Vacation Recap - Cartagena, Colombia 2018

Hola Colombia!

Last month, I decided to be spontaneous and finally do something that was just for me. I was officially done with all of my required medical school clerkships, and had just finished my term as SNMA National President, so I had a lot more free time on my hands. Plus, with all the hustle and bustle of this past year, I was beginning to become completely burnt out and was in desperate need of a vacation. So what did I do? I booked a one-week solo trip to Cartagena, Colombia, and I enjoyed every last second of it!

Familiar faces in new places

Right after I returned home from the SNMA AMEC, I repacked my bags for my trip to Colombia. There were some amazing flight deals that I couldn’t pass up, and Cartagena kept popping up on all my searches for the best places for solo female travelers. The funny thing is that when I arrived in Cartagena, there was never a moment where I ever felt alone. Even when I arrived in Cartagena, I ran into one of the SNMA National Committee Chairs who had just been at the conference with me! We had no idea that either of us would be there, so it was a super crazy moment. She was staying not too far from my hotel, so it was nice hanging out with her and her friends while also getting my bearings and a feel for the city on the first day.

Melanin in Colombia

On the second day of my trip, I had an excursion to Playa Blanca that I booked through Alex Rocha (The Real Cartagena). Now let me just stop here and say that if you are planning any trip to Cartagena, then he is the person to go through!  I not only got to fully experience the city and areas I visited, but the tour guides were simply amazing and always on time. Plus, I had the pleasure of meeting other tourists who were a joy to hang out with. During my trip to Playa Blanca, everyone in the van was from Atlanta (I told you those flight deals were crazy lol), and I had a blast with the ladies on the trip. We were taken to a secluded area of the beach that had very few people stopping by to bug us with selling things, and it included a delicious lunch, and a tour to some lesser traveled areas of the city. It was definitely a great way to ring in my vacation, and I ended the evening with a nice dinner at a lovely French restaurant called Restaurant Montmartre. 

Ser Negro es Hermoso

On day three, I participated in “The real Cartagena” tour and was floored by all the beauty in the city. Not only is over 75% of the population in Cartagena black, but after a visit by President Obama in 2012, the “Ser Negro es Hermoso” (Black is Beautiful) movement was started. The city is literally filled with murals and statues celebrating black people. I was in heaven! Plus, there was more great food involved, and I got to interact with more awesome tourists. After the excursion, I went to the Choco Museum and participated in a 2-hour class that involved making chocolate straight from the cocoa bean. It not only was a fun experience, but I also ran into more Americans who invited me to spend the next day with them on a boat. There was no way I was passing that up!

Had a blast with great new people

On day four, I met up with the guys who I met the night before and spent the day having an absolute blast! It was also kinda cool finally hanging out with people who didn’t live in Atlanta, and being from the northeast, they were actually familiar with PCOM. They rented a boat for the day and we were taken to a beautiful private island that was literally a party. There were underwater huts where food and drinks were delivered to us, music, and a ton of people partying on their boats. It was a surreal experience, and I literally had the time of my life!

Wakanda Forever! (Even in Colombia lol)

Day five involved a trip to Palenque, which is the first free African village in the Americas and established completely by runaway slaves/freedom seekers. I was immersed in the culture, had more great food, and loved being around beautiful black faces. I also got my tour group to do the Wakanda pose!

A night on the party bus with other solo female travelers

When I arrived back to the hotel that day, I found that the power was completely out in the old walled city where I was staying. Luckily, the HOTEL I was staying at had a great rooftop bar with unlimited ice and drinks for everyone. I stayed there for a while sipping on drinks with my feet in the pool, and then as the sun was setting, I took a beautiful horse-drawn carriage ride through the old walled city. I then remembered I had signed up for the Chiva (Party) bus that evening, so I returned to my hotel room, managed to get dressed in the dark, and went out for some fun. It was great dancing the night away while meeting more fun tourists, and when I returned to the hotel, the power was finally back on!

Med students in Colombia!

