Oh how I hate planes

As of 4 p.m. yesterday I am back on the island of Antigua......and it was by far the worse trip known to man, or at least known to me.  I was excited that for once I wasnt flying out of KCI at 6 a.m. but had a nice 9:20 flight.  That nice flight was short lived.  First of all the plane was delayed due to weather in the first place and was late taking off by roughly about 20-30 minutes or so.  However, before the flight got to far along I got violently sick because of all the turbulence.  Oh the poor people that were sitting next to me!!!  Things got even worse when the plane took a nice hour and a half detour around another storm in Oklahoma......which was followed by even more turbulence. By the time I reached Dallas/Fort Worth Texas I was exhausted......and very very late!!!  Thinking that I had missed my connecting flight I rushed to find my next flight.  To my surprise and delight the plane I was suppose to board was still on the ground due to sensor issues.  An hour later we were told the plane was being taken out of service and we were being moved to another aircraft that would be taking off an hour and a half later.....oh dear!!!  By this time my stomach and nausea had finally settled and I am ready to start the next leg of my journey to San Juan.

After the plane had been in the air for quite some time the cabin of the plane heading for San Juan begins to smell of smoke and I begin to feel a little uneasy.  This causes everyone in the plane quite a bit of concern and a landing was made in Tampa Florida 20 minutes later!  Oh what a great trip!  I am hungry, smelly, tired, and now will be late for my connected flight in PR.  I am not a happy camper.  However, with the help of another AUA student on my flight I was able to obtain a dinner, and hotel voucher.  This made for a great evening that included a fellow med 2 student, a margarita, Chili's chicken crispers and a crazy massage therapist named Dawn from Des Moines.  Needless to say the med 2 student and I had a hoot listening to Dawn.  Dawn loved sharing all her personal sex details and elaborate about her obsession with Jason Mraz......enough said.  But I did appreciate having a guy student help me out with my bags and to help navigate the rest of my trip.  It made me feel so much better about my flawed trip.  The following morning at the gate for Miami Dawn, shared with me that she had went out partying and drinking the night before and even attempted to go to a Tampa strip club.  Then it was followed with something to do with Jason Mraz!  Oh my!!!!  She also shared with me the fact she takes Valtrex for her cold sores....and not for any "other" type of herpies....again enough said.

Anyway...enough with Dawn I finally made it to Antigua and this time customs was not a complete bear like it was when I arrived in August the previous semester.  I was greeted by one of my room mates whom was kind enough to pay for my luggage to trollied out to the car.  That man is too nice!  Oh had I missed him so much!!!  When I got out to the car all the rest of my roommates were waiting and even got to see a few of my good friends from New Jersey that were also leaving the airport at the same time. Who knew that seeing school friends and getting hugs could make you feel so good.  Anyway, I rushed to campus to get registered for my classes and even got the my new Antigua drivers license to go with the car that I am leasing this semester with my girlfriends.  Oh how NOT cute a Toyota Yaris is!!!!  Will write more soon!

Heading back to the rock

After a long hiatus from blogging and a short break from medical school I am less than a week away from flying back from Missouri to Antigua.  Can say it makes me sad to leave home again but on the other hand I am ready to "get back to work" so to speak and put another semester of hard work and tears behind me!  This puts me one step closer to clinical rotations in the US and a residency!!!  A girl can dream cant she?!?!?!?  Anyway break has been pretty boring besides my enhancement project required by the school.  As students we are required to shadow a physician, research or a community outreach program.  I chose to do clinical shadowing and decided to follow a OB/GYN for two weeks during break.  All I have to say is that standing for 10-13 hrs a day on average makes me wish I didnt have plantar fasciitis and that Cole Haan made cute shoe that didnt assault my poor feet.  I guess the rest of my career beckons ugly comfy shoes or I am going to need morphine.  During my awesome clinical time I got to observe surgeries, procedures, deliveries, and even get to go on rounds at 7 am in the morning.  It was rough but it was amazing to see how the life of an OB/GYN truly is!!!  It is long hours, crazy patients, neat surgeries and cute babies....what can I say.....who isnt a sucker for a cute baby?  

I think that the neatest aspect is that I will remember the names of the first few babies that I had seen delivered naturally.  Since I am doing my observation in my home town I am sure that I will get to see these children grow older and attend preschool and have their pictures in the local news paper.  The nostalgia of the whole thing is quite surreal.  Something that makes me proud and excited for the future.  So very neat!!!

Another thing that has been going down since I have arrived back in the states is tons of shopping.  Shopping for shoes, dress clothes, and random toileries that will hopefully last me the next 6 months....hopefully.  It is for sure a big reality check when you get to come back home and actually shop in a store that doesnt have the inflated Antiguan prices and the eastern carribean conversion.  So nice to buy coffee that is $7 verses $40 EC.  It goes without say.....I bought a few pounds of coffee and they are hanging out in my carry on suitcase.  

The cold weather back here in Missouri has been a killer and I have to say that Antigua has some of the best weather this time of the year and I can wait to go back just for that part.....no school please lol  Anyway....until tomorrow!