The journey begins

Enjoying Paradise from a distance

I literally just took a break from memorizing the different muscles in the body. I can’t believe I am about to complete 3 weeks of school and the days have been nothing but intense. The first week of school I was literally on the beach the whole time and now I just get to see the beach from my room. I used to love watching shows on Netflix, chilling with my friends but all that has been replaced with group studies, Nettflix and flashcards(that’s a thing) and more studying. I finally have a routine but I try to change it around.

Not to brag but in high school and undergrad I could study for few hours and relax and could still manage a good score. Medical school is completely different. You know how in high school and undergrad classes, professors said “you don’t need to know this, this is  advanced level”. Well guess what, I had that realization that I am in that advanced level now. For the last 2 weeks I have been memorizing the different muscles and bones in the body. Next week I will get to work on a cadaver for the first time. I am excited and nervous at the same time. I have a 4-way system for studying here –

1. Preview- 15 minutes for next days lectures
2. Review – 90 minutes review after each lecture on the same day
3. Long term review – spend atleast 2 hours per course for review on the weekend
4. Self-testing – Practice MCQ for each course and review the incorrect answers

Phew! So basically I attend lectures from 8:30 am-5pm and some days till 7pm with some free time in between and try to manage to fit in the above routine. So for now Work-1, social life=0. I make sure that I take a break on Friday night and also try to go to the gym. I am glad they have kickboxing here so I go twice a week. As for sleep, I try to be in bed by 11:30pm everyday but I have to stay up longer on the weekend. I am afraid I will start needing caffeine soon.

Anyways, I have 4 exams coming up next week and after that I will be free for few days so i am excited. I am already looking forward to spending my time on the beach, exploring St. George’s downtown and possibly go hiking.

I will sign off with this brownie that I was really craving so I went to Umbrellas restaurant which is right  on the beach. They have amazing food and dessert menu and since it’s right next door, I don’t mind taking a study break 😀

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My Campus :)

My week 2 of Medical School has started and as expected, I am swamped with work. My first week was literally spent in lecture halls and back in my dorm room. I didn’t even get time to workout but second week is a lot more organized so I finally have a proper schedule to manage my time well.

I live in Grand Anse campus which only has my dorm and the beach but the classes and other dorms are located on True Blue Campus. We have a main gate on campus which is guarded by a security guard 24 hours and we have to show our IDs every time we enter those gates. I never got the experience of en enclosed campus life since Boston University campus was well spread out. I am still exploring the different buildings. All my classes are held in one lecture hall and small review sessions are in different buildings. I think I mentioned “Top of the hill” before. Below, is the view from that hill. Those are different dorms and lecture halls. My lecture hall is located on top of the hill so I have to climb that everyday!

I am hoping I will get toned legs by the end of semester from climbing this several times a day! :p

I am greeted by this view and this is by far my favorite view from top of the hill. Also, don’t be fooled that I enjoy this view the whole time. I spent 9 hours in the lecture hall yesterday and when I was done, it was dark and I came back to my dorm room. So I only see this view when I am walking from one class to another but it still makes my day 🙂

I get at least 30 minutes in between classes to grab lunch. I usually just carry my lunch and warm it up on campus. My favorite lunch spot is below and it has few tables and benches and also has 3 microwaves.

It was really bright and sunny when I took this picture!

If I don’t want to eat my prepared lunch. There are vendors on top of the hill and they usually have food from 11am-2pm or until they run out of food. I have only tried the Indian vendors but they also have salads, greek food and other options. The Indian vendor goes by the name “Patel aunty”. The food is great and she also delivers after 1pm. You can also tell her a day in advance if there is something specific you like to eat and she cooks it for you which is nice.

Also top of the hill has fruits and vegetable vendors on Monday-Thursday. It is way cheaper than IGA (supermarket) and someone also sells eggs on Tuesday morning. He is usually out of eggs within an hour so I still have not been able to buy eggs there but apparently you get around 30 eggs for 5USD.

Well, If I don’t want to eat from the vendors, I can go to the student center for food which has subway, Glovers and some grill place(most non-vegetarian options). It also few microwaves and it’s packed during lunch time. The gym is also located here.

Student Center

Another good spot to eat and study at the student center with a view 🙂

Well, when I am done eating and if I have time between classes then I like to study either in the library or Quiet study halls located in Taylor hall and other buildings. If not, then I usually go to Modica Hall which is the breeziest spot on campus and my favorite too. I just wish they had tables in Modica Hall.

Modica Hall view

Modica Hall

Well that was my little campus tour. I go to the gym on True Blue but on the weekend I go to the gym near Grand Anse dorm located at Excel Plaza which is also free for students. Excel Plaza is a tiny mall with a Movie theater, bakery, gym, convenience store etc.

