and has missed interacting with patients, so it will be a nice change and break from sitting in a desk for a couple hours, two days a week!) and Foundation to Clinical Reasoning (something along the lines of applying what they've learned so far to clinical vignettes.)

Whew, that was a mouth-full.  Besides classes, Nick has also been bumped up from VP to Mr. El-Presidenté of the Emergency Medicine Club at SGU. This has already been keeping him busy as he plans events, speakers, clinics, and does all sorts of President busy work and running around. He loves it though. What can I say... the man loves to be busy and continues to love Emergency Medicine!

And last but not least, with the USMLE Step 1 Board Exam quickly approaching, Nick is also dedicating a few hours each week to reviewing and studying test prep materials. The big push for studying will come in May after 5th term is complete, but he feels that getting his bearings and attempting to stay on top of all the material now, will help him during those overwhelming cram-weeks later on :) He has also already submitted his application to take the test so we are just waiting to set an official date! Crazy! I think it's safe to say 5th term is officially in full-swing and the glorious days of having Nick around the house are over for now! Let the good times crazy hours of lecture and studying in medical school roll!
The Doctor-Man-To-Be himself, sporting his nerdy totally awesome, and crazy accurate anatomy shirt! He came home from school SUPER proud because all his classmates thought he was so cool... oh medical school humor! I must say, it is pretty cool though!

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Limes 2013

Today, was our first day back at Limes for the term and boy was it great to be back! The loving squeals and hugs that we were met with as we walked up to the Limes structure were so darn cute and never, ever, ever get old! Upon seeing my sweet baby girl Jada I grabbed her for a hug and our conversation went something like this:
Me- "Oh I just missed you and love you so much!" 
Jada- "you love me dis big?" (holds up fingers about an inch apart) 
Me- "I love you lots bigger than that!"
Jada- "Nooooo, dis big?! (points to her shoe)
Me- "Bigger than that!"
This game went on for several minutes with it finally ending on that I loved her to the moon to which she said with a big smile "miss dat far!" And she instantly had me wrapped right around her tiny little finger all over again. The icing on the cake being when I was getting ready to go she said "Miss give me squeeze to the moon!" Love that baby!

As is usually the case with Limes, it takes a few days for word to get out that we are holding class, so the turnout today was pretty small. It's always kind of nice though because it allows us to get a little more one on one time with those that do show up! It was so fun to see each and every one of them and to hear how their Christmas and break from school was. Oh, and of course gossip with some of the older girls who were quick to ask for details about my "new husband" and who would erupt in giggles at anything I said in reference to Nick! Classic. Definitely looking forward to spending a lot more time with these kids this term!

We had a few new faces out today also which is always super fun! If you are in Grenada and looking for something to do, please come join! We meet 3-5pm Tues/Wed/Thurs we (and the kids) would love to see you!
I brought a new book to Limes today: The Hungry Little Caterpillar... it also has a matching game with what the caterpillar ate... naturally, it was a huge hit! :) 


Sunday, January 13, 2013

Term 5 ponderings

"You're term 5?!?! Wow, you've been here forever and must be so excited to be almost done with Grenada!" 

I can't tell you the number of times I have heard that just in the past week! What's the saying? If I had a dime for every time someone said it, I'd be rich? Yes. Yes I would be.

The thing is though, my feelings about being term 5 are not so one-sided or black and white... but how would I even begin to explain this to someone who has only been here a handful of days and is still transitioning to island life and the thought of completing 2 years and 5 terms of medical school (or whatever program or alotted time frame for your situation) is still overwhelmingly daunting... Yes I am thrilled to be term 5! This means Nick is one step closer to achieving his dream. This means he has so far conquered the basic sciences portion of med school like a freakin' champ. This means 4th term is behind us. This means I am one step closer to a job that includes a paycheck. However, we've been here a year and half- not forever. Yes, at the end of each term does it sometimes feel that way? Certainly. But really we love Grenada and all in all when I think about our time here on this wonderful little island, I think good things and that time has literally flown by! And when it comes to leave for good it will absolutely be bittersweet.

Another thing that always sits with me funny is the "done with Grenada" part. Will we ever really be done with Grenada? I don't think so. And I sure hope not. It's hard to top the feeling I get when I see the kids with big smiles on their faces racing toward me like it's the greatest thing in the entire world. And they react that way every time! It's unconditional love at it's best. At the same time, as much as I will miss being hands on with the kids, and seeing pictures of other volunteers with them will be wonderful but also make me miss them entirely too much- there is almost more I can do to help these kids from the United States. In the U.S I can do fundraisers and help in many ways that I am unable to here due to financial restrictions and distance from those I am hoping to reach out to for support once we get home. So, it's 6 in one- half a dozen in the other. For my own personal fulfillment, I will miss their cute faces and squeezes every day... but at the same time, I find solace in that I know there are many volunteers here who will continue to love on them, and I can take my talents and help them even more from a distance. Oh, and of course hopefully visit again in the not too far off future when Nick comes back to SGU as a guest lecturer and I can come back and play... hey, a girl can dream right? :)

To me- living abroad... more specifically, living in Grenada comes down to this: it is what YOU make of it. You have control to decide what type of experience have here. You are in charge of the extra activities you seek out to fill your time. You control your attitude. No one else is going to make Grenada be a certain way for you, but you can choose to make it the best couple of years possible.

Does this mean it will be amazing 100% of the time? No. I doubt it. I think you could have the most positive outlook on life ever and still have days that drive you bonkers... but honestly, that is just life in general- not just life here on this tiny island. I think it is easy to forget that sometimes.

