yo guys finally have made it here....the airlines all of them suck..american airlines they had engine problem...if u are coming trough san juan expect delays...air jamaica...u have to get out of the airport with your luggage and check in again to get to your connecting flight...same if u are coming through curaca..anyway after all these hassle i finally made it to bonaire....so here is how my day went...my airline was the only one at the airport... there are 2 imigration booths for residents and nonresidents...u have to go to the one with the non resident if u are coming the first time...go there and they will give u a 14 days visa..and then pick your luggage and get out of the airport...for u guys who need to make call back home...use the airport phones to make collect calls...there is a bank, ticket counter and restaurant at the airport....so u can get cash conversion there..also there are a lot of taxis waiting outside...but the fare is rediculous...make sure u have someone pick u up if u want to save some money...and if u guys are making a hotel reservation don't worry about it...they will be there on time to pick u up....
wut next..i got a place cheap nearby...but word of advise come here early..housing is limited...they are still trying to find places to accomidate everyone....
now to the interesting part about the school.....there is a lot of construction taking place...they are combining rooms by breaking down walls to make bigger class room...i checked out a couple of the class rooms on the main builiding it is huge and good...though had no furniture..again upgrading....
the school office..great the person there was extremely helpfull....they try their best for u....
the library...a lot of upgrading has taken place it seems....lots lots of relevant books...the shipment has arrived it seems...the library has three rooms 1 entirely full of pmed books, 1 entirely of med books and the last room they are using as storage...so to thoand se of u who were worried about the library books...don't worry...it is great and they have about 10-15 copies of each book...so there is plenty for everyone...oh yeah the library has a photocopier also...for those who need to photocopy their notes...
surrounding haven't checked it out so will let u know...
faculty and students haven't met any yet...they are all in vacation...i did meet a couple of profs...yeah they have accents...but that wasn't a problem...u still could understand clearly them....
oh yeah heard about the kid who came here with there parents and got pissed....yo u can't expect so much here...they don;t have the high tech facility as back home...and island life is laid back approach here...
alrite guys thats it for now...will let u know more as soon as i can...

I'm relieved to hear you made it (I was wondering why you said you were stuck until Friday).

I've altered my plans to accommodate the hurricane, so I'm coming in on the 7th. Hopefully, we'll avoid any significant impact from Frances and the flights won't be delayed.

__________________
Life is sexually transmitted.

Yo guys..this is to continue on wut I mentioned yesterday…like I said the school is undergoing major upgrading…..i am sure u will see it when u arrive here….they are doing construction on the school building…checked most of them today…they are okay overall…just as I expected…like the pics on the website….
wut else the library….it was very comforting to me in particular…since I had to check the books there…just to let u guys know the books appear to have arrived… a lot of relevant books…they had those useless books stacked up in another room…I am sure u guys know which ones I am talking about…but overall the library is great they have several computer terminals with several more still scheduled to arrive…they have a printer and photocopier for students use….
The cafeteria/student lounge…it is a separate building…huge room has great seating, a/c’s, cafeteria, tables and chairs….great place to study for around 30-35 students max….oh yeah the cafeteria does carry a wide variety of snacks, sandwiches and drinks which are very affordable….
The surrounding checked it out…the school is located right in the middle of the city..so everything is within walking distance…..wut do I mean by everthing here…anything u can think of restaurants, grocery stores, electronics, clothes stores, supermarket, gift shop, bookstore, travel agencies, cell phone and internet companies , movie rental place, movie theatre…all within walking distance from the school,
Cellular companies: cellularone, telbo….make sure u guys get a tdma phone of 800mhz if u plan to get a cell phone here…everyone has one…it is cheaper and convenient…..if u guys have the cell phone…u just have to buy 50nafls of airtime….incoming is free..u just pay for outgoing calls….and outgoing is expensive,,,,I think 50 cents to US….gotta look for some calling cards now…
Things to bring…something definitely for the mosquitoes for sure…they are a hassle…I would suggest the green coils while u are at home and something to repel them when u are out…they are only there during the night…in the morning u don’t have to worry about it…
The other thing u guys will definitely need is fan….since electricity here is way expensive for everyone….
Oh yeah finally gotta chance to meet frankenstone and pdawgcentral…nice to meet u guys frank and pdawg…..relax everyone frankenstone does not have a criminal record….he is extremely helpful and friendly…
And I talked to some more students who were there studying..they sounded cool about the school and mentioned again about the upgradings lately….so word of advise when u guys come here and talk to students…I am sure u guys will…make sure u talk to a couple of them before making up your mind…and just in case u meet the st james student who appears to recruit u for Xavier best of luck……a lot of crap and rumors are spread by this person….oh yeah Xavier…that reminds me they made a rule about st james students not being allowed on their premises anymore…hahahahaha..sounded and looked interesting to me….
Anyway that’s all I can think of so far….let me know of anything else u guys need of to get answered….
September 10 new comers mark that day….that is the day for orientation…a lot of events are planned by the school and mainly the 4th semester med students…some of the events planned include…introduction to class, faculty…tour of school and its facilities….the surroundings as well as a tour of the island…sounds like fun…can’t wait to check it out…
p.s don’t ask me anything about the faculty yet…since honestly I haven’t met them yet the school is on vacation time now…with most students and faculties gone for the time being…so won’t be able to give u an honest opinion regarding this manner…u better ask the st james students on this forum who have met them about it.

