Nevisian Life for the Wife

Well everyone in just 3 weeks I will be coming home!

A lot has been happening around here, that it has been hard to find time to actually blog. 
Here are some updates, I have been working full time, and it is going great, I even received my first pay cheque on Friday!! Wohoo! Now just comes the challenge of how to actually cash an international cheque...

Kyle did well on his first round of exams for premed 2, he even got 100% on his organic chemistry exam! Wow!! He studied really hard, especially since he has said that is his most difficult class! Yay Kyle :)

Let's see, I went on a school field trip the other day. We took some of the kids to St. Kitt's to the bottling company. It was pretty cool, except the machine was broken, so the kids didn't get to see any actual bottles being made :( When I asked one the kids if they were having fun, and if they had any questions, the comment I got was ," It's kinda boring." I felt bad for them, there was a lot of talking, and it was hard to hear the man speaking, it was a lot of information to take in. However, I learned that the bottled water is all the same, the only difference is the labels on the bottles. So it definitely makes sense to buy the cheapest water at the store, because it is literally all the same!!

The principal of my school, had invited Kyle and I to her church, so on Sunday we decided to check it out. What an experience! The hardest part was waking up early. They start at 8 am! I thought seeing how it's island time around here, they wouldn't start on time, but nope not when it comes to the Lord's Day. The church was located outside under a tent. According the my principal (Mrs. Clarke), she said their church is different from most island churches. They don't dress up super fancy with big hats and all that. They are also in the process of trying to build their own church. So they have a foundation started, and sometimes after service they would try and do some work. She told me they are pioneers. We met a lot of really nice people, there were about 50 people there, and almost everyone came up to us to introduce themselves. It was kinda obvious we were visitors ;) 
The service was only 3 hours long. Not bad considering a lot of the services here seem to go all day. They had a whole band set up, and even power-point to follow along with lyrics and the message. Very passionate though in terms of worshiping and the lead Pastor. I loved it! I felt a little embarrassed and uncomfortable, because of course the Pastor had to formally introduce us to everyone, and then they prayed for Kyle and his studies for a long time. It was actually very sweet, and I was really humbled by the compassion from everyone. They seemed very supportive us, and told me that since we have met Mrs. Clarke, we are in good hands. Haha! 
It was an awesome experience! I just didn't like getting attacked by ants. I had never had that issue before, but I guess where we were sitting, the ants were everywhere, and kept crawling up my legs and biting me which was distracting. 
Here are some pics of where they have their service. 

This is some land that the church is trying to preserve. It's