I maybe in medical school, but at this point, I'm not doctorly enough.

I'm getting a cold--I'm in medical school so I realize that it is a virus and there isn't really anything I can do but wait it out. Yesterday afternoon about 5:00pm I got a sore throat and ear ache; however, I was hopeful it was just allergies . Approximately 7:30 pm, I had a swollen right cervical lymph node--it isn't allergies! Now that I've started medical school, I have a constant desire for knowledge; it is so frustrating that I don't take pharmacology until next semester. That seems a bit silly as it is JUST a cold and there isn't anything that I can take to make it go away any faster, but I wanted to know which would work better: NyQuil or Tylenol Night Time Cold. I've heard that people who go to medical school decide that they have EVERY disease presented in class so I guess my response fairly normal for a medical student. It is kinda funny that here I am a medical student and I can't even treat a cold--then again, if I found a cure for the common cold, I'd probably be the smartest medical student on the island. One of our professors told us this week that taking MEGA doses of vitamin C may help shorten the length of the common cold, but won't prevent it. I guess it pays to listen to "Dr. Mom," who always suggested chicken soup, orange juice and rest.

Funky Semester

Okay, this semester isn't going to be fun; however, Farley and I are trying our best. We have started downloading 70s R&B, Rock, Soul and Funk--this is our escape. The course load this semester is heavy and we don't have much time for fun (not that we had much time last semester). We must utilize our time even better than before while keeping our sanity; thus, we dance when cooking or hanging out to increase our fun level. Farley has decided that "our song" should be Issac Hayes: Theme from "Shaft." I'm not so sure about that, but it sure is catchy. I've been joking for months it should be a Reggie inspired Caribbean hit, "She's Royal," which is an ode to a lovely women who is the singers' "queen." Somehow he isn't receptive, haha! I don't' really blame him for rejecting my (joking) suggestion and I guess this means that our debate will continue.

I'd post a picture of us dancing around our apartments (I feel sorry for the people who live in the apartments beneath us), but I don't have any. It's time to get back to the books so we can dance to Barry White's "Can't Get Enough of Your Love" later tonight.

You know things are getting ugly when you down load some Barry....

I've had "Copacabaca" stuck in my head for days. I was staring pictures of gross (whole) sections of brains trying to learn the arteries and anatomy of the brain when I couldn't take it anymore. I was charging my iPod and listening to some classical when I took the bate, I bought Barry Manilow's "Copacabaca." I never realized how funny the song is since I've never really listened to the lyrics before. People probably think I'm nuts as I chuckle and quiz myself using Rohen's atlas (the most amazing anatomy atlas ever). While I was downloading songs, I picked up some Barry White and Duffy. I hope that my ONE Barry song doesn't make me a "Fanilow!"

I think school is going pretty well this semester. I feel a bit overwhelmed with Neuroscience and the amount of time it takes, but they are starting to move a bit more slowly. They introduced so much in the lectures, but they have started reviewing some of the information and going into more depth about certain areas. I'm glad that we are going to see these things again and are not expected to become experts just based upon the first few lectures (which is what many of us thought)!

Our first exam is four weeks away, and 40% of our physiology grade is on that exam (CRAZY!). That is so strange to me since we had more neuroscience lectures and neuroscience is only worth 18% on the first exam. I guess I know what I have to study: Physiology!!

I think my break is over, back to the abdominal organs!

Neuroscience, postponed publication dates and a birthday

"The most obvious feature of the brain is that it is not homogeneous, but composed of different regions. There are no intrinsic moving parts, no obvious way of knowing where to start to understand what is actually happening, or what functions are taking place."

---Susan Greenfield (from How Might the Brain Generate Consciousness, in From Brains to Consciousness? Essays on the New Sciences of the Mind, edited by S. Rose, Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998).

