Helpful Info for New students again.

A few things you might want to know about if you are planning to attend UMHS.

* Mondays

Blocks are usually scheduled about four weeks apart on Mondays.

* tuesdays

pasta buffet at the marriott = 30 us Dollars

movie theater = about 3 US Dollars

Grill day at the bookstore = about 5 US Dollars

Fruit and Vege guy comes to campus EC or US cash only as much as you can buy and eat in one week.

* thursdays

Grill day at the bookstore = about 5 US Dollars

* Friday

4:30 bus to Best Buy and back to campus. (could change)

big party night on the strip.

Saturday:
3:30 grocery trip to IGA.

Grocery Stores that I like:

Horsfords Value Mart IGA

They have frequent buyer card and you can get specials there but other items are usually more expensive when compared to Best Buy.

Best Buy

A Grocery Store near campus with good deals and recently remodeled.

UPDATE: JUL 1 2011
There are two new grocery stores in Birdrock (for those who are new to the island it is closer to frigate bay). But there are no scheduled buses to these places: A larger Rams and Best Buy. There are also smaller local grocery stores in Basseterre like C and C located across from the bus terminal (local terminal) and also Rams there and in town on Cayon street there is a place called Island grocery or something that has good deals. 

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Two Posts in One day!

My other topic of thought is Rituals.

I felt that this topic deserves a post all of its own. I eat here on occassion and love the chillers. I was hoping to insert a photo before but didn't have one until today. So here is a sample of the Philly Cheesesteak and a Dulche De Leche Chiller. Yummo

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Holidays in St. Kitts

There a lot of holidays in the US. We generally know exactly when they are because they are written into almost every calendar you ever buy. From the time that we are little children we learn that everyone stays home on holidays, and the banks close and the government offices close, and the post man doesn't come. There are some holidays that grocery stores and resturants close for like Christmas Day and sometimes Thanksgiving. Then there are some holidays for which there are limited operating hours, perhaps Easter and Independence Day. Generally the larger stores are open for all holidays except Christmas. Well, as you might would expect that is not the case with St. Kitts.

Today is a holiday as was yesterday. It is the independence holiday and everything closes. The grocery stores, the retailers, the resturants. . . I don't even think I saw that many goats grazing today!

It is the weirdest thing. There are some tourist traps that remain open like "The Strip" and "Rituals" (a tourist trap but I like it), and the Mariott (enough said). It isn't like you plan for this either because their isn't a sign on every door prior to the holiday stating that there is a holiday coming up. It is just an email from the University on Friday afternoon around 3pm that states that the island will (for all practical purposes) shut down on Monday and Tuesday. Well by that point it is too late to make arrangements for anything and if you have business to do it is already too late because even on normal days the banks and business offices shut down at four o'clock at the latest and generally 2 o'clock is quittin' time 'round here.

This is probably the most unusual and difficult practice to get used to. I plan to go to the bank and realize that it is 3pm. They're closed. I want to call the cable company and it is 3pm. They're closed. Everything closes by 3 or 4 pm which is about the same time I get out of classes. Granted by that point my brain is fried or I would remember prior to calling that they close at 3 or 4.

Therefore, I find myself saying "tomorrow, I will".

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Rainy Night on St. Kitts

It seems that it rarely rains on St. Kitts. When I am out and the skies turn grey I generally ask the locals if they think that it will rain. Usually I am told that the only thing we, kittians (kit-`tee-shuns), can guarantee is "no snow". When it rains on St. Kitts the ppl usually stand under the eaves or in the alleyways because generally they rain passes stops just as suddenly as it begins. Today, however, it seems that the rain is here for the evening. It has been grey and overcast all day and the rain has been coming waves as well as thunder and the occassional lightening bolt. It doesn't seem to stop the activities on the golf course or at the beaches. The tourist and others just continue their regularly scheduled program.

