American bound ..

Well, I officially leave "this week!" As of now, we are wondering if Hurricane Bill is going to make a run for us, a few different hurricane authorities think he might. The other campus got hit by Tropical Depression Ana last night, but I guess it was nothing more than some rain and light winds. Bill on the other hand, is supposed to be a raging Category 3 soon - so we shall see.

Just one more (big, two part) exam left on Thursday (3 days 6 hours 50 mins until that is over) then a fun night of "see you soons/see you later (no goodbyes)" and I leave on Friday at 5p if all goes well with this Atlantic basin hurricane crap. 

I can't wait to get outta here! 

by Marissa ♥

I can't wait ...

to change the name of this BLOG! No more Caribbean for me for a LONG time. New blog name "Colby & Marissa's Saggy Adventures!" hahaha - good ring?!?

Countdown:

4 days 5 hours 10 mins until my final is OVER

5 days 14 hours 10 mins until I land @ LAX!

I have so much fun stuff planned while I am home and plans to see so many of my friends, I can't WAIT! Time to study! YAY!

 Sunset off my balcony in SB :) 

by Marissa ♥

OMG!

Okay so its not that I am counting BUT .. 

9 days 20 hours 26 minutes until I am done with my final for the semester .. 

and 11 days 5 hours and 26 mins until I land in LAX and set foot on Californian soil! (I told Mom to bring listerine so I can wash my mouth out after I kiss the ground at LAX!)

As of now, when I get back I am rushing to see Button and baby Kaden, going car shopping and hopefully buying a Nissan Rogue (if they really are as fab as I think they are - thanks PopPop for all the help!) - feel free to make donations to the MARISSA DESERVES A CAR FOR BEING 1/2 WAY THROUGH MEDICAL SCHOOL FUND (and the fact Holly the Honda got sold the day before we left for Dominica so I have no car waiting for me!)

Sunday morning Mom and I are going to get massages at Burke Williams while Matty sleeps and then spending a family day before Matt leaves to go study abroad in Berlin!!! 

Monday, Matty leaves and Mom and I are going to the Angels v. Tigers game with Laura, Mike and Mikella :) ANDDDD it will be 11 weeks since surgery.

Other than that no solid plans except spend lots of time with Kim and Kaden and see as many people as possible!

Mom and I leave on Friday, the 28th to fly to Michigan. I am SO excited she is coming with :) she was born there, actually, so it will be fun for her to go back! And she can help me get organized with Target stuff/food/etc. The plan for NOW is that Colby will fly out from Spokane to see me on Sunday when Mom leaves and stay for a few days. It will have been a few days past 1 month since we have seen each other which is DOUBLE the longest time we have ever spent apart before this .. and it totally sucks. 

STUDY TIME! Mini 3 is Wednesday! AHHHHHHH!

Picture: Celebrating Dana's 25th bday (Dana, Brooke, Leslie, Dr. Cannon - my fav professor, she is an OB/GYN!, and me!)

by Marissa ♥

♥ 2 years ♥

Not much time to write but today is our 2 year anniversary! It has been a whirlwind to say the least but we are happier than ever (minus being apart) and I can honestly say, I am IMPRESSED we made it this far. Through the first two years of medical school and we still like each other, let alone LOVE each other? SWEET! We don't even know when we will see each other next but we are both hoping for sooner rather than later, obviously. 

20 more days and I am Stateside! YAY!

(Some random pics of us: When we first started dating - Statemynt, SB || Sunset Bay restaurant in Dominica || Our going away party/Sunday Funday at El Torito in SB || Blue Bay in Dom || 4th semester banquet - WE MADE IT!)

 by Marissa ♥

21 days

Well, today is officially the last day of lecture of my basic sciences. WOO HOO! I am a little behind but the goal is to finish watching all the lectures that I missed while I was in WA this past week for Colby's reunion AND to get today's done so that I can move along and actually start LEARNING stuff. 

Only 21 more days and I will be on a plane on my way to CA! Its going to be a short pitstop at home, but at least I will get to see everyone and meet a few babies that have/will be arriving shortly :) Fam friend Kelly had a baby yesterday, and my best friend, Kim, is in labor RIGHT NOW! I am going to be an auntie! yay!

Like I said - today is the last day of lecture. Next Wednesday is my huge Clinical Medicine Practical exam. The following Wednesday is Mini 3. The following Thursday is the CUMULATIVE final covering ALL of Semesters 3 & 4!

