Where to begin?! I honestly don’t know. That being said,
please forgive me if this gets a bit lengthy.
I guess, to start, I’ve officially been back in Dominica for 8 days,
and can confidently say I feel completely at home. Although I felt at home here
before I left for break, I didn’t realize HOW MUCH this has actually become my
home until I left and came back. Not only in the sense that I am used to its
quirks and individual characteristics, but in the sense that I walk into my
apartment and feel completely comfortable. The fact that I know walking down
the street exactly what to expect. I know that I can go out on my front walkway
and see the Caribbean. That the people in my study home know who I am, and I
them. So many things that I’ve never really thought about, and yet, now being
back and seeing the new first semester students adjust to life on the island
realize are incredibly significant. I cannot tell you how comforting
and refreshing that feels. As I made my way back from the below zero lands of
Minnesota, it was a completely different sentiment than my departure in August.
Not only did I know what I was going back to, I was looking forward to being
back. Upon my arrival, I was fortunate enough to have my landlord’s brother
pick me up from the airport and take me back to my apartment (with all my
luggage this time!!!). It was that moment, as he and I made our way through the
twists and turns of the roadway from the airport to Picard, where I reside,
that I was overcome with a sense of respect, familiarity, and fondness for the landscapes
we passed through. I know I’ve experienced similar feelings throughout my
various experiences in Minneapolis, but for the first time, nobody else (except
for the thousands of students who attended Ross before me) that I knew from
Minneapolis had driven that road. Nobody from home knows how it feels to honk
around corners to alert oncoming traffic that you’re coming. The first time I
encountered that route in August, it was all so new and so incredibly fresh,
but this time it was warm and comforting. For the 45- minute drive, he and I
chatted about break, the holidays, and the upcoming semester. Unbeknownst to
me, we were going to pick up his sister, drop him off at home, and pick up her
kids on the way to my apartment. Despite the 15 minutes added to my trip back
home, it was an indescribable experience for me. I know it may sound strange,
but it made me feel even more at home. I no longer felt like a tourist who
takes a taxi or bus directly to the safest place, I was a part of the
community. I was a part of the daily routine of somebody in Dominica. Like I
said, it was indescribable. I felt completely welcome, and a part of the
Dominican community.
As a recap of my break in the US- it was wonderful, refreshing,
completely lovely, and just what I needed. I had many opportunities to catch up
with and reminisce with friends and family, and I got just enough taste of the
MN winter to last me until next winter. Christmas with family
was incredibly comforting and familiar, and showed me even more how much I
value people and my relationships with them. That being said, over break, I had
a wonderful weekend in Iowa visiting one of my best friends. The first
wonderful part of this jaunt was my ability to drive a car again. It reminded
me how much I genuinely love being in a car all by myself for hours- just
driving. It really doesn’t matter to where, but the simple act of driving-
appreciating the landscape wherever you are, listing to whatever music you
want, and going wherever you want to go. Pure freedom. The second wonderful
part was the conversation I had throughout the weekend with her. Since we met
the first night of spat camp in 2007, completely new and innocent to the UMMB
experience, we have always been able to just sit and talk. During one
particular conversation over the weekend, we discussed the aforementioned
topic- people, relationships, and family. She posed the question: “Can you be a
family person even if you don’t live in the same city or state as the rest of
your family?” We both agreed that yes, you can. I’m not saying that somebody
who believes you cannot is wrong, but I also know from my personal experience,
that I value my friends and family more now that I live in a completely
different part of the world than I ever have before. I talk to each of them
just as much as I did while I lived in the same city, if not more, and I value
their opinions and perspectives immensely. On the other hand, I also know that
I know myself and trust myself more than I have in a long time. That, I
believe, makes me even more of a family person than I was when we lived mere
miles apart because I know how important they have been to my entire adventure
here. Would I feel the same way if it were not for the incredible technological
resources available to me in order to keep in touch with them all? Probably
not. In fact, I know not. Just this past weekend, my younger brother proposed
to his incredibly lovely girlfriend of seven years, and because of technology,
I was able to be a part of it. Let me tell you, it was a perfect way to start
the first week of second semester, and I cannot wait for them to officially
start their lives together.
 | ||
| FaceTiming for my brother's proposal to this wonderful young lady aka: my future sister-in-law |
Now, onto the topic of why I’m here- school! We have
finished the first week of second semester, and boy what a breath of fresh air.
I’m definitely not going to sit here and say it’s easy, but relative to first
semester, it’s a completely different pace and experience (so far). First, we
no longer have anatomy lab, so the afternoons of Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday
are much more available. Second, our classes are now and forever structured in
blocks based on organ system. Instead of having 4-5 classes each day in
subjects that are related but not cohesive, each of our lectures fits into the
one (or several) before. Studying makes much more sense, and I feel myself
getting much more excited about learning. Our first exam is composed of the
first 3 weeks of material; which encompass the cardiovascular and respiratory systems.
