Cari and Piper studying together

I’ve been reading posts on Facebook recently about the weather back in Minnesota.  Apparently what started out as a warm and mild winter has now turned vengeful and brutal.  Tami Seibert reported negative 25 degrees below zero (Fahrenheit) in Duluth, and that’s without the wind-chill.  (The people renting our house just moved from Florida. I wonder what they think about all this.)

If weather is the only factor one considers, then we truly have moved to paradise. Right now I have our dual large patio doors wide open, I’m listening to the sounds of birds chirping, and a soothing trade-winds breeze is blowing in from the crystal blue ocean.  It’s early in the morning and the kids are still asleep, but my guess is when they wake up they will eat breakfast and then head down for a swim in one of the three swimming pools.

But, of course, weather is not the only factor. Here are a few others we’re also dealing with:


We Never See Mommy

Carina leaves at 7:30 in the morning, comes home around 4:30 in the afternoon for a quick dinner break, and then leaves around 5:15 for study groups.  She gets home around 9:30 at night and spends time looking over anatomy flash cards while catching up with us. Last night she got in bed around 10:00 pm and read a text book until she fell asleep around midnight.

Over lunch we do get to squeeze in a little time with her if we pack lunches and go to campus over her mid-day break.  She tried coming home for lunch, but that left her scrambling to make it to lab on time.

We’ve been told this will get better.  First semester, we’ve heard, is the most time consuming because there are classes all morning and then labs in the afternoon.   Starting at second semester, the labs go away and there are only classes in the morning.  This is how one fifth-semester explained it to Carina: “You will get your life back, partially, once this semester is over.”


The Kids are Bored

The home school supplies and text books we ordered from Amazon are in route, but won’t arrive until the end of next week, at the earliest.  So in the meantime they are on a super extended Christmas break, and even they are getting tired of it.

We still have no car, which means that getting Andi and Tanner involved in any activities is nearly impossible.  We’ve heard about all the fun things they could be doing… sailing, wind surfing, horseback riding, scuba diving, soccer, baseball… all of which require transportation.  I’ve seen magazines that tout the incredible mountain hiking trails and nature preserve kayaking routes that this island has to offer, and I’m itching to take us there!

I’ve been car shopping.  It’s the busy season on the island right now, which means good used cars are in high demand and short supply.  I’ve been told that once tourist season dies down that we can take our pick, but I don’t want to wait until April.

The McGlue's Land Rover.... it's on the list of possible vehicles. Sadly it does not come with the surf boards. (pic borrowed from her blog)

There are some incredibly generous people here, like Matt and Cecily Lew who are more than willing to let us borrow their vehicle when we really need to go grocery shopping or run errands.  And we have most certainly availed ourselves of their hospitality.  Yet this is not a long-term solution.  Cheyenne has also offered to sell us their Land Rover when they leave in four months and to share it in the meantime with 50% down.  It looks like a great island vehicle and a strong possibility, but it’s slightly more expensive than we have allotted for a vehicle budget.

This too, I’m sure, will sort itself out.


Island Infrastructure

From what I’ve been told, the population of this island has grown too fast for the infrastructure to keep up.  From time to time this can create problems.  Example:  For three days this week we had no water.

Apparently a water main either got clogged or burst, the story changed depending on who we asked.  It’s amazing how fast things get gross when you don’t have water.  You can’t shower, you can’t do dishes, and you can’t flush toilets.  For showers, we mostly went without, and when that became overbearing, we went up to campus and used the showers in the gym. The dishes we just let pile up.  And for the toilets, we got creative… our patio is larger than all the ones above it, and they all drain onto ours. It rains every day here, and so we put a large bucket under the drain and used rain water to fill the toilets.

Luckily we had been forewarned that occasional water outages are not uncommon, so we had stocked up on large jugs of drinking water.


But Hey, The Kids and I Have it Easy….  At Least We Are Not in Medical School

I catch glimpses of what Cari is going through, and it leaves me in awe of her.  Who would do this voluntarily?  It’s a good things she really enjoys things like chemistry, biology and anatomy.  (Ok, I think I’d actually really enjoy an anatomy class myself, but not at the blistering pace they are going.)

On Monday she takes her first round of block exams, and she’s actually looking forward to it.  She wants to get a gauge on how she’s doing and if she’s studying enough and in the right ways.  The exams are Monday morning, and then she has the rest of the day off!  We are looking forward to spending an entire afternoon and evening with her, without any anatomy flash cards in her hands!

