Posts tagged St. Kitts

Caribbean colors…

Broto is a 6 month old female coconut retriever that was HBC and thrown to the side of the road…

Anyone need their “good deed for the day” checked off before the day is over?? Click on the picture above to read Broto’s story and see why she needs your help. And yes, even though she is in St. Kitts and you probably aren’t, you can still help her be at least $1 closer to a fixed leg (if you can’t donate $1, reblog so someone else has the opportunity to do so)…read the story, she deserves it after what was done to her. And for those of you who don’t know, “HBC” = “Hit By Car”.

{Follow up 11/21/12…the donation goal for her surgery has been met and all additional donations will go towards the cost of care, recovery, and finding her a forever home!} 

…is so RUDE! I had a study session planned from 10:30am to 2:30pm and figured I would just eat lunch when I got home after studying. Well, it turns out that that is when Raphael decided to make an appearance on this island. I brought no food with me, and I am stuck on campus until further notice. The time is now 4:35pm.

My plan is to curl up on a couch in the study room, wrapped in my fleece jacket, and ration out my tin of altoids to last me until tomorrow morning…or until I can catch a ride home with someone. Anyway, keeping a tin of altoids in my bag to save me from bad breath occurrences has also ended up saving me from starvation. 

Tropical Storm Rules to Live By:

• Take heed of the tropical storm warnings..even if the sky is blue on the morning of the issued warning.
• Fill all of your water jugs with clean, filtered water well in advance of a storm
• Know of your fiance’s plans to surf on that day (before the fact) so that you can try to talk him out of it.
• If you do decide (against your better judgement) to venture to campus for a study session before the storm hits…PACK ENOUGH FOOD TO LAST YOU AT LEAST TWO DAYS!
• And always remember to stay away from the ghauts (pronounced “guts”)

two vehicles get swept away in a ghaut during TS Raphael (St. Kitts)

Luckily, I did get a ride home…through a flooded roundabout (don’t worry, the water wasn’t moving) and up our washed out driveway.  We arrived safely home in time to see the eerie, pinkish-red sunset through the heavy blanket of clouds (courtesy of TS Raphael).

Now that our deep sea fishing trip (that was supposed to be tomorrow) has been rescheduled for next week, I’d say that Raphael has officially ruined my day. BUT, it wasn’t bad and could have been way worse than “not good”. If you have been praying for rain, you can stop that now…I think we’re good down here on St. Kitts.

Thanks!

tia.

After a whole bunch of moving stuff, driving back and forth, and squeezing in visiting with family over the two week break, I am finally back on the island! Only, there are a few things that have changed…

• I have taken on the responsibility of caring for my landlord’s dogs while she is away (three to be exact)
• I moved to a new apartment (actually, it is right upstairs from my old apartment, so I didn’t have to move far) 
• My fiance has moved to the island with me!!

Cody, Brutus, and Daisy are our new, partially adopted dogs. Since our landlord had to leave (back to Thailand), we agreed to care for her two Rottweilers and island pup mix. So far, they are adjusting fine to the new “hands that feed them” and have learned “sit,” “stay,” and “come.”

As far as the new apartment goes, it is BIG. There is plenty of space and it is on the second floor, so we have a B-E-Autiful view of Mt. Liamuigua and the Caribbean Sea just past the capital, Basseterre. Since the airport is right across the street we can watch the airplanes fly in and out from the shortest runway on earth, while we lounge on the balcony. We even added a hammock to our front porch bungalow and it is wondermous!

…the beautiful Mt. Liamuigua and Monkey Hill

After a minor setback at immigration that could have meant deportation, Brian is also adjusting nicely to the island…or should I say, the island is adjusting nicely to him? He was hoping to get a job while he is here, but so far, there have been none available. Despite not having a job, or any schoolwork as of yet, he is having no problem keeping his schedule full. The “VIP” group (a group of Ross students’ spouses) has him busy with hiking and playing ultimate frisbee, basketball, volleyball, football, rugby, and soccer. The book club is also on the list…right up there with cooking me breakfast and rubbing my feet. He has also encountered the evil centipedes as they either were flying out of our AC unit while he was laying in bed, or creeping up on him while he was changing the tire on my car…more to come, I’m sure.