I had reserved day 6 for relaxation and exploring, so I slept in and started my day with a trip to the Historic Museum of Cartagena. I spent a few hours there learning about the history of the city I was in, and then I decided to go check out the Gold Museum. Unfortunately, it was closed that day, but I was directed to the Emerald Museum next door. It was here where I ran into two more tourists who not only also lived in Atlanta, but they happened to also be two 4th year medical students from Morehouse School of Medicine who just matched into orthopedic surgery. How crazy is that?!?! We hung out a bit and then went our separate ways, but agreed to reconnect later. After that, I explored some more, managed to have dinner in the famous Don Juan Restaurant without a reservation (yay for being solo and cute! lol), and then reconnected with the med students I met earlier. We hung out, discussed our medical journeys, and then hit the club where I got the DJ to play my favorite songs and played pool with Canadians.

Met so many awesome people in Colombia

On my last full day in Cartagena, I took a trip to the museum, visited the university, and invited a few of the people I met during my time in Cartagena for a beautiful sunset dinner overlooking the ocean. We somehow ended up just having drinks and then hitting a pizza place afterwards, but it was an excellent ending to what couldn’t have been a more perfect trip. Cartagena was the ultimate trip of self-care, fun, and relaxation, and when the next morning came, I was not ready to leave at all. Out of all the trips I have taken, it currently stands as my favorite, and I can’t wait to return again.

A great ending to an amazing vacation!

Loved my hotel!

100th Blog Post and Nominated for a Liebster Award!

I’ve finally reached my goal of 100 blog posts before medical school! I thought that would be the hardest thing to cross off the list, so I’m pretty surprised that I hit the goal with more than a week to go before the start of classes. Hopefully this will hold my new readers (and allow my current readers to catch up on old posts) as the frequency of posts start to decline with the start of school. Blogging has been an awesome hobby for me, so I look forward to bringing you all a lot more :-)

On another note, I was nominated for a Liebster Award by the very down-to-earth Awkward Black Doctor. Thanks for the love! If you guys have not checked out this individual's blog, then you’re missing out! This blogger will be starting medical school this fall at UCLA, and her blog is one of my favorites. If you’re interested in medicine, travel, or just want to read something from someone who isn’t afraid to express their true feelings, then you’ll love it too. Anyway, here is a breakdown of the award that I lifted from the blog: 

 “LIEBSTER, PRONOUNCED ‘LEEB’-STER, IS A WORD OF GERMAN ORIGIN AND MEANS BELOVED, PREFERRED, OR LIKED VERY MUCH AMONG OTHERS. IT IS A TERM OF ENDEARMENT AND LIKEWISE, THE LIEBSTER AWARD IS ONE CREATED BY BLOGGERS FOR BLOGGERS AS A WAY TO ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR WORK IN THE BLOGGERSPHERE.”

To accept the award, here are the rules:

The Liebster Award Rules

1. Thank the nominator and post a link to his/her blog

2. Display the award on your blog

3. Answer the eleven questions provided by the nominator

4. Nominate 5-11 blogs which have less than 1,000 followers, and let them know they’ve been nominated

5. Make up and post eleven questions for your nominees to answer

6. Post these rules on your blog

My Questions:

1) Why should someone follow your blog?

If you’re a nontraditional student considering becoming a physician, then you should definitely follow my blog. I have helpful tips for navigating the application process, inspiration to help you get through, and peeks into my life where I like to work just as hard as I play. There also aren’t a lot of blogs available from single parents in medical school, those who overcame low stats, or underrepresented minority females, so there’s a little something in here for everybody.

2) What is your stance on white chocolate?

Haha! My first thought was men or the food? LOL If you’re a long-term reader of my blog, then you know why that came to mind. When it comes to food though, I love white chocolate on strawberries, but that's pretty much the only time I eat it.

3) What is your pump-up song?

It’s a tie between "Blow up" by J. Cole and "All the Above" by Maino

4) What would your best friend say about you? What would your worst friend say about you?

Best  or worst, I think they all would say the same thing: I'm slightly crazy, stubborn, and a little OCD at times, but you can't help but love me!

