Resolved my flight issues today! I called American Airlines again during my lunch break and asked for an explanation. When this person priced the flight change out for me, it came up $50 cheaper (so $210) which had me very confused. She said that basically the "class" of ticket I purchased back in March was no longer available on this flight so I was looking at a cost difference between "classes." So when the round trip previously was $837, the new total went up to $900 something. Okay, all makes sense to me, I tell her I'll think about it and get back to her. As soon as I hang up the phone, it occurs to me that no matter how you multiply $369, you can't get $900 on a round trip flight, so I am once again very confused. I decided to call my father to see what he thought and ended up leaving a long winded message.
Tonight when we're talking, I am ranting on and on about how I just want to be home! I am so sick of being here, I am so sick of pathology, I am so sick of studying and going to class. He can't really offer any insight on the flight situation other than the airline companies like to make things secretive and extra-complicated in order to make extra money. I'd have to agree after all of my AA phone calls! At the end of the call, he sweetly offers that they'll pay half of whatever the total cost ends up being. Yay!!! I love my parents :).
I decided to call AA one more time and ask again about the $369 flight. The lady this evening was not as nice as the one this afternoon, but nicer than the lady last night. You can tell as you're talking to them that they deal with very rude and angry people all the time, because the second you pose a question to them, their tone of voice gets defensive. I enjoyed listening to tonight's woman, because she would weave in and out of the defensive tone as she realized I wasn't going to be mean and yell at her. Quite honestly, I don't think I'm capable of being mean to people like that. I have a tendency just to be submissive and non-confrontational. So this woman starts looking around at flights and the various airports in my home area, and finds a flight that will only cost me $30 extra. She tells me this is the best deal for that day, and I decided to take it! Is $180 an absurd amount of money to pay? Absolutely. But I want to go home!! I want to be with my family, I want to eat real food, I want to be with my Penny and my dogs, I want to have more time to shop, more time to dog hunt, more time to basically not be in Grenada. I love it here, but enough is enough! Island fever at this point haha.
When I talked to my mom after the switch, she was telling me that after I spoke to my dad earlier, he was very confused. He was surprised I wanted to come home so badly, he thought I loved it here! And I do, but I am so ready to be done with this semester! I am tired of Grenada and school, I just want a break :). So now I get to fly home on December 12 - less than one month from now!!! I am flying into a different airport at a later time at night, but that's okay, I get to be reunited with all the ones I love!
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Monday, November 12, 2012
Pharmacology
Today's post is brought to you by pharmacology. The current topic of discussion is reproductive pharmacology, so I guess this at least sorta-maybe-kinda makes sense to have in a presentation, but I am a very conservative and rather shy person and I'm also pretty easily shocked. It's small and in black an white on our handouts, so we knew a cartoon was coming, but extra close inspection would be the only way you'd get to see all the..err...details. This pops up on the screen and there are some giggles of amusement and embarrassment as the professor launches into detail about oxytocin. I figured it would be the sort of thing that would get changed quickly as we moved onto a more suitable slide, but no, I had the pleasure of awkwardly averting my gaze as best I could for what felt like at least 5 minutes!
So if ever you were wondering if we ever do have some fun in veterinary school, I suppose this proves that the answer is yes!
American Airlines
So when i book flights for Grenada/home, I do it many months in advanced. You do it based on the principle the term starts on day x and ends on day y. Imagine my inner turmoil when I found out we were going to end 4 days earlier this semester than normal. For many months now, I have been going back and forth on whether or not to move my flight up a few days so I can be home with my family and eat real food and play with my pets for just a few days longer. The kicker is that there is a $150 flight change fee. Ugh, that's a lot of money, and it's been keeping me from just doing it.
Fast forward to today. I finally make up my mind, I'm going to do it. I'm going to change the flight, pay the money, and be happier than I will be if I'm stuck here for a few extra days. I like it here, its a great country and all, but after 4 months I just want OFF!!! So I look up the flight - it's still there, the cost for it is $369 (which is mysteriously down $5 from when I looked this afternoon...), get all my info together, and make the call. A grumpy lady answers the phone (it's no later than 6:30p her time, but whatever). She blandly asks me for my info and what I want, and then tells me that it will cost me $260. WHAT?!?! Now I'm stuttering on the phone. Huh?? How is that possible?? She tells me that there's the $150 change fee, and that there is a $110 difference between the flight I previously booked and this one. I politely tell her I'll have to think about that.
