Month: May 2010

This Saturday, several of my classmates and I in Basic Sciences will be supporting our senior AUC schoolmates by volunteering for the most important ceremony in a medical student’s life, graduation. After 4 strenuous years, these 150 and more students have finally achieved their dream in becoming doctors, and their journeys have only begun. Two years since they left the… Continue reading

Hello everyone! Every semester, AUC brings in alumni to come share their experiences with current Basic Science students here in St. Maarten. This is a great opportunity for us to learn about what’s in store for us and give us a guideline on how to pursue what we want. Thanks MEAS for sharing this flier with everyone. I’ll definitely be… Continue reading

One of the first things new AUC students (and spouses) do when we arrive on the island is to fill up our new homes with new groceries and supplies. But, where do we go? Here, I’ve compiled a list of some of the more popular grocery stores both near and far from AUC’s campus. Within Walking Distance:

Tung Yuen Supermarket

… Continue reading

Here I've made a list of affordable, relatively-affordable, and not-so-affordable yet fun things you can do on this island and beyond. These activities are perfect for the AUC student who's strapped for cash but want to take a break from studying for a few hours, a day, or a weekend. A must-read for any traveler to St. Maarten!!! Continue reading

About: Scuba diving is amazing, especially with St. Maarten's hard-to-beat clear blue waters and outstanding marine life. Once you dive for the first time, you'll never want to go back to snorkeling. Your relationship with the ocean just got deeper. Pun intended. Highlights: Swimming with a huge school of fish, getting close to a sea turtle, swimming right above the coral and the sea grass, Blowing air bubbles. It's an absolutely beautiful world under the sea. Continue reading

One thing wonderful about going to school in another country is the chance to be immersed in a different culture, get to know its people, and witness its traditions. With concerts, festivals, street parties, band competitions, pageants, and parades, Carnival season came to St. Maarten this past month, a holiday celebrated throughout the Caribbean, Latin America, and New Orleans (where… Continue reading

Towards the end of last semester, I adopted a baby cat named Haiku. A good friend of mine found her abandoned along with three other stray kittens outside of Cupecoy Market. Since I felt it’d be nice to have a little furry friend in my otherwise lonely apartment, I took her in, and she has been my roommate ever since.… Continue reading

About: Lucas Bay is a very shallow bay with a few islands and sandbars just barely rising out of the shallow waters. The knee-deep water makes it a great trip to wade to the different islands in the bay. There are tons of sea urchins, star fish, hermit crabs, conchs, and other wildlife in the water, and you can easily pick them up in their natural habitat. Amazing! Highlights: Finding and picking up starfish and sea urchins in their natural habitats... no need to go visit a zoo! wading across the water to nearby islands, finding conch shells on the beach, watching people doing flips on their kite surfs. Continue reading

As Irene and I were driving around the French side after our diving session, we saw a lot of banners and advertisements for a festival in Cul-de-Sac. After seeing the several banners on the side of the road, Irene and I chuckled as we found the name so simple and straight to the point of what the festival was celebrating.… Continue reading