Time to go to PT! I am full weight bearing now so lots of strengthening to do!

by Marissa ♥

5th semester

YAY! I got into the 5th semester program in Saginaw and in just 31 days I will be officially half way through medical school and done with my basic sciences!

I just registered online for 5th, so exciting!

Status	Action	CRN	Subj	Crse	Sec	Level	Cred	Grade Mode	Title
**Web Registered** on Jul 21, 2009	None **Registered**	10198	CAIC	5010	SYN	Professional, Medical	12.000	New Clinical w/Plus Grades	Advanced Intro. to Clin. Med.

Total Credit Hours:	12.000
Billing Hours:	12.000
Maximum Hours:	99.990
Date:	Jul 21, 2009 02:53 pm

by Marissa ♥

Squeaky clean

So last night I took my first shower since JUNE 6th! I was about to hop in the bath (like usual) and thought I would give it a whirl. It was a little nerve wrecking being worried about slipping but I used the wall to brace myself and I seriously felt the most clean I have in over three weeks! This morning I straightened my hair for the first time - and although at the end I was regretting it (my leg was throbbing) - its showing progress and positivity that I even thought I would be able to stand in my bathroom that long. 

Baby steps (or hobbles or whatever) :) 

Time to get to it - as usual, I am almost 30 mins late to school from what I had planned on! Typical!

oxoxxoxo

51 days til I am home free :) 

by Marissa ♥

A good day at PT!

This is going to be the week from hell! Monday is the dreaded Mini 2 and I have random crap to do (and lots of it) all week long .. talk about crappy timing.

Today was the start of my 2nd week at PT. Last week my passive flexion of my knee (sitting on my butt and drapping my heel up towards by body as far as I can on my own) went from 85 to 115 ot 135 degrees :) PROGRESS!

Friday I rode the bike for the first time and today I did ALL my exercises against resistance and rode the bike on resistance 2 (Friday was 1) for 10 mins. I went 1 whole mile! :)

Cheap thrills but its progress and in the right direction. Today is 3 weeks since surgery. 3 more and I should be full weight bearing and off crutches and HOPEFULLY on my way to WA for Colby's reunion. I looked at flights this weekend and they were $200 more than when I looked a month ago :(

Pray they go down and I do well on Monday - I really want to go!

by Marissa ♥

5th semester

So, we finally got our application form to apply for our 5th semester locations. The default is Miami and Saginaw, Michigan and Dominica are both locations you have to apply to. OBVIOUSLY we are NOT heading back to the Rock but I DO want to head to Michigan! I know, I know - it sounds crazy .. Michigan or Miami and I am picking Michigan! I have a few reasons why - and although it would be way more fun and almost all of my friends are going to Miami, I am (pretty) confident in my Michigan decision. 

Wish me luck! I should know by July 10th! 

by Marissa  ♥

The best thing ever ...

http://www.raincitystory.com/flash/screenclean.swf



by Marissa ♥

Birthday party!

Yayayaya!

So last night, I had a potluck at our apartment complex with most of my good friends from school (since I can't dance or bowl or run around, why not sit and eat!?!?!) for my birthday. Yes, yes - birthday isn't until Wednesday, but Mini 2 is coming up and I figured the way to get everyone to come - have it as far from the Mini as makes sense .. so I did!

Everyone made something delicious, Colby BBQ'd as always and I made a delicious dip and then we all pigged out! I don't even want to know how many calories I consumed yesterday!!

Today is the start of "crunch time" and I am going to try to get back into "Super-Marissa" mode and get going on my studying. There is so much added pressure since I missed Mini 1!

Wednesday is my real bday, but who knows what I will be doing then!? Something small and fun with the close friends, hopefully.

Mommy is coming July 10th! YAY! and I am OUTTA here in less than 2 months!

Marissa ♥

PT

Went to PT this morning and the facility was immaculate. The girls were great and helpful and seemed to know what they were doing (not to mention I am pretty sure they went to school in the States). I was SO worried after having seen another Clinic on the island and being in the hospital, but this place was in tip top shape, smelled clean and looked good. I will try and take a picture next time I am there.

This seems promising!

