Birthday, Cook-off, Cars, Finals OH MY

So, first I wanted to apologize for my lack of posts the last few weeks. School took over my life. I am going to bring it back to my birthday though! It was my first birthday ever being away from home which was tough for me but my Ross friends and family at home really made it special. I woke up first thing on my birthday to an awesome birthday cake from the bread chick! Now for those of you who don't go to Ross the bread chick is literally a gift from god. Every Wednesday at our farmers market she comes and brings her fresh made rolls, bread, and cupcakes. We all carbo-load on Wednesday but it doesn't matter everything she bakes is delicious! Well my awesome mom found her on Facebook and got her to bake me a  birthday cake which she delivered to my dorm. I couldn't believe it. The day went on with flowers and balloons sent to school from Jesse and a full out party that night in front of the dorms which all of my friends organized. I really couldn't ask for a better people in my life. My family also mailed me a package that had TONS of birthday gifts in it. Even though I was thousands of miles away from home they did the best job trying to make my birthday great. The day after my birthday though was really amazing! Every semester an organization called Josh Project puts on a school cook-off. The money goes to an awesome cause and people pay to sample food cooked by students, staff, professors and VIPs. FYI: A VIP is someone who comes to St. Kitts to live with a student i.e. husband, wife, boyfriend, or girlfriend. I decided I wanted to enter with my BBQ pineapple pulled chicken recipe. I was up against a bunch of other contestants who could either cook an appetizer, dinner, dessert, or drink. Tons of people came out to sample the food and after only about an hour I was completely out of food and I made 2 crock pots filled with it. I felt bad turning about 10 people away because I didn't have any left but at the end of the night everyone voted for me as the winner! I placed 1st in the cook-off which I think is pretty awesome for a first semester student who has never entered one before. My family was shocked when I called them and told them because they all think I cannot cook. But hey maybe I will be a chef by the time this is over. After the cook-off, the last few weeks of classes dwindled down as I started to plow through tons of material so I wasn't cramming during finals week. I had done okay so far with my classes but I knew I wanted to hit certain marks on my finals in order to get the grades I wanted. Before I knew it the week before finals showed up at my door and I was definitely feeling the pressure. And what do I decide is a perfect idea to do during finals week? BUY A CAR! My apartment is about 10-15 minutes away from campus so a car is definitely a necessity. I had been putting off the whole process because it is notorious for being a pain in the butt. But I knew I needed one so after test driving a few I finally found the perfect one a 2006 Daihatsu Charade! You've probably never heard of it which is normal LOL the island has weird and bizarre cars. The girl I was buying the car from was extremely organized so luckily I finished the whole process quickly and stress free. Only I decide to buy a car during finals but now it is finished and I pick it up when I fly back on January 4th. Just a little fact- car insurance in St. Kitts is $350 for the year..YUP the year. And they drive on the other side of the road..my mother is a nervous wreck lol. Well the dreaded finals week began and my schedule was Anatomy lab portion, Anatomy lecture portion, Microanatomy, Physiology, and Nutrition. Each final was a day apart and all but one were cumulative on information given from day 1. It was a lot to cram into our brains and every day left me absolutely drained. I didn't have time to do anything but study and I completely neglected everyone. I would wake up study ALL day take a little break to eat lunch/dinner and study ALL night. I walked out of my last nutrition final on Thursday and bawled my eyes out on the phone with my mom. I didn't know how I did on any of my exams. I felt nothing but pure exhaustion. I had a meltdown and all I wanted to do was know my fate. One mistake could cost you $17,000 to repeat a semester if you fail and make you stay on the island 4 more months delaying your graduation. It is a lot of pressure. I knew I couldn't enjoy my break until I found out my grades. So, I went back to my dorm and started the whole packing process. I couldn't wait to fly home and stayed up until 2 AM to finish my packing and cleaning. Friday came and I was so excited to leave the island for a little bit! My first flight was from St. Kitts to Miami followed by a second flight from Miami to Newark. The entire plane leaving St. Kitts was filled with Ross students and as soon as we landed in Miami the entire plane announced that grades were posted. I was literally nauseous and couldn't look just yet. I went through customs, rechecked my luggage, and went through security still not knowing where I stood. I eventually got to the gate, grabbed some food, and called my mom. After getting off the phone with my mom while sitting at gate D-43 I finally worked up the courage to check my grades. I was shaking and one by one looked at each of my grades and PASSED!!!! Not only did I pass but I actually did really well!! I called my mom right back and started hysterically crying tears of happiness on the phone with her LOL I cry a lot. I was so proud of myself and couldn't believe it. All my studying paid off and I am officially going into second semester which is notorious for being a killer I think I am ready though I just need a little break first. Well I officially made it home and was reunited with everyone and now I start my break of sitting on the couch and watching copious amounts of Chopped, Pawn Stars, Hardcore Pawn, Walking Dead, Shark Tank, and Long Island Medium. It is well deserved and I apologize in advance for my grammar during this post. Ross stole my brain cells. Oh and the video below is how I feel right now about being done with school! 