So now you're probably thinking "well duh there's a difference between the two flights," except that would make my original flight out of here $250. Those of you who have even glanced at flights to and from Grenada are now laughing, because there is no such thing. I paid $866 round trip for this set of flights. You're trying to tell me that coming here in peak times was more expensive than leaving here on peak times?? Nope, not buying it. I didn't even get off that nicely with the last set of flights I purchased where my total came to $640. I am extremely lucky with flight costs. I come from a major city on the east coast and flights are pretty cheap for me, but they are not $250. You can't even fly directly from Miami to Grenada for that price.
I get back on the AA website to do some fishing. I decide to pretend like I want to buy the flight I want singly. I look it up, select it, and... error notice! Huh?? "Flight no longer exists." Wait what?! Fine, I'll try a later time. Same deal. Okay, what is going on?? Refresh the page again to find that the 1st flight is still missing, but the second is available but $30 more. ...Huh? Okay so maybe the 2nd flight in my original combo is booked, seems reasonable. Nope, checked that and there are dozens of seats available on it.
What the heck?! I am so incredibly confused!!!
Fast forward to today. I finally make up my mind, I'm going to do it. I'm going to change the flight, pay the money, and be happier than I will be if I'm stuck here for a few extra days. I like it here, its a great country and all, but after 4 months I just want OFF!!! So I look up the flight - it's still there, the cost for it is $369 (which is mysteriously down $5 from when I looked this afternoon...), get all my info together, and make the call. A grumpy lady answers the phone (it's no later than 6:30p her time, but whatever). She blandly asks me for my info and what I want, and then tells me that it will cost me $260. WHAT?!?! Now I'm stuttering on the phone. Huh?? How is that possible?? She tells me that there's the $150 change fee, and that there is a $110 difference between the flight I previously booked and this one. I politely tell her I'll have to think about that.
So now you're probably thinking "well duh there's a difference between the two flights," except that would make my original flight out of here $250. Those of you who have even glanced at flights to and from Grenada are now laughing, because there is no such thing. I paid $866 round trip for this set of flights. You're trying to tell me that coming here in peak times was more expensive than leaving here on peak times?? Nope, not buying it. I didn't even get off that nicely with the last set of flights I purchased where my total came to $640. I am extremely lucky with flight costs. I come from a major city on the east coast and flights are pretty cheap for me, but they are not $250. You can't even fly directly from Miami to Grenada for that price.
I get back on the AA website to do some fishing. I decide to pretend like I want to buy the flight I want singly. I look it up, select it, and... error notice! Huh?? "Flight no longer exists." Wait what?! Fine, I'll try a later time. Same deal. Okay, what is going on?? Refresh the page again to find that the 1st flight is still missing, but the second is available but $30 more. ...Huh? Okay so maybe the 2nd flight in my original combo is booked, seems reasonable. Nope, checked that and there are dozens of seats available on it.
What the heck?! I am so incredibly confused!!!
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Expectations vs. Reality
Well, there are officially 2.5 weeks of class left and 4 final exams before this semester is over with. Some how the end still seems like a long ways off. I feel like we have a lot more material to cover still, and I'm already starting to feel panicked about final exams. I'm mostly concerned about pharmacology (cumulative) and pathology (because I find the subject matter so incredibly dull). I understand clinical pathology on a fundamental level, so it will mostly be cramming the quirks and facts into my brain. The jury is still out on parasitology, but in general I tend not to have problems with that class.
6 exams total and one presentation left. Can I make it? I can't believe I'm nearly finished with term 3 of 6 here. Everything could not have turned out more differently with vet school than I had imagined. Expectations vs. Reality. Sheesh. Life is just not interested in going according to my plans!
Expectation: my friend from home and I would tackle our four years of vet school together. We would carry each other through ups and downs, and hopefully not hate each other at the end of the day. We could study together and feed off of each other's strengths. Reality: we're a semester apart due to circumstances beyond our control. We have different class schedules, different class friends, and although we certainly don't hate each other, we're not close when it comes to school and hanging out anymore.
Expectation: I would go to vet school and make lots of new and awesome friends. Maybe I would finally feel like I fit in and wasn't such an outcast for once. Reality: we might all have a common goal and passion, but I don't think I could feel more isolated. I'm still wondering where I went wrong. The fundamental problem seems to come down to the fact that I am not a party person and I am rather quiet. I don't really mean to be, but I feel like I am really boring compared to most of my classmates. A lot of them have some really amazing life experiences, like cool previous careers or working with animals in a really unique way. The straight arrow path has certainly gotten me where I wanted it to, but I am really lame and boring compared to everyone else. I think they think I am grade obsessed and snobby since I spend most of my study time in my room rather than in our classroom and I tend to do well on exams, but the truth is I should study way more than I do. I get distracted or lose focus and it is way more fun to stare at the wall and do nothing than it is to study! I envy them. I would love to be more carefree and outgoing, but I just can't seem to make that happen.
