Helpful Information for Prospective/Incoming Students

***I'm no longer living on the island!!  With that said, the following information was current when I was there.  It may still be applicable for you, but be sure to scroll down and check out the other blogs by students and VIPs that are living or have lived on the island.  Enjoy!***

What to bring to the island:
Usually you are provided with a list of items suggested by the housing department.  It is a good list but definitely not complete.  If you ask current students what you should bring, you will always get a ton of answers with a variety of ideas which will definitely help you out in thinking about what YOU want to bring.  For myself, it was about the comforts of home.  I made sure to bring a lot of my favorite body washes from Bath and Body Works, my favorite perfume (even though there's a store that I now know of in the Marriott that sells my favorites), my favorite toothpaste, my favorite face wash, etc etc.  It's not that you can't find a lot of these things on the island.  Usually you can.  It's that they are more expensive here so if I have the room in my suitcases, I will bring back some of my favorite products.  Some definites that would be a good idea to bring include:  hoody (classrooms and study areas can be chilly), if you like to play any sports (basketball, football, etc.) be sure to bring these with you, more gym shoes and flip flops than high heels (for the girls at least), bug spray (I brought tons of the liquid deep woods off spray), and a good flashlight.  I do recommend bringing a light blanket and then maybe a heavier blanket (I definitely brought my comforter with me).

ALSO, a lot of things that you think you may need to bring with you may actually be sold by some of the 7th semester students leaving the island and trying to sell all their stuff.  So don't jump to bring everything that you need in your suitcases because I promise you, someone probably has it for sale within the first month you are on island.  Good resources to finding these items for yourself are the school's website that many will post items for sale on or even a popular Facebook page utilized by students/faculty/staff/locals as an information resource and way to sell/buy items (there is also a Ross Student page that is ONLY RUSVM students, a class rep or Orientation Leader will probably share this page with everyone or it may be linked onto the new class facebook page created for the incoming class to utilize for questions/etc. as they get ready to come to RUSVM).

Vacuum space saver bags will be your friend for helping with freeing up space in your suitcases.  Be sure to put everything in plastic bags (especially valuable electronics; I even bubble wrap things that I don't want to get damaged during my travels back and forth), tape containers that could open during travel (can even put some saran wrap over the container and then replace the lid over the saran wrap), and know your bag restrictions and adjust accordingly before you are at the airport (size, weight, and is there a bag embargo in place when you are moving to the island).  If you can't get it all down the first trip to the island, don't worry, you will be able to go back home with empty suitcases and bring more things back that you need/want. Many have had family travel with them to aid in bringing all their belongings that they desired down (I didn't do this, but know others that did).

Buying a Car:
This is a huge topic and one that you should take your time with and not worry about until you have made your way to the island to personally inspect/drive/etc the cars you are interested in.  If you're like me, you are not an expert on cars.  However, something that I am going to share just by my own observations is that if you find a car that is in good condition and it is on the higher end of the price ranges, you may want to go with it.  Why?  Because most likely (I'm not guaranteeing...lol...but most likely) that car will not cost you the difference in cost from that cheaper car you are considering in repairs.  Hope that makes sense.  I'm not saying that you should pay a high price for a car if it is obviously not in the condition for the price that a student is asking.  Obviously negotiating can be a useful tool.  If there are repairs that the car needs upon purchase, wouldn't hurt to ask the seller to take that into consideration with lowering the asking price.  If you aren't able to go after that car that is a little more expensive, by all means go for what is doable for YOU.  Just know that that cheaper option might come with some hefty repairs during your ownership (not to say that the more expensive car won't!).

A lot of incoming students are unsure if they will need a vehicle, and that's ok.  You don't need to make a decision right away.  You may not know if you are living far away from campus after the dorm life or if you will have roommates that could go in on a car with you (be sure to have some documentation that you all paid a share of the car if this is the case for future purposes).  Take your time searching for the right car and also have help from a mechanic...which leads me to my next topic (a very important one at that).

Island Mechanics:
This is a really interesting topic to discuss.  Everyone has an opinion on whose the best "mechanic".  I'm not going to tell you what mechanic to use for your vehicle issues, but I am going to share some information that is located on RUSVM's website

"Automobile Parts/Repair Centers, Automobile Dealerships

Listed below are automobile parts/repair centers, automobile dealerships, and rental car agencies in St. Kitts. There are also many local independent mechanics. Always get a committed estimate before getting any work done and insist on a phone call to advise you if the work is going to exceed the agreed amount.

