Busy Nevis Week: Exams, Elections, Goats, Ferries, Volleyball and MOVIES!

It has been a busy week here on the island. I actually haven't had time to post in awhile. We had a lot of events happening this week, so here is how it played out...

Monday
Kyle had block exams, so he was studying all weekend. He said they went very well, and he scored 90 in everything. Yay Kyle! 
It was also voting day here on the island. I posted an article about the elections, but basically after 20 years of having the same government in power, they have been over thrown and and now a new one is in place. So basically this whole week was a holiday, lots of parties.

Tuesday
To celebrate the blocks being done, Kyle's class wanted a poker tournament. So we decided to host, because we had one of the bigger apartments. I made a bunch of cupcakes, because so far that's the only baking I can do without it being a disaster. I attempted lemon squares again, they were okay but not like home. However the class loved it all haha. The game went well, Kyle won :) 

People really enjoyed the cupcakes!!

Can you guess which pile is Kyle's?

Oh and yes we had to improvise and use paper clips as chips.

Wednesday
The election celebrations continued. There was a huge parade throughout the city! People packed into their cars, music was blaring, horns were honking! It was intense! I tried to get a picture, but I wasn't able to get a good one. Kyle took a video of the parade. It was an incredible to be around the experience. I don't really know to much about the government here, but the majority of the people seemed to be very excited. I have only heard a few bad things about corruption, so I hope that this change will be good for the island. #nevisnice

This link shows a video of people on St.Kitts celebrating. So just imagine all those people filling up cars and touring the one lane road around the island. It was insane!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gBl1-s54Lc&feature=youtu.be

Thursday
The attack of the goats!! I'm sure some of you saw the pictures Kyle posted on instagram. The goats/sheep were outside our window making the strangest noises. It was pretty hilarious. I said to Kyle they are celebrating Chinese New Year. They have been hanging around here the past few days. 
I finalized my application for a possible teaching position. I am just waiting for an appointment time from the ministry of education. With the elections and everyone being in party mode. A lot of business have been closed, which has also led to a shortage on chicken and dairy products! When we went grocery shopping, all stores were out of milk! So we will have to wait until next week I guess. It was a little frustration especially since I can't get into town everyday. 

Thanks Kyle for letting me use this pic :)

Friday
WE WENT TO THE MOVIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kyle and I have finally done it! Haha, we had been planning all week. Our original plans fell through, but we still wanted to go to St.Kitts. Some of Kyle's classmates were going as well, so I booked us a hotel at a very cheap election price of 185 US...haha yeah we will only do that once. So we caught the ferry at 4pm and arrived on St.Kitts around 5. Our movie didn't start until 7 so we had some time, and Kyle hasn't really been to St.Kitts, so of course we ate dinner at Dominoes. He was so happy haha. We then took a cab to the Marriot, it cost 13US, which wasn't that bad. I asked our driver if he was happy about the elections, he was not. We checked in and explored the hotel. I thought the hotel was amazing! Our room was HUGE! and it had a great view. Oh and it had AC! Kyle loved that, walking into the room at 66...brrrrr. I was actually cold during the night, I'm pretty sure I'm destined to live in the sun forever lol.

King size bed.

View from our room. You can see the ocean in the corner.

This is the view while waiting for the elevator

So we caught another taxi to the movie theatre, on the way we saw another parade, and this cab driver was much happier with outcome of the elections. His name was Fonzie and he said he would pick us up from the theatre after we were done. What a nice guy!
The theatre was great!!! We saw 2 movies: The Wedding Ringer and The Kinsman Secret Service! Both were amazing!!! So worth it! Also, movie tickets are so cheap!!! It worked out to be 8 bucks Canadian!!! Way cheaper than home! I couldn't believe it! Even the food was cheaper, and omg movie theatre popcorn never tasted soooo gooooood :) 
I was expecting a small theatre with only one level of seats, boy was I wrong! The seats were raised up, better than the theatres near my cottage back home haha! We had a blast!

Nobody wanted to see the Wedding Ringer. Maybe because the movie had subtitles. lol!

