Laundry... Caribbean style

So, today I needed to do laundry because I was running out of clothes. Having never done laundry in the Carib, this proved to be an adventure. (At Saba, there was a place to take your clothes to get cleaned). First, I had to fill up the washing machine with water... using a hose. 5 minutes later it was full of water. Added clothes and laundry detergent. Ran it for 15 minutes then pulled the clothes out of the soapy water and rung them out. Luckily, our washing machine has a spinner included with it (separate device tho), so into the spinner they went. 3 minutes on the spinner and they were nearly dry, but not enough! So, out to the clothesline they go. I can honestly say that I have never hung clothes up on a clothesline to dry before. Guess there is a first time for everything huh? 

Some new pics from Statia including a NEW CAR!!! *Plays Price is Right theme song*

Here are a few pics I have taken in the last few days on the island. 

This was a pic back when we had a full moon a few days ago. It was really pretty, but my phone took a pretty dark pic. I tried to adjust the brightness and contrast with an app on my phone, but it added a lot of noise. It's still kinda cool tho!

Karl (my roommate) and I went to a guys (another student) place for dinner the other night. This was his view from his backyard.

Another sunset pic, but with more of his backyard in view. It was really pretty there!

Now, for the good stuff!

This is our new ride! A '03 Kia Rio. Got it for cheap! :)

I'm pretty sure she will do 0-60 mph in about 34.9 seconds! haha!

And finally, this is a pic of our appt. Cozy lil place, but doesn't have internet unfortunately. But luckily I'm only a 5 min walk to campus... OR a 2 minute drive now! :) 

Thats all for now! 

~J

Tick Tock Tick Tock

I hear the clock counting down in my head. Only one more year on this island. Only 3 more semesters. Only 3 more months til I have a break. Only 2 more months til my parents and friend come visit. Only 1 more month til the first exams. Only 1 more day til another week of classes.

So far, Statia hasn't been a bad experience. I have enjoyed getting to know my classmates (and trying to remember everyone's name). I like my professors. And the school building... well, I guess this place isn't paradise! haha. I am getting settled in and my roommate should be here tomorrow afternoon to get settled in.

I don't feel terribly overwhelmed with the first week of school which is much more than I can say about the first DAY at Saba. After 1 day we all felt like we were behind.

The island here is different. Its MUCH flatter than Saba was, which is nice when you are trying to get somewhere, but its also not nice when you talk about temperatures. Saba was so high up that it caught a lot of the trade winds, so you would constantly have a 10-15 mph wind on Saba, but the wind isn't so strong or consistent here. Sometimes it blows, sometimes it doesn't. But it has been really hot and humid here lately.

Last night I went out with some guys from my class to Smoke Alley. Its a local restaurant that has some good food! I got the burger and it was pretty good. It wasn't very cheap, but it was good. About the time we got there, it started to rain and storms rolled in and I felt like I was back home in Arkansas! Thunder, lightning, heavy rain, flooding! Made me feel at home! (I have seen lightning like 2 other times down here, so it's not a common occurrence).

I've got a little of studying to do for Neuro, finish up some Micro and then review over Pharm and I'm good for the weekend. (Not having ANY classes on Friday, seems to help keep me sane too!)

In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out where my parents and my friend can stay when they come down to visit in July. I've gotten some good feedback from several students, but I am gonna ask a few more before I decide where to tell them! I am DEFINITELY looking forward to seeing them because it cuts my semester almost in half! :)

Well, back to studying and then off to home (Don't have internet at home, so I study, surf the web while I'm on campus.)

Cheers! (Thats for all my Canadian friends!)

EDIT: Here are some pics of the island so far. (You can click on the pics to make them bigger)

This is the view of the Caribbean Sea from the front porch of my appt. 

Pic of my room after I got everything moved in. 

This is the classroom building... Definitely nothing special about it! haha

 If you look close enough, you can see that these cows are grazing on cemetery property... Can honestly say that I have NEVER seen that before in my life! 

Sunset I saw one night, while walking to school.

And this is a view from the school. Under that red roof there is the cafeteria. Looking out to the Caribbean Sea. (Other side of the island is the Atlantic Ocean).

St. Eustatius

Well, I have arrived on the island. Got here on Friday. Orientation is tomorrow (Monday) and classes start Tuesday. Haven't registered for classes yet, but I have been told I will be taking Neruo, Micro and Pharm. Whew! Gonna be busy for sure!

The island is different from Saba, definitely much bigger and MUCH more flat! My appt is a 5 min walk to campus (only place I can get internet for the time being). So, needless to say, I have been at the school quite a bit so I can have something to do besides watch TV (and so I can talk to ppl back home!) :)

Umm... not a whole lot to say so far because I have only been here for 2 days. I'm sooo ready for August to get here so I can go home for a while. Hopefully I can get off this island for good by December, but it all will depend on how the class schedule works out. I'm basically one class behind their schedule since the transfer and it might bite me in the last semester. But if it is a better experience than Saba was, I will take it any day.

Well, I guess I will update with more info once I have more to say. I did find out that they only have exams every 4 weeks here instead of like Saba where it was every 3 weeks. So that makes it a lot less stress all the time, but there will be more material covered on exams, so that will kinda stink.

Anywho, I'm gonna walk back home and get some food to eat. It's either Frosted Flakes, Peanut Butter and Jelly or Pasta because that's all I got! LOL. Grocery store run tomorrow for sure!

Miss all you guys and Happy Mother's Day to the best mom in the world! :)

Sabatical

Well, it has been quite a long time since I have blogged. So much has happened in the last 6 months.

Long story short, I am currently on LOA from Saba and I am transferring to St. Eustatius (called Statia by the locals) starting in May. It was a tough decision, but after a miserable end to my last semester at Saba, I know that this is the best decision for me. I love all my friends from Saba and will miss them dearly, but the island and several issues with the administration and faculty at Saba just got to me mentally and I was very unhappy at the end of my second semester. I'm sure that if you talk to anyone who has been on the island more than 1 semester they will tell you they have had a similar experience, I just chose to get out of it because I didn't want to be unhappy for another year while I counted down the days.

Statia is an island that is close to Saba, but it is a larger island and not so much of a rock in the middle of the ocean. The school is smaller, but I know several people who transferred there from my class and they tell me that they have absolutely nothing bad to say about the school (quite a contrast to their views of Saba). One of my favorite things about the program is something called 5th @ Atlanta. I have the option to take my 5th semester classes in Atlanta, GA instead of on the island... who wouldn't want to do that?!? Now, I know you are saying... Colip, are you kidding me? You have the chance to live on a Caribbean island for another 3 months, are you crazy? If Statia is anything like Saba, its a neat place to visit, but living there is a whole different experience.

I've ridden out 1 category 4 hurricane and experienced all that I want to of that. Give me the classes and I'm out of there.

Well, thats all for now, I'll update more as the process gets closer, but for now, I'll be on Statia for classes starting on May 10!

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