This has been a week of instense ups and downs. I am broken inside about Elliot. (for those of you that dont know, I lost a good friend of mine last week in a unfortunate accident. I am not okay with it) I am estatic that I make it through my semester. I was nervous about nneka's visit, and wanting everything to be perfect. I'm now sad that she's gone, and glad that she knows how to handle my crazy, and deals with my sometimes bipolar nature. I'm excited to see Eran, but tired emotionally from this week... which leads me to be stressed about wanting things to be nice for him seeing as he is flying from Israel to see me.
I'm not quite sure how to handle it all besides push it to the back of my head and pray that it doesnt surface at an in-oppertune moment.
I am staying positive for the most part and trying to keep my head up in the face of all things evil and unplesant right now. I assume it's all I can do at this point...
Monday, April 21, 2008
Saturday, April 12, 2008
He's got Island Fever, shes got Island Fever...
Life here in St Kitts has become a bit nutty. At this point, the semester is rapidly coming to an end, and people have begun to catch what we call "Island Fever" It's nothing bad, but it seems like the world is out of whack. Admin installed a projector in our room that messes with our chi. People are getting together with people that they normally wouldnt. There was a minor earthquake. Staff is getting looney. There have been a huge number of cane field fires. Everyones biorythyms are crazy. I'm talking biblical stuff. Any more craziness and the lion is going to sleep with the lamb! The whole island is an LSD tab away from being clinically insane!!
The VECCS conference has only fueled the insanity. Though the lectures were great, and it was wonderful to meet new people in the field, the vets I met at the conference were just as out of their minds! One Dr leaned over to me and told me to guess what was in her conference bag. I had no idea, so she opened it, and pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels! During the lectures!
Madness, madness I tell you!
These are some pics of the cane field fires... and how close they are to the street!
It was actually quite amazing to see... but thats for another post :)
The VECCS conference has only fueled the insanity. Though the lectures were great, and it was wonderful to meet new people in the field, the vets I met at the conference were just as out of their minds! One Dr leaned over to me and told me to guess what was in her conference bag. I had no idea, so she opened it, and pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniels! During the lectures!
Madness, madness I tell you!
These are some pics of the cane field fires... and how close they are to the street!
It was actually quite amazing to see... but thats for another post :)
Friday, March 28, 2008
Stay off the road, Rachel is driving!
Stay off the streets... Rachel is getting behind the wheel...
So drove on St kitts for the first time. It was quite possibly one of the most nerve wracking experiences ive had in the recent past. i have to say though, i only almost killed us once :)
to be completely honest, I had no intention of driving that night night. I was handed the keys and told to go. Not that it really makes a difference I guess. I'm thinking I may have been better off driving during the day though, not at 9pm in a place where there are very few lights.
Mistake #1 i tried getting in on the wrong side of the car. Here, the drivers side is on the right. note to self, getting into a car on the wrong sign doesnt look good... especially when your sober.
Mistake #2 I tried to put the car in reverse and reached out with my right hand. Note to self, center console is in the center, not outside the door.
So Now I'm off and running, so to speak. I'm doing my best to stay on the left side of the narrow road without falling into the huge ghauts that drain the water. for a while I get the hang of it. things were twisty and turny and dark, but not too bad.
Mistake #3 I attempt to put on my directional/blinker and I promtly turn on the windshield wipers instead. Note to self - have we noticed a trend here yet, everything is reversed!
Mistake #4 I go to make an easy right, and slip into NY mode. I make my right without looking.... bad move. Oncoming traffic is on the right side of the road, and for just a moment I blanked on it and reverted (again) back to driving in the US. Luckily I hit the gas and sped out of the way.
All and all, we got to the Marriott safe and sound. I was fully convinced that I wuld never be allowed to drive again. My friend said that she'll change the oil before she lends the car to me next week. Sweet deal!
So drove on St kitts for the first time. It was quite possibly one of the most nerve wracking experiences ive had in the recent past. i have to say though, i only almost killed us once :)
to be completely honest, I had no intention of driving that night night. I was handed the keys and told to go. Not that it really makes a difference I guess. I'm thinking I may have been better off driving during the day though, not at 9pm in a place where there are very few lights.
Mistake #1 i tried getting in on the wrong side of the car. Here, the drivers side is on the right. note to self, getting into a car on the wrong sign doesnt look good... especially when your sober.
Mistake #2 I tried to put the car in reverse and reached out with my right hand. Note to self, center console is in the center, not outside the door.
So Now I'm off and running, so to speak. I'm doing my best to stay on the left side of the narrow road without falling into the huge ghauts that drain the water. for a while I get the hang of it. things were twisty and turny and dark, but not too bad.
Mistake #3 I attempt to put on my directional/blinker and I promtly turn on the windshield wipers instead. Note to self - have we noticed a trend here yet, everything is reversed!
Mistake #4 I go to make an easy right, and slip into NY mode. I make my right without looking.... bad move. Oncoming traffic is on the right side of the road, and for just a moment I blanked on it and reverted (again) back to driving in the US. Luckily I hit the gas and sped out of the way.
All and all, we got to the Marriott safe and sound. I was fully convinced that I wuld never be allowed to drive again. My friend said that she'll change the oil before she lends the car to me next week. Sweet deal!
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
I blew on what?
