Midsemester Break

Part of our Ferry Group

Well, I am officially half way done with my second semester of vet school and it has NOT been easy.  I know now why all the upper semesters laugh when “firstees” complain about their semester!! Last week we had our 2^nd physio exam (With Reich) and a palpation quiz in anatomy.  I was lucky and both went fairly well!! I got an A on my physio test without the curve (believe me an A on a Reich exam is something to celebrate). Dr. Reich doesn’t curve until the end of the semester but he makes the class average an 80 so for our 2^nd exam the average was a 75 so he will add 5 points onto the overall grade from this test.  The palpation exam in anatomy also went well and as long as I didn’t do any SUPER dumb mistakes I should end up with an A on that quiz.  Physio  and Anatomy were the two class I was most worried about in 2^nd semester and are turning out to be my best classes (I shall not express my dislike towards my other two).

But the palpation quiz ended our 7^th week here so we are officially on midsemester break (which only means we get Monday off but it is a MUCH needed break).  Friday we played on our beach volleyball team and WON!! I think this brings our record to 3-2 but we are all playing for fun.  After volleyball we got ready to go to a house party.  I forgot how much I love a good house party with friends to drink and hang around with.  We left around 12:30 because we had to get up somewhat early the next day because we were FINALLY going to our sister island Nevis!!

We took the fairy over to Nevis at noon (even though we arrived at 10:30 because we thought it left every ½ hour…oh island life). While we waited for the ferry though, I was able to run into our ONLY fast food restaurant KFC and have a chicken sandwich and a fountain coke…I don’t think fast food has ever tasted SOOOOO good. I will have to try NOT to go there every day now!! Ok back to Nevis…

KFC had NEVER tasted so good!!

 

The Ferry ride was pretty fun, it was a 2 story boat so sat on top so we could see the island as we drove along. The ferry cost $26 ec (about $10 us) and takes about an hour to get to Nevis.  Once there we met up with an amazing tour guide Teach and he took us to Sunshines for the world famous Killer Bees and lunch.  Sunshine is a world famous restaurant among the Caribbean islands because of their drink the Killer Bee.  Let’s just say I don’t want to see anyone who has drank more than 1 of those because I could sure feel it.  After lunch we went on a tour of the island where we learned about its history compared to Saint Kitts and all of its uniqueness.   We also toured 3 of their beautiful hotels on the island.  The 4 season hotel was BEAUTIFUL and we have decided we are going to have to splurge one semester and take a trip over there and spend the night (anyone want to donate to our $500 per night hotel fee).  The 2 other private resorts were built among the old sugar cane mills and were absolutely beautiful.  The “honeymoon suite” at one place is literally an old sugar can mill part!!  We visited the natural hot springs on the island which was very interesting.  Lets just say they have a part for males and a part for females and clothing is optional. The roads seemed a lot better on Nevis, a lot cleaner, and the locals were VERY friendly!! We are already trying to find more weekends to go back over there, especially to go horseback riding on the beaches!!!   We headed back to Saint Kitts on the 5 o’clock Ferry and going to have a restful peaceful evening.  Days like this really make me wonder if this is real life!!!

The Killer Bee

Four Season Resort's Pool....anyone want to chip in for a room for me?

The Killer Bee Toast
 

Tomorrow I am going on a catamaran trip with a lot of my classmates.  We leave at 9:30am and get back at 4:30.  It is a day at sea full of swimming, snorkeling, tanning, drinking and eating.  I am really excited to go!! Monday I will hit the books again for the next 7 week stretch but for now I am going to celebrate my good grades and good times with friends!! I just hope I don’t get too sunburnt!!

Best Friends a girl could ask for on this island!!!

 

Stress and My Birthday!

Our OL group from 1st semester at my Surprise Birthday party!!

Well as you can tell by my lack of blogs…2^nd semester sure keeps you busy!! All the classes are very tedious and you just never feel caught up!! I finally went to the beach today…first time this semester (besides beachfest). 

But where to start…I killed my anatomy exam week 5 and got my A.  I am pretty proud of it because last quarter anatomy was my worst grade so I am determined for that not to happen again. But the stress then began to build and build with our Immunology test this week.  This class is very difficult for me for many reasons!! I have ZERO background knowledge in this subject.  Also the teacher’s teaching style does not work for me so it is now a self-taught class. The tests are also VERY challenging, he will pick a section in the corner of his notes that is so random and unimportant and it will be on the test.  I have not had a panic/nervous attack the entire time at vet school but this test sure did it for me!! And the worst part was the 2 day wait to get out exam back and I walked out feeling like I failed it.  I ended up getting a mid-range C which I am VERY pleased with.  I am going have to figure out what I can do to make sure I pass this class!! I already go to tutoring once a week but I guess I am going to have to figure out this professor.  This test also marked the end of our first round of exams for our classes so I have gotten 2 A’s, 1 B+. 1 C+. and a C…hoping to improve some of them but this quarter is HARD!!

