the experiment that went wrong

This is the beef I was telling you about yesterday. It has been in the fridge overnight but STILL! Beef should not look like that.

So for dinner tonight we decided to stick to a vegetarian option with lots of carbs. Pilaf with left over pasta and a green salad with tomatoes and carrots. Great dinner after a nice evening workout at the school gym!

Adjusting. Maybe…

 This week has been as crazy as the past two; 80 slide lectures in 2 hours and never-ending muscles, nerves, veins and arteries to memorize. I’ve already mentioned the crazy amount of information we are expected to know from one anatomy lecture… and you will probably hear me say it over and over again. But somehow I think my brain is adjusting to the information overload. It’s making more sense in class and memorizing has become much easier J

On the other hand, last night my roommate, Pooja, and I decided to cook a beef pilaf with vegetables. This past weekend we both concluded that we have the same taste and similar style of cooking (not to mention we both like to know what is in our food and eat ‘real food’ not the meal plans offered by the school which includes burgers, fries, pizza and pop for every meal!). Anyways we were so excited for the beef we had bought since the staff said it makes great stew. So we chopped up our vegetables and meat, combined everything with some salt, pepper, chicken broth, and indian spices to give it some more taste and let it simmer with the rice for 1.5 hours. (as a side note, I totally misjudged the amount of rice I put in and the pot started overflowing. I think we have rice to last us for a good two weeks now – dinner party anyone?) The smells were amazing. So I took a fork and sampled a piece of rice. Great taste. Then a piece of meat…. And I could not bite into it. It was like chewing rubber!! I was so confused. I’ve seen my grandma make beef pilaf so many times at home and her meat never tasted, well… like tires. I called Pooja to the kitchen, she tried the meat and started laughing.

(I was also talking to my boyfriend on skype at the time and asked him if he knew a way to make the beef edible. His answer? Throw it out and get new beef. Hahaha. Thanks for the genius advice :P)

So we ended up taking out all the meat pieces and boiled them separately. 30 minutes passed by. Still rubber. An hour. An hour and a half. Still rubber. TWO hours. The meat finally become edible after 2 hours of extra boiling.

Ugh. This island makes cooking sooo much more difficult, experimental and innovative. Cutting meat with a serrated knife, chopping vegetables with no chopping board, making sunny side eggs on a foreman grill so it doesn’t stick and placing a frying pan with a handle in the oven since we don’t have a cooking pan.

I’m sure most of you living at home are laughing at us by now – I would be too!

Definitely an experiment gone wrong.

I think I might become a vegetarian for the next 2 years.

Recharging.

This has been the most relaxing end of the week/saturday yet! We have had time to just hang out in the dorms and take longer study breaks.

My roommates and I decided to go out for lunch in a nearby village where we can also do our grocery shopping. We ended up eating at 'Tropics' which is a restaurant associated with one of the resorts on the island and it had amazing food! We even treated ourselves to a pina colada and tried to forget we were at school.

Jenn and I enjoying our drinks :) 

Roomies

The little kid in Jenn came out when she saw the floating swan! A very happy, medical school- free moment.

On our 2 hour "vacation".

 Enjoying Pina Coladas at the edge of Saba island overlooking the Caribbean Sea

Just hanging out :)

Wild goats! We see them everywhere and have to be careful when walking to and from school as they graze right along our path.

Just Keep Swimming. Be a Linchpin

The title of this blog may not make sense, but stick with me for a second.

In the little spare time that I have I've been reading a book by Seth Godin called Linchpin. I usually don't like to read "self-help" type books. I'd rather spend my free time reading classic literature that gives because it gives me an escape from reality. But this book has really helped me keep studying every day and being positive about it. The author talks about how to create art and be creative in a world where you have been taught to follow the crowd and listen to your teachers. Godin emphasizes to follow your own path and become indispensable to those around you. To do that I have to completely dedicate myself, keep my head up and focus.

