Life in the Slow Lane

I came to a seemingly strange realization the other day.  Hawkeye and I had gone to pick up our passports from the immigration office on campus.  We were looking at the student visa papers now stapled in the backs of our passports when it dawned on me: we live in a different country.  This might sound odd to you, but it had suddenly hit me that we are not on vacation.  This is not a short-term trip where we’ll be packing up and moving home in the near future. No, we are here for the next 17 or so months, Lord willing, and Dominica is our home.  K and I have often said that our home is wherever the other is, so if we’re together, we’re home.  (It is here that I’m sure he would interject that America is the most amazing country in the world!) 

Things just run differently down here.  If you’ve ever been on a mission’s trip, you might have an idea of what I’m saying. Most of the people are very friendly; many of them know our names and faces and ask us about our day.  The Dominicans with whom K and I interact on a regular basis always ask about “the baby.”  The few times that the debit card machines have gone down, the grocery store has just had me sign my name to the receipt and come back to pay it the next day. It is beautiful and warm, with a plethora of rainbows.  The views are inspiring, right out of a movie.  The beach is a 10 minute walk from our house and we only need to wear sweatshirts on campus in the A/C.  There are also very few distractions for the majority of students (I’m excluding myself from this because having a family in medical school means there is never a dull moment!)  The friends you make tend to be good ones because we cling to each other like family!

That being said, we are still adjusting to life in a third world country.  Imagine your electricity shutting off in the middle of bathing your baby (true story! Though the apartment’s generator kicked in shortly thereafter.)  Or having to buy your electricity in advance.  The water shuts off around 6:00 PM each night, though we have back up water so we can bathe our little one at night and continue to fill up our water container in the fridge.  Perhaps the supermarket has one thing out of the 10 on your list; fruits and vegetables are available at a market on Tuesdays and Saturdays, but you have to take a taxi to get there.  The island is also hard on items: stroller wheels, clothes, shoes all tend to wear out quickly.  Because we couldn’t ship everything down, we tried both Huggies and Pampers diapers from here (I’m not sure where they were manufactured, but not in the USA) and E tended to leak out of them; so we’ve had to ship in diapers from the states at a painfully high cost (think about $1 USD/diaper.) 

Being a medical student has been my dream for a long time.  The sacrifice that Ross students make should make them much more attractive candidates for residencies because we are a resilient group.  We know how to make due.  When things get tough, we get creative.  We are in love with the practice of medicine and we want to serve people.  Students and their families make huge sacrifices in order to become physicians.  It is absolutely an honor to be a medical student and despite the challenges, I wouldn’t want to do anything else.  

Here are more photos from our little corner of paradise:

This is the front gate.  You can see the student center just beyond the shelters.  This is where I enter every morning.  I usually eat breakfast at the cafe then head to class.

 This is just outside the entrance to Jenner Hall, a quiet study space south of the main campus.  Because this is closer to home, I sometimes go here in the afternoons to work on questions and study.

This is one of the computer labs on campus.  The technology is pretty up-to-date, especially in the simulation labs.

Here is a picture I took of the most recent rainbow I've seen.  No shortage of rainbows here!

For His Glory,
KCE