A couple of days after classes started she reported that many of her classmates were already grumbling and complaining about the absurd pace at which information was being thrown at them and at which they were expected to learn.  She agreed that the pace was mind blowing, but she also wanted to say to them, “This is medical school… what did you expect?”

At the beginning of this semester her class was joined by about thirty students from the last class who flunked too many exams and had to start over.  And they have already had one student from their class pack his bags and go home.


“Yeah, This Sucks… But…”

Last Friday Carina had her White Coat ceremony that officially marked her entrance into medical school. The keynote speaker was Dr. Tisdall, and his speech was heartwarming and inspiring.  By the time he was done speaking I almost wanted to become a medical student myself!  (Almost.)   He is new to AUC, and although he just started teaching here last year he has quickly become a favorite among the students.  And yet his classes and exams are also among the very hardest.

In his speech he shared the history of the term, “Embrace the Suck”.  It was coined (as far as I’m aware) by soldiers in the 156th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Platoon while fighting in Iraq.  A number of soldiers in the platoon were complaining loudly and frequently about how miserable their lives were, and how much it all sucked.

As I’m sure you’ve experienced this sometime in your life… all it takes is a few negative attitudes to start sapping the moral from an entire group.  It’s a real downer.

As the story goes, one of the platoon members was determined to not let the negative few drain the positive energy from the rest of the company.  So he gave them a pep-talk which basically went like this: Yes, this does suck.  And you have two choices.  You can complain about the suck, or you can embrace the suck and laugh at it.

“We have been in Iraq for more than 8 months and we all agree on one thing… this SUCKS! We left our families, our friends, our trucks and our lives to come fight a war thousands of miles away. We all choose to answer our nation’s call to service for various reasons and now we are here sucking it… together! “Embracing the suck” is our platoon motto…  if you can’t laugh at yourself or your situations… then you are seriously missing out.”


Our New Family Rallying Cry

In the short time I’ve been here I’ve met many spouses of medical students, and for the most part, their attitudes about being on the island of St. Martin fall neatly into one of two categories.  1) We LOVE it here and will be so sad to leave.  2) We HATE it here and can’t wait to get off this awful island.

And to be sure, life here is NOT as cushy as we are accustomed back in the States.  It most certainly requires some sacrifice and adjustment.  Yet at the same time there is so much opportunity to engage in activities that can’t be done back home, especially in Minnesota.

My number one goal over the next 19.25 months is to show the kids such a good time while we’re here that they will be heartbroken to leave, and that for the rest of their lives they will look back on our time on the island of St. Martin with sweet, wonderful memories.

So when life here gets tough, when the water is out, when we miss our mommy, when we are feeling homesick, or when we’re dealing with any of the other problems that come with living in a third world environment, we rally around our new favorite expression:

“Embrace the Suck!”

Written on January 20th, 2012 , AUC: American University of the Caribbean

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COMMENTS
    Emily commented

    I love it! Thanks for sharing that story. Cari’s board she is writting on gives me a head ache just looking at it! Are you serious? Not for me! But yet I am thankful that there are people out there doing it! GO CARI!

    Reply
    January 20, 2012 at 11:17 pm
      ccrookston commented

      Hey Emily, I totally agree. And she actually ENJOYS learning this stuff. I watch what she is going through and think, “Is she nuts?” And then I think about all the thousands of medical students who are currently doing this right now, and all the doctors who have already done it, and it makes me dizzy. Yet like you say, thank goodness somebody is willing to do it.

      Reply
      January 21, 2012 at 2:33 pm
    Ryan Beard commented

    that’s amazing keep me posted and give me a good time to skype peace

    Reply
    January 21, 2012 at 4:40 pm
      ccrookston commented

      Hey Ryan, good to hear from you! The best time to skype is in the evenings, around 7:00 your time. We’re pretty much always here then.

      Reply
      January 21, 2012 at 6:47 pm
    Gayle Crookston commented

    I remember calling the Anderson guy from Magrath, who was at this time a psychologist at UofM. I called him to see if it was a good idea or totally fooulish to insist that our 16 yr. old move to Morocco with us for 2 years. She was threatening everything from burning the house down to suicide to keep us from going. He said, “oh, for Heaven’s sake. Tell her the family is going and she is part of the family. But when you get there, make sure YOU like it. If she hears thing like ‘I hate it here, there if no peanut butter orf bubble gum, you have given her justification to not like it.” So, good for you and your attitude. As you know, these experiences are life changing, for the better.