I should add that the rainy season, which coincides with the hurricane season -- August to October, is just about to begin and that in the rest of the year the rainy days are few. So the thunder, lightening and rain are a welcomed event when they occur.

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What to bring?

Everyone has the same questions before they get to the island. The most frequently asked and unclearly answered is "What should I bring". I can tell you what I brought and what I wish I had brought, but really it comes down to what you like and where you will be living.

If you will be living in the Royal St. Kitts then I recommend these items.

something that you cook with or on:

hot plate

griddle

toaster oven

fast boiler (I am not sure what the technical term is but this is like a little pot that you can plug in and it boils rapidly. I use mine to cook pasta, oatmeal, boil eggs, etc)

If you choose to bring a hot plate or griddle you will need:

pots and pans

spatulas

stirring spoons

Even if you think that you will mostly eat out and not eat in your room I reccommend these Kitchen type items:

plates (can be plastic disposable)

utensils (also can be disposable, but I prefer real utensils)

some kind of cups/glasses

coffee cup

plastic gladware

foil and plastic wrap

ice tray (even though there is an ice machine you might prefer to not have to go out to get ice. )

Items that you might not think to bring that you will probably want and definitely might need:

toilet paper

paper towels

good smelling candles/air freshner

cleaning supplies

laundry detergent sheets

laundry bag/hamper

toilet brush

Shaving/hair removal items

Food items that can be brought for nearly nothing but will you cost you a bunch on the island:

cereal

fast prep rice/pasta sides

chips

coffee

granola bars

snack foods in general

Other items that you might want to bring a lot of b/c they are way expensive:

shampoo/conditioner

body wash

hand soap

dish liquid

deodorant

sanitary napkins/tampons

sunscreen ( I bought mine at the dollar store for a buck a bottle)

tanning lotion

towels

bed linens (as most places don't supply those even the royal)

IRON ( I cannot tell you how many ppl didn't bring an iron and have needed one)

favorite perfume/lotions

face washes/ makeup remover

extra makeup (it seems very expensive here and I am not sure where you can buy it easily)

immodium/ibuprofen

midol

Scrubs

close toed shoes/athletic shoes

My suggestions for fitting this into two suitcases!

Pack up all that you can w/o going over the weight limit into your alotted number of bags and then bring your carryon that is as large as it can be and still be in the limits. Load up your backpack as full you can get it b/c it can be a carryon too and you likely won't have to weigh it.

Make sure that you opt for the supplies over clothing for the first semester. I had five bags total and only had to pay for two. None of them were over the limit! I cannot tell you how many ppl look great, but have no supplies and really wished they had brought less clothing and more food and supplies.

If you rent a house/apt most of the cooking stuff you can leave out, and on some occassions they will also provide you with towels.

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Blocks

Medical school in the carib consists of four semesters and each semester usually has four blocks (or exam days). By the time Block day comes you can tell it is on its way. As it gets closer like within two weeks the buses get very empty. More and more students stay on campus til 11pm so the 5 and 8 buses are nearly empty and the 11 oclock bus is completely full. On the friday before the exam you see students who are spending the night friday night and saturday night. On the day of blocks there is noone to be seen on campus before noon. At noon voices erupt in quick loud chatter and laughter. The block is over! The rest of the afternoon students discuss test questions and answers. They try to determine the correct answers and ask for others advice about how they should have answered certain questions. The following evening will be marked with celebratory parties and excursions to the various beaches. The library will be a quiet ghost town until the next block exam gets closer.

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Campus in the Morning!

Update on Campus life today!

