Arriving back on the island on December 27th, I had a meeting with our orientation week coordinators and the other OLs on the 28th. Here we were given the Digicel bags full of goodies for our students and discussed the upcoming week's schedule at length. On the 29th I was picked up from my apartment by our bus driver, Jerome (In De Mix) and off we went to the airport to begin picking up my students as they arrived on their various flights. Pick-up from the airport was painless, only one flight was slightly delayed and only one of my students had a flight rescheduled for the following day.
After everyone and their bags arrived, we loaded their luggage onto the pick-up trucks that would meet us at the dorms and off we went in In De Mix to get everyone to the dorms! In total I had 11 students, 2 VIPs (one living on island with their significant other, the other staying for the week), and 1 student's father.
You could definitely see the exhaustion on everyone's face from traveling, but counteracting that I believe was definitely their excitement of starting their journey here at RUSVM and learning all about the island. To get started, I had everyone just drop off their luggage in their rooms and we went straight to the grocery store (Best Buy, closest to campus and is not the Best Buy like back home lol...it's one of several grocery store options here in St. Kitts). Before we started our shopping I suggested everyone stick to some essentials and quick easy snacks or easily prepared foods as most our nights we would be going out to visit some of the awesome restaurants on the island.
After grocery shopping, we went back to the dorms and let everyone get settled a little before departing for our first dinner destination, Buddy's Beach Hut. Dinner was delicious and service was very nice (it was my first time eating at Buddy's as well). We followed it by walking down the strip (a strip of beach also known as Timothy Beach) to a local bar called Vibes (also my first time visit since it's management and name change from Ziggy's). Some students retired early for the night (totally understandable!), others remained at Vibes and enjoyed trying out the famous rum punch drink that many shops sell...kind of a local specialty and recipes can vary across the different shops. I did warn my group that they call it rum PUNCH for a reason...lol. It does sneak up on you although it tastes so good!
December 30th
The next day we toured the campus with most of the emphasis on the classrooms that their classes would be held in. After our tour we got all their electronic devices configured to be allowed on the campus networks. Next up, THE BAT CAVE HIKE! We met up with another orientation group and walked from the dorms to the main road where we picked up one of the buses whose route is on the main road and headed towards the countryside. The buses on the island only cost $2.50 EC to ride. The downside is that they only drive on a certain route (I am not totally sure of all the "routes", but most bus drivers are super helpful when it comes to directing students how to best get to their destination if the bus doesn't drop off exactly at that location). The other option for transportation (prior to purchasing your own vehicle) is a taxi. The upside, they will pick-up and drop-off from any location. The downside, the cost can vary from $10 EC and higher for just one way.
I wasn't totally sure where we were going but the other OL who was with us knew her way. The path off the main road that led to the bat cave was initially very overgrown with grass and hadn't been cleared with a machete in a while. But once past that, we entered the rainforest! Any pictures that I took truly don't do the hike and scenery around us justice. The hike was amazing! I would totally do it again! There is a small obstacle about halfway through this hike that does intimidate new hikers to this hike. It is a giant rock that you have to climb up over. BUT you have some help to get you to the top. There are 2 ropes that are secured on top of the rock, and then you have a couple people that are strong already at the top of the rock and then friends below you to give you a boost if you need. You almost wedge yourself in this worn out space in the rock and as you pull yourself up while finding your footing along the way, you have those at the top grab your hand and, in our case, your right thigh to kind of help us with the last bit of the challenge. Those below you act as spotters as you climb upward. We joked around that it was a team building activity but really it did put everyone in a position to work together to get on top the rock for the second half of the hike. So off we went after climbing up on top the rock. Before we knew it, we were at the bat cave! It was absolutely cool! You could see the bats flying back and forth and hear them. We took a quick group photo and off we went back down the path because the sun was fading quickly and none of us had brought headlamps or flashlights.
December 31st
Most of the morning was dedicated to my students getting their "One Stop" tasks done (ie. getting a drivers license, student ID, etc.). Afterwards, we headed to Shipwreck Beach and enjoyed the ocean, sand, and sun. For dinner we stopped by the new restaurant on the strip (Timothy Beach) called Chinchillas. To celebrate New Years Eve, my group and myself went to the Marriott. We bought 2 bottles of champagne and hung out on the beach under the stars and moonlight while we waited for the clock to strike midnight and the firework show to begin. We made a lot of toasts...to our futures as veterinarians, to my groups' success during their time at RUSVM...but the toast that touched my heart was when my students toasted to the best orientation leader ever.