Flying FL tomorrow and will hopefully be all good news from Dr. Leo!


by Marissa ♥

Being a gimp sucks

Just wanted to write a quick post before bed to let you all know we are doing okay. It has been no cake walk (or walk of any kind, for that matter) since getting back to the Bahamas, but I think we are getting the hang of it. I am becoming more mobile but will be on my crutches until the week of July 20th. 

My 4th semester banquet is in the works (I am helping plan/organize) and is going to be July 11th. The current plan is that Colby will be in WA by then and Mom is going to come visit and be my date :) Hopefully all works out!

I fly to Florida on Tuesday for a post op visit with my surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic. Unfortunately, Aetna won't pay for the plane ticket - so that is a whopping $315.00 out of pocket for a 15-20 min office visit. =( Totally sucks, but what else can I do? HOPEFULLY for my 6 week post op visit I can make a pit stop in FL on my way to Spokane for the reunion and leave my crutches behind :) Still trying to see if/how it will work, but I definitely still want to go - I already bought my ticket to the reunion (not my flight)!

Miss you all.. I move home for good TWO MONTHS FROM TODAY! Holy crap! Yayayayay!!

by Marissa ♥

Broken!

Don't have much to say besides this:

BROKEN LEG PICTURES (<--- click me!)

I slipped on tile out in front of my apartment on Saturday night trying to hop over/dodge a massive cockroach on my walk up to my apartment. I got ambulanced to the hospital in the Bahamas .. medi-vac'd to Cleveland Clinic in Florida on Sunday and had surgery on Monday afternoon. My mom's doctors looked at my films and I guess my surgeon was amazing and did a PERFECT job, which is the best news possible. Now I just have to fly back to Florida for check ups and am totally out of commission for now.

Updates to come.

by Marissa or Colby ♥

UPDATES!!!!!

Wow! 

It has been a while and TONS has happened. I finished 3rd semester, went home to CA (hit up Santa Barbara for Alumni weekend @ UCSB, visited Christina in Livermore and looked at wedding locations, saw Libby in San Francisco and hung out with Mom!). I came back to the Bahamas a bit early and soaked up the sun with Colby and relaxed before the start of a VERY hectic 4th semester. 

So that brings us to now .. FOURTH SEMESTER!

I am the SGA President and in my last semester of "basic sciences." I am taking the same classes as last semester for the most part (Pharmacology, Microbiology, Pathology and Introduction to Clinical Medicine). I am going to the local clinics and hospitals interviewing and examining patients, learning how to interpret labs and EKGs and starting to feel more and more knowledgeable about the whole thing :) I am still pretty sure I have my heart set on OB.GYN and was actually told this morning by one of my professors (who is an OB.GYN) that I would be a fantastic OB.GYN - which made my day. 

Applications for 5th semester are at the end of the month and I am still trying to head to Saginaw, Michigan. I would be there from early Sept thru early December and then take time off to study for my USMLE Step 1 (click for details). My goal is to take that exam at the end of March 2010, but only time will tell when I will feel ready. Basically, this is THE SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT EXAM I will take. It will play a HUGE role in where I land a residency. So, obviously, taking as much time as I can/that is needed is the smartest thing to do. 

After I take the exam, I will have to a wait a month or so for my results and then off to rotations. Where that will be? WHO KNOWS! Ross is getting more hospital affiliations all the time and I really don't know where we will be - but that is part of the joy of being at a Caribbean Med School (please sense slight sarcasm). 

Colby and I are getting pumped for our return to America. He is leaving early to get organized, try and find a job and all that jazz. We talked last night and are thinking last week in June or first week in July.. which is RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER! I will be heading to Spokane July 22nd for his 10 year high school reunion (WOW!) and then coming back to Grand Bahama to finish my last 3 weeks of exams! I fly back to LAX on August 21st and will spend a few days at home playing with my soon-to-be-here nephew (Kim's bun in the oven, KADEN!!!) and shop/pack/etc. 

That is all I can write for now, MINI 1 is MONDAY! Sorry it has been so long, I think I have been bit by the blog bug - so hopefully I will keep this up :)

by Marissa ♥

The latest and greatest ..

