Happy New Year!

My sister recently commented to me on how new years were a bit saddening to her. I have to agree, as I'm often looking forward to the future but sad to see what has passed, and 2008 has been quite a year.

In 2008, I started my first "real" job at UR, loved it, and left it. In 2008 I lost my first grandparent, and no holiday or celebration is ever complete without him. In 2008 I graduated from undergrad and said goodbye to some of the best friends I have had in my entire life, and the town that I called home the past 4 years. In 2008 my first cousin gave birth to the 4th generation of our amazing family. In 2008 I was accepted into medical school, moved out of the country, made new friends from around the US and London, and finished my first semester of medical school in Grand Cayman.

December 31st last year I celebrated with my best friend from Brockport, Ruthie, and my biggest fan-my mom. I had no idea what would happen this year, and even if someone would have told me-I wouldn't believe it. While I'm one who likes to know what will happen in the future and the next years are somewhat planned out, I can only imagine what surprises will come in 2009. This year, I will be surrounded by the angels (the girls whom I owe surviving 2008 to), and my best friend from home, J. I hope that 2008 was an amazing year for you and your family, and best wishes for 2009!

Welcome back!

After the long lines, paperwork, and airport stresses that come with traveling, I've come to decide that welcome back are two of my favorite words that go along with reentering the United States. I don't live in a scary country, and am not coming back from battle, or huge sacrifice, but when the customs officer welcomes me home, I can't help but have a huge smile on my face. I was practically jumping through Buffalo airport, and am settling in just fine with our beautiful home and pleasant company of my mom.

Leaving Cayman was bittersweet, but it was definitely time for a break from school and I am so happy for all of my classmates who were not as lucky as me (to sneak home), and saw their families for the first time in over three months. Even my 23 year old guy friends just "wanted to see their moms." In the past week, I moved into our new place, and didn't do too much siteseeing but was out on the beach and saw some amazing sunsets. I woke up this morning with a smile on my face, then I realized that is 11 days until Christmas! I look forward to shopping and catching up with friends and family. My mom has offered her phone for catching up, and I'm unable to find my list of numbers from when I discontinued my phone, so please give me a call! 585.356.9492. Below are some pictures from my last week, which was much less stressful than my first 12! I hope everyones holiday preparations are going well :)

Starting to sink in...

Its been almost 36 hours since I finished my first semester of medical school, and I'm just starting to believe it. I woke up several times last night thinking I had overslept/ had something to do today. And for the first time since August, I didn't have a thing to do. I slept until 2:30pm. I wasted the rest of the day. I swam in the ocean. I watched the sunset. I went to dinner with some of my closest friends I've made here, as my roommate and friend Shazia are flying out in the morning. Its hard to believe that I met these people just three months ago, and while its sad to say goodbye, the fact that we'll spend the next year and a half next to each other every day, makes these goodbyes less sad.


Tomorrow we're moving into our apartment officially, but we've had the keys since Monday and have been enjoying the beach here and there in between. Grand Cayman is beautiful right now, and I plan to take a bunch of pictures which I will post and have home with me, when I'm home for over 3 weeks starting Saturday! Thanks to everyone for all the good luck wishes. I'm not sure if our internet is hooked up yet in the villas, so I may not post until I'm home. Hope all is well in the states, I cannot wait to be back!

She's somebodys hero

I remember going through the phase just like everyone else, where there was nothing good about myself. Now, even with pimples surrounding my face and thousands of miles between myself and my loved ones, I can't help but feel completely blessed. One of my favorite parts about myself-my middle name. Kowalczyk stands for strength, for family first, for sacrifice and unconditional love. (Ok, it also stands for stubbornness and loud laughs, but I love that too!) I used to think that my grandparents and mom would live forever. Now, even when it is their time, they can live on through their grandkids/children.

Today is my grandmothers (the cutest grandma in the world) 93 birthday. What she has gone through in a lifetime is still amazing, and she continues to smile when I see her-even after losing her best friend and husband of 60 years this year. I was lucky enough to see her every Monday night while at Brockport, and I wouldn't trade those ten minute drives for anything in the world. I'll never forget the I miss yous over the phone, or the fact that even at 93 gram still has quite the strong hug! I can't wait for so much Grandma time starting next week, and especially for Grandma/Abby time!

Happy Birthday Gram, lets break $500 tonight! I love you, see you in 1 week!

One final push...

Greetings family and friends...I'm completely exhausted but have so much to update on! I had an absolutely amazing time in the states last week. I will never forget skipping through customs in Miami, hugging my brothers girlfriend Ali in the airport, or my mom, sisters, best friend's and grandma's faces when they saw me. I relaxed, studied, and ate american food! It was great to see J, Sue, Em, and Lindsay, and I really look forward to more friend and family time for the remainder of December. My siblings, and Ali and Andy are my greatest friends and favorite people in the world to do absolutely nothing with. I get goosebumps thinking about just how lucky I am to have them in my life.