The best part about being done with in Immno test though was my mom came down to the island to celebrate my birthday with me!!! She was at the Westminster Dog Show in New York so she made a quick trip down here since she was already on the east coast.  It is SOO nice to have her down here even if it is just for a few days!!

 

Amazing birthday cake with WAY too many candals

 

Friday was one for the record books though….my amazing roommates through me a SURPRISE BIRTHDAY PARTY.  I knew they were up to something by some strange comments, behavior, but had no idea it was going to be this extreme.  My mom and I went out to an amazing dinner at Nirvana where I had lobster and a mango martini….little did I know this was their way to get me out of the house.  When we got home there were over 40 people in our house and all jumped out and surprised me and sang…it was truly one for the record books.  We partied around the house, drank, played beer poing, ran around with nerf guns.  Around 12:30 we decided to go to buddies which is a local 2 story bar with a dance floor that is right on the beach.  We danced, drank more, roamed the beach and didn’t get home till 4:30 am.  It was truly an AMAZING way to spend my birthday on the island and I could not ask for better friends down here!! Taylor and Brittany you out did yourselves!!

Monkey at Shipwreck beach

I am spending the weekend relaxing with my mom, going to the beach, and of course studying. We have a physio test Wednesday so the studying continues!! 

 

Until the next post

At Vet School Surrounded By Paradise

I am sorry about the lack of blogs this semester…second semester is kicking all of our butts.  We actually have fewer classes than first semester but it is a whole lot more work!!  I wish I could post about the wonderful beach trips and dinners we have had but sadly our days start at 6:30am daily (classes start at 8:00) and we usually don’t get home till 6:30 but my grades are doing well so I can’t complain.

Let me update you on what has happened since the last blog.  I ended up getting a perfect score on my anatomy quiz which I am very excited about (only 5% of my grade though). On Friday afternoons I have signed up to play beach volleyball with our team Sets on the Beach.  Friday beach volleyball a very popular hangout place and a perfect way to distress after a long week of school.  I am having a blast with our team and glad none of us take it serious.  There is a a league and b league for volleyball.  A league is for the competitive teams and a lot of the team are EXCELLENT, b league is for players that pass the ball with one hand and hold a cold beer in the other.  Even though I played volleyball since I was 10 in both high school and college, I enjoy playing with my b league.  We don’t care if we win or lose…we just want to have a good time.  Saturday of week 2 is also the most look forward to fundraiser of the semester, Beachfest!!  Beachfest is when pretty much all of the Ross students get together at Regge beach and play volleyball, hang out and consume some alcoholic beverages.  Even in the middle of January we can go to the beach here and have a wonder time with all of our classmates!! Too bad beachfest has been the last time we have gone to the beach due to studying!!

Week 3 was full of studying and preparing for our 2 exams in week 4.  We did get to celebrate our new roommate for next semester’s birthday at Lobsterfest!! It is at a local beach and you get a choice of 2 meats (lobster, ribs, shrimp and chicken) and all the sides you can eat.  It was a GREAT time and I hope Kelly enjoyed her birthday even with the surprise cupcake and trick candles.

Week 4 brought our first 2 major exams for 2^nd semester: physiology 2 and parasitology.  For anyone that has attended Ross or is planning to attend Ross, everyone knows the one of the hardest professors teaches physio 2.  It is not that he is a bad professor, he is actually one of my favorite and explains everything very well but he makes sure you totally understand the subject and writes very hard tests.  I am proud to say on his first exam I pulled off a B+.  2 days later was our parasitology test and I wish I would have studied more for that subject.  I felt very unsure after I had finished the test.  I felt like I was prepared for the exam but I did not study the level of detail that I should of.  I studied more of ranges of life spans and egg sizes rather than the exact numbers…oh well, I now know for the next exam!  I pulled off a C+ (which is my lowest grade since coming here) but I would MUCH rather have to pull up my parasitology grade than my physio grade. 

Spending my Saturday in anatomy lab and playing catch up in a few of my classes and then going out to dinner at Ciao with Sam and Katie.  Hopefully we can go to the beach tomorrow and get some much needed vitamin D but lots of studying to do!!

This coming week we have our anatomy exam and the next week in immunology…lots of studying ahead.

My mom is coming down here in less than 2 weeks and I can’t wait to see her!!  Until the next blog…