“yeaahhhh right,” he says…;o)

Having him here is a breath of fresh air. I feel not so alone and distant from home. I find myself enjoying the things that previously would frustrate me to no end…like my island clunker car…and the gas stove cooking…and even filling up water bottles on campus because we don’t have filtered water at the apartment. We have dubbed it, “The Adventure Home”. Aside from being just plain BIG, it is full of quirks and character and is so very Kittitian. 

Looking over my shoulder at Nevis, the sister island of St. Kitts.

“What is home? My favorite definition is “a safe place,” a place where one is free from attack (unless you live in St. Kitts, in which case we all know centipedes are likely to attack at any moment), a place where one experiences secure relationships and affirmation. It’s a place where people share and understand each other. Its relationships are nurturing. The people in it do not need to be perfect; instead, they need to be honest, loving, supportive, recognizing a common humanity that makes all of us vulnerable.” 
― Gladys Hunt

After living on the island for a year and four months, I can now call it “home”. My safety, my security, my support is here. Polished and new again, my adventure continues…

(Please click on this link to load background music for the ultimate reading experience…)

0 Days…make final revisions to amended RUSVM SCAVMA Constitution and Bylaws

2 Days…AVMA Convention in San Diego, CA

8 Days…return from AVMA Convention (Bacteriology Lab Final, same day)

13 Days…first final exam, Virology

14 Days…second final exam, Pharmacology

15 Days…third final exam, Pathology

16 Days…FOURTH final exam, Bacteriology

18 Days…board a plane, head home!

It is usually at this point in the semester where Europe’s The Final Countdown begins softly playing in the back of my head…slowly making its crescendo up until the day I get on the plane to go home. As you can see by the actual “countdown” above, I have a lot on my plate. I have gone from wishing the semester would pick up its pace to wishing I could have a few more weeks to study for finals, which are right around the corner! Yet again, I am reminded of the fact that I am in an accelerated program, where “if you can’t hang with the big dogs, then you should stay on the porch.”

Don’t worry though, I’m hangin’! (Even if sometimes it feels like it is by the skin of my teeth.) I have nearly conquered semester 3, which includes, but is not limited to:

• all of the facts and details surrounding 91 diseases caused by 23 virus families
• 180 diseases and pathologies caused by 29 bacteria (not including separate bacterial species)
• about 171 drugs classified in 17 categories
• not to mention, the actual pathology behind the diseases including necrosis, inflammation, congenital abnormalities, anomalies, and/or neoplasias.

This is a pictorial representation of the amount of knowledge I have shoved into my brain during 1st and 2nd semester (not including this semester).

If the curriculum isn’t already enough of a challenge, the “island life” is always ready to provide a challenge as well. Even though it was officially hurricane season weeks ago, I welcomed the season today…

Caribbean weather this morning…cruise/beach vacation anyone?

This…this THING…has been hovering over us for the past two days now! And I may be accustomed to hurricanes, tropical storms and such, but that doesn’t mean that I have grown to like driving in torrential downpours, much less walking to class in them. Also, it wouldn’t be THAT bad of a drive if I didn’t have to worry about the already terrible roads washing out from under me. This is one of those things that makes Ross Vets so “adaptable” right?! And, no, students are not excused from class when there is a Flash Flood Warning. 

Cool fact: When it rains in St. Kitts, the roads turn into rivers!

Nonetheless, I will be leaving the apartment extra early tomorrow morning, wearing a bright yellow poncho in attempts to keep myself dry. I will be packing an extra set of clothes too. If I haven’t learned to “dance in the rain” by now, I definitely will have the moves down by the time I leave this island paradise.

(Stay tuned for my first AVMA Convention adventures…which will be in San Diego, CA! Click this text to check out the official website.)