Goodbye October!!

While making Andee come with me to get laundry because it was dark out, we came across an interesting Halloween creature that someone in our complex had created!  We have lovingly named him Pineapple Jack-O-Lantern, or PJ for short.  I tried to 10-second timer the occasion with both Andee and I in the picture, but alas, I could not.  So here is the picture we came up with!

On both Monday and Saturday I went to the St. Kitts movie theater and saw "Life As We Know It" and "The Social Network".  Both of the movies were very entertaining, and admission and popcorn are surprisingly much cheaper than at home!  **The only thing in St. Kitts that is cheaper than in Canada.  However, the theater was kept so cold, that even wearing every warm article of clothing that I brought was still not enough to keep me warm!  It was almost as if I was back in Canada, minus the ever-popular portable heater and of course, Snuggie Snugs.

Tuesday to Friday were pretty standard, if you exclude the fact that we found mold in our air conditioner, had someone "fix it" (which is Kittitian code for being lazy and doing nothing), and then Andee and I having to dismantle it and clean it ourselves.  Other than this, however, a pretty normal week consisting of pool time, Indian food, grocery shopping, and skyping; you know, the usual.

Andee has 2 Block Exams on Monday, and so he has been studying away!  To make things just that much more frustrating, he developed a sinus infection yesterday and is having a lot of trouble both studying and staying awake due to the copious amounts of antihistamines.  Please keep him in your prayers!  Poor sick Andee :( 

 

Saturday evening a few of us hung out at Kristen's bar, I mean apartment.  We enjoyed the "Fall" weather outside that is only present during a hurricane threat...oh St. Kitts!  I still need to tip our talented bartender!

Sunday evening I went Trick-or-Treating with some of the spouses and their kids!  It was nice to experience a "normal" North-American event, but with weather that allows for costumes that aren't disguised by winter coats! And of course I had to dress up!

 

To put us in the Halloween mood, a somewhat "Fall" looking sky amidst the palm trees!  St. Kitts really is such a beautiful place!  If it weren't for the overall sketchiness of the island and its inhabitants, I would absolutely love it here!

And now, a new addition to the blog (Andee's idea) which was started last post.  Let us introduce to you the "Only in St. Kitts" segment of our posts, which shall include pictures of scenes, products, events, etc. of things that would only happen in St. Kitts!  To enlighten you on the joys of St. Kitts living, Andee and I have established the catch phrase "everything is sketchier in St. Kitts."   We hope you enjoy the sketchy randomness that we almost consider to be normal, one photo at a time.  So here it is...please note the price tag.
                                                     Only in St. Kitts

Countdown:  5 and a half weeks, or 37 days until home time!!  Get out the scarves!!

Only in St. Kitts....

                                              HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Bunco, Blue Martini, and Blogging

Hello again from Diana!

I have been waiting for some finishing touches to our apartment before I posted pictures!  There are still a few things that need to be done, but I decided to take pictures anyways!  Not too bad considering what it looked like before!  Enjoy!

So I decided that I don't hate St. Kitts as much as I thought I did, it really is a beautiful island and the opportunity that Andee was given to study medicine is so great!  Andee and I have also made some great friends on the island from the Medical School and from the Ross Vet School, and are slowly getting used to St. Kitts living!  I also really enjoy blogging!  It keeps a good record of our journey in St. Kitts, and allows others to keep in touch!  I also like writing, and having an ongoing project!

Andee has his Anatomy Block 2 exam tomorrow, and so I have been keeping busy as to not bug him while he is trying to study!  He is such a dedicated studier!  I am so glad that God has allowed me to help Andee through this difficult time, and also that I am the helper, and not the student!  I guess we all have different strengths!  Andee and his studies are pretty much an item now, so I have made sure to keep busy and hang out with the girls!  It is kind of fun being a desperate housewife, especially because we all pretty much have no lives (well...myself more than others, as I have no kids to take care of)  There are also a lot of us that live close by with not much to do, and so we are all free to hang out together! 

So now for a play-by-play of my week!

On Monday, I was just praying that God would allow my desires to match up with his, and that I would learn to actually want to be living in St. Kitts.  God is often pretty obvious with his love for us, and as I looked outside I saw a beautiful rainbow!  It brightened up my whole day, and was a great start to a much better week!

On Tuesday I went to the beach with Kristen and Emily!  We enjoyed the beautiful weather, the beach, the ocean, and of course a little help from The Original Magic Fingers. (Random guy that gives massages with Aloe Vera...pretty sweet)  It was a beautiful and typical St. Kitts style day!

On Wednesday Kristen took me to downtown St. Kitts for her to look for matching photo shoot outfits (haha) and for me to get some much needed apartment stuff!  We went to a cute restaurant that was new in town, but were a little disappointed with our $12 nachos with Doritos in it.  We learned our lesson, and will next time stick to what we know and get the Star of India Lunch Special!

