Mark continues to study a lot! He is doing well in his classes and it seems like he is getting a good study routine. He passed all of his first block exams! The exams are every 3 weeks then at the end of the semester he will have his finals. The next set of exams are on Monday February 14th. He is usually able to get done with studying by 10 or 11 most nights. That's when we will watch a movie or catch up on Dexter. :)
The weather has remained perfect. Sorry, I feel guilty saying that as people freeze to death out there. It is typically around 80 degrees everyday and in the 70´s at night. It is usually really breezy. Perfect for laying out and sleeping with the windows opened. Ive heard that we need to enjoy it now because the summers get pretty warm and humid. We usually get about 10 minutes of rain a day which Kiva tells me from her time in St Thomas that the locals like to call it ¨liquid sunshine¨. Its so perfect because usually it is sunny during or right after the rain. Its just coincidental I guess though that it happens to rain usually when I am out walking the dogs
Speaking of the dogs. They have made some friends here on the island. A few of the other students/families have dogs that they like to play with. Our neighbors have a big, fat (yes, fatter than Boomer), old chocolate lab named Splash who they love. There is also Layla who is our friends Jamie and Amanda's dog. She is an island dog that they got right when they moved here. Boomer and Lucy introduced themselves by chasing her straight into the ocean. She basically had no where to go so she ran straight for the water. Once she recovered from that, they became friends. They love the water here. Its really nice because unlike the states dogs are allowed pretty much everywhere around the island and on most all of the beaches.
As most of you know, my dad was here last week. it was so great seeing him and seeing my tennis shoes and marks remaining underwear :)
We had a really fun week with him. He helped us get the apartment and car all situated. Yes, we bought an island car and it has already been named. ¨The Green Hornet¨is a 1999 Hyundai Accent. It is dark green and sounds like a swarm of bees going uphill which is how it got its name. It is fully loaded with rust and mini tires. The air and radio work and it gets us to the grocery store so that's what really matters I guess! My dad and I did lots of sight seeing. We also went snorkeling a couple times and him and Mark did a couple dives. We went to an area here in the island called Creole rock and turtle reef. They saw an octopus, a sea horse, lots of fish and some other cool stuff. I snorkeled only but we saw a turtle and my first and hopefully last barracuda! It was about 4 feet long. Needless to say, my time in the water didn't last long. The dive people here are great and there are a lot of AUC students in the dive club. We are hoping to stay pretty involved with them as well and do as much diving as we can. Some areas have up to 120 ft visibility! The water is just so clear and turquoise.
I have for the most part learned my way around the island. It is hard to say how long it will take to get anywhere here. There are 2 bridges that each go up about 3 times a day to let the boats in/out. If the bridge is up, you could sit for 30 minutes or more. There is also only one main road that goes all the way around the island. There is one stoplight and several roundabouts. If there is an accident on the main road, you could wait for hours! Some places that are only a few miles away usually take at least 20 minutes to get to. I have decided that the French side of the island is my favorite. There are cute colorful houses, clean beaches, fun boutiques/shops and delicious french bakeries and markets. The only problem with the french markets is that I usually have no idea of what I am reading on the packages! ha ha. I can usually assume that if it says chocolat then it will taste good.
The spouses group continues to keep us busy. We have done beach a weeks, burrito and bake sale, and movie nights. Thankfully there is one theatre here that shows newer movies. Wednesday is ladies night- $4 movies! woohoo! There is also an upcoming book and cooking club and a valentines date night. Since the spouses will be studying on the weekend of valentines day all the wives are going to sit by the pool on Friday the 12th and have champagne and strawberries. Should be fun! We have continued to meet great people and have enjoyed getting to know the other couples and students.
Time seems like it is flying here! I continue to stay busy. I haven't done much subbing other than that first time but I have helped with coffee cart at AUC and have babysat a few times for some really great families. They are all such sweet people and I feel like they are people we will stay in touch with way after we leave the island. They all have so many cool stories of their adventures and the kids are awesome! One tries teaching me french all the time but they just laugh because I respond to everything with oui (yes) - thats all i know so far haha!!! I have been in touch with a couple of the other wives who teach at a different school than where I subbed. It is called Learning Unlimited. It sounds like there are going to be some potential openings there for the Fall. There are pros and cons to working there so I am waiting to see what my options are. The biggest issue is that it is a far drive and I wouldn't have breaks when Mark does. If I work at AUC it pays less but we would be off at the same time. I haven't decided yet but that's not until August so we will see how it goes.
We have talked to other students about things to do here and around the island. Several students travel to other island during their breaks. We have heard that Curacao and Venezuela are a must! We have also heard that all the local islands (Anguilla, St Barths and Saba) are all really amazing for different things- diving, shopping, beaches, dining etc. We still have a lot to see and do here on St Maarten as well. There are tons of day trips to other islands. You can take a ferry or plane that will get you there very quickly for pretty reasonable prices.
Rose and I recently signed up as volunteers for the 2011 Heineken Regatta. It is one of the Caribbeans largest sailboat races. We are going to be off shore which means more than likely on the start or finish line boat. Not sure yet as to what exactly we will be doing but it is a huge event and we are both so excited! I did see that ¨the horn¨was on the list of things to do and I am praying I dont get that job. With my luck I will cause a false start and ruin the whole race! On Saturday there is a cool trip you can take that we are hoping the guys can do too which is breakfast and lunch on one of the big sailboats and a trip around a part of the island learning about the sailboats from the founder of the Regatta.
The regatta is on the first weekend in March. Before that the island has Carnaval. There is one on the french side in Feb and the Dutch side in March. Not sure what to expect but it sounds like it could be a lot of fun and we get to learn more about the island culture.
The big 30 weekend came and went! It was such an amazing weekend! Friday night was spent with Rose and Eero at a restaurant in Marigot. After dinner Mark and I watched...what else...13 going on 30! Then Saturday, Mark planned a full day for my b-day. We went with some friends to the island of St Barths on a ferry early Saturday morning. While we were there we rented a car and toured the island. It is much different than St Maarten. It is much quieter, smaller, cleaner and seems like more of a get away. We only saw one grocery store, a couple high end retail stores and about 15 restaurants. The water is very clear. Mark and Eero went snorkeling and said it was like swimming in a huge aquarium. We had a delicious lunch and headed back about 5:30. Mark had a dinner planned but I unfortunately got kind of sea sick and had a really bad migraine. So we came home and relaxed. Mark went and got me a birthday chocolate and raspberry crepe. It was such a great day!
Today we are having 4 other couples over to watch the superbowl. It doesn't start here until 7pm.
So all in all, things are wonderful!
Well, thanks for reading our latest update and thanks again for all the birthday wishes, phone calls, emails, cards and FB messages!
I hope that you all are happy, healthy and staying warm!
