Pictured: 1) Fort Young Hotel, where Nat and I stayed this past weekend. 2) Roseau, the Dominican capital from a lookout high atop the city. 3) A cross built by the British at the lookout that towers above the city. 4 & 5) Pics of Nat and I. Nat is standing in front of a waterfall on the hotel's property.

I wanted to give everyone some pictures Natalie and I took during our visit to Roseau this weekend. The outlook over Roseau and cross pictured were very impressive. We also visited Trafalger Falls (a huge waterfall in the center of the island) and Sulphur Springs (a natural hot tub of sulphur-infused water). We ate a fabulous meal at Ft. Young. Nat and I shared a seafood casserole that had crab, marlin, scallops, shrimp with a white wine sauce and cheese. Of course, Natalie was much more excited about the Creme Brulee!

The hotel was very nice. The pool was a highlight for me. (I guess most of you heard what happened to my parents' pool, I'm such bad luck). It was an infinity-edged pool, one that looks like it does not have an edge. It looked like we were swimming in the Caribbean Sea. Our room had a nice balcony that sat high above the Caribbean. It was a great place to chill. The hotel was originally a fort built by the British in the 1700s and named after the first English governor of Dominica. The fort and island were eventually overtaken and controlled by the French until the natives won their independence in the mid 1900s. There is a huge Anglican (the church of England) and Catholic (French) influence on the island.

By the way, I actually saw a basketball court during our trip to Roseau. They are very rare in Dominica. The Dominicans are rabid about cricket and futbol (soccer). Someone suggested that I move down here and coach the Dominican national basketball team and try to take them to the Olympics (kind of like the Jamaican bobsled team)!

Nat is busy studying now. However, busy is a poor choice of words; she has nine tests that start on Friday. Needless to say, our time together has been drastically cut back. She continues to amaze me. I wish all of you could see her dedication and work ethic. Not many people I know could handle the workload here, much less being 3000 miles from home. She is so special! I am so fortunate that God created her and saved her for me. It is nothing short of a miracle how God brought us together. If you have the the interest and about two days, I will be happy to share all the "coincidences" that brought us together (I put coincidences in quotes because our meeting and subsequent relationship was anything but chance). Many days, I do not think I deserve her. Anyone else feel like that about their spouse? It's a very intimidating feeling. I mean, she is going to be a doctor and all I can do is coach basketball!

There is not much to do while Nat is in class, so I have been hitting the gym on campus up. I am doing an hour of cardio work everyday and also lifting weights. My health is great. I feel like a new person (and hopefully look like one also). I have also been reading quite a lot and working on basketball and school stuff. Until next time,

JT

"R.I.P. KEVIN BROPHY #3. I MISS YOU AND LOVE YOU."

I was fortunate enough to attend Natalie's flag-football game versus the 3rd and 4th semester girls on Friday. This is a big deal at Ross UMS. Virtually every student came and lined the field, there was tailgating, heckling, and even a few skirmishes. I felt like I was back in the South. These people really get into this football game every semester.

Last semester, Natalie's team won and she was the MVP of the game. This was the first time in school history that the 1st and 2nd semester team defeated the 3rd/4th. Natalie was treated like a rock-star leading up to this game. When we entered a bar on the night I got here, the entire bar began chanting, "MVP! MVP! MVP!"

Unfortunately, Natalie's team lost 20-13 this semester, but it was a very good game played after 48 hours of non-stop rain. Natalie played very well at cornerback for her team. She is very athletic, competitive, and intuitive when playing sports. She is not a good loser, something we have in common!

Natalie and I just returned from an overnight visit to Roseau, the capital of Dominica. We had a great time. I will post some pictures from there tomorrow. I am having a great time with Natalie. See you guys soon.

JT

"R.I.P. #3 KEVIN BROPHY- I'M STILL COMING TO GRIPS WITH YOU BEING GONE. I'M STILL PRAYING FOR YOUR FAMILY AND THOSE OF US THAT KNEW YOU. I'LL SEE YOU WHEN I GET THERE. WE ALL LOVE YOU."

“Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will lie under the stars and listen to your heartbeat, or will stay awake just to watch you sleep... wait for the boy who kisses your forehead, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats, who holds your hand in front of his friends, who thinks you're just as pretty without makeup on. One who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares and how lucky his is to have you.... The one who turns to his friends and says, 'that's her.'”



I am lucky to have found this man, I must say. JT and I are having a great time so far. I have lots of football practice this week and lots of studying. I just wanted to say hello! Love you guys!

