American Thanksgiving

This week has gone by surprisingly fast!  I guess it's all that daydreaming of Canadian normalness and the hope of seeing Family and Friends that I have missed for over 3 months!  Thank goodness for Skype!  

Unfortunately, when trying to even out my tan for the big trip home, my pasty Canadian skin was quick to burn without dousing myself in 60 SPF sunblock!  You see, I tend to spend most of my time outside lounging in the shade, to avoid such painful and inevitable burns!  And up until now, I have done a pretty good job of maintaining brown, but not red skin.  Apparently, after living in the Caribbean for over 3 months, spending 2 hours in the sun is still too much for me! I suppose that secretly I was preparing for my moment of glory when I, for the first time, am the brownest member of the family!  Be prepared!!

Besides daydreaming and burning, a mellow week of beaches, pools, evening ocean chats, and blogging has ensued.  That is with the exception of American Thanksgiving!! 

Andee decided to stay home on Thursday in an attempt to "keep the blinds closed, watch the parade, make Thanksgiving stuff to eat, drink hot chocolate and pretend we're in North America" - a wonderful idea!

That evening, we attended a huge Thanksgiving dinner hosted by our church!  It was potluck style, and included 3 turkeys, 3 tables of sides, a massive dessert table, and well over 100 people!  My first American Thanksgiving was a success!  I will definitely partake in years to come!  And you know what that means.....2 Thanksgivings!

A quick and cheesy overview of what I am thankful for: Skype, Canada, UMHS, Health, Friends, Family, Andee, and of course and especially Jesus!

I would also like to thank everyone for taking my extremely obvious "hint" of leaving comments on the blog!  Let me tell you, my spirits rise with every new comment posted!  It is nice to know that the blog is being read and appreciated, and I hope it is (almost) as much fun to read as it is to write!

Andee has Block Exams on Monday (what else is new) and Finals in about 2 weeks.  Then he too will be heading home for the holidays! 

Countdown: 11 days!  Get out the Long johns!!

More Comments = More Love

Hello All!

So my neighbor just informed me that I can change the settings on the Blog so that anyone can leave a comment, and a password is not needed!

For those of you who are unsure how to comment, it is now super easy!

1. At the bottom of the Blog Post, the number of "comments" is written in blue 
2. Click on the word "comments"
3. A Text Box will appear (if clicked on from facebook, text box will already be at the bottom of the post)
4. Write your comment inside the text box
5. A drop-down tab is inside the text box written as "comment as"
6. Choose your name or write it in
7. click "post comment"

You are done!

Basically, More Comments = More Love!

Happy Commenting!

And to make this post not completely boring...

                                                     Only in St. Kitts

P.S. Home in 2 weeks tomorrow!  Get out the LEG WARMERS!!!

A Date with my Husband!

Lucky me!

After 3 months of marriage, I forced my husband into going on a date with me, because Andee spends 99% of his time studying.  Since we have had no money for the past, oh I don't know, forever, we aren't used to actually going on planned dates.  Turns out, warm weather, a beach, the ocean, and a 5-Star resort really make for a fun and inexpensive date!  It was nice to spend some time with the hubby outside of our apartment for a change!

Andee's contribution to the blog:  "We are coming to you from the future!!"
Translation:  St. Kitts does not use daylight savings time, and so we are now 1 hour ahead of our Canadian readers!  It doesn't really affect much, however our weekly television shows are now an hour later than usual, and for those of you who know me, a show that should start at 8, and is now starting a 9, will probably get ignored or slept through.  Fortunately, I just download anything I miss!

Tis the Season to be stealing - seriously, the holiday season in St. Kitts is the peak season for crimes.  Apparently us "rich North Americans" are prime candidates for break-ins and robberies.  Of course, Kittitians are completely ignorant to the fact that most of us are on student loans and a stolen laptop would be detrimental to our budget!  Please be praying for the students and tourists in St. Kitts as we go through this 'joyous' season.

In lighter news, I visited the pool and the beach a lot this week, every day in fact!  I also watched some movies with friends, and random hangouts with the spouses!  Oh the joys of a lack of a work visa on a tropical island!

On Saturday, I attended a pretzel party for Jakki's birthday!  The girls did all the fun work of kneading the dough and making fun pretzel shapes, while we left the cooking to the boys.  I made a heart shaped pretzel especially for Andee!  Mmmmm delicious!

I sang at church again on Sunday which seems to be a weekly occurrence!  I am so glad that the church let me be a part of their team!  Just think of all the amazing worship, learning, fellowship, friends, and fun I would have missed out on had God not led us to this amazing church!  Sunday was also the last day of this semester's bible study, and as a conclusion celebration the girls prepared "Breakfast for Dinner", quite possibly one of life's greatest occurrences!  Words cannot describe the level of excitement experienced to partake in this amazing feast of breakfasty goodness!

Countdown:  16 days!  Get ready for MCDONALDS!!! 

And now for your enjoyment...

 Only in St. Kitts

 

Just a typical week in St. Kitts!