Well, Mini 2 was last Monday and after that we had the beach bash which was tons of fun :) The rest of the week wasn't too intense and Friday night we went to a WHITE PARTY at Sabor, a restaurant at the hotel where Mom and Claudia stayed. There were lots of Rossies there and everyone was all dressed up in white, so we had a great time. Saturday morning, Colby and I had a lazy start. He made me the best french toast I had ever had in my life and we went back to bed! Around 2:30p, I finally made my way to campus and studied late to finish notes for a HUGE lecture series we had last week on Red Blood Cell & Bleeding Disorders. Today, I woke up a little bit early to start studying for Micro and Colby went to the grocery store to grab stuff to make more of his fabulous french toast again and after his workout, we packed up and went to a new beach! It was FANTASTIC :) FORTUNE BEACH PICTURES

I am going to rest for a little, study some more and workout before dinner :)

Matty and his girlfriend, Joelle, are coming to visit us next week from Monday afternoon-Thursday morning before they head to Miami! We are so excited!

Hope all is well!


by Marissa or Colby ♥

We're alive.

Hey hey hey -

Just wanted to let everyone know that we are both alive. I have been studying 15+ hours/ day for the last two days and have two more days of hell before I get a breather. Colby is at the beach today with our friends and their friends who are here visiting from Arizona.

Back to studying - the dreaded Mini 2 in on Monday at 1p.

Take care :)



by Marissa & Colby ♥

Checking in

Hey everyone..

Once again, its been a while. But the last few days were hectic! Mom got in on Wednesday evening and we went to the airport and picked up her and Claudia. We dropped them off at their hotel (which was super nice) and went to Happy Hour at the fab restaurant at the hotel and then brought them by our place to show them our apartment. We went out to dinner and then let them get some rest since Claudia was up at 2:20a that morning and mom at 3a.

Thursday I had school stuff all day and so at 4p when I was done, we went to the hotel and did Happy Hour again at a bar in Port Lucaya and at a nearby restaurant, the Ferry House. We ended up going to dinner at a little Italian restaurant in Port Lucaya that night (which was mediocre) but worked.

Friday morning I had class until 11a and then Colby and I grabbed Mom and Claudia and we headed out to Garden of the Groves, which was beautiful and peaceful and relaxing. :) We ate lunch at the cafe and then headed back to their hotel and laid by the pool and .. you guessed it .. did Happy Hour again :) We stayed for a while sitting by the pool, talking and enjoying the great weather. Colby and I went home to get cleaned up and then we all headed to Agave, a Latin Fusion restaurant, which was incredible.

Saturday we had a beach day and took the boat shuttle from the hotel to Taino beach and laid out, grabbed lunch and relaxed some more. After a few hours there, we all headed back and Colby and I went shopping for the steak dinner we were making and Mom and Claudia went to explore Port Lucaya in search of some souveniers. Colby BBQ'd some steaks and we just hung out at our apartment for a while.

They left this morning at 7:40a and are now waiting in Miami for their flight to LAX. It was a short, sweet, fabulous trip. I am a little behind now - so this week is going to be hectic! Mini 2 in a week from tomorrow!!

Hope all is well.

Here is a link to some pictures from Garden of the Grove and our boat ride to Taino beach. Enjoy!


by Marissa ♥

West End Adventures

Today was an easy day, schedule-wise, for me and so we decided to take advantage of our new ride and go on a trip to the West End. Colby packed up lunch and came and grabbed me from campus and off we went. Here are some pictures from our little adventure.

WEST END ADVENTURE PICTURES

Hope everyone is well :)

by Marissa or Colby ♥

Two in one day! Lucky you :)

Colby just sent this to me - so I figured I would post it here! Click on the link and watch the video - its touching. (Love you Uncles!!!)





"Have you heard that Ken Starr -- and the Prop 8 Legal Defense Fund -- filed legal briefs defending the constitutionality of Prop 8 and attempting to forcibly divorce 18,000 same-sex couples that were married in California last year? The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in this case on March 5, with a decision expected within 90 days.

The Courage Campaign has created a video called "Fidelity," with the permission of musician Regina Spektor, that puts a face to those 18,000 couples and all loving, committed couples seeking full equality under the law.

Please watch this heartbreaking video now. If you have the same reaction that I did, please help me spread the word by sharing it with your friends and family ASAP: http://www.couragecampaign.org/Divorce

The more people who see this video, the more people will understand the pain caused by Prop 8 and Ken Starr's shameful legal proceeding. After you watch the video, please join me and over 250,000 people who have signed a letter to the state Supreme Court, asking them to invalidate Prop 8 and reject Starr's case."

by Marissa && Colby ♥

Happy Valentines Weekend :)

Just wanted to drop a quick note. I was thinking about it this morning and I think part of the reason I haven't been writing blogs as much is there is so much to do and be done here and in 3rd semester. In 1st and 2nd - we were in Dominica so the only option was sit at home in bed (since we didn't have any form of living room) or study and sit on campus (which I did for 12-16 hours/day).

