Update!

So, we just had our first mini of the semester last Monday. I was really worried about how I would do in pharmacology but surprisingly I ended up getting my highest grade in that class which was a real confidence boost especially since it was only 4 points from being an A! My other grades were pretty good as well...definitely a lot better than first mini last semester. Between that and hanging out with some new awesome friends, I have noticed less headaches as I am not nearly as stressed out as I was last semester. Classes since the mini have been going fine so hopefully this next mini won't be bad either. Tomorrow, I am going out with some friends as it is two of their birthdays. We are going to Pagua Bay for dinner which will be nice...they have filet mignon on the menu so I plan on getting that and I'm sure it will be amazingly good! That's about all I have for now...I don't have any new pictures to post but I will try and remember to bring my camera tomorrow and take some pictures and post them this weekend. Love you all!!

Jess

Update!

So, it has been quite a while since I have updated. Things were really busy towards the end of July and throughout August because we had three weeks of exams which required a lot of study time. Luckily, I made it through that period fine and ended the semester with pretty good grades...1 A, 4 B's, and a C. After that, I can home for about 2 weeks which was incredible! I got to see a bunch of people, enjoy some great food, have a bachelorette night for Tita, and just relax and enjoy being home. I have since come back to the island and began my 3rd semester. We have our first Mini of the semester coming up on Monday so I am trying to prepare for that as I don't want to get off on the wrong foot with grades this semester.

Oranges are back in season here which is awesome as I can now get fresh orange juice at the shacks every day which is SO much better than the stuff you get at home. I am going to have to invest in a juicer when I get back to the states because I am not going to be able to convert back to drinking orange juice from a carton! I also bought some guavas which were not quite ripe yet but were still decent as well as a sugar apple which I haven't eaten yet but will probably do so soon and post a picture of it as it is a very strange looking fruit.

That is about all for now. Love you all and I will try to update this more often!!

Red Rock

This past Sunday a big group of us went to Red Rock for the day. It's a beach about 25 minutes from here on the other side of the island with a hotel and restaurant on site. We had an awesome time and the beach and had some awesome food. For lunch I had a garlic shrimp burrito with a drink that was guava juice and Bacardi limon (delicious!!!). Then for dinner, I had a filet mignon served on a bed of mashed potatoes with a shitake mushroom sauce then a slice of key lime pie for dessert! The filet was delicious--perfectly cooked and soooo tender! I was going to take a picture of it but I was too excited that I didn't get one! It was nice to get away for a day before things get crazy at the end of the semester. We have 2.5 weeks of class left then a week with 3 practicals, a mini the following monday, and three days of finals the next week. It's going to be crazy and I will be so glad when it is over and I can head home for two weeks! Enjoy the pictures below!!

Love you all!!! Home in 38 days!!!

Mango

So, I bought some mangoes the other day and decided to have one today. It was pretty good, but I think I will wait a few more days to eat the other one to let it get just a bit softer. Enjoy the pictures!

Update

So, it has been a while since my last post. Since then, I have taken my first big exam as well as a neuroscience and anatomy practical. The exam didn't go as well as I hoped but I have since been studying like crazy hoping that the next one, which is in two weeks, goes much better! My neuroscience practical went well, I got an A on that, and my anatomy practical went pretty well I think...I won't get that grade back until Monday or Tuesday. The weather here has been quite warm lately and, even though it is supposed to be the rainy season, it seems to get cloudy a lot but it doesn't actually rain. Friday night, some friends and I went out for dinner and drinks after our anatomy practical. Also on Friday night, a tropical disturbance came over the island so that night it was really windy and poured all night! Saturday it was cloudy and windy all day and then Saturday night it rained again on and off for a few hours. I sat out on my patio for a few minutes last night just enjoying the rain...it was wonderful! Here are some pictures of an iguana that I noticed outside my apartment the other day as I was taking a study break! Enjoy!






Love and miss you all!! Can't wait to be stateside in 2 months!!

So, its 2 weeks into semester 2 and so far, things aren't too bad. I am taking the second part of all of the classes I had next semester and am also taking neuroscience. I have to say, I think neuroscience is my favorite class so far at least! It is a bit complicated but it is very interesting and the teachers we have for it are very good and seem to actually enjoy what they are doing which is helpful. We have a 4 day weekend this weekend which is nice as it is giving me time to catch up. I was sick last weekend so I pretty much stayed in bed from Friday afternoon until I went to class again on Monday so I could get better quickly so, needless to say, I did not get much studying accomplished. The good thing about this semester is that things seem to overlap much more so even though I hadn't studied much last weekend, I didn't feel very behind because a lot of the material had been repeated in different classes. I am hoping things continue this way and that I continue to feel fairly confident in knowing this material. We have our first exam in 2 weeks and I want to do really well on it. I hope to do really well on all of my Mini's this semester as our final exam, spread over three days, is pretty difficult. It is cumulative from both 1st and 2nd semester so that is a little stressful. I definitely don't want to go into the final having to do really well in a certain subject just to pass so hopefully the studying and the fact that this content seems to be more interesting will pay off in my exam scores!

On another note, I heard thunder today on the island! I was under the impression that they just didn't have thunderstorms here as I hadn't heard thunder once in my time here until today. I was walking back from getting lunch and heard it rumble a couple of times. Sadly, it didn't last long and didn't actually produce a thunderstorm which is sad as thunderstorms are one of my favorite things! Oh well, maybe there will be some later this summer!

Just thought I'd update you all!

Love and miss you all tons!!! 3 months until I am home again!! (And, about 330 days until I am back in the states for good!!)

Gearing up for semester 2!

First off, Happy Mother's Day mom, I love you!!

Well, I got back to the island on Friday after a WONDERFUL break home in the states! I got to see some friends, met some new ones, and then got to down to Florida for a few days with the family! It was great and I had a really great time; so glad I decided to go home for the break. I am now sitting around trying to get ready for the semester to begin. I have done some grocery shopping, downloaded notes for class, and started organizing my room a bit though I still have a giant pile of junk on my desk that i need to do something with at some point. Well it has just started raining here so I think that is a perfect time to lay in bed and watch a movie!

Tomorrow I start classes; hopefully this semester isn't too much harder than the first one!

Love you and miss you all!!