Our first week in St Maarten...
Well the first week has come and gone. It went by so quickly! Mark has officially started school. He is currently taking molecular and cellular biology, a gross anatomy lecture/lab and a histology class. His schedule allows for mid day studies which is nice so he can review what he just learned in class as soon as its over. They recommend 1.5 hours of studying per 1 hour of class. He currently has classes from 8-11:30am then again from 2-4pm. The campus is very close to where we live so he has been coming home to eat and hang out for a bit then go back to study. He is hoping to have a good study routine/schedule established over the next couple of weeks. His first exam will be on the 24th of this month. His class has 112 students in it. They are from all over the world and all ages. I would say the average age for the whole school is probably 25 ish so there is a good age range. The school has about 5-600 students enrolled.
I have figured out that when most of the spouses said wait until you get here to look for work that it is truly better to be here. The jobs that the spouses do are few and far between. The ones who work full time are teachers for the most part. The others either work at the college or at the local private school but only occasionally. The private school is about a 2 minute walk from our apartment. I met the principle and vice principle there and gave them my resume. They have already given me a couple substitute days for this month in a 5th grade class. They said there should be full time positions opening soon but they aren't sure if they will be before the new school year or not. The school is owned by Canadians and is run on the Canadian standards so many of the teachers come from Canada and stay for a year or so at a time. They have 30 teachers and about 300 students. It is 1st-12th grades. The people are all so nice there and the pay is great because for the Canadian teachers they also pay for their housing. Since we are not Canadian the salary goes up for us. We will see what opens otherwise substituting or what they call "supply teaching" is great for now. The other schools are further away on the island and until we buy a car those places are way to far to walk.
Speaking of a car...the cars here are interesting. The "island cars" all have something wrong with them it seems. They sell for anywhere from 1500-4k on average. They are mainly funny little egg looking cars but there are normal cars here too. Many of them are old and rusted but it gets us to the grocery store and back so that's all we will need. Its pretty impossible to get by without a car here. They are hard to find right now because Marks class was pretty big so lots of students bought cars right away. We are still looking. The closest grocery store is very small and one of the most expensive on the island. I went with one of the spouses to the big grocery store and it was about a 30 minute drive because the bridge was up for the boats to go in/out of so we sat in traffic for a while. I will be sure to send pics of our "island Porsche" when we get it :) Many of the students share cars. So, for example the couple that we know at our complex they share their car with another student who lives in our complex and they spilt all costs (buying, repairing, gas etc) Because you really only drive places once or twice a week so sharing is helpful.
Otherwise things have been great. We have already met lots of people and are becoming great friends with 2 other couples. We haven't had a ton of time to meet other people yet but I am sure we will in time. I obviously have more time than Mark and have met a good amount of the other spouses. They are all ages and from all over which makes it fun and interesting. The spouses have a running/walking, cooking, movie and book club. They also do once a week beach days. Each Friday they pick a new beach on the island to go to. They also get together to do burrito and bake sales for the students. They keep us pretty busy with things to do. AUC also has a nice gym that the spouses can go to for free. We are also able to use the computer lab which is a nice benefit.
Where we live....so the campus is surrounded by several apartments and dorms. The area we live in is about a minute walk from school. The area is not the nicest but its close for Mark to come back and forth. The area by the school was really affected by a hurricane about 15 years ago. Long story short, some company came in and was paid by the islands government 60 million dollars to fix up the island and they ended up leaving with the money and did zero repairs. So, much of the island is still vacant and there are lots of destroyed buildings, apartments and hotels. Apparently Donald Trump has made some visits to the island with plans to buy and remodel a couple of the resorts but that hasn't happened yet. Therefore, we live in a more run down area but within a minute you are close to shops, restaurants and amazing turquoise water beaches. We also live very close to the islands only golf course. Its an interesting golf course....it's a nice course but in hurricane season when the roads have flooded it sounds like the golf course became the main road and people were driving all over the course. Also, the easiest way to get to the closest beach is to cut through the golf course so there are some walking trails that go through it. Kind of funny because you would NEVER see that at home. We have become good friends with 2 other couples Jamie and Owen who live where we do and Rose and Eero (pronounced Arrow) They have a REALLY nice place with amazing views and their place is a personally owned condo that is fully furnished. They have 3 pools that overlook the ocean with a private beach. So, needless to say so far we have spent a lot of time at their place. Rose is 2 months pregnant so that will be fun to have a baby here to play with after August! Our apartment has a bed, a desk, a small kitchen, some wicker furniture and 2 bar stools. Other than that its pretty empty. We found a pull out couch that we are going to buy for guests or for me to sleep on when Mark and Boomer keep me up with their snoring. :) We will make it as cozy as possible for the time we are here. We are really hoping for lots of visitors and cant wait to learn more about the island so we can take all our visitors to see what all is here. We went on a tour of the island last weekend. It took us about 2 hours total to get all the way around but that was on a bus with a 30 minute stop to shop. We saw so many cool things. The French side is really amazing. There are hundreds of restaurants and bars here. There are lots of water activities, zip lining, sailing, surfing....you name it they probably have it. Mark wants to learn to Kite surf and i would love to surf. I am also thinking about learning french. Since Rose was also in the military she can get Rosetta Stone for FREE and she is fluent in French and Spanish so I ma hoping to learn it as well! There is an option for Mark to go to London for about 10 months after we leave here which would be so much fun and it would be great to know French! The London thing is just an option. We really wont have any ideas as to where we will go next until much closer to the end of 2012.
