We're Almost Done With Year One!

It's hard to believe that two weeks from today I'll be back in Minnesota. Pat and I had lunch together today (something I've been trying to do weekly to catch some rare, uninterrupted quality time with him..) and we talked about how fast this year has gone by. I cannot believe it's been nearly 9 months since we first arrived in Grenada and that Pat is almost done with his first year of medical school. What an incredibly eye opening, adventurous, challenging, crazy (almost) year it has been. On that note, I also cannot believe I am going to be 26. My irrational anxiety over this approaching day is so high that I often already think I am 26- that is how often I think about my ever-increasing age and all that comes with it. In my early 20's it was hard not to feel like I was going to be young forever. The dreaded 30 seemed so far away (and SO old) that I rarely thought about it. I felt this way all the way up until May 29th, 2012. That was the day I realized I was halfway through my 20's, and with nearly one more year under my belt the dreaded 30 is that much closer. I do realize that 26 isn't that old, but back at 22 I thought I would have become this mature, sophisticated adult by now. Quite honestly, some days I still feel like I'm 22- with slightly more life-experience under my belt. I may be a bit more mature, but I am far from sophisticated. That image in my mind has slowly eroded to blend in with reality. Now I have to start thinking about things like retinol creams and when I should get my first mammogram (I am young, but as my mother is currently in remission for breast cancer I am supposed to start doing this now), not to mention the increasing importance of my credit score and, what will happen to my eggs if I don't use them soon?!

Ahhh, deep breath.
I should really put this energy into something more productive, and lets be honest I don't want kids any time soon and there is always botox to consider...

Now for a look back at the past two weeks:

I have been back to St. Augustines for the past two weeks with Amanda. It is a much more pleasant experience driving up to the hospital in her car instead of taking the hot, crowded city buses. It was so nice to be back and it felt good that everyone was happy to see me again. Amanda and I were surprised to discover that Brian, who is actually a medical assistant (not a nurse as I previously stated), has been taught to do sutures and has done them on patients. In the US only a nurse practitioner, physician assistant or doctor is legally allowed to do sutures but as Amanda and I both have hopes of becoming an advanced practice nurse, we asked Brian to teach us!

Brian, preparing for a dressing change. 

Amanda's pro suturing skills at work.. kind of. 

You can see were were quite busy that day...

 On that note, I am almost done getting everything sent in for graduate school applications. The frustrating part is waiting for my references to get their recommendation letters sent.  A few schools are completely done, but as the competition is great, I am trying to apply to as many schools as possible. This notion makes me anxious and a little bit insecure. I am confident in my skills and my academic background is competitive, but I know that this field is gaining popularity at a rapid pace and many, many qualified people are also applying. If things do not work out this year, I can always take classes at home and apply again next year. I'm trying to let that settle in my mind...

Random updates: I made a craft! I wanted to add some decor to our boring white walls, so Jessica taught me how to make these pictures durable with canvas and mod podge. Running continues and Cayley is finally cleared to join me again! AND we are number 1 in kickball!!

Patrick continues with facilitating DES and attending another selective on top of studying 24/7. He "can't wait for this term to be over" and we both are looking forward to the laid back 3rd term that starts in July. I am still super proud of him and I can't wait to have some medical school-free time with him during break this summer!

My craft project with Jessica! Pat and me jumping the cliff behind campus- Thanks to Nick for the photography! 

A view from my run. 

FOOD!

Thurs- Creamy Tomato Pasta

Fri- Tilapia- Po Boys with Brocoli

Mon- Canellini Bean and Tuna Salad, and Breaded Parmesan Ranch Chicken- I loved the bean salad. I was iffy about adding the tuna but it turned out very good.

Tues- Maple Salmon with Brocoli

Weds- Black Bean Burgers

Thurs- Buffalo Chicken, and mixed green salad-

Fri- Vegan Pinto bean and Sweet Potato Tacos- AMAZING.

Sat- Chicken Adobo with cooked Carrots- I thought this turned out really good. Pat seemed to like it but he wasn't raving.