stuDYING

Finals is kicking my butt. I will update as soon as they are over.

Study. Study. Study.

Yup. That is all I do. Our big stretch of exams is coming to an end with nutrition this Wednesday and histology next Wednesday. After that we get a few weeks off to study for our finals which are the second week of December. We have five days of one exam after the next but after that it is time for HOME! So what in the mean time have I been doing to keep sane? My friends and I on Friday went to an awesome restaurant on reggae beach where every week they do a lobster fest. It is all the way out at the peninsula which is about a half hour from school and it is beautiful there! It was really nice to get out and have fun! 

no words necessary for this. 

SCUBA

So everyone keeps asking about my experience scuba diving and I have to say I probably should have been born in the ocean. I can't believe it took me 22 years to actually get certified and I am SO happy I finally did it here where there is cool things to look at! Our whole certification course took 4 weeks where we split them up into 2 pool dives and 2 open water dives. Now going into this whole certification thing I thought it was just going to be us swimming around looking at cool things and BAM they hand you your certification but NO it was extremely difficult. Every week we had to do skills and complete them in order to move onto the next skill. Some of the things included having your air supply turned off 50 feet under so you know what it feels like, removing your mask completely while still trying to breath under the water AND putting it back on UNDER the water (sounds easy but it isn't), removing your equipment under water, and tons more. I feel really prepared though in case something were to happen that our instructor ran us through every possible scenario and how to fix it. Each week was pretty exhausting but my group and I made it through while seeing some amazing animals and shipwrecks along the way. Now in order to be a member of the scuba club you have to be certified so now that I am I can go on all the weekend dives the school runs so I can get more experience. This whole island is about pushing your limits and getting out of your comfort zone. Before coming to school I was terrified to leave home because I never really have before. But what Ross says really is true.. the best people to come to Ross are the ones who never want to leave home. So with that, I am making it my goal here to do something every semester that pushes my limits and takes me out of my comfort zone. So far it has been scuba but next on my list is a shark dive and a night dive! Being here is truly an experience and I am going to try my hardest to get as much out of it as possible.


PS I will have scuba pictures posted soon :)

Have a slice..

Eat some humble pie people that is all I can say for the day....54 days until home thank goodness

Newbie blog panic

Sorry for the lack of postings.. I temporarily lost my blog and accidentally deleted it so now it is back to life but I am still not sure how I ended up deleting it.. who knows lol. Well a lot of stuff has happened since my last post like finally taking some exams (fun stuff I know) and getting an apartment!! I guess first i'll talk about exams. Well each class has between 2/3 exams and a final and after today we have taking our first set of exams. I did really well on Anatomy, Microanatomy, and Physiology but I am waiting on Nutrition which we took today. From now until November 13th it will be pure insanity being that we have an exam every week and sometimes twice a week and after that have a month to study a semester of information for our final! LOVELY :) I can't complain though because it is only going to get harder and I am preparing myself for that. We don't really do much here except sleep, eat, go to class, and study. Occasionally if we finish everything we need to do we go to the beach but that is it. They keep you busy here and the days are flying which is good because I am missing home. But only 64 more days.. not like I have a countdown or anything :) My friend Michelle and I also signed the lease for our apartment!!! Initially, we were searching for a four bedroom house so Michelle, Sharon, Julianne, and myself could all live together but unfortunately they didnt have any four bedroom houses :/ so we both got two bedroom apartments and we are still 5 minutes from each other which is good. Lots of housewarming parties! Our stuff stays in storage on campus while we go home for break and we move in the day we get back to the island which is January 4th. Sadly we only get 3 weeks home but it is better than nothing. I am looking forward to the holidays and eating real food. I already have a list of To-Be-Eaten foods when I get home.

