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

Another exam down!

So yesterday we had our last Mini examination of the semester! Now there are just a couple more days of studying and a final in the way of me getting home for Christmas! I did pretty well overall on this exam though I wish I had done a little better in both pharmacology and microbiology. Hopefully we will get a few questions grieved and I can get some points back to my grade! After the exam, some friends and I went to Batibou beach for the afternoon and then Pagua Bay for dinner to celebrate December birthdays! The beach was gorgeous...it was this secluded place that you had to walk 10 minutes through a path in the rainforest to get to and it was nice because we were the only ones there. I wished I would have brought my camera to get some pictures. For dinner, I got some chicken tacos and fried calamari which was really good. I then had a chocolate chip strawberry cheesecake slice for dessert which was also really good! Today I spent the day relaxing and getting my stuff organized and am going to hit the books again tomorrow and do that for the next 5 days before our final on Wednesday. Then after that, it's one day of relaxing and then HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!!!! I am so excited and can't wait to be home!
Love you all!!

Jess

Old pictures and Thanksgiving!

So, I am a slacker and didn't post the pictures from our day off after our exam like I said I would so, here they are now (better late than never right!)

These three photos are the view from the deck at Pagua Bay which is on the other side of the island from me and it is gorgeous! I was going to get pictures of my food but I forgot...







The day after going to Pagua, we went to Red Rock and enjoyed a day at the beach and then a nice dinner.

These next few are the view at Red Rock from the beach...








These next few are of some of the dogs at Red Rock...the short hair one was trying to catch crabs but was getting scared of the waves and then the long haired one was just super cute and super friendly!







This next one is of my food at Red Rock...filet mignon with mushroom sauce and mashed potatoes...really good by the way!



Then last weekend, I stayed in my apartment one afternoon before practicing some clinical skills with some friends and was out on my patio enjoying the day when I saw an iguana climbing up the coconut tree outside of my room so I decided to get a few pictures of him...




Lastly, I was able to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner here with some friends which was nice! We first went up to a local bar and had dinner up there and then some of us went to another friends house where they had two turkeys, mashed potatoes, homemade gravy and more. Their turkey was AMAZING and tasted just like home!! The only thing I missed, besides being home with family of course, was dessert. Everyone had pumpkin pie which I am not a huge fan of so I am looking forward to having some French Silk Pie when I get home for Xmas break! Here are some pictures from Thanksgiving night. I wasn't able to get a lot because my camera was dying but these are all from De Champs, the bar that we ate at!










That's all for now. We have 3 days of class left, 2 exams, and I am home in 19 days!! Can't wait to be home for the holidays!!!
Love you all!!

Hurricane Tomas

This weekend was fairly event filled! On Saturday, the weather it was cloudy and rainy and the wind got stronger and stronger as the day went one all due to Hurricane Tomas. We missed the eye of the storm but we got a decent amount of rain and it was very windy out which lasted all night and finally ended Sunday mid-morning. Power went out on campus twice and my power at my apartment went out twice as well. Definitely added some spice to a weekend that was already stressful as we were all studying for our second exam of the semester which was today. I feel like I did pretty well on my exam so we will see in a few days when they send our scores out to us. We have the day off on Wednesday as it is Dominica's Independence Day. With it being post-mini and having Wednesday off, my friends and I have some fun stuff planned for the next few days. Tomorrow afternoon we are going back to Pagua Bay for drinks and dinner and then Wednesday some of us are going to Red Rock to hang out at the beach and have dinner there. I am really excited for the tasty food and just to be able to relax for a bit. I will take pictures and post them later this week (hopefully!)
I am glad to be done with my second exam of the semester and can't believe I will be home in 7 weeks! All of a sudden, it's November and I have less than 50 days until I go home for Christmas...crazy how time flies!!

Love and miss you all!!

Pagua Bay

So last night, I went to Pagua Bay with some friends as it was two of their birthdays. Pagua Bay is a nice restaurant past the airport here that has really great food so it was nice to get away and eat some good food and just have a good time with some friends! I had a butterscotch martini and an apple martini and then had some fried calamari for an appetizer. My meal was a filet mignon served with mashed potatoes and it was delicious!! For dessert I had a strawberry chocolate swirl cheesecake homemade by the woman who runs the restaurant. It was all so delicious! We had a great time getting away from school for a bit and enjoying each others company. Today was filled with studying and tomorrow I will be doing more of the same. UGA looks like they are finally getting themselves under control as they won today against Vanderbilt. Georgia State also won which is awesome! That's all for now...enjoy the pictures from last night below!!






These next photos are when I bought a guava and tried it a few weeks ago. It was pretty good but you could definitely tell it was early season because the seeds, which are supposed to be edible, we still really hard and if I had tried to chew them, I would have probably broken a tooth! But what I could eat of it was really good and I need to remember to buy another one soon as they are probably more ripe by now.







Love and miss you all!!!

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