Mon- Butternut and Blackbean Enchilada Skillet- This was SO good. I will make this again before I leave. It was easy, quick and seriously delicious.

Weds- Supper Club at Nick and Cayley's!

Thurs- Pepper Crusted Salmon and Pinto Beans -Thanks to Courtney, I have become slightly obsessed with reading the backs of cans in the store to get recipes.

Grenada: The Land of Ambiguity

I booked my flight home today; a surreal moment as I realized it's almost the end of the term! I am actually leaving about two and a half weeks before Pat, but if I waited until the end of the term, the prices almost triple. It's also crucial study time for Pat so I'm not missing much here and it gives me a few extra weeks to be back on the schedule at Lynnhurst. I have been keeping in contact with my coworkers and it sounds like they are in desperate need of nurses right now, so I'm sure I'll get plenty of hours which I'm looking forward to. I am not looking forward to a quasi-long distant relationship again, but I'm hoping to get some Minnesota and Boston trips scheduled during his mini-summer break soon!

Not ready to leave this yet! 

The end of March marked the expiration of the tabs on our scooter, and our 3 month visitor drivers license. This probably shouldn't be such a hassle, but when the rules are as ambiguous as they are here, it can be a very frustrating experience. Pat and I had to first head into St. Georges to get the title of our scooter switched into our name, and then we could legally get insurance for it. This part was simple enough, and we even had time to grab lunch downtown. After doing this, I had to go back to the police station to get our bike, which goes something like this:

Me: Hi! I have the bike outside, what do I need to do have this registered?
Ms. Officer: blank stare
Me: ......patiently waiting with a smile (I have taken to live by the phrase "you catch more flys with honey" while in Grenada and have lightened my usual forthright attitude because it doesn't seem to work as well despite how blatantly rude you are treated in return)
Ms. Officer: *puts out her hand* license....
.........
.........
Ms. Officer: *staring at drivers license* is this you?
Me: ahhh yup... That's me, would you like to see another identification?
Ms. Officer: .......... *continues to write something in a big book that looks like it's been around since 1972*
........
Ms. Officer: *begins to talk to everyone else around me*
........
Ms. Officer: You have 30 minutes to get it inspected- better hurry; they close at 3.

I look at the clock and it's 2:15. After getting to the inspection building as quickly as I can, I am told that we need a new front tire (huh? it's the back one thats deflated multiple times...) and to secure our blinker light. I head back to the police station where she repeats what the inspector told me and tells me that after I get it fixed, I'll have to come back to the station to get another written "okay" to drive back to the inspection site again (Ooooh thats what the piece of paper was?! thank you for explaining that the first time...).

The next day I take it to get inspected yet again; I am crossing my fingers that I get a different inspector from the day before, which I do. Magically, it passes! (me: ?!?$%???) I then have to go back into St. Georges to prove everything I just did to another set of similarly enthusiastic police officers at the finical complex and we are finally rewarded with our sticker. It is times like these when I miss being able to simply renew my tabs with click of a button and my credit card number....

St. Georges is VERY hilly 

Planned Parenthood

Downtown St. Georges 

Lance Aux Epine beach- about a 3 minute walk from our apartment 

After nearly a month of not feeling well, Pat is finally starting to get better. From what I have heard and experienced, it takes a while to kick an infection down in the Caribbean; I would think maybe thats attributed to the high humidity and constant heat.

Cayley and I went to yoga on Sunday which has left me sore for the second week in a row! I think I am making progress though and I know it is helping my running.

And finally, we won our kickball game last night! whooop. So that's it for updates; here is what I have been up to in the kitchen:

Tuesday: Balsamic Glazed Salmon : Salmon was on sale this week, finally!

Wednesday: Charcoals take out- Yum!

Thursday: Spicy Quinoa Salad: this was amazing!

Friday: Curried Salmon

Sunday: Chicken Chili : Simple and tasty!

Monday: Pizza; I had a packet of pizza dough and a few cans of beans and left over chicken that needed to be used up. I also threw on some onions, peppers, and of course a lot of cheese. While it didn't look so much like a pizza, it turned out really good!