Change can be a good thing- try to embrace it!
There are things to do in Grenada- go seek them out and explore!
Meet people & make friends- there are many other people in your similar shoes!
Start a new hobby- something that a hectic life in the U.S may not allow time for!
Remember the grass is always greener on the other side- in a few years when you are working a 9-5 job, sitting in rush hour traffic, surrounded by buildings and congestion- this life might seem more glamorous!
Volunteer- the kids in Grenada will undoubtedly steal your heart, or find some other organization you are passionate about. Whatever it is- Get involved!
Keep an open mind- your own small life box is not all the world has to offer, learn from new people and experiences!
Laugh at things beyond your control- tomorrow, next month, or next year... it will make a good story!

Look at me being so bossy... ha, but seriously. 2-3 years... is not forever. And with a little effort, positive thinking, and a little less focus on the negative, you just might find these few years go by super fast. You might find you had some fun. You might find you grow a lot as a person by stepping outside the box. You might find that Grenada steals a piece of your heart that you don't ever intend to leave completely behind.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Mmmm... Ants?!

Well...

I was just about to go to bed and wanted a glass of water.

I reach for the water that I had just poured and placed by the bed maybe 3 minutes ago...

I drink it. I swallow it. I open my eyes...

The cup is filled with ants.

Process of elimination tells me- I just swallowed a cup of ants.

Anddddd, officially welcome back to Grenada. 

My life is awesome.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

2012- A year filled with adventures & blessings!

Last post was on December 15, 2012. Whew! What a wonderful whirlwind life has been since then!

I'll start out by saying 2012 was a great year! Just maybe, the best year ever. Seriously, let me do a quick run down of what the wonderful year of 2012 had to offer.  I kicked it off with a bang by officially moving to Grenada with Nick on January 4th. This was the big medical school year for Nick as he would complete 3 terms of school before the year was over and we would spend about 9  out of the 12 months of 2012 living in Grenada. Life in Grenada is never dull. This can mean it is full of excitement, new adventures, beautiful Grenadian children and sunshine OR it can mean broken fridges, fires in the shower, endless bugs, cat calls, and non-stop sweating- however, regardless of whichever way the arrow points for that day, life here is always an adventure and a good story to tell. Living in Grenada has been a huge blessing that I would not trade in for all the AC, season changes, and convenience of the United States for anything. God has a plan, his plan is good, and we are better for it!

Summer of 2012 brought a wonderful surprise in the form of the sweetest proposal ever from my main squeeze! There are no words for the way I felt that day, but I can easily say I have never been more surprised, shocked, excited, and happy- ever. It was perfect! I enjoyed every aspect of being engaged and wedding planning and thanks to a ton of help from our parents and my sister, the whole planning process was smooth, enjoyable, and stress-free... and even living in the time warp that is Grenada- our 6 months of engaged life flew by!

Starting in August, we braced ourselves for 4th term of medical school. The looming giant and stormy cloud that had been slowly approaching had finally arrived. We'd heard the stories, we'd witnessed others go through it before us, and now it was our turn. On top of Nick's hectic and stressful schedule, I was also busy as a member of the SO board, wedding planning, and had my hands full with studying for my social work board exam. The madness ended with nothing but smiles however, as we both kicked major butt and came out on the other side with Nick getting all great grades in his hardest term ever AND I passed my exam!  It's so rewarding to see all of Nick's endless hours of studying pay off and he continues to impress me daily with his motivation, dedication to learning, and incredible study habits.

To celebrate our recent successes and to help bring the crazy, yet wonderful, year to an end- we took a trip down the aisle! I'll start by saying-  I want to get married every day! Everything about our wedding was perfect. We got a dusting of snow the day before, the roads were perfect the day of, although the day started out a bit gray and cloudy the sun and blue skies appeared 45 minutes prior to our ceremony and remained the rest of the evening. We were surrounded by hundreds of our closest family members and friends and felt so much love and support that we were completely overwhelmed (in a good way of course). The day went by SO FAST, but I had been told by many to try and take a step back throughout the day to just take everything in... and I am so glad I did! We are so blessed to have so many special people in our lives who really helped us pull everything together and who did a good chunk of the leg work for us because without them, it would not have been possible! 12-22-12 was a great day- and as it was said, the world did not end on the 21st, but on the 22nd a new beginning and chapter began for us and for our families :)
We celebrated our first married Christmas together just a few short days later surrounded by many family members and friends as we made our rounds hitting 5 different Christmas parties! We wouldn't have had it any other way however, because it gave us the opportunity to see everyone again before it was time to head home to Grenada.
































We ended 2012 on a cruise ship celebrating our new marriage, love, and happiness the best way Nick and I know how... in the sun, playing all kinds of silly games, going on fun outdoorsy adventures, and eating more than any 2 people should! My luggage may not have made it on the cruise ship with us, thus giving me a new nickname of "giftshop dress girl" thanks to needing to wear the only dress they had for sale in the gift shop on New Years Eve... but it made for some great stories and that was literally the only snafu we encountered the entire trip! All in all, it was SO WONDERFUL to have my main man back from the claws of medschool and to enjoy nothing but relaxation and fun together to celebrate a fabulous year of great accomplishments and to get us ready to take on 2013 which promises to be filled with just as much craziness!

We are now back in Grenada and it is so hard to believe we are in the final stretch. Where has time gone? I seriously remember Nick walking through airport security to head to this unknown little island without me like it was yesterday and now here we are starting to finalize our plans to leave Grenada for good which is definitely bittersweet. Time. Flies.

So here's to 2012 and all the happiness and love it brought and all the wonderful memories I will forever cherish! Cheers to 2013 and all the many fun, crazy, most likely a little stressful, but amazing adventures that this new year has to bring! Oh, and double cheers to not having any studying left to do and to having very few responsibilities this term outside playing with and loving on the children here in Grenada for the next 5 months! Hard work and sacrifice paid off, and I most certainly intend to make the most out of it!

Chow for now! :)