Christmas in Miami

I'm so sorry I haven't written in a while. Even though we haven't done anything I feel like we have been busy. Christmas was great. We slept in and then opened the three unwrapped gifts we got. Johnny got Fallout 3 for his PC and I got Sims World Adventures for mine. We also got a game pack off of Steam(an online game store, for those of you that don't know what Steam is). It has Family Feud, Jewel Quest, Risk, Battleship, and many other games. So now we have some games to play to pass the time. I wanted to thank all of you that sent goodies and gifts for us. It really made our Christmas special. The gift cards will help out a lot too! After installing our games I made a very yummy ham dinner for the two of us that we are still enjoying. This is off subject, but for all you couples out there getting a big ham is very good, you have dinner left overs for awhile and its great for breakfast too. That was about all we did on Christmas.
We went over to the Taylors on Saturday. Matt has been wanting Johnny and I to play the Wii with him and it was laundry time. We had a great time. Katie I hope you know how thankful I am for you and your little family. I don't know what we would do with out you. We were defiantly supposed to be here at the same time so we could help each other through this.
So I feel like we have lived at the movies this week. We went to Sherlock Holmes on Monday and then we watched Avatar today. I loved Sherlock Holmes. It was so cool to how they show you how he thinks. Avatar was good. We went to the 3D Imax showing and it added a lot to the experience. I have never been to a 3D movie before so that was cool. I have heard from people that it was really preachy about the environment, but I didn't think it was. I thought that Wallie was more "green" than Avatar was, but thats just me. After the movie Johnny took me out to Outback Steak House. It was so yummy. I'm no a big red meat fan, but every once in a while a steak is just awesome. They messed up my order and brought fries instead of mashed potatoes so I got free fries too! You can't beat that. Well I hope everybody is having a great holiday season and if I don't write before then have a great new year!

Everglade Pictures

Two scary alligators.











Me and some gators behind me.











Gator peaking out of the water.











Missile assembly building at Nike Missile base.

The Everglades

Well yesterday we went to the Everglades. Johnny really wanted to go but we didn't know how we were going to do it seeing as we don't have a car here. Then low and behold the Taylors asked if we wanted to go with them! So we did. I was thinking MAYBE we will see an alligator or two. I mean I didn't think alligators are the kinds of animals you just happen to see out in the wild, but they are when your in the Everglades. We saw probably 15-20 alligators. Its so funny they look like they are made of plastic. Some were REALLY close to the fence. if you wanted you could have probably touched a couple of them. I didn't have the heart or the funds. If you got caught playing or messing with one the fine could be up to $5,000. So I think that deters people even though they are within reach.
While we were there was took a tour of the Nike Missile Base. Apparently nobody aside from the government knew it was there until a few years ago. Its an abandoned base from the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was pretty cool to go learn a little more about that time. I know Johnny really enjoyed it. He loves history!
So my picture don't want to load. I'll try again tomorrow.

Seeing Santa!!

Last night was so much fun. Our church had a Christmas dinner party.I cooked two hams in our tiny oven. Our oven is half the size of a normal oven and we only have one cooking pan so it made making two hams a little interesting. We went with the Taylors of course. Thanks for the ride guys! The food was good and it went fast. There was plenty of ham but not enough potatoes. I went back for seconds and no potatoes left. It was a sad day until I discovered all the wonderful desserts. The place went crazy when Santa came in. I'll admitt I was pretty excited as well as the kids. Santa read the kids The Night Before Christmas and Johnny said I might as well have sat on the floor with them I was so excited.
I have been missing all my Christmas traditions and especially watching movies with the Fam, but Johnny found me a web sight with all the classics on it so I know what I'm doing this week. We are actually in the middle of Christmas Vacation so I better go! Merry Christmas Eve Eve Eve Eve Eve!!!

Singing in the Rain

Today Johnny and I decided not to wake-up. I kept waking up and thinking "Oh its still dark must be to early to wake up." No it was just the rain clouds. It rained and rained today. I don't mind though, I love the rain. I had to go to the store and and that means a walk in the rain, and discovered I love to do that too. The whole time there I was just thinking about how awesome my life is and how much I've learned about myself in the short weeks we have been here. I feel all grown up and just like a little kid. Well the point is I like going on walks in the rain.
We babysat the Taylor kids today so Katie and David could finish the Christmas shopping. I felt bad because we had nothing for them to do. They said they weren't bored, but I think they might have been. I hope they still feel I'm their friend, I love having them as my friends. They are such funny little people.
I'm going to try to get Johnny to tell about his experience in school so for. He is on break for Christmas so he will have a little more off time. It seems he is always studying. Good for the brain, bad for the Tracy.