In the Bahamas I have been feeling crunched for time. Mini 1 kind of sucked - but nothing that can't be recovered from - and after two semesters, I have proven to myself that it always works out. So I, honestly, am not worried. I know I have it in me - and have been working really hard to fix what was done wrong and continue to fine-tune my studying process. To help with the "time crunch" we are looking into buying a car ASAP. Colby is looking at a 2000 Mercury Sable right now, actually. Hopefully it works out and we can have the car early this week. Waiting around for buses and taxis really adds up in the "time wasted" department (not to mention its really frustrating always feeling like we are at the mercy of everyone else). Also, getting a car ourselves means that Colby should be able to start working sooner (rather than later).

I have some new pics for you all to see - enjoy!

Lookin' fabulous at our yummy sushi dinner for Valentine's Day
SUSHI DINNER! MmMMMm




Colby playing with our friend, Luan, and his son.


Everyone playing at the beach!


Saturday we went to the beach at the Westin - amazing!


Friday night out in Port Lucaya :)


Out after the Mini - me and Joana


Post Mini fun :)


Lily, Joana and me


Lily, Kyung and me

by Marissa ♥

25 things about me.

So there is this "thing" going around Facebook like the plague - where you write a note with 25 random things about yourself and post it for everyone to see. I suppose its kind of like a "getting to know you" exercise.

I thought I would share mine after going back and reading through them a few days after writing them. Enjoy.

1. I have been debating for the last few days if I should even bother writing this "note" - I have so much studying to do. But I keep thinking about what I would write about myself .. so here I am.

2. My mom is better than yours. I guarantee it. She is the single most amazing person I have ever met and one day, I hope to be as amazing as she has been to my brother and me to my own kids.

3. If I met a genie, my one wish would be to fast forward through the next few years. My grandpa always said, "Don't wish your life away" to my mom - and she tells me the same .. but medical school is hard and stressful and while I sit and study all day, every day .. my friends are all starting their lives, families and careers. I am jealous of that.

4. I am obsessed with weddings. I look at wedding stuff all the time. I know what colors I want, what dress I want, that I want to be married somewhere near the Pacific Ocean and that my mom is going to walk me down the aisle. I want 9 bridesmaids - Colby says no way. :) (I say, we'll see!)

5. I love sports (UCLA, Angels, Lakers and STEELERS!) and I love watching SportsCenter. Chris Berman's "whoops!" make me laugh every time and I think Mark Schlereth is hot.

6. I think that Victory from the show LIPSTICK JUNGLE has the most amazing style. I want it. And one day I plan on being able to afford it.

7. One day, I will wake up with an ocean view and the ocean breeze blowing on me in a big, fluffy bed. The more feathers, the better!!!!

8. I never think I am going to do well on an exam going into it or after. I am almost always pleasantly surprised and I am proud of myself for getting the grades I do. I hope that I keep kicking ass, especially because I like making Colby and my mom proud.

9. Laguna Beach is my favorite beach. I am obsessed with the beach. My name means, "of the sea" - so I tell myself it was destiny.

10. I am still really close with a lot of friends from my past and I wonder if I will ever make more friends like them. I want to have a "Sex and the City" group of girlfriends when I am older more than (almost) anything.

11. I only regret one relationship I have been in .. and not all of it. But I realized that staying in a relationship I wasn't 100% happy with made me miss out on months during my last year of college - and once I finally started to enjoy my friends and that time of my life to the fullest - it was over.

12. When I left SB, I thought I had spent enough time there. Going back over Christmas made me miss that amazing little town so much. What a kick ass place.

13. I miss my Uncle Boyd everyday. I got a new flower added to my "family garden" tattoo to remind me of him. The flower means "absence of a friend" and Nate added petals floating away to symbolize the same. I wish his transplant would have been successful.. he deserved it. And I feel like I deserve to have him here still.

14. I am the luckiest girl in the world .. I have someone that loves me enough to uproot his own life to support me while I follow my dreams of becoming a doctor. One day, I hope I can make him feel as supported and he makes me feel.