Coming back to Cayman, however, was a nightmare. My flight left out of JFK only 20 minutes late, but we hit "head winds" and it took almost 4 hours to get into Miami, so I missed my connecting flight to Cayman by literally 5 minutes. After 3 hours of lines and my mom's phone call to American Airlines, I got onto a flight on Cayman Airways the next day. So, I stayed in a hotel alone in Miami, and I hadn't eaten a thing since breakfast with my brother and grandparents on long island! Wednesday morning I had a gut feeling something would go wrong, so I showed up 3 hours prior to my flight. After 3 hours of lines in both American and Cayman air, I finally got onto the plane and landed in Cayman. All the tourists with me were so happy. I was relieved to be back in time for my tests, but I wouldn't describe it as happy.

However, my roommate/close friends made me feel really missed while I was gone, and I realized that amidst all the drama and crap that comes with med school, there are some things that make this crazy ride worth it. Thursday and today I had shelf exams in Histology and Anatomy, respectively. Shelves are standarized tests taken by all US and Caribbean schools to make sure we all are doing ok, and ready to pass the USMLE to be admitted for rotations. The Histology exam was really difficult, but the Anatomy one went well today. Monday I have comprehensive (which are somehow easier) exams in Embryology and Patient-Doctor. Monday at 3:45pm I am officially done with my first semester of medical school!

Last, I have to write about how December-April is tourist time in Cayman. There are people EVERYWHERE! Which means, more events on the island. I had to laugh Wednesday when I flew in and a local handed me a brochure for a three day concert event this weekend, that is actually taking place right next to the residence hall. The lead act is tonight-Michael Bolton, and I can only hope he sings "I'm not made of Steel" as good as I used to.

I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving and that I get to see all of you over Christmas!

Surprise!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I am happily writing to you tonight from my favorite place on earth, 30 Park. After keeping my mouth shut for two weeks, my plan worked out perfectly. Yesterday morning early I flew from Cayman to Miami, then JFK, where my brother picked me up and we made the drive home. My mom was shocked, my sisters, my very best friend, and even my little 92 year old grandma today. I will update more on the trip and my blessings when I'm back to the Island, December 2nd. Until then, its family time!

Enjoy your week :)

Don't eat, Don't sleep, and Don't drink water.

Block 3 is the most intense for first semesters at SMU, as it contains the head and neck in anatomy. For those of you who have never thought about it, the posterior triangle of your neck contains 7 muscles, 11 nerves, 4 arteries, 2 veins, and two layers of fascia. The posterior triangle is approximately the size of a large tortilla chip. Think of how many tortilla chips it would take to cover your neck? A lot. I am surviving though, with only 8 exams between the best finish line ever-30 park at only 18 days away. My professor and the dean of student affairs at my school gave us a review for our test last night. He talked straight for two hours with only millisecond breaths. Somewhere in the middle of the talk he says, now listen here: "Don't eat, Don't sleep, and Don't drink water. Just think about anatomy. Just think, what lies superficial to the hyoglossus muscle?"

I met a 2nd semester student here who was a chiropractor for nine years in the states before he came to SMU. He adjusts me whenever I walk to his place, so Saturday night I watched his kids, Seth (8) and Alyssa (6) while he went to a function with his wife. It was rejuvenating to spend time away from the stresses of school, with little kids with the wildest imaginations, who basically put their childhoods on hold while their dad worked towards a better life for them. They were fighting for my attention, and it was a wonderful diversion.

Cayman is starting to decorate for Christmas. My best guy friend here, Prashant and I take daily walks to the coffee shop inside a plaza next to school. Just like everything else in Cayman-it takes forever to decorate! We swear they've been putting the same 10 bulbs on their Charlie Brown Christmas tree for 3 days now! Today, there was a Christmas Day for the kids on the island and they closed off the parking lot, and the kids ran around. (Its very strange, because since there are no taxes on the island, there are no public parks. The kids were literally running around on cement, in 80 degree weather, and some lady was singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.) Then Santa flew in on a helicopter. I was glad to know he still comes to Cayman.

I'm apparently also talking about school in my sleep. Last night Sajitha said I started to explain anatomy to someone in my dream, then switched right over to embryology. I plan on making something other than coffee or red bull one of my main food groups soon. I can't wait for Christmas cookies and anything but PBJs!

[What lies superficial to the hyloglossus is the lingual nerve, submandibular ganglion, submandibular duct, hypoglossal nerve, in case you were wondering!]

When the day is done...