The Beach with the Taylors

Yesterday we went to the beach with the Taylors. Johnny and David had just finished a quiz so we though it would be a good diversion from school. We went to Key Biscayne. I we so different from south beach. The water was calm and clear. I think it was perfect for the kids. It was great for snorkeling as well. Johnny found some cool critters, and we saw a few fish too. It sounds really funny but one of the fish looked like an ocean fish. It was triangle shaped and weird. Johnny found a hermit crab and a live sand dollar. Rachel really liked me spinning her around in the water. I had fun making a sand pyramid with Matt and Katie.
I know this is really off subject but have any of you had people take random pictures of you? Last Saturday I was climbing a tree and this guy I don't know took a picture of me up in the tree. Then later that day somebody took a picture of Johnny at the beach. It was very weird. Its like they had never seen some one at the beach or climb a tree before.
Well Johnny only has one more day and then it is Christmas break. Its sad because it doesn't feel like Christmas. We aren't really doing the present thing either. we are trying to save our money because I'm a little nervous about how much its going to cost us to move to Dominica. I also am missing all the Christmas goodies. I miss mom's raspberry filling cookies. I need the recipe mommy! Katie gave us some cookies today and I'm very excited to eat them. Thanks Katie!

Making Pizza

Wow time is just flying by. I spent Thursday with Katie and the kids. We went to wal-mart and the grocery store. Friday Johnny and I just lazed around the house. He did some studying while I did nothing. I did make tortillas. It was my first time and it seems everything went wrong. I forgot to get salt at the store, I didn't have anything to roll the dough out with(I ended up using a cup), I had to use wheat flour instead of white, and I didn't have a good pan to cook them in. They turned out alright. I think I will do better next time.











Well Johnny and I were busy people on Saturday. We went to a bbq some friends were having. We did a white elephant gift exchange and ate in the rain.(I guess I was the only one still eating when it rained.) Then the Taylors dropped us off at South beach. Let me tell you it was B-E-A-Utiful. The storm had made the waves really big and the ocean was teal blue. We had a ton of fun swimming in the waves. Johnny also dove for these pieces of old coral reef. While the beach was fun the bus ride home was not. We rode off the island then after sitting at the bus station for an hour, we got on the wrong bus and rode back onto the island. Then we of course had to ride back off the island. Then we finally got to the metro rail and finally got home. I was so tired and hungry and itchy. I got right into a warm shower and then went to bed.
Today was a typical Sunday. I did make home made pizza for the first time. (I feel like I'm doing a lot of things for the first time.) It was really easy and really yummy. It may just become a Cochran family favorite, actually I think it already is.

Miami Metro Zoo

Well I went to the Zoo with Katie and a couple other people from the ward. it was a lot of fun but now I am so pooped. We were there from the time it opened until the time it closed. We watched a little animal show. They showed some parrots, a porky pine, a cheetah, and some other animal that has a name I can't recall. We spent a while watching the elephants because they were being really entertaining.I did the laundry at Katie's while I babysat the kids so she and David could a little Christmas shopping. The kids were asleep so it was really easy.
Johnny had his first quiz today. He said it was mostly easy, but there were a few things on the quiz he wasn't expecting. He studied for the rest of the day and apparently missed me very much. He kept calling me all day and it made me feel great!

The last few days.

I'm sorry, it seems I have been slacking on writing about what I have actually been doing. Saturday we went to a game night with some people in the ward. It was great fun. We played Boomo and Apples to Apples. On Sunday we went to church. I haven't been to Relief Society in a while and it was great. I love the diversity in the ward! There was an African American lady that bore her testimony and she always said Christ Jesus instead or Jesus Christ. All I could think is that it was so southern and then I was like "oh yeah I'm in the south, duh". Yesterday I had a lot of fun. I went and spent the day with Katie and her kids. We tried to catch lizards and I let Matt take pictures on my camera. We went to the park for about two minutes because the kids had to go to the bathroom. They were a little upset, but were told that they should have gone when they we told to go at home. We ended up at the library because it was the bathroom we decided to go to. It was a great day! Thanks Katie for letting me enjoy your kids!

All the Friends

I wanted to just thank all the people that are my new friends. I can't believe how accepting people are here. We have been to two dinners, one game night, one Relief Society activity and one errand run and we have been here just a week. We are having so much fun here. The weather has been wonderful. Life is grand!

Job searching is hard work.

Well my job search isn't going so well. Even the places that have hiring signs out side haven't called me back. I have gone to so many places. I'm getting a little discouraged. I don't understand, I'm a great little worker. I should be able to get a job.
Well today I didn't do much. I did laundry for the first time in Florida. I was a little nervous because I had to trek all our clothes for about four to five blocks down to the laundry mat. I didn't think I would be strong enough, but I was!
There was a Relief Society Christmas party tonight. Me and my new friend Katie went. Her husband is also going to Ross. They have three adorable kids. Her daughter Rachel is smitten with me apparently. Katie called me this morning because Rachel wanted to play with me. She thinks my name is Kellie. I love little kids! Anyway, the party was fun. I made some more friends. I may be going to the zoo with them next week.