This semester we are diving into Neuroscience and I think it will be fun, WHEN I learn the anatomy of the brain better. It is hard to jump into neuroscience, for example right now we are doing the the tracts of the spinal cord, when you don't know where all of the areas of the brain are located (over simplified, tracts are the bundles of nerves which send sensory information to the brain and the motor information to the muscles). We had a guest lecturer on Thursday and I felt bad for him. He was "auditioning" for a job and he was so nervous his hands were shaking for the hour and a half he lectured (he had two hours, but was so nervous he spoke like a sprinter running the 100 meters in the Olympics). The also gave him a conceptually difficult lecture, especially to teach to students who are new to neuroscience: spinal tracts. I think he could do a good job (you become MD, PhD by embodying academic excellence and a LOT of hard work), but he needs more practice lecturing. Also, English isn't his first language, which MUST make giving a lecture in front of over 300 people, while trying to get a job, more difficult.

Today we had another Neuroscience lecture by Dr. "really good neuroscience professor", who is amazing. She taught at Ross University School of Medicine right after completing her PhD in anatomy and neuroanatomy for a year or two. Then she left to go teach in the U.S., but as she told us Ross got her back. I suspect Ross offered her a deal she couldn't refuse, as they should, since she is SUCH a wonderful lecturer. Ross has offices in New Jersey and New York and she works there and comes down to Dominica for a few weeks a semester. I am so glad Ross got her back because after she lectured, I felt a million times better about neuroscience. I just wish we had her more often. Actually, the full time faculty for neuroscience at Ross is very good. Considering how difficult of a subject that neuroscience is, I'm extra impressed with the quality of teaching. It could be so much more difficult than it is because our professors are such great lectures. However, I don't want to give a full review of the professors yet because some professors don't test what they focus on and teach, which irrates me. I don't think these great lectures will do that, but I just don't know yet.

Oh, this is funny: I fell in love with a histology review book at the end of last semester (and my grades loved it too). I wanted to buy it rather than rent it from the library, but our bookstore doesn't carry it. I pre-ordered the NEW edition, which was suppose to be released on May 15, 2008 and I was suppose to get it 3-5 days after the release. On the 16th, I got an email saying that the release date was delayed and I needed to approve the late delivery or cancel the order. Well, the new release date is JANUARY 10, 2010! I will have taken the first boards and (obviously) have finished my Medical Histology course. I just can't get over the release date changing so much. Needless to say, I cancelled my order and proceeded to order the older edition.

This semester has been a million times more interesting than last semester, but it is more difficult and we are moving through things more quickly than last. However, unlike last semester, I have a lot more fun studying and don't really want to quit--I just get tired.

My birthday was on Saturday and it was a nice day. I had to study (and had no focus, which is in direct contradiction to my above statement). I went to yoga, Farley and I went swimming in the sea at sunset and then Farley took me to dinner with some friends. Here is a picture:

"But I know all about love already. I know precious little about kidneys."

As you can probably tell, school is back in session. The school has been doing some crazy things, which Farley has been ranting about on his blog: the print center and grades/registration. I, on the other hand, have been so frustrated that I can't write about it in detail. I'll be too feisty for my own good, but here is a small summary. Waiting for over an hour and a half to pick up your printed up lectures, doesn't make a time-limited medical student happy; nor, does having different letter grades on every copy of your transcript. There were people who thought that they passed because of the discrepancy letter grades who found out that they in reality didn't pass last semester AT REGISTRATION! Can you even imagine? Apparently 30% of the class didn't pass, so I'm thrilled/proud to be moving on even if I didn't get the 4.0 I wanted.

Onto bigger and better things, we are starting the semester with a bang: Neuroscience and Renal Physiology. Neuroscience is VERY interesting, but also difficult, especially since I've never taken it before. One of the Behavioral Science professors suggested getting a coloring book of the brain to help learn the structures of the brain and their relationship. I love books and buy books like I used to buy shoes while I was working, but I was a bit hesitant to buy a coloring book to help me learn neuroscience---Boy was she RIGHT. It has been so helpful to color the brain structures. I think that any of the many children at my old job could do a better job coloring, but I am learning so I guess it is working. Perhaps, I could deliver medical school coloring books to children everywhere and they will be well on their way to completing their MD--just like me!