I feel as if everyone at home thinks I'm in this amazing place having the time of my life, yet I find myself wanting to cry at the thought of having 24 more days in between myself and 30 park. For most of my undergrad, I had a saying, at the end of the day I'm JuSt a girl who misses her best fRienD. JS-Jessica Stackhouse is my best friend from home, and RD-Ruth Deemer my best friend from Brockport. And now, at 2:10am, I can't help but be overwhelmed with my blessings. My siblings and their emails save my every day. Voicemails from BWS, skype/gchats with angels, and blogs about the cutest baby in the whole world continuously save me. And now, my little sister-the best writer I know-has started a blog for me to look forward to. In my two suitcases here, I managed to fit 1 photo album, and I constantly flip through the pictures and special notes I've brought with me. I miss home, I miss my mom, I miss real friends. I haven't talked to my dad in weeks. And still, I'm so blessed. Being 3,000 miles away breaks my heart every day. But being in medical school, living the hard life to live the dream-I know I wouldn't trade this for the world.

At the end of the day, I'm probably a girl who misses you-especially if you're taking time to read about my depressing/wonderful life. And always, thank God, when the day is done my mama's still my biggest fan..
I miss you, mom.

I have a beautiful neck?

The days are starting to get ridiculous again, as we're nearing our final round of blocks. I look forward to the weekend, where I don't have new material to learn so I can study the weeks load. 12 days from no new material until January 5.

My professor for Anatomy this block likes to pick on people in the front row, and I sit about two seats over from being directly in front of him. Today, we were talking about the Sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM), and he told us all to turn our heads to the side and feel the angular muscle, which has two heads that insert into our manubrium (sternum) and clavicle. He walks up to me, I turn my head for him, and he tells the whole class that my neck is beautiful. I turned about as red as the SCM in that diagram.

Last, I want to give a special thanks to my big brother for making my day yesterday. I'm sure he doesn't read this, but if any of you talk to him/see him, I feel lucky every day to have such a great man as a role model and friend. And, I can't wait to fight him for the spot in front of the fire at Christmas!

I'm still trucking along, and I can almost see 30 park at the finish line! Hope all is well with everyone, any new news I should know about?

Thank God for Grandparents

A few days after I took my blocks, I called home to talk to my mom. She said that my grandma is always asking about me, so I decided to call her and tell her I was ok after my tests. She was shocked to hear it was me calling, and I told her that I was doing ok and missed her. I've seen my Gram almost every week for the past 3 years, and this is still something I can't get used to. I love our Polish-English conversations, and the fact that "I miss you" is bilingual keeps me going every day. December 15, I hug my grandma again.

This past week, I called long island got to talk to my other grandma. The phone was a little choppy, and when I asked her for no pop-tarts, she thought I said no pasta. Like that could even be anything I'd ever ask her not to make. My eyes filled with tears when I told her I'd be home for three weeks, and she asked if I would have time to see her and grandpa. I can't wait to walk up the steps at 52 Sydney Ave. in December. As I said goodbye she told me I'd made her day, and I hope she knows she made my whole week.

Today is nine months since my favorite guy in heaven went home. Its crazy to me how people can leave, and still be so much of every day here on earth. Thank God for Grandparents, I love mine very, very much.

Calm after the storm

Hi all,

I am happy to report I'm safe and sound after quite the scare the past few days! A recap on my first witnessed hurricane:

Thursday, 6:30am I wake up and have received an IM from my friend Kunal "So, theres a hurricane coming this weekend."
Thursday 9:50am, a classmate informs me that Tropical Storm Paloma is coming towards the island, and may be a category 1 when it gets here.
Thursday, 3:30pm, I go grocery shopping for some non-perishables with Sarah, the store is insanely busy.
Thursday 6pm, Paloma may be a 2 by the time it gets here, its time to decide whether to fly to Miami or not. Sarah leaves for Miami, Dana and I pack 1 bag each (computer, passport, electronics, jewelry, & underwear-and all the groceries we bought.
Thursday 9pm, arrive at Residence suites with everything we need to leave the island, and wait for Paloma.

Dana and I stayed at Residence suites with our friends Ashtaad and Prashant Thursday and Friday night. Thursday night was the worst night sleep I've had on the island. The wind and rain woke me up every 15 minutes from 2:30am when we finally went to sleep, until 8 o'clock when I decided pretending to sleep was worthless. The hurricane lasted until about 11:30pm, and was not as bad to the area of the island I was staying (the very west side) as predicted. Friday night around 9pm the internet said that Paloma would be a category 4 when it touched land. Thank God that was wrong, as the suites can hold up against only a weak Category 3. We kept electricity and water the entire duration, and lost internet only last night. I feel really lucky to have had the guys (who are also from new york) to be with, crack jokes, and pass the time.

I have posted a few pictures below from friends who took pictures after the storm. Thanks for all the emails, calls, and prayers. I miss New York every day, but would have never guessed that I'd long for blizzards again!