MERP Schedule

Okay all you MERPers out there, I wanted to give you Johnny's schedule for MERP. On Monday and Thursday he has live lectures in the 7000 Building. On Tuesday and Friday his lectures are on line because they do them in the Bahamas. Wednesday he has Clinical Medicine Integration(CMI) and that when he will take his quizzes. Everyday but Wednesday they have Supplemental Instruction(SI).

Monday
8:00 am - Physiology
10:00am- Microbiology
1:00pm- SI

Tuesday
On Internet- Biochemistry
On Internet- Anatomy/Histology
1:00pm- SI

Wednesday
8:00am- CMI/Quiz

Thursday
8:00am- Biochemistry
10:00am- Anatomy/Histology
1:00pm- SI

Friday
On Internet- Physiology
On Internet- Microbiology
1:00pm- SI

Hopes this helps all you MERP researchers.

Good Friends

Well I spent the day filling out job applications and taking them to their corresponding stores. I had an interview today. I don't think a day has gone by that I haven't walked at least five miles. It is nice but I get very tired by the end of the day.
Johnny had his first day of classes. He said it was pretty boring. Just all review.
We went to our friends house for dinner again tonight. There was also a family there that the husband started MERP with Johnny. I can't remember his name, but his wife is Katie. They have three kids that are so cute. Its nice to know someone is in the same boat as us. And that we will have some friends while we are on this adventure.
I wanted to take the time and thank Kellie and Brett for all you have done for us in the last three days. You guys are so great and so giving! I love you and wish you all the best. Thanks for all the advice and maybe we will have to take a trip to the Bahamas with you and you can show us around. Thank you again for all you have done. We will defiantly be in touch.

In the Begining

Medical school has finally started. Johnny went to orientation today. He said it was really boring. You meet the teachers and learn about the curriculum. One very good thing did happen though we got our really big loan check! I also did a lot of job searching and filling out applications. I think Johnny will be happy when he actually has something to study. There really isn't a lot to do at our apartment. We are sharing a computer while the other one is at Best Buy. He was going crazy this afternoon while I was doing my applications. I think he will have stuff to study tomorrow and we will be going to Kellie and Brett's for dinner.
Well I wanted to end with some pictures we've taken of Miami.















These two are of the park next to our house.

































Cute little guy.
















This is the front of the house the apartment is in.















There are peacocks everywhere in our little neighborhood.

Welcome to the Jungle

Okay now on to Miami! We left Johnny's parents later than we planned, but we made really good time getting to SLC. We checked in and had to pay a little extra for our checked bag because it was overweight. Our flight left at midnight and was and we got no sleep at all. I don't know how people can sleep on air planes. Its so noisy and the chairs are uncomfortable. We had our layover in New York and I decided I hate JFK. It was dirty and confusing, everything was really expensive, it also my have been that I was tired and hungry. Our flight to Miami went well. I got a little bit of sleep because I was so exhausted. We road the bus to get to the apartment and when we got off the bus I felt like we were on another planet. We didn't know which way to walk or how to read their street directions. We got a little lost trying to find the apartment so we called the landlord and he came to pick us up. He is so nice. He has been very helpful. After he showed us the apartment he took us on a drive to show us where everything was, he explained the street directions to us. The apartment is nice. It is a converted garage, but he did it very well. The yard is BEAUTIFUL. There is a very nice park that we have as a neighbor as well. We needed to go to Best Buy because our laptop's hard drive crashed. We got there just fine, but got very, very lost on the way home. We wandered around looking for the apartment for about 2 1/2 hours. We were so tired by the time we found it but we couldn't stop because we still had to go to the store. We were so tired we didn't want to cook dinner and we hadn't eaten since 7 in the morning so we went to a Japanese buffet. It was SSSSOOOO good. I ate so much crab! We finally got home and just crashed.















I think I could get used to Florida. It is so nice here. We got up this morning and hopped on the bus to go to church. I love that church feel the same no matter where you are. Everyone was so friendly! We met some people that just finished their fifth semester at Ross and are going to their house for dinner. They want to tell us all about Dominica. There is also a family at church starting Ross tomorrow. Its nice to know there are others at church in the same boat as us. So the start of our adventure has defiantly been one.

Thanksgiving

The week we spent in Idaho was wonderful! Moving went very smoothly and we were done organizing everything in his parents house by Tuesday morning. We spent the rest of the time just relaxing. Except when Johnny had to haul hay for his dad. Thanksgiving was very nice. I was really homesick this year for some reason. We watched the Macy's T-Day Parade while I talked to my mom. We did a lot of the cooking the day before so cooking didn't take that long. I was really sad because even though all the food was good it wasn't like home. I was feeling really really home sick then all of a sudden I took a bite of jello salad and POW I was home! Thank you mom for letting make your jello salad part of our T-Day traditions. We did wake up for Black Friday. We got all the stuff we were sent to get. While we were in Walmart I ran into Vanessa Jones, one of my friends from High School. I couldn't believe it! She was shocked too. Its a small world sometimes. I just want to let my in-laws now we are so thankful that you guys let us stay at your home for the week. OH Yeah we took some family pictures, Enjoy!

