Welcome

Orientation week is well under way by now. I'm tending to 9 of the 65 students that arrived for the next semester. It's alot of fun to be a orientation leader as I get to share some good stories and impart some advice. In the process I get to drive around the island and discover some new places. I basically act as a tour guide by picking them up at the airport, showing them their new place, take em' grocery shopping, take them around town to get car related paperwork in order and make sure they're on time to school organized functions. Here I'm on my way to pick up a batch of students.

I got the Benz

I'm rested now and ready for the next semester. This time I'm gonna do things a little differently so I don't have to do 12 hr study marathons 2 weeks before finals! I feel completely aclimated now and can say that I'm now enjoying living here. At first it was nerve wracking, but now we've settled into our environment.

Hazards of driving on The Rock

I need to get back on the trainer because I haven't been doing a thing for the last two months! I don't think I'm gaining weight but I know for sure that the 1.5 mile commute to school is getting harder. But like Sharie put it, I can't exercise I only know how to train and if I don't have a race to go to there's no reason to train. It's funny but out here the sun saps your energy and I just don't feel like doing much at all. I'll give it a shot however this next week.

Turtle Beach Rainbow

Round Two

checkin' out the trails around here

What a relief to know that I'm continuing on to second semester. I was telling Sharie that I had to mentally accept the idea that perhaps I could potentially repeat second semester. This goes for about 60 of the 65 students. Of course except for those five that could afford to fail their finals completely, for the rest of us it's fair game. This next semester I will be taking Physio II, Bacteriology, Parasitology, and Anatomy II. Apparently second is a cake walk compared to first, third, and sixth but I'm not taking my chances.

Sharie has been itching to buy a plane ticket feeling the loneliness from Grammy and most Rossies leaving at the same time. I'm used to the feeling since way back at P.U.C.. For those familiar with P.U.C. you know that everyone evacuates pronto and next thing you know it's a ghost town. Back then I had alot of time to think about life as I do now. However, I sure wish I had a mtn bike back then because P.U.C. has some sweet trails.

Alright time to relax...atleast for the next two weeks.

Waiting game

Now that finals are said and done it's all about waiting to see what our fate will be. Some professors put more weight on the final, so even if your going in with say a 90% overall one can still end up buying a one-way ticket home. It's interesting to know that even some of my classmates that have stellar grades sweat it till the very last second. So at 1300 our time final grades will be posted until then I will be trying to keep my mind off it. Some students who have repeated the semester are on their last chance so alot is at stake for them. What stinks is that out of the 5 classes we are taking nutrition (theoretically the easiest) is proving to be the gatekeeper. The problem with this class is that we have a gazillian instructors teaching it which makes me feel like I'm shifting gears at every few feet.

Chump waitin' for something just not sure what?

Actually he's waiting for 30 days confinement to be up. Here they have a confinement rule for all imported animals to make sure they don't have contagious diseases. Funny thing is that all the sugarcane mutts run around town looking downright filthy and contagious. So maybe this is more a protective measure for chump.

We came across this business last week when we drove around the island. How would you like to work here? Overhaul an engine in the morning, wipe of the oil grime, then teach aerobics in the afternoon?

Have a great weekend!

Feelin' the Burn

Brimstone Hill

This week has drained me physically and emotionally. It has been finals weeks and it's sink or swim. At this point you either know it or you don't, no overtime allowed. I usually study at home, clear the kitchen table put on the headset and get to crackin'. Lately it has been getting very hot, the wind has disappeared and the sea looks like a lake. . . . creepy calm. The fan is starting to make a rattlin noise due to the 24/7 operation. Today was the first day we were brave enough to turn on the A/C given the horror stories we've heard of electric bills. Grammy is going back home tomorrow and I feel bad for Nicole, she's use to seeing Grammy around everyday. We took Grammy on a tour around the island.

Grammy and Niki @ Ottley's Plantation

Tomorrow Nutrition final then Anatomy on Thursday and first semester be done mon! As a reward I decided to treat myself to being an orientation leader. Actually this is alot of work but I was inspired by MC (our orientation leader). He made our transition from US life to St. Kitts life very very smooth. He reminds me of the mellow version of Chris Hansel, now let me go pull a pic of MC.