Hurricane Paloma

Hi all,

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am ok with this hurricane Paloma coming straight for the caymans. I won't write until it passes again as I am going to stay with some friends of mine across the island while I experience my very first hurricane! I am scared to death but will write as soon as its over, and be in contact with my mom if any of you need updates!

love you all

Roomies!

I have been lucky enough to have some really great roommates in my time. Last night I talked to one of my 280 girls, I've lived with angels, Em, and complete strangers who turned into life savers. Don't get me wrong, I've had my share of crazy girls too. Not sure how many of you know this, but my freshman year roommate in college wrote a list of things she hated about me, including that I "hit my snooze too much". Needless to say, we're not very close still. I do hope good things have come of Liz, however.

But I realized today that I have never had a blog about my current roommate at smu. Her name is Sajitha Joseph, and she is from Greenville, South Carolina. She is the third of four girls, and a complete blessing since I have been at school. I can always count on her to ask how my day is, no matter how terrible hers was. She struggles with focusing during studying, but always wishes me luck and cheers me on when you all know-I'm a natural nerd, studying comes pretty easy. We've had a few really good talks, about family life, personal things, friends from home, fears for the future, that end in big hugs and good feelings. I quiz her sometimes before we go to bed on material from any class that we've learned this year. She hates it-obviously-but always laughs and with hints can find the answer I'm looking for, or at least waits until I pass out for the night! The other night we were talking about how President Bush's wife's name is Laura, and she said I've only heard of one other famous Sajitha-Saddam Hussein's wife!

She misses her family and friends as much as I miss all of you, but is very quiet so I worry that she is lonelier sometimes, and apprehensive to share stories. Other classmates ask who my roommate is, and when I say Sajitha I almost always get a comment on how different we are, but I think people are too quick to assume. I like to believe the caring, driven girl I come home to every evening is a little like me, and I'm still trying to push her out of the shyness so others can see how wonderful she is! And, its working a bit, look at the funny face! Although I am excited for Sarah and Dana, I will miss living with her a lot next year, and hope for many, many visits as our apartments are across the street from each other.

After November is...

December! And every day this month is one more day closer to the month I'm coming home :)

Speaking of homes, I've finally seen my newest place to call home for the rest of my days here at Cayman. We are renting the apartment from a guy from the U.S. for the next twelve months, and hopefully extending our stay for a few more months. It is a 4 minute walk from campus, and I'm living with my friends Sarah and Dana. Sarah lives near Detroit, and Dana lives in Scottsdale, AZ. As you can see, we have a view of the beach from our living room. If we can't ever be at the beach, we should at least bring it home to us!

Its been a little hard getting back on track after Block 2. As my friend Vilash told me after Block 1, this is a marathon, not a sprint. I need to keep reminding myself of that! Its been great to catch up with a lot of you back in the states this week, and plan on making more calls/emails over the next week. I started Davenport on Wednesday, so I need to make sure I'm up on that as well! Last, I want to give a special birthday shout out to Miss Emily Lottes. I believe this is her second shout out in my blog, but she really is a amazing friend to me and I found out the other day that she is sad when I slack on writing in this thing. Sometimes I don't know if anyone is even checking! I hope it was amazing, Em.

Dana, Sarah, and I. Our apartment is the balcony behind me on the second floor.

Picture from our balcony, where I plan to eat breakfast every day next year.
Me in the kitchen!

Two down, one to go :)

I am almost willing to admit that Block 2 is over. The gut twisting feeling of wanting to throw up after one exam, but holding it all together for the next 4, 3, 2, 1 is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I remember after block 1 walking off campus, skipping to the beach, and feeling the weight of the world off my shoulders. Walking out of Leeward on Tuesday, I felt as if I had an elephant laying on me.

While I the worst was not the result, block 2 was my reality check, where studying 18 hour days, one (maybe 2) meals, and 4 hours of (I should be up studying) sleep were not enough-you can't know everything. I'm not ever going to be ok with that. Still, I didn't do poorly enough to pack my suitcases tomorrow and head home, so I'm trying to pick up the pieces and start focusing on block 3-which started Wednesday morning.

Two weeks ago, we had a post on our school site asking for student volunteers to be SMU ambassadors and give perspective students tours if they come to visit, or to simply be an outlet for email questions. I decided to volunteer, and found out last week that due to the enormous number of applicants, our director of student services was going to have us fill out applications. Yesterday, I found out that I was chosen as the 1st semester SMU ambassador, as there is only one per class. I gave my first tour today-not a lot of training time!-but it went very well and I find that I'm very good at talking about places where I do what I love.

After some rocky waters, I have decided an alternative apartment for living next year. I'm going to check it out tomorrow, and will take pictures and post them this weekend. Every day is still really hard to be away from home. I can't tell each of you how much every little gesture makes my day. I hope all is well in the states, more updates to come this weekend. Its supposed to be 88 here on Saturday, and people here have never heard of snow!