15. I wish I had green eyes like my mom.

16. I am in love with pretty shoes and buy them impulsively all the time.

17. I want to go on my honeymoon to South Africa or Europe. No more Caribbean for me .. for a very long time.

18. My brother is rad .. and I love him so much (when he is in a good mood!) :) hahah

19. I am extremely opinionated .. and I usually share my opinions, regardless of if people want to hear them. I hate stupid people. I hate people that lie because they don't have the balls to tell the truth.

20. I love blank underpants. I think they are sexyyy!!!

21. I LOVE CHEESE!! and wine and candles and jacuzzis and chocolate-covered strawberries.

22. I love everything Betsey Johnson. I think her stuff is adorable. It makes me feel girly and pretty.

23. I think that farts are hilarious.

24. I love to dance.. love love love it. And the louder the music the better.

25. I love it when Colby scratches my head before I go to sleep, and I think its funny that it gives me dreadlocks.

by Marissa ♥

Kill me.

Well - 3rd semester sucks and aside from being totally overwhelmed and terrified of Mini 1 which is on MONDAY - I haven't really had much time to blog. I haven't really felt like it either - so for that, I apologize.

In a nutshell - the Bahamas is still amazing and I can't wait until after the exam so I can go do some exploring and playing. We get movies here when you all do - so next week, me and a couple of my girlfriends are going to go see, "He's just not that into you!" Colby has been cooking some incredible food. And we have both been working out (him with our neighbor and some other guys and he makes workouts for me and cheers me on) which feels great (although I am taking the week off!)

Colby is hanging in there - pre-Mini weeks are notoriously boring and lonely for him. We are still waiting for the car and then hopefully he will be able to start doing his thing :)

We had an amazing BBQ at our place on Sunday for the Superbowl - which of course - ended fabulously!

See pictures!






Back to it - I will try and be better about posting post-Mini

by Marissa ♥

We're alive!

Hiiiii!

Sorry it has been a while .. I keep thinking I will make the time to upload the latest pictures and post an awesome blog - but lately I have been working in the computer lab on school desktops (so I don't have any pictures) and I haven't really even considered just logging in and posting a quick update until now!

Colby found a job! Now we are just waiting for everything to fall into place. He is going to start doing deliveries for the Greek restaurant and the owner of the Greek restaurant (the crazy Steelers fan - who is actually flying to FL and going to the Superbowl!) got a friend who also owns a restaurant to go in on it too and Colb is going to deliver for BOTH restaurants. ALSO, he was talking to our landlord this morning, who just happens to own a few restaurants, and she said she would love to have him do deliveries for her too! So we shall see what this all pans out to - but we are both stoked!

School is going well, we finally are learning clinical things are starting to feel like we are on the road to Doctorville. I got home last night and started poking and proding at Colby to try and find all his pulses: carotid (neck), brachial (near the edge of the bicep), radial (on the wrist), femoral (inguinal region - I can't think of a "layman's term" for this! hahah!), popliteal (behind the knee), posterior tibial (behind the medial ankle bone) and dorsalis pedis (on top of the foot). Then I was showing him cool tricks to check hand perfusion (making sure the blood is flowing from where it is supposed to). I really liked it :)

I have an SGA meeting today and as 3rd semseter class rep, I feel like I am on top of things. I really enjoy the position because I always have something to say.. about EVERYTHING (as most of you are VERY aware! - Mom!) so I feel like I get to always be right in the mix and on top of things.

Mom is coming on February 25th! Some friends from high school (Amanda, Kelly, Libby and Meghan) are working on coming at the end of March, everyone is just trying to make sure they can get work off! I AM SO EXCITED!

Back to studying - blogging was a nice procrastination though! Pics to come soon!

Love you all!


by Marissa ♥

We're going to the SUPERBOWL!

