Hello 2nd year!

Its now November and I've been back at school for a month! Crazy how fast it seems to be going.

The year didn't start out too great though. Lots of drama (long story short, I ran for and lost, two positions on the student government which was quite disappointing for me - but I just can't compete on popularity and that was my undoing).

But I think that things work out for the best. Even though we no longer have the pressure of not being able to move forward if we fail a specific class like we did last year with anatomy, there seems to be even more work. We have tests or homework due every week and I find that I also get more out of my classes when I prepare for them in advance (even if it means pre-reading the lecture slides).

Today I had a pretty important test so my husband suggested that I stay in town over night so I could study and then not have to get up too early. Worked well with the studying part but I made the mistake of having some coffee at 6PM and I was WIRED and had the hardest time falling asleep. I ended up I think falling a sleep some time after 3AM.

As a result, today I skipped my biochemistry lecture and epidemiology class because I knew I'd crash at some point if I went. Luckily the biochem lectures aren't mandatory and we're allowed to skip two epidemiology classes and I haven't skipped any to date. Still I really don't like skipping class if I can help it.

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We've had a slightly tough few weeks because our nanny has taken a three week holiday. She has had this in the works since before she started working for us, so we knew about it way in advance. Timing wasn't the best for us but luckily my husband just adjusted his work schedule and has really taken control of everything. I'm so lucky in this regard. And she is back next week!

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Even though its still years away, I'm starting to wonder about my next steps after medical school. Lots of people are surprised that I'm really not considering staying in Poland (well, mostly Polish friends) but I really don't want to. Don't get me wrong, I love it here at the moment and I want to take advantage of living here and exposing my kids to the language and culture, but I just don't see it as a forever type of thing.

My first choice would be to do my post-grad training in Canada but only if I match to a great residency and chances of that as an IMG (International medical school graduate) are slim. Plus I think there are some sort of "return of service" requirement which could have me moved to wherever to practice medicine for a specific length of time. I don't know if I can risk dragging my family to some remote northern Canadian town. If I was single, it wouldn't be an issue but I'm not.

My next choice would be the UK somewhere. Cons are that the program is way longer (about 5 years vs 2 years in Canada or the US). Pros are that we'd stay in Europe and I really love the UK, though Brexit puts everything in to the "unknown" category. Oh well, I'm hoping that things will be resolved by the time I graduate.

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One thing I'm relieved about - though a bit worried am jinxing myself - is that I feel like our family life has finally settled down. Last year was rocky for all of us and I had a ton of stress and guilt over being gone so much. Part of me is still amazed that I was able to pass everything the way I did.

But its made me determined to try and get better grades this year. Fingers crossed that family drama will be kept to a minimum. I really want to do well this year.