Still alive

Just wanted to update and let you all know I'm still alive! It is 2:47am Cayman time (3:47 NY), but I have received several voice messages, emails and posts int he past days wondering about my whereabouts. Tomorrow (today, in fact) and Tuesday I have my next set of blocks. Histology and Patient-Doctor tomorrow, two Anatomy exams and Embryology on Tuesday. I promise after to write again, and make some phone calls because no Michele Cella, I could never be avoiding you.

I just wanted to write quick because I realized today that it was the 26 (now the 27), and the 25 is my Aunt Jadwiga's birthday! That marks one of my favorite ny/undergrad memories, and I'm sorry I was two days late, but I hope it was great Aunt Jad! Whether it was sporting events or graduations, or even anxiety attacks on the thruway, you have always been there. I hope to hear the cha ching echos in the Caymans tomorrow night!

Angels

One of the best things that has ever happened to me involves my placement in my freshman residence hall at Brockport in August 2004. It was there that I met seven girls who have since completely changed my life. They are the friends who appreciate me for not only the positives, but love me with all of my flaws.

We all are originally from new york, and there is about 4 hour drive between all of us when we're visiting home. Since summer 2005, we have kept up with chain emails, telling funny stories and many times, the hard stuff too. We've been separated by study abroad, marriage, and grad school. The last time we were all together was May 24, 2008, and there isn't a day I don't long to walk down the hall and watch movies & laugh all night with them.

3000 miles away, from California to Watertown, I can't tell you how many days these girls keep me going. I rarely open my email inbox at the end of the day without 5+ emails. When someone doesn't write for 3 days, we assume they have fallen off the earth.

This weekend, they became my first friends to download skype and with Shamil's webcam, I saw three angels this weekend. There is nothing like talking to your best friends face to face, they were in Cayman with me, and I in Buffalo with them. The sadness flowed after goodbyes, but for 45 minutes, they have motivated me for days and days to come. Thank you Ang, Rach, and Kate, you know the deal...all the way to the moon.

A lot to say...

I feel like I have a lot to write about today, but not a lot of time!

First, I made a decision last week that I think a lot of people will consider to be very crazy, but hear me out. I decided that while I'm here, I am also going to begin graduate school and get my M.B.A. Our school has an agreement with Davenport University, in Michigan, and when I'm done with my clinicals and applying for residency, it will be one more thing to add on my CV. I only take 2 classes per SMU semester, both for 6 weeks each, one at a time. I will have to hand in homework and comment on others work. Having an MBA leaves options such as hospital administrative and chief residency positions.

Second, I have an embarrassing story. I decided to make a review for my embryology course for block two. I take information from the slide shows and tutorials, and compile one document to study. Embryo is a 2 credit course, which our professor is new at teaching, and honestly-is not very good. So, I made the review to help myself, and asked him to look it over. He came up to me the next day in his cute little Indian accent and told me how great it was. Then, he asked me if he could give it to the class, as several of my classmates have been complaining about the amount of material, and I only put it into a 3 paged document. Yesterday he announced in class that it is on our Angel system, and I think my face turned hot pink. My friend Ashtaad asked me how it felt to have 150 people looking at me. Yay for embryo though, I can't wait to be an OB!

Four of my girlfriends and I have decided on an apartment for next semester. It is a two bedroom townhouse, but the rooms are huge. Downstairs we have a kitchen, eating area, half bath, and living room. Upstairs we have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a HUGE walk in closet. The upstairs is carpeted, which is SO nice because the only carpet we have in our room now is the bathroom mat. Best parts: its 200 yards from campus (instead of 2 miles), fully furnished, cleaning ladies, pool and gym. And the beach is across the street!

There is so much to tell, but so much to study. I will write again soon, I hope everyone is doing well!

Crazy Critters

Blocks are in 17 days. If you flip back to my post about two weeks before block 1, same life is going on. The past two nights I have had a total of 10 hours of sleep. I did however, go for my first cayman run yesterday on the beach with Shamil, as the sun set. After, we jumped in the pool in our sports bras and shorts, and found complete content in the fact that the stars in Cayman were over Orlando and Warsaw too.

Tonight on my way to church, I met tourists in the taxi from Biddeford, Maine. I asked them if they knew my dear friend Lily Morin, the allstar who scored two goals for BWS this week. They didn't, but I was still really happy that they were from the same town.

I decided it would be good to write about the crazy animals on the island, as I don't think I have yet. If so, my apologies. There are stray dogs everywhere on the island. At the grocery this week, there was a dog fight in the parking lot. Also abundant, are chickens and roosters. They are also found in the large parking lots, and Shamil and I often laugh on our bike ride to school, because we cant see them, but the roosters are crowing the whole way there. The lizards on the island come in all sizes, from the size of my pinky finger to the size of my entire leg. There are sand crabs... white ones that blend into the sand. I think I killed some on my run yesterday. The med students in the suites always talk about the frogs there jumping on them, and I had my first encounter Wednesday night, when I was walking back from laundry and a frog decided to hop onto me. I say this with love, when I say I acted just like my sisters would. I screamed and flailed ridiculously, like the little thing would actually hurt me. Last, there are the ants. We have had our room exterminated, and they just keep coming. They are weird ants that stagger, basically like drunk ants, and its a good time I have very little time to eat, because they certainly eliminate my appetite.

