It all comes down to this

It's finally here. The moment we've all been waiting for. We've worked our hearts out to get to this point and here we are. It's still so surreal that our first day of Veterinary school is tomorrow and to think I've never been more excited about the first day of school than this moment right now. My whole life I've dreamed about this day and yet, I'm sure just give me a few days and I'll be climbing the gates from hell screaming mercy. 

I've been on the island for only a week and yet I've gained a whole family, made friends with some locals, and know where some of the best beach spots are. Never once did I come down here thinking I won't need a car, or buy one for that matter, but I pretty much have a car in mind that I'll most likely invest in later in the semester. By no means is it a hip ride but it sure qualifies as a sweet hooptie! Our class was lucky enough to partake in a Catamaran trip on Saturday. We sailed to Shitten Bay.......Shitten..Bay. We snorkeled for about an hour and was really captivated by the life below the water. So many exotic species of fish, puffer fish was a cool one to see, sea urchins, and I even got to swam alongside a sea turtle. By far one of the most memorable moments since being here. Later in the evening we all joined together and celebrated the welcome back party at Shipwreck. I think happy hour is what did most of us that night but hey, it was one hell of a party. My legs are still on fiyah after gettin' down on the dance floor. Oh and Steve, next time don't tell the bartender "3 rounds of shots of whatever you wanna make" because that "whatever-he-made" almost ended up on your shoe. No worries though, I managed to take it like a champ. Lastly, sweet potato fries at Bopsy's at 1am hits the spot. 

Today was relaxing for the most part besides the never ending power outages that occur at the top of the hour. I was the lucky one who was in the middle of washing a load of laundry when the power went out so my clothes had a good soaking for about an hour. I can't complain too much, at least I wasn't the unlucky girl who was stuck in the elevator at the time. I would've dug through my groceries and ate my ice cream too so props to you girl for not freaking out. I printed off my bible of lecture slides and organized them neatly into folders like nerds do on the eve of first day of classes. I'm sure at some point all those lecture slides will be as scattered as my brain by mid semester. 

I ended my night with skyping my family back home. Seeing my boyfriend, my brother, my pets, and my dad trying to figure out his iPhone really made my night and no, Dad, yelling at Siri won't get you anywhere. It's hard to miss home when you're living in the moment and caught up in everything but when you give yourself just five minutes to stop and smell the roses it really hits you. And for some it hits hard. As excited and anxious as I am to start my journey in vet school tomorrow there's a side of me who is counting down the days to see my fur babies again. 

Tomorrow Red class begins their first step to becoming veterinarians. I'm sure we all will be running around like chickens with our heads cut off because seriously...where is the library again and how do we get to it? Do we bring this or that to class? Will there be a pop quiz? No joke. Our White Coat Ceremony is tomorrow after classes and it's where we pledge the Veterinary Student Oath and are handed our white coats. Hopefully my family back home manages to catch a glimpse of me via the live webcast and hopefully I'm not "that guy" that trips and falls or something. I can't even fathom the fact that it's really here. This is where our journey begins. Don't forget Rossies, veterinary medicine is not a sprint but a marathon and we have a long road ahead of us. 

Sadly, this may be one of the last blogs I will write for awhile. I'll do my best to keep you all updated on life here in St. Kitts but school is my number one priority. Keep warm Minnesnowtans, I'm only 100 degrees warmer than you. ;) 

Let's do this Rossies!

Here's to a New Year!

It's been quite a few days since I've posted a blog and so much has happened since then. For instance, Saturday morning at MIA was a crazy shit show: people's luggage was lost, some people had to re-check their luggage and pay extra, waited in line for I don't know like two hours just to get through security, and then having to take a train on the other side of town just to get to my gate. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. It's a great movie if you've never seen it! Anyways, on the ride down I sat next to a couple who I found out was basically from my home town. Seriously, kind of crazy how that happened. They're from Independence while their daughter lives in Chanhassen, MN and for the last twelve years they have been living out the winter months in St. Kitts. I don't blame them. Negative twenties, thirties, whatever it was the last couple days back home, makes me feel a lot better knowing that I'm moving to a warmer climate with endless amounts of beaches, sunshine, sand, and rum.

The fly in to St. Kitts was absolutely beautiful. The water is so blue and you can see so far down into the sea.

RUSVM Campus

To re-cap on the last few days, besides orientation stuff, we went on an island tour and saw a lot of historical monuments, we drove through towns that were wealthy and some that were not, and we saw both sides of the island and the difference between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

 Brim Stone Hill historical site

They have cannons pointing in every direction on the island for defense

Peninsula from St. Kitts to Nevis. Atlantic on the left, Caribbean on the right. 

Of course we spent time at the beach and enjoyed a few cocktails at one of the coolest beach bars I've seen. It's a fun place called Shipwreck and I've been told it's a place that I will venture to as often as I can. 

Tuesday morning we woke up early to attempt what is called the Bat Cave hike. Well, we managed to hike half of it. There's a rope to climb up steep rocks about half way through and it broke while we were there so it was obviously a bust and we couldn't keep going. The sights on the way were pretty cool though!

Bat Cave hike

New Year's Eve came up fast and it was weird for me to be ringing in the new year at a beach bar next to the sea. But I had my Ross family at my side, made friends with a few locals, and made some of the greatest memories. The strip is a fun joint in Frigate Bay, lots of music, drinks, and good vibes. By the end of the night we watched fireworks over the Sea and continued the party at a bonfire on the beach. 

Waking up this morning was a little rough but I managed to do so. And so I sit here and think about my life and how much it has changed within the last year. 2013 was one of the best years for me. Before that I was dealing with a rough patch in my life and really needed to change things in order to make myself a happier person and not let others continue to hurt me. So I moved forward with my life and had an open-minded attitude. I wanted to do things for myself for once and not always be the selfless person that I am. I welcomed 2013 with the idea that I will travel to my favorite places in the world, I will make new friends that no matter the distance will always be there for me, I will find love in a person who is willing to make me the happiest girl in the world and would never give up on us, and I will get in to Vet School. I managed to accomplish all of them this past year. It's crazy how fast a year can fly by but what's even crazier is that everyone has the ability to make a change whether it's in their life or someone else. Never give up on your dreams and never doubt yourself. I never expected I would be this happy with my life and it's only because I woke up one day and decided to change it. You really impressed me 2013, thank you for all the wonderful memories, friendships, and a blessed year that I'll never forget. Here's to a new life, new year, and new home in St. Kitts.

I'm off to the beaches....not that I don't have enough sand in my bed the way it is. 

Happy New Year everyone!