Second Semester Draws to a Close

Hello out there! With final exams only a week away, I cannot believe that I am about to wrap up my second semester of medical school. Very hard to believe that I have lived in St. Kitts for 8 months now, survived 2 semesters of medical school, and so grateful for all of the amazing new people I have met. Included a picture of Brittany (my room mate) and I enjoying our one beach day we allot ourselves after every set of exams we take. The island is as beautiful as ever and I can definitely feel the summer heat coming on as the days get progressively hotter. Hoping my Wisconsin skin can survive the summer sun!

Most exciting of all is that I have many visitors to look forward to in the near future! Lindsay, Alyssa, and Shannon arrive in two weeks followed by my parents arriving the first week in May. Unfortunately there will be no chance for me to come home to the States over this break but having visitors makes it much easier to accept and I plan on showing them the beauty of St. Kitts while they are here. No visitors from home this semester yet and not having seen any family or friends since early January has made this semester harder than the first. I found these last 3 months to be very emotionally taxing and I look forward to my visitors and a break from school more than you can imagine!

My living situation has been great and Brittany and I are excited to begin next semester in our same apartment and to avoid the hassle of moving. Brittany has her boyfriend and also her parents visiting over break so it should be a great break surrounded by people we love. I will be sure to take lots of pictures over break to share with everyone.

I will begin third semester the second week of May and we go year-round here so there will be no summer break for me with the exception of these two weeks coming up and our next break will come late August. Trying to maintain study motivation as its hard with the excitement of my visitors soon to arrive. Missing everyone from back home like mad, hoping you all are well and in good spirits as winter comes to a close. I have realized that some people have trouble commenting on my blog so for those of you who aren't on Facebook and would like to message me my email is agaravet@gmail.com
I can't promise how quick my response will be with these crazy next few weeks but I will get back to you as soon as I can and hearing from people back home always brings a big smile to my face!

Love you guys and am missing all of you!!!

Finally included some photos of the new place. Took me 2 days to restore it to this kind of cleanliness but here they finally are! Photos are of my room and bathroom and then one of our kitchen as well. Was giving me a hard time today so I had to post the text and pictures separate for some reason. To see the pictures you can click on "older posts" at the bottom of the screen.

Finished genetics yesterday so one more class under my belt and we begin Embryology on Monday. Still chipping away at Physiology and Biochem as well. A little bit more laid back weekend to catch up on sleep after the rough past two weeks, team has a volleyball game on Friday and football on Sunday.

May drink a green beer or two tonight to celebrate the old irish heritage. Thinking especially about Grandma Mary today and everything she meant to me and our family.

"May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

and rains fall soft upon your fields.

and until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand."

A great day to be Irish...Happy St Patrick's Day <3

Pictures of the place!!

For Annie and Aunt Cathy :)

This entry is dedicated to Aunt Cathy and Annie! I know its been a while, but as usual my life has had little to no free time available for such pleasantries as blog entries. Survived the first block of exams and included a few photos from our kitchen and what it looks like during exam time; filthy and full of junk food.

Also included two photos from a new beach that Brittany and I discovered after our last exam when we finally allowed ourself some enjoyment. It's called Shipwreck Beach and its about a 15 min drive to the other side of the mountains. Very secluded, on the Caribbean Ocean, and tucked in a little cove. Looks straight out of a Corona commercial and just might be our new spot for those rare occasions that we relax. Anyone who visits must spend a day at this beach. Shannon, Alyssa, and Lindsay in April and Mom and Dad in May are next up on the agenda. I cannot wait for them to get here so that I can show off my island and my new apartment. As for my new housing situation....AMAZING. I am so happy in the new place that I live. They are brand new places; clean, safe, and as bug free as you can get on a caribbean island! I want to include pictures but will only do so when this place is cleaned up. The dishes are piled up in the kitchen and we need to do a little cleaning up before I take pictures to post on here. Never thought I would care about that kind of thing...I really am turning into my mother. (Not that it's a bad thing Mom!) Brittany also has a car this semester so we drive to and from school giving me a glorious extra 30 minutes to sleep in the morning. The car has made our lives so much easier when it comes to running errands, grocery shopping, and making the rare beach trip. Only one incident where the battery died on us and we were stranded. Guess I'm used to living in Wisconsin where every person keeps at least two sets of jumper cables in their trunk. We had to flag down about 50 people before someone finally knew someone who's brother knew someone with jumper cables.

Now allow me to explain the first picture, which I'm sure most of you saw and have failed to comprehend any of which I've already typed because you're still reeling from that photo. That picture, thank God, is not from my apartment. That photo is courtesy of three classmates, Royal, Eddie, and Rob, whom so bravely murdered that creature as we was scurrying across their kitchen floor. The photo doesn't do that beast justice. He is about 8 inches long and those legs you see sticking out are only a fraction of them, the rest being tucked neatly underneath. Those are the guys that require medical attention once they sting you, yea I said STING you. I know several people who have been stung by one and they were both out of commission for a few days after the incident. Both of them were stung while they were sleeping in bed....

Are you horrified yet because I have chills just writing about it. One guy was stung on the neck and the centipede was crawling across his pillow....

New topic. Still playing intramural football on Sundays and you're darn right I caught the only touchdown pass our team had last weekend. Trying to represent those SUPER BOWL CHAMPIONS from Green Bay. Also joined a volleyball league on Friday's. Both a great way to get out and have a nice study break.

