ROLO! Full Moon Paddleboarding Adventure

If there's one thing that the move to St. Kitts has inspired me to do, it's to be adventurous.  So when opportunity arises, jump in that saddle and enjoy the ride!

On August 2nd, 2012 there was a full moon paddle boarding opportunity presented to me by a good friend.  So I told her that Jarrod and I would be joining them.  Although a little apprehensive at first, Jarrod was excited to be going on this adventure with me.  Little did I know that his friends he studied with before we headed out that night gave him a hard time and spooked him with talk of sharks.  LOL!

We met everyone in the parking area across from Shiggity Shack and drove in one car out to White House Bay where we would start our excursion.  Driving out on the peninsula at night is quite an interesting drive with all the potholes/craters that you have to dodge (during the daylight this drive is not much better unfortunately...ha!).  When we arrived, the boards were already there and within a couple minutes of our arrival, our instructor and the owner of Honu & Pelikana: Standup Paddle Board Rentals & Tours (their facebook group where you can see more pictures and paddle boarding events), Dr. Nicholas Spaccarelli (also one of the outstanding clinicians/professors at RUSVM), arrived.

He surveyed the group to get a feel for the level of experience each individual possessed.  Then he got out some really fun glow sticks for us to use as necklaces and help him keep an eye on all of us while we were out on the water.  After we all had our fun pretending to rave with our glow sticks, Dr. Spaccarelli did a nice introduction to paddle boarding, the proper spot to stand on the board, proper way to hold the paddle, most efficient way to get the most out of each stroke, and other bits of helpful information.  Then what really made everyone in the group even more comfortable about this new adventure is that he had actually already been out in the water and traveled the route he was taking us on.  He talked to us about what to expect from the wind (was  blowing a little that evening), the water, and other helpful tips for the trip.

So one by one we climbed onto our boards that he placed into the water for us.  Once we were all in the water, off we went!

The boards that Honu & Pelikana company uses were absolutely comfortable for the entire duration of the trip.  The scenery was exhilarating!  The night sky was lit up by our friend, the full moon.  The rolling hills and mountains stood solidly alongside our group.  Every sound and smell aroused my senses and made me feel entirely at peace.  The island air was cool and definitely felt good towards the end of the trip when I really started feeling the work I had done to get to our final destination.  The water ran its own course underneath my board...sometimes pushing me along and sometimes pushing a little against the board so you had to put more power behind each stroke.  The most mesmerizing characteristic about the water was how absolutely clear it was...distracting at times and making it hard to keep my balance!  I kept looking down and around to see sea turtles or any other creatures that would be out and about.  Can't say I really saw anything, but we did have a few fish that seemed to be attracted to the glow sticks (or any light for that matter) and would jump up out of the water (at times landing on the boards of those in my group!).

I hate to admit it, but I think I was one of the slower ones in my paddle boarding group.  I was just distracted and trying to soak up every bit of the experience.  But no worries, Dr. Spaccarelli hung out at the back of the group and coasted along with me.  So nice to not feel like I was being left behind or anything like that.

At one point during our journey all the way to Timothy Beach, we came across the "St. Kitts lazy river".  It was a man made segregated portion of the ocean against the shore that had its own current that pushed you along to the point that you barely needed to paddle.  Definitely one of my favorite points of the experience.

The originally apprehensive Jarrod was paddling right along the entire way...had never been on a paddle board and was looking like a pro!  I could tell he was having a blast which made me ecstatic.

Before I knew it, we were paddling towards the shore in front of Shiggity Shack where there was music, a huge bonfire, and lots of people (probably visitors to the island) with cameras and taking pictures of us like we were celebrities!  LOL!

As we pulled our boards to shore, there were some familiar faces (professors and fellow students) enjoying the night.  So we hung out for a little bit, danced it up on the dance floor and had a couple beers before calling it a night.

I highly recommend this experience if you ever find yourself in St. Kitts.  Not necessarily a full moon paddle boarding experience, but definitely a paddle boarding tour of the island.  And I will most definitely be using Dr. Spaccarelli's company again for my other paddle boarding adventures during the rest of my stay on St. Kitts.  I felt so comfortable with the entire experience and like he was invested in each and every single one of his paddle boarders and making sure that we were all having a great time out on the water.

