Top 5 Things I Will Miss about St. Maarten
Ok, ok, so you've been hearing me complain about this place for 20 months now, but I can't deny there are things about the island that I will definitely miss. As with my previous list, I'm not going to do the obvious choices, like friends, fried plantains, blah-blah-blah. My list here reflects those things about St. Maarten that I've grown accustomed and, dare I say, attached to.
Honorable Mention
- The cheapest alcohol anywhere in the world – Johnny Walker Blue Label for $109… 'nuff said.
5. The Airport
- I mean, really, where else can you stand 20 ft. behind a 747 as it takes off and get blown 200 yards into the ocean or directly underneath an American Airlines 757 as it comes in for a landing?
- While driving past the airport and seeing the airplanes:
YHO: Wow, the American Airlines flight hasn't left yet. It's like 2 hours late.
H.A. (taking his eyes off the road and hands off the wheel and reaching for the plane): FREEEDOOOOOOOOMMM!!!!
YHO (grabbing the wheel from the passenger's seat): Ok, based on the amount of whine in that, I'd say we're at about week 10 of the semester.
4. Clean Air & Starry Nights
- These kind of go hand in hand. Not often have I experienced such beautiful night skies. The calm and tranquility that falls over the island by night is by far one of its charms. The beautiful bright sunshine and total lack of smog in the air will be sorely missed.
3. Relaxation, when time permits
- You haven't lived until you've spent an entire day lying out by the pool of your local Caribbean resort.
2. The View
- There's something to be said about waking up every morning, walking to your living room and being struck by the beauty of the Caribbean Sea. It has calming properties I couldn't even begin to describe to you. Lord knows, those mornings before Pathology exams, it was just what the doctor ordered.
1. The Yachts
- I could, literally, sit and stare at these majestic vessels for hours. Unfortunately, med school does not lend itself to such idle behavior. So I've stocked up on plenty of yachting magazines to recreate the warm, fuzzy feeling I get inside every time The Limitless sails by.
It's definitely been an experience living in St. Maarten. It's a completely different lifestyle, to say the least, but I've learned a lot, not only about medicine, but about myself, life, and how small the world really is. I don't think I can call St. Maarten my home, but it has definitely become a part of me (yes, despite all my resistance).
My colleagues and I were thrown into a new world, and frankly, I think we came out smelling like roses (a little joke for the Phi Chi members on this list). So you'll forgive us if we pat ourselves on the back, and think we're greatest thing since Penicillin. Because we did it. We did it well. We did it with pride. And we did it with a little Caribbean style. From now on, SXM will be like a little club we were all in. We'll always have The Westin, Sunset Beach Bar, Mullet Bay, Talk of the Town Too, and of course:
The Library, Histo lab, Psychadelic Cafeteria, Tien Statue, Gold Steering Wheel Covers, Mind's Eye, Sequences-es-es, Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaateral, EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-vagination, Easy Kaplan Tests, 2 am congregations on the second floor of the Rotunda to kvetch about the Comp,etc.
Obviously, the journey has not ended. It's just become....less interesting.
No comments:
Post a Comment