"A genius looks at something that others are stuck on and gets the world unstuck". Godin touches on the same thing my professors mentioned. You don’t have to work hard, work smart. Being creative and looking at things from a different angle is what separates a genius from the everyday ‘worker’. Studying smart is the way to differentiate myself from everyone else in my class.

Saba has already opened up my eyes to the amount of desire I have to become a doctor - not that I didn't know it before; but I do admit that I have had my doubts about being able to pull through and do this.

We just finished our first round of exams (Block 1 out of 5) and the class size has dropped from 104 to 90 people!! Some have figured out that it's not for them, some have cracked under the stress, pressure and studying and some just miss their comfortable and 'safe' lives back home. Like I said before, this island and school is not for everyone.

Anyways my point is that I didn't do as well as I hoped for my Anatomy theory exam but, for some reason, my spirit is not crushed. I came out smiling because I realized I just took my first medical school exam! I am one step closer to finishing the first semester :). The marks are obviously very important but it just makes me study harder. I am not disheartened - like some who came out crying - I'm going to keep looking on the bright side! 

So as Dori was singing in ‘Finding Nemo’ just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming.

And become a Linchipin. J

On a side note…

After exams we all decided to take some time to recharge. We went for a gorgeous hike down one of the sides of the volcanic island which opens up to a rocky shore to the Caribbean sea. It was breathtaking. The views of this island are simply stunning and makes waking up and walking to class soooo much better! (for those of you who know me, know that I am NOT a morning person and so going to class for 8am everyday would not be anywhere near my choice of a great start to the day!) Here are some pictures to convince you that if you are a hiker/scuba diver Saba should be on your top place to visit!!

The balancing act.

It's been a while since I last blogged and I think it would be appropriate to say that medical school is a balancing act. The work load is ridiculous; we are learning a year worth of anatomy in 3 months and sometimes have class from 8am to 9pm! Even the professors realize and tell us that we cannot learn everything. Their advice? “Don’t work hard, study smart”.

This is not me BUT my room is pretty close to that when I am studying :)

Study smart? How? My anatomy professor says to go out and have fun, enjoy the island, sleep enough and only study 2 hours a night. Now, I KNOW he is exaggerating because the average number of hours I study a night is nowhere near 2 hours (more like 8 hours!). But I think his message is an important one.

Balance.

Medical school is difficult; but so far I would say the concepts are not hard, it is the amount of material we have to learn in a small amount of time. How do you memorize 200 slides in one night so that you are ready for the next day’s lecture? You can’t! I think the key is to understand the concepts behind what we are taught. The body works in a way that is logical and most efficient. Putting together the material taught into their specific relationships will make me remember everything without rote memorization (I am NOT saying that I shouldn’t memorize anything because there are many many things that we need to know that seem insignificant now… - I guess the details will separate those that pass with those that do great.)

I still have to figure out how to “study smart”. I have changed my studying technique numerous times now and I hope it is the right way. We have our first set of exams on Monday and Tuesday and I have to admit I am very nervous. Our passing mark is 75%.

So yes, medical school is not for everyone. You need to be determined to study 24/7, eat on the go and be sleep deprived. You have to persevere and not give up. The hardest part is to not disappoint myself.

Dissection is an art.

When you think of dissecting cadavers you really start contemplating about the person in front of you: Who were they? Where are they from? How did they die? What did they do for a living? Did they leave loved ones behind?... all these questions make dissection much too personal.
I was nervous walking into the anatomy lab and seeing cardboard boxes lying on the floor. I couldn't come to terms that there was an actual person inside. We jumped right into it! Cutting the plastic bags and flipping the body over to start dissecting. Our first assignment was to dissect and explore the superficial and deep muscles of the back.
Cutting was... weird? I don't know how else to describe it. I was torn between my excitement and curiosity of the science and art the body in front of me presented and my emotions. I was surprised how easy it was for me to disassociate myself from the dead body, pick up a scalpel and cut. Not everyone was so eager (for the lack of a better word). Some stood back and thought about what we were doing - personally, I think that makes it a lot worse. For medicine you have to have a strong stomach but I think it is also important to take things for what they are: dissection is a direct method of learning the artistry of the human body. The dissection goes above and beyond what any textbook diagrams could give you. The experience counts! (except for the foul smell of formaldehyde which seeps into your clothes and hair :S ... not fun.)