5) Tell me about a favorite dish you think I’ve never heard of.

Since I'm craving them right now, I'll say Boudin balls. It's a Cajun dish that is basically rice, sausage, and seasonings rolled up and deep fried.

6) Any special skills?

I actually like to pole dance (for workout purposes only!) and I’ve gotten really good at not having to use my hands with it. Unfortunately, before I moved I had a little incident where I didn't tighten my pole enough, which resulted in me flying through the air and almost breaking my arm. I'm afraid to get back on it without a spotter, so it sits in my closet for now LOL. 

7) Do you have a Plan B for your life?

Having a Plan B gives you an excuse to not give it your all. The only plan for my life is God's plan, which doesn't leave room for any other plans.

8) What is your favorite place you’ve visited internationally?

Although I recently visited Cancun, Mexico and fell in love with it, Jamaica still reigns as my favorite country. The food, culture, and people really give it a uniqueness and comfortable feeling that I have yet to find anywhere else. There are still quite a few places on my to-visit list, so this could change in the future.

9) What is the best book you’ve read recently?

Blue Collar, Blue Scrubs: The Making of a Surgeon by Michael J. Collins. It's a great book written by an orthopedic surgeon, and it talks about his journey through medical school. I still can't believe this man had 12 children, and mostly while in medical school and residency!

10) Do you think fate is real or a rationalization of occurrences?

Without a doubt, fate is real.

11) Does the future scare you?

There's a quote floating around somewhere that says something to the effect of "If your dreams don't scare you, then they're not big enough." Of course, the future scares me, but not in terms of what will happen to me. I'm more afraid of not living up to my full potential and making the impact on the world that I am supposed to.

Nomination Time!

1. Surgery at Tiffany's

2. The Road Less Traveled to Medical School

3. Doc201x

4. Wife M.D.

5. Stilettos + Stethoscopes

Here are my questions!
1. What's one major lesson that you have learned from blogging?
2. What's your guilty pleasure?
3. What is one thing that most people find surprising about you?
4. What is your favorite quote?
5. Are you a morning person or a night-owl?
6. What is one thing that you miss the most from your childhood?
7. What's the best advice that you could give to your younger self?
8. What's one of your pet peeves?
9. Do you prefer dogs or cats?
10. What's your favorite season?
11. What motivates you to keep blogging?

A Night to Remember!

Getting ready for Jay-Z and Beyoncè!

Last night was epic! If you’ve been following my blog for a while, then you already know that I crossed out attending the Essence Music Festival from my bucket list, and I added the Jay-Z and Beyoncé “On the Run Tour” in its place. The switch was definitely worth it!!!!

I was going for a '70s retro look

Since one of my sisters lives less than an hour away from me and I hadn’t seen her in a while, I went ahead and brought her along. We were dressed to kill and ready to party LOL! Being that I’m a huge fan of Jay-Z, I don’t have to tell you that I was super hyped whenever he was on stage. Beyoncé did her thing as well and didn’t disappoint! These two definitely know how to perform and put on a show, and I really got my money’s worth.

Having fun with my little sis!

Outside of the show, the highlight for me was having Kandi Burruss walk right past me, along with her husband Todd, daughter, and a few other known friends. The Real Housewives of Atlanta were definitely in the building, and they were literally sitting only a few rows in front of me. I even spotted Miss Lawrence for those of you who are familiar with the show.

Real Housewives of Atlanta in the building!

But all-in-all I had a wonderful time, and was glad I had the opportunity to experience such an awesome show. This was my last final splurge before starting medical school, and now I’m ready to buckle down and enter the world of medicine. Only one more month to go!

Here are some more pics from the show:

The On the Run Tour was awesome!

Beyoncè killed it!

The smaller stage was next to me so I got a few good pics :-)

The final part of the concert

Working on the “Before Medical School” Bucket List!