I was so happy to have shared this experience with Jarrod...and am definitely looking forward to the other adventures we will get to experience together.

In the words of a good friend of mine...ROLO=Rossies Only Live Once ;)

7th Semester Banquet: A legit reason to fundraise for your class!

Third semester brought a lot of debate amongst my class.  To fundraise or not to fundraise...that was the question.  As class rep during third semester, I saw the issues surrounding fundraising semester after semester.

From my point of view, it seemed as though the same group of individuals was helping with our fundraising events (ie. bake sales, etc.) each and every event.  It seemed like there was a majority that weren't participating...maybe they were not financially able to help, maybe they didn't care to step outside of their studies, maybe they figured others would do the work for them, maybe they didn't like the idea of fundraising for a banquet at the end of our seven semesters.  I'm speculating of course...

So after a meeting amongst the class reps and fundraising chairs, we thought we'd implement a point system to even the playing field.  You'd acquire points in a variety of ways and ultimately your points earned through participation/help in our fundraising efforts would give you a larger vote in where our money would go at the end of our seven semesters whether it would be towards a banquet, donations to our community in St. Kitts, etc.  Welllllllll...that didn't sit well with everyone in our class.

To make it fair, we put it all to a vote...everyone busted out their clickers and our fundraising chairs presented everyone with their choices.  The first choice to be voted on...to fundraise or not to fundraise.  If we voted to not fundraise, there was discussion on everyone paying a portion of the grand total needed to have a decent banquet, make donations, etc.  The majority voted to continue fundraising.  So then our next choice that was to be voted on was the decision to install a point system or not to install a point system.  The majority voted to not install a point system.  So that was that...

Our fundraising chairs continued on their course the rest of the semester and successfully held the remainder of our fundraising events and actually got us to our target amount of funds needed by the end of the semester.

For me, when I made the decision to step away from the position of class rep, it also helped me to step away from fundraising.  In my position, I always felt obligated to help with every one of our fundraising events whether that meant baking a baked good, working a shift at a bake sale, helping at the other events where ever my help was needed.  So I came to realize that I didn't always have to be the one chipping in...I could kick my feet up every once in a while and let others take the reins and do some heavy lifting.  I also realized that the success or failure of our fundraising was not necessarily my problem so to say.  It relied on all those in my class...not just me.

Towards the end of the semester I was fortunate enough to accompany Jarrod to his 7th semester banquet at Spice Mill restaurant.  As we drank, ate, and danced the night away with each other, I thought in the back of my mind...if only everyone could experience a 7th semester banquet before their own.  The evening was just perfect.  Professors and staff from RUSVM that had seen each individual in this semester make the journey came to show their support, give their congratulations, and wish all the 7ths the best in their clinical years back in the states.  There were slide show presentations of each student as a child (photos submitted by loved ones), a slide show of the professors they wanted to thank, and a slide show of some through the times fun (submitted by those in the semester).  The food was glorious and plentiful.  Decorations saluting their semester's color, pink, covered the entire venue.  With an open bar, the drinks were flowing and the bartenders were busy bees.  At some point in the night, a legitimate fireworks display was set off on their beach.  And the dj spun songs until the wee hours of the night and the last call for taxis were made.  Oh!  And luckily there were hired photographers to document the night and the amazing memories.

Although I may not participate in every fundraising effort our class holds, I will do my share to support the efforts so that one day I too can have the time of my life at my own RED semester banquet.  The memories of that night will forever motivate me to support my class' fundraising.  And because I know that previous semesters have been charitable (and another one) with portions of their funds raised, I know that it will be possible for my class to not only put together an amazing and worthy banquet, but also donate to those in the community around RUSVM.  I hope that this blog entry provides some insight and guidance to students that may be just beginning their journey at RUSVM.

Muudda Nature St. Kitts Style

A little explaining behind the title...that is in honor of Dr. Gyimah.  If you have ever had him as a professor at RUSVM...you can appreciate this and maybe even get a little chuckle in.  He has a very interesting accent and every time he said mother nature in his courses (Immunology and Virology), it sounded just like the title of this blog.

