Grenada and Medical School

Hello to all those in the states! I figured I would post since no one has in a while and I have so much to catch all of you up on!

I'm am now a week into island life and it gets better everyday. The first night was pretty terrible, getting used to being away from home/dorm life/island life/medschool was a little difficult. Then I met my roommate, Jane, who is from LA and is here with her fiancé. She made it seem like civilization still existed so that helped. Sabrina, my other roommate, didn't arrive until a day or two after Jane and me but we immediately clicked! She is from Canada and has her whole family here until Thursday, which I am jealous of :). The first night she came in, we went with her family to Carnival... and I have never been so culture shocked. It was crazy and a little overwhelming 3 days in, but none the less really fun. The three of us (plus Jane's fiancé) have been basically hanging out ever since and getting along really well. Sabrina and I want to have weekly roommate dinners which will be a nice study break!

Orientation started yesterday and I am so so so excited to dig my teeth into medical school. Its been a lot of people telling us how showering and eating become a luxury during midterms, but I have met a couple of second "termer's" who say that as long as you stay on top of it, it is doable. So all and all, I am terrified of the upcoming weeks but super motivated... I'm hoping that lasts! I just came back from a seminar that was about the progression through the SGU Academic Program, and it made me feel like this is all really happening. In two years, I will be doing my clinicals... and I don't know about you, but high school feels like yesterday and I graduated in '06. I picked up my white coat and it is finally starting to feel real. I'm a med student, weird.

RIGHT outside of my room... you can swim anywhere there is water here. 

My dorm :)

Carnival

Light show at Carnival

Morning run, right outside the library.

I finally got my address, if you are going to ship anything use FedEx (it comes directly to the school):
    Caitlin Berger, 3255
    St. George's University
    PO Box 7
    University Centre
    St. Georges
    Grenada, West Indies

Viber only works where there is wifi, so in the student center and in class/library... I will try to make contact through that... so answer weird numbers cause it might be me :) I also have been using gmail calling which will show up as a call from CA. Skype is a godsend and everyone should request me so I can chat with you. I love all of you so much and miss you all. Also, and maybe most importantly, I have a new niece!!!! Abigail is gorgeous... congrats CarCar!

Library on a drop of to the water... not a bad place to study

Sedona and new office signs

Hi guys! For our anniversary this weekend, Peter took me to Sedona on Saturday. We stayed at a hotel called L'auberge which was super cool. It was a really nice resort and spa but was very intimate (sounds creepy when I describe it like that). It had little cottages everywhere and was right on the creek. I definitely recommend it if anyone is headed to Sedona anytime soon. It was soo stormy this weekend there, a lot of rain and really cool lightning storms, but you can't really tell in this picture.

http://www.lauberge.com/

On another note, my office put my name on the door! So although it was not a super fun day, at least my name is up! I was concerned about the comma between my name and DMD but I did some research and in the U.S., it's okay to either use a comma or to not. Plus, I googled Mehmet Oz (duh, Dr. Oz) and it was listed as Mehmet Oz, MD for his teaching position at Columbia. Just to be on the safe side, I also checked out Dr. Phil's punctuation. I think we are in the clear.

Lemonade Connoisseur and Other Cravings

So, after 9 months of researching this topic, I am going to let you all in on my recommendations for the best lemonade in the entire world! Trust me I have tried enough to feel completely confident in my recommendations. One thing to remember: There are really two categories of lemonade, the lemonade you buy to drink at home (although I don't think non-pregnant people drink lemonade at home on the regular) and the lemonade that you get from restaurants. Lucky for you, I have recommendations for both!

Best lemonade from the grocery:

Newman’s Own Old Fashioned Roadside Virgin Lemonade

Best lemonade from a restaurant:

Hot Dog on a Stick’s Muscle Beach Lemonade-or in Cali-there are just Muscle Beach Lemonade stands without the cured meat. Their ice is like small little ice shavings (you all know how important ice is in a beverage!)

*Note: Chick-fil-a is a close second, but their ice is bad, bad, bad (huge square chunks, bleh)

Another note on cravings-I polish off an entire carton of peaches from Costco in about 5 days, like every 5 days as well as at least one watermelon a week. Seriously, the fruit obsession is getting ridiculous!

That’s all, now I know none of you will ever even use this information because lemonade is not low-cal, but just in case you ever get in the mood for the best beverage on the planet, I thought I would share!

One other thing-Gizmo got ahold of the baby's Sophie giraffe toy and he LOVES it. Like seriously, will not stop playing with it, so we decided to let Gizmo have it and get the baby a new one. Here is a pic of the cutest dog on the planet and his new toy:

Also, here is a recent pic of the bump (35 weeks)!

XOXO

Cameron Turns 22!!

Cameron is finally 22!! As some of you know, I love celebrating birthdays... like more than anything. I actually extend birthdays to last an entire week and Cameron's was no exception.