On to Renal Physiology: my favorite quote about the kidneys, ""But I know all about love already. I know precious little about kidneys."--Aldous Huxley "Antic Hay" At this point, I don't know precious little about the kidneys, but I'm willing to claim that I know all about them either. I guess I have a few weeks to learn all about them--then I'll think I know all about them only to realize in my 3rd and 4th year clinical rotations that in reality, I really know precious little about the Kidneys.

The professors this semester, so far, are great. I am loving the anatomy, which is a shock considering how much I enjoyed it last semester. I guess I think hernias are more interesting than the origin, insertion, innervation and blood supply of every muscle in the limbs--YUCK (Farley would disagree, as he LOVES boring muscles). I just feel like everything we are doing so far is so much more clinical and "doctorly." From everything I've heard, this semester is much harder than the last and that the next two won't be as horrible, but this semester is also much more interesting than the last (which helps one motivate herself to study). I have one disappointment so far this semester: I'm not back in the study groove yet. I was so efficient last semester and had such focus, especially toward the end. I'm not yet as efficient as I was, which is frustrating. I suspect that since this is only day four of the semester, I will get back in the groove in the next few days.

It is the first time I've really been homesick since coming down here. It was hard to miss the birthdays: Mom, Dad, Grandma and little Bella; however, I've been really homesick this week. I think it is because I missed Mother's day and my birthday is this week. Two fun things in one week and I'm down here rather than with my family! It's okay, but I just miss everyone so much right now. However, Farley has planned something for Saturday (the special day) and I'm not sure what it could be as there isn't much to do on the island. I'll let you know what he has up his sleeve!! Perhaps we are returning to St. Lucia to enjoy another sunset, like the one below:

St. Lucia: Friday, May 2nd to Monday, May 5th

Friday, May 2, 2008: Shopping and Snorkeling

We started our day at Breakfast again...yummy and for a change of pace we went shopping to get things at REAL stores, unlike in Dominica. Prices are labeled on the items...imagine that! I bought some shoes, a super Caribbean sun hat (see picture to the right), a new bathing suite (my other one broke...I know Mom is happy as she thought it was an old lady suit), and some other tourist things like sun block, anti-mosquito candles (for my apartment) and surprises for the family. We also picked up some odds and ends for the island like some medicine that isn't easy to get and other things we can't get on our island (which is just about anything you can think of...medical school isn't for the faint of heart let alone tackling medical school in the 3rd world country--if I can live through this, I can live through anything).

Anyway, we headed straight to lunch after changing for the beach. We went to the Mariner Restaurant (the place right off the ocean). As usual, it was a yummy lunch. We checked out the snorkeling and decided that we wanted to give it a try. It was amazing to see the fish and undersea wildlife; however, it wasn't fun to get salt water up your snorkel and panic that you are going to die of salt water poisoning until you stand up and breathe. It took us a while to get the hang of it, but it was very fun after we got it down--that is until the water got super choppy and obviously we were not that good so we ended it for the day. Some people can dive down and look all over while snorkeling, which involves some gymnastics of the breath to ensure that the water doesn't come down the snorkel when you are returning to the air. I am not that good (neither is Farley). Nonetheless, it was great! After that, we retired to the beach to read our books and enjoy the view. As usual, we moved over to the swim up bar for a juice later in the afternoon. That evening, we went to dinner at the usual Monarch restaurant and the evening entertainment was TEM ("Total Eaaarth Moooovement!"--can you hear the St. Lucian accent?). They were amazing! They were a rock/reggae/awesome band. They did covers and also original material. Every St. Lucian bad/performer needs to cover the following songs, Bob Marley, 'No Woman, No Cry'; Lionel Riches, "Hello"; and Sting, "Fields of Gold." Total Eaaaarth Moooovement wouldn't be held back by just playing the usual songs, they expanded their repetoire to things like R. Kelly, "Remix to Ignition" which for those of you unfamiliar with the song is a catchy (and a bit naughty) danceable R&B song. I thought I must have been hearing things wrong when they started that song. Their original music was great and my favorite was the song about "music being my drugs....don't need nothing else." Perhaps the USA could use this catchy Reggie inspired song to keep kids off drugs. After the performance, we walked around the restaurants and clubs, but didn't' want to go to any of them. Rather, we went to the Rex Royal and looked over their grounds. It was beautiful at night (see below pictures) and as we were taking them we were approached by an unusual character: a drunk pirate bride. That's right, this woman got married on the pirate ship earlier in the day. We noticed the ship in the harbor but had no idea that one could commit their life and love to another while dressed in pirate appropriate garments and on a pirate ship. Maybe it isn't such a bad idea, if the someone got too wild you could make them walk the plank: could be fun!