No school tomorrow!

Finally! A little bit of a break. Tomorrow is St. Kitts independence day so we get a day off !! Yay we definitely all need it! Also, my dog walking ended today which is somewhat bittersweet. It was absolutely exhausting to start. Now, why would dog walking be tiring might you ask? Well, IDK because the hills here are huge and you have to walk three loops around campus twice a day in the middle of the blazing sun while sweating non-stop for a week. Aside from that the dogs were lovely. I had Roxy who is a puppy and Chance who is a sweetheart but a very misunderstood non-stop pee-er. Each day our small group would go to the kennels around 6 am and again at around 5 pm after being in class all day and walk them around campus. It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't so early and hot. But I turned my pups over to the new group today and hope they will have as much luck with them as I did. I will definitely be back to visit them. For anyone who doesn't know yet most of my days run from about 8-4 or 9-5 with a little dinner break for about an hour or two and back to studying all night. This isn't like undergrad when I really didn't study much the info here hits you pretty fast and you are expected to understand and obtain it all. Sort of like the show survivor. Well we are about three weeks in so far which means almost one month down on the big rock and 85 days until I go home! I miss my family a lot but the days are long and busy so there isn't much time to think and be miserable. Plus my friends here are awesome. I love them!  As for exams though.. I have one on Monday and one on Friday so keep your fingers crossed for me.

Minor in cooking?

So.. for all you who have known me before coming to school know that I was not always the best at cooking. Partially because my mother and Jesse's mother are fabulous cooks and I didn't really have too because they were always feeding me. Well here it is different. No one cooks for you and there is no meal plan here at school. You have a small kitchen in your dorm which features a microwave, stove top, and a little toaster oven. You can eat on campus during lunch at the few little places they have available but I took on the challenge of trying to cook myself meals everyday. Not only is your space for cooking limited with no oven but people here have to get used to the fact that in St. Kitts the food is much different from what we are all used to at home. Not only are you trying new foods but also have to find the time to make yourself lunch/dinner. Thanks to my lovely sister though she let me have a mini crockpot which has been my savior since I have been here. Yesterday I cooked chili in the crockpot all day so by the time I got done after classes I didn't have to do anything except eat it and share it with my new Ross friends (who loved it BTW). On the menu tonight is stuffed peppers with sweet potatoes on the side and tomorrow most likely will be pineapple bbq chicken. For me, I need to actually eat meals rather than ramen or mac & cheese so at least after this is all over maybe I will be a pretty good cook.

INSANITY!