Besides the critters, there are people here who are starting to mean an awful lot to me. One of my guy friends called me yesterday, because a situation happened at home and he "felt like I was someone he could confide in". My girls and I are looking at places to live next semester, and I couldn't be luckier to have a close nit group in a really difficult time for all of us.

A taste of the states!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend :)

For all of block one, I studied for my exams with my friend Sarah, from Michigan. Her parents came down to visit after our exam, and Friday night they took me out to dinner. We went to a really nice restaurant on the water, ate fish, drank wine, and talked about the states. We wanted to know what was on TV and happening in sports land. The best part, however, is that her dad is an obgyn. So, I asked him about his practice, his daily routine, best and obviously worst moments. He told me, "when you deliver your first child, you'll know if it is what you're meant to do." We talked about specialties within OB, new procedures, and basically I was just eating up all the words he had to say. He was on a team of physicians to deliver the first IVF (invitro fertilization) quintuplets in the US 21 years ago, which I thought was awesome! Sarah told me today sorry for his blabbing, and I reassured her that I actually loved it, I have already met my first OB connection!

Shamil went home to Orlando this weekend to see her grandfather, who has become ill since we started school. She came back Sunday night with homemade chocolate chip cookies, and little gifts for all of us, basically whatever we had asked her to borrow! Shaz got Tupperware, Sajitha a muffin pan, and me, nail polish remover & cotton balls. Her grandma thought they were strange gifts, but we were all thrilled!

The other really wonderful part of my weekend came yesterday, with calls from both my sisters. I love hearing about the leaves changing, lives in the states, and family gossip. It made my day when you called, thanks Mar and Choo! I also ended my day the way I would recommend for everyone, with a good talk with miss Emily Lottes. For those of you who don't know her, she was my roommate junior year at Brockport, from the metropolis of Avon, and I think she'll be famous some day. My roommate was giving me weird looks as Im laughing out loud at my computer screen, and I went to sleep very happy last night. Thanks Em!

I have actually allowed myself to breathe the last few days, even week since Block one last Monday. Now, I need to get back in the swing of things. Its a marathon, not a sprint, and I continuously imagine the finish line and all of you there! Miss you all.

Rain Month

October is the Rain month in Cayman. It rained a lot in September, but for about ten minutes, followed by sun and 100 degrees. It has rained every day in October, always for most of the day. Makes studying easy, makes missing the pink room & always having someone to watch a movie with in undergrad, a lot harder.

It is still hard to believe that block one was this week. It was an absolutely insane experience, and I'm 3 1/2 weeks from its encore! Not having class today, is a nice surprise though..I slept in until 9:30!

I decided to write today about my friends here, as my favorite moment in Cayman happened Thursday night. Everyone back home knows me as a simple girl, who has a lot of fun doing nothing and being surrounded by people I love. As I've said, it is hard here to trust people, because you don't know them, and because of the competitiveness of Medical School. Everyone wants to be number one.

I was lucky enough my first day in Cayman to get lost on the way to the grocery store with my roommate, Sajitha, and we met two other girls, Shazia and Shamil. After the grocery store, we all had KFC as our first Cayman food. Since, I can always count on the girls to be there during homesick times, bad news from new york, and good news as well. When someones late to class, or we haven't heard from them all day, we check up on each other. Thursday, we bought this simple 30 minute chicken and biscuit dinner, made it and sat in our room talking about childhood memories, why we want to practice medicine, our families, and big fears we have on our roads to our dreams. For two hours, we didn't talk about school, exams, or anything having to do with Cayman. We're Christians, Muslims, and Catholics. We're Indian, Pakistani, Puerto Rican/Cuban, and Caucasian. We're focused, distracted, shy, crazy and loud. I am so blessed to have these girls in my life.

Here's a picture of my fav four the first weekend at dinner. Next to me is Shaz, across Shamil, and diagonally, Sajitha. On days I think I'm crazy for leaving all of you to come here, they are my reminders that God always takes care of us.

A fresh start!

I have officially survived my first medical school exams, and am happy to report that I will not be coming home due to failing out after them. The days are like a blur, but the nervousness was ridiculous, and the exams exactly what my professors said they would be. I am very pleased with my scores, but I was hoping for those results after all the time I put into studying!