Expectation: I would not be smart enough and really struggle. I really didn't think I would do very well. I really questioned my intelligence and ability to handle the course load even after I was accepted. I was really scared. Reality: so far, when I put the time into studying and learning the material, I tend to be rewarded. Sometimes I still question my self and my abilities. I almost feel like it's all a lie and I'm just pretending. Not sure how you can pretend to be more intelligent than you are and actually have it work, but sometimes it certainly feels that way.
There was a lot I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know what the island was going to be like, I had no idea how I was going to eat for 3 years (because I kind of imagined being dropped into a country that solely native fruits and foods, and I'm pretty picky). I wondered how I'd handle living in a third world country, what it would be like to spend all day every day with the same 80 people for 3 years. I was pretty nervous about avoiding tropical diseases such as dengue, but this term it seems to be something familiar doing my immune system in! I didn't really think I'd miss my friends and family from home too much, but I didn't take into account what it would feel like to be so isolated from them.
All in all I love it here. I wouldn't pick another school even if I had the choice to do it all over again. Things might not be as I had planned, but generally that's okay. They're working out the way they're supposed to and I can be happy enough with that.
6 exams total and one presentation left. Can I make it? I can't believe I'm nearly finished with term 3 of 6 here. Everything could not have turned out more differently with vet school than I had imagined. Expectations vs. Reality. Sheesh. Life is just not interested in going according to my plans!
Expectation: my friend from home and I would tackle our four years of vet school together. We would carry each other through ups and downs, and hopefully not hate each other at the end of the day. We could study together and feed off of each other's strengths. Reality: we're a semester apart due to circumstances beyond our control. We have different class schedules, different class friends, and although we certainly don't hate each other, we're not close when it comes to school and hanging out anymore.
Expectation: I would go to vet school and make lots of new and awesome friends. Maybe I would finally feel like I fit in and wasn't such an outcast for once. Reality: we might all have a common goal and passion, but I don't think I could feel more isolated. I'm still wondering where I went wrong. The fundamental problem seems to come down to the fact that I am not a party person and I am rather quiet. I don't really mean to be, but I feel like I am really boring compared to most of my classmates. A lot of them have some really amazing life experiences, like cool previous careers or working with animals in a really unique way. The straight arrow path has certainly gotten me where I wanted it to, but I am really lame and boring compared to everyone else. I think they think I am grade obsessed and snobby since I spend most of my study time in my room rather than in our classroom and I tend to do well on exams, but the truth is I should study way more than I do. I get distracted or lose focus and it is way more fun to stare at the wall and do nothing than it is to study! I envy them. I would love to be more carefree and outgoing, but I just can't seem to make that happen.
Expectation: I would not be smart enough and really struggle. I really didn't think I would do very well. I really questioned my intelligence and ability to handle the course load even after I was accepted. I was really scared. Reality: so far, when I put the time into studying and learning the material, I tend to be rewarded. Sometimes I still question my self and my abilities. I almost feel like it's all a lie and I'm just pretending. Not sure how you can pretend to be more intelligent than you are and actually have it work, but sometimes it certainly feels that way.
There was a lot I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know what the island was going to be like, I had no idea how I was going to eat for 3 years (because I kind of imagined being dropped into a country that solely native fruits and foods, and I'm pretty picky). I wondered how I'd handle living in a third world country, what it would be like to spend all day every day with the same 80 people for 3 years. I was pretty nervous about avoiding tropical diseases such as dengue, but this term it seems to be something familiar doing my immune system in! I didn't really think I'd miss my friends and family from home too much, but I didn't take into account what it would feel like to be so isolated from them.
All in all I love it here. I wouldn't pick another school even if I had the choice to do it all over again. Things might not be as I had planned, but generally that's okay. They're working out the way they're supposed to and I can be happy enough with that.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Slacking
Ack! I'm sorry I have been slacking on posting lately. The thing is, this semester is really boring. Lectures day in and day out with very little excitement happening (unless you count the class drama, which is just mostly immaturity and obnoxiousness).
Tomorrow morning ends the week-of-exams with a parasitology quiz. It started last Thursday with pharmacology, then continued with a parasitology quiz, a pathology exam, a virology final, a clinical pathology exam, and finally tomorrow's parasitology quiz. Exhausting!