There are no words to explain how hectic these last few weeks have been. I am sitting now in my dorm overlooking the Caribbean ocean with a little time to post an entry. Let's go back. Our plane left JFK last Sunday the 25th so of course naturally I waited until late the night before to pack everything. All I can say is THANK GOD my family and Jesse came with me. They each gave up half of their suitcases so I could pack more of my crap in them. I also ended up with three suitcases just for myself. Somehow after packing until almost 1 am the night before we left we managed to fit everything in. It gives me anxiety just thinking about how long and stressful packing was so I am really glad that is over. The Saturday before I left I had my goodbyes with half of my family. It was hard but I know I am doing this for the good of myself, as well as to help my family when I am able to in the future. Before I knew it after a short two-hour nap we were off to the airport at 3 am for our flight to St. Kitts which was leaving at 7:30 am. A few hours later, I landed on the island that would soon become my two year home. I was greeted outside by my wonderful orientation leader Siobhan who gave me my new island phone and some other goodies. They took us straight to the school where my family met up with us and we started to unpack and setup my room. The room is just perfect. I opted to live by myself for the first semester because for those who know me really well know I talk in my sleep and at times it can be a little creepy. After we looked around the campus we headed over to where my family was staying at the Marriott which is BEAUTIFUL. I am super excited because Ross students are allowed to use the beach and pools for free. So you know I will be spending a lot of time there :) I had a blast all week with my family, as well as my orientation group. My boyfriend was even able to tag along on some of the activities we did all week and was honorary group member 13. The week consisted of island tours, zip lining, paddle boarding, BBQs, snorkeling, swimming and tons more. I would mainly end each afternoon going back and hanging out with my family at the hotel. Just in this last week and a half living here I have already become a morning person and probably lost about 5 pounds from the constant walking up and down hills here. Before I knew it it was time for my family and boyfriend to leave. I was dreading that day but knew they had to get back to their lives. My mom I think at times was even more stressed about this whole thing so I am happy now that she doesn't have to worry about it anymore and can do the things that she kept continuously putting off because of the trip. They left Sunday and I knew I'd be a basket case, which of course I was. I went in the taxi to the airport with them and it was nothing but tears. After they went into the airport I took a taxi back to my dorm to try and get in the school mindset. I went food shopping with my lovely new friend Michelle and bought tons of stuff which came out to about $150. I also organized my whole room and stalked my families plane to see whereabouts they were. I was trying to keep happy that day but it was a little hard. I find some comfort in knowing that all of these other people here also had to leave their whole life so I think that is why we all click so well. As for school, my first day went well. I had nutrition, anatomy, and histology followed by my white coat ceremony where I was attacked by fire ants. Today classes go from 11-5 and I am pretty excited to meet all of my other professors. Here are some pictures from my week they are a little bit out of order but oh well :) FYI! Only 100 days to go until home (Yes I already have a countdown)

Starfish!

At Brimstone with some of my group

On the catamaran heading out to snorkel

The "special" group 

Getting my white coat!

At the white coat ceremony last night

My last night with my family until December 13th. We ate at a place called Shiggidy Shack and yes that is Caribbean lobster!

Love my desk

My lovely dorm

Mrs. Moore & her famous chicken sandwiches (SO GOOD) 

My dorm building :)

Holy Hell

Well months until my move has now turned into 11 days. My summer literally flew by but I am so excited to get this journey started. My room looks like it exploded and I am trying to compact my whole life into two little suitcases. It is mentally exhausting trying to think of what to pack and what not to pack. Things will pop into my head in the middle of the night and I am constantly thinking of new things I need to buy. I tried to finish and catch up on all my doctors appointments so I don't have to do much except spend time with my family when I come home in December. I wanted to finish everything before I leave so I don't have to worry about it while I am away. Once I get to school I will try to update weekly since life will get a little more interesting once the semester starts. The anxiety though is killing me and this next week will be filled with a lot of tears and goodbyes. Not really looking forward to it but it has to be done! Will keep you all updated!

68 days

So to follow up on my last post... I graduated! GCU is finally finishe and there is now nothing holding me back. All classes and pre-reqs are finished so my journey is just beginning. Just only 68 days until I make my big move. I feel completely overwhelmed at times thinking that I am behind on paperwork, shots, and packing but I will get it done. It is mind boggling trying to pack your entire life in a few suitcases. Luckily, I have my mom, step-dad, brother, and boyfriend coming with me the first week so I can steal some of their luggage space :) This whole process has made me realize I only have a few important necessities and the rest of my belongings are really just materialistic. I sort of like this whole downsizing thing, it makes you appreciate life and what you have. I have been getting rid of tons of clothes, shoes, purses etc. and it really puts into perspective what you actually need in your life versus want.