    I have lots of home school books, but don’t know where to send them. I think the mail man is wondering what on earth is going on. I,ll get them off as soon as I have an address. I open each one to make sure I’m not sending off books that dad has ordered. It makes me jealous. It was such fun too do school with Sadie. Have a good time! Love, Mom

    Reply
    January 21, 2012 at 7:58 pm
      ccrookston commented

      The kids are having a real good attitude about this, and I’m really proud of them.

      I’m working on getting you an address. There are three places you could ship to: The school, a rented PO box, or our actual address. I’m not sure which is the best and I need to do a little research. I’ll let you know soon.

      Reply
      January 22, 2012 at 9:03 pm
    Cheyenne commented

    Thats the attitude – good for you guys. It truly could be sooooo much worse.

    Reply
    January 21, 2012 at 8:18 pm
      ccrookston commented

      I don’t doubt that it could be worse! Overall we’re having a great time.

      Reply
      January 22, 2012 at 9:04 pm
    Rebecca commented

    Casey- Way to go! When things got tough in Saudi Arabia I’d remember how few people got to ever go to, let alone live in, a place like that.
    It made me feel peaceful and happy. And Incame to love it. Really.
    I am certain your kids will love it. 🙂

    Reply
    January 22, 2012 at 7:06 am
      ccrookston commented

      Well said Rebecca! You guys have had your fair share of adventures, that’s for sure! Saudi Arabia, Holland, Korea. I’ll email you about your website.

      Reply
      January 22, 2012 at 9:06 pm
    Win commented

    The picture of Piper and Carina is just too cute, and believe me, I do not use the word “cute” very often! We love the blog and the updates on your family’s adventure. We are sending our best wishes for Carina’s test tomorrow!

    Miss you! Enjoy yourselves!

    the Andersons

    Reply
    January 23, 2012 at 3:54 am
      ccrookston commented

      Thanks Win, we miss you guys too. Thank goodness for skype. I will pass along your wishes to Cari 🙂

      Reply
      January 23, 2012 at 4:44 am
    JoAnn Holm commented

    Great to hear and see the journey as you go. Will definitely be praying for CJ tomorrow with her tests and look forward to hearing how it went….both her exams…and your big day off together as a family!!!

    I like hearing the morale is hanging together….probably my biggest prayer for all of you with so much idle time, no car, no job and small spaces…

    Love and Prayers
    Momma and Gramma Holm

    Reply
    January 23, 2012 at 4:21 am
      ccrookston commented

      Thank you! We’ll get this all worked out. And in the meantime, prayers in our behalf are welcome!

      Reply
      January 23, 2012 at 4:45 am
    Tami commented

    So I have a suggestion til home school stuff arrives. Have them think of as many ” I wonder ” questions as they can then together look it up on google. You tube also shows a lot of math problems procedures. Here was a good question Orion asked ” why is the abbreviation for pounds lbs”. Also putting together a creative book report or science fair projects , oh and cooking lessons can be fun and fill lots of time. Good luck:)

    Reply
    January 23, 2012 at 3:07 pm
      ccrookston commented

      Good ideas Tami. I’ve also found some stuff online to keep them busy as well. Cooking… now that I had not thought of, but I like it. I think I’ll have them each cook two dinners a week, plan it in advance, making a shopping list and then take them to the store to shop for it.

      Reply
      January 23, 2012 at 7:16 pm
    Benji commented

    I love this story! While med school is tough and the island has its frustrations, overall I’ve had an amazing experience there, and there’s certainly things I never appreciated enough until I left the island. I’ve really enjoyed reading your blog and wish Cari the best of luck in her studies. Judging by the details she puts into the amino acid drawings, I’m sure she’ll do great! Hope you and your family the best on this journey, and embrace the suck! 🙂

    Reply
    January 23, 2012 at 10:24 pm
      ccrookston commented

      Hey Benji, thanks for the note! Cari is a dedicated and hard worker and I don’t doubt her ability to succeed. The kids have shown amazing resilience, and as soon as we can get them involved in some activities I think they will blossom. I’m honored to hear from you, and I’m curios how you found our blog. You and your blog are a legend around here and I used it extensively in researching AUC before we applied. Thank you for all the work you put into it, and good luck in your clinical rotations.

      Reply
      January 24, 2012 at 1:55 am

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