Last week I had my 3rd set of Block exams (out of 4) and they went well! I got 2 A's and 1 B. I have 3 classes this semester and I really like 2 of them, but the 3rd one has been giving me some headaches :) The 2 that I am really enjoying (and getting the better grades in) are Pathology and Physiology II. They are both challenging but really interesting at the same time because I feel that what we are learning is very applicable to clinical medicine. And coming from an engineering background really helps with Physiology as it is a lot of fluid dynamics and chemistry concepts! My 3rd class that I am not really a fan of is Medical Microbiology. Basically, in this class we learn about every bacteria, fungus, virus, etc. and what diseases or disorders they cause in humans AND every test for them, every treatment, and every virulence factor of every microorganism! So it is pretty much brute memorization and that is not my favorite thing! :) And they like to test on the very minute details so you really need to know everything! Last block I think we had 65 microorganisms we had to memorize, along with every little thing that they cause and how to test for them, etc. So I am getting by just fine in that class but I am definitely counting the days until it is over because it is my least favorite class of medical school so far! Haha!
Other than exams, nothing too exciting has happened lately. Mike has been working a TON this month so he has actually not had very much free time. Some days he has actually been working from 8 am - 11 pm (Volunteer in the morning, work as a fake patient in the afternoon, and work at the library all night!) He is OK with working so much though because he will be back in Minnesota for the month of August and have lots of time off! Speaking of MN, as most of you know, Mike & I will be coming home at the end of this week for Heather & Spencer's wedding...YAY!!!! Like I said, Mike is going to stay home for a large part of August, but I unfortunately only get to come back for a week because it is actually in the middle of my semester so I can't miss more than 1 week of class. And when I come back after the wedding I will be taking my 4th set of Block exams and then Finals a week later....yikes! So I have been studying as much as I can here leading up to our trip home so that I am ready for my exams when I get back! So we will be back and we will try our best to see everyone in the short period of time....I CAN'T WAIT!!!
My one highlight of St. Maarten life that I will share with you before I go is the wonderful morning Mike & I had today....it was one of those times that makes me really appreciate that we are living here and how beautiful this island can be! This morning, we decided to wake up early and go for a run on the beach. So we went to Mullet Beach right by our house and ran the beach back and forth a few times (of course Mike did more times than me b/c he is Mr. Triathlon man and I am the out of shape bum that studies all the time...haha!) It was a great workout and it was a BEAUTIFUL morning and we were one of the only people on the beach. After our run we went for a swim and then just relaxed on the beach for a while. After we cooled down, we walked to the Cupecoy Market and got a couple of croissants and a coffee and enjoyed them on the patio outside the market. It was an AWESOME morning and it made me really appreciate living here! And then right after we got home this morning, a big set of grey clouds came and it downpoured and it has been gloomy ever since....so I guess we timed our adventure right because we had beautiful weather this morning for our run! This semester has been so busy that Mike & I have not gotten to enjoy the island as much as we have in the past, so we vowed that next semster we are going to make sure to get out and enjoy the island while we still live here since we only have 9 months left...time is flying by!! We are even planning a trip to the nearby island of Saba to go hiking so we are both really excited for that (it is a "rainforest" type island that is actually a dormant volcano and is supposed to have beautiful sights and great hiking...and it has the shortest commercial runway in the world so it is supposed to be an interesting landing in the little puddle jumper plane!)
Well, after a great morning now I must commit the day to studying! I look forward to seeing many of you soon!!!
Love,
Carly & Mike
P.S. I haven't been taking many pictures lately so here are a few of my favorite pictures of St. Maarten :)
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