Triathlon and so much more

So many things have been happening both positive and negative. I am ready to leave this island in a couple weeks but there are definate mixed feelings. Last Tuesday we said goodbye to the first friend to leave the island, Brooke (Dr. Henderson, a clinician at the veterinary teaching hospital). She had planned on leaving on the weekend however after a pretty severe bike crash where she broke out 2 of her front top incisors she decided to go home a couple of days earlier. Can't say I blame her. Her comment when I asked her what was the first thing that she was going to do when she landed in America was, " I am going to wave my American flag and kiss the ground." Pretty funny comment. As you can see in the pictures, Brooke is so cute because she was trying not to smile with the big gap in her teeth!!! :)HaHa!!

Monday night we had a going away party for Dr. Tarpley. He was our small anatomy and large animal anatomy professor here at SGU. He is probably the greatest prof that I have ever had. His heart and desire for the best for the students is incredible and outweighs all the rest. He is a total inspiration to me. He will be greatly missed. This is most of our class. Dr. Tarpey is in the white at the top.

Yesterday we had the award ceremony for the vet school. Good news, I won the colleage award again this semester. I am so humbled!!! I cannot believe that many people would vote for me when there are so many other great students and to be veterinarians in our class. So unrewarding on my side, but I am totally flattered. It means a lot!!! Expectally since I got the award last semester. To be able to get it again was so special and amazine.

Then today I completed and finished my first triathlon. It was not too bad and it was fun! It was very warm and the people that I went with kicked butt. It was definetly an experience. The race was a 750 meter swim, 12 mile bike, and 3 mile run. Check out the website if you are bored. I think that triathlons might be my new thing. I met a girl at the award ceremony that is a first term medical student and she might just be my new training partner next term we will see. So we had an awards ceremony and I won 2nd place in my age group and 3rd place overall. So I got a metal and a big trophy. The best part is I won 200 EC. I could not believe it. It pays to be a girl sometimes. There were not very many girls that entered the race so it gave me a great chance to win. Pretty exciting!! From left to right, Stephanie(MPH), me(vet), Dan(med), Leah(vet), Chris(MHP), and Lisa(med).


So with everything going on it has not lead me very much time to study. Opps that is why I am here in Grenada right? Sometimes I wonder? Eventhough this semester has been crazy both in a good way and a bad way, I am so looking forward to coming home to America. I miss it. Just like Brooke, I might be wanting to kiss American soil once I get back on the 19th of May. So close!!! Love you all and can't wait to visit you this summer :) Also one last thing... two kittens have become a part of my life. There names are Vibrissae and Capo. They are just the cutest and they know it!!

Here are Kole's new sisters, Vibrissae and Capo. The kittens are 4 weeks old and fun of energy. Kole loves them!!!  

Sunrise service on Easter. 

This is my CSA family :) on Easter Sunday! 

Biking around the island of Grenada

This Easter weekend has been jammed packed full of fun and great challenges. Friday was the start of the weekend and I had a ladies tea scheduled at 11am with my church. It was so fun, all the girls that go to CSA ( the church I go to on campus) got all dressed up and we had the guys serve us. Jess the president of CSA's church made a ton of orderves (spelling?) and a bunch of girls made stuff and brought it. Then after the luncheon, I went to Concord falls with Lisa and her parents that came in town for Easter. It was magnificant. Hiking up to the Falls and then hiking all the way back town the river bed was such fun. We met a Grenadian family on the way down and they gave us a plate of oil down to eat. It was delicious. We rode back at sunset.
Then on Saturday, Keri and I had our long run scheduled, 21 miles. It went great. It was tiring and I wanted to stop but I made it. We started running at about 5:20 and was done 3 hours later. So I had one hour and a couple minutes to rest before going out to the farm with the ophanage kids. It was great they were so excited. There was only one incident in which Kendall one of the kids got butted by a goat. It was a small goat so there was no damage it just scared him to death poor thing. All the kids got to ride a donkey. Seeing their faces as they rode was priceless. I can probably guantee none of them have done that before. After the farm we had a little Easter egg hunt outside of the farm gate. It was around 11:30 at this time and all the chocolate that was inside the eggs was melting and the kids like dove into the eggs and had chocolate everywhere it was pretty funny. After this we drove them up to campus and had pizza for them that Glover's had kindly donated. They loved the pizza. (What is it about pizza and kids, nothing beats it! Whether we are in America or Grenada) By this time I was absolutely exhausted. The kids are wonderful but they are a ton of work. We had them from 10am to close 2. That is long enough. We had actually bought water balloons to have a fight but the kids left so we decided to have one ourselves. So we all went down to Black sand beach and filled the water balloons up and then had a fight. The balloons were like invicible and would not break, so with clothes on and everything we all decided to throw eachother into the water. It was fun! Later on that night we all met again to camp out on the point near campus right next to Black Sand beach. It was Celeste, Ayumi, Lois, Laybi, Tim, Chris, and of course Kole. Tonya(my roomate from first term came and hung out for a little while)Tim played the guitar and we sang, and talked, built a little fire, cooked Somores, and sort of slept out beaneath the stars. Good times! We woke up early on Sunday to make it to the sunrise service. The service was beautiful, it sprinkled a little but not much. Regular church was at 11am so I walked home with Kole, took a shower and a little nap and was ready to go back up to church. The service was nice, Lisa's dad spoke about faith and dependance and trust in God. After service we had a little BBQ with hamburgers and hot dogs. Got some really good pictures of some people. We had a good turn out I was grateful. I left around 2 to catch the bus to Grande Anse. It was Colleens birthday party and she was having a catamaran boat ride scheduled. It was fun, relaxing on the beach and hanging out with friends. A totally diffrent group of friends. As usual the sunset was gorgeous. I got home and ate some good carbs for dinner because I had the ride around the island scheduled for the next morning. Monday. Got up early and got my bike all ready. The ride was intense. Sam, Dr. Brooke Henderson, Lisa's dad, and a Grenadian native named Pip all went. Brooke, Sam, and Pip are all professionals. They have done the ride around several times and each time they have said that it is very difficult. There are so many hills, both steep and gruadual. Some even want to make you cry. Lisa was all ready to pick her dad and me if we needed it. We rode along the West Coast first. There were some major hills. It was so gorgeous though. So worth it when I think back now and see the images in my head. You just dont as much when you drive by in a car. You definetly do not appreciate the hills like I will now. We stopped north of the island around 10:30 to refuel and take a break. I was already tired at this point. So we continued. Close to Greenville. Lisa's dad hit a wall and decided to call Lisa to come get him. He did really well. I think that if it weren't for the heat he could have made it. It was such a mental thing at this point. Honestly, I did not think that I was going to make it. At one point, I told Sam that I would not make it unless I stopped and rested for a while. So everyone was so nice and they all stopped with me. They all talked while I sat in the shade and took a little snooze. I guess it was enough because I made it!! I made it!! It was unbelievable. Some of those hills, I mean it was a mind game. Pip kept making the comment that I was training for some crazy extreme race, 21 miles on Saturday and then 60miles on bike on Monday. We asked what are you doing tomorrow, the harbor 2mile swim. I guess I did do alot this weekend. I am taking the day off tomorrow. :) It was such great fun though. This week I have got to get serious about school. I had a nice break and now I am motivated to study hard. The remainder of the day Sunday after getting back almost 8 hours later from biking was doing laundry and trying to relax. How incredilbly blessed I am to have had such a wonderful weekend and that I am health enough to do all these activities. It was not by my power that I finished the ride today. I gained my strength to him. Thank you Jesus for your endless sacrifices. I am so weak with out you and with you I am strong. Love all of you dearly. Hope that you had a good Easter. I'm out!

