Island Med Student

Please check out the post I wrote on Medscape about being just another tourist on a French island, instead of a crazy med student immersed in med school.

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I’ve received this question so many times, that I thought I should go ahead and post my two cents. As with everything I write, please keep in mind that these are merely my opinions from what I’ve experienced first-hand, and what I’ve heard first-hand from other people. I’ve only attended Ross University, so I can’t claim to know much about St. George’s. Please take this information with a grain of salt. Also, if I have said anything inaccurate, please feel free to comment or email me and let me know.

Many people have asked me which school is better, Ross or St. George’s. Honestly, I think it depends on what your needs are. Here is a quick and dirty comparison:
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Tomorrow I will post an entry about my vacation, but in the interim, I have made a photo album of the pics. Note the lack of any standard island vacation pics. We were on a very tight budget for the trip, and we spent most of our time at the hotel, hence that’s where we took all of the pics.

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I just made it back from a one week vacation to Guadeloupe, a French Island here in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, the hotel we stayed at did not have WiFi, and we had very limited access to Internet so I couldn’t post any blog entries. The vacation was awesome, and I’ll post all the details and photos later, but I wanted to let everyone know that I’ve returned safe and sound, and it’s nice to be speaking English again.

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I received an email from a blog reader of mine who was a little upset by a post I wrote a few weeks back. I was basically freaking out about my lack of a life. The reader took my words to mean that med school is too difficult a path. That’s not what I intended. So, I’m sharing my response with everyone. Here t’is:

Dear Reader,

I’m sorry if my entry came off a bit harsh. Mostly I was just bitching. To be honest with you, 90% of the time, I am very happy about my decision to go to med school and become a doctor. But the truth is that 10% of the time I think I made a horribly wrong decision. But this is normal. And this is to be expected from such a difficult path. I don’t think it means that I made the wrong decision, it just means that I doubt myself sometimes. Everyone doubts themselves sometimes. I think it’s human. And I’ve considered not writing on my blog when I’m having my “moments,” but I think that would give a false impression of my med school experience. It’s not a completely fun ride. There are tough moments. There are moments when you want to run the other way. But those moments pass. And then you do something small for a patient and it means the world to them. And then you remember again why you chose this path.

I hope that helps clarify things a bit.

I wish you the best,
Kendra

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Since I keep getting this question, I thought I’d share what I know. The following is simply an ESTIMATE of what you might pay for cost of living here at Ross. Obviously, it will vary based on how many times you go out to eat, blast your AC, etc.

Here is what you can expect to pay per month in US Dollars:

Rent: $300 - $1,200 (This completely depends on where you live and the amenities. See this post.

Water: Usually included in the rent

Electricity: $30 - $225 ($30 if you never use the AC, $225 if you blast it.)

Cable/Internet: Usually included in rent (Otherwise I think it’s around $50.)

Food: $200 - $1000 (Depending on whether you cook your own food or eat at Subway, etc.)

Phone: $20 - $80 (For cell phone minutes. Very few people have landline phones. Also, depends on how much you use them. Skype is way cheaper for calling home!)

Laundry: $25

School Supplies (excluding books): $60

Entertainment: $50 - $300 (Obviously, this depends on what you like to do!)

Okay, I hope that helps!

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Doctors selflessly help people, right? Well, it sure does take a selfish person to get through med school. Please check out the post I wrote on Medscape about the pursuit of medicine.

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I finally got up the photo album for the Boiling Lake hike I took a month ago.

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We finally have electricity AND water now, though the cable is still out. But at least the internet connection is working. Since I am completely bored and have nothing better to do, I made a movie from our Hurricane Dean Party. My philosophy on hurricane survival? Prepare for the worst, and party with the best. That’s exactly what we did.

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Wow, it’s been a crazy 48 hours. I’ll eventually post more details about the hurricane and my recent adventures, but I’ll give the abbreviated version here because we just got electricity back and I don’t know how long it will last. The hurricane came. We survived it. It was crazy, but not completely devastating. I am safe (mom, you can sleep soundly now!) We have electricity, but no water yet (aka, I really stink right now). I have many pictures and videos of the hurricane and the party that ensued. My friends and I had a hurricane party and buckled down on the fourth floor of my friend’s apartment, overlooking the Caribbean Sea. It was absolutely amazing. I highly recommend it. I’ll soon be responding to all the emails in my inbox, but in the interim, thanks so much to everyone who wrote me. It means a lot to me. I’m glad that we have gas stoves here, because I couldn’t have survived the storm without the endless boxes of mac ‘n cheese. Love to you all.

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