MICHIGAN!!!!!

We finally got word that we are moving to Michigan next month and I don't think we could be anymore excited about it. We have found a place to live, through friends that live there and a very nice landlord, we choose a place. I think it is going to be great. I am so excited to finally be able to experience a winter. It is going to be one extreme to the other, but I think we are going to really enjoy it. Most of our friends are going to be joining us in Michigan so we are really glad about that. We are just excited for this next chapter in our lives to begin.

This is the front of our Apartment in Michigan!

4th Semester Banquet

Every semester there is a 4th semester banquet. It is a banquet for the 4th semesters to basically say goodbye to island life. At this point we will be leaving some of our friends because some will be going to Miami and some to Michigan. So this is basically a goodbye banquet. This banquet was while the Shadid's were here so it was fun to be able to enjoy this exciting event with them. At the banquet we have a wonderful dinner and they give out awards and show a video slideshow of our time on the Dominica and the Bahamas. After all the awards and stuff was over they had a DJ and we got to dance. It was really a nice night. We had a lot of fun. It was nice to finally be able to dress up for something. Since everything  done here is very casual it was nice to dress up for once. 

Luan and Christopher @ the banquet

Raksha and Christopher @ the banquet

The 4th semester Bahamas Class

Shadid's Visit

I haven't blogged in a long time but decided to get a little blogging in because a lot of things have happened lately. I will put them in all different blog posts because I think I have a lot of different topics. Stan, Linda, and Linley came to visit. It was so fun. We hung out at the beach and just enjoyed some family time. It is so nice to have family around. That is one of the biggest things we have missed since moving away from home. There is just nothing like having your family around. The first day they were here we went to the beach and Linley and I went parasailing. It was so much fun. I have always wanted to go parasailing but have never done it and I am so glad that I did. We liked it a lot and I want to go again. We ended up spending a lot of time at the beach and also had a wonderful dinner at East. East is like the best sushi restaurant I have ever been to. Actually I didn't even think I liked sushi until we ate here. We have taken everyone who has come to visit to East because it is our favorite restaurant here. We had a great time together. It was sad to see them leave but that only means we are one step closer to being back in the US. We can't wait! 

Chris's Birthday!

Chris's birthday was a couple of weeks ago and we had a great birthday celebration. He turned the big 25. We went to our favorite restaurant here called East. It is a sushi restaurant that is outstanding. We went with about 15 of our friends. It was a great day to celebrate Christopher. After we ate dinner everyone came over and ate cake. I will say it was a little better than his last birthday we had in Dominica. I mean not that Blue Bay wasn't fun but this was a little more our style. 

Things are moving right along here in the Bahamas. Before we know we will be back in the US. We should be applying for 5th semester (Michigan or Miami) in a week but we won't know for sure where we are going until about the first of July. We are excited to see where our adventure takes us next. Chris's next exam is next week so please be praying that he is well prepared.

Back in the Bahamas

After a great break at home we are back in the Bahamas in full swing. Christopher has had one full week of class and they are getting to it. There is no time to waste. 

While we were at home we just enjoyed hanging out with our families and seeing all of our friends. We went to the Lion King with my parents. Which was absolutely awesome. The costumes were outstanding and the music was great. We had a great time. Christopher played plenty of golf while I got to get some work in at my grandpa's office. It was nice for me to get my brain working again. In the little time we had to relax we packed up all of our wedding stuff in boxes in preparation of moving somewhere where we can actually use it all. Yay! We can't wait. 

With Christopher's last semester of book work we are looking forward to moving back to the States while enjoying the little time we have left living on an island. We will be applying for Christopher's 5th semester location in June. 5th semester consists of an introduction to clinicals, and allows some time for Christopher to study for the USMLE Step 1. We are hoping to apply for Michigan but who knows we could end up back in Miami again. We are just hoping that wherever we go Christopher will have plenty of time to study for the Step. Because his goal is to take Step 1 by the middle of October. In the mean time I am looking forward to moving back and getting a puppy. Yes, still looking forward to getting a puppy I know its been like forever but hopefully once we get back to the States we will find the right time to get one. 

The Bahamas are great. It is really hot here but with the wind of Oklahoma, which makes it a lot cooler. Christopher's birthday is on Monday and we are really excited because for his birthday we are going to go Deep Sea Fishing. We are hoping to catch some really great fish like Mahi Mahi, Tuna, and any many others. We can not believe that we have been out of the country for a year. It has been full of adventures and excitement and has made us both stronger people. Who would have thought that a year would have gone by so fast.

Getting it done

Our time in the Bahamas is just flying by and Christopher's 3rd semester is almost over. One more semester of book work and we are back to the US to begin his clinical rotations. We are so thankful for this experience we have had. It has allowed us to understand that we shouldn't take anything for granted and that no matter what our plan is God's plan is what we should be looking for. We shouldn't be planning months or years in advance but learn to live for today. This has been quite a task for myself because my entire life was planned out before I went to college. So I am learning to live a life that is unplanned.  While Christopher has been learning to be a doctor, I have been learning to be a better cook. I have learned that the way to my husbands heart is through lebanese food in his stomach. I think it is probably in his blood but because this is the case I have been working very hard to cook the things he likes. I have learned to make cabbage rolls and spheeha (meat pies) and many other things. It has been a really good chance for me to take my time and learn to make things because if I would have been back in the states I probably wouldn't have taken the time to learn to do these things. 

Here is a timeline of what Christopher has done and has left of school. Hopefully this will clarify what he is doing.

October 2007-February 2008- Medical Education Review Program in Miami, Florida

May 2008- December 2008 - Basic Science courses in Dominica, West Indies

January 2009- August 2009- Basic Sciences courses in Freeport, Grand Bahama Island

August 209 - December 2009 - Advanced Introduction to Clinical Medicine in either Saginaw, Michigan or Miami, Florida *location to be determined in July 2009*

January 2010 - January 2012 - Clinical Rotations *location to be determined*

Easter!

Easter, although different this year, was a really great day. Christopher took off the day studying and we just spent the day together. We woke up and the Easter bunny had come. Which was really exciting because it made us feel like we were still at home. On the Friday before easter we kept the tradition of dying easter eggs. It was a lot of fun and things like that alway give us a sense of home as well. On Easter we went to the pool and laid out and just enjoyed a day of relaxing together. Then that evening we had all of our friends over for dinner. Everyone brought something and it was a great dinner. We had a great time celebrating Christ's resurrection with all of our friends. Although it was hard not being with family, we made the best of it and enjoyed the day.