"Don't matter if you're black or white..."

Last entry I left off after receiving my pink eye medicine.. Unfortunately, a week later my eyes were only worse. I went to the school doctor this past Monday who took the time to look in my eyes. He said I am still having an allergic reaction to the Bactrim I was placed on a while back. I have a new medicine now that burns and itches badly but has helped a lot too. My eyes are much better then they were though they have not completely cleared up. My friends have started joking that if someone here isn't going to make it home, it will be me because I have the worst luck. AND that if I were one of the first settlers I would have been the first to die from illness.
I know it seems like I complain a lot. I generally don't complain as much as I do down here. I had a girl come up to me today and say "Like omg Melissa, I totally can't see why you hate it here." (Yes she is blond). My response was this, I don't hate it here. I don't hate the view or the beaches. I don't hate some of my classes and I don't hate some of the experiences I have had here. It's just that whenever you think of an island in the Caribbean you think tropical paradise. For ME this was a complete let down. For me, this is not my paradise. I love changing weather (thanks Missouri for that). I love snow and mountains. I love whales and trees that are so tall they seem like they might fall with one gust of wind. I love the small town feel. All of these things this island doesn't have. Not to mention the illnesses I have had and the people I have encountered.
I was so very nervous when I arrived in Juneau but I grew to love it very quickly. I made friends easily and stomped through the snow to class with an appreciation for Gods beautiful creations. It was gorgeous and the people were nice. Here I knew when my dad and I landed that something just felt wrong.
This is not "God's Country."
Here is one example of something little that, mixed with everything else, is kind of unbearable.
I have this art teacher. She is smart and knows her stuff, a graduate of NYU. However, she is very anti-American, anti-American schools, anti-democracy, anti-Christianity, anti-EVERYTHING that I am. Her opinion becomes fact in class and she often teachers more about her opinions and personal life rather then art.
Recently she stated that:
*the cross on which Jesus died is shaped like a penis because all Romans, even Christians, had small penises and built all kinds of structures to compensate for this.

* that all conservatives start wars because they are christian and therefor are not having, or are having lousy sex, or because they have small penises. Hence why Bill clinton didn't start a war, he had plenty of women, same for JFK.

*that Christians took the Bible and rewrote it to say what we wanted.

*that Jesus is not God's son or God. He was just a guy teaching about love and peace. She knows this because she speaks fluent hebrew and that's what the Bible REALLY says.

*being celibate is a sin because god said to "Go Forth and Multiply," and said nothing about marrying.

*that all Iowa teachers are horrible, because her sons current teacher is horrible and happens to have lived in Iowa for some time.

*that all of the USA is like New York. (I told her she needed to get out a bit.)

*that all birthing hospitals or centers are only places to make women feel inferior. She states that we as women can have children without doctors (which is true) and that doctors are only around to keep women dependent on men. (which is SO FAR OFF)

and finally
*that all American public school students are drugged and on ADHD medicine to keep them from being kids and to make the teacher's job easier. (mind you her son is in a private school and they have told her that he may be ADHD.)

Oh man, I could go on forever. And she is not the only teacher to behave like this. Another of my teachers has no idea why Columbus sailed the ocean. SIGH
I promised myself never to be this kind of a teacher or person.
So yeah, been an interesting semester so far. I would like to say that I am looking forward to what this next week brings but...the past weeks have only brought pain.
Sorry that I have no fun pictures this time around. Not really in funny mood.
Enjoy the weekend everyone!

"When it rains, it pours!"

What an interesting week I have had. That red eye I wrote about in my last blog...well it got worse and in both eyes so I went to the doctor. The problem was that no Doctors offices were open because it was Columbus Day. So, I had to go to the ER:

Since the pharmacies were closed on Columbus day too, I had to wait until the next day to take an hour and a half long Safari ride to the Kmart Pharmacy for my prescription:



So I went back home to barely catch my Health class, which I had a test in. The next day, I woke up with swollen gross eyes and hopped back on the safari to get to the Kmart again:
Much to my surprise, the pharmacy had my medicine waiting for me and I put the drops in right there in the store. Too bad it cost $65!