We started celebrating last Wednesday with a birthday cake I made for him. It was my first multi layer cake and I have to say it was pretty fantastic. I saw the recipe on Pinterest and oh.my.god. It's a butter cake with banana pudding poured over the two layers with whipped cream frosting. It turned out fantastic even though I got the wrong instant pudding (you are supposed to use the kind you have to cook). Since I have never claimed to be domestic or able to cook, I called it a win.

Then we headed off to Denver for Cameron's 5k, Race for Your Lives (http://runforyourlives.com/). I refused to run because it has people dressed up as zombies chasing you, trying to capture the three flags around your waste. The flags represent "life points" and you either cross the finish line as "alive" or "dead" depending on if you have flags left or not.

This is the gate at the start line and this guy
 got all the racers pumped up before the run! Scary!

Cameron and Richard were team America (obviously) and everyone loved the costumes at the race, they were a hit. I dressed up in an American flag bikini to show my support and cowboy boots. We all looked a little ridiculous. There were obstacles including an enormous slip n'slide, electrified fences, rooms with mazes and smoke, and of course, tons of zombies.  I stood on the sidelines and had some beers at the "Apocalypse Concert" which was a huge party at the finish line. All the volunteers had shirts that said, "Ask me, I dont bite" and the zombies were all dressed up with makeup that was awesome. It was a blast because we were with a really good group of people and the race was more of a party than anything else, needless to say... we all survived.

Team America

All survivors!!!

Sideline drinkers... way more fun ;)

I got Cam a watch for his birthday that he wont stop talking about so I think he liked it. I also got his dads watch fixed and cleaned so that Cameron could wear it again, he was so surprised and grateful. Dre would have totally cried at his reaction. I also got him a "road trip kit" which contained burned CD's (Dre, I knew you would enjoy that) and a bunch of snacks and Redbull. 

The whole weekend was filled with too much drinking and way too much fun... the group we were with was such a good mix and everyone spent the whole time laughing at each other. It was so good to see Alyse again and Brett came as well who I haven't scene since we graduated. It was a fantastic weekend and I am so happy I am no longer 24 dating a 21 year old... here is to only 2 years difference again! 

Mamaroo!

So, Brittny and Brendan got us the most awesome baby present. It is this baby seat called a Mamaroo. They are like all the rage right now for newborns. It has all these different settings and moves all these different ways (swings, vibrates, bounces, etc). Seriously, the moves this thing can do are pretty crazy.

Anyway, the BEST part is that you can play music off your iphone on it and the seat adjusts and moves with the music. Soooo, naturally, I put on To Live and Die in LA when we first put it together and the thing started bouncing and swinging to Tupac. My heart swelled with so much pride, then I couldn't stop laughing thinking about a newborn bouncing to the greatest rapper to ever live. Just thought that was funny, now let's all go pour one out for Pac.

Malcolm Gladwell, Grey Nails & Kiddos

OK--so I just read Dre's post about Outliers.  I am currently reading The Tipping Point by him and I really like it.  It is actually for the ACC Bookclub.  I guess I should have posted that under "Books We Are Reading".

About the "Redshirting"...I was redshirted (did two years of kindergarten) and started my second year right before I turned 6.  I think it was a really good idea.  Dre, you will have to tell us what he thinks about it.

I painted my nails grey yesterday, trying to be hip and cool.  While we were going to bed, I asked Todd if he liked them and he said, "No, I was thinking while you were making dinner that you ran your hands through muddy pond water".  So, at least we have honesty.  I took a picture of them--be honest--am I way too old to try this trend???

Dirty Pond Water???

Goin' Back to Cali

           

Look! I'm blogging! Though, I'm actually starting to worry about my learning capabilities due to how very, very long it has taken me to figure out this new fangled thing. I just got back to my house in Val Verde this morning, after quite a drive through the southwest with Allen. The drive took about 14 hours, but it was actually pretty fun! 

First, we downloaded the audiobook version of Keith Richards' autobiography Life, which was maybe the best idea ever. Johnny Depp is the narrator, which makes the stories sound even more aaaamazing. Also for it's really nice to have someone read to you– it's not just reserved for sleepy kids to be able to enjoy anymore!





Then Allen came up with the brilliant idea to use our long car ride for a spa day! After stopping for supplies at Walgreens, we created a four-step car facial regimen, giving us the softest skin evaaaaaa! Seriously, the next time you drive across the country (at night so no one can see that you have a clay face mask on), DO IT.

Now I'm back in California and missing everyone already– but I especially miss being able to see you all for lunch at Durans... wait for it... Ha! One gold star for an outstanding use of wordplay. BOOM.  

...really though, I would kill for a strawberry milkshake and a torpedo right now. Or just anything that doesn't include a hefty serving of cilantro.