Island Joys

Well tomorrow is anatomy exam #3. Do I feel ready? No, not really...but I'm praying that everything is committed to memory by tomorrow morning! Tuesday is of course Halloween, but for me it means cram night for histo exam on Wednesday. Allison and I decided to celebrate and study last night wearing green face masks...no not actual masks, but pore clearing masks! At least Bentley got a kick out of it!

Thursday is the day I'm counting down for now...Ryan's move-in date! He will officially become a local when he gets here and starts his new job on Friday. We're both ecstatic.

Meanwhile, I've experienced some things on St. Maarten that are truly unique to island life. For example, the other day my electricity turned off in the house. The strange thing was that it was only in certain parts of the house: My upstairs AC was out, but my upstairs fan still worked; my microwave turned on, but my stove was out; my dryer worked, but my washer stopped. The weirdest part of all, all the electricity in the house turned on again with the dryer button! Pretty strange...

At the grocery store, I can buy 1 yellow bell pepper for the mere price of $11.00! Crazy right...well I asked and its because they can't get them from the States, only from Holland. So they are air freighted from Holland...I told them to let me know when bell pepper clearance day is.

And finally, it always seems to rain on my days off. Just when I get into my bathing suit it rains for the rest of the day. Is God trying to tell me to study more? I don't get it.

Some exciting things back home: My sister-in-law Heather and her husband Jason had a baby boy, Tyler Allan on October 25th! Ryan was lucky enough to meet him before moving out here. I will have to wait until Christmas. From what I have seen, he is perfect. We are thrilled for both of them. Pray that they get some sleep!

I'll let everyone know how the tests go this week. I miss you all!

Rain Rain Go Away

So like I wrote last time, today was supposed to be the day my friends and I were to go to St. Barth's. As you can probably tell from my tone, we didn't go. Well actually, we couldn't go. I woke up this morning at 5am to the loudest, scariest thunder I've ever heard. I walked down stairs only to walk into 1 inch of water covering my living room floor. Great....right? So I did what every new islander would do and closed all my hurricane shutters and lined up buckets, pots and trashcans under all the leaks. Then I prayed that God would spare us. Ok ok I might have overdid it a bit...I might have freaked out more than I should have, but rain scares us Arizonians. Especially when the ocean is steps away.

So needless to say no boats were leaving the island...Happy Antilleans Day! You now have to spend your one day off in what is slowly turning into a flooded island. I did take advantage of the gloomy weather and slept in some more then once the water levels dropped, Allison and I did some much needed shopping. Oh I almost forgot! On our way to the shops, we headed to the school to check on the biochem grades that were posted. This was an adventure in and of itself. The road to my school is probably one of the lowest points on the island, which means of course that it was flooded. Well, as I'm driving up to it I see cars driving on the golf course on either side of the road. Ally and I soon realize that the road ahead must be really bad, but being that we are in a monster jeep we are gonna go through it. I wish someone could have been there to take a picture! I had Allison keep looking out her window to make sure my tires were still visible. The water was so deep it was almost like we were on a jungle safari crossing muddy rivers! Oh how I love my jeep!

Anyways, we made it out alive and the jeep is still functioning. To make the story better, I earned a 90% on my biochem exam!! So the moral of the story is this: even though my Antillean's day trip was rained out, I was able to cross a river in my jeep, buy some really cute shorts and learn that all this studying might actually be paying off!

On My Own Again

Well, it's just me and Bentley once again. Ryan and his parents left bright and early this morning to head back to dry heat and salted butter! I think they had fun...I know I enjoyed them being here! Not only did we go to some excellent restaurants, but I had the chance to show them what my life has been like on the island. And, they got a little taste of what Europeans consider "beach attire"!

The rest of this week I am studying for my biochem test on Thursday. Come Friday, we have the day off school! It is Antillean Day...the island's national holiday. A few friends and I are taking a ferry over to St. Barths for the day to do a little shopping and celebrity watching! Hey...I need some way to keep current on the Hollywood scene. Especially since US Weekly, Star and People magazine cost minimum $8!

About 1 month from today my sisters and mom will be arriving for Thanksgiving week! I honestly can't wait to see them. Meanwhile, only 2 more weeks until my husband is here permanently. It just keeps getting better!

It's October?

I've just come to realize this week that for the rest of the world (minus Arizona), the seasons are changing. St. Maarten is like a bubble in that you don't think about seasons, time of year, or wearing anything other than a tank top. It has its pros, but it would be nice to actually feel the year coming to an end...to feel the approach of Thanksgiving and the anticipation of Christmas. Hell, it would be nice to see even a pumpkin tent on the side of the road! I guess that will have to wait until I make it home..

On the plus side...this week has ended (or at least reached "hump" day) in a positive fashion. First off, the most exciting news is that Ryan and his parents arrive tomorrow! I can't wait...I miss everyone so much. Also, my 2 tests this week went better than I could have imagined. In anatomy, we have been learing head and neck. The test we took on the material on Monday is the hardest test we will face in that class. I miraculously pulled off an 85%!!! Then, today, thanks to God, I honored my first test...I received a 95% in Histology. You have no idea how that made me feel! So although the week hasn't quite ended yet, today felt like a Friday...a sense of relief and excitement.

Another Day In Paradise

My friends and I were talking about how everyone back home says things like, "Wow...must be nice living in the Caribbean. You can study on the beach, snorkle, and shop in duty free stores." Just to clarify, my response to those comments is this: Hahaha! I will admit I thought I would have time to enjoy the island a little more. Basically, the only "tan" I'm getting is one from the UV lights in the classrooms! It feels like everyday is Groundhog Day. I get up at the same time, drive the same route, and sit in the same classroom all day. Then I drive home and study for the rest of the night. Honestly, its like my life is on repeat day in and day out.

I can't wait till Ryan moves here...at least then my days will have more excitement to them! To help speed up the time till he is here permanently, I have his arrival and his parents next Thursday! You have no idea how excited I am. Well actually, Bentley might be more excited since she will not only get more attention, but will probably be fed bacon, ice cream and whatever else Allan gives her! We are both anxious!

Enough about me and my monotonous life. On to bragging about my sisters. Did everyone see the cover of The Best of The New Times? Well if you haven't you need to go get one. My beautiful sister, Tiff, is once again gracing the cover of yet another magazine. And then there's little "choch" Chelsey...who spent this last Monday clothes shopping for me. I can't say how excited I am and appreciative that she took the time to do that for me. Chelsey, you have always had such a great heart. I can't tell you guys how much I miss the two of you and mom. I am so "thankful" that you are all going to be here for Thanksgiving! Well, before I start getting emotional I need to get back studying...then at least if I get emotional it's because I have forgotten the 10th branch of the maxillary artery off the external carotid artery once again!