It seems like forever since I last wrote, but I've been noticing a certain bleakeness in my posts as of late. Perhaps it's a combination of the oppressive Caribbean heat and the increased volume of information, or maybe it's just weariness - maybe I'm still getting over a little bit of a cold. Whatever the reason, I'm beat. We had our first mini on Monday (which was a beast, but I think it wnt pretty well). We have neuroanatomy practicum on Friday, and in between those two, we've got 8-hour days full of classes.
There's a bit more stress, because I'm trying to figure out how to get home. The loan money is there, but it's not a gift - everything's going to be paid back with interest. That being the case, the ever-rising airline tickets and the fees that seem to be multiplying like hybrid demon rabbits (all bags are charged extra now - not just that extra 25 lbs) are making it more difficult to get home than it should be. I flew down to the island using a rather unhelpful travel agency suggested by the med school, but for future tickets, I've been trying to break down the trip into different legs in order to save a little money. The way it's looking, though, I'll have to get a ticket from home to Fort Lauderdale, another one from there to San Juan, and another one from San Juan to Dominica (I already have my return ticket). It's such a frustrating hassle, I'm wondering whether or not it migth be better to just do another vacation, and save the homeward journey for Christmas.
Nicole and I are thinking about somewhere in South America this time - and it seems like that's what God wants, since every time we check, plane tickets home get more expensive, and hotels in Buenos Aires get cheaper. We were jokingly talking about touring the Chilean wine country, but it's getting more serious - that may actually end up being more feasable than going home for a week. This sounds absolutely crazy - it's easier to vacation in South America than it is to get back to Texas - but I am on a tiny little nowhere island in the Caribbean, and things are different here. Something else in the back of my mind is the question of whether or not I'll ever have this kind of chance again. I don't believe it'll ever be this easy to get to South America.
I'm not starry-eyed with the prospect of travel - when I was living in Germany, my family and I visited France, Turkey, Spain, Switzerland, Greece, Italy, Denmark, Austria, Belgium, England, and I'm sure I'm leaving something out. I've been to Jamaica, the Bahamas, St. Lucia and now Dominica, and there's been a bit of travelling in the US as well - Hawaii, Texas, Washington (state and D.C.), Georgia, New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Alaska, Nevada, South Carolina, Florida, Michigan - in other words, I've been lots of places. I should have kept better journals, but now I have the opportunity to go somewhere I've never been before. Buenos Aires is the most attractive option right now (I'd joked about Veneuzla, but one look at the state department's website told me that'd be a bad idea), and this may very well be a once-in a lifetime chance.
I think my Spanish is good enough. I hope it'll be, at least.
It's unreal - that might end up bein my break between second and third semesters. I've got some thinking to do -the least of which concerns parafollicular cell histology and thyroid biochemistry. And brains. Lots of brains.
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