Well since it has been so long since I last wrote a blog. I am not even sure if anyone goes to this site to check anymore. What with email and myspace taking over the world.....
Things have been great. God is good!! I had a wonderful but short visit with my family at Christmas and an amazing time visiting Tonya and Lisa in St. Vincent before Christmas(always an adventure!!!)
Lisa my dear friend in St. Vincent (i really do miss her!!) wrote this exerpt about our little hiking adventure at the end of last term... I thought that she did a really nice job of describing the little adventure in her update emails (better than I could have) Enjoy:)
When I arrived on St. Vincent in August I kept hearing about the beautiful Falls of Beleine on the remote north end of the island populated only by marijuana farmers in their small shacks. Most people simply take a speedboat to a beach with a short hike to reach the falls. I, however, had heard there was a trail and wanted to hike there. People kept warning us it would be difficult but they have a different idea of hiking there than I do, so after our tests were finished a courageous group of 5 tired, excited students headed out. Off to a late start, of course, then a 2 hr drive north and finally we found the start of the path. Eventually we made it into the midst of the marijuana fields and ran into a farmer. He gave us the sad news that we had taken a wrong path but claimed that he could show us another way there rather than returning to where we had made the wrong turn. So we set off again with our Vincentian tour guide and his friend in the lead. They obviously didn’t know the path too well and when they lost it, they just tromped forward through the rainforest until we came upon it again. This made the going a bit slow, the hikers a bit skeptical and some of the hikers’ sandaled feet a bit sore from the numerous prickly plants. (I was doing just fine barefoot though =) We had some discussion among ourselves as to weather we should turn back to avoid being caught out in the rain forest after dark but our guides assured us that we were less than 30 min away and they would personally escort us back to our vehicle before dark. However, we turned out to be ‘less than 30 min. away’ for a very looooong time. But we finally made it, enjoyed a quick swim, and started right back up the path again. Unfortunately one of the girls was beginning to get terrible leg cramps. But fortunately I had some Ibuprofen along. It kicked in eventually but her body was also so worn out from the studying, sleepless nights and rather strenuous hiking that we were going much slower on the return trip. So there we were, tromping through marijuana fields with darkness falling quickly. Dusk came, the stars appeared – gorgeous in this remote location, the crickets began chirping and we kept hiking. One of our guides had an almost dead flashlight and picked up a few more from a friend’s hut along the way (one of the lights died by the end of our hike). So we stumbled through the darkness following the dim beam of a flashlight for almost 2 hrs. By the end my friend could barely walk from her exhaustion and I was literally pulling or pushing her up the hills. By God’s grace we made it; dehydrated, dirty, exhausted but all in one piece! But the adventure was not over. At the beginning of our 2 hr. drive home my roommate got sick, I had to take over the wheel and we were ambushed by a torrential downpour. However, without a doubt, we’d all do it again!
The following day Heidi (who had come to visit) and I took local buses to a nature trail and the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ set working in a ride partway in the back of one of the many ‘Mac’ trucks that often serve as a kind of bus, crammed full of guys on their way to and from work. On a Sunday afternoon we had it all to ourselves and enjoyed the wind in our hair (but not the dirt in our contacts!). This was something I’d been wanting to do since arriving in the Caribbean! Risky, you say? Yes, but life is a risk. I’d rather live mine to the fullest, content in the promise of God’s presence to guide me and ready to leave this earth any time he calls my name.
---end of Lisa's exerpt----
So that was my trip to St. Vincent. It was great fun!! I have a secret... that is not my only time to ride in the back of a truck.....I've done it a many times....well I am from Texas after all!! Actually we did it a lot on my mission trip in Haiti.
So Christmas was awesome. I split my time between Trey, Becki, their dogs Kyla and Cam in Houston and then Midland with my mom, dad, grandparents, aunt and uncle. I got to play some soccer with Trey and some old buddies the first morning I was back in the States and in Midland got to play with new second cousins that are very very adorable and cute. Time flew by and before I knew it I was on the flight back to Grenada. Six days is just not enough. And there were several people that I did not get the chance to see or to talk to. Living in Grenada and working toward such a great goal is a big deal. Vet school in Grenada is not only demanding but should just have the title...."sacrifice". It is temporary and I try to make the most out of it. But I have to admit, I am very greatful that I only have one more full year left in Grenada. Don't get me wrong I will miss this place.... but I will be glad to be close to family, friends, and just simple conviences that I will never take for granted ever again.
I've been biking a lot this semester in Grenada and I have really enjoyed getting out into the country. Getting away from school, testing my athletic ability to the T, but having a great time with the challenge. Biking definately does not come to me as easily as running. Besides you should see some of the hills that we ride up. I am not lieing..... like 75 to 80 % grades. It is GREAT!!!!! No pain no gain right?
Two more of my dear friends got engaged over the summer. Kyle and his fiance and then Ayumi and Tim. Tim proposed to Ayumi over the holiday break in Japan. So cute... he went to Japan (where Ayumi is originally from) to ask her Dad for Ayumi's hand in marriage. Check out her website when you get a chance: http://www.xanga.com/asianwind It is such a great story, you don't hear that very often (the guy asking the dad) and both of them have hearts of gold for God. I miss them both a great deal. Kyle has wanted to get married since as long as I can remember knowing him. I am so happy that he finally found the right girl to spend the rest of his life with. My brother is going to be a groomsmen. I can hardly wait to see my brother all cute and dressed up!!! I miss him! (and Becki too of course !!).
Since we are working on our last year here in Grenada. It has come the time to decide where we are going to go for our 4th year clinical rotations. Granted we can change our minds really any time. But there is still an application like process that we have to go through. I had to tell my top three choices (well 4 - cause i can't decide) last week. They are as follows: 1. Oregon State 2. LSU 3. Tennesse 4. North Carolina . So I have to admit........ I kinda picked Oregon because of the area. It is located right next to a National Forest.
HeHe!!!! We'll see how this all pans out in the next couple months. It is exciting picking schools though, kinda the light at the end of the tunnel!!!!
Technical difficulties again. My computer (or should I say computers--plural ) are broken or MIA. So I was trying to hook my external up to the computer that I am on in the library and it is not reading the drive. So no pictures... sorry!!! I'll try again I promise.
Miss everyone so very much!!! Hold tight to God cause he has never and will never release that grip on us!!!
My Surgery group: Sean, Vanessa, and me in the middle of the celiotomy we were doing on the pig.