So everyone knows that I am a tad bit obsessed with pictures, (a lot bit) and that Andee is not nearly so thrilled when I force [necessary] photo shoots, so I was notably shocked to find these pictures of Andee at school.  Unbelievably, these were taken without my prompting!  Amazing!  He also looks happy to be at school...must have been taken early in the semester!

This week has consisted of Indian food, beaches, pools, and a whole lot of studying...what else is new!

Noone can seem to resist the lunch special at the Star of India, because we somehow end up here about once a week!  It makes me too hungry to look at these pictures for long periods of time, so it is time to move on!

Wednesday I went to the Marriott beach with Emily for some relaxation! (you know, because I am normally so busy)  We then split a delicious Marriott wrap with fries, and I reunited with my favorite part of St. Kitts, the Marriott Kitty!  He enjoyed some of my chicken, and I enjoyed stalking him with my camera!  A little skinnier than I'm used to, but equally adorable!

 

Thursday was our weekly pool day, held at our condo complex, except this time i brought my camera!  Not as large a crowd as usual, but still lots of fun!

Recently, our debit cards have not been working properly, often leaving us in a pinch with no cash and an inability to pay for important things such as rent and groceries.  Finally, after a couple months of this nonsense, we learned that a hold had been placed on our account.  So on Friday, with $10 EC to my name, I was finally able to take out cash on my first try!  PTL!  One less sketchy thing to worry about in St. Kitts!

Friday evening, a few of us got together to play Phase 10!  It of course reminded me of the cottage, and so I was quite content with my last place finish!

Saturday I went to the beach, and was glad we left before we got stuck in this!

I was also able to skype a family party from home!  It was so great to see everyone!  Very excited for Christmas get-togethers!  Tomorrow is Sunday, and I am singing on the worship team this week, as well as bible study in the evening.  Just a typical week in St. Kitts for these two newlyweds!

Andee has block exams on Monday, and so has been studying the entire week.  He is a good boy and studies hard, hence my need to get out of the apartment and hang out with the girls! 

And now, for my favorite blog segment!  While vocalizing my need for an 'Only In St, Kitts' photo while in downtown Basseterre, my neighbor reminded me that the green water running beside me was indeed NOT normal, and so should be photographed immediately!

                                                    Only in St. Kitts

Hope you have enjoyed the blog!  Countdown: 25 days!

1 Month to go!

Bacteria: 1            Andee: 0

Even the illnesses are sketchier in St. Kitts!

Last weekend and the entirety of this week Andee was quite the sicky!  After his 2 Block exams on Monday, we made a trip to one of the Doctors in St. Kitts.  Forgetting that we were not in Canada, I assumed that we would be able to waltz into a Doctor`s office, get a prescription for antibiotics 10 minutes later, and be on our way - this was not the case.  Luckily, my neighbor reminded me that an appointment was needed, and also offered to drive us there and back!  What a good neighbor!  The appointment was over an hour long, but was surprisingly extremely thorough and informative.  Such irony that it would take coming to St. Kitts for a Doctor to properly diagnose Andee`s sickness, that being strep throat as opposed to a sinus infection.  Strep throat, sinus inflammation, and a lower respiratory infection later, we ended up with antibiotics and an antihistamine.  However, the antibiotics took longer than usual to start working, and Andee spent the next 3 days lying and sleeping on the couch, blowing his nose every 10 minutes.  Poor sick Andee!  In other ironic news, Andee managed a 96 and 98 on his block exams!  Maybe he should be sick more often!  I suppose it should look more like this...

Bacteria: 0           Andee: 1

So, just when I`m starting to hate St. Kitts a little less, the government implements a new and improved way to annoy me - the VAT ``Value Added Tax`` or as we like to call it, ``Very Annoying Tax``.  This new tax adds 17% on everything, because everything is already so cheap here......   So an extra $40 EC was added to my grocery bill this week.  How I look forward to stuffing my suitcase with Dollerama and No Frills goodies from Canada!

On Friday after grocery shopping, Emily and I went for a swim in her pool, and I tragically forgot to bring my camera!  Photo shoot to come!

Saturday, after our weekly Dragonball-Z Kai mini morning marathon, paired with a scrumptious breakfast, UMHS hosted ``Sunfest``, a mid-semester beach party for all the medical students and their families!  Since Andee hadn`t seen the sun in approximately a month and a half (a true story), he is currently just as pasty as those of you reading from Canada!  An spf 60 beach day after a week of sickness was just what he needed to get back on track!

  

 

Saturday evening was another infamous Girls Night at the Blue Martini!  Yay for free drinks and great company!

On Sunday I wasn't feeling well myself, so I had a relaxing day at the beach with Steph, followed by a Mexican Fiesta Bible Study in the evening!  It was delicious!!!

Today is November 8th, which means that I leave for Canada in EXACTLY 1 MONTH!!!! (or 30 days to be more specific)  I am sooooooooooooooooooooo excited to come back to civilization for a whole month and to see everyone!  St. Kitts may have great weather, but Canada has everything else!  GET OUT THE WINTER COATS!!!!!