In other news, my boyfriend and I went on our final hoorah before I leave which was Cancun. It was nice because who knows when we will get that opportunity again where we are both not busy with school and work. Here is a few pictures :) Sorry if you have already seen this on my Facebook.

Commencement what?

So not much has been happening since my last post. Just trying to finish up college without going completely insane :) This last week was nutty with the amount of work/assignments that were do and trying to find time to study in there for finals. If all goes right this may be my best semester grade wise since Freshman year. My senior seminar presentation is tomorrow and of course I am doing it on my favorite thing ever- SHARKS. It is going to be so crazy when I walk out of that class tomorrow night knowing I will never be back to GCU as a student ever again. I still can't believe graduation is in four days and I will be graduating with a BS in Biology. I started college in 2009 never ever thinking I would be at this point I am now. It is so surreal and I will try not to cry when I walk across that stage on Thursday but my life has bigger and better plans. GCU was just a stepping stone to where I will end up in the future. Oh and sometime before Thursday I am going to decorate my graduation cap which took me a while to decide what I was going to put but I think I figured it out... "Future Vet Ross U"

A+ Mom

I have to say my mother is a genius! She was watching The Today Show the other morning and saw something really cool she thought I could use for my big move. Well, here it is folks!

This may look like just a plain, gold bracelet but it's cooler than that. Now, I am only revealing this secret because we are friends and I am hoping you don't all decide to rob me LOL. It's known as a "money bracelet" and is just pure awesome.  On the reverse inside of the bracelet it has a zipper which can hold your keys, money, and credit cards. Now, I know my last post was about security which still makes me uneasy but this I have to say this is pretty smart. I can wear the bracelet into town when I am going food shopping or whatever and it may appear to someone that I am carrying nothing when indeed the bracelet has everything inside. It is awesome too because I can dress it up with other bracelets appearing to others as just a "fashionable" non-native :) Well, I bought this tonight and it was only $22.50 off of Ebay plus free shipping. Go mom for seeing this on TV! 

Security Anxiety

So.. a few things have made me anxious lately about my big move to the island. CRIME. Now for those of you who don't know St. Kitts has ALOT of crime especially things like break-ins and car thefts. Now I know this happens everywhere but it is a serious problem among Ross students. I have heard way to many instances about students who have had their apartments broken into in the middle of the night and their cars. Even situations of people being held up and robbed in the middle of the day. It freaks me out because I am little and look like I am five years old at times. Even though I am a black belt in karate it still worries me. Ross students for the first semester (3 and a half months) are required to live on campus in the dorms.. which is safe and very secured by a full staff of security. After the second semester you are required to move off of campus to find off campus housing. Which basically means you are on your own unless you find someone to room with you in an apartment. I prefer to live by myself but now I am second guessing this due to security and issues on the island. I guess part of my anxiety is about a recent instance that happened with a Ross student a few days ago. A girl who is a fifth semester student was studying alone in her apartment when two men with guns and masks forced themselves into her apartment, held guns up to her, and forced her to give them everything she had. She gave them her money, macbook, and iphone. Her parents are now fundraising money so she can buy her stuff back before finals. She has raised over 3,000 dollars and caused a lot of worry among students who are making the move soon. She later put something on a Ross facebook group that she loves the island and although this issue happened to her she wouldn't trade her experience for anything and loves school on the island. She went on to say there are bad people everywhere and although it wasn't the smartest on her part she left her screen door open that night when she was studying so the men just walked right in. Now I know this is horrible and should have never happened to her but she is now warning Ross that they need to heighten security around the off campus apartment areas. I am reminded by this situation I really need to be smart and never leave things open for people to come and walk right in or leave valuable items in plain sight. I guess these are just some of the issues that not a lot of new students know before they sign the student loans and fly down there. I am nervous and anxious but I won't really let this stop me I just have to be cautious and smart about whatever I do and probably invest in a tazer. I already have pepper spray that will be making the trip with me...

Figuring this out?

Hi! I figured I'd get a jump start on my blog so when it comes time to start using it full time when I am away I will actually know how to work it. So here is my first post.. boring I know. But here is to me testing this out :)