MC. . . I don't think that little guy meets the size limit

I was inspired by MC so much that now I volunteered to do what he did for us when we were nervous about the madness of moving over here. . . it made the difference and I have some big shoes to fill. He even hooked me up with notes, old tests, graphs, you name it. . . he rocks!! Actually I'm going to try to squeeze in some rides around the sugarcane roads. I went on a run recently and it was awesome to go from an arid, hot landscape with low lying fauna to the lush, misty, cool forest in a matter of minutes. . . I just wish I had one of those fancy GPS gadgets. I've seen some TOPO maps downloaded from mtn bike rides, they are awesome.

What Sergio will be doing over break (MC behind the wheel)

RT Roots

There is no doubt that I feel priveleged to be here. But I must confess that now and then I miss human medicine. It's strange but I don't feel like I'm a member of the animal medicine world quite yet. I've come to realize the vast experience my classmates have in the animal world. I see how they grasp concepts so much faster, share experiences and often wonder how much more I could have learned had I had more animal experience. I can't tell them how I got Mr. Richards off the ventilator so he could go tend his 6,000 acre ranch, or how I once treated Roy Rogers. Or even how Mr. Killian made me laugh when he cussed at me objecting to my care. But then it dawned on me that my experience and education in human care will always be there waiting for me, to draw from it the human touch.

A while back it I was curious to see how many RT's were out there that were DVM's as well. So I did a quick google and was not surprised to only find but a handful. The one I found in CA was a gal that worked at a small animal clinic as well as a human hospital in Sacramento. I thought what is she thinking? Why doesn't she focus on her veterinarian career? Why would she want to return to Respiratory care? It now makes sense to me because I feel a great degree of alliance to not only respiratory care but human medicine.

The advantage I possess will some day allow me the privelage to not only work with animals but with humans alike. Until then I must be satisfied with my current understanding and keep chugging along. And of course it was perfect timing that Dr. Reich gave us a pep talk on not judging ourselves too much. He mentioned how he and three other professors form the admissions committee. So if we ever doubted about being veterinarians to remember that by the mere fact that we are sitting in class means he believes that we can! So I will never forget my respiratory roots, someday we will integrate.

One dedicated Respiratory Therapist

The Queen

Here from Camps Bayview we can sometimes (if I stretch the neck a little) see cruise ships in the port from our porch. Yesterday I didn't have to do any stretching, so that caught my curiosity. On it's way out it cruised past Camps so I decided to go investigate this beast of a ship. Sure enough it was the Queen Mary, so I snapped a few pictures of her in all her splendid royal majesty.

I just hope the queen doesn't get any ideas while I'm relaxing at Shiggidy's. That image will burn my rods and cones and I only have one layer! Yeah, that's right I'm studying the eye, ear, head, and cranial nerves right now. My first final exam today in anatomy lab so wish me luck. Gotta know every thing from the whiskers/vibrissae to the fill-in the blank/anus. I'd show you a picture of Stag (lab dog) but the poor guy would be unrecognizable. He looks like a roadside carcass by now. Some of my anatomy drawings I hope I will remember. I had to draw out the root system because the "dental formulae" doesn't work for me: I 3/3 C1/1 PM 4/4 M 2/3 = 42

Sometimes I wish

On my way home, down the sugar cane road I couldn't help but remember that today was the last day of Sea Otter in Monterey, CA. I thought wow if I was still in the states I know exactly where I would be. . . doing the cross-country race. I looked down at my watch and it was 5 pm caribbean time or 2 pm PST. That time would put me towards the end of lap one on the cross-country course. I pretended for just a split second as if I was in the thick of it, then just like that I was back to reality. A vet student on his way home to wash off the formaldehyde smell from 8 hours of anatomy lab. That's just the way it is, Sea otter and the rest of the schedule will be there waiting for me when I get back. Speaking of back, my dog is back with his Papa. Irene was instrumental in getting my dog here. She is visiting for two weeks and so far she is having a great time relaxing. I did catch here trying to do some work though.

relax. . . . it's o.k.

That's more like it

Nicole has been enjoying have Grandma here, I just don't know how she's gonna handle it once she has to leave. That goes for Shaire too.

