Mission Accomplished. Year one of med school.

 I want to begin this epic blog with an apology to anyone that read this on a regular basis. As you may have noticed, this page became a bit dormant over the last few months , and for that I apologize. But I promise you, it was for the best. This semester was an amalgamation of the study of neurology, reproduction, and my personal favorite, digestion. As anyone who knows me, I love to eat. I must say, the food on Dominica gets old really quick. The last few weeks of my semester can be summed up as me studying, and having a near first name basis with the kind people at Bob's Chinese Palace. I added Palace so that it wouldn't sound like I was eating at some dump for 2 straight weeks, but I think I need a reality check. I now hate Chinese food with the flaming hot passion of a thousand woks. I haven't had real food in my refrigerator in weeks, solely because I knew I would have to give food away or throw it out when the time came to leave. Needless to say, I hope to avoid the rice and MSG diet again in the future.


I'd be lying if I said that this semester wasn't tough. I'm not complaining by any means, because I enjoyed much of what I learned. Sadly, I don't have a fondness for genetics, just like my genetics professor doesn't have a fondness for sounding intelligent. When you say "Uhhhhh" or "muhhhhh" so often in your lecture that it becomes your signature, something like this tends to make it to the internet.

My professor

For the last bit of my semester I got to study the abdomen and its contents as well as the sex organs.  I remember the day in lab when all the women felt invigorated to finally slice a penis in half in retribution for all the guys that ever treated them poorly. You could just see it in their eyes. Vengeance had been served. I feared for all men that day in lab.  Mind you, they did the dissection by the books, you could just see males cringing as it happened.

At the beginning  of each new block for med school, I often feel like the "Polar Bear" in this here picture. Now, I don't expect everyone to understand why this is funny. This is meant for the science geeks.

Now I feel like taking everyone on a journey of my last few months in the form of the game, "Nick found something interesting enough to take a picture of it".   Here goes something.

 On occasion when I feel like dragging my butt to campus, I'll encounter a roadblock 

along the way. Yes, that's a cow. In the middle of the sidewalk.

 

Above is a view of my favorite place to study. In the distance is the view of the Annex and the 

hill I climb on a regular basis. Picture taken from the top of Safari Apartments.

To the right is one of my buddies that guards the Annex. Working is really tough.

 This little rascal lives under the food truck with his siblings outside the Annex.

 I don't know why I found this malignant spoon to be amusing, but it didn't listen to it's mother. It didn't use proper sun screen with UVA and UVB protection.

 The post exam meal with my first family on the island.  Pictured is the Basil Chicken Benton Box from "The Usual Spot." I'd recommend it.

 Here is Jamie and his mile high fried vegetable platter. I think he bit into a friend pig brain.

 The day after, my friend Shuo was kind enough to make "the family" a nice dinner from scratch.

 He's quite the cook and everyone enjoyed themselves.

 Michelle busting out the cak

 Another student passed out studying.

 Not an uncommon sight to see a cow waiting in line at the 

abandoned KFC. And you thought cows were vegetarians...

 Here's the MS hockey team warming up before a big game.

 Sadly, we once again lost in the finals. We let the prized tin foil cup slip away

 once again. It was a hard loss to swallow after going 10-0 in the season...

 El Capitan.

 Now, when you get off your plane at the San Juan Airport, this sign tops the priority list of things that should make the signs. For one, who the heck has a dog on the plane? Secondly, you know this sign was put up because someone let their dog plop a good one on the runway.  Logic escapes me.

 Now, Sarah was a fantastic person to fly me home so that I could make Marlisa and Erik's wedding. Here are some pictures that made me smile. For starters, this little guy is twirling a little princess. Boys! you better take notes, because the ladies obviously love this.

 I photobombed a pair of Duffy's :-)

Sarah is Act-chewy-ly being a creepy Dinosaur.

 A cat body pillow.

 A beautiful island sunset

Meet Brad. Brad is cool.