One of my classmates and I have signed and put a deposit on an apartment for next year this week - that's pretty exciting! It's all official now I guess! While I know we'd both prefer to stay right here on campus in our current rooms, this really isn't a terrible alternative. It's not too far from campus, right on the bus route, and brand new. And did I mention the pool?! Okay okay, stop laughing! Yes, it is very exciting that we will have a pool! Right on the premises and not made of saltwater. I am looking forward to swimming laps. Yes, the ocean is right here and is much nicer than any swimming pool, but there's the added element of sand and salt and messiness. Also, I never want to leave the ocean. Ever. I could stay in and snorkel all day (a problem when there are tests to study for!). Therefore, a pool will be awesome because I love to swim, hate to sweat, and will not be attracted to beautiful reef items keeping me in forever!
Tomorrow morning ends the week-of-exams with a parasitology quiz. It started last Thursday with pharmacology, then continued with a parasitology quiz, a pathology exam, a virology final, a clinical pathology exam, and finally tomorrow's parasitology quiz. Exhausting!
One of my classmates and I have signed and put a deposit on an apartment for next year this week - that's pretty exciting! It's all official now I guess! While I know we'd both prefer to stay right here on campus in our current rooms, this really isn't a terrible alternative. It's not too far from campus, right on the bus route, and brand new. And did I mention the pool?! Okay okay, stop laughing! Yes, it is very exciting that we will have a pool! Right on the premises and not made of saltwater. I am looking forward to swimming laps. Yes, the ocean is right here and is much nicer than any swimming pool, but there's the added element of sand and salt and messiness. Also, I never want to leave the ocean. Ever. I could stay in and snorkel all day (a problem when there are tests to study for!). Therefore, a pool will be awesome because I love to swim, hate to sweat, and will not be attracted to beautiful reef items keeping me in forever!
Sunday, November 4, 2012
A Laundry Story
First final exam of the term tomorrow! Yikes! Time to be done with virology forever - woohoo!! Just a short story about a laundry experience from tonight to tide you over.
I normally try to do laundry on Friday or Saturday evenings, as there tends to be less traffic because people are out partying, or just out and about not thinking about laundry. This weekend, that turned out not to happen because I put it off on Friday night, and then ran into troubles last night. Oops. When I got home from studying with a friend this evening, I decided to take a peek and see if by chance either of the washers was open. I lucked out! Stepping into the laundry room, it was completely silent. I did discover finished clothes in both washing machines, but since all the dryers were open, I had no qualms about kicking that person out. Snooze you lose, too bad buddy. I've done laundry in that room long enough to know that there are two types of laundry-doers: those who are hovering over the machines as they are finishing, and those who forget and leave their clothes for hours. This guy struck me as the latter. So I politely pulled all of the clothes out of one washer and stuck them in a dryer. I won't turn it on for people, because everyone has different settings they prefer, and sometimes clothes in the wash are not meant to be dried.
So while I am doing this, a guy pops his head in the room and then quickly disappears. The door is propped open, so I hear him say to someone, "no, it's a girl." Before I leave the laundry room, I always start the water running (so as to claim my machine). When I return my things, I find a guy peering into the currently occupied washing machine with rubber dissection gloves on. He grimaces, and starts pulling the clothes out and shoving them in the drier. As I am watching and trying not to laugh, he says that he's been waiting on this person for over an hour. I chuckle and say that I am not "nice" enough to do that anymore. Too often I have watched people leave things for hours, and I am on a time budget. He says yeah, and reluctantly admits that although he doesn't mind as much when it's a girls belongings, the thought of touching another guy's underwear just grosses him out. He's a med student by the way.
I can't decide. Is this normal? Am I the freak who doesn't mind touching other people's presumably clean clothes without protection? I think perhaps I just don't really care, because in vet med, I've touched and dealt with so many gross things all the time that touching reasonably clean (even if was just water!) guys clothes doesn't bother me a bit. I mean, it's not like I can't come back to my suite and wash my hands with soap! The part that bothers me about touching other people's clothes is my fear that they'll walk in on me in the process. How embarrassing!! Then I'd feel terrible and horribly guilty haha. But not grossed out. After all, doctors must certainly deal with worse on a day to day basis with their patients. And people diseases are much more likely to be transmissible when there is sickness involved!