Saturday, May 3, 2008: Dancing with Fire Breathing Men

We enjoyed the usual routine: breakfast at the Monarch, beach, lunch at the Mariner, beach, pool, sunset, and get ready for dinner. My favorite St. Lucian businessman boats around the bay on this little boat selling fruit and veggies (I wish we had someone who did that in Dominica, see the picture to the left of "The Fruit Man"). I just loved his little boat, but I was afraid that he might sink in his boat (check out the cool picture). Saturday night we had dinner at the Monarch again: it was Mexican night (not their best, but okay). Below is a picture of us outside of the Monarch restaurant after dinner. Then we retired to the lobby/bar for the night's entrainment. It was another cover band, "Thhhe Access Baaaand" not access band, but "Thhhe Access Baand." Farley was getting drinks at the bar and missed the lead singer serenading me with Lionel Richie's "Hello" (because every Caribbean band MUST cover this song). He claims that he only left me for a moment, but they same me a verse and a half as well as the chorus---I guess his timeline was a little off. Toward the end of the first set, they played Barry Manilow, "If You Like Pina Coladas." Farley and I had been waiting for one of the bands to play this song as we like to mock it, so we had to dance (which set us up for the rest of the night).

After the band's first set a group of dancers came out. They were okay, but not great. Towards then end, they started grabbing people out of the audience. They grabbed Farley, then me, and two other people. We were out dancing with them for probably 20-30 minutes. It was GREAT! We had to do solo dancing (I"m not so great but Farley looked awesome). THEN the fire breathing men came out--you read this correctly I got to dance with FIRE BREATHING MEN!!! After that excitement, the band came back and a just married couple had their first dance to the ever popular first dance song, "Play that funky music white boy." Surely this song embodies true love! Soon after, everyone hit the dance floor and stayed there until the band finished. They might not have been the best band we saw in St. Lucia, but they were probably the most fun. Above is a picture of the "dance floor" when Farley and I were taking a breather. The guy in the white shirt and jeans toward the right of the picture is the lead singer.

Sunday, May 4, 2008: Jazz Festival
The day was pretty much like our other days: breakfast, beach, lunch, beach, dinner, and music. A few changes to the schedule: we snorkeled in the morning (after breakfast and before lunch) because the water seemed to be calmer at this time of day. It was BEAUTIFUL and we saw lots of fish: lion fish, sea anemones, fish that are sand colored on top and blue on bottom, dark blue and brown fish. Amazing! After lunch, we attended one of the opening performances of the Jazz Festival, which was on the beach near our hotel. It was awesome. Some of the bands we heard earlier in the week. There were lots of locals and tourists all sitting on the beach and enjoying the free music. After that, we went back to the hotel, packed, and got ready for dinner. It was another nice dinner and the music was just okay. Overall, it was a relaxing day, admitted a sad one as we had to leave first thing Monday morning. Here is a picture from our last night:

Monday, May 5, 2008: Back to Dominica

Farley insisted we get matching t-shirts to commemorate our vacation, so here they are. We got up early and finished packing for our trip home. We were able to have one more breakfast before leaving but unfortunately we didn't eat much in anticipation of the boat trip. We arrived at the dock early and there were many other Ross students at the dock and they all seemed to be at the same hotels (not intentionally), but we were at another resort and didn't see any of them. I think it was nice that we weren't around anyone else because in just the few hours with them, I realized all they talked about was school: grades, the failure rate, the upcoming semester, professors and the failure rate. Yea, not exactly relaxing! Farley and I didn't have sea sickness this time because we increased the motion sickness medication; however, we were very drowsy the whole time. It was a long day of travel, but it was nice to be back in Dominica-- despite the third world conditions. This island is beautiful!!!

