Locating Satellites

As I sit here typing, the frogs chirp from outside of my open windows and I hear the sounds of music playing from across the hill. Somewhere a dog barks and the breeze rustles through a palm tree. It rained last night and this morning, which cooled things down. This weather has been a nice respite from the usual -- sunny, hot, and sweaty.

I went for an evening run (evening being relative considering the sun sets around 6:00 PM, which I am still getting used to) and felt that I finally had some time to think. Sometimes it feels good to turn off the music and get a little lost. I actually did get a little lost and a little reflective, but it was nice.

The first couple of weeks of med school have been a blur. I study a lot. I have papers that I take along with me so I can study on the bus, while waiting in lines, or sometimes while walking. In fact, I was reading and walking past the bleachers by the courts on campus and I kind of hear a kind of insistent whistling but kept walking until I heard someone say, "Hey! Up there!" It was Michael (a local member of the church congregation I attend) trying to get my attention to say hello. I had been in the zone.

Things on my mind lately: 

1. I have no idea how I am going to learn everything I need to know. The more I learn, the more I find I don't know. This is a vicious cycle.

2. As I was riding the bus to school I looked out the window and realized that I am really liking Grenada. I love the view of brightly colored houses perched on forested hills that I walk out to every morning. The people are charming and I even had a breakthrough and found that I can get the stoic cashiers at the store to smile if you pause, and thank them while looking them in the eye and smiling.

3. There's a kid in my term named Gregory House. I learned this during the white coat ceremony. Everyone freaked out. I felt bad for him because he doesn't even look like Dr. House, but there are worse things in life.

4. It never ceases to amaze me that I can instant message my wife in real time and that my Garmin tells me how far I run by locating satellites.