Every morning I take bus to campus. The bus times are listed but they are the times that the bus leaves the pick up area. So, in the morning the bus leaves at 7:15. I generally leave my room around 7:10 to get to the pick up area in time for the bus to leave on time. The ride to campus is generally calm. There is some noise but not much. It is 7:15 in the morning afterall. On rare occassions there is a "talker", but generally they keep the conversation quiet. On most mornings you can find a few students trying to get an edge on studying for that 15 minutes. Which I can understand why you want to savor every moment to study in, but the bus ride is bumpy and curvy. Studying in any moving vehicle on a curvy bumpy road is not for me or anyone riding with me who wants to arrive clean to our destination. Funny thing is as the test day draws near more and more students are reading their notes on the bus. Until the very day of the tests and then the whole bus has their notes out reading away. If you are observant you can tell exactly when blocks are because all students will have thier notes out all the time.

We arrive at the campus around 7:30 am and the students disperse from the doors of the bus. Organized chaos insues as some students head to the student lounge to put away their excess luggage, and others head to the right toward the library and the campus convience store/cafeteria. The campus is alive with students who are hustling to study that last note just before the test that will make or break them.

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Money,the root of all of my problems

I have a wonderful life. I have four beautiful, well-behaved children, a wonderful suportive husband, and a nice home in the states. My home is not expensive and does not abound with interior decorator style, but I think I have made it pretty nice. I enjoy decorating and I have done what I could with the money that I have had available. "Money I have had available" is the key phrase.

I have not had an enormous or even piddly amount of avaiable money. My checking account is usually overdrawn and I can't go buy new makeup or clothing whenever I want. In fact I can never buy those things without taking it out of the budget from somewhere else. I wanted to change that for my children and my husband and myself. I went back to college to get my degree which started out as an education degree so that I could teach. The problem was that I was going to have so much debt that I would not be able to pay my student loans back on what I would make as a teacher. So, I began as a biology major (again, my first love and major). I had chosen not to do biology b/c it requires so much extra time out of class. Most of the medical school prereques were the only classes I lacked for graduation so not only did it allow me to do what I wanted to do when I was little girl it also allowed me to graduate two years earlier than an education degree would. Little did I know at that time that teachers would suffer the greatest job loss they had seen in decadeds. It was nice to know that I was not trying to get a teaching position at that time. In my excitement to get started with medical school, I began looking into medical programs and how to apply, etc. Imagine my surprise when I learn that I have to pay 255 dollars to take the MCAT. Then imagine my surprise when I realize that I also have to pay 160 for the first medical school application and 60 for the rest AND that they will most likely all send me a secondary which will ask more questions AND cost me 75-100 dollars more. Then I read that Kaplan suggests you apply to ten or twenty schools if your GPA isn't stellar (3.5-4.0). I am a mother of four children with bills to pay and my husband has a great job but it isn't THAT great of pay.

I couldn't afford to do pay that for medical school applications. There was no way. OH. I forgot to mention that most applicants use Kaplan study prep and that course is $2000. Again out of the question.

So I apply to caribbean medical schools. Most of which do not have federal loans. Most of which in fact have no loan program. Then I come across ____ which has a loan program although it is not Federal funding it could work in my somewhat desparate situation. The medical program is comparable to the states and the campus was beautiful. I was super excited to begin my term at ____.

I was accepted to a preview semester where I would have to pay my own way, but I could take online master's class to help with living expenses and my husband could help with incidentals along the way. It would seem that everything was going to work out.

Until yesterday, the school announces that the previous loan program is not an option. I was a little panicked. Ok, I was a lot panicked. So now I will have to work with the directors to come up with a creative way to finance my time here or return home and use the davenport living money to help me take the MCAT and apply medical school.

____ has been very helpful in working with me and speaking to me. I know that this situation is absolutely the worst for them as well. This semester was pegged to be the biggest class of students enrolled and without loan money some students may plan to wait which . . . well you get the point. . . . it isn't a good deal for anyone.

So now I have to study. I am going to try to do my very best on the tests that I have on Monday, but with all of this stress these may be my lowest scores yet which would cause further insult to injury.

If I had a million dollars I could fix all of my problems and my life really would be something to envy. I would donate the left over after funding my family's education, oh wait there would be nothing left over if I paid off all of my student loans and my husbands and put back money for all of my children.