Throughout the rest of the semester we will study the renal, gastrointestinal,
reproductive, endocrine, and neurological systems. Although we will not get into
the specifics of diseases and abnormalities (pathologies) within each until
next semester, things are actually starting to fit together and it’s amazing.
The number of times over the last week that I’ve contacted friends and family
in the US regarding specific questions I have about conditions because I now
understand parts of what is going on can’t be counted on one hand. I love it.
Despite school being absolutely enthralling, my feeling
completely at home with my friends, and the way my life is unfolding, I have to
admit this past week has also been a bit of a roller coaster in terms of
events. Unfortunately, it seems that the cold/ flu currently circulating
throughout the US caught onto myself and many of my colleagues, causing
several of us to be a bit ill. I was, unfortunately, sick over my break (even
succumbing to pink eye, which I don’t think I’ve dealt with since elementary
school), but received a 10- day prescription for amoxicillin and left the
country on my merry way. Well, let’s just say I had forgotten how weakly my
body responds to amoxicillin, and within 2 days of returning, the cough and
congestion that plagued me while home had returned. I did not end up going into
the clinic on campus due to a slight discrepant feeling I have between it and a
clinic in the US, but I had received a precautionary antibiotic prescription
before I moved in August, and have since started that. I now feel like a million
bucks, but it was not exactly how I wanted to start the first week back. Ah,
well, such is life. It could have definitely been much worse, and I know of
several people who are still dealing with similar symptoms, and in some cases,
even worse. I’m considering myself extremely lucky, and hope we can all get
back on the right foot soon for a successful semester.
Now, not to be a Debbie Downer, but if I don’t document
events both good and bad here, I will be doing this blog a disservice, so
unfortunately, in addition to feeling under the weather, I had my first
experience with not having running water in my apartment. Most local Dominicans
will tell you that the “rainy season” is over, but I’ve come to realize that
every month out of the year could really be counted as the rainy season. For 3
or so of the days in the last week, it rained for the most of the day, and it
rained hard. I honestly don’t completely understand the way the water system
works in each of the apartment buildings on the island, but I do know that for
about a day and a half my apartment did not have any. Yes, I had received
warnings from upper semester students that it happens, but there’s nothing you
can really do until you’ve experienced it yourself. Was not being able to take
a shower for a day the most pleasant thing? No. But, was it the worst thing that could have happened? Nope. It did; however, make me realize how much I still
take for granted, and how much living here, although it is still a developing
country, is really not that much different than being home. Yes, the details
are different and there are little things that I miss, but I still have my own
space, a roof over my head, wireless internet in my apartment, and a landlord
who is extremely attentive and caring. She was out to our building at 11pm at
one point during the week due to an unexplained power outage just in our
building. How many other landlords in the US would do that? Honestly- none of
the ones I had. Needless to say, I’m constantly learning to appreciate the
little things.
In fact, those little things are the things that I missed
most while home in MN. For example, I was walking tonight with a few friends
and somebody mentioned star- gazing on the roof of an apartment building. All I
could think was, “yes!” Toward the end of last semester, I made it a habit to
go up onto my roof each night, no matter what time I got home, for at least 5
minutes to take in how humbling it is to simply stand under the black,
enveloping sky lit by millions of little specks. Granted, the stars can be seen
in Minneapolis, and I appreciate them there, but my ability to notice the
difference in their ages based on how much they “twinkle,” is something I’ve
become accustomed to here in Dominica. As I mentioned toward the end of last
semester, it really keeps things in perspective and keeps me completely in the
moment. Living in the past or future would completely prevent me from noticing
those little things.
At this point, I don’t have any pictures from my time back
on the island, but I will definitely work on improving that in the future.
Secondly, in addition to the close group of friends I have made, I have had the
privilege of encountering several other people on campus who appreciate reading
this blog, and I honestly cannot thank them enough for their kind words,
their willingness to keep going alongside me, and completely voluntarily telling other
people about my blog. In fact, I was unbelievably humbled last weekend when I
went out with a few friends and ran into a fellow classmate, Kenji, who was
with his girlfriend. One of the first things he said after introducing the two
of us, was how much he enjoyed this blog. Although we kept going with our
conversation, I really do want each of you who read this to know how much I
appreciate your support. I would honestly probably keep writing it even if I
knew nobody read it, but the fact that you all do, means more to me than you’ll
ever know. So, with that, I will leave you with an “until next time, and with
lots of love.”