Beaches....i have seen more naked bodies than i can count. I knew there were beaches here that were nude beaches but most every beach that we have been to has had lots and lots of topless women and men that wear little bitty bathing suits. It has been entertaining. My favorite have been the people in their 70"s and 80's. Those ladies should really cover up a bit. But hey, more power to them. The island gets tons of tourists. Lots of Europeans and since the island is half french that is a good chunk of the visitors. There are several planes and cruise ships that come in and out all the time. I was eating breakfast a few days ago and looked out the window and saw this enormous boat. It was like a scene from Goonies. So next weekend Mark and I are off to find one eyed willy and the treasures ;)
But really... the boats are amazing. The biggest cruise ship on the water is called the Oceanic I believe and that comes in during the day sometimes. It is ENORMOUS!! watching it go out at night is an awesome sight. it is like a floating city full of lights. It is really beautiful.
Yesterday AUC sponsored a BBQ at the beach for all students and their families. It was a lot of fun and nice for everyone to get to meet each other then last night we had our spouses/student dinner at Sunset bar. This is a really fun bar that is right next to the airport. So, the thing to do here is stand on the beach when planes are landing and taking off. They say you can reach up and touch the bottom of the plane. They aren't that low but pretty close. If you get a chance google Maho beach St maarten. Its pretty crazy. Last night Mark and Owen decided to stand on the beach as one took off. They said it was like sandpaper being rubbed all over your body. You cant really move while its taking off cause the air is too strong. You can see the water from the beach being pushed out. I tried taking pictures but they didnt really come out. When they came back Marks hair was air blown and the gel was disintegrated hahaha! he looked very "french and suave" hahaha!!!
It is definitely a place to take our visitors!!
Today we went to church at the school. It is a non denominational type of mass but it was the only church we could get to for now without a car. It was actually really nice. We both enjoyed it and plan to go back.
Good news for all the divers in the fam....diving is so cheap here and it sounds like there are some awesome things to see out there! Theres another couple here who have their 16 and 12 year old kids with them here and the dad and kids dive almost every weekend. He said there is about 40-50 places just here on the island. They went out yesterday and said there was a dolphin that swam around them during their whole dive! :) For AUC students and families it is only $50 for the boat ride, all equipment and 2 tanks! Very cheap compared to home!!
There are 3 island that are very close St. Barths, Anguilla and Saba. Apparently they all have great diving. You can get to all the other islands pretty easily for day or weekend trips. There are ferries that go out daily and 12 minute flights that go out ll the time as well. I think its about $75-100. We've heard lots of different things about each of the islands and hope to visit each one. The snorkeling here is amazing as well. You can pretty much snorkel at any beach right off the shore. The water is so clear and there are rocks and cliffs with great reefs. There are also a few shipwrecks for diving.
This coming week on Friday night Mark will have his white coat ceremony. I am not sure what all this entails but we are supposed to dress nice and he gets his white lab dr coat. Funny thing is he has his dress clothes here with us but in the 3 suitcases we have at home still, he has his dress shoes so what could be more island appropriate than his nice pants, shirt, tie and flip flops :) Then Saturday then Sunday there is some sort of spouses brunch and then a pot luck at the church.
Needless to say there is plenty to do!
For anyone who wants to come visit, we would love to have you. We will have an air mattress and a pull out couch so please feel free. If you'd rather stay at a hotel please let us know so we can let you know the better areas/places to stay.
It sounds like December thru May are the best times weather wise. From what we've heard it rains a lot more in August, Sept Oct. On most days it sprinkles at least once for about 10 minutes then the sun is back out. The weather has been great but people have been saying that it is cooler and breezier than normal. It has even been light sweater weather at night! BUT really warm DURING the day!
Boomer and Lucy are unsure of what to think so far.....they are confused by the waves and why it makes this loud sound then they are both soaked. They are learning to deal with the crazy cats downstairs but are still ready to chase them and the rooster next door. HAHA! I took them both on a 4 mile walk 2 days ago and Lucy sat down during the last mile. I tried pulling here but she wouldn't budge. She then sat for a minute, then laid down, then rolled onto her side. She was breathing harder than I have ever seen. haha! I am determined to get these fatties into shape!! That was also the one walk where i forgot a bag and Lucy went #2 in the middle of the casino parking lot and Boomer on the golf course...SHEESH!!
oh yeah! There are lots of casino and one is right next to our apartment. There is also a big grassy field next to our place where the dogs love to run around.
Well, I guess that's it for week one! We are very excited to have my dad coming out with our remaining luggage on the 24th of this month! It also sounds like The Dozers will be coming mid March, Trina will be coming in late March, the Amons in April, my parents and brother in May and we will see who else! We cant wait for visits and miss you all.
We are loving the experience so far and cant wait to share all the adventures with you! The one thing we DONT miss is our cell phones!! :)
Well, lots of love to you all.
Oh! i almost forgot. Not sure on the mail thing yet. We have been trying to get a letter out to Jean for a week but think we figured it out finally. We probably wont be mailing too much home and think that it may be expensive for you all to mail stuff here so it may just be best to hold off on that for now. Emailing is easiest and FREE. If we find out a cheaper easier way we will let you all know.
Last thing. We have been trying to skype with my parents and brother at least once a week and check to see who is online a couple nights a week and havent seen anyone else on. If you are on your computer please log into skype because we would love to talk to you all. If you have an account please find us cause we arent sure who all has one. It is under Mark and Jackie Rouff. You can also call us at 520 344 0943, it is free for you all and it goes right to our computer. If we dont answer you can leave a message and we will call you back. If we do miss you let us know a good time to call you back. Dont forget we are 3 hours later than Arizona.
Ok, thats it for now. I am going to get as many pics as i can on here and all of them on FB. Enjoy and we will be in touch soon
Send us updates on whats going on in the world! We are so excited about baby Addison. She is beautiful!
So sad about the news in Tucson. There was even a "Stoddard" person killed but no relation thank goodness.
Good night
Jackie & Mark