Tuesday: Honey-Ginger Chicken  and Cuban style Black Beans (I love beans. Cheap and healthy)

What You Think You Become- Buddha

So midterm week has come and gone and yet again I am impressed and proud of Patrick's dedication, and the results of it. He has definitely chosen the right career path for himself. I'm excited for his clinical rotations and residency when we will have so much to talk about and learn from each other in terms of our similar careers. That being said, it has only been a mere 7 weeks and I'm already missing my job and my patients. It's all a part of that living in the moment thing I talked about a few months back. I think that is also why I have begun to like yoga so much, as it is difficult to think about much else when you are trying not to fall on your face out of triangle pose in a room full people.

The past few weeks have been slightly uneventful as we don't do much pre-midterm and midterm week. This past week we reestablished "supper club" which ended around 1 am after long and intense night of Scattergories. It was awesome.

Saturday I went to the Hash, which was conveniently in my neighborhood of Lance Aux Epines. It was extremely muddy, and I'm severly disappointed my camera was not working to capture the mess!

Roxie, Andrea, Cat, Cayley and me overlooking Secret Harbor

Since I have nothing else significant to report, I'll talk about running:

Cayley, my good friend and running partner, has been on the DL for the past two weeks which initially put a slump in my running schedule. I hate to admit it, but it's tough to go run 11 miles when you know you're going at it alone! The two of us work pretty well together to get the other one motivated, even when one of us is too hot, thirsty or exhausted to keep going. However, after reading plenty of articles on the subject of marathon running, I decided to put one topic to the test. It appears most long distance runners are innately less anxious than the rest of the population (among other atributes, but this one stuck out)- I would not describe myself as less anxious than anyone. I over think, I worry, and it's something I have tried to get a hold on since I can pretty much remember. While I do share some characteristics with typical runners, this was not one of them. However, I realized it made sense. If you don't over think that you are about to run 20 miles (will I be able to? will I get too tired? what if I can't make it home?), it makes it much easier to get out there and 'just do it'. So today, I decided to attempt this and go out and do my long run, solo. Although my Runkeeper app said I was supposed to run 12 miles, I realized I probably didn't leave myself enough time to do the whole thing before it would get dark, unless I drastically improve my  speed. I started by telling myself to run as far as I could without thinking about it, making sure to leave myself enough time to turn around and be home before dark. I ran from my apartment in Lance Aux Epines, to the end of Port Louise, which was exactly 4 miles. To be honest, I think part of my ability to turn around and run home was due to adrenaline, as I was actually kind of nervous being that far away from home at dusk. I did bring mace. I ended up running 10 of the 12 miles, as my ipod died in the midsts of mile 8 and while I have proved that I can run alone, I have yet to be able to run without music. I have no desire to conquer this.

A view of Port Louis

I am thankful this is where I get to live :)

That's a wrap; I am still obsessed with cooking so here is what we've been eating:

Garlic-Olive Oil Tilapia

Baked Red Snapper with Quinoa salad

BBQ Beer Shredded Chicken

Wednesday- Bacon Meatloaf

Thursday- Quinoa Pizza Bites and Parmesan-Ranch Chicken

Monday- Thai Peanut Sauce over Chicken and Noodles.

Tuesday-  Tilapia and Macaroni and Cheese; this was actually pretty bland and not something I'll make again.

Wednesday- Clam Chowder, Bean Salad- Pat loves Clam Chowder, which made me even more nervous to attempt to make it from scratch, but he gave this one a thumbs up :)

Thursday- I hosted supper club: Chicken Gyros with Homemade Tzatziki Sauce; IGA happened to be out of Greek yogurt (go figure) so I found a way to create my own! Here is how I did it: Make Your Own Greek Yogurt

Friday- Honey Orange Tilapia: SUPER easy and quick.

Sunday: Since Pat is currently under the weather, I found a soup with ginger in it since that is supposed to help with loosening secretions (TMI!); this was super easy since most of it comes in a packet and was really tasty! Coconut Ginger Soup

We've also been indulging on this a few mornings this week: Amazing breakfast French Toast