Makes us all wish we were at an island school

Brianna Elliott, from St. George's University, writes about her experience on an island school.

“Wow! Look at how blue the water is here!” This was my very first thought when I came to St. George’s Veterinary school in Grenada. Grenada is a small island in the Caribbean, just north of South America. Having only been out of the country once and only for a week, living here and going to school here for the next 3 years terrified and excited me. This story is about my trip to the island, the adventures, the hard work and tears from vet school, and the friends (now family) that help me along.

 Landing on the island is the scariest thing that anyone will ever experience. The plane slowly starts to lower towards the water, and when you feel like you can almost touch it, there is land. Welcome to the island of Grenada! Upon arrival, you will see goats and cows roaming around on the roads, people driving on the left side of the road, and all the tropical plants native to the island.

 Upon getting to the campus, I got to meet with my roommates and explore campus. There is this huge hill on campus that walking up will cause a permeant charlie horse in your calves. However, when you get to the top, the view is worth it. You can see for miles across the island, the volcanoes that made the island, and the blue ocean everywhere. The top of campus is one of the most beautiful places.

 After getting to know each other and the campus, we decided to explore some places off campus, including the beach. When I say you can see the bottom of the ocean here, I literally mean you can see it. The water is crystal clear and so blue it doesn’t look real. A boat ride took us to a little land rock off the island and we had lunch at the building on the side of the cliff, along with some swimming and cliff jumping.

 Classes begin and so does the stress, but I have an amazing family here to help me along. We work with each other and even have some courses early on that allow us to play with some of the cutest dogs on the island and the sweetest horses/cows ever. There is nothing like getting kisses from a sweet puppy or hearing a nicker from a horse who is excited to get attention.

Vet school is hard, island life can be hard, and we all have challenges. We have left our families, our home, and been thrown into an entirely new culture and way of life. However, we have each other to pull each other up. We work hard, study hard, play hard, and love both our animals and each other in a way I would never have thought possible in such a short time. I would not have changed a single thing about my classmates and where I am right now. I am excited to see what the island has in store for each and everyone of us.