One fully potty trained baby

makes sense

Justin's Oddysey

This last weekend Dr. Smith invited us to the dock where he lives. It was nice to see some of our professors outside of school. I just don't think Dr. Hutchison should have should up standing soo close to the edge of the dock immediately after a test. Brandon, a classmate accidently dropped his sunglasses and phone into the marina. This of course was inevitable when one mixes water and few Caribs. Before Brandon jumped in I recall Dr. Hutch saying something about three feet of fecal sludge!

nothing will stop this drunk man

now that doesn't make sense

He got the sunglasses out but not the phone.....no mo' social life fo yu, especially wit that smell. What does make sense is all things clinical. Dr. Reich shared with us a story about his intern days at Tufts University. Hangin' out with a clinician doing ambulatory rounds from dairy to dairy they had a moment of enlightment. The clinician says to Reich: When a cow has that "far away look in its eyes"..............that's where it's goin'. One tags along with clinician expecting them to impart their wisdom upon our receptive minds. Then what happens? They come out of left field, but wait a minute it all makes sense.

As simple as it sounds it takes many years for clinicians to cue in on such subtle signs. That "look", the "posture", the "smell" a pattern. For example at Kindred Hospital I cued in on one thing. If I walked into a patient room on a ventilator and the patient had a fan blowin' right in her face this patient would be a tough wean off the ventilator. Sounds strange but the truth is that this meant the patient was psychologically dependent on this feeling of "getting lots of airflow". . . so now she can breathe. Hey whatever works. Or as a student my clinician said " use your third eye" to draw the arterial blood gas? Or later he said "I've been in respiratory care for so long that I don't need a stethescope anymore" Say what? We'll towards the end I could walk into a room and without even introducing myself understand what the patients ailments were all about. The look, the smell, the posture, that's what it's all about. Enough ramblin' off to skuhlll!

This doesn't make sense either

tick n tin

Being here has it's advantages. For one I get to ride by cross bike to school. I even get to dismount once over a drain ditch to keep my cross skills sharp. The dirt road is lined with sugarcane fields of which is becoming extinct. The only thing I have to watch out for is the naked guy running around in the cane field. Other than that I just need to stay clear of the cow pies left behind and the occasional cow grazing. Here's my commute to school.

road to education

the occasional bull I have to negotiate around

The good thing is that I'm able to understand what kittitians are actually saying to me.

Sergio: Am I safe going down this fire road here?

local: Buz boos ka bool, nek mon, doeng ting, tick rite, ya understand mon?

Sergio: uhhhh, yeah mon, sure.

Now I can say with a great degree of confidence that I actually understand atleast half of what they are saying. . . . the ear has acclimitated. Here's an example of ting (thing).

It's we own ting

what happens when you have one too many Tings

sometimes it's just better to blend in

I'm just glad the fireworks are over for now. Exams were tough and I've had to take three weeks off of doing any form of exercising. Finals are around the corner and first semester will be but a memory. They weren't kidding when they said we would learn more in first semester than in all of undergrad combined. This weekend I will go for a ride, it's been well deserved, then maybe a Stag.

Fourth of Schuuly

This next week will be a hectic week. It's sort of like the Fourth of July fireworks grand finale...everyone's going "uhhh, ahhhh", then "wooooahh". Exams will cometh one after the other non-stop until right before finals week. We have so much doggie information that I resort to doing silly things like rapping to Sharie's beat on the keyboard:

Sergio: "Yo, this is the RBC, Yeah you know me!
I hang in the blood and live on energy
glucose please, no ketones for me!"

Sharie: rolling her eyes

Hey whatever works! I'm just glad we brought that keyboard. But don't worry I'll stick to vet school then maybe I'll be a rapper after that.

Hey! This is a milestone in the Iniguez family (drum roll please): my mother emailed me for the first time ever!!! You have to understand my mama doesn't even like using the ATM! Even though itlookedlikethis I had a fun time dechipering her message. We'll have to go over the space bar next time.

My mama at my first triatlon in Palm desert, 2004

Thanks to my mother-in-law we have enough toilet paper to last us for the next two years on the rock! What can I say I had to take a break from studying!