Anyways...onto the good stuff!

So this past semester was extremely interesting in terms of weather and other natural occurring phenomenas.

July 4th, 2012
As I slaved away in the library, trying to study right up until the time of the 4th of July party that Jarrod's friends were hosting, for about 3 seconds I felt the entire building shake.  All around me the bookshelves and their books gave to the tremor and added their noise to the event.  I've never experienced an earthquake before this incident.  So initially I was baffled at why the entire building was shaking around me.  And after doing a little googling  (and watching the reactions of my friends on facebook) I confirmed what I thought the rockin and rollin was all about.

Earthquake East of Anguilla
5.1 Magnitude Earthquake
Report from SKNVibes

July 11th, 2012
Wildfires in St. Kitts!!  I luckily did not live in the areas that were being threatened by these fires.

Bush fire sweeps across 15-plus acres of land

July 31st, 2012
Cowabunga!!!  Tropical Wave!

All the way from Africa, it came to St. Kitts with the chance of becoming Tropical Storm Ernesto.  Luckily all this tropical wave did was bring on some crazy flash floods that did their damage to the streets and island.

Report by SKNVibes

Pictures of the damage...FYI...Ghauts are not something to play around in or drive across during flash floods on the island!

August 8th, 2012:

Woke up one morning and noticed that the island looked hazy and later in the afternoon the air smelled almost like sulfur...just not the typical smell for the island air (ie. burning cane grass, etc.).  To my surprise there was apparently a nearby island whose volcano had shown some signs of activity leading to the presence of volcanic ash in our skies.

Minor Ash Venting from Montserrat Volcano

Well I think that wraps up the crazy happenings with mudda nature for this past semester...I do know that there was a recent tropical storm to pass through SK (TS Isaac).  But it sounds like it just brought some wind and rain with it (as well as flight cancellations unfortunately).  Looking forward to another eventful semester next semester!

Just remember.......

Safety and Security: It happened to me...

Unfortunately I too have fallen victim to petty crimes here on the island of St. Kitts.  One night this past semester, my car was broken into (as well as several of my neighbors within my complex).

It's that sinking feeling in your gut when you go about your normal routine and you are walking out of your apartment towards your car and you see the passenger door ajar...definitely not how you left it.  So I start looking through my car and taking inventory to see what is missing.  Nice hiking shoes...check.  Pull on boots for school...check.  Coveralls...check.  Umbrella...check.  White board for studying...check.  I start wondering, what in the world did they take??  Ah-ha....glove box...no flashlight.  Wait...a car full of all this stuff and all they took was my flashlight?!  Ok...weird.

The weirdness doesn't stop here though.  Baffled by the criminal's choice of items from my car and desire to share the humor in the situation, I posted on my facebook a status just stating that I must have left my car door unlocked (just an FYI...I have no door handles on my car...just a nub on the passenger door that lets me open that door and then reach across and push the driver door open) and all that was taken was my flashlight.  A fellow colleague and friend then posts that her roommates car was broken into that evening and a flashlight was left behind.  After describing the flashlight to her, my flashlight was returned to me.  Unfortunately the criminal stole the roommate's coveralls, lab coat, and scrubs....why were mine not taken from my car??  After offering to help purchase the items the roommate had lost to the theft incident, she promised me she already had immense help from her classmates and all items were restored.

Immediately after I was on campus that morning, I reported the incident to Safety and Security at the main gate.  I also text my landlord and informed her of the break-ins as well as messaged all my neighbors so they were aware of the breach in security at our apartment complex.  After my classes, I went home and studied well into the evening.  I was at some point during the evening visited by two RUSVM Safety and Security officers (looking very snazzy in their new uniforms I might add).  They were very polite, they evaluated my apartment and provided me with some helpful tips to keeping myself and belongings safe, interacted with my neighbors, interacted with my cats, and listened to my full story as well as asked some questions surrounding the incident.

