Exams are over and we are a week into our next block. The last couple of weeks have really been a blur, so I guess I should probably have lots to write about! I am finding it really tough to do the little, relaxing things that I like to do -- like writing in my blog, doing my yoga, going for walks…the simple stuff that keeps me sane. I have only been to the beach once in the past three weeks! It feels like a constant balancing act here, just trying to stay afloat of everything. The phrase "there aren't enough hours in a day" has never been more true! Don't get me wrong, I am really enjoying what I am doing here. I love being in such a challenging environment, being around so many ambitious and intelligent people, and being ridiculously busy. I am learning so much, so quickly. I find myself wishing sometimes that I had more time to spend learning about the things I am finding interesting. Really though, it's learn what you need to know and move on at this point, because there just isn't the time if you don't want to end up miles behind the race.
So, one piece of news that I don't think has made it to the blog yet is that I have joined the Student Government Association (SGA) as school Historian. It is a really exciting role -- along with the other Historian, we will be creating a student SGA website, which will have all of the school's calendar of events, apartments for rent and cars for sale of upper year students that are leaving, meeting minutes, info about the different student clubs, etc. (There isn't an SGA site yet so this will all be new). It also involves taking photos at events, monitoring and updating the Facebook and twitter accounts and recording attendance of students at events and things like that. I the website will help create a continuum of what is and has been going on at the school, and will be helpful to the students, and also to new students that will be coming in. Prospective students will also be able to check it out to get a feel for what goes on at the school as well. This won't happen overnight as we are all busy studying but we hope to get it up and running soon!
So, like I said, exams were last week. We had two exams on Friday and then four the following Monday. It was stressful, and exhausting, but it turned out well. I am glad that is over! It's hard to believe I will have to go through that once a month for the next (almost) year and a half. Friday night there was a post-exam party at Elvis' Beach Bar, which is an outdoor bar right on the water. It was really nice and was also a fundraising event for the MD4's white coat ceremony. There was a good turnout. There was a big screen projector playing American sports so the men were all happy.
Yesterday morning there was a Red Cross event held at one of the big grocery stores (Best Buy) for the community. A lot of the people here don't get regular health care or checkups, so it was a very basic health screening. People had a stress test, blood sugar test, BMI check, blood pressure check, and eyesight check done. It was amazing how receptive the community was to this service and how many of them hung on to any word that we had to share. It was also an eye opener to see how little insight they had into some of these basic health identifiers, such as not even knowing when the last time they had their blood pressure checked, or what it meant if their blood pressure was high. This was also such a great experience for the students -- to start getting used to talking to patients, teaching patients, doing simple things like taking blood pressures, and blood sugars. These kinds of things are what it's all about and it was nice to see so many people take advantage of such a wonderful volunteer opportunity.
I've received several comments/facebook messages from prospective and upcoming students that have come across my blog - and just wanted to say that if you have any questions at all about anything, PLEASE feel free to contact me… drnicolefox@gmail.com I am more than happy to help out! I know how crazy of a process this is and how many questions pop up.
XOXO Lots of Love
Nik