We'll of to my Physio exam this morning. I hope putting Nicole to sleep with the sweet sounds of gluconeogenesis helped.....let the fireworks begin!

Golf course at Frigate Bay (has both an Atlantic and a Caribbean side)

Details, Details

Sometimes the details get me too!

First-year students at Oklahoma State Veterinary School were receiving their first anatomy class, with a real dead cow. They all gathered around the surgery table with the body covered with a white sheet. The visiting OU Professor started the class by telling them, "In veterinary medicine, it is necessary to have two important qualities as a doctor: The first is not to be disgusted by anything involving the animal's body. The Professor then pulled back the sheet, stuck his finger in the dead cow's butt, withdrew it, and stuck it in his mouth. "Go ahead and do the same thing," he told his students. The students freaked out, hesitating for several minutes; but, eventually, took turns sticking a finger in the dead cow's butt and then sticking it in their mouths. When everyone finished, the visiting OU Professor looked at them and told them, "The second most important quality is observation. I stuck in my middle finger and sucked on my index finger. Now learn to pay attention."

Compliments of my classmate Katie.

Goodnite

Shat on my Sheat

From what I've been told Ross can be divided into two era's. The pre and post A/C era's. Folk's used to be kind to each other in the pre era. Then came along the first A/C unit in rm II; 7th semester students claimed they should be lectured in rm II because they'd been there the longest! Professors crossed the line too and claimed tenure status or the like. Apparently students even used to be on time to lectures in the pre era. If you wanted the seat by the door (breeze) then you just had to show up 15 minutes beforehand. Nowadays we walk into our A/C rooms at the last second. Except now we fight for those two sheats that have extra cushioning. The rest of the seats are relatively dilapadated, in desperate need of a make-over Dr. 90210 style. Speaking of sheats here a resident gecko shat on my sheat!

And here's the culprit, the little guy was probably just doing intervals on my bike. If that's the case then I'm alright with it. Otherwise he bettah get outta my sheat!!

Speaking of intervals I did the Nevis Triathlon this weekend and was happy with my tenth place finish. It was my most consistent performance to date.

Here I'm gettin' out of the water almost last, but will soon turn it up to broil on the bike.

Meanwhile back at the ranch Nicole is studying the program intently to make sure papa is goin the right way.

No that's not a rastah braddah, it's me Sergio (just a little suntanned) about to turn up the heat on those that decided to leave me behind on the swim....no mercy!!! I tried so hard to do the 40 k in under and hour but knew here at the end of lap one that 33 minutes just wasn't gonna cut it. Still had the 2nd fastest bike split of the day though.

Nice H2O handoff. My momentum on the second leg of the run was slowed when I figured out I had to do one more lap! Race not over homie! Overall I had some good competition from surrounding islands and a well represented international crowd despite the small turnout. I figured only the strong and dedicated decided to get on a plane and invest the time to travel so far to do this small time race....lot's of top talent there was. At the end of the day I was very happy with my performance, but what made it so special was the fact that Sharie and Nicole were there to see me at the finish. We'll back to the notes on Feeding Dairy Cows....then hit the shack! Goodnite.

Chase a Chicken

Dr. Reich is hands down the best instructor I've had. He's the witty instructor teeterin and tottering between brilliancy and lunacy. I can already see it, he'll show up some day naked to class with a blank stare and a physio text book in one hand prophesizing the last days. I actually look forward to learning physiolology! Did I just say that? In my book if you can make something as boring as physiology interesting then you da man!!

Today we talked about glycolysis, the TCA cycle and mitochondria. In meat (or as we call it "tissue") mitochondria produces a distinctive brown color. Chickens have delicous white meat precisely because they lack enough mitochondria to produce a brownish color. Ducks on the other hand have greasy brownish meat because they have many of these little mitochondria. Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the body and when it's time to get away from Hector hunter ducks have the juice! So it makes sense that a chicken will futily fly 20 feet to escape my grip around its neck! A duck will if necessary escape to Argentina to avoid the dinner plate. So in conclusion: "Don't chase a duck, chase a chicken"! otherwise you'll go hungry....I'll always remember that!

Or you can get smart and spray em' down with this AR-15 Sharie is sporting and not have to to worry about running or mitochondria period.

