Reporting to you from the same place as last blog! Ill catch you up with whats been happening since then. The biggest thing is that Block 1 is complete! On Monday we had the highly anticipated block day. This semester I wrote 4 exams which is nothing new for me. I was a little jealous however as the majority of my class who were in EBS only had 2 exams this block as they did their epi exam last week. Good thing Im used to the whole 4 exam thing though.. I must say block 1 wasn't terrible. I am in a much happier spot then I was this time last semester, thats for sure. On Monday I started off with Pathology followed by Neuro. We had 2 hours for lunch, then I wrote Microbiology and Behavioural. The exams themselves weren't all that bad to be honest! The material was manageable and I though I was well prepared. My least favourite exam had to be microbiology. As always, going into block one always brings with it a little bit of anxiety as you don't know the testing style. Microbiology unfortunately was not exactly what I was expecting, so I came up a little short. It all good, I still did well enough in it. My highest mark for sure was Behavioural, but compared to the other courses it wasn't much of a competition in terms of work load. I was quite happy with my Neuro and Path marks. Im in a good position for the blocks to come. Stress lowered for a few more weeks. Normally the journey leading up to blocks is terrible. The weekend before is super stressful and you feel like you have no time. This semester is wasn't that way for me. I still put in 14+ hours a day on Saturday and Sunday, but it was a perfectly comfortable pace. I didn't feel like I was falling behind at all. It also helps that most of my classes stopped giving new material by Thursday the week before, so I had a few days to get a jumpstart on the cumulative studies. Lets hope the trend stays.
I must say that this has been the fastest time has gone by from start of a semester to block 1. It has really been flying by and I'm sure it will continue. Have to make the best of it, even though I am already looking forward to my next break on the island:)
In terms of other things, not too much has happened. I have tickets to the music festival which is coming to SK in two weeks, I've seen a movie or two, and am planning to go on another hike this coming weekend. Ive been busy with SGA as well. MED olympics is coming up in two weeks, so we are in the planning stage for that. The ambassador program is also going well. Ive had a few shifts now and its a lot of fun! I have talked to a bunch of people so far, and Ive certainly helped some with their decision making. I have also applied to be on the welcoming committee for the new students arriving in September. It is supposed to be a big group, so I'm sure it will keep me super busy for the last week of the break. It will be lots of fun however.
The island is still as usual. We are starting to get info on the upcoming hurricane season. We've gotten emails from school, some of the SK new outlets have been doing their usual broadcasting as the season commences. I have to get a few more things tied up before too long to make sure Im in a good spot if we get locked in for a few days. This is a excerpt from an email from the US embassy.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Climate Prediction Centre expects the 2016 season to be near normal. There is a 45 percent chance of a near-normal season, a 30 percent chance of an above-normal season, and a 25 percent chance of a below-normal season. NOAA is forecasting a 70 percent chance that La Nina – which favors more hurricane activity – will be present during the peak months of the hurricane season, August through October, and a 70 percent likelihood of 10 to 16 named storms, which includes Tropical Storm Alex which formed in January. Of those, four to eight storms are predicted to strengthen to a hurricane (with top winds of 74 mph or higher) and one to four are expected to become major hurricanes (with top winds of 111 mph or higher, ranking Category 3, 4, or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale).
So people aren't too worried about the season it seems. We will see how it goes :) Thats about all I have to say for now! Thanks for tuning in again!
Things I've learned
-Im happy I brought about 10 packs of Fisherman's Friends to the island. I've had a terrible cough for the last week. At least I can start to diagnose myself now. Thanks Micro.
-My laptop cannot be charged at my house anymore.. It used to work fine, but I preemptively brought a new laptop charger down to the island knowing that my old one was about to fail. When the cord caught fire two weeks in, I was really happy I brought it. The downside is that for whatever reason, I get shocked every time I try to plug it in at home. Its happen twice, and now Im too scared to try it again. So I make sure its super charged when I leave school for the evening. I will have to get my next visitors to bring up a real voltage converter. Mom? Dad?
-I wish I had a magic bullet
-UMHS Graduation is happening this weekend in NY... One day
-I had a lizard run in my door when I was going to school. Its really hard to catch a lizard. I mean I didn't mind if he came in, but I didn't want to him to die.
-My brother got engaged! Wahoo! Wish I was home with them.
Cheers,
Mike