All in all a great start to the dissection labs even though I am spending my saturday night there instead of going out like I would've done in undergraduate.

I guess the lab will now be my place to unwind...

Back to School

I survived my first day of medical school J. We have class everyday from 8 – 12pm, a 45 minute break for lunch and then another 2 hours of anatomy labs.  I can already tell it will be a hectic, stressful and a very busy 3 months but, somehow, I am still looking forward to it!

We started with a lot introductory lectures today so instead of our anatomy lab we were stuck inside the same classroom from 8am to 3pm. Ugh. I’m the kind of person that needs to move around after sitting down for 4 or more hours so needless to say today was not so great – everyone was sooo fidgety by 2pm. Also, you would think 45minutes is a decent time for lunch BUT when you have to walk up a hill to get back to your dorm, cook a meal, eat, and have plenty of time to get back to class early so you get a seat near the front, it really seems like a 20 minute lunch. Did I mention that once our labs start we also have to change and get ready for labs within our lunch break? Yep it will be more like a 10 minute lunch. At least we will all stay in shape!!

As promised here are some pictures of the gorgeous island that makes studying and going to school much more enjoyable :) We can take hike in the jungle for our study breaks!

One of the trails leading to the Caribbean sea.

view from my dorm. Isn't it pretty?

Saba Island. This was taken on the tiny 20 person flight from St. Maarten. If it looks semi-familiar to some of you it's because they filmed an island shot in one of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies!

Me in front of the entrance of the school campus.

As soon as I get my photos organized I will post more the school campus and dorm.

Now, off to the library.

I made it!

I am finally on the island after much hectic traveling and luggage-less days I am safe and sound in the campus library preparing for my first day of class tomorrow.

A lot has happened since I was cut off from the virtual world so please be warned that this post might be a little messy as my thoughts are definitely all over the place.

Here goes...

I arrived in St. Maarten with absolutely no problems except that my white board that I was carrying on the plane fell on a lady as the overhead compartment opened mid-flight. Other than that the flight was not too exciting. Unfortunately this is NOT the best time to go to the caribbean as everyone on the plane was in vacation mode already... and so were the hotel prices!

Firday was the most adventurous day. I took a 20 person plane to the island of Saba where my medical school is located. This was the smallest plane I had ever been on; there were no curtains separating the cockpit and the passengers - at least the pilots looked very friendly! If you picture a really high rollercoaster above water you can imagine my 15 minute plane ride. The landing was horrifying as the runway on Saba is one lane with Xs marked on either side. It is known to be the shortest runway in the world!! Did I mention that it is surrounded by jagged cliffs and water on both sides. Another fun fact: there was some kind of alarm that went off as soon as we were approaching the landing strip. (I am not sure if that is normal but it didn't help with the nerves).

The rest of the day I spent hiking and exploring the island, meeting my new classmates and celebrating new years in a local bar! It turned out to be a surprisingly amazing start to the new year even though I really missed my friends and family from back home.
One thing is for sure, you do NOT need a gym to go and work out. The hills/mountains on Saba are enough to get your heart pumping and make you out of breath with a mere 10 minute walk to the grocery store. Going back home and walking on flat ground will be a breeze after 3 months on this rocky island :)

As for today, which was our orientation, we met some of our professors and got registered with the school system. I am still sitting at the library attempting to download all my course lecture notes and have not succeeded...yet.

Sending the warm island breeze and wishing you a happy new years!
Stay tuned for pictures of Saba, the unspoiled queen of the Dutch Caribbean.