R.I.P. KEVIN BROPHY #3

GOD BE WITH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. YOU WERE TAKEN FROM US MUCH TOO EARLY- THAT'S OUR LOSS. I'LL SEE YOU WHEN I GET THERE!

Hey everyone, it's JT. I am blogging to you from Dominica. First, I have some tragic news for those of you I haven't spoken to. One of my players at the University of Georgia, Kevin Brophy, was killed in a car accident Thursday evening. Kevin was a great kid. I was Kevin's assigned "Academic Coach/ Personal Mentor" for over two years, so he and I became very close. I watched him grow as a person and basketball player. I envisioned Kevin accomplishing many amazing things in his life. Unfortunately for us and this world, those accomplishments will never materialize. Kevin was Australian, but moved to Savannah, GA for his senior year of high school to further his basketball career. He was travelling from Athens (where UGA is) to Savannah when he had his accident.
I was in Athens when Kevin had his accident. When I got on the plane Friday morning to travel to Dominica, it was with bittersweet emotions. I am going to miss the Memorial Service for Kevin that will be held Monday in Athens.
Unless you have been involved in big-time college athletics, it is very difficult to grasp the lifestyle and how close you become to those who are fighting those battles along side of you. I think it has similarities to the military in that regard. Like Natalie said, "You become very close to someone when you spend Thanksgiving and Christmas with them."
I will miss Kevin because of the person he was outside of Basketball. Honestly, the only reason he played at UGA was because of the type of person he was off the court. He was not gifted physically or athletically. You would not think he was an SEC Basketball player if you saw him from across the room, but whenever Kevin was in the game for us, something good always happened. Kevin was a winner, a fighter, and a great teammate. Someone asked Mickey Mantle what he wanted put on his tombstone and Mantle simply replied, "He was a great teammate." That adage would definitely apply to Kevin.
I appreciate all of you who called me and offered your words of encouragement following Kevin's death. I know many of you have been praying for Kevin's family, the UGA Basketball team, his friends, and me. I have wondered during the past few days what it must be like for someone to experience this without knowing and believing in, and having the assurances of Christ. I know that death is not final and that through Christ's death I have been assured that I will live forever with Him. My prayer is that God will use this tragedy for His benefit because I know everything happens for a purpose. Thanks for letting me vent some of my emotions on here. It has been very therapeutic.
On to happier subjects...It was great to see Natalie. She could not believe how different I looked (I have lost 110 pounds for those of you that do not know). My flight was 2 1/2 hours late leaving Atlanta. I landed in San Juan, Puerto Rico at 2:30pm and my flight to Dominica was scheduled to depart at 2:40pm. With the help of a wonderful Delta Flight Attendant and my swift feet, I barely made it to the other side of the airport to board in time. Apologies go out to the old lady, pregnant woman, and four kids I steamrolled in the San Juan airport, but I had to see my woman!!! Flying into Dominica is a beautiful sight. The island is gorgeous from afar. It jettisons out of the ocean magnificently with sharp mountains and beautiful palm trees. The airport is awful. It is the size of a 1-bedroom apartment, has no air conditioning, and is very run down. Natalie and her friend Puja were waiting for me with a cab when I landed. I am looking forward to making up for lost time with my wife over the next three weeks (I will let her study though). We are going to Fort Young Hotel next weekend. It is a resort here in Dominica with a pool and beautiful beach access. Natalie has made some wonderful friends while here. I have met many of them...Lindsey, Zubedia, Puja, Kim, Eddie, Lisa, and Christine to name a few. It has been good to now be able to put a face with the names I have heard all about for the past seven months.
I hope everyone is doing well in America. Talk to you guys soon.

JT

"Never look down on someone unless you are helping them up." (I know that I just posted but I heard this on television last night as I was falling asleep. I thought it very worthy of sharing.)

“We spend the first twelve months of our children's lives teaching them to walk and talk and the next twelve telling them to sit down and shut up.”
Phyllis Diller

In the light of some of the anger, pain, cruelty, injusctice, and lack of fairness I have felt since being in med school, a picture like this, of something so precious reminds that life will always get better. (This is my friends' daughter Stella.) Things will always look up and people are people. We are all tainted from childhood but what we all need is someone to look at us and say "you are okay." And even when someone says it to you, you may not want it or may even reject it. However, in the end, I think we will value the people who gave us a chance, even if it is days, weeks, months later.

Anyways, JT will be here on Friday. I am SO excited, as if I need to say this. I spent tonight cleaning and rearranging my room and with Kim at the "salon". So tomorrow I must study SUPER hard. Thankfully Kim was here or I would have gotten quite lonely after the last two days. Thankfully, though, my room looks much better.

