Med School St.Kitts

Wow! Time goes by so fast! I decided rather than writing a bunch of separate emails to everyone, a blog would be a good way to keep everyone up to date. Next week is the 6th week of medical school. I arrived in St. Kitts on Tuesday, May 4th and started school Monday, May 10th. I have already taken my first set of exams of four, for Cell Biology, Histology, and Anatomy. I did great in Anatomy and Cell Biology, but Histology wasn't so great. But I will be prepared to make up for it this next time around. The Histo teacher doesn't provide notes or objectives or anything, so the first test was a learning experience. Now we know what to expect for the next one. The class average was in the 60's so everyone struggled with that test.

I am getting used to the island life. Everything is super expensive here! And getting around can be difficult without a car. But there is a bus that picks all of the students up in the morning and brings us back to the hotel where I am living called "The Royal St. Kitts." There is no such thing as doing something "real quick" here, so you learn to make time, or do without, fairly quickly.

I wake up everyday about 6:30 am and I try to stay at school to study until about 11 pm. I share a room with a girl from New York, here name is Lena Demitradis, and it is hard for us to study when we are both home, so I try to force myself to stay at school. The church here is so great! The building is small but very nice for the island, and yellow with a white steeple. I pass it almost everyday on the way to school, it is very pretty. There is only AC in a couple of the rooms, so it can get pretty warm in some of the classes. I volunteered to put together the ward directory so I hope I can get to know everyone a little better in the process. The people are so wonderful, and they have such a great knowledge about church history and have such strong testimonies. I have been brought to tears every Sunday. Last week was my first fast and testimony meeting here and when I stood to bear mine, I was so touched I could hardly speak. This has been such a special experience for me. I feel so grateful to be here and for all that I have.