Category: Diary

I remember when I was a first semester student, I had always marveled at the TAs and Head TAs. They all seemed so senior to me and I looked up to them so much. Now, just half a year later, I have become one of them, and I still can’t believe it. Today, we held the last mock exam of… Continue reading

1. I haven’t worked out in over a month. Before med school, I used to work out five times a week.
2. Pathology, med micro, and physio are major topics of discussion when I talk to Irene every night.
3. I think it’s fun when Irene quizzes me over my class notes.
4. I have trouble sleeping at night because I feel like I

… Continue reading

One thing that’s really nice about AUC is that there are so many opportunities to get involved at school and get leadership roles. Not only is it fun and personally enriching to get involved, leadership positions will also look great on your MSPE letter sent to residency directors. Here, I will attempt to estimate the number of leadership opportunities available… Continue reading

Rainy Season has dawned upon us in St. Maarten, and today it has been raining most of the day. Nevertheless, we students continue to do what we have to do…  Phi Chi continued to have their “A Day in the Park Event” but held it in the Rotunda and Cafeteria rather than on the field, and I continued to study… Continue reading

It’s the first weekend of the fourth block, and the last true weekend before the end of the semester where we can have fun without worrying as much about exams. Everyone knows this, and so that is why it is not too surprising that there are seven student-run events going on this weekend, squeezing in the last bit of fundraising… Continue reading

Yesterday was quite a busy day for me. I sat through classes from 8-11:30pm. With the hour and a half before I had to go into the anatomy lab to fulfill my TA duties, I quickly ate lunch at the cafeteria and completed my notes for the day. From 2-5 I had TA duty in the anatomy lab. We continued… Continue reading

Hello friends, family, and future colleagues! I made a video tour of the apartment I live in currently in St. Maarten to let you see more of what my life is like here. I’ve been living in Aventura Inn since second semester, and I like it so far. It’s about 8 minutes walking from school and 8 minutes walking from… Continue reading

On forums, blogs (including this one), and word of mouth, we keep hearing that things in St. Maarten are pricier than in the states… but what exactly does “pricier” mean? Isn’t it subjective? The only way to truly answer the question is through objective means. I normally throw away my receipts after I come back home from grocery shopping, but… Continue reading

The hurricane season is upon us! Year after year, AUC prepares by doing a number of things: boarding up the larger windows at school, stocking up on food and water, and preparing students to know what to expect and do in the event of a hurricane. Every year, AUC acts as a shelter for those students (and their families and… Continue reading

Now that I am less than a year away from leaving the island, I am starting to feel the Basic Sciences version of the mid-life crisis. I do not want to leave the island with regrets of not doing the things I wanted to do. I want to meet some great people and make some lasting connections. I want to… Continue reading

Are there any student adjustment support services on campus? As med school and living abroad in a new country is a drastic change for most of us, the school offers support to help us in our adjustment. We have a dedicated wellness counselor on campus, Dr. Adams, who helps us in our stress management, as med students often need. We… Continue reading

Throughout my time at AUC, I’ve never received more than 3 things in the mail: A care package from Irene, a wedding invitation from my old roommate at Wash U, and a book that my friend from Taiwan sent to me as a gift. If given a choice, I prefer sending and receiving things paperless, and unlike Irene, I don’t… Continue reading

Since I enjoyed it so much last time, I have volunteered again this time to be an orientation advisor for the new upcoming September 2010 class! The school is expecting about 225 new students coming in next semester, and they will soon be the largest class in AUC history. Because of this, a lot more of my friends and colleagues… Continue reading

Canadian students have always been a integral part of the AUC community. Some of the brightest students here are from Canada, such as CW, who received the Student of the Semester Award earlier this semester. As the largest minority here, they make up about 9% of the student body. Just a few weeks ago, the Canadian Medical Students Association became… Continue reading

  Parvo is a single dude, 19 years old, and a perv. He likes to get naked, and travel the globe for children to stalk. He likes to breathe on them and put lacey things on them. After the fifth incident, one of the kids’ mothers finds out, slaps Parvo on the cheek. Parvo gets mad and… Continue reading

Today in Introduction to Clinical Medicine (ICM), we had our physical examination “check-off” in which we were tested on performing all the physical examination skills we learned this semester in front of the professor. It went well, and I can now say that I am finished with ICM 3! Onward to ICM 4 next semester! About ICM Intro to Clinical… Continue reading

This semester, my schedule has become quite packed, with lectures, ICM, TA duty, pathology tutoring, med micro tutoring, SGA meetings, blogging, working out, and on top of all of that, the ever increasing amount of material we have to learn as med students. But no day of the week is as busy as Wednesdays for me: 7:00am – 8:00am Wake… Continue reading