Yes, I am still alive!

Sorry about falling off the side of the earth. I am safe in Grenada and doing well and more importantly healthy again. No worries!
The last couple weeks have been.... I can't even find the word for it.... remarkable.. in both the good and not so good way.
Two days after I got back from my amazine trip from North of the Island visiting with the Carpenters, I got sick. It started out as the flu with a horrible horible(never had one like this before)headache, I just decided to rest and sleep it off. Four days later when I could barley get out of bed to go to the bathroom, my friends and classmates started to worry. That Friday a bunch came over and gave me some fluids because I had barely drinken anything and had not eaten at all since Tuesday night. I drank and have to admit felt a little better. I could not sleep that night and Saturday morning my head hurt so bad, and I just could not take it anymore so I called Bekki one of my classmates and she took me to the St. George's hospital. They put an IV in and gave me a bag of fluids. I felt better and thought that I was on the road to recovery... but no... I was still really weak and still not being able to eat and then throwing up when I did try. So by Tuesday, my roomate took me to the campus doctor which was a joke and then ended up taking me to another hospital. The doctor admitted me and I was there until Friday night. So 4 days in the hospital. It was an experience. I had so many visitors, classmates, old roomates, and friends. It was very humbling experience. It turned out that I had a bacterial systemic infection. A Gram negative bacteria as it turns out because at first I was not responding to the medication. Unfortunately we dont know how I got it or what exact Gram neg organism it was. It is pretty funny though because for the 2mile harbor swim that I did the other weekend with a bunch of my classmates my nickname on my cap was Gram negative. (I'll post pictures later, the internet/computer is running slow tonight)
Looking back on all the last blog when I was so high on life and felt invincable like God was on my side 100%. That shows me how powerful Satan is also. But he did not prevail, I feel like I grew closer to God over that time. Especially when I was in the hospital recovering. It was some great alone time with God. Not the way that I would have chosen but I'll take some peace and quite anytime I can get it.
Unfortunately these 11 days of being sick put me pretty far behind in school and not to mention that midterms were the week after I had gotten home from the hospital. My profs were very understanding and I had two of my tests postponed. I ended up doing really well on 2 and not so well on 2. This was frustrating but things will be okay. (I hope!)
So that was midterms and last week was unified tests #2, and boy did they suck!! I have yet to check my grades because I know that I am going to be dissappointed.
Now for some good news: two things. (1) I am finally getting back into the marathon training after being so sick. In fact, this Saturday is Kerri and my longest run thus far at 21 miles. Also we decided to raise money for the ophanage kids here in Grenada. We are hopefully going to have people sponsor us per mile. This way we are not just running this marathon for ourselves but making it positive for someother people as well.
(2) Last Thursday I ran for President elect of SAAVMA. SAAVMA stands for the student affiliated association of veterinary medical associates. This is like the foundation organization of the veterinary profession. Well... I got the position!! I had to make a speech and everything. It was nerveracking, but I want to make a diffrence at this school. I am tired of sitting back and watching. I hope that I can make a diffrence.
Today in church I gave my testimony. I shared with them about failing out of vet school at A&M and how I ended up here and then a little about my sickness that I described earlier. It is so easy to think that you are on top of the world and in control when God could halt your plans so fast you dont even realize what is going on. He does not do this to harm us, he does it to help us. Suffering provides preservance, and perservance hope. This is how we grow because we realize that we cannot do it alone. He is the almighty and he already has it all planned out perfectly.
By the way.. the pic of the dog above is "Razor" our neighbors dog. He is Koles best friend they get along so well and he is so adorably cute!!! :) HAVE A GOOD WEEK!!!!