Moving is hard to do.

I know I've said this a lot lately, but it really has been hard to do my blog. I promise once we are in Miami I WILL do better. We are in Idaho at johnny's parents for the week we don't have wireless there so I won't be on much this week. I will tell all about Thanksgiving when we get to Miami. Thanksgiving is my favorite!!! Moving went well. We still need to organize everything and put it all away in the storage closet. Fun times!

My New Smile

For all of you that know me personally, you know that I have stained teeth. I have always been embarrassed by them. My teeth are probably the thing I am most self conscious about. I always think when people see them they think that I don't brush my teeth. I promise I do. Its just when I was a little girl I hit a girl in the head with my two front teeth and "bruised" my new teeth coming in. Yesterday I went to the dentist and had it remedied. I have white teeth for the first time in a long time!!!!! I want to thank all the people that sent me birthday money this year. I think I spent it very wisely. Here are my before and after pictures.
I'm sorry I haven't been posting very often. We have been so busy. We have been packing and now we are very close to being done. I think I only have two more boxes worth of stuff to pack. I have a lot of cleaning to do though. That what I will be doing for the next couple of days. Only 11 more days until Miami!!!

Two More Weeks

My Life seemed to fly by this week. I now have no job. I still have a lot of packing to do and only a week to do it in. I'm also very nervous about the fact that it is supposed to snow next weekend. how are we going to pack and move when it is snowing and how are we going to keep all our furniture dry?
Johnny's mother came to stay with us on Wednesday so we could take her to the airport the next morning. Its always great to see her. She always makes me laugh! My sister, Rachel, also had her baby girl, Eden. We are going to go meet her on Thursday and help Rachel out with feeding the other kids and the house work.
Johnny and I are getting so excited to meet all you fellow MERPers! The snow has started and those warm sandy beaches are starting to sound really good right now. Only 16 days to go!

One more week of work, yeah right!

I wanted to let all the MERP students know more about the loan process with Wells Fargo MedCap loan. I was easy to apply for and easy to get accepted. The part we were not expecting is that you have to wait until orientation day to actually get your money. We thought they just sent the money to the school then the school sends you a check for whats left over. This is not the case. We were going to use that money to secure housing and buy our plane tickets, but not anymore.
Okay as for my life right now. I have not been doing very well on packing. I know it will all get done eventually, I just dont know how. I am very ready to be done with my job. I have had problems with it before, but it wasnt anything I couldnt handle. the last two week have been horrible! I just can not work there anymore. I only have five... more...... days...........................Yeah! I cant wait until Rachel has her baby and hope all goes well with that. I will let you know how the packing is coming.

Getting MERPed

For all those wanna be Ross students out there, this is for you. I wanted to let you know about our experience. Ross called back eight days after Johnny's interview and let us know that he was invited to attend the November-March MERP semester in Miami, Florida. We were very surprised that he got MERPed. Apparently they were a little nervous about direct acceptance because he retook a couple classes in college. We got the acceptance package a couple days later that had loan information, the schedule for the semester, a list of classes that you take, and a book list. You con't get a federal loan for MERP so you have to apply for a personal loan. They recommenda to do a MedCap loan with Wells Fargo or a loan from Sallie Mae. We went with the MedCap loan. It was pretty easy getting the loan. We just went to Wells Fargo and they put us in their system because we are currently banking with someone else. They then told us to call the loan people and they got us started. They ask for a co-signer, we went with Johnny's dad. They called us today and said we just needed to sign. They send all of the loan money directly to the school and they take the money you owe them and then the school sends you a check for the rest. This is why you have to accept your "award" before you apply for the loan. It makes it so the school can send you the money. I have to admit I didn't understand the whole award thing at first.
You are required to give a $700 deposit to reserve a spot for the semester. Once you send that they assign you a student ID number so you can log in to MyRoss. There you can search for housing and accept your loan awards.
The housing network they have is not the best, but it did the job. The biggest problem it has is that it doesn't show if a place has already been rented out. it was really annoying to call someone and then just have them say that it wasn't available anymore. It was probably annoying for the land lords as well. Other than that it is very easy to search on the website. They have plenty of places for single people. It was a little harder if you are looking for a family.
If you would like to know more about MERP here the address to their website. http://www.medicalreviewprogram.com/
I'll keep posting more info about life as a Ross student.