The visit by our security officers made me feel slightly at ease.  But still a little shaken up from the incident, I parked my car in the little patch of grass under my bedroom window (probably an eye sore to my neighbors lol) and had my boyfriend sleep over for a few nights.

It was maybe a day later that I received an email from our head of the Safety and Security department, Mr. Du Plessis.  He requested a meeting with me at my earliest convenience.  Immediately I thought I was in trouble for something (it was equivalent to the feeling you got in grade school when you were called to the principal's office)....even though I didn't do anything wrong lol.  So I gave him my availability and we scheduled our meeting.

With a very commanding presence and his thick German accent...its hard not to be just a wee bit intimidated by Mr. Du Plessis.  The first thing Mr. Du Plessis says to me is "What can we do to make you more happy during your stay here?".  My immediate thought and what I then asked him was "What has given you the impression I'm not happy here?".  And then ensued our hour long meeting which brought many interesting topics of discussion to the table.  I shared with him some concerns I have heard (/seen on facebook) from my peers as well as their ideas (i.e. traffic stop issues, etc.).  I also shared many ideas stemming from my experiences since being on the island (from patrol officers picking fruits off my landlord's trees and lying to my face about having permission to do so to many issues surrounding "mechanics" to the most recent situation of having my car broken into).  And I listened to his insight and information regarding our safety department at RUSVM.

To be honest I was pretty impressed by the momentum and progress that our Safety and Security department has made.  With the departure of Mr. Lynell Nolan, Mr. Du Plessis has taken on our Safety and Security department and continued to help the department grow as well as polish its rough edges.   I'll share some of these happenings with you.

• Donations made to the local police force to strengthen the already growing relationship (a beautiful K9 unit, equipment, vehicles, etc.).
• Launching initiatives with the local police force such as an actual anonymous hotline for all St. Kitts residents to report any crimes/criminals (I was shocked...well kind of...to learn that there really isn't an anonymous hotline for locals to utilize to provide tips about any crimes or criminals at question; one of the biggest pushes for this hotline launch is to provide children with a way of reporting domestic violence in their homes).
• Continuing to recruit through a very selective process our Safety and Security staff members which must have not only resumes that provide evidence of their past related experiences but also surpass an interview process that Mr. Du Plessis conducts himself.  Once on board, our Safetey and Security staff undergo intense training.

In conclusion to our meeting, Mr. Du Plessis requested that I help him in critiquing their current website for Safety and Security, survey my classmates on their thoughts/feelings/experiences/ideas regarding Safety and Security at RUSVM, and also provide a summary of the ideas that I had generated during our meeting.

I was definitely thrilled that he thought of me for such an interesting project.  He probably saw me in action during the weekly SCAVMA meetings and took my recent experiences as an opportunity to pick my brain and gather a student's perspective on his department, staff, and ultimately our feelings regarding safety.  I did appreciate his closing compliments regarding my character in that I am an individual that is very analytical and looks at all the pieces before continuing in a certain direction so to say.

So my "report" is due to him during our first week of school next semester and I am looking forward to what follows and comes from this project.

Tragedy Has Struck Our Sea Turtles

I never really quite grasped the idea of sea turtles until I moved to St. Kitts.  We had a professor, Dr. Kimberly Stewart, come and speak to our class in my vet prep (and 1st semester) about her research and work with the sea turtles that visit the beaches of St. Kitts when they nest.  The St. Kitts Sea Turtle Monitoring Network works diligently to prevent illegal harvesting of the sea turtle species in the area (critically endangered hawksbills, leatherbacks, green sea turtles, and even the loggerhead sea turtles) that utilize the beaches of St. Kitts.  Not only has the organization helped improve legislation here in St. Kitts to protect these turtles, there are many other efforts that they take on to protect these awesome creatures.  They have helped provide education for the younger generations through awesome hands on experiences (turtle camps, ecotours, etc.), they have helped re-shape the way fishermen of the island think as well as providing alternatives to earning an income (rather than fishing for these sea turtles and wiping out viable turtles that could help sustain the populations), frequent and regular beach clean-ups that involve the students of RUSVM as well as community members, collaborative satellite tagging program of the sea turtles that visit our beaches, and so much more.

