September has been a busy month here in St. Maarten! I started my 4th semester (woohoo!) and Mike and I both celebrated our 25th birthdays (hello mid-20's crisis!!). So a lot has happened and we have had a great month. However, I can't help but miss Minnesota in the fall. I know, I know, all of you in MN would say that we are lucky to be down here in the tropics but it is actually the hottest and stickiest weather down here and I can't help but wish I was in the cool MN weather enjoying the leaves changing, football games & tailgating, and US life in general including reliable electricity, coffee shops, Target, and of course all of you friends & family!! :)
So to catch you up on what we have been up to....
I started my 4th semester on Sept. 2nd and I am really liking it so far. My classes are Pathology II, Behavioral Science, Neuroscience, Pharmacology, & a Clinical Medicine course. I had my first set of Block Exams a couple weeks ago and they went great! I am also tutoring for the Biostatistics course each week so that keeps me busy as well...and I get paid a whopping $20-30 a week to tutor...I think I may just pay my loans with that income...haha! Just kidding, it is always nice to get a few extra bucks! In addition to my normal schoolwork, I am also slowly starting to review for my STEP 1 licensing exam that I will be taking next April when I leave the island. I know I am starting way in advance but this is the most important exam I will take during med school b/c when I eventually apply for Residency that score is a major thing that the Residency directors look at...so moral of the story is I am trying to get as prepared as possible!
Mike is doing great as usual. I laugh because every time I mention how fast time is going here and how soon we will be back in the US he tells me to be quiet...I don't think he likes the idea of getting back to the real world and having his 'vacation' be over! :) Mike is still working at all of his same jobs and volunteering. He has also joined a swimming group that meets every night at the CIA pool near our house and he is really enjoying the swimming. The guy who runs it is an amazingly fast swimmer (he was in the triathlon with Mike this summer and he kicked everyone's butt on the swim) and he has really helped Mike improve his stroke and get even faster in the water. There is another triathlon coming up this November and Mike and a lot of the people in the swim group are all going to compete so the nightly training is a good thing for all of them...plus he really likes all of the guys that he swims with...so overall he is loving the new activity!
Back at the beginning of September, I had my 25th birthday. Mike and I made a rule that we wouldn't buy each other gifts while we are down here and we didn't plan much for my birthday because I had just started school and we had planned to do kindof a joint celebration later in September closer to Mike's Bday. But....even though we hadn't planned anything we ended up going out both Friday and Saturday with friends and I had a really good time celebrating even though I hadn't wanted to make a big deal of it! :)
Mike's birthday fell on the weekend after my first set of exams so it worked out as a perfect weekend for us to celebrate! On Friday, we got a group of friends together and went to our favorite Buccaneer Beach Bar for the beachside bonfire. It was really fun and after the bonfire died down we went with a few people to the fancy Club Tantra. Now I have to explain that this is a place that is really popular with a lot of the students but Mike and I never really go to it because it is indoors and expensive (as opposed to our favorite cheap, outdoor places) but we decided to go there for the bday celebration because we had a lot of friends who were there and we figured 'why not splurge for the night'? It ended up being really fun so I am glad we went! Although after we counted up how much money we spent, I am not sure we will be going back to such an expensive place anytime soon!! :)
With our friends Alexis & Frank on Mike's Bday night
On Saturday, Mike's actual birthday, Mike and I went out to dinner at a seafood & wine bar called Belmar. It was a really nice place and we kindof counted it as both of our birthday dinners because we had decided not to go out anywhere for my birthday and just go out to one really good dinner for both of us! Well it was worth the wait because the food was amazing and we sat at a table next to these giant windows and had a direct view of the ocean. I got a HUGE stuffed lobster for my meal and Mike took the waiter's advice and got the lamb....both meals were amazing! After dinner we stopped at a really good dessert place and got some dessert to go...but we were both too full so we decided to save our desserts for the next day! Once we got home we went over to our friends' house and hung out for the rest of the night with our friends who are similar to Mike and I (the girl is in school and her boyfriend is down here with her) and some teachers from the high school where Mike substitutes at. The teachers are all really fun to hang out with and they are all Canadian (because the school is a private Canadian school) and I love it because the literally say "eh?" and "abooot" in every other sentence...it is hilarious!! A lot of people I am in school with down here tease me about my 'supposed' northern Minnesota accent but after hanging out with the Canadians I don't feel like I have much of an accent anymore! Haha :)
Mike & I at our great birthday dinner at Belmar
My HUGE lobster dinner
So aside from the birthday celebrations life has been just about the same as usual. We are pretty much in our same routine of school, work, and occasionally some free time to enjoy the island and let loose!
We miss you all so much and I am already counting down the days until Christmas when we get to come home and see friends and family (and snow!). And I am very excited that 6 of our friends have booked tickets to come visit us after the holidays. Jenna, Chris, Amanda, Tony, Mary, & Joe - we can't wait to show you a good time in January!! :)
Love,
Mike & Carly
P.S. I also wanted to say thank you to all of you who sent birthday wishes/cards/gifts to Mike & I....we really appreciated everything!!!
Just a pretty picture I took while driving by the golf course at sunset
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