Adjusting to a new place while in medical school

I completed my first block and wrote my first exam of Term 2 this week. And when this post goes live, I’ll have been in Grenada for one month. As I write that, I realize how surreal it is. Amidst the struggles of adjusting to a new place while in medical school, all I’ve been wanting is to go home. So although there are 3 months to go, it’s certainly a milestone to have been here on my own for a month. Here are some reflections on the past few weeks.

It’s the little struggles in adjusting to a new place

Adjusting to the buses

Moving here, I knew adjusting to a new place would be difficult and I’d be losing some of the things I was used to. But I didn’t realize how much of a difference the small things would make.

The greatest challenge so far is not having a car and being dependent on the bus to get everywhere. Particularly, trying to get to campus. By the time the bus gets to my stop, it’s usually packed. There are a lot of students here and the buses are smaller so they fill up easily.

And you can’t stand on the bus, like in Toronto, so that also limits how many people can get on. There’s a tiny aisle down the middle of the bus. At the edge of one of the seats is a foldable seat that can be opened up into the aisle space. When the regular seats fill up, you start taking one of those seats. So if you’re lucky enough to get on the bus, you’re likely going to packed into tight quarters. It can get quite uncomfortable.

It takes me back to my commuting days in undergrad. I was on the busiest bus route then and on one of the busiest routes now. I waited almost 40 minutes for a bus recently because 3 packed buses drove by. And although there’s a schedule on the school app, the buses often seem to come and go on their own time. That lost time really kills me because time is the greatest commodity in med school. I try be productive by doing Anki but it’s still frustrating to have to wait around like that, especially in this Grenadian heat.

Everything takes longer to do

Because I take the bus, everything takes longer than what it would normally take if I was running those errands at home. You want to be at the bus stop a few minutes early just in case, but if it’s running late, you end up losing more time.

Aside from the bus delays, errands also take longer to do. Like grocery shopping and banking. The main grocery store is limited in terms of fresh produce and vegetables. So on Saturday mornings, I’ll go to the farmer’s market with some friends. There are no buses that go into town so we have to take a taxi. On the way back, we try to stop at the main grocery store to get the remaining items.

But that store gets busy and everyone works at a leisurely place. It took us about 20 minutes just to cash out last time. And there’s no self checkout option. So grocery shopping easily takes up the entire morning on Saturdays. I’m used to doing my groceries super early when it’s empty and I can quickly and easily get everything I need and cash out in max 45-60 minutes. I would go so early that it was usually just me, some senior citizens and the staff stocking the shelves lol.

During my last grocery run here, I bought 2 weeks worth of stuff so I wouldn’t have to go out before this exam. It worked well so that’s what I’m going to keep doing. But going to the farmer’s market and then the grocery store right after takes way too long. So I’m going to split it up this time. Grocery store on Friday and Farmer’s Market on Saturday. I’ll have less stuff to carry and hopefully takes less time.

Adjusting to a shared laundry

Unexpectedly, what used to be my favourite chore at home has now become the bane of my existence lol. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to use a shared laundry. But there are a few reasons that make this more difficult than it needs to be.

First and foremost, the laundry room in my apartment complex simply doesn’t have enough machines. There are at least 30 units here and only 2 washers and 2 dryers. And we can only use them from 5pm-8am on weekdays and anytime on weekends. But as you can imagine, everyone is trying to do their laundry on the weekends. So it’s Mission Impossible just trying to secure a machine. I hate the time lost going back and forth waiting on a machine to free up. I’ve had a bit of luck at 5am, so I’m going to stick to that. However, a few times I tried in the morning and some students had left their clothes in the machines overnight so it’s still a hit or miss.

Next, if you do find an available machine, there are 2 further challenges that can arise. One is that the machine might damage your clothes. I’ve already had a few pieces come out with strange stains and have become discoloured. And if your clothes survive, there’s still the risk that some unmannered student decides they can’t be bothered to wait like everyone else. So they’ll take your clothes out and stick it on top of the dusty and dirty machine. All out in the open. This has happened to me TWICE. I have yet to discover who the perpetrator is (lucky for them).

End of rant

All this is to say that adjusting to a new place while in medical school has been challenging. Although these are relatively small struggles, they’ve interrupted the routine I was used to. And when there’s multiple struggles, they add up and take away from study time. So it’s almost like being new to medical school again. Having to figure out a new routine and get into a rhythm that better fits my current situation. But I’m adapting and making small changes to make things easier for myself. And I’m optimistic that the upcoming block will go more smoothly.

What challenges have you faced when adjusting to a new palce?

-M

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