Next step

So, as you can all see, I have not updated this blog since I got to Miami and I am sorry about that but I am going to try and do better now that I am starting rotations. Since my last post, I have done a semester in Miami and have studied for, taken, and passed Step 1 which is the first part of my medical licensing board exams. Now I am getting ready to head to NYC to do rotations at various hospitals in the Brooklyn area. The rotations I am scheduled for so far are Family Medicine, Ob/Gyn, Internal Medicine, and Psychiatry. I should be getting scheduled for more rotations in a few months. I have gotten myself a really nice apartment in Brooklyn with a friend of mine from the island and am really excited about the neighborhood and looking forward to exploring the area. I am going to try to update this blog more often for those of you who still read it but for the next week or two I am going to enjoy the holidays and the time I have left at home before heading up to NYC on January 5th. I'll post pictures of my apartment and neighborhood once I get back up there and get settled!

Made it to MIami!!

So, I have been neglecting this lately...sorry for that! Since I last posted, I took my last mini and final in Dominica. I ended the semester with 3 B's and an A which I am pretty excited about. I then spent a few days enjoying the island and hanging out with my friends before heading back to the states for good!! I was only in Kennesaw for a few days but was super busy the whole time with appointments, running errands, seeing friends, and going to the aquarium with my brother and dad. Then my parents and I started the drive down to MIami. We stopped in Tallahassee for 2 days to see some family then finished the drive down. My parents stayed here for a week and while they were here we went to the Everglades, South Beach, Key Biscayne, and Key Largo. We also drive around my place a bit to figure out where everything was and to pick-up groceries and other stuff for the apartment. Since they left, I have just been studying and exploring the area getting ready for classes to start again on Monday as well as just enjoying being back in the US!! Enjoy some pictures from Dominica and Miami!

Apparently my internet hates me and wants to take forever to upload pictures so I could only get this one which is a picture of the last sunset I saw in Dominica. Enjoy and hopefully I can get some more up later.

Post Mini 2

So, we just had our second exam of the semester this past Thursday. Afterwards, some friends and I went to a nice beach around here for the afternoon and then went to dinner at Red Rock. I had the surf and turf there and it was really good...a small filet mignon with shrimp. The next day I took off from classes and just laid in bed all day watching TV. It felt so nice to not have to do anything. Saturday morning, some friends and I went down to Roseau, the capital here, for a weekend. We got there and went to Scottshead which is at the southern tip of the island and there is a small strip of land there where the Caribbean is on one side and the Atlantic Ocean is on the other. We climbed up to the middle part of Scottshead and got some nice pictures and then came down and went snorkeling in the Caribbean. The weather was a little overcast and the water was a little choppy so snorkeling was a little difficult. After that, we went to the hotel we were staying in, checked in, and went out and hung out on our balcony for a while. We ended up seeing a whale off the coast which was awesome! There was also a big cruise ship docked in Roseau. Our hotel was basically right next to the ship dock so we had a great view of the ship that luckily moved so we could see the sunset from our balcony as well! The rest of that day was pretty uneventful...we just all hung out and enjoyed not doing anything which was very nice. Sunday, we woke up, had breakfast at the hotel, went to the infinity pool for a bit, then went to Trafalgar Falls and Screws Spa. At Trafalgar we got to see two waterfalls which were gorgeous...one of them is called the Father and the other is the Mother...I don't know the story behind that, I was just told by someone else. After that, we went to Screws Spa which is a Sulfur spring. They had three different pools you could go into...a hot one, a warm one, and a cool one. This place was literally in the middle of the rainforest and it was really nice and really relaxing. At one point, it started raining and we were in the hot springs...it was nice to just sit there and have the cool rain beat down on you as you were sitting in the hot water. The weekend was definitely very amazing and very relaxing which was just what we all needed. I am totally ready to be back in the states but I am going to miss this place...it is just so beautiful here and I am glad I got the opportunity to explore a little before leaving. Here are a few pictures from the weekend:

Scottshead:


Me at Scottshead:


Hotel:


Cruise ship:


Whale:




Sunset:




Trafalgar Falls:
With "Father":


With "Mother":


Both waterfalls:

Hospital!

