From a tropical paradise to the North pole

Wow, I haven’t written for a whole week!
In the exciting and sad interim I had my white coat ceremony, in which I stood up and recited the Hippocratic oath with my classmates and received a white doctor’s coat, and gave a speech in front of everyone. I also danced for more hours in a row than I ever have before; including dancing on a table in the bar during our after-party. (You should’ve seen it!)
It is bittersweet. I told myself that I would return to Antigua some day on vacation, but I know that even if I do, it won’t be the same. I said goodbye to the campus I’ve spent so many long days and nights at- the bushes heavy with pink flowers, the goats on the hills staring at me, the little white bungalows and the mango trees- a place that has stolen part of my heart.
My last morning in Antigua I got up early with my roommates and we drove to Half moon bay to watch the sunrise. We watched it come up over the ocean and streak the sky with pink and the huge waves crashed all around us and the salty spray mingled with the happiness and sadness that was so heavy in the air.
I said goodbye to the dear friends I’ve made. My professors, who have been more than just teachers; my classmates who have walked this journey with me, and saddest of all, my roommates. When Burton and Asa pulled out of the driveway and waved goodbye I stood there feeling tears pooling in the corners of my eyes.
“Goodbye, little bit!” Asa shouted at me (that’s one of his nicknames for me).
Burton didn’t say anything, I think because he was feeling too emotional as well. We’ve walked this path together and there have been ups and downs and even if I see him again some day it will be different. I don’t know quite how to express how empty it makes me feel inside.
But it isn’t all sad, of course. I spent my last day on the beach soaking up the sun and I flew to New York with three of my classmates who live there. I slept most of the way on the plane and then went to Marina’s house in Queen’s. Her family is warm and welcoming and they invited me to share Yom Kippur with them. Marina took me to Long Island and we went shopping and sat in a little salon and had manicures and pedicures (which I’ve never had before but it was FUN!) and ate sushi and talked and talked.
I stayed up late with Marina’s family and her husband tried to get me to drink shots of vodka (how those Russians can drink!) and her brother-in-law tried to introduce me to cognac (yuck.) I ate some strange things I’ve never had before and went out with some friends for dinner to a fancy Italian restaurant. (I highly recommend going out with doctors, they always want to pay for everything.)
Now I am back home. It is freezing cold; I think I went from 40 to 0 degrees in two days. But it is so good to be home and I’m feeling happy at the thought of the adventures that are awaiting in the near future.
My focus in the next few months is going to be studying for my board exams- and studying, and studying. I am planning to eat, breathe and sleep it. Well, maybe not sleep….. I figure I have a backlog of about 150 missed hours of sleep from this month in Antigua, which probably explains why I lost weight and have some gray hair and every muscle in my body hurts all the time- but it is okay. I will catch up.
I woke up this morning at some ungodly hour because I have jetlag, and I lay in bed and thought about God and his plans for our lives and how they are not easy and straightforward, but when we have our eyes fixed on him, he shows us the next step, just before we’re ready to take it.