Cops and Robbers

Happy Halloween! Well it wasn't the happiest day for me, but I get paid for working right? I was at work all day. I did dress up with my friend Chris from work. It made the day a little more fun. Chris was the cop, I was the robber. Oh and Jorge was an "under cover police".(This mad me laugh so hard!) I'm also very proud of my pumpkin that I carved.
Every day I get more excited about going to Miami! The land lord for the place we want to rent said we are the only people interested in the place and that he would call me if anybody else wants to rent it, so hopefully we have a good chance of getting it. Its been difficult to pack because we have to leave stuff out for the cold weather were having here and also try to keep the stuff we want to take when we go to Dominica in places we can get to them easily. Besides the fact that I got called in early to work everyday this week. I told myself that from now on I'm not going to go in early anymore. I hope I can be mean to others and keep my promise to myself. I want to get as much done now so that when Rachel has the baby we can go visit them.
I was thinking the last couple of days about how life works out. If I hadn't have had my miscarriage I would be delivering a baby this week. That would have put a damper on our present plans. It still makes me sad that I'm not going to be a mother in the next few days, but it will happen when the time is right for us.
I wanted to say thank you for all the prayers. They were all answered even though it wasn't what we expected. I love you all. We don't know how often we will be able to see all of you in the next few years, but I wanted you to know that I think of you often. Remember to keep doing your blogs. It is so nice to hear from you guys! I told you I'd nag.

Snow has fallen

We had our first real snow yesterday. A couple of weeks ago we had some snow but it didn't stick, but yesterday we woke up to a winter wonderland.
So we are moving into the next stage of our life. We are moving to Miami to go to the Prep Med School for Ross University. We are in the process of finding an apartment to live in. I think we found a good one, but I don't know how long it will stay available. We can't reserve it until we get our loan. I have started packing up our stuff. Johnny and I got a lot done over the weekend. Now I just need to do a couple boxes a day and we should be in good shape. The plan is to be out of our apartment on the 21st. We will stay with Johnny's parents for Thanksgiving and then fly to Miami on the 28th. Orientation starts on the 30th.
I will hopefully find a job and work while we are there. My boss at au naturale lived in Miami for 20 years and says he will help me find a job because he knows lots of people in the restaurant business. I really hope this will help.
I'm glad we will be getting away from the cold. Snow is fun, but not the cold. Especially when your a ditz and forget your coat when your running out the door in the morning.

But What Will I Wear!!!!

Fall has come to Salt Lake. I promised pictures. These are in my back yard.
Johnny and I went to the temple today. It was a great session. The first time I went to the live session I really didn't enjoy it but this time was different. I wished it could go on longer. The Salt Lake Temple is so beautiful.
I took a picture of myself so you all can see my wonderful brown hair. I wish I could have been naturally this color, but I guess the dye will have to do.

Long Time No Post

I'm sorry I haven't posted in awhile. I worked all day Saturday. Sunday we ended up sleeping through our alarm so we missed church. We both have been sick and so I think we needed the rest.
One of the ladies I work with had a party on Sunday evening. I missed her birthday party so I felt I needed to go. It was a birthday/welcome to the USA party for her children. It was fun even though it was a kid party. There was a clown and he looked like he could be one of dad's brothers. he looked a lot like Uncle Vance. He was really good. He did a magic show and made balloon hats and animals.
We heard back from Ross. We didn't get direct admittance. They invited Johnny to go to their MERP program. Its kind of like a prep school for medical school. If you pass you go to Ross, if you fail they assume your not cut out for med school and you don't get in. We have a lot of decisions to make in the next little while. I will let you know when we have our definite plans. If you have more questions about MERP let me know and I will do my best to answer them.

The Story of My Life

Today I woke up feeling worse than I did yesterday. I took Johnny to work, came back home, and then went right back to bed. I did eventually get out of bed after a lot of convincing. I had to go to work and clean my house which was still a mess from coming home from Denver. We've been so sick and so busy we still hadn't unpacked. It was another slow day at work, but that was fine by me cause I wasn't feeling well at all. Well I took some NyQuil and my head seems to be bobbing, so its off to bed with me. GOODNIGHT!!!

Trip to Logan

We had a very disappointing trip to Logan today. The only good thing was we got to see Rachel, Rebekah, and David for a few minutes. We went to the school and saw that the professor had his office hours at 3:00 so we went to Smiths to see if any of Johnny's old friends were working. None were so it was pointless. We got back to the school but found out the professor didn't stay because it was fall break. So no luck there either. I was so mad. We went all the up there and nothing. Johnny's professor did email him though and said he would send it priority mail this time and hoped that would work better. We hope that both letters will be in Jersey by Monday. On our way leaving Logan we got in a little crash. Nothing bad, we just kinda bumped the car in front of us when we were stopped at a red light. The other persons car only had a scratch, but our front license plate fell off. That was not the end to the bad things that happened today. I ended up being late for work because of the crash. So all in all it was a bummer day. I hope tomorrow is a little better.

Interview Questions

I feel like I should put another picture of Dominica with this post! Enjoy!!!
This is a great list of the questions you will be asked at your interview. You won't be asked all of these, but its a good idea to have answers ready for all of them. I have also been told that they show you a 20 minute video about Ross, even though Johnny was not shown one. Sorry if some of the questions are duplicated. Someone else wrote the rest of this post. This is some one else's experience, but Johnny was also questioned from this list. Johnny says he will write more about his personal experience if he gets accepted. So when that wonderful day comes you can hear more from him. I will put a * before the questions I remember Johnny saying he was asked. He may have been asked more, these are just what I remember. Hope this helps!

