Ending Second Semester

Hey all,

I haven't written in here in a while, but I've had some medical issues this semester between piriformis syndrome causing sciatica, and the fatigue that followed.

I spent way too much money fixing my leg (Down almost 2,000 dollars on my leg...). Overall I'm doing pretty well.

I went to my chiropractor for about 11 visits, until seeing Dr. Lisa Skerritt, a chinese medical doctor who rid me of the pain FAST with trigger point injections! It was a miracle!

Unfortunately, I keep trying to stretch the finances in lieu of going in for more injections, and I end up in more pain. I was limping, in pain, and not eating for 10 days when this started! I didn't sleep more than 2 hours/night, and the worst part- Once I got back, I bombed the 4 exams the admin had me take in 7 days. It was not fun... So now I'm doing damage control in every class, which is MORE stressful! Finals week will definitely be tough!

So after studying for a quiz which I did well on because of pure luck, I was pretty exhausted and negative about school... So I just have to remember where I am, and why I'm doing this.

This morning, I went to the beach to relax. I swam! I sprinted! and I had a great time! I just have to remember where I live and take advantage of this more often!

http://i60.tinypic.com/2h69co6.jpg

Thanksgiving on Saint Kitts!

We had an island thanksgiving on Saint Kitts! It was a little rushed because we all had finals to prepare for, but there was a ton of food. We did a "pot luck" style thanksgiving. It was awesome. I made home-made egg nog and some gluten free cookies because there were 4-5 of us there who were gluten free and/or vegan and/or dairy free.

It came out great.

Hanna made a giant, dense gluten free chocolate cake, which came out great. There was also medical glove made "turkeys" on the tables, and two guys who came even made their rice krispie treat into a turkey! :)

It was too funny!

Rachel made something called a green Jello salad, which was odd but great! It had green jello, mayo, horseradish, cottage cheese, and nuts. I don't understand how it tasted so good, but it did! 

This was our wild & crazy group!
Thanksgiving on Saint Kitts "Family Photo"

I had a ton of fun, and everything came out great!

Well... Back to finals studying... My lab final is on friday for anatomy. I can't wait for the semester to be over!

Living in Saint Kitts!

... Where I live.

So I live in West farm which is right next to campus. I chose not to get a car, and I walk about 5 minutes to and from school!

I chose not to do the whole roommate situation again, and I plan on living here the whole < 3 years I'm here!

Apartment 1

Apartment 2
Apartment 3
Apartment 4
Apartment 5

I've got all of the basics, though currently I'm waiting on a technician to fix the hot water (out for 6 weeks), and the AC was just fixed last week, after being out for 1.5 weeks! It's all running on "Island time"... It's a step worse than my family's "Dello Russo Time" Haha! Named after my Dad, lovingly.

Who needs roommates when you have a cat like this?

Speaking of cats, Aladar is in a whipworm study right now. He's getting a bunch of free fecals and they're testing the effectiveness of Milbemax on trichuris. So exciting! All I had to pay for were the 10 dollar meds!

11/29/2013 - Nearing Finals of First Semester!

So, I'm Kara and I'm a student at Ross University Class of 2016.

I am of the "purple" class. Which basically designates which class of the year you are graduating... There's purple, red, green, orange, black, blue, and pink! I know the incoming January Class is Red- Class of 2017.  Ross graduates 3 classes a year. We have a class starting in May, September, and January. Also, we have a vet prep program.

Finals are in 2 weeks, and I'm actually really excited to finish up the semester. My least favorite class is Anatomy, which I wasn't anticipating. There is just SO much information that never seems to stick in my brain. Specifically the muscles. Because, professors say it's not about memorization, but concepts. I agree to a point, but it's still 99% memorization. For example, I know the latissimus dorsi m. is involved in the digging motion of the thoracic limb, and I understand that it attaches to the thoracolumbar fascia; however, no amount of concept knowledge will tell me whether or not it attached to the teres major tuberosity, or if it attaches to the caudo-lateral part of the humerus. That's just plain memorization, and there's no way around that!

So, starting at Ross is amazing. We had an orientation week, where all of the student who start get broken up into groups, and they basically become your island "family". Even people you do not really know & would probably not normally get along with become friends, because you've all basically just left absolutely everyone you know in the US. It's all kinds of fun! We all just had a thanksgiving together, and I'm going to another thanksgiving tomorrow! :) (Saturday)

Now about the island:

OISK = "Only in Saint Kitts", and it's a key phrase for students on the island. For example, OISK does it take the waitress 37 minutes to get 5 dollars change. It would inappropriate to act like an impatient American, so you're supposed to just be calm.  Or... if you're in the grocery store, and you want to buy something, but it's not in the system, or they cannot find the price, you just are NOT allowed to buy it. Also, OISK does it take 6 weeks to get hot water turned back on, or OISK do you find 6-7 inch centipedes in your house (& have no idea how they got there.) Also, OISK can you go to the bank, wait in like for an hour (with only 5 people in front of you), then have the bank teller put up a sign saying "Out to lunch- Be back in 1 hour" with 20 people still behind you. It's the island way.

However, show up even 30 seconds late to a class and you'd be lucky if all you get is a look from the professor.  It gives them their kicks to embarrass any student who shows up late with a coffee in hand. Now, I'd understand that in the states. But, if you go get a coffee, expecting it to take 5 minutes, it will likely take 35 minutes, no exaggeration... Murphy's Law :) and Saint Kitts is on Island Time!

Anyways... Studying. I study a lot, and I get Average to Below Average grades compared to some people. Sure, it hurts my pride. Haha... But we're all in vet school, and generally everyone here is pretty amazing. Sadly, though I love this career, memorizing massive amounts of information is NOT my skill- I'm a math and writing person. Useless skills for vet school, but ok none-the-less. I did help a few students write a few transfer applications, so I guess there are a few different skills I put to use outside of vet school. 

I'm taking Anatomy, Physio, Microanatomy, and Animal Nutrition. I really do love Physio, but the professor is a little bit of an older guy. Dr. Heyliger... Know for being the cute old man limping around 

campus with his cane... So sad. :/ He also has a kittitan accent... He teaches one way, then uses a question bank for his tests, so they're unnecessarily difficult. Other than that, I'll get through this. One step at a time.

Time to go study for finals. I'll keep you updated on my finals studying... Soon to be on break- Yahoo!