Adoption fair.

Today was the first adoption fair hosted by P.A.W.S. (People for Animal Welfare on St. Kitts). Being a mostly student-run operation it was held on campus. My roommate, Jamie, has been hell-bent on getting a cat since we arrived here, so of course we were there 45 minutes early so she could get the literal pick of the litter. She immediately gravitated toward a tiny, orange tabby kitten. Originally we were going to name whatever cat we got Brinley, after the local rum produced on St. Kitts, but Jamie kept pronouncing it Brimley, so that became our new kitty's name instead.

Amanda (my other roommate) and I will be fostering a dog as soon as P.A.W.S. gets a cat-friendly dog in. Amanda will likely wind up adopting whatever dog we foster, but I will continue to foster until my time on the island is up. I've been fostering through E.A.R.P.S. exotic animal rescue for the last six years or so and realized only months before leaving for St. Kitts that I would no longer be able to do so. I miss it. Fostering is extremely rewarding work for those who have the ability to do so without getting irreparably attached and adopting every animal they take in. Watching a foster gain weight and a healthy skin/coat, grow more confident and comfortable with human interaction and eventually seeing a new owner's face light up when they lay eyes on their new pet for the first time and knowing that all of your hard work has paid off in a happy ending is truly one of the greatest experiences of my life.

Here are some pictures from today.

Do you know the produce man?

Ross has a pretty sweet little deal going with local farmers and producers where each week on Wednesday they come by during our lunch break and sell their wares to a hungry student populace. It's actually really nice, like having our own, personal farmer's market that comes to us instead of the other way around. And the produce varies from kind of sickly-looking to gorgeous, just like any farmer's market in the States. Typically they have tomatoes, onions, peppers, broccoli, potatoes, green beans, apples, bananas and lettuce, as well as fresh eggs and frozen beef.

Well today I felt like treating myself and decided to pick up a steak. He had some beautiful, nicely-marbled T-bones for $36 EC/lb (works out to around $13/lb US) and I grabbed one and some okra for dinner tonight. For those who don't know, I love to cook. In fact one of my top priorities upon getting down here was filling up my new, empty spice cabinet. And I'm sure my roommates are sick to death of hearing me bemoan leaving my lemon zester back home. I've also already volunteered for two bake sales. So tonight was a treat, not only because it was delicious, but because cooking is my way of destressing. I know it has the opposite effect for a lot of people; all that chopping and stirring and clock-watching. But for me, cooking is a dance that once you know the steps, you can do it effortlessly and without thinking. It has structure and timing, a rhythm to it that I find relaxing. Chopping veggies or swirling hot oil in a pan lets my mind wander as my hands go through unconscious, familiar movements.

Anyway, cooking down here can be a challenge. You don't have your pots, pans and utensils, your herbs and spices, your stove/oven or often the ingredients that you're used to. So getting to prepare something tonight that was familiar was definitely enjoyable for me. And look, it turned out beautifully:

Now back to studying for my microanatomy exam on Monday.

Language barrier.

In St. Kitts, lots of things don't mean what you think they should or what you're accustomed to. Like they call millipedes "worms" here. And "customer service" means you'll wait at least 30-45 minutes after you've finished eating to get your check, pay and leave a restaurant. That's just how things are here, and you adjust and move on. Today myself and my roommates learned that the Kittitian meaning of the term "leisurely hike" and our understanding of such a thing are very different indeed.

Week one.

Everyone always talks about how hard it is to get into vet school. It's so competitive, so few spots for so many applicants, etc. What you very rarely hear about is how hard vet school is once you're in.

I just completed my first week of vet school and I feel like I've been repeatedly thwacked in the head with a copy of Dorland's Medical Dictionary. Information hits you hard and fast here and you're expected to sink or swim. Point in fact, it's only the first week and I'm giving up my Saturday to a review session and a tutoring session (yes, I'm already paying for a tutor) this afternoon and then on Sunday will be essentially locking myself in my room to draw and label bones and review muscle attachments. And that's just for two classes; I'm taking five.

It's a little overwhelming and more than one of us broke down in tears this week. I think the combination of stress over our course load and being thousands of miles away from everything familiar is certainly something that causes many Ross students to pack it in. Luckily for me, I have two roommates who are equally as devoted to their grades as I am. If one of us slacks the other two will be there to keep them motivated.

ETA: Just had my first Histology TA session and am breathing a huge sigh of relief. She had a set of mock exam questions at the end that put a lot of us at ease. I knew 3 out of 4 of them, and that was because the TA was going a little too fast for me to fully read the answer set of the other one. Phew!

ETA 2: The Anatomy tutor session was a lifesaver. Well worth the $30 EC. Going over bones and muscles with someone pointing out prominences and attachments on a skeleton/cadaver right in front of you is supremely more helpful than looking at diagrams in a textbook.

I have a white coat.

Today was the white coat ceremony, formally introducing us as vet students and future professionals!

Last days of summer.

Today is my last day of Caribbean leisure before classes start tomorrow. I'm oddly nervous about class. I'm not a bad student; I study hard, take good notes, read assigned material, etc. In undergrad that rarely netted me below a B. In my last 45 credit hours I think I got one B- and one C. But something about the threat of vet school-level course material has my insides turning into jello.

The heat here will completely reconfigure your appetite. It is much easier to adopt a healthier diet here than in the States because not only does your metabolism slow down, so you're hungry less often and satisfied with less food when you do eat, but it also leaves you craving crunchy, cold things like fresh fruit and salad instead of carb-heavy, fried meals.

I'd been out of academia for about six months before starting here and my immune system apparently requires very little time to acclimate to an environment where I'm not being exposed to a high volume of contagious pathogens on a daily basis, because it was not prepared for being in close proximity to over a hundred people every day. I have been sick with a horrible cold all week. Although I'm on the tail end of it now and can taste and smell things again (YAY!), I still have almost unbearable pain and swelling in my throat. I've been taking 800mg doses of ibuprofren 2-3 times a day just to manage it enough to swallow.

On a happier note, I have more pretty pictures from the last two days of orientation.

Orientation week, continued.

They're keeping us busy this week! But as of today we're all officially Ross University first semester students, with IDs, registration and financial aid settled. Tomorrow we have a tour of downtown and a trip out to Reggae Beach. This isn't a particularly involved entry, it's mostly just a photo dump.