Life as a Caribbean Islander: Being a Pretend Patient

Since my last post of our scuba diving adventures, Ryan has become increasingly busy with school. Normally, I would be going crazy right about now with boredom because there is only so much working-out and getting tan that you can do (seriously, trust me), however I have been doing more things with the Spouses Organization. Thank goodness!

Last Thursday, a handful of us went to Philipsburg, which is the capital on the Dutch side.
http://www.sxm-philipsburg.com

It is where the cruise ships dock, so there are plenty of things to do there. There are 4 streets that run parallel to each other each with several shops, restaurants, local markets, etc. It reminded me a lot of New Orleans, LA mixed with Charleston, SC.. so I liked the atmosphere a lot. The clothing stores weren't that great, but I enjoyed the local markets. One thing that Philipsburg is known for is the "Old Man Rum" store which sells the rum that is made here in the Caribbean. St. Maarten is famous for making the Guavaberry flavor (not my favorite though-very sweet and cough syruppy). Best of all, they offer free samples of every different kind of rum. I am always up for free samples! ha ha

See the cruise ship in Great Bay?

Here we are on the boardwalk of Great Bay! This is Madeline, Alie, and Lyssa.

Here is Alie, Lyssa, and me

Another thing that I liked about Philipsburg was the ability to haggle with anyone and everyone about prices. For instance, I was interested in buying some perfume. We went to a nice store that sold various perfumes, and I was able to talk the lady down about $30 dollars. I thought just regular old shopping was fun, but this new kind of bargaining made shopping way more entertaining. It was fun seeing how far down I could get things for. I was also interested in a watch, so we went to about 3 different jewelry stores looking to see where I could get the best deal. I had told myself that I wasn't going to buy it unless the price was $60 less... well guess what? As I went to each store, I got them to gradually come down lower than the last store. By the time that we went to the third and final jewelry store, I got my watch for $60 less and they even removed the links to size it to my wrist. I could seriously get used to this. I used to think that I was a bargain shopper back in the states, but now I really know that I am. Anyway, it was really fun.

Then, on Friday a few of the spouses went to Mullet Beach for a beach day which was nice to get out of the house again! I don't think that I will ever get tired of going to the beach.. (sigh)

One of the main things that has taken a lot of my time and attention recently has been becoming a Standardized Patient. On facebook, the Spouses Organization posts different job opportunities, social events, etc. One that caught my eye was the opportunity to interview to become a standardized patient for the medical students here on the island. I had kinda heard about this through Ryan and some of his friends, so I was interested in doing it for several reasons: I'm bored beyond all belief, I would like to make a little money, and it just sounds fun. So, I went and met with the lady that runs the program last week. She is a professionally trained actor from Holland who lives here and has basically started the Standardized Patient program to help prepare the students when they begin their clinicals. Here is a little bit about it:
   The standardized patient (SP) plays the role of someone visiting the doctor, who is portrayed by a
   medical student. A SP portrays a character with a certain age, background, life circumstances, and
   health issues. The purpose of the SP is to give medical students the opportunity to practice
   communication, diagnostic, and examination skills that they need before they begin their
   professional careers.

So, basically I will have to learn a script for a certain character and have to act it out in front of a class of medical students while they interview me, take my medical history, etc. Then, I will have to evaluate the student's performance.

Anyway, I got the job so that's great, and it will be part-time while I am here. We started doing training for it this week, and it is really fun to learn how to act, improv, etc. I also think that it will better prepare me for when I am dealing with my own patients with speech therapy. In the past, I have come into contact with many emotional people and situations, and I didn't feel like I was trained well enough to know exactly how to handle the situation or communicate. This is definitely going to benefit not only the students, but me as well. Nice!

On a completely different subject- One thing that I have recently noticed here on the island- (it literally just hit me): there are no squirrels here on the island. This may sound weird, but I have never lived somewhere where there were no squirrels. (This probably sounds very country, but oh well.) I was thinking this the other day while driving down the road, when I made the correlation. It hit me as I passed some fresh road-kill of a huge iguana. We don't have squirrels, but we have iguanas and lizards. You walk or drive down the road, and you see them everywhere. You hear something in the bushes, it is a lizard or an iguana. It is something that is completely different for me, but I think that it is really cool. I need to try to take some pictures of them, but they are so fast! Ryan said that one hissed at him one time, but I don't intend to get that close to them. I even saw one huge iguana jump off of the dock and swim underwater away from me! I had no clue that this was possible.. I need to do some homework on these things apparently.

On to a different subject, I received another wonderful package from Ryan's parents! YAY! I wasn't expecting it at all which made it even more special to receive. They sent me some Juice Plus vitamins, which I used to religiously take on a daily basis but I had to stop before I moved down here to save money. I feel healthier already! Thank you so much!