*"Why do you want to be a doctor?
What types of leadership positions did you have in college?
*What types of clinical experience do you have?
*Will you be able to survive on the island?
What has been your greatest hardship and how did you deal with it?
What was your favorite class in college and why?
Why did you get a "C" in this course?
What other schools have you applied to?
What was the result of applying to those schools?
Why were you not accepted to a US medical school?
Why are you applying to Ross?
Are you content with becoming an FMG vs. being a US Medical grad?
*What is your weakness?
*What is your strength?
*What do you know about living in Dominica?
*How do you feel about living in a third world country?
How do you deal with stress/pressure?
What made you want to go to Ross?
If you could change something about yourself, what would it be?
How did you get here?
Why would you be a good doctor?
What would you do if you don’t get in to medical school?
What do you feel are the most important qualities in being a good doctor?
What do you do to alleviate stress? What are your hobbies?
Are you a leader or a follower? Give examples...
What exposure have you had to the medical profession? Healthcare experience? *What did you do when you volunteered at ----? (Johnny was asked about his clinical experience and about a Pre-Med school class he helped start at USU, not volunteer work.)
What do you think you will like most about medicine/being a doctor?



"Don’t freak out. Stay calm and composed. The interviewer will inform you that he/she is not the one to make the admissions decision but it is rather a Committee who decides your fate. However, he/she will take notes during the interview and write a summary, which will be sent to this Committee. Incidentally, during a recent Ross University Open House held in NY the following statistics were cited: “If you have been granted an interview, there is a 65% chance that you will gain admittance to Ross University School of Medicine.” So the interview is somewhat important. Dress professionally; be well groomed, and well mannered.
Be able to answer the following:

Again:

Most important question:
Why do you want to be a doctor?
What motivates you to pursue this field?
What makes you unique?
What other field would you choose if you do not get accepted to any Medical School (Caribbean or otherwise)?
Why did you get (insert bad grade) in (insert class)?
What was the most challenging class for you during your undergraduate studies and why do you think so?
Will you be able to handle living in a foreign country?
What characteristics do you possess that makes you adaptable?
What are the characteristics of a good/bad doctor?
How would a friend describe you?
What do you think would be the hardest part of the medical school curriculum for you and why?
What are your study habits?
What field of medicine interests you most and why?
What do you know about Ross and why did you choose to apply here?
What other schools have you applied to?
What else would you like to tell the Committee about yourself that is not included in your essay or application?
*Do you have any questions?


My overall advice for the interview? Just BE the 3 C’s: Confident, Calm, and Courteous.
And KNOW the 3 E’s: Your Essay, Experiences, and Expectations."

These helped me tremedously and nothing else was asked. All the questions came out of this list. Enjoy and good luck.

Our Denver Trip

Sunday we left at about 10:30. It was later than we wanted but we had both worked twelve hour shifts so we were a little tired. There was a really big storm in Colorado the day before we left so we were a little worried about the roads. They were fine, but right when we were going in to Colorado there was a ton of fog and the visibility was pretty bad. We got to Johnny's aunt's house about 6:15 after getting a little lost. They had a great turkey dinner waiting for us. It was wonderful after along day of no food. We decided that we didn't really want to just drive all day Monday when we had just driven all day Sunday, so we decided to drive back Tuesday. So after Johnny's interview we went to Estes Park. It was a nice fall day in the mountains. We walked around down town and then headed up to the Stanley Hotel. Its a really famous hotel that happens to be totally haunted. It was really interesting to visit. I one of the shops there was this huge dog and I thought it was like a stuffed dog, but it was totally real. It was an Irish Bloodhound and the most laid back dog I ever saw. On our way home we spotted some big horned sheep. I cooked dinner for Faye and Bob on Monday night and made Pea and Potato Soup and rolls which was really nice for the cold day. When we woke up Tuesday we were both really sick and over slept so we got off a little later than planned. The drive home was fine and we got in about 7:00.
Johnny said the interview went really well, but he can't be accepted until they get both of the letters of recommendation. We are going to go to Logan tomorrow to see his professor and get the letter from him and send it priority mail ourselves. We are doing the same with the one form his boss today. Hopefully this whole letter thing will be over in a couple of days. I'm hoping to get Johnny to write about the interview because I can't tell you what happened.

Me, not having much fun.

We got back from Denver this evening. I think I just had the worst day. I have been feeling a cold coming on, but it was full force when I woke up this morning. It wouldn't have been so bad but I had given my cold to Johnny as well. So we had two very sick people driving home for seven hours. It wasn't very fun. We did have a good time in Denver and even stayed an extra day. I will write all about it tomorrow. I'm not really in the mood to write all the things we did and post all the pictures tonight. Thank you again to Faye and Bob for letting us stay in their wonderful home. It is always so comfortable at your house and I love getting to know you better, and all the Nana stories!