Today, I had a small taste of what rotations are going to be like in a few months. This semester we go to the hospital two different times and follow around a doctor as they go through their routine. Today, I had an orthopedic rotation though I did not get to see any surgery. All of the students rotating on surgery today got together and we went through the wards and rounded on patients. Got to see some pretty interesting stuff including a guy with MRSA in a leg wound, a lady with a chest tube, a couple fractured bones, and another guy with a nasty leg ulcer. It was a great experience and there were definitely a few moments throughout the day when I really felt like a medical student and not just some kid sitting in a class learning a bunch of information for a test. I am looking forward to my next hospital visit and even more towards starting rotations in the states!!!

Here are some of the pictures from my friends underwater camera of the sea turtles we saw in Barbados!

Enjoy!!

Me getting ready to go snorkeling!!



Turtles, turtles, turtles!!

Barbados!!!

So, this past weekend, a couple of friends and I decided to take a weekend trip to Barbados. We had Friday off from school so it was the perfect time to do it. The island is so beautiful and so much different than Dominica. There were four lane roads, straight roads, grocery stores bigger than gas station convenience stores, etc. The first day we got there we walked around near the hotel a bit and then went to the beach for the rest of the day and then did dinner at a place called Oistens which is like a large outdoor cafeteria where you can chose from a bunch of different places to eat. We all ended up getting flying fish which Barbados is known for and it was pretty good! The next day, we got up early to go snorkeling. We got to snorkel at a few different ship wrecks and then we got to go snorkeling with sea turtles which was AMAZING!!! They are such amazing creatures and it was so cool to be so close to them...I even got to touch their shells which was awesome! I don't have any pictures of the sea turtles right now but I will try to remember to post them once I get them from my friends. That evening we went out to dinner and then hit up the night scene near our hotel and went dancing at a few different bars. The last full day that we were there we decided to rent a car and drive around the island to go to a Nature Conservatory. There we got to see MONKEYS as well as birds, turtles, deer, and several other types of animals in a "zoo" that you could walk around in and where none of the animals (except the alligators, snakes, and some birds) were in a cage. The monkeys were so awesome and we even got to feed them which was totally cool!! That night we went out to a Brazilian steakhouse which was really good, I even tried some lamb that night. We also got some grilled pineapple covered with cinnamon which was delicious and something I definitely want to make myself. The last day there was a short one as we had to head to the airport by noon so we had breakfast and went to the beach for about an hour until we had to head back. Overall, the trip was amazing and I would definitely recommend people go to Barbados. It has a good mix of touristy stuff and local flair so you don't feel like you are basically in South Florida though I am sure there are places on the island you could go to if you wanted a little more "high-class" feel. Thats all for now and I will try to remember to post pictures of the sea turtles. Until then, enjoy these few pictures below:

Us at a rum distillery/plantation: this was the toilet and there were different size holes you could chose from depending on your butt size!


Sunset at the beach across the street from our hotel


Picture of the beach: it was a little cloudy that morning


Picture of a Green Monkey!


Me feeding the monkey!

Semester 4...USA bound for good in 4 months!

So, I just got back a few days ago from an AMAZING Christmas break! I spent a few days in Kennesaw/Atlanta visiting friends then went to NYC for Christmas and was there for the blizzard and then headed to Pensacola for a few days and then back to Kennesaw for a few more days of relaxation! I got back to the island on Friday and then spent Saturday at the pool and went snorkeling at Douglas Bay on Sunday which was AMAZING!! Saw all sorts of cool fish and coral as well as a lot of sea urchins and something that was either a sea snake or an eel...not sure exactly which it was. I definitely hope to go snorkeling here again before the semester is over as it was so awesome even if I did get pretty burnt on my back! Classes started back today so I am just trying to get back into the swing of things for my LAST semester on the island!! That's all I have for now, enjoy some of these pictures from break taken with my brand new camera that I bought for myself as a Christmas/getting 2 A's this past semester gift! Lol