It wouldn't be a true Nicole blog post if I didn't post at least St. Lucian sunset picture, which was taken from the upper deck (above the pool with the swim up bar):

St. Lucia--Tuesday, April 29th through Thursday, May 1st

Once we left the Bay Garden's Inn (the above picture is form our last night at the Bay Garden's Inn) and moved to the St. Lucian by Rex Resorts, we didn't have wireless Internet. I'm going to try and write out some long entries because we did so much in St. Lucia and I will put up a ton of pictures of beautiful St. Lucia.

Tuesday, April 29, 2008: Check into our little piece of Heaven

We spent the day hanging out at the St. Lucian. We couldn't check in until 3:00 so we read books in the bar, had lunch, walked around the three Rex resorts, and enjoyed the beach a bit. After we got checked into the hotel, we went to the swim up bar in the pool. Let me tell you that an all inclusive meal/drink plan can give you more than your money's worth. We drank, ate, and enjoyed the activities to our hearts content--It was such a blast! The below picture is of the hotel lobby/bar where the entrainment occurred at night and the second picture is of the ocean from one of the pools.

Wednesday, April 30, 2008: Beach Bums

We got up early and had breakfast. We rushed and changed into our bathing suits because we had some serious beach bathing to do. The beach in St. Lucia was BEATUIFUL (see the picture to the right...that was my view). The white sand makes the Caribbean sea look so much more blue than in Dominica, with the black sand beaches. The ocean in this bay wasn't as calm as it is in Dominica. There was much more variety in the waves in St. Lucia. For example, at one point they would push you over they are so strong and the next they are almost as clam as bath water. It was strange. We went to lunch at the Mariner's Restaurant, which is right on the water (and part of the all inclusive plan). Next we went back to the beach, then retired to the pool and the swim up bar for the rest of the afternoon. After enjoying the St. Lucian sun set, we got ready and went to dinner. Like a cruse ship, you must get dressed up for dinner. Wednesday night might have been the best dinner, it was a candlelight barbecue on the patio near the pool (with the bar). The food was great and the atmosphere was even better. After that, we went to the evening music and heard a great singer/pianist. Below is a picture from after dinner when we were listening to the singer/pianist. I think the camera was set on the wrong setting so it is a little blurry.

Thursday, May 1st, 2008: St. Lucian Labor day

Pretty much everything was closed on the island for the Labor Day holiday and the locals were enjoying the beautiful beaches. We went to breakfast early again and headed right down to the beach. Again, we read books while lounging on the beach and again we went to the Mariner's Restaurant for lunch. After lunch we rented a paddle boat (for free...all inclusive is GREAT). Farley can't remember if we went snorkeling or paddle boating first, but I'm pretty first we went paddle boating first. Anyway, this stupid boat wouldn't go in a straight line for the life of me. We had to keep going back and forth to try to go straight, but we ended up just going in circles. It is a good thing we had no where to go. We paddled around like crazy people for about 30 minutes, then the water got choppy and thankfully we managed to get to shore, rather than drifting off to sea and ending up in Martinque. Upon returning the paddle boat to shore, we realized that this stupid boat had a rudder much smaller than needed. After that fun, we went back to the pool to read books and enjoy the swim up pool bar (are you catching a pattern yet?). After the beautiful sunset, we got dressed up for dinner. This time we went to dinner in the Oriental Restaurant, which is the fancy dancy restaurant in the hotel. It wasn't included in the all inclusive plan, but we got a credit but we were careful and didn't spend too much more (below are pictures of us in the restaurant and the food). The entertainment for the night was "Diamond Steel." Boy, did I LOVE the steel orchestra. They were crazy fun! They danced and played great music. They did lots of covers of songs that one would expect, such as "No Women, No Cry" and they did even more things that you wouldn't expect such as Shakira, "Hips Don't Lie"; Enya, "Only Time"; Gershwin, "Summertime". The funny thing was that there was one girl in the group, who was positioned right in the middle of the group. She was the only one who didn't dance. She stood with her arms crossed between songs and had a "very serious" look on her face the whole time. The rest of the group was dancing and laughing the whole time.