That is all I have for now. Time to get back to studying of course. Love and Miss everyone. Those of you hankering for a break from the cold and snow; it's always 80 and sunny in St Kitts and I love visitors :)

GO PACK GOOOOOOO!

I had to include a quick post to say LET'S GO PACKERS!!!! Been studying my butt off for the last two weeks so that I could watch the game tonight. Exams are tomorrow morning so wish me luck! I need this win tonight to keep my spirits up! Can't believe the Packers are at the Super Bowl and I'm not in the U.S. to be a part of this momentous celebration. Myself, along with the two other Packer fans at school, will be cheering our hearts out!

GO PACK GO!

This one's for you Dad

As my Dad so gently suggested, Ashley it's time for another blog! So here it is. It's been a while since you have heard from me and since then I have finished my first month of second semester. This semester makes the last one look like nothing. We have already covered neuro, cell, pulmonary, and reproductive in physiology and flown through 13 chapters of biochemistry which means we've been covering a little over 4 chapters per week. INSANITY. As our dean described to us "in medical school you attempt to catch a waterfall in a thimble." The sheer volume of information is enormous. Many med students will tell you that we could study every hour of every day, not sleep or eat, and still not feel like we know everything.

Our first set of block exams is a week from today...enough said

I often feel like I live the exact day over and over again. Wake up at 7, have five straight hours of lecture from 8 until one in the afternoon (try to grab a quick lunch somewhere in there) and go home at one. Once I get home I either take a quick 2o min nap or go for a run (lately naps have been more frequent than work outs) Then I literally study from 2 in the afternoon until i go to bed somewhere between 11 and midnight. Wake up and do it all over again. And there you have it, the exciting life of a medical student!

The best part of this semester is my much improved living situation! Moved into a new complex where Brittany and I share a two bedroom place. Huge living room and kitchen and half bath on the first floor, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and laundry on the second floor. Cannot tell you how much better this has made being here. I finally have an actual "home" to go to and study. Spending less time in the library and more at the kitchen table in the comfort of my own place. I feel so fortunate to be living where I do!

Looking forward to visits in late April from Alyssa, Shannon, and Lindsay and from my parents the first week in May. Can finally show them the place I currently call home!

Lots of studying to do but sometime after these exams I will take pictures of my new place and post them!

love and miss everyone :)

Back to School

Hard to believe that I am about to begin my second semester of medical school. It seems like I just finished writing my last blog entry as I was about to enter final exams. As you can see, I survived all the exams and did pretty darn well if you can imagine that!

I'm sitting on my flight back to the island and cannot believe what a whirlwind my 3 weeks at home were. I flew into Chicago on December 15 after finishing my last exam. I landed at 11 pm and immediately met up with Tom and his mom. I then got onto another flight and flew with them (and most of Tom's apartment) to Atlanta. Tom had just graduated from the University of Wisconsin and is moving back to Atlanta to begin his new job. So proud of him and excited for the next chapter he is about to begin!! We landed in Atlanta at some point between 3 and 4 am, which with the time difference means I had been up for 24 hours. Needless to say I was exhausted, especially since the entire week prior I was only getting 4 hours of sleep a night and studying like a mad woman. I spent four fantastic days in Atlanta with Tom and his family. Christmas party, Thrasher hockey game and I was on my way back to Wausau to see my family for the first time in four months!

I flew into Wausau and was ecstatic to see my parents and brother. I can't describe the feeling of being at home surrounded by everything familiar and comfortable. It put me at such ease and I caught up on A LOT of sleep. Mom and Dad were both able to take some time off work so the whole family was together. Another Christmas party, sledding, hockey games, trip to Milwaukee with friends, shopping, packer games, movies, getting the car stuck in the snow, Grandma's 80th birthday, seeing extended family, and MORE sleep. Oh and did I mention that all I did was eat? For those of you who are my Skype buddies you have heard me talk about how I am hungry all the time when in St Kitts. I was sure to eat enough for two people while I was home. Congratulations to my best friend Mal on her engagement to her boyfriend Jared; I am so honored to have been a part of such a special day. What a shock to the system, we really are growing up! Guess its easy to ignore this fact being a perpetual student. Tom was able to come to Wausau and spend the last 2 weeks of my stay in fabulous central Wisconsin. We all had so much fun together, it is the most special Christmas Break I can remember.

All good things must come to an end and before I knew it I was back on a plane heading south. I thought good byes were supposed to get easier…false. Still so hard to say good bye to family and friends.

This break was a major time of reflection for me. In my "study bubble" I am able to ignore the real world and just be a medical student. I now have friends who have real jobs that come with real bills and real responsibilities. I have friends who are engaged and some in graduate school. Almost none of us are in Wausau, many no longer even live in Wisconsin. I'm smiling when I'm writing this because I'm thinking of all the stupid teenage things we used to do and we always lived in the moment. I'm so proud of what we have all become, one way or another we all found our way. Its pretty cool to see the adults we are (terrifying to be using the word "adult" to describe us).

More than anything else, this break made me realize that I am doing exactly what I am supposed to be doing in exactly the time and place I am supposed to be doing it. How lucky am I to be able to say that?? So here I am, up in the air somewhere over the state of Tennessee and on my way back to the island of St Kitts. Embarking on second semester which will consist of Physiology, Biochemistry, Genetics, and Embryology. Yikes!

So thank you again for taking the time to read my blog. I'm honored that anybody out there, besides my parents, care about me enough to take the time to catch up on my life. So thank you again and more blog to come!

Happy 2011, Let's make this year great!