So once the movies were done, we called Fonzie...of course he was on the other side of the island and couldn't pick us up. Kyle tried calling one of his friends from his class because they had their car with them, however the guy had given Kyle the Marriot number, not his own number... -_- so anyway we got the Marriot to send us a cab, which costed a lot more but at least we made it back safely. We ended up meeting up with Kyle's friends for a bit, and hung out near the beach. They had said they would drive us back home, but somehow that got messed up and so we didn't have a ride with them anymore



Saturday
Since we had a miscommunication with our ride, we had to take the ferry back. That was okay it just meant another cab ride. Anyway we had checked online and they said there was a ferry at noon, we got there at 11:30, waited for half an hour and then some random officer said no, they ferry will be coming at 1pm. Sigh...so we walked around the town for a bit, visited the duty free shops. Kyle and I were getting hungry, and KFC was near the port so we thought we would go there for lunch. However the line up was so long, and by this point it was 12:45, I was getting worried about missing the ferry, so we just decided to forget about lunch, well we got back to the port, and bought our tickets. Then we found out because of election week, only one ferry was running. So it was coming back from Nevis, it didn't get to the dock until after 1, then they had to unload everyone, oh and fuel up! So we could have had KFC because the ferry didn't leave until almost 1:40. We were trying to make it back by 2 because there was a volleyball tournament/beach party that Kyle signed up for. 
Kyle and I agreed that if we were to do the St.Kitts trip again for movies, to just use the water taxi, we have our driver Daisy who could help us out, and that way we wouldn't have to spend money on a hotel, because the water taxis go during the night. Hopefully next time we can convince people to go with us so we can split the cost of cabs. The movies are worth it, just a lot of traveling involved, but the ticket prices are great! 

We made it to the beach party, and luckily the MUA students run on island time because Kyle didn't miss his game, I even got to play. Even though everyone sucked and it was really windy, it wasn't much of a game, but I still had a bit of fun. The best was watching one of my teammates elbow another teammate in the face and gave her a bloody nose! Bahaha! She started running off, past all these people who want to be doctors and no one tried to help her...I feel like there is something wrong with that situation...?
Anyway the beach party was kinda lame, the music was cool to have on the beach except you couldn't have a decent conversation with anyone without screaming your head off. Maybe I am getting to old for this. Also, since we were coming back from St.Kitts I didn't have much time to prepare and got a bit of a sunburn on my back :( First time since being here! Boo! I lasted about 2 months lol. 
We managed to convince some of Kyle's classmates to go to Oualie Beach for dinner, because Kyle and I still hadn't eaten yet. They wanted to charge was to pay 40 EC each for a burger. Oh and it cost us 30 EC each to have unlimited non alcoholic drinks. This was supposed to be a beach party for Med 4 students to raise money for their graduation party. Apparently everyone does their own fundraising. That was a lot of money. We only bought drink tickets, but it definitely wasn't worth it. I felt like I had to keep drinking pop to make it worth it. The worst was when Kyle asked for some coke, the guy literally scooped up ice with his HAND and put it in the cup...EW! Doctors people! 
Anyway, Kyle's friends had never been to the Oualie beach and they had a car. It was actually the best part of my day!
We saw an awesome sunset, and ate some delicious burgers, that cost way less than if we had stayed at that party. We got there around 530 and I asked for menus and the waitress said that they aren't serving dinner until 630, but she said they will serve burgers. Some of us wanted to wait for the dinner menu, but once we saw it, nothing really appealed to us, so we all ended up having burgers anyway haha. Oh well, it was nice to get to know some of Kyle's friend and there was a dance party!! This group came out playing drums, and they were dressed up in these Caribbean costumes and did some sort of cultural dance. It was amazing! Kyle and I even got pulled in to participate..Slightly embarrassing but yolo! Hehe :)

If you look closely, you can see the dancers in the funky costumes.

It was a pretty eventful week! I'm exhausted, I got caught up on my homework today and I am excited to watch the Oscars in a bit. I can't believe I'm saying this, but this month is actually going by quick. It's almost the end, and I only have one more week left of my first course! I just need to keep myself busy, lots of reading and exercising. I still hate cooking but at least it takes up my time during the day. Tacos for dinner tonight :)
Anyway I hope you guys are surviving the cold, even my friends in Florida!! 
Visit us anytime :)

Miss you all!

Deja vu-BC Life

It's a lovely rainy day here on Nevis, and Madison and I had attempted grocery shopping but with some windshield wiper problems and the fact that we kept having to pull over and fix it, we decided to pause on the groceries and turn around and come back to wait for the rain to settle. So instead, I thought why not write a bit. 

In trying to plan this next post, nothing much has been happening here but when I was on one of my runs I got to thinking about the time Kyle and I were living in BC for a year while he finished up his final year at Bible College.

According to Google, the definition of Deja Vu is "a feeling of having already experienced the present situation."

Well folks, that is exactly what is happening here.

I have been noticing a lot of similarities between BC and Nevis. For those of you who don't know, I had a difficult time in BC. We were just married that summer back in 2009, and we packed up the Honda Civic and headed across the country to start our married life. It was exciting and nerve wracking, much like the feelings I had about moving to this island. I knew coming here would feel similar to the move to BC but I didn't realize how close the emotions were. 