Into the Cold

Tomorrow we leave for Denver for Johnny's interview. I am pleased to let you know that admissions finally got one of his letters or recommendation. So we are in the clear for now. I don't know exactly what will happen if they don't get both letters. I'm hoping it doesn't really matter. I'm a little nervous to drive tomorrow because apparently Colorado got a big snow storm today. Hopefully the roads are good. I DO want to play in the snow a little. We will see. Maybe I can get Johnny to play with me. He isn't the biggest fan of snow, but he is the biggest fan of me.

Celebrating One Year

Tomorrow we are going to be celebrating our one year anniversary at Au Naturale. I get to celebrate by working an extra 2 hours. I'm so excited!!! I worked all day, again. It was slow, again. I was all by myself, again. Sorry I don't mean to complain, but nine hours of cleaning things that aren't dirty is pretty boring. That is all for today. We are still waiting to hear back from admissions about the letters of recommendation. Johnny talked to her today and she said she would do some searching for us. Hopefully it works!

Letters of Recommendations

Well things didn't work out like we thought. We were planning on trying to do the interview on Friday but he will be doing it on Monday. We are a little nervous because we talked to the admission lady and she said the letters of recommendation still are not in, but we have to have them to her before the interview. I guess she didn't even get the emailed ones. But the lady that is doing the interview said they at least have to have one before they will even schedule the interview. I don't know what to do and I am really confused. Please keep praying for us. We need your support.

Catching up

Yesterday was a long day. I was at work ALL day. I was sad that I missed the Saturday sessions of conference, but today's sessions were great! I especially liked President Eyring's and Elder Holland's talks. Johnny had to work this evening so I was all by myself tonight. I called Lisa to talk to her and then Breeana called me about five minutes after I hung up with Lisa. It was great getting to talk to my girlfriends. Thanks you guys for letting me gab with you girls!
I Have to give some Happy Birthday shout outs to people. Both my niece Rebekah and my sis-in-law Rebekah just had their birthdays. Chris's birthday was today and his wife Emily had one on the 23rd. So happy birthday to all. I hope you had good days.
So Friday was such a GREAT day!!! We have been waiting for Johnny's letters of recommendation to come in so he could get an interview. Well he finally got THE email! We think that it is because we had his letters emailed on Thursday. We hope the originals get there soon. I wanted to let everyone know our experience because this part we didn't know what to expect even with all the research we did. I thought they were going to let us know the day and time of the interview but instead they have you contact them. I thought from the research I did that they just had someone come interview in you area, but no. They have different places that they interview people around the country. The closest on to us happens to be in Denver. So we are hoping to have the interview on Friday. We didn't get the email until four on Friday and we called a few times with no answer, so we don't know exactly how the actual scheduling will work, I'll let you know. Here is a copy of what the email said. I left out the email address and phone number for privacy reasons. Hope this helps all you want to be med students out there. I will keep the info coming!

Congratulations on being selected for the second phase of our application process, the personal interview.

Interviews are conducted at our Denver Branch Office Monday through Friday; please contact me at fakeemail@rossu.edu or ###-###-#### immediately in order to schedule an appointment. Be ready to discuss your availability.

The address is:

Fake Address

The interview site is about 40 minutes from Denver International Airport by car. The local public transportation company is RTD (http://www.rtd-denver.com); the airport bus will bring you about half a mile from the office (bus stop: Arapahoe Park and Ride). It will be a short walk after that.

You can also choose a shuttle service (such as http://www.supershuttle.com); both options are usually less expensive than a cab ride. We do not work with any of these companies, so choose one at your discretion.

If you are driving, public parking is available across from the building and it’s free for the first 2 hours.

I look forward to hearing back from you and to our meeting! Once again congratulations!

I promised pictures and a video so here they are as well. I love you all and thank you for the prayers, and please keep them coming. Bless Johnny to do a good job on the interview.

BYU vs. USU

BYU won again. They played Utah State where Johnny graduated. It was fun hearing the Utah State fight song again. USU fans are hard core. They even brought their band with them to the game. I will post the pictures and a video later, probably on Sunday because I have a 12 hour shift tomorrow and won't really have much time and to be honest I probably won't feel much like doing it. So I'll write more later, I'm going to bed! Good night!

Happy Birthday to ME!

I'm 22 years old now. Its not really that exciting and my day was even less exciting. I was at work all day. I had a nine hour shift and the weather was horrible yesterday. When the weather is bad it is slow at work. My boss said we had the lowest sales we have ever had. So I spent my day cleaning.
Tuesday was a good day. Johnny took me out to lunch and then we went to the mall and walked around together. It was really nice to just walk around and just talk.
We are having some issues. Johnny's letters of recommendation are still not in and its been two weeks since they said they sent them. We a really stressing about this because there is no reason it takes two weeks for letters to get from Salt Lake to New Jersey. He's been in contact with the admissions people and they say once those come in they really want to interview him. They said we could have them e-mail the letters and then we could have an interview scheduled and then hope that the letters come in before the interview. We will let you know what happens.