I wish I could say that the story ends here, all happy. Unfortunately, that is not the case. I returned to my room to see my roommate had moved out, and I had a message on my phone to see my RA (resident advisor). I guess my roommate felt that I was to unsanitary to live with so she turned me in and they moved her out. Plus, the school housing office wanted me to meet with the nurse again to make sure I...you know...didn't need to be quarantined.
So, I did and I apologized to her for being in so much lately. She said it wasn't a big deal and that often times when we move great distances our bodies become stressed and our immune systems go down. She said she was going to tell the school that I am healthy.
SO SCREW U ROOMMIE! or should I say Ex roommate! Karma has vicious teeth so beware.
Oh yeah, and thanks for the FREE single room!

Don't scratch, Don't scratch!

(This was actually the best of it)

This week has been a trying one.
A few weeks ago I had a MRSA outbreak and was placed on medicine that was supposed to help clear it all up. And it did, eventually.
However, I woke up one morning with my hands swollen and itchy. I figured I had been attacked by mosquitoes in the night, as that is what usually happens. But never had my hands been swollen in the past. I brushed it off and got ready for class.
During my Social Science class one student in front of me said it looked like i had bed bugs or something. I looked down to find my arms bright red.
Next I had Volleyball. I was going along, doing my thing. I looked down at the end of class to see my entire arm spotted with hives. So, I stopped by the doctor on the way back to my dorm. She took me off the MRSA medicine and gave me Benadryl to take every six hours.
Needless to say i was in a weird sleepy state for the rest of the day. However, I didn't realize i needed to take it in the middle of the night too. I woke up the next day covered from head to toe in hives with one eye swollen and itchy. I had to skip my first class in order to give time for the Benadryl to kick in. Now it has been a few days of sleepy Benadryl Melissa walking around and the MRSA meds are finally out of my system. I woke up this morning with no hives, so I guess I was just having a reaction to the MRSA medicine. Only thing left to tke care of is this swollen itchy eye that wont go away!
(I decided to draw it for you all! I don't think i ever got an A in art class so beware! )

That night:

"Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music.”

I first have to explain my Facebook status:

"My Social Science class is a JOKE! The teacher told us to memorize all the islands in the Caribbean, So I did! And we only needed to know FOUR! So there I was sitting in class taking a test where everything I was told to study wasn't on the test!!! There is a problem when I am getting a 102% in a 300+ Lvl class and a C- in a 100 lvl class!!!(When is Christmas break again?)"

This teacher, I have had some problems with. She refuses to call on me in class and will blatantly ignore my questions. I asked her just last week what she would be looking for when she checked our folders. I thought this was a reasonable question, considering we have to have certain items in the folder to get full points. She laughed...SHE LAUGHED for about a minute and then pointed to the next person with a hand in the air. No one else was laughing. Everyone had the same confused look on their faces as me. I don't understand what her deal is but she needs to realize that YES my skin is white and YES I speak with an American accent, and NO it's not going to change anytime soon.

This test I took today had a question on it that said "The Virgin Islands___________." Talk about being VAGUE! No directions, Nothing!I liked my answer:
"The Virgin Islands is someplace I will NEVER live again." Then I highlighted the question and wrote "What a nice question!" Honestly, I had many more horrible answers I could have written. I am proud of myself for showing some restraint, albeit only a little.

*Deep Breath*

Moving on to better things... Today is CLOUDY! I love it! There is no sun in the sky, constant rain on and off, and Lots of distant thunder. I woke up thinking: where the heck am I? JUNEAU? sigh...nope. But that's okay because today I am happy with the weather. I don't think I have had a drop of sweat on my thus far today. Usually we all wake up in sweat and we take two showers a day.
Despite the unfortunate test, today is shaping up to be okay. The school is showing Shutter Island this evening, which I have heard is kind of scary...? I think it sounds good. Might be fun.
I finally got all my pictures uploaded onto my computer from snorkeling last weekend.It was a very cool experience and by far the best day in the Caribbean so far. The boat ride was fun too and I would love to spend a little more time on the sands and in the water of St. John.

I realize my blog today is a bit random today.I guess that is my life these days.
So I am heading down town to the mall with some friends. One friend wanted to get a dress and five of us are going with her. We are just THAT bored. haha

Cheers,