On Thursday, it was the weekly Spouses Pool Day at our condo!  Lots of fun in the sun and pool related fun!

On Friday, Emily took me grocery shopping and to a hardware store to look for some more apartment stuff.  We surprisingly found everything I was looking for, including the much needed CLR for our shower head!

Friday night we had an event-filled Girls Night at the Blue Martini!  It is so nice to go out with all married girls!  Kristen and I joined the band, and a crazy guy yelled at us and chased us for helping out his poor wife....fun times!

Saturday night was Halloween Bunco at Janae's!  Another girls night filled with Fall or Halloween related treats and fun prizes!  I made Halloween Ghost Brownies!  OoOoOoOoOhhhhhhhhh! (spooky Halloween sound)  Too bad I spent most of my time at the losers table!  But no worries, it was a very fun night!  Following the games night, a Halloween Miracle took place and it was actually a "cool" night!  Spooookkkyyyyyy!

So today is Sunday, and I am going to attepmt to make spinach, cream cheese, and bacon stuffed chicken...that is if the grocery store permits!

Countdown: 45 days, or just over 6 weeks, until home time!  Get the winter boots ready!!!

7 down, 8 to go!

Sorry, it has been a while since our last post!  If you feel like a good read, allow me (Diana) to explain why!

So since Andee's birthday a lot of randomness has unfolded for the two of us!  Not getting into too much detail, we moved out of our apartment for safety reasons, and have moved into a new location!  The move was.....well.....less than ideal.  Walking into a dirty, dingy, and musty apartment is not our cup of tea!  Let's just say that 40+ hours of scrubbing later, the apartment is finally livable!  Oh, not the mention the fact that we needed an electrician, plumber, professional carpet cleaners, paint, and a whole lot of love to make this place bearable!  We still need a few important items (bedroom curtains, tablecloth, pillows, etc.), but we are certainly on our way into making this apartment a home!  This week has certainly been one of our worst, but it is gradually improving, and for that we are thankful!  By the way, pictures to come once we do a little bit more work to the apartment!  But to keep you entertained, we will start out with the best part of our apartment so far - the view!

Couldn't get it all in one picture!  Beautiful golf course!

A huge help in getting us though all of these hard times is of course Jesus.  We have prayed so much in the past week for help, guidance, and support, and in return we have received the help of lots of students and spouses on the island that were a huge help in moving us out and helping us gather supplies without a car!  Although we miss our families, friends, Canada, and everything else we left behind, the Holy Spirit has given us the strength to persevere through anything!  And he will not let us go though more than we can bare!  Which is an extremely comforting and wonderful promise!

In addition, Andee received high grades on all of his block exams, which we also owe to Jesus, who helped us through a time in which Andee was having difficulty retaining any information due to exhaustion.  But Jesus was able to get us through yet another difficult time, and Andee was then able to not just pass, but do very well on all of his exams!

In happier random news, right before the move, some of the spouses (desperate housewives) and I went out for a 'girls night' at the Blue Martini (the bar at the Marriott).  It was a lot of fun listening to the Piano Man, and then dancing and having a great time with the girls!  We figured we should leave our husbands alone during block exams!

The next day the girls and I were involved in the First Annual St. Kitts Walk and Family Run, which raised money for a children's home in St. Kitts!  It was a lot of fun even though I couldn't imagine running in that heat! (obviously I walked!)

On Friday, a bunch of our friends went to the Shiggity Shack for dinner, which was a lot of fun!  The fish burger is just fantastic!  It is nice for the medical students to be able to take a break from studying for a delicious meal!

Andee is taking this picture

On Sunday, Andee and I thought it would be fun to make a Thanksgiving dinner!  Since our oven is currently broken (still need that electrician), we decided to make a turkey breast in a toaster oven!  It is the toaster oven that keeps on giving, and it surprisingly worked quite well!  Realizing we had way too much turkey for two people, we invited over a Canadian friend of ours, and the three of us enjoyed turkey, squash, stuffing, potatoes, and gravy!  And of course, Andee and I thoroughly enjoyed the leftover turkey for sandwiches, as well as for making turkey soup the next day!

And so things are finally starting to look up again, and there is again a little light shining at the end of the tunnel.  That light is God, for we would be nowhere without him!

We miss Canada very much, and so so very excited to go back for Christmas break!  We have been here 7 weeks, and I have just 8 more weeks to go, 9 weeks for Andee!  And then a whole month back in Canada!  To put it in perspective, we would become avid hockey fans, wear toques, and drive in the snow if it meant we could be back in Canada right now!  And that is saying something!

So Happy Thanksgiving (a day late) to everyone, and we hope to see you soon!!