Never Eat Lettuce in Dominica

My parents left early this morning at 4:30 a.m. Later around 7 a.m. I awoke from a horrid, graphic dream that my classmates and I were hiding behind trees in a forest of man-eating bears. I was crouched down behind a shrub while packs of grizzlies through the woods eating people whole then retreated behind the hills. I woke up feeling horrible. I've been sick since yesterday; stomach cramps, headache that won't be assuaged by motrin. And I start classes on Monday. Great.
A biochemistry prof. gave a nutrition lecture the other day and told us how to clean lettuce that we buy from street vendors. My mom and I followed these instructions to a "T" yet here I am with intestinal cramps and a persistent headache. Moral of the story is: never eat the lettuce in Dominica.
I spent the majority of the day drinking lots of water mixed with EmergenC, napping, attempting to read lecture notes for Monday and watching bad chick flix on TV. Although I feel unproductive I also think I need to give myself a chance to heal before I hit the ground running (or in this case weakly stumbling) towards my first week of medical school.
I suspect that my condition is in part due to the poor choice I made to go out on Thursday night. The started with hanging out with my friend's friends in an apartment across the street from mine. We then proceeded to walk towards "De Champ's" the local bar/med. student hang out. The hills in Dominica are serious hills. (hills=bottom portion of mountain-sides) Around the time that our group became a larger group as more and more people joined us on our trek up to the bar, a local guy drove up to us and offered us a ride in the back of his pick-up truck.
Most of the girls and guys were "stoked" and jumped right in. Camron and I looked at each other and decided to play it safe by sitting inside the truck. God, I thought I left all this behind in Texas!
In the end taking the ride was worth it because the bar is located on the very top of the longest, steepest hill I have encountered in Portsmouth.
I have to admit I was surprised and a little impressed by the place. So many people were there and I felt a strong sense of camaraderie among my fellow classmates.
Unfortunately my body later punished me for drinking an amount of alcohol that would have barely left me tipsy back home. That in combination with contaminated food leaves where I am right now. I truly hope I feel at least 50% better tomorrow or else I'm screwed for this week.

On one last, positive note, I am really excited to start medical school! The first two weeks will be a review of basic concepts and our first "mini" exam is 2 1/2 weeks away (too soon!)
My courses are 8am- 3pm or later for labs. I have about 30 minutes for lunch in the middle of the day. This semester I'm taking: biochemistry, anatomy lab, histology, anatomy, and simulation lab where we practice clinical skills on one of the six super high-tech human simulators ($45K a piece). Apparently they contain realistic body fluids, react to medication and have other physiological characteristics like a heartbeat and working lungs. Creepy yet amazing. I can't wait to work on one! I'm a little nervous about dissecting my first cadaver but I'm sure I'll get over it soon enough. I'm looking forward to joining an organization that provides volunteer health care in the town clinic too.
Keep your fingers crossed that I get better by Monday! Thanks for reading :)

More later...