Ok, enough water talk. I had a request to write about 'island life'. For those of you who know me well, you know this will be...challenging ;). But, here we go.
I live on the island of St. Kitts. It is located in the West Indies, about 200 miles SE of Puerto Rico. We are one of the most northern islands in the Leeward chain. The island looks like a drumstick, or as the locals like to call it, a guitar. I still think drumstick. St. Kitts was originally settled by the British, who cultivated sugar cane here, and had their slaves work. Now, the island mostly runs off tourism. Most of the cruises that come through here are trans-Atlantic. While tourism is helping to support the economy here, St. Kitts is still considered a developing country. Taxes are at an all-time high, and even we as students are subject to some of them. There are over-grown sugar cane fields everywhere - it's a good thing the donkeys and sheep will eat the leaves!
As far as my life on St. Kitts, I have lived here for 2 years. I have another 4 months to go before I head back to the States for my clinical year. I am attending Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine. The curriculum on the island is 7 semesters, or 28 months; we go to class year-round, with 3 semesters per year. I am currently in my 6th semester, so I'm considered an upper-classman! I have enjoyed some classes, and some I have not. My favorite this semester is probably Small Animal Surgery. This is most likely because I have experience in this area. I like most of my professors this semester; they seem to be more interested in the material, as am I! It feels more 'clinically relevant'. I am SOAPing this semester as well, and am glad to finally be working with some animals. Today I went grocery shopping - this is an adventure! There are 3 grocery stores on the island, and I get to go to all 3 whenever I make my 'big trips' (every 2 weeks). Most everything in the stores is imported from somewhere, most notably the States. So, as you can imagine, things can get pricey! For example, a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch costs about 27EC (Eastern Caribbean Dollars). This equates to about $10 US. That's a golden box o' cereal, eh? So on my car, originally named 'No-Ha' (pronounced Noah). I named her this because she came with no door handles. Yep, none at all. All four doors, no handles. So it was a 'look, Mom, no-hands!' kind of deal. Well Dad was nice over Christmas and ordered me some, so now I should probably rename her. Something is draining the battery, but many mechanics have looked at it and can't find the source. So, I get to 'unplug' the car each time I turn it off. At least it saves battery life! Oh, No-Ha is a 1993 Toyota that is (blue? black?) some color. There is no paint, so it's hard to tell ;). She's held up well for me, though over these last couple years, and I'm sure I'll miss her when I go. I live close to campus now in an area called "Camps". There are no street names here, but instead are 'areas' of the island. I love my apartment I'm in now and my landlord is fantastic. When we first moved here, Vic and I lived in an area called Half Moon Bay which is in Frigate Bay. It was the 'fancy' part of the island...suffice it to say I really love my apartment now.
I study a bunch, but I also read, watch TV, and hang out with my study partner and friend, L. She's pretty awesome and makes being away from family more tolerable. And she always brings the best moscato...mmmm. And, speaking of being lazy, I suppose I've put off studying as much as I can. Off to see the wizard - of surgery!
Some nice pics of the island for you:
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| Reggae Beach - Caribbean side |
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| Peninsula: Right = Atlantic, Left = Caribbean |
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| Shipwreck Beach |
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| From the carport of my apartment |