Vehicle Services:

Myron Liburd Auto Repairs&nbsp
Ponds Industrial Site (Bay Road)
869-465-2604/869-664-1505
General auto repairs, body work

Huggins Auto Service & Rental
Bay Road
869-465-8080
Vehicle Inspection, General auto repairs, &
Wrecker Services

Sylvester Thomas Auto Repairs
Bird Rock 869-466-8823/869-665-5883
General auto repairs

Gordon Manufacturing Enterprises
Ponds Industrial Site
869-465-8595
Radiator& muffler specialists

Island Auto Parts
Bird Rock
869-465-4416

New/Used Car Dealership:
Caines Auto Services, Honda Dealership
***see link below for important consumer information!!***
Pond Industrial Site
869-465-2366

TDC Automotive, Suzuki Dealership
Ponds Industrial Site (Bay Road)
869-465-2505

S. L. Horsford Automotive Division, Nissan Dealership
Wellington Road
869-465-4971"

These are trusted businesses and mechanics that RUSVM has provided on their site.  This is probably a really good place to start looking for mechanics.  In my time here, I know students that have bought cars that come with a mechanic that the previous owner used...this doesn't mean you HAVE to stick with this mechanic!

***INFORMATION ABOUT THE HONDA DEALERSHIP...take into consideration before working with them:  http://saintkittshonda.blogspot.com/2012/01/st-kitts-honda-is-incompetent.html

Because I've had so many interesting experiences with the "mechanics" here, I'm going to share these with you so others can gain some insight as well as hopefully not be so naive to this topic.

Experience #1

• I was recommended to use a mechanic that went by the name of "Kaiser" (real name is Steve Powell).  I just needed some regular T.L.C. for my Daihtsu Charade.  In the beginning he was great.  Timely, kind, seemed honest, etc.  As time went on, things changed.  He mostly had others doing the work on the cars for him, the prices he quoted for the work were exceeded upon completion of the job, etc.  I started to hear complaints from friends, but instead of being pro-active and finding a new "mechanic" I continued to trust he would never do me wrong.  Then it happened.  Not directly to me, but to my boyfriend.  My boyfriend had bought a motorcycle off of a student that needed a little work.  So we left it with "Kaiser" for the entire Christmas break (3 weeks).  Upon returning to the island, "Kaiser" brought the bike to him.  It looked great with its fancy paint job, however, it wouldn't start once they had shut it off!  So, they took it for a little longer and did whatever it was that needed done.  The bike ran when we got it the second time, but shortly after, my boyfriend decided he wanted to sell it and get a car.  Which leads me to the next experience...

Experience #2

• "Kaiser" talked my boyfriend into purchasing a Suzuki jeep off of him.  He even got in writing that he would repair anything that broke without charge.  To be blunt...this car was a piece!  Frequently something wasn't working on it and we would need it to be fixed, and then he started billing my boyfriend.  What really pushed both of us over the edge and was the straw that broke the camel's back was during one of the repairs, his workers brought the car back and the oil had been drained!  Many "mechanics" on the island have been caught creating an issue during their repair in order to have the students continue to have to utilize them for services...some just never catch on to the business scheme.  So we took the jeep to Hanley's that came highly recommended by some of the professors (FYI:  Regardless of the issue we had with one of the workers at Hanley's, Hanley's is still a reliable autoshop to take your car to...however, I recommend meeting Mr. Hanley himself and letting him know what issues your car has to make sure he knows what needs to be done).  I didn't go with my boyfriend to drop the car off, but here is what happened.  Upon arrival, Mr. Hanley wasn't at the shop so my boyfriend told the workers what was wrong with it.  One of them proceeded to introduce him to a "jeep expert" who was there (Al Crawford...not associated with Hanley's).  Mr. Crawford had my boyfriend follow him to his "shop" which turned out to be a lot of land with a bunch of stripped and rusted cars on blocks.  He trusted this turnover of business to this "jeep expert" and so he left his jeep there.  A week or so went by and no real definite date for the work to be done was ever given.  So we went to the lot of land and inspected the jeep and met the "mechanic" there.  He pointed out what he was going to repair and so that was that and we left.  More time passed and something didn't seem right.  Upon calling him again, he told us that there were other repairs that needed to be done and then quoted the prices.  We told him we were not interested and would like to meet him at the jeep to pay him for what he had done and we would be taking the jeep elsewhere.  He was unavailable to meet us at the jeep so we went to the lot and inspected the jeep.  Come to find out, it was missing a battery and alternator.  I had a really bad feeling so we used my Charade and towed to jeep back to Hanley's.  When we arrived, Mr. Hanley was there and we told him what had occurred.  He was upset that his own workers had sent work away from his shop, and then proceeded to tell us that Al Crawford is a known criminal and thief of car parts.  We had been duped.  We made a report with RUSVM's Safety and Security as well as the local police, but unfortunately no justice was ever seen for what had happened.  And to add salt to the wound, the jeep was sold for far less than it was bought for.  (On a side note, the friend that bought it for its parts to improve their own jeep is going to be using the jeep's skeleton frame to drop in the ocean with one of the local dive shops in hopes to restore some of the lost reefs around the island under a project that is working on artificial reefs)

Experience #3

• After a few months of having my Charade, the door handles, one by one, crumbled off.  I have literally been using a little "nub" on my passenger door to get into my car since.  Annoyed with not having door handles, I was recommended to a "mechanic" to track down the replacement door handles.  He went by "Kaleel" and he told me it would be no problem to get them from the dealership in Trinidad.  He said he would need a $500 EC deposit to process the order and he would have them for me when I returned from break.  I got back from break and called "Kaleel", but he did not answer.  Attempted to visit the "shop" that he worked at, but they didn't know where he was.  So a report was made to the RUSVM Safety and Security department as well as the local police, but no justice was ever seen for this dishonest business transaction.