Here are some of the similarities and differences I have noticed thus far:

Landscape:
BC: Beautiful mountain views
Nevis: Beautiful mountain views and ocean views

Weather:
BC: NO SNOW!!! (but it rained a lot)
Nevis: NO SNOW!!! :)

Apartment:
BC: One bedroom, no dishwasher, no furniture. But we did manage to snag a couch while we were living there
Nevis: One bedroom, no dishwasher, furniture, but no couch

Transportation
BC: I had to learn to drive a standard if I wanted to get anywhere, they didn't really have any buses where we were living, and it was a mission to get into town at times. The roads are mostly hills
Nevis: Currently no vehicle, learning to drive on the other side of the road, buses are available, but are on their own schedule. It's an all day affair to go to town. Lots of curves and pot holes in the roads. And hills

Friends:
BC: Although Kyle had a lot of friends there from school, I didn't really know anyone, and I had a hard time meeting people at first. However we did meet a great couple once we were there and we shared a lot of similarities.
Nevis: We both don't know anyone here, however we have met a great couple that we share a lot in common with

Groceries:
BC: Since we were newly married, I had to get used to grocery shopping for two, and trying to work with a real budget for the first time. 
Nevis: Working on a budget again, and trying to convert pricing from EC to US, and learning what is good to buy here and where the good stores are

Cooking:
BC: Having to cook for two as new to me! I didn't always enjoy it and there was a big learning curve
Nevis: I haven't really cooked in awhile since living back home because of our jobs and busy nights we ate out a lot. Coming here, it was like learning to cook all over again. I wake up in the morning thinking what we are having for dinner

Working Out:
BC: This was when I first started running. Running with big hills was interesting.
Nevis: I had taken a break from running, but now being on the island with the time I am getting back into it, and running with hills again

Jobs:
BC: I had a hard time finding a job there, and the job I did have was not in my field at all but it payed the bills.
Nevis: No job yet, but I am scoping out some potential opportunities, possibly in a school (I'll keep you posted on that).

Movies:
BC: There was a movie theatre, but if I recall it was kinda sketchy, and didn't always have the popular movies playing
Nevis: No movie theatre, but there is one only a ferry ride away. We attempted to go last weekend, but it didn't work out because of the timing of the movie with the timing of the ferry, maybe another time. 

Internet/Power:
BC: Being "trapped on the hill" as they called it, the internet was kinda in and out, and often calls would get dropped.
Nevis: Being "trapped on the island" as I call it, the internet drops and cell reception isn't that good at times

Wildlife:
BC: Bears, goats, cows
Nevis: Monkeys, goats, cows, donkeys, dogs, cats

Missing home:
BC: I missed home everyday!!!! Technology saved me, but I didn't have face time back then
Nevis: I miss home everyday!!!! I have facetime :)

So, as you can see, there are a lot of similarities between Nevis and my BC life. Seeing them written out makes me think I should be an expert then at moving to a new place. I think it has definitely helped me, and I haven't felt as scared being out here as I did in BC. Kyle and I have definitely grown up as a couple, and I have become more independent. The BC experience although not the greatest, I think was necessary. It really has prepared me for this experience and I have learned what the positives were from that, and how to bring that to this journey. 

I was able to Skype with some of my work friends last night and it was awesome! I felt like I was right there in their living room hanging out like normal. It's great that I can keep in contact with family. Thank you everyone who has been emailing us and sending your love from afar. We really appreciate your support through this. 

Sorry no pictures today. I'm sure you are bored of my ocean view anyway ;)
The rain has let up a bit so I think we are going to try grocery shopping again. 

Miss you all!

Appreciating the Small Things in Life

Well Folks,

February has begun. Just a few quick notes from month two, day four.

I'm learning to appreciate the small things. You don't realize how much we take for granted, especially where I am from. 
I forgot how much it means to be able to turn on your tap to wash your hands and running water actually comes out. Here...it comes and goes. Yesterday we had no water for about 5 hours. It's out again today. Being able to wash dishes when I want to, doesn't really happen. Being able to do laundry when I would like to, doesn't happen. It's really something I took for granted in the past. I knew coming here would change me, I just didn't think it would happen this fast. 
So now that I have a pile of dirty clothes and dishes stewing, I thought I may as well write for a bit.
I haven't been sleeping much lately, to the point where I am up recording Kyle snoring because he often doesn't believe me that it is pretty loud. So on top of the irritating Mr. Birdie, Kyle's snores, loud trucks it makes for a great night sleep :D
Maybe some of you think, "well it doesn't matter you don't sleep, you aren't doing anything there." True, however I don't want to fall into a routine of sleeping until 1 or 2 in the afternoon, and getting really lazy. I have been doing my best to get up at a decent hour, still work out and get homework done. Sometimes my days go by fast, sometimes they go by slow. I just wish I could sleep...