Having fun and taking the time to really enjoy life is a huge priority for me right now. If you’ve been following my blog, then you already know I’ve been busy working on a bucket list (SEE HERE) of all the things that I want to do before medical school starts this fall. I’m happy to say that I’ve been able to mark off a few things from the list within the past few weeks, and I’ve also made one slight change that I’ll talk about below.

               

The biggest thing on my list was taking a vacation, and I was so happy to be able to accomplish the task with my trip to Mexico the other week. When I came back from my trip, I was still in party mode, so me and my guy decided to head down to Bourbon Street to have some fun. Oddly enough, we had never been out clubbing together but it was a complete blast. We danced the night away and then ended up at Café Du Monde at almost five in the morning eating beignets.

Last week I chaperoned my daughter’s field trip for the first time, so I’m marking that off the list as well. I think I spoke more Spanish that day than I did in Mexico, so that’s another check mark. There’s no way I’ll become fluent before med school starts, but as long as I can communicate to get what I want when I need to, then I think I’ll be OK.  I’m really happy that I got to experience that with her because I don’t think I will have time to do the chaperone thing again until she has graduated from high school. Hopefully she’ll keep the memory with her for a long time.

July 15th! Can't wait!!!!

Lastly, I know I said I wanted to go to the Essence Festival in July, BUT last week I was fortunate enough to grab some pre-sale floor seat tickets to the Beyoncé and Jay-Z tour. I’m soooooo excited!!!! I can’t afford to do both Essence Fest and the concert (plus I would have to drive back to New Orleans a few days after moving), so I’m happy with the decision. I love me some Beyoncé, but I’ve been a huge fan of Jay-Z since my middle school years, so it’s going to be an epic experience. It will be one month before school starts, so it will be a great ending to months of fun.

I think that’s it for things that have been marked off the bucket list. I’m slowly trying to get my fill of daiquiris, but they’re just so good! I’ll let that one stay on the list for a while ;-) Enough about me though, what fun things are some of you doing/planning to do before starting medical school?

Mexico Part 2 - Chichen Itza

My trip to Chichen Itza was so epic that it deserves its own post. I originally had not planned on taking any excursions while vacationing in Mexico, but thanks to the fact that I paid absolutely nothing for my hotel stay (gotta love airline miles!) I had a little extra spending money. It was definitely money well spent.

Pre-trip selfie!

My day began pretty early, but I was lucky enough to catch an amazing sunrise. The bus ride from Cancun to Chichen Itza was approximately two hours, but I was paired with another solo traveler who I chatted with the entire time, so it wasn’t too bad. The tour guides also gave us a lot of great information about where we would be going and the history behind everything.

Enjoying the beautiful sunrise

We arrived at the site around 10am and the entire tour was around three hours. I can’t remember everything I learned that day, but I did find it interesting that Chichen Itza was recently named one of the Seven Wonders of the New World. If I remember correctly the pyramid is a representation of the Mayan calendar with all the steps and sides adding up to 365. It is possible to tell what time of the day it is and the season just from looking at the pyramid. It was also the site where everyone thought the world would end in 2012, and during the spring and vernal equinox the sun shines directly through the top window of the pyramid. Pretty awesome!

After the tour, we ate lunch at a place where some of the locals performed for us and that was a good surprise. Plus, the food was off the chain! In addition to the other solo traveler, I also hung out with a really nice couple celebrating their one year wedding anniversary and it was an absolute blast! The funny thing is that throughout the entire day everyone thought me and the other solo traveler were a couple or related, so we had to keep letting people know that we just met LOL! It was all good fun though. It was also my first time really interacting with other people my entire time down in Mexico, and I really enjoyed it.

For the final part of the trip we visited a large water hole known as a cenote that everyone was allowed to swim in. If I remember correctly, it was 150 feet deep. I put my feet in, but that water was way too cold for me to jump in! It was also pretty crowded, but the cool air was pretty refreshing.

On the way back to the hotel, the bus played some show from the History Channel that gave more information about where we had been that day, and it was really interesting. When I made it back to my hotel around 7 that evening, I was so tired! I took a shower, ate, and then packed my bags because it was my final night in Cancun.