So learn from my experiences and keep these in mind when you are on the island and searching for a mechanic for your car.  It really sucks that I had to experience these during my time here.  And as a result it has made me extremely untrusting of anyone working on my car.  Since these issues, I have put my skills to use and changed my own oil and taken on other maintenance tasks.


St. Kitts Traffic Laws
So you are not in the dark when it comes to traffic laws in this country, here are a few links for the traffic laws.
http://stkittsandnevisdriversmanual.com/
http://www.rossu.edu/veterinary-school/housing/documents/SKN_VehicleandRoadTrafficeAct-Chap15.06.pdf
http://www.rossu.edu/veterinary-school/housing/documents/SKN_TicketingOffences_web.pdf

How to Relieve Stress
I have found that throughout the semesters I am physically in pain from tension in my muscles.  I am going to list a few options I highly recommend utilizing if you are one that would benefit from such things.

Yoga Divine - For the Mind, Body, and Spirit

• The instructor, Cara Diskin, began taking Hatha yoga classes in 1997 and has continued studying and practicing for the last 15+ years. She continued studying Hatha yoga and then began to explore finding a love for the practice of Ashtanga. In 2001, Cara began a more rigorous study and daily practice with several Ashtanga teachers in Southern Oregon. She then moved to Central America, where in Costa Rica assisted in opening a yoga and massage center, teaching bi-lingual Ashtanga classes. In 2006, back in Eugene Oregon, Cara started branching out and experimenting with other styles of yoga including Vinyasa Flow and Anusara. The focus on alignment in the Anusara philosophy resonated with her and she has continued to practice all of the styles of yoga, taking the principles of alignment into each. Her teaching has influence from all the styles she has practiced over the last 15 years, focusing on proper alignment to strengthen and heal the body, while flowing with grace and nature to open the heart and bring balance.

• Yoga Divine is a combination of numerous styles of yoga with a focus on alignment while moving through various series of poses (asnas). This yoga has influences from Hatha, Anusara, Ashtanga and Vinyasa; creating a unique practice to build strength, energy and endurance while also relaxing, grounding and centering the body. This practice can be for beginners or advanced yogis alike. Yoga is the uniting of the mind, body and spirit, helping to bring balance, peace and tranquility into our lives. 
• Please bring your own yoga mat if available (otherwise there are some that can be provided) 
• Recommendations for Class participation:
• ~Do not eat too much before practice
• ~Wear comfortable non-constrictive clothing
• ~Bring along plenty of water and a possibly a towel
• ~Respect your limits, and listen to your body 
• ~Please join us on time, but if late still come and quietly enter and find a space! 
• (869) 665-6837 or Email
• ~$25 EC/class (price may vary if you opt for a private session with Cara)

• Facebook page is best to follow for weekly schedule updates and locations, but here is the gist

Ross Health Spa

• Located on campus in Douglas 103
• Provide a variety of services
• I recommend Helen Ryan for services but there is another lady (Marianne) that provides massages too (both are certified masseuses)
• ~$100-120 EC (will run specials throughout the semester)
• http://rosshealthspa.com/

Papaya Wellness (OFF ISLAND CURRENTLY)

• "Set within a peaceful and calming environment, we offer a holistic approach to treating the individual, through massage therapies, health coaching, and personal fitness training."
• http://papayanutrition.com
• (869) 763-7478
• papayanutrition@yahoo.com
• Melissa is wonderful and has certifications for Swedish massage, etc.
• ~$120 EC (may offer specials occasionally and you can usually see these posted on https://www.facebook.com/PapayaWellness)

Check out these other blogs by students and even significant others as they provide insight through sharing their personal experiences at RUSVM and on St. Kitts:
http://sunsandseaandschool.blogspot.com/
http://kris10thornton.wordpress.com/
http://stephania27.blogspot.com/
http://teyaw.blogspot.com/
http://katie-limelife.blogspot.com/
http://studyinglikehell.blogspot.com/
http://justanotherrossvetschoolstudentblog.blogspot.com/
http://mydvmvacation.blogspot.com/
http://eyeonstkitts.wordpress.com/
http://adventuresofvetstudent.blogspot.com/
http://saramaltese.blogspot.com
http://braytonandleann.blogspot.com/
http://journeytomydvm.blogspot.com/
http://studyinglikehell.blogspot.com/
http://www.hardworkperseveranceandatropicalparadise.com/blog.html
http://www.reyespermavacation.com/
http://myduvall.blogspot.com/
http://icedragon1023.blogspot.com/
http://lkimmell.blogspot.com/
http://ylebo.tumblr.com/