It is now more than ever that I know the importance of these species.  They have played a vital role in the health of our world's oceans for more than 100 million years!  From maintaining coral reef ecosystems to transporting essential nutrients from the oceans to beaches and coastal dunes.  With their dramatic decrease in numbers has come evidence of their importance.  What threatens them??  Commercial fishing, loss of their nesting habitat and climate change...what do all of these have in common??  They are human-caused threats and they are pushing our sea turtles towards extinction.  Without them, we will loose vital functions that they serve towards our ocean ecosystems.

What do we need to do....PROTECT and help them REBUILD their populations to ensure a healthy and resilient future for our oceans.

Protect their homes.

Protect them.

It broke my heart when I saw the headline today:  "Up to 20,000 sea turtle eggs crushed by bulldozers on Caribbean island".  What happened in Trinidad will hopefully open the eyes of those throughout the world that work to protect the world's sea turtles as well as the eyes of the public.  Our impact on these creatures is becoming more than a problem...we are destroying their chances to continue their vital relationship in our world's oceans.  I hope this kind of tragedy never strikes the sea turtle population again.  Tourism Minister of Trinidad: This must never happen again.

"It is a tragedy what happen with these turtles , I agree... and a lot of people are to be held responsible ... I hear the cries for this one throat and that one job, but check yourself ... if you are not recycling YOU are killing more that turtles DAILY ... YES DAILY !!! mistakes happens ... actually everyone make them ... but I sure do hope this will open up the minds and heart of more people about our environment ..."-Papa Bois Conservation group

"Trinidad has the second largest number of Leatherback nestings in the world. Grande Riviere is the densest nesting beach in the world, with hundreds of turtles nesting on the beach each night at the height of turtle nesting season. The village of Grande Riviere attracts thousands of turtle tourists each year and the income generated by this is a big incentive for local turtle conservation. (Marc)

The meandering of the river is a natural occurrence, but this year the course of the river was more extreme than normal. Grande Riviere villagers have described the extent of the river's changing of course as a once in a 15 year event. The meandering river had already destroyed a portion of the beach, which also happened to be the most productive section. If the river had been left to continue its
meandering course, it would have destroyed more nests and endangered the Mon Plesir Hotel, portions of which were already eroding in to the river. Local fishermen also use the river to launch their boats, an exercise which had become difficult due to the extended course of the river, and dangerous due to surf conditions at the new mouth of the
river. Clearly action was required to contain the river.

The Grande Riviere beach falls under the jurisdiction of the Trinidad & Tobago Forestry Division. The Forestry Division would have had to give permission for the works to take place.

The complaint is that stakeholders had been asking for intervention for a long time, without a response. When the response did come, it was unplanned, unsupervised, and the way in which it was done did unnecessary damage to hatchlings and nests. An earthmoving crew was left to operate, without any qualified supervision, on one of the most environmentally sensitive beaches in the world, with a D8 bulldozer and an excavator.

Clearly the "chain of command" at the beach was broken, resulting in the unsupervised action. It is important to investigate how this was allowed to happen, and to find a solution so this won't reoccur in future. What is needed is an immediate meeting between stakeholders, including the Forestry Division, the Environmental Management Authority, Turtle Village Trust, turtle protection groups, persons representing the turtle nesting communities and other stakeholders, which would result in new, effective, procedures being put in place."-Papa Bois Conservation group

 Teamwork.

 Together we can.

 RUSVM Students at work learning the ropes.

 If we don't protect them...who will?

 Community outreach here in St. Kitts.

 The job gets a little messy at times :)

 St. Kitts nesting leatherback.

 An opportunity to learn for all.

 The generation of hope for our sea turtles.

Dem Island Cats

In honor of Ting's 1st Birthday (today!) I decided to write this blog :)

When I moved out of the dorms, I decided I need a fuzzy critter (or two) to come home to.  So here are my island cats, Ting and Brutus.  Enjoy!