Well, I am getting sleepy and have a lot of Neuroscience tomorrow, which is my weakest subject now. Have a good day tomorrow. Love you guys and hope to hear from you all.

“I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”
Mother Teresa


This is a rhetorical question, but have you ever loved someone, a man, a friend, a family member, anyone.......so much that it hurts. You want this person to know your feelings are unconditional, but they block you out. They won't let you in, and this choice may their way of protecting you.....However, the shutting out is tenfold more painful than any fall off that would have occurred otherwise.

In some ways, I open myself up to this in every relationship I have ever had in that I care too much for the other person. I care too much for my family, my friends, for everyone. And honestly, because I care so much and feel so much, I often expect too much in return. And maybe it is not even that I expect too much. Maybe I truly am "hypersensitive".

I don't have anything else to say tonight......EXCEPT JT WILL BE HERE FRIDAY!

"Only your real friends tell you when your face is dirty."- Sicilian Proverb

"Without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods."- Artistotle

These pictures are from the Black and White party Friday night. The picture of me by myself is strictly for Gretchen. She will remember this pose....And to be honest, Gretchen, the situation that followed was much similar....but we will keep that to ourselves....Right?

JT will be here Friday....I am so excited that I am losing a bit of my focus. Thank goodness Zubeida and Shruti keep reeling me in and reminding me to study hard. I will be fine. We all need those people who don't care to tell us what we really need to hear even though it is not what we want to hear. It really feels "yucky" at times, having someone tell you to stay focused and study when you think that you are focused. I guess all we can do is thank God for those people in our lives because, quite honestly, without them we may go quite astray...

My friend Puja had a great idea today. We had a little luncheon at Lindsey's house. We had a big salad, soup, grilled cheese, and lemonade. Hopefully I will have pictures of it tomorrow. But it was such a nice hiatus from Dominica. It was something we would have eaten at home. It was so nice...

Well, I better go study or my friends will be all over me....Have a good week!

"I am not judged by the number of times I fail, but by the number of times I succeed: and the number of times I succeed is in direct proportion to the number of times I fail and keep trying.”Tom Hopkins

"Think where man's glory most begins and ends,And say my glory was I had such friends."- William Yeats

So I must say, I did well on my exam. As if you can not tell by the smile on my face in all the pictures. (Well, except for the one, which I was being silly serious.) I know you all think all I do is have a good time with my friends. Granted, we do have a blast. However, I got several A's on this exam. I was and am so excited. I was so scared of Biochemistry. Thanks, though, to my friend Zubeida I got an A. Seriously, if she had not taken so much time to help me, I don't know what would have happened. And the beauty of that was studying with her was not just boring.....we had so much fun. And with the exception of one friend, ALL of my friends did well on the exam. It was such a nice feeling because we worked so hard and all had so much riding on it. Granted, our final grades do not come out till tomorrow, but from the raw scores, I am very pleased.

Also....JT is coming in 8 days. I am so excited. I don't care if we stay in my apartment, go somewhere, or whatever....I just want to hang out with him. I really can not put into words how truly anxious I am to hang out, laugh....

I wanted to say Congrats to my friend Melissa Brown who is getting married November 4. She is one of the truest friends I have ever had....I wish I could be there, be in her wedding. I know she understands but that is a frustration of being here. Not being there for the stuff you feel is important....weddings, births, deaths.....holidays.

Well I am going! Have a good one.

Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and however early a man's training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly.Thomas H. Huxley (1825 - 1895) (I know that I have used this quote before and I will probably use it again. However, considering I have an exam on Monday, a big exam, this quote is by far the most fitting one.)

I just finished my first anatomy practical exam of the semester. It was 50 questions on x-rays, cadavers, and bones covering the GI tract, male and female pelvis and perineum, and external genitalia. I know that sounds so exciting to everyone. What JT does not know is that when he comes down here (2 weeks from today) is that I am going to make him go to the anatomy lab for the experience....and then we will be doing the skull, face, and neck. What a Blast!

So here is something cute. I spent the night at Zubeida's last night because we were studying really late. Well, there is a dog that lives near her apartment that just had three little puppies. They are so cute. So at 3 am, we were sitting on the balcony and the little puppies were just crying and whining. We assumed that the mom's milk is probably dry. But they were SO cute. I just could not get over it, and when we left for our exam this morning, they were still there. It was a nice way to leave for the exam because they were so cute and give this warm fuzzy feeling.

Anyways, I better study neuro even though I do not want to. I hope things are well with everyone, and I hope to hear from you soon.