After our last exam yesterday, my friends and I bought a six pack and traveled across the street from campus to the beach. Two of the girls I was with hadn't even walked to the beach yet, had never seen the water. As we're standing in the ocean, my friend Shaz comes over the hill of sand, and says, "we lives here?!" Everyone laughed. Standing there with people from South Carolina, Florida, St. Louis, Michigan, Ohio, California, and the UK, no one really said anything, nothing had to be said. I wanted to pause everything-very very good moment on the island. Thanks to everyone in the states for all your instant messages, voicemails, emails, and away messages, I could hear you all cheering even with thousands of miles in between. I am way too lucky.

Today, was back to reality. After five minutes of talking about the exam, we started new lessons in histology and anatomy. Relaxation only lasts for a bit! Below, I finally have pictures from my first swim in the ocean. I can't believe its October already, happy birthday Janelle and Courtney Klee!!

Blocks

I am currently preparing for my first block exams, which are held for each of my classes at the end of each month (total of 3), followed by a two week review before we take our shelf (final). Today I was up at 6, to school by 7:30, and just got home now, a few minutes before 1am. Tomorrow, a lot more of the same. It is crazy to me that I just do this over and over for the next 2 years. I have made good study partners though, and the older students come in and "check" on us and wish us luck. Some of the 4th semesters even hold reviews, with the most important concepts explained again before our exams. I've been sleeping four hours at night, and drinking about 5 cups of coffee a day. Monday I have my Histology exam, while Tuesday I have Gross Anatomy Lab, GA lecture, and Embryology. At 7pm Eastern Time Tuesday, I hope to be sleeping like a baby. Next weekend, I have a date with the Atlantic ocean.

In all the chaos, I'm still missing home. I miss my cute little grandma, and hope shes not being too stubborn, and she better not be lifting a thing! I miss my mom and her renovations, and the simple relaxed life I used to live. (To think, my one hour drive was the worst part of my day!) And a special congratulations to my best friend Roo on her engagement. I hope that Mr. Franks will love you almost as much as I do, and I am so happy for both of you. From California, Florida, Ohio, LI and upstate, chances are I'm thinking of you! I will catch up/make calls next week. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Happy Birthday Goo :)

Before leaving 30 park for Cayman, I sorted through piles of old cards. Birthday cards, thank you cards, christmas cards, pretty much any note someone gave me in the past four years. One of my favorites, was from my little sister. It was a thank you card for her birthday, and in it she wrote something like, you (me), dan, and mar are my favorite part of me, and I'm so lucky to have all of you. I remember specifically rereading the card, and wondering if she knew just how lucky we are to have her.

I was scared to leave home for two years, and she left fearless for four. She's not going to have the typical upstate new york profession, and as much as I like to believe it, she probably won't be a famous country singer either. (And I won't say it, but you know what my favorite song you sing is, Goo). All I know, is that the strong-willed, beautiful girl we call our baby sister will make a difference, and we will always be lucky to have her.

Happy Birthday to the girl I call Choo, Goo, and everything in between :) I love you!

Little moments

Brad Paisley's little moments has always given me the chills. I have certain friends, mon amie, who will always do little things that they consider "nothing", that mean absolutely everything to me. I look through my photo album and my heart swells with happiness. Peers come into my room, see the picture of my siblings and I with crooked faces, and I'm proud to call them the best part of me.

Thank you so so much to everyone, who since I've been here have been so supportive. Friends who I haven't seen in months, or years, family who I saw every day. Every im, phone call, comment, and facebook post means so so much to me.

One of my friends here is having a really hard time, she doesn't know if she really wants to be a doctor and she misses her family. Its really hard to be away from my family (and friends, who i consider family), but I know I am exactly where I'm supposed to be every day. I'm really grateful for having such a great support group back in the states, and just wanted to say thanks because I don't say it enough.

Skype!

Hi all,

Just wanted to remind everyone to download skype, at www.skype.com . It is a free download, similar to AOL instant messanger, but it is the internet phone service I have my number through in Cayman. Skype to skype calls are free, so we could set up chat times, etc. if you have the program! Only catch is, you need a microphone, which can be internal to the computer, or external as well. My mic was $15 at wal*mart (which, I miss so much down here in the tropics). My skype name is LauraKS30, add me as soon as you sign up!

Otherwise, my number is 585.502.4568. It is a Rochester area code, so that anywhere in the U.S. its just minutes off a cell phone, or local or long distance depending on where you're calling from. If you call and my computer isn't on, it will go straight to voicemail. I would love to hear from you!

What I learned today...

Everyone back in the states really seems interested in what I'm learning in this far off place. And, while I should be studying, I need a break. Its 97 degress outside, so instead of a walk, I decided to blog.

For the past 4 days, I have been learning the brachial plexus. I can now draw and understand this collection of spinal nerves and branches beginning at the spinal cord and ending at the tip of your fingers. Each branch innervates one or more muscles which each are responsible for specific movements of our body. The muscles have ligaments, arteries that supply them with blood, veins, and lymph nodes-all of which I can name and locate on a diagram or actual cadaver. Damage to one of these nerves, branches, cords, trunks or roots results in paralysis of a muscle (sometimes several), and usually a syndrome/disease.