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Island Style

What do you do on a Sunday when you are on an island without your family and freinds? Lay out on the beach for two hours, what three movies on HBO, hang out at the casino for free drinks for two or more hours, eat dinner with a friend. Praise God that even though you had no money the guy behind the counter got your friends order wrong so you could have dinner, after all.

Today, I layed in the sun by the ocean and studied for my Physio exam on Monday. I actually remember more from two hours on the beach then I would have if I had been in my room for four to six hours.

It seems like when I am in my room without my family I feel so alone. I try to do everything I can to not study. Like watching three movies back-to-back. (Just a heads up, I am no literary genius and I am sure that my grammar and spelling leave something to be desired.) So, back to my story. I layed on the beach f

or two hours. I have a nice red tint to most of my body! It makes me look a little more alive I think.

So life on the island is great for me. Today I saw the tamed monkeys that locals will train so that they can make US money off the tourists on the beach. They have fingernails, the monkeys and tourists too I guess, but it was the monkey's nails that caught my attention. So not only did I learn that the adenohypophis recieves TRH from the Hyphothalamus which stimulates the relase of TSH which then stimulates the thyroid to release T3 and T4, but I learned that the monkeys here have a thumb and a finger nail. They were cute little monkeys.

So I went out to the Casino, as long you play their games they serve free drinks. I played one dollar and drank a strawberry daquiri for free. Good Deal on St. Kitts. The Jerk Chicken wings were the bomb too!

My friends always ask me how I get everything for free or cheap. I am not sure really.

Hopefully soon I will have a camera and Ill post pictures of everything every day. Just in case someone is looking for information on University of Medicine and Sciences at St. Kitts or morea affectionately known as SKB.

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Lost Blogs

Well, I wanted to start blogging b/c I love to read blogs. I have failed. So I am starting again.

I got into UMHS. So I am on the island and my family is still in the states. The family is planning to move here in August, but it is expensive and takes a lot of planning. We have to rent our house in the states and store all of our belongings plus sell what we cannot afford to store.

Currently I am in ARP at UMHS. The program is a precursor program which reviews the prereques and preveiws several of the basic sciences. We have a test every week on the module that we finish. It mimics medical school but is a bit slower paced. Some modules may last four weeks and other modules last one week. Our tests are based on the number of weeks we have class. It isn't too hard and so I have some free time.

I have some great classmates which help to make it all interesting. Now that I have found my blog I will work to keep it updated. Hope you will find me here again soon.

Blessings

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A Long Journey

I am starting a blog to inform others about my experiences in medical school. I have four children and a husband. My oldest son is a creative spirit, 12 yrs. My second child is a girl, a sweet daughter, smiling is her signature. She is 9. My youngest daughter is a snugglebug. She is 7. And my youngest child and youngest boy is . . . well, your typical boy. He is 5. My husband is my rock and he is not your typical husband. He helps around the house, in fact, he is better at house chores than I am.

I finished my bachelors degree in biology at the end of last year. I knew that I wanted to be a doctor before I was old enough to go to school. I struggled through my teen years and came back to my dreams as an adult. No doubt this will be a rough road.

I have been accepted at UMHS for the May 2010 ARP program. This program is an advanced review of courses that will prepare me for the rigors of medical school. UMHS is located in the Caribbean on the island of St. Kitts. I will be moving there at the end of April and my family will be staying here at home until the latter part of July.

The application process was very tedious. Mostly waiting for the interview and then waiting for the results from the interview. I was accepted to two caribbean schools and UMHS was my first choice. So I am excited to be going to the island.

So, right now I am getting everything together for my visa application. It takes time and is a pain, but it is well worth it. I am going through all of my things and taking inventory on what I can keep and what to get rid of.

To see the island that will be home for two years click here -->UMHS . It is beautiful. You can also see pictures of the school.

till next time

medschooll8dy

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