Good evening!
Sunday night... I never really used to like Sunday night because it meant Monday was right around the corner. For some reason this Sunday doesn't give me the same feeling. Most likely its because I am actually looking forwards to getting back to class. As much work as it is, it's really fun! I'm already impressing myself with the amount of info I have been able to retain from the last week. Studying is starting to become the normal way of life around here.
Sunday night... I never really used to like Sunday night because it meant Monday was right around the corner. For some reason this Sunday doesn't give me the same feeling. Most likely its because I am actually looking forwards to getting back to class. As much work as it is, it's really fun! I'm already impressing myself with the amount of info I have been able to retain from the last week. Studying is starting to become the normal way of life around here.
This picture pretty much sums up my day today, well at least most of it. I woke up early to do some studying then went downtown to grab some groceries. Up until this point I have only gone to "Best Buy" which is the closest grocery store to my house. I decided to try another place in Basseterre to see if it was any better. Ive been told that they have better prices for some things, but I didn't really find it all that much better. While I was downtown I walked around a little and was surprised at how deserted it was! Not many things open on Sunday in SK, which is a very big change from the rest of the week. Even when there are no cruise ships at port, Basseterre is pretty busy. So it was an uneventful trip.. When I got home however, I realized that I forgot about half the things I wanted to get.. So ill be back to Best Buy tomorrow:)
Yesterday was our White Coat Ceremony. It is one of the medical school traditions which official recognizes the start of the journey to becoming a doctor. To be honest I wasn't expecting too much. In the end it was a really nice ceremony and Im glad it happened. Everyone taking pictures and having a good time was nice to see. I was amazed at how many parents attended the ceremony! They said it was the biggest family showing to a white coat ceremony since the school opened! I had sent the link to the live stream to my family, so it was nice knowing that they were watching:) I even got a few screenshots sent to me from their viewpoint! The speakers were all great. Im pretty sure everyone walked out of the ceremony with a big smile on their faces. Afterwards everyone stuck around for the typical storm of pictures. I'll post the class group shot when we I get a copy. The ceremony ran on time as well which was great. Once pictures were done, everyone ran off to go study which is not surprising at all. For me, I hit the books for a few more hours and ended up going to watch a boxing match with some friends. I had to choose between the toga party or watching boxing, but in the end I was more interested in a quiet night then anything else. So all in all the weekend was good. I can't tell you how nice it was to have a break from a constant influx of material everyday. Saturday and Sunday gives everyone well needed time to catch up. It allows you to solidify all the things you learned the week before and to get prepared for the new week of material coming. This week will be another typical week of classes. The one difference is that all the TA's are starting to hold review sessions now. So on Tuesday and Wednesday I'm going to check those out to see if they are helpful. I'll report back later in the week.
Thats pretty much all I have to say for now. I will comment on one more thing though. Like I had mentioned before, the island is experiencing a major water shortage at the moment. The storms that were anticipated just haven't happened. The rainfall to the island has been very minimal. There has been a few moments of rain over the past few days, but never more then an hours worth at a time. For the past little while they have been limiting the water to most places during the night but they have been taking more extreme measures now. It seems that everyone is affected by the water limits. The majority of people have zero water form about 8pm to 6am. There are even a number of areas that have no water at all! Some people haven't had water at their house since Friday.. The water shortage is expected to last until about the end of October, so until then we will all have to get used to rationing water:P So far Ive been pretty lucky. Last night was the first night that the water was actually shut off in my house. We weren't even limited during the day. So we will see what happens with that.
Things learned today
- I remembered that I used to listen to whale sounds when I studied for exams! Sounds weird, but makes me focus like crazy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiZIlL3bLko
Give it a try! I made a few friends at Carleton whale sound listeners, so maybe it will help you too!
- I should have bought a few more water containers so I can fill them up when I have water.. I never did get around to hurricane prep...
- I need to try and find somewhere close to my house that I can swim in the ocean. I'm tired of hearing the ocean all the time and not swimming in it.
-Local cats have started to invade my outdoor study spot. They are constantly hissing and fighting around me... Im going to have to find a way to reclaim my territory.
All for now.
Cheers,
Mike
Yesterday was our White Coat Ceremony. It is one of the medical school traditions which official recognizes the start of the journey to becoming a doctor. To be honest I wasn't expecting too much. In the end it was a really nice ceremony and Im glad it happened. Everyone taking pictures and having a good time was nice to see. I was amazed at how many parents attended the ceremony! They said it was the biggest family showing to a white coat ceremony since the school opened! I had sent the link to the live stream to my family, so it was nice knowing that they were watching:) I even got a few screenshots sent to me from their viewpoint! The speakers were all great. Im pretty sure everyone walked out of the ceremony with a big smile on their faces. Afterwards everyone stuck around for the typical storm of pictures. I'll post the class group shot when we I get a copy. The ceremony ran on time as well which was great. Once pictures were done, everyone ran off to go study which is not surprising at all. For me, I hit the books for a few more hours and ended up going to watch a boxing match with some friends. I had to choose between the toga party or watching boxing, but in the end I was more interested in a quiet night then anything else. So all in all the weekend was good. I can't tell you how nice it was to have a break from a constant influx of material everyday. Saturday and Sunday gives everyone well needed time to catch up. It allows you to solidify all the things you learned the week before and to get prepared for the new week of material coming. This week will be another typical week of classes. The one difference is that all the TA's are starting to hold review sessions now. So on Tuesday and Wednesday I'm going to check those out to see if they are helpful. I'll report back later in the week.
Thats pretty much all I have to say for now. I will comment on one more thing though. Like I had mentioned before, the island is experiencing a major water shortage at the moment. The storms that were anticipated just haven't happened. The rainfall to the island has been very minimal. There has been a few moments of rain over the past few days, but never more then an hours worth at a time. For the past little while they have been limiting the water to most places during the night but they have been taking more extreme measures now. It seems that everyone is affected by the water limits. The majority of people have zero water form about 8pm to 6am. There are even a number of areas that have no water at all! Some people haven't had water at their house since Friday.. The water shortage is expected to last until about the end of October, so until then we will all have to get used to rationing water:P So far Ive been pretty lucky. Last night was the first night that the water was actually shut off in my house. We weren't even limited during the day. So we will see what happens with that.
Things learned today
- I remembered that I used to listen to whale sounds when I studied for exams! Sounds weird, but makes me focus like crazy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiZIlL3bLko
Give it a try! I made a few friends at Carleton whale sound listeners, so maybe it will help you too!
- I should have bought a few more water containers so I can fill them up when I have water.. I never did get around to hurricane prep...
- I need to try and find somewhere close to my house that I can swim in the ocean. I'm tired of hearing the ocean all the time and not swimming in it.
-Local cats have started to invade my outdoor study spot. They are constantly hissing and fighting around me... Im going to have to find a way to reclaim my territory.
All for now.
Cheers,
Mike