canadiankid,
Welcome to Bonaire! Great news about the renovations and especially the books. I hope it's the start of a trend. Best of luck to you and all the other incoming students.
librarian

CanadianKid,

Thanks for your info. about the state of things at Bonaire. Coming originally from a third world society to the United states (21yrs ago), I know that the outlook of things at SJSM campus at Bonaire should not be that bad as lots of folks have assumed. All it takes in the first place is the great discipline of making adjustments for a brief spell in our lives (16mos). And the rest of the sacrifice would follow accordingly.

Since the administration have decided to grab the bull by the horn with regards to major constructions on campus, this is the beginning of many good things to happen to SJSM. I have always said that Rome was not built in a day, therefore patience and persistence will carry us to our next level in no distance period. The next phase of this overall innovation would then be Faculty development (recriutment and retention of full time facultymembers with better incentives). This if combined with visiting professors and adjunct faculty personel from reputable schools in United States, Canada and Great Britain would galvanize the type of force that would propel SJSM into the eve of 21st century medical education. Dr. **** knows exactly where I am coming from if he is the type whose approach towards problems is very constructive. He cannot do this alone let alone with very limited help. The enrollment is sharply on the rise and so should the avenues of delivering the goods upon the arrival of the students at bonaire. And at the same time devising a strategic means of dealing with Boards 1 (USMLE).

The Librarian thanks for your input, but I still believe that your contribution at the library would have been something to write home about. I hope you would let go of yesterday's misgivens and let us all walk on a common ground for a better future.
Bravo Canadiankid, you and Jpryor have the right spirit for the rigorous tasks that is associated with med school curriculum. I wish all of you the best of luck in your endeavors.

hey canadian kid and jpryor,

good luck to all of the new students, i'm very optimistic about this new class since i can see some rising stars entering the medical profession alongwith the upperclass students such as frankenstone, docron pdacentral and others on the island already. i'm always available if anyone needs any advice...take care,
sohaib

Yo guys…so u want to know how the orientation was…..well to say it in short it was interesting….the president of our school was supposed to be here but couldn’t make it due to Hurricane Ivan….now we can’t really blame the school for this…..so we are going to have to wait till Monday to meet the president…..but they did manage to have a mini orientation by the dean since there was so many of us new comers present today…also a lot of the parents and family members accompanying the student are leaving over the weekend….so having the mini orientation today was great…..
We got to know and speak to the temporary dean, student government president and some of our profs….all of them were very good in their presentation…though it was a lot concise come to think about it….anyway at the orientation we were told about the school policies which u can find somewhere on the school handout and website…it is all there folks…..a major key point was made in regards to attendance…..80% attendance is now required to pass the course…we are given two grades one for attendance one for the course…..so folks u can’t skip or come late to class here anymore….the reason being told for this is most students wouldn’t attend lectures and study on their own…. and then when they would get crappy grades…they would do nothing but complain about it….also the faculty felt disrespected by the students behavior……so attendance appears to be a good thing in the long run…wut else oh yeah we were also told about the state of the school now and of their new projects schedule…a couple of their new projects include having cadavers finally, addition of more computers for the new comers, setting up of the wireless network (they didn’t set it up, after it was stolen. The student who stole it was later expelled), having usmle practice questions available on school computers for student use ( this is since a lot of the students in the past didn’t fair well and the current students recommend taking the Kaplan course to prepare for it. The Kaplan course is 3500 usd for all those interested. I guess the main reason I think they didn’t do well is since they (the students) didn’t prepare for the tests while here…which is very idiotic…after all the goal of the bsc program here is to prepare u for the tests…and wut better way to prepare than to go over the test papers over and over….so my suggestion to u guys whether u are coming here or any other Caribbean med school while u are doing the studies have your usmle materials with u to test your knowledge on the topics….)
So wut other project did the dean mention…oh yeah he did mention an intriguing new project…..which would be great if it is actually fulfilled….they are planning to get guest lecturers to come over during the summer to give optional lectures on various material…sounds really cool if u think of it…now waiting to see if they really follow on this promise….
So wut else did I miss….can’t think of anything else at the moment…classes starts on Tuesday…we were given the curriculum today…the rest of the orientation is coming Monday…so will keep u posted on how it goes…
In the meanwhile let me know of any questions u want to be answered by the faculty and administration of sjsm…I will try to get them answered….bye..take care for now…