Liming is not studying

So, since midterms I have had a hard time motivating myself to study.  But I before I continue, first some definitions. In Grenada (and the Caribbean) the term "liming" refers to hanging out, chillin', doing nothing productive, socializing, etc. One explanation for this term is that the islands use to have large lime farms and those that worked on these farms were "limers", evidently much of their job required sitting around and hence when in the Carib, one is liming. 

So, back to this week: I think that I have mastered the art of liming. Studying, not so much but liming, check! Monday-Rituals coffee house while I tried to study but mostly skyped and chatted with friends on line, Tuesday-beach in AM and a real movie theatre in the PM, Wednesday- field trip to pet store with A after a long lunch causing us to miss half of histology lecture, Thursday- couldn't find anyone to do anything with and was already at Mocha after my anatomy review group so I actually studied, Friday- went to the village of Gouyave on the other side of the island for Fish Friday. Tomorrow is Sandblast which I believe is just a party on the beach... but I'll fill you in later.  So one week into the second half of the term and I'm a few lectures behind, I guess that is what Sunday is for. Liming does not equal studying, but it is fun!

Island Time

I know I haven't posted lately, and I'm sorry... I'm going to use the excuse of midterms. That and I'm on island time... If you have ever been to an island, and I don't think it matters which one or where, you will know what I am talking about. Life on an island (save Long Island which doesn't count since just an overgrown suburb of NYC) is a little less hectic and a little less punctual than the mainland. Grenada is no exception and as an upper termer told me the first week here, "nothing will ever start on time except for your classes and tests."  I've been here for two months and I am half way done with first semester and I feel as if I've pretty much adjusted by now. I know what to expect from the exams and I know not to stress over the fact that the bus is late or the service slow. I came home from class today and discovered that my window had been fixed. (See previous post.) No more howling wind... how peaceful my apartment will be now.

In other news, I survived midterms and actually had a whole weekend to go to the beach (twice!), read a book, get a pedicure and buy a pair of shoes. Not to mention dance at Bananas, bake an apple pie, make dinner for some friends, drink wine and watch a movie. The weekend was so nice I'm not sure if I remember how to study or sit through lectures. I needed coffee and candy to stay awake during histo and biochem. Now I'm enjoying a nice latte at Rituals and thinking of things to do besides review the fours hours of lecture I had today... But I'm in med school, so there's no time for Island time,  I guess its back to the grind.... at least I have my latte. Let's see, do I want to study protein transcription or renal histology or maybe pre-read for anatomy tomorrow, I'm sure the pelvic wall is fascinating. Oh the decisions...

When the Wind Blows

So, I have a broken drafty window which means it sounds much windier in my room than it is actually and it took me a week to come up with a way to plug it by stuffing a pillow case and creating a semi-seal. But I digress. It seems in Grenada (and at SGU) things change rather quickly. You can be having a fabulous day full thinking you are prepared for small group while the sun is shining, the birds are chirping... and then the next minute the sky is dark, the wind blows and rain falls, you are being berated for knowing nothing, your professor call the class a disgrace (half of us failed the Biochem Unified) and you want to go crawl under the covers and hide. 

My confidence, I think they are out to steal it. Medical school is humbling, you are reminded how much you do not know (a lot) EVERY SINGLE DAY. Which is hard when you feel like all you do is study, and still you know nothing. And worse yet, you begin to realize how much you don't know and thus how much more you must study... But then, when you are least expecting it the rain stops, the sun comes out and your friends rally around you. Another productive day of studying and you feel caught up and happy to be here, for the moment. Until the wind blows again. And so it goes. This first month has been full of many ups and downs, more than I thought possible in such a short amount of time, but things here change quickly. And I think it is important to remember that. It is easy to feel sorry for yourself but then you look around and realize in the big picture that the wind has to stop eventually and it might even stop sooner than you expect.

This morning I woke up to rain pelting on my window and wind blowing into my room and I thought it might be hurricane season already... But now the sun is out and the sky is blue again. Right now the day looks promising and I've already put in an hour worth of studying, had my coffee, read the New York Times online and said good morning to boyfriend. I still hear the wind  blowing (maybe a work order to fix my window would be more effective than the pillowcase, I'll have to work on that) but only time will tell what today will bring.... maybe I'll keep my confidence from blowing away.

After the Unified

So, the first exam (well quiz) of med school has come and gone. They call it the Unified because it is a quiz worth 5-6% of your grade for each class and covers anatomy, histology and biochemistry. Oh and we had our Bioethics Final today too! I won't know how I did until tomorrow, or whenever they put up our grades but in the meantime it is nice. Nice to NOT have 4 hours worth of lectures to digest tonight, nice to be able to go out without Gray's or BRS, nice to have a reason to take a break. So I am off to Bananas (the local bar/club) and its Bananas in Pajamas night so it should be interesting... classes resume tomorrow and only three weeks until midterms, but for the moment I am enjoying Grenada. Cheers!

The Rumor Was True!!!

So I woke up at 6:15am (after going to bed sometime after 1am) to drag myself to lab. On the plus side I did manage to make a pot of coffee and down 2 cups... so at least I'm caffeinated, not the same as awake, but its something. I notice on my walk to lab that it is awfully quiet this morning. Normally I see others in scrubs making their way from down the hill but today, I see no one. I know this is a sign and I start to think... that rumor I heard on Monday- my classmate heard from someone that lab was Friday this week instead of Thursday, maybe I should have investigated it? hmm...  I assumed it was a rumor since no announcements were made in class, no post on Angel (our web server for each course), etc. So, I checked my master blue schedule and it says lab groups C/D 7:45am Thursday 2/12/09. I am not hallucinating,  but WHERE IS EVERYONE? I see another person following behind me and another coming up the hill. I start to feel better but yet I also know that something it just not right. Sure enough I open the door to dry lab and no Dr. Brahim, no one at all... Its 7:37am so I'm early but not that early... I walk back outside and now there are 4 of us. No lab? No lab! Well, yes we have lab, but not until tomorrow. lol! And so it goes. The group slowly grows to about a dozen. I go back inside and find someone official to collaborate my theory. Today is a clinical meeting day so all the professors have to be in meetings and thus are not running lab. Go figure. Sigh. Its now almost 8am and I've had my two cups of coffee, so what to do?  Not a single one of the dozen wants to go into lab with me. I figure I'm already up and in scrubs so why not go in and figure out what I'm suppose to know for tomorrow. Luckily Dr. D (visiting prof from UK, excused from meetings) was there and he gave me the guided tour of the forearm and hand. Then another student showed up and I was able to show him everything I learned and then another friend came in and we showed him and so after 1.5 hours I felt confident in what I was doing.... So not a complete waste, but still... I guess next time I'll believe the rumor! 

Speaking of rumors, if you are a possible or current med student and want the BEST BLOG ever re: SGU you should check out The Rumors Were True by Topher. He has long since left SGU but has some good advice and entertaining posts if you are looking for that.... Or if you just want to watch someone solve the Rubix cube in less than a minute. It is pretty impressive!

So what did I learn today? Maybe the rumors are true after all, at least some of them.... Okay, time to study. Only 4 days until the Unified Quiz!