This week for school has actually been busy for me. I have a pretty big assignment due on Sunday and I am super confused on what to do. I kinda wish I was at home so I could chat to some of my work friends about it. I have tried emailing my group leader, but she seems a little useless, so I'm on my own I think. I did have to do an online video chat with other group members and Kyle thought it would be funny to show you what I looked like while doing that.

My group is interesting, one girl is from Alaska! The other one lives in Utah. So we are trying to coordinate times from all over the place, and with internet dropping a lot it isn't that easy.

Kyle had another set of exams this week...I feel like he just had that!! Anyway, he did very well again! Yay Kyle! However they did get in trouble from their class adminstration, apparently a class average of 81% is not good enough...hmmm

I also appreciate when I am able to use the internet. It has been acting a little funny lately. Again it's something you don't realize how much you take for granted until it's gone. I am trying my hardest to stay positive, I mean we do still have a bunch of time left here, and if I am already feeling like this and it's only February...Yikes, I'm in trouble. 

Now one thing I need to point out is that Kyle has been having some trouble getting his clothes to dry. I'm not complaining about the weather because I still love that, however Kyle is finding it hard to handle. Mostly the humidity. A lot of his clothes can't be dried in the dryer, so he has to hang them to dry. Since we don't have a clothes line, they hang in the closet. We obviously keep the doors open, but his stuff takes up to 2-3 days to fully dry, and by that point it smells bad, like mold. Gross! Any suggestions on what to do?? I suggested putting a dryer sheet in the closet, but Kyle said no. We don't have a big enough fan to put it directly on the clothes. So we are still trying to figure that part out.

It's Madison's birthday today!! I know she was really missing home, and she kept mentioning how weird it feels to be celebrating in the sun! We went out for lunch to the Yachtsman Grill to celebrate! The food was okay, kinda pricey. 15 bucks for fish 'n chips. US! However, the resort this restaurant was at was awesome looking! They had a beautiful entrance, and the beach was nice and private. So we just hung out, relaxed for a bit. Later on, Kyle and I went over to her house and I brought her some cupcakes to finish off the celebration! It was awesome.

This was the view during lunch time. Not to shabby!

Madison's Birthday lunch. The drinks were great, food was...meh. 

This is the resort. It was a very private beach. 

Birthday Girl!

#beachselfie

This resort is gorgeous! I wonder how much it costs to stay here?

Birthday Cupcakes!

Besides the cupcakes, this week I attempted to make lemon squares and homemade pizza. Both were a complete fail! :/ Haha, my pan for the lemon squares was not the right size because they are so friggen expensive here, so I was using a foil pan. I tried to put aluminum foil down to block the excess, but it really didn't work. I'm embarrassed to post the photo, but it's all part of the experience. So no judging!!

So the one half of the lemon squares, looks okay but it tasted like rubber because all the good stuff ran off into the other side. Boo...I guess I need to invest in a proper pan for about 40 bucks US. -_-
I also attempted to make pizza on the night of the super bowl for Kyle, to make it feel like home. Extra fail!! My pan I had, again was to large, and the sauce I had was also crappy that it all ran off the sides and the dough was soaking it all up so it took forever to cook. So the top of it pretty much got burnt, and the crust was all sticky and gross.. everything was cooked and we were both so hungry so we still ate it. Kyle said he liked it, but I know he was just being nice. Haha.

When I went on my run today, I ran by a school, and the kids were just being let out. As I was on my way back, a few them started running beside me. About 5 or 6 of them, and I asked if they wanted to run with me, they were like "Yeah!" So we started to go faster, it was so cute to see them all running with me! Most of them fell behind, but one little guy kept up with me, we were close to his house so we sprinted the rest of the way. He was fast! It was so fun though, and then the other kids waved goodbye as I continued my journey. I wish I had been quick enough to try and grab a picture with them, maybe I'll see them again. 

Anyway so I am sitting here trying to type this and it's not saving properly. So even though it's Wednesday, you may be reading this on Thursday. 

Kyle really wants to go see a movie this weekend on St.Kitts. We might try and take on that challenge. We survived one month without going to the movies. Something else I took advantage of back home. I guess the "Honeymoon Phase" of this move is over now...

Take care everyone!