Grenada Vacation

My parents came last Friday to Grenada. It was great to see them again and they looked just as great as they did when I left. We didn't do much our first night since they were so tired from the flight. We did, however, eat dinner at their Hotel the Blue Horizons Beach Resort. I was expecting a great meal since it was nicely decorated. Dad got the swordfish, I got stuffed chicken, mom got pulled pork. Dad said the swordfish was good. My chicken was raw. Somehow I have the knack of always getting the raw chicken. Mother did not like her "pulled pork" it tasted more like spicy hamburger meat than anything else. So two nays and one yay for the restaurant called "Le Belle Breole" that is part of the hotel. Saturday we walked all over the place. We got a donut at Nick's Donuts (not to be affiliated with me.) We got some groceries, I gave mom and dad a tour of the University then we had burgers at the Owl. The Owl is a good place for burgers so I thoroughly enjoyed my meal. Sunday is Sunday. We went to church and mom and dad got a celebrity welcome with their names in the program and all! Then we went to the Weir's for dinner. The Weir's have been so good to take care of me this semester and have always made me feel welcome. They invite me each Sunday to their home for a gourmet meal and they always take me to church. Monday was an island tour day. The Wood's who are the senior missionary couple on this island took us around. I paid handsomely to watch a guy do a wussy cliff jump from about 40 feet. He said it was 50 but I wasn't buying it. You didn't have to pay for it but he was good to go on and on how if we don't pay anything to his box he doesn't make a living. Then we saw a cool little cocoa bean plantation and took a tour. I was actually really interested in the whole thing and best of all I got a free sample of chocolate and spiced hot chocolate! We then went to "leapers hill" where supposedly the Carib indians who are native to Grenada were run off a hill by the French back in the 1700's. Legend has it they swam to the Grenadines which are the islands north by at least 15 miles. We weren't too sold on that idea either and wondered if anything we saw was authentic. Tuesday was our day at the beach. I stepped on a sea urchin and it stung for a few seconds but wasn't too bad. Mom and dad came with me to catch my bus home and we said our goodbyes ending yet another vacation. Looks like I need to come home so I can enjoy another vacation? Now that is something I am sold on!

Term 1 Recap

Finals are upon me and I am left to reflect upon the last 4 months of my life and the first 4 months of my medical career. Montgomery Burns' monkey said it best, "It was the best of times it was the blurst of times!' From the very second I got here I was met with challenges. I learned that as we are faced with challenges no matter how difficult they are we can work through them. The keyword here is work. I can't tell you how many hours I have spent studying biochemistry or the cranial nerves and their autonomics. The first few days I was here I spent many bus trips and many hours walking in the hot caribbean sun in order to get my living standards up to snuff. I had to find my church without any real phonebooks or addresses. I had zero friends and had to work at getting new ones quickly for the sake of my social health. While learning more about the importance of work I also came to better appreciate the importance of not working. "A man cannot run faster than he has strength". I found that taking a break here and there and going out with friends as least once a week was very helpful in keeping me sane. Sometimes when I was inside all day studying, a jog was just the cure for cabin fever. It helped me deal with stress and kept me relaxed when it came crunch time. I do not have official grades yet but I think I will manage and can take my lessons to next term to be even more successful. It has been a very interesting 4 months!