I have made a stunning development in Carribbean living over the past few days.. I have learned how to sound/blow a conch. It really is as simple as putting your lips together and blowing.... but is actually pretty difficult to master. I liken it to playing the trumpet (not that I ever have) or possibly a zerbert (or razzberry)on someones belly. It was kind cool to finally get it to make some noise other then what sounded like a dying giraffe (insert southpark joke here). My bud Jason taught me how. I promptly went out this weekend and found a (already empty) conch to bring home. Just so you know, this whole bringing big shells home is much more gross than you would think. My whole apt smells like dying algea and bleach. It's pretty grody, but in a day or two I will have a clean conch! I dont know if I'll cut off the end or not (so that people can make sounds out of it) but I'm pretty happy I have one, even if it is just for show.
In addition to my conch blowing (ha ha make you your jokes now, this is my last reference to conchs and my blowing of them...) I finally got a few pictures with Wilbur. He is the friendly pig that lives on the beach. When i say friendly pig, I mean friendly 300 pound beast that is bacon-olicious.
mmmmmmm I <3 ham
:)
In addition to my conch blowing (ha ha make you your jokes now, this is my last reference to conchs and my blowing of them...) I finally got a few pictures with Wilbur. He is the friendly pig that lives on the beach. When i say friendly pig, I mean friendly 300 pound beast that is bacon-olicious.
mmmmmmm I <3 ham
:)
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Random update
I think I am finally carving my niche here in St Kitts. I am fully satisfied with my core group of friends, and at the same time i am excited to meet new people from other semesters. People have been very good to me, in accepting me fully into their lives.
I have found my roomate for next semester, David. We are in the same class, and in the same lab groups. We are already pretty close and comfortable with eachother. It is even better because we have zero romantic interest in eachother. We bicker, and make up. I tell him I am going to shank him in anatomy, and he tells me thats fine (of course I never would...lol). He's become family. He deals with my crazy well. I deal with his pretty well too, as we all have our moments. in addition to finding someone I can actually live with (and I really believe we can coexist) which is difficult, I am also secretly happy about that fact that i'll have a male roommate. I hate to say it like that, but it really is a safer situation.
I have a whole bunch of exams monday, and I have been living in the lab and 24 hour reading room for the past few days. I feel pretty secure in them, but I'm not about to get cocky. I can always study more. In fact, i should probably stop procrastinating and go look at some slides for histo. :)
I have found my roomate for next semester, David. We are in the same class, and in the same lab groups. We are already pretty close and comfortable with eachother. It is even better because we have zero romantic interest in eachother. We bicker, and make up. I tell him I am going to shank him in anatomy, and he tells me thats fine (of course I never would...lol). He's become family. He deals with my crazy well. I deal with his pretty well too, as we all have our moments. in addition to finding someone I can actually live with (and I really believe we can coexist) which is difficult, I am also secretly happy about that fact that i'll have a male roommate. I hate to say it like that, but it really is a safer situation.
I have a whole bunch of exams monday, and I have been living in the lab and 24 hour reading room for the past few days. I feel pretty secure in them, but I'm not about to get cocky. I can always study more. In fact, i should probably stop procrastinating and go look at some slides for histo. :)
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Cat Trip to Nevis
A few weeks ago me and a few of the girls went on a catamaran trip to Nevis... not much to really write about, but here are a few pictures of it :)
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Ride the wave...
So, to give you a timeline, I am just about at the halfway mark through my first semester here on St Kitts. My class has survived the first half, of the second round of block exams. We have this monday off for a "mid semester break" which means we have no class monday. Yeah... a midsemester break is a whopping one day lol. Its better then nothing i guess.
Life is good these days, today especially. i spent teh afternoon with 2 classmates just walking around, eating and drinking our way through the streets of St Kitts. We had some saltfish on Johnny cakes, curry chicken, and stewed chicken. We each had a few Caribs and a few laughs. i did a small amount of shopping, and we all met some cool people. all and all, it was a very chill, but important day. We are slowly getting more comfortable with our surroundings and embracing it. Many students here will go there 2.5 years without knowing the actual St. Kitts, so I feel lucky to have people around me who want to explore and see what this country truly has to offer.
In addition to that, I found out today that my friend Eran is coming to St Kitts to visit me. now, i dont know if you know the depth of that, but Eran is from Israel... yes, thats right. he is flying all the way from ISRAEL to come to St Kitts for a week! I am still in a state of disbelief. In addition to THAT I found out that nneka will probably come see me the week before he comes! This means that I have my best friend, and my long distance friend visiting me, mere days from eachother!
Oh, I also found out I got an A on 2 exams and a B (boo I could have done better) on the third. I'm sure I got an A on the fourth, so all and all... things today are looking pretty awesome.
Cheers to the good days!
Life is good these days, today especially. i spent teh afternoon with 2 classmates just walking around, eating and drinking our way through the streets of St Kitts. We had some saltfish on Johnny cakes, curry chicken, and stewed chicken. We each had a few Caribs and a few laughs. i did a small amount of shopping, and we all met some cool people. all and all, it was a very chill, but important day. We are slowly getting more comfortable with our surroundings and embracing it. Many students here will go there 2.5 years without knowing the actual St. Kitts, so I feel lucky to have people around me who want to explore and see what this country truly has to offer.
In addition to that, I found out today that my friend Eran is coming to St Kitts to visit me. now, i dont know if you know the depth of that, but Eran is from Israel... yes, thats right. he is flying all the way from ISRAEL to come to St Kitts for a week! I am still in a state of disbelief. In addition to THAT I found out that nneka will probably come see me the week before he comes! This means that I have my best friend, and my long distance friend visiting me, mere days from eachother!
Oh, I also found out I got an A on 2 exams and a B (boo I could have done better) on the third. I'm sure I got an A on the fourth, so all and all... things today are looking pretty awesome.
Cheers to the good days!
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