Today in lecture we finished the upper limb, and are moving on to the leg Friday. And, I have 4 other classes I should probably study for too! On that note, I should get back to work. Enjoy!

Still treading

I recently asked a girl in my residence hall how she found the energy to go out snorkeling for an hour at a time. I told her I've always wanted to go, but feel as if I'd drown after about 10 minutes. She reassured me that when you get tired, you just tread and float, viewing from the top...survive until you get your next wind to swim and inquire further.

I think her analogy for snorkeling may be mine for med school, except I feel as if I'm sinking a little lately. I have been getting five hours of sleep, which I used to be able to work on without a problem. On September 29 and 30, I have my first block exams. The two anatomy exams cover 10 lectures and 9 labs, the histology lecture covers 11 lectures and 2 labs, while the embryology block should be a breeze, only covering 5 lectures.

I start my studying at 7am, and end around midnight, with breaks for classes, coffee, and peanut butter and jelly. I took pictures Sunday, but unfortunately am having problems uploading them, and usually decide to sleep rather than play with my computer on getting them to work. So, they are to come :) This week I still have 6 extra hours of class (catching up from Gustav) plus lab all day Saturday. In case I don't write soon, I am alive and surviving, and even through the hecticness here, missing all of you. Keep me updated on news in the states.

First cousin once removed!

Grand Cayman is nothing like Brockport. I spend my days looking at library cubicles or xray fractures. I miss soccer games, freezies with my best friend, reunions in Canandaigua, and flux tests in the Sia lab. My days here seem to have been so long, and I have so long before I hug my mom, and head back to the place I've lived for all my life.

But every once in a while, we have those moments that make what we're doing completely worthwhile. My cousins Kris and Carey had a baby girl, Abby, today around 2pm. It hit me today that while I'm sitting in lab studying joints of the upper limb, lives are being brought into the world, lives are being saved, medicine is making miracles, and I can be part of them in time.

The days are absolutely overwhelming. The knowledge I have gained is ridiculous, and I can't even imagine what I have in store for me. But for tonight, I'm just going to be thankful. My cousin is healthy, and my first cousin once removed is finally here, and she has already made my day. Congrats Carey and Kris!

First day done :)

I am grateful after 8 months to be back in the swing of things in the academic world, and somehow, I even remember how to study! Today was actually a pretty easy day, with a class from 8 to 10 and another from 10 to 12. The most alarming point came around 8:15, when my professor was speaking of autopsies and opened a slide with a completely opened human being on it. I knew I would be seeing graph photos at school, but 8:15 on the first day was a bit shocking. I managed to keep my oatmeal down though.

Schiraldi puts me in the third lab group, so I don't have lab until tomorrow. I spent most of my afternoon in the library, where I met a really nice fourth semester student from Staten Island by the printers. After we talked for a few minutes, he offered me advice in any subjects I want and even old anatomy exams! Then I went to the librarian desk to borrow a reference book, and the third semester student who gave me more advice and a great deal on some anatomy flash cards. People were nice at home, but its almost like people go out of their way to be especially nice here.

Other things I learned today: people in Cayman take a lunch break from 12 to 1:45. And still leave at 5. Cayman also has Monday wing nights for 25 CI (~29 cents US), which make me miss Brockport but in no way compare to Grandma's house.

And the best news (after the exams of course), is that my friend Shamil found us bikes for $120 CI. We're getting bikes, baskets, and raincoats (to fight off the hurricanes) which will save the hassle of waiting for taxis and paying the fees.

First post!

Hi everyone, I write to you from sunny Grand Cayman. My cousin, Kris has a blog, and my sister said that all she wants for Christmas is for me to blog as well. So, Merry Christmas Em.

I arrived Thursday, and I've having to conduct reality checks since. The island is beautiful, the sand is white and the ocean teal. There are palm trees everywhere. Our view from the room is the pool and gazebo. The photo above is a picture of my view on the plane coming into Cayman. While our campus is very small, the buildings are adequate and the professors seem knowledgeable and ready to help. At orientation, our class of just under 150 had several speeches like the Patch Adams "we're going to make doctors out of you" speech. A little cliche after the fourth time, but all the same I'm ready to put their words to reality.

In my first post, I'd just like to give a special thank you to my parents, Teresa and Frank. The sacrifices you have made are incredible, and I am so thankful to have such amazing parents.

I will write more on the island and what I have seen/done and want to see in the upcoming days. However, I do start medical school tomorrow and have a lot of reading to do! I plan on sending emails so people know I'm writing, but if you all could spread the word too that would be wonderful. Hope all is well back in the states.