January 1st
GET TO KNOW AND LOVE THE ISLAND DAY!! I had the whole day planned out...I know...kind of cruel to do this to my students the day after New Years Eve...buuuuut to start them off on the right foot, I woke up early and made them all hangover-recovery-breakfast! I made like 2 dozen eggs worth of scrambled eggs, 2 packages of turkey bacon, and just one jug of this pancake mix. Some were in pretty rough shape...not going to lie! But we got them to crawl out of bed lol.
Off we went on our island tour in In De Mix with Jerome our driver! Our first stop was Caribelle Batik. I really loved introducing this gem to my group (it was something my group wasn't taken to during our island tour). Then we made our way to the beautiful Brimstone Hill Fortress where everyone got to learn the history behind the fortress and explore its landscapes. After Brimstone, we drove to Black Rock where there were tons of local vendors with tiny shops set up and different souvenirs available for purchase. My only interest was some sugar cane and coconut chunks for all of my students to try...delicious! Our bus driver showed us where he lived in a village called Sandy Point. And we ended our travels downtown where we walked around Port Zante. While in Port Zante, we located the famous "chicken lady" and chowed down on some amazing Johnny Cakes which we washed down with some local passionfruit juice. We continued to walk to the streets to watch the Grand Carnival Parade part of the St. Kitts Carnival. It was quite the show! I had never been and didn't really know what I was getting my group into lol. From masquerade dancers to the Mansion Bull to the moko jumbies (stilt walkers) to parades of troupes jamming down the street (this video does a good job of combining the various sites at the carnival)! All in all it was a fun packed day even though some had to push through a little hangover in the beginning of the day :)
January 2nd
From the early morning until around 4pm, my students were in lectures for various things. Unfortunately we weren't provided with transportation this day because it was a local holiday, so we made due. A few of us OLs put together a fun trivia night plan for anyone interested and also ordered tons of pizza for those that came. I have never done trivia night at a bar, but I think I might check it out sometime in the future after this fun little get together. Although there was no alcohol because we conducted our trivia in one of the classrooms on campus, it was still a blast!
January 3rd
We spent our day at Gong Beach. This beach is great because it is not covered in beach chairs, tourists (no offense tourists!), and restaurants/bars. It's just you and the ocean. This beach is located on the Atlantic Ocean side of the island. The water was a little on the rough side but still fun to play in the waves. We had a little scare when a few folks went a little too far out past the where the waves broke, but they all made it back to the shore safely! There can be quite the pull from the ocean the further out you get and it can make you exhausted pretty quickly when you are fighting to swim back to shore.
After Gong Beach, everyone went back to the dorms to get cleaned up and we went out to dinner at Shiggity Shack for their famous Thursday night fire man entertainment. It was pretty packed but surprisingly we got a table for all of us! We also were surprised by a few guest performances from some junior masquerade dancers and a almost freestyle type of dance routine. We hung out after dinner and danced the night away a little.
January 4th
We did a few errands in the morning to the bank, Harper's (the office/school supply store downtown), and then TDC (kind of a home goods store). After dropping everything off at their rooms in the dorms, off we went to Reggae Beach Bar for the rest of the day. I introduced my group to the awesome One Love Pets collar tags that are sold at the gift shop whose proceeds go to helping animals in shelters (definitely check out the website...it was actually started by a RUSVM alumni!). We stayed at Reggae for their famous Lobsterfest dinner...seriously one of my favorite Friday night activities.
January 5th
My students went on their catamaran trip while I hung out with my furbabies at home. After they got back, we went to the SCAVMA grill out for the new students to come to and hang out at (held at Vibes). We hung out there for some of the night and then headed over to Bamboo for the back to school party for students. All in a all a pretty low key and fun day/night to end our time together on.
Best Orientation Group EVER
I seriously had a great orientation group. Everyone was enthusiastic and excited to be at RUSVM and in St. Kitts. All my students got along and really formed a special friendship with each other that I hope they will carry with them through the years (even beyond school). And I definitely feel like I did a pretty good job of introducing them to the next chapter in their lives. I definitely benefited from this experience in that I have a new found love for St. Kitts, its people, and its culture/history. I love it here now more than ever (no matter if I have the occasional hiccup or bad experience). I think I did a pretty good job making sure my students in my group know that I will always be there for them even when I head off to my clinical year. I had entirely way too much fun with them all week and am really happy to have met such awesome and well-rounded individuals that I have no doubt in my mind will make excellent vets in the very near future. I'm truly looking forward to watching them progress through the semesters and fulfilling their life's dream here at RUSVM.