My Birthday in Mayan Hieroglyphics 

That basically sums up my vacation in Mexico. I came back the next night and spent some time with my sweetheart (he missed me! Lol), but I was back on the road the next day headed to my parents’ house to pick up my daughter. She definitely missed her momma!

Happy to be back with my little love :-)

Mexico Part 1

After over a week of fun and traveling, I’m back! Mexico was an absolute blast and I’ll definitely be planning another trip back in the future. There’s so much I could say about my trip, but in an effort to keep everything short and sweet I’ll just give a general overview.

The view from my room was incredible!

I stayed in Cancun at an all-inclusive resort overlooking the ocean, and the view was incredible! There were no trees blocking my view and just looking at the ocean was breathtaking. The picture above says it all. Normally I’m not much of a resort person and I try to stay around the locals, but I definitely appreciated the relaxation and carefree experience of this trip. I literally spent the first two days doing absolutely nothing but drinking, eating, lying around by the beach/pools, and drinking some more. LOL I literally had liquor on tap in my room and access to multiple open bars, and I took full advantage of all of them! I probably tried almost every drink on the menu, and I even discovered a new favorite drink: Guava Mojitos. So good! The bartender suggested it when I tried to get her to add strawberry to a Caipirinha and it was love at first sip. Now I’m on a mission to find guava juice so that I can recreate it at home.

Drinks, drinks, and more drinks!!!!

A lot of people expressed their concerns before I left about traveling solo to Mexico, but I think I felt safer there than any other country I have visited thus far. It definitely felt very Americanized (they even have a Walmart!), and the police in the area really look out for the tourists. I think the only times where I had moments of not wanting to be solo were when I was doing things at the resort. For example, I was in love with the dinner seafood buffet, but I was not a fan of the waiters completely clearing my table every time I left because no one was at the table. Eventually I just started to pile all my food on my plates so that I could eat it all in one sitting. I didn’t mind being alone at the nightly entertainment events though because I was always able to get that one single seat that was front and center. I appreciated being able to do everything that I wanted on my own time schedule without needing to compromise. I do want to experience Mexico again with company, so I purposely chose not to do a lot of things outside the resort so that I will have something to look forward to.

Food, entertainment, and fun in Cancun!

The best part of my trip was taking a day trip to Chichen Itza to visit the Mayan ruins, but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow for more on that ;-)

My "Before Med School Starts" Bucket List

One benefit of being a non-traditional student is that I have had a lot of time to explore my interests and do some really fun and interesting things. I have had a ton of new experiences since graduating from college, and I wouldn’t trade them for the world. From traveling and trying new crazy things to having more time to spend with my daughter, it has all been an awesome experience. With that being said, there are still quite a few things that I would like to accomplish before starting medical school so I put together a list shortly after my acceptance. I have crossed off a few things from the list, but there are still a couple of must-do things before I assume the role of being a super busy student again.

1. Go skydiving ✔ 

2. Go ice skating ✔

3. Take a vacation (preferably international) ✔

4. Start my own blog ✔

5. Get up to 100 blog posts

6. Work on my conversational Spanish ✔

7. Get in better shape

8. Accomplish a basic pole invert

9. Read at least 5 books

10. Chaperone one of my daughter’s field trips ✔

11. Go to “Corks N Canvas” (or some other wine and painting class)

12. Attend Essence Music Festival  Beyonce and Jay-Z Concert ✔

13. Get my fill of daiquiris ✔

14. Spend a day with my daughter at NOLA City Park ✔

15. Buy some artwork in Jackson Square (and maybe a thing or two in the French Market)

16. Get a Zulu coconut ✔

17. Get caught up on all my favorite TV shows ✔

18. Take my daughter to the Georgia Aquarium ✔

19. Try at least 3 NOLA restaurants that I have not been to ✔

20. Spend one last night partying on Bourbon St (even though I tend to avoid it like the plague LOL)  ✔

I also promised that I would post some of my birthday skydiving video, so here it is! Oh, and sorry in advance for the music. This is what they chose to use for my video LOL!