First week in Grenada I was hitting the beach(my backyard) everyday but since my classes started, I have no time and not even on the weekend but I am hoping I can start reviewing my notes on the beach. Till then, I just enjoy the view from the window outside my room

If you don’t believe me that I am already swamped with work in second week of Medical School, then this picture is proof. Haha, I am just kidding. Students are always paying attention in class but this picture was taken at the end of the day when SGU decided to have an orientation session after 8 hours of classes….

My break is over and I need to hit the books now. But I will sign out with this pretty picture  from my room which makes studying a lot easier and worth it 🙂

I am finally on the island

Well it’s day 3 on this beautiful island as I write this blog. I finally got time to be by myself in the room to unpack and write, otherwise last 2 days had been extremely busy.

Day 1 – August 8th

So SGU has 2 campuses – True blue which is the main campus with all the dorms and lecture halls and Grand Anse which only has dorms for CFP students. I am located at the infamous picturesque Grand Anse beach. Even though I went to bed at 2 a.m. , I woke up by 8 a.m because I was so excited to explore the campus. SGU runs free shuttle between Grand Anse-True Blue campus. So, as I waited for the shuttle, I was greeted by this lovely view of my backyard-

Fun fact – Grand Anse beach was also in the CNN World’s Top 30 beaches (http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/28/travel/100-best-beaches/) and I can see the reason why.

I took a campus tour and the buildings look exactly how they are in the pictures. The campus is so pretty and lecture halls are located on the hill. The campus also has the view of the alluring blue Caribbean Sea. I could not stop taking pictures at every step.

This view below is from top of the hill. Also I realized SGU students literally call it “The Top of the Hill” . It has lecture halls, student center with gym and restaurants(subway, Grill Master etc) and also has a spot where vendors can sell food during lunch hours which I thought is a great idea. There was also an Indian vendor and the food was delicious and cheap. It’s run by an Indian couple and they also deliver Indian food for free (Yayyyy!!) .

I found my study spot! You can see below the view is from Midoca Hall. So I had been out in Grenada for only 2 hours but I was sweating profusely. I cannot even explain how humid it is. Even though I grew up in India, I have not gone back in summers for the last 6 years. Boston summer is hot but not as humid. So anyways, it was extremely breezy at Midoca Hall and it has a shade so I can imagine myself taking a break and just sitting on campus to enjoy this view with my food or books (I would say books 90% of the time).

The buildings that you see is actually my campus. We followed a trail to reach this view point. Ignoring the heat and humidity, I was already falling in love with this island.

Also as I was taking this tour, I had already become friends with 10 people. Everyone is so friendly in Grenada that you feel welcomed. We checked out food options on campus and ate at the New York’s Finest Bagels Food Truck. The food was decent and had good vegetarian options and I can only imagine long lines in between classes. There is Greek Kitchen right outside the campus gate and it had a very chill vibe and seemed like a good spot to hangout after class.

I wanted to go dorm shopping but I was told that because of Grenadian carnival everything would be closed so that only meant one thing- Head to Grand Anse beach. We were a group of 10 who rallied to the beach and realized a lot of groups were there. It suddenly felt like I was in Miami for spring break with college kids on the beach. Everyone was just getting to know each other and trying to relax before classes begin on Monday. Grand Anse has a beautiful view of “downtown” Grenada and the hills. All the resorts are also located on this beach. So you may have realized I am already obsessed with Grand Anse beach. I was never  a beach person and have never lived on one before so this is definitely a good change for me. I have a balcony in my room, so I am going to make use of that when the weather is pleasant.

It was Day 1 and I took 3 showers – morning, after the tour and then after the beach. Yes, it’s that humid! Anti-frizz for hair is completely useless. People say you get used to the weather so I am hoping that happens soon.

Every student who had come earlier just raved about “Jouvert” the previous night. So basically everyone is just covered in oil and chocolate and walks on the streets with music. Students also took part in this and said the experience was crazy. If you google Jouvert Grenada you can see what I am talking about. Well, on August 8th night was “SpiceMas” which is the second day of the carnival. I definitely wanted to check it out so headed out with a big group of people to downtown area. It was the most incredible site. Women dressed up and people just dancing on the streets. There were miles of just open trucks each with different music and the crowd dressed up differently with glow sticks. We went early and only spent 30 minutes there though because we were told as the time progresses, locals get drunk and things get out of control. So we avoided the chaos and came back to our dorms. I only took 1 picture at the carnival because they all looked the same, I do have videos but I can’t upload to this blog.

 

By the end of the day I think I must have met atleast 25-30 people easily. I felt like I was back in my undergrad at Boston University when people just wanted to socialize the first week of college but the difference is since this is  Medical School and the only free time would be after midterms and finals. Majority of the people I met were from Florida, Canada and few people from California and the East coast. I had a pretty solid first day on the island and was ready for Day 2- Tour to Grand Etang Rainforest 🙂