 Meet giant moth. I think the scientific name is  Zebracis- makegirlscreamacis

 And the Betty Crocker Beetle Invasion

 I've come to eat your toes!

 Behold, Brad being brave.

I love alliteration.

 On a normal night, the Annex has 10 people in it. Come finals weeks, the medical student awakens from hibernation, becomes hungry and starts to prey on long lost knowledge.

The "security" team. I have to say, they are a bit fierce, quite lazy, and I 

consistently find them licking themselves in public.

 Sit. Good kitty.

 My native friend from Michigan, Addison. He graciously invited me over for the after Final brunch. I had my first experience with chocolate banana pancakes. Muah! my compliments to the chef.

Yes, Advil was being served.

The day after the final  I was "rudely" awakened by a friend of mine that told me I was going snorkeling. By rudely, I mean he woke me up at 11am. which is far too early after an exam the previous day.  So I joined my crew of Brad, Kim and Abhi and we all made the trip to secret beach. The funny thing about secret beach, is that it is hardly a secret, but most definitely a beach. The beach is very secluded and beautiful. The water is blue-green, just as you’d imagine the Caribbean to be. We chartered a couple of 2 person kayaks and huffed and puffed our way with our paddles in hand. Coming around the bend to the entrance revealed a beautiful cove, completely unreachable unless by water. The cliff completely surrounding the nicest sand I’ve seen on the island. Of course, Kim decided to sing  “Just around the river bend” as  we crossed the visual threshold into the cove revealing its sights. It quickly became the theme song for the day, because a song stuck in her head isn’t likely to go away.

 The entrance to Secret Beach. It's the best non-kept secret on the island. 

It's a great beach and completely secluded.

 Kayaking to the beach

 We didn't win the race. Beat us by a hair...

 Abhi and Brad showing off their Oarsome sides.

 Standing guard

 :-)

 The water is crystal clear. Cabrits is the land mass in the background.

 "I'm not going in the water"

 Kim, and the two "sharks." Kim, next time don't watch shark week before snorkeling. It'll save lives.

 Look mom! I deed eet!

 Abhi and I are exploring

 Brad being a seal.

 A real picture :-P

 The men.

While snorkeling, we didnt take any pictures. I did see some zebra fish, and some that looked like Dori from "Finding Nemo." I also explored the archway with Abhi. (he made me). I'm glad he did because I saw the biggest school of fish I had ever seen hiding in the darkness. Thousands of fish huddling together as if trying to keep warm. I highly recommend going to this beach!

 Heading home on the kayak after a few hours of snorkeling.

 I like this one! The field goal is good!

The following  group of pictures is from my snorkeling adventure with Brad and Abhi after the first Mini. Enjoy! Photos courtesy of Brad Henrie

 Brad and his Lobster claws

 Brad swallowing salty water

 Synchronized snorkeling?

 Diving for treasure!

 Mission accomplished.

 Think these will fit?

Two mysterious chums.

 We found a skate or a ray. I put my money on a skate.

 Sea star!

 Brad touched it and it sprinted away!

 Thumbs up!

 Walls of coral!

 Anybody urchin to go snorkeling?

 It's so fluffy I'm gonna die! I see the resemblance.

 Some colorful fishes

 I love these trenches

 Some coral, sea urchin's and eel!

A ten foot bonfire ready to burn.

 Crab plus a water spot.

So I was studying in a classroom one day and I needed to print something. Somebody had a bit of fun waiting in line hehehe. It wasnt me.

Some days, I just need to take a walk.

It's hard to believe I'm done with my first "year" of medical school. The time really flies. I'm so grateful to have met some friendly folks to call my friends. I continue to grow as a student and a person, and I'm making my memories count. From the very first day, they said to make peace with the island because for now, it's my home. I'm finally beginning to warm up to it's beauty, and thankful for all of my experiences.

Thanks for reading,

Nick