Baby Ting

Baby Brutus

Growing Ting

Brutus:  Just got brought to my house :)

Spayed Ting

Brutus being cute

Ting's favorite place in the apartment

Growing Brutus

Playtime together

Neutered Brutus

Study break and more belly rubs

Together forever

Late night canoodling

Playing with each other's tails...built in entertainment :)

Something has got to give...

So this semester has had its ups and definitely has had its downs for me.

First the positives...

I have a mango tree in my yard! I have been able to pick so many that I not only eat or cut up and freeze for myself, but I have given them away to lots of people who love mangos as much as I do. Can't wait for the next mango season and to take advantage of this awesome tree again :)

Josh Project is thriving! A member of RUSVM's admin team helped me draft a letter that was sent not too long ago to the officials who oversee St. Kitts customs/duty in order to hopefully receive an exemption from duty/taxes on "Josh Kits" shipped directly here. Staying hopeful that they contact me with good news soon, if not I do have one more plan of action to make this come true. Thanks to the class reps, one of my co-chairs, the professors that volunteered for the semesters, and all those that made coin/bill donations, we had the most successful coin fundraiser in the history of RUSVM's Josh Project! 7th Semester (Pink semester) took the entire event and was able to recruit Dr. St. Jean to their cause. He will be dressing up as Zorro for an entire day this semester at some point. We also sold 97 fleeces and made quite a profit from the fleece sale...I'm very happy with this. The trick will be bringing most of these back with me in suitcases and having a very good speech prepared about JP should I get caught by customs at the airport! My other co-chair and I will soon begin recruiting professors/staff members for the Professor/Staff Cook Off and get all those details ironed out in time for the event (will be held mid July). Next semester we will have frisbees at the cook off to utilize as plates (more stable then flimsy paper plates and are re-usable for future cook offs, etc.)!

I put my deposit down to go to African via Wildlife Vets in April of 2013 ($1300 USD deposit...still owe $2000 USD...flight cost is approx. ~$2700 USD). The whole trip and experience definitely are coming with a big price tag...I'm hoping to receive aid from SCAVMA via my PDF (professional development fund) points that I've accumulated since I started in Vet Prep, fundraise with a handful of others going on the trip, and put all birthday/Christmas present money from my family towards this to help with the cost. I was way too busy during undergrad between being a full-time student as well as supporting myself financially (usually working ~2 jobs) to take advantage of the awesome study abroad opportunities, so when I came here, I knew going to Africa was something I would find a way to do.

I did a necropsy this semester and reported on it with a group of classmates. This was such a cool experience. This was for my Pathology class...my favorite class this semester because it makes you put so much of the knowledge you have already acquired to use (ie. parasitology, anatomy, physiology, etc.).

Still going strong in my relationship and loving every bit of it. It feels amazing to have met someone as driven as myself in life and also someone that wants to be there and work through it all...someone that loves every aspect of who I am. If I hadn't come to RUSVM, we would never had met each other...definitely grateful for this.

"If you want something to last, you treat it differently... You shield and protect it... You never abuse it... You don't expose it to the elements... You don't make it common or ordinary... If it ever becomes tarnished, you lovingly polish it until it gleams like new... It becomes special because you made it so, and it grows more beautiful and precious as time goes by"

And now for the part or this semester that has taken its toll on me...

As much as I have enjoyed serving as class rep for my class, it has been overwhelmingly time consuming for me this semester. It has been a great experience being the voice of my class, guiding them to answers, and playing a huge role in the success of our fundraising events...however, I am at the point of exhaustion and have decided that I am stepping down from the role. Just like any leadership role, I have been praised for my hard work by my classmates, and I have been criticized along the way. I'm thankful for all the experiences that the role has thrown my way. I was definitely lucky to have had such a great partner in crime this semester that acted as an amazing class rep as well. However, it is now time for me to refocus...to refocus on myself, my happiness, and my academics. I struggled with the decision to let go of my responsibilities and role because I have really poured myself into it. But after a much needed meeting with a professor to seek out advice, it was very clear what I needed to do.

After four semesters of hard work, I'm definitely looking forward to letting go of the responsibilities and passing the torch to another capable individual as well as what I'll be able to accomplish with the time that I will have available from this decision.

Feeling lighter and refreshed already...