This next weekend is the BIG race here on the island. It's the annual olympic distance triathlon and bunches come from surrounding islands. Since the Eddy Merck Alu Cross spins out I will hammer on Chadwicks TT bike and hopefully turn it up to broil with the 53 tooth ring. Here's the poster boy for Nevis, local star and full-time triathlete Reggie Dougles.

During the next break I will be working as a orientation leader. This involves welcoming the new students to their new life for the next 2.4 years! We aren't planning on returning to the states until Christmas vacation. Here's a list of the things I miss from the states:

Tuesday's Hogi Yogi pain with the boyz
Thursday winter night rides and being chased by the old crazy italian guy
Moss Rose bakery in Oakdale
Wilm's road east of Oakdale
Green Hill road in the Sierra Nevada foothills
Santa Ana Mtn bike trail and the Carina Boyz
Barbecues at Lomas Verdes in Redlands
Hangin' out at Cycletek and giving Ben (el pelon apestoso) a hard time
Mochi pounding at Rancheria
Wildflower & my dog

I better stop there before I start cryin' like a baby. What is frustrating now is that when I don't feel sleepy I blog, then go to bed and think of anatomy terms over and over in bed. Sergio's brain while trying to sleep: "caudal mesenteric artery, cranial mesenteric artery, caudal mesenteric artery, cranial mesenteric artery......" I'm going CRAZY!! Goodnight!

C is for Continue

It's hard when we fall short of our expectations. It happens everyday. Here in vet school it's not a matter of "if" but of "when" we will fall short. Apparently 1st semester is one of the toughest, weeding process I imagine. I was consistently doing B's then I slipped to a C. I won't deny it, it makes me nervous to be on the edge like that. Especially when I work my toosh off for a C! But here at Ross a "C" is for Continue, because D's aren't considered passing here. They purposefully raise the bar higher to make sure 2nd rate students aren't produced.

The word on the street is that Ross students hit the ground running when we join our US counterparts for semesters 7-10. Rossies' have maintained this reputation for the last 20 years! To such an extent that our current dean came here from Michigan State University where he was assistant dean of the vet school. He wanted to know what makes the Rossies' tick. The student body consist of approximately 650 students and I imagine about another 150-200 stateside doing their clinicals at one of 22 affiliated schools. Here at Ross we get alot of hands on experience.

And from what I've heard if you can pass Dr. Yaphe's and Dr. Reich's classes then you will easily pass the entrance and boarding exams. Dr. Wallace also told us today that we just had a 100% pass rate for board examinations (the pinnacle of vet med) while other schools have a 50% pass rate. We're just a different breed. Willing to risk so much, travel so far, and get in such hugh debt!

As promised here's a picture of Dr. Kainer our oldest faculty member. As Dr. Smith put it (standing next to him) we will never learn as much as Dr. Kainer will forget! Dr. Kainer is early 80's and still going strong! Back in the day I heard he was the highest placed in his class and in the 97th percentile for the national boards examinations....a bright mind!

here's our most overqualified faculty member Dr. Harowitz (on right) consulting with my adopted grandfather Dr. Berg in the background. Dr. Harowitz probably just got out of school with these degrees: DVM, PhD, JD!!!

We'll I'm glad I got an A on my last exam so now the average is a B in Histology. Well I better get to continuing. Goodnight!

Human mode

I often have to remember that I'm dealing with animals and not humans. It's hard to shake off ten years of human care. But that's exactly what I don't want to do because it's valuable experience that I got that last decade. You see as humans we often get ourselves into health problems by making poor decisions (diet, habits, stress). Animals on the other hand are more often victims of nature's anomalies, or poor human care....just plain bad luck. In lecture I find myself trying to troubleshoot my professor's question from a human perspective and that doesn't work half the time. Doggonit, I knew someone was going to try to prove me wrong!!

Well booger is a famous cat. Dr Smith has us send him pics of our pets and as you can see below booger made it on the front page of todays lecture.

Other famous pets includes Jerry who has been here at Ross for ages.

And some 7th semester students getting ready to snip snip the donkeys

here's Jerry in real life

Well I better get ready for school! Have a great day!