I normally try to do laundry on Friday or Saturday evenings, as there tends to be less traffic because people are out partying, or just out and about not thinking about laundry. This weekend, that turned out not to happen because I put it off on Friday night, and then ran into troubles last night. Oops. When I got home from studying with a friend this evening, I decided to take a peek and see if by chance either of the washers was open. I lucked out! Stepping into the laundry room, it was completely silent. I did discover finished clothes in both washing machines, but since all the dryers were open, I had no qualms about kicking that person out. Snooze you lose, too bad buddy. I've done laundry in that room long enough to know that there are two types of laundry-doers: those who are hovering over the machines as they are finishing, and those who forget and leave their clothes for hours. This guy struck me as the latter. So I politely pulled all of the clothes out of one washer and stuck them in a dryer. I won't turn it on for people, because everyone has different settings they prefer, and sometimes clothes in the wash are not meant to be dried.
So while I am doing this, a guy pops his head in the room and then quickly disappears. The door is propped open, so I hear him say to someone, "no, it's a girl." Before I leave the laundry room, I always start the water running (so as to claim my machine). When I return my things, I find a guy peering into the currently occupied washing machine with rubber dissection gloves on. He grimaces, and starts pulling the clothes out and shoving them in the drier. As I am watching and trying not to laugh, he says that he's been waiting on this person for over an hour. I chuckle and say that I am not "nice" enough to do that anymore. Too often I have watched people leave things for hours, and I am on a time budget. He says yeah, and reluctantly admits that although he doesn't mind as much when it's a girls belongings, the thought of touching another guy's underwear just grosses him out. He's a med student by the way.
I can't decide. Is this normal? Am I the freak who doesn't mind touching other people's presumably clean clothes without protection? I think perhaps I just don't really care, because in vet med, I've touched and dealt with so many gross things all the time that touching reasonably clean (even if was just water!) guys clothes doesn't bother me a bit. I mean, it's not like I can't come back to my suite and wash my hands with soap! The part that bothers me about touching other people's clothes is my fear that they'll walk in on me in the process. How embarrassing!! Then I'd feel terrible and horribly guilty haha. But not grossed out. After all, doctors must certainly deal with worse on a day to day basis with their patients. And people diseases are much more likely to be transmissible when there is sickness involved!
Friday, November 2, 2012
Favorites
Two exams and one quiz down, a final, an exam and another quiz to go next week! All in all so far so good. Hope I can say the same about next week!
I can't believe it's already November, how did that happen?! Time just flies down here. It probably does at any school, but when it still looks and feels like August outside every day, it's hard to argue against time going fast! 3.5 more weeks of classes and then a week of exams stand between me and being halfway done with my classes in Grenada. Wow. Next semester we start introductory surgery skills and medicine classes - it feels like just yesterday that I was learning about basic anatomy!!!
Anyway, I thought I'd post my absolute favorite pictures from this semester. Photos that I consider worthy of framing potentially someday. Enjoy!
So these are my absolute favorites. I've saved 2,088 pictures to my computer from this semester alone. I've deleted some of the really crummy ones, so in 3 months, I know I've taken more than that. But these are my favorites. I have a lot of really nice pictures, and a lot with fun memories, but these ones make me inhale sharply when I see them. If you are wondering what the real secret to taking beautiful photographs is, it's really simple. Take a lot. I'm almost guaranteed to log 100+ pictures every time I take my camera out. They don't all turn out great, some are just down right terrible, but if you take 6 different shots of the same thing, you are much more likely to have a really nice picture. So take a lot of pictures. Try out your camera settings for fun. USE MACRO. I just figured that setting out last spring - best thing ever! Be persistent. Underwater shots can be tough with moving subjects in moving water. On things that are sitting still in the water (like the crabs, lobsters, urchins, corals, etc.) I probably average 8-10 shots. Moving water is the devil! You'll line something up and you'll snap it and it won't quite be in frame. Or it will be slightly blurry. Then its reset, snap again, and see what I've got. Over and over again. So be patient, be persistent, and take a lot of pictures. That's how you become a truly great photographer. You don't have to have some super fancy camera! These are all from a point-and-shoot!
I can't believe it's already November, how did that happen?! Time just flies down here. It probably does at any school, but when it still looks and feels like August outside every day, it's hard to argue against time going fast! 3.5 more weeks of classes and then a week of exams stand between me and being halfway done with my classes in Grenada. Wow. Next semester we start introductory surgery skills and medicine classes - it feels like just yesterday that I was learning about basic anatomy!!!
Anyway, I thought I'd post my absolute favorite pictures from this semester. Photos that I consider worthy of framing potentially someday. Enjoy!
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