So its official .. the Steelers are headed to the Superbowl! Last night Colby and I went with our friend, Garron, to the same bar we went to last weekend to join all of the other Steelers fans to cheer and scream and yell and cuss (oops!) the Steelers straight to the Superbowl! It was an amazing game and we ALL had a blast. A group of contractors came in around half time and bought the entire bar a round of shots.. pictures to come! Woo hoo! Needless to say, Colby is beside himself and more so now than ever, he will talk football with ANYONE who even looks like they might have a clue! :)

Friday night we went out in Port Lucaya with friends, had a mellow day Saturday and went out for a sushi dinner at an amazing (and slightly posh) restaurant in Port Lucaya called East. The sushi was amazing! A little pricey, but well worth it. I wish I would have taken a picture of our plate because the presentation was incredible. Sunday I laid out and Colby fished with the neighbors and then we watched the game. What a great weekend :)

Now its Monday, back to the grind and time to kick my butt into gear. Vacation is officially over! Colby just walked to campus with lunch and is now headed to talk to the owner of a Greek restaurant (who just happens to be an INSANE Steelers fan -- the man's office looks like the NFL.com commercial where EVERYTHING in sight has a Steelers logo on it!) about being his delivery driver (and he will let us use HIS car to do the deliveries!) So that is a start to overcoming the job hurdle :)

My mom is coming to visit in February, possibly with her best friend from Junior High! They came to the Bahamas together in 1979!! 30 YEAR REUNION!! Regardless of if Claudia can make it, Mom is coming from Feb 25th-March 1st and I couldn't be more excited! She needs the break and will LOVE this place! And I miss you, Mom!! Colby's dad is also coming down from WA - but we are trying to figure out dates so that he misses the Spring Break debauchery! :)

Much love from two very happy people!

by Marissa ♥

So far, so good..

So we have officially been in the Bahamas for a full week now, and we both love it. I would have to say one of my FAVORITE THINGS about being here .. the GROCREY STORE! They have everything, which has made eating/cooking 1,000 x easier/more enjoyable!!

We are still working on trying to find Colby a job - and seeing as he is white white white - it is proving to be even a little more difficult. Student Services at Ross is working with immigration to figure out the laws and Colby is doing a little searching on his own. The economy here isn't very good right now, so I guess that is going to prove to make it even MORE of a challenge, but a few things have proven to be (slightly) promising.

School is in full swing! We are something like 32 hours in after today. We had behavioral science lab this morning, which actually wasn't half bad. We have a new professor who is a psychiatrist in training from England, who I really enjoy. Also, lots of the professors that came here from the Dominican campus are some of the best. I haven't gotten a chance for much secondary studying, but I am relatively on top of things for now, which I am okay with.

On Wednesday night, the school held a dinner/party thing for all the students and there was music, drinks, local Bahamian cuisine and a limbo competition! Here are a few pictures from the night .. me winning the limbo competition (well I tied with two others) and dancing the electric slide with Joana (in the white shirt/black sweater and black hat!)!! I had a great time :)



We are going to make dinner and then go out and about tonight. Tomorrow will hopefully be a productive day and then Sunday the Steelers play in the AFC championship game so we will be at this bar, Sparkys, where we found very good and crazy local Steelers fan club :) Who says Bahamians are Dolphin fans??!

Hope all is well! Keep in touch :)



by Marissa ♥

First day of school ...

So today was our first official day of school in the Bahamas .. and it went pretty smooth. We had an IT orientation and a PACE orientation (which is the program I am in that got us to the Bahamas) and a Student Services orientation to talk about "life" issues that we are facing (financial aid, transportation, visas, etc). The faculty and professors so far are all amazing (some old, some new Ross people) and although not everything is figured out, it is still heaven here compared to Dominica.

Today after all the orientations we went with our friends Colt and Chanel (who live in our apartment complex) to Cost Right which is just like a Costco and got an entire cart worth of food buying in bulk and all the treats we wanted :) It is so amazing to just eat what we want - one of my biggest issues with Dominica!

Back to Mediasiting lectures - hope all is well!

Love from .. paradise! (finally!)




by Marissa ♥

We love the Bahamas!

GOOO STEELERS!!

So today was a fabulous one! The weather was picture perfect, the water was beautiful, the Steelers kicked butt and we ate some good food :) Classes start tomorrow for me and we are hoping that Colby will be able to find a job soon .. rumor has it that its kind of hard to find work if you aren't from here .. so we shall see.

Not much to report here - except life is G-O-O-D!



by Marissa ♥

Pictures!!

HERE YOU GO! HERE ARE THE FIRST FEW PICS FROM THE BAHAMAS!

and because I love them .. a few pics from New Year's Eve in Santa Barbara!




This place is amazing, we both love it so far. Life is good - just waiting/dreading school starting on Monday! Enjoy!

CLICK HERE FOR BAHAMAS PICTURES!!



by Marissa && Colby ♥