"We lay there & looked up at the night sky & she told me about stars called blue squares & red swirls & I told her I'd never heard of them. Of course not, she said, the really important stuff they never tell you. You have to imagine it on your own."

This is a giant block of whatever is most difficult for you to carry & trust me on this, you'll carry it more times than you can count until you decide that's exactly what you want to do most & then it won't weigh a thing anymore.

Of course I hang on tight, she said. You can't believe the kind of stuff that happens when you let go.

Time stands still best in moments that look suspiciously like ordinary life.

She held her grief behind her eyes like an ocean & when she leaned forward into the day it spilled onto the floor & she wiped at it quickly with her foot & pretended no one had seen.

~All of these are from www.storypeople.com.




Happy 4th of July! We are still in class, so happy fourth to us. Studying how to take a psychiatric history is great celebration. JT's family is having their big party in an hour....I am quite jealous. All of the good food and family. Also, my mom is in Fripp Island at my Aunt Pam's beach house. Basically, she is MIA on the beach. I can not blame her. I know you all think I am in some tropical island with beaches everywhere. It really is not like that, by the way. Class does not lend itself to 'beach time'. Anyways, I hope everyone has a great holiday. Take some good pictures and send them to me.

Four hundred years ago, another well-known English guy had an opinion about being alone. John Donne. He thought we were never alone. Of course, it was fancier when he said it. "No man is an island entire unto himself." Boil down that island talk, and he just meant that all anyone needs is someone to step in and let us know we're not alone. ~Meredith Grey, Grey's Anatomy (Funny to me because I am on an island....so that island talk really isn't crap....And see from the pictures, I am not alone....)

We're adults. When did that happen? And how do we make it stop? ~Meredith Grey, Grey's Anatomy

"As doctors, we're trained to be skeptical, because patients lie to us all the time. The rule is, every patient is a liar until proven honest. Lying is bad. Or so we are told constantly from birth. Honesty is the best policy, the truth shall set you free, I chopped down the cherry tree. Whatever. The fact is, lying is a necessity. We lie to ourselves because the truth... the truth freaking hurts." Grey's Anatomy

I am not really sure why I wanted to use Grey's Anatomy quotes. Also, my friend Zubeida and I were talking about literature today. That is why I found John Donne fitting. They seemed right, especially seeing as how being here can easily make someone feel alone. Have you ever felt alone? I should preface this saying that I am not feeling lonely at this moment or especially sad. I am just posing a topic. Sometimes you can feel lonely in a crowd of people. I have to say, recently I have felt much better about my loneliness. Granted, speaking to my dad and his family yesterday at their 4th of July cookout made me feel quite lonely. Don't get me wrong. It was great to talk to them. However, it just made me feel very far away. Luckily, I have good friends here. I thank God daily for bringing such a variety of people into my life. I also thank him for who those people are to me and for the strength to be what I need to be for them.
I guess it was more real this weekend because my friend's grandmother died. It was her mom's mom. It made me pick up the phone and call my grandparents. I could not reach my grandma but spoke to Granpa Stewart...... Reality checks, especially ones that happen here, 2000 miles from home, are not fun but bring out our strength and, consequently, our weakness. That is why I am thankful for my friends. Here, people see you at your very worst and rarely your best. That is why you know that if you make a true friend here you are likely to keep them....they have seen you at your worst and still like you....so goodness sakes they should like you at your best. I just thank God for these girls, one especially, that remind me I am not alone here.

“Sorrow comes to all...Perfect relief is not possible, except with time. You cannot now realize that you will ever feel better and yet you are sure to be happy again.”
Abraham Lincoln


“Just remember, the same as a spectacular Vogue magazine, remember that no matter how close you follow the jumps: Continued on page whatever. No matter how careful you are, there's going to be the sense you missed something, the collapsed feeling under your skin that you didn't experience it all. There's that fallen heart feeling that you rushed right through the moments where you should've been paying attention. Well, get used to that feeling. That's how your whole life will feel some day. This is all practice. None of this matters. We're just warming up." Chuck Palahniuk

“They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
Carl W. Buechner

Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal.”
E. Joseph Cossman


I don't have much time to add stuff. That is why I put several pictures and quotes. I apologize but there is an anatomy practical Friday and an exam Monday. I am studying in a freezing classroom now. I am in one of JT's old sweatshirts which really big on me. I look like an eskimo because I have the hood up with my glasses on and my big "David Silver, 90210" head phones on. Anyways, it is quite a sight. Well, I have church in thirty minutes so I better get back to studying.