My how time goes by.

Work went by so fast today. Its so crazy how you can work with some one for so long and not know a lot about them. I found out that my friend Jorge has a not so good marriage. His wife is really bad to him. She is so suspicious that he is cheating on her and she hurts him all the time. He said one day he had ketchup on his shirt and she was convinced it was lipstick. A couple of days ago he woke up to her kicking him for no reason. And these were the not so bad stories he told me. When I asked him why he was still with her he said that if he divorced her she would take the kids to Mexico and wouldn't let him see them again, so he puts up with it. It is so sad. I love Jorge! He is so happy and so much fun to be around. I was so shocked to find this out about him. I wish I could do something for him.
So my birthday is on Wednesday! I'm going to be 22 life goes by so fast. I have to work Wednesday so we are going to do something tomorrow. We still haven't decided what yet. Hopefully its something fun! We will let you know.

BYU Won!

Yesterday we went down to Provo for the football game. Johnny's dad was with us and it was great to have him. He had his birthday this month and we wanted to take him to lunch and go to a game with him. We went to this restaurant that we really like, Tucanos. It is a Brazilian grill. It is a really cool place. It is all you can eat with an amazing salad bar and then they grill all the meat and bring it around to the tables. Everything is super yummy. I really want to figure out how they make the lemonade, its creamy and very yummy!
The game was really good. They played hard and it paid off. I don't remember the score, sorry. I think I am understanding the rules a little better. I feel like I ask a hundred questions during the game. "What does that call mean?" "How many yards penalty is it for a false start?" "Why do I always have to sit behind the really tall people?" Things like that. By the end of the season I may know all that stuff, but for now I'm still learning. Here are some pictures of the game and a video of a touchdown. Sorry its really hard to see the guy catch the ball but I promise you he did!

Work

So all I've been doing the last two days is work. Yesterday was really busy, but tonight was super slow. We all just had to pretend we were working. It was so boring! Well now I'm home eating pizza and hanging out with Johnny and His dad, who is here so he can go to the BYU game with us tomorrow.
Johnny got an e-mail from Ross and they said that they still don't have his letters of recommendation. This makes me more than a little mad about this since his professor and boss said they had sent them. AARRGGGGHHH!!! Anyway I hope they get them soon I want to get an interview already!

Friends at work

So I got called to go into work early today so that is all I did today besides goofing off on the internet. I was in a working mood today. You know when you get to work and you just can't stop doing things. I did a lot of cleaning. Anyway I took some pictures of my amigos Arura and Jorge, and of my Bossy Ross.

Map of Dominica

Okay I have been searching for a good map of Dominica ever since I started researching it an I think this is the best one (that would let me copy and paste anyway). If you right click on the map you can see a bigger version of the map by selecting "open link in new window" . Ross is located just south of Portsmouth and North of the Indian River. Here is a picture of Dominica hope you all enjoy it.

Dates are the BEST!!!

So today was laundry day. We went to Target while the laundry was going and that was fun.
After that we came home and I did some cross stitch while I finished Last season of Greys Anatomy. Then all of a sudden Johnny was like "Okay, Lets go". We went to DI and got some reading material. We have decided that DI is the place to buy books they are like 50 cents a piece, its great! After that we went and watched the movie Up. I was really cute. We went to Olive Garden and had endless pasta. I am super stuffed now and am going to sit down and watch a movie that I got in the mail from Netflix, super duper Tuesday!!!

P.S. I feel bad because I have no pictures to post so I am going to try to put a video on here. Enjoy!

Called to serve

So I got called into work today. I really don't know what work would do without me. I am the only one that is willing to come in on their day off to cover for someone. Other than work my day was very boring. I worked on my cross stitch some more. That was about it for today. Johnny and I both have the day off tomorrow so we'll see if it is a little more exciting. I love all of you!

BYU Football

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. When we got home I was so tired. We left yesterday at about 12:30 to drive to Provo. The game didn't start until 5:00, but Johnny and Joey wanted to go to the tail gate party and we wanted to eat something before we went. We ate on campus and then headed over to the stadium. The tail gate party was really boring, but I won a ticket to next weeks game at a " spin the wheel" thing. We have season tickets so we are going to try and find some one to buy it from us.
So the game was pretty bad. BYU got crushed by Florida State. There were some really good plays from both teams, but you could tell from the very beginning that FSU was going to win. It was a good time, but I just don't get football at all, so kinda boring too.
Anyway today was very relaxing. I even fell asleep on the couch. It was one of those times when you wake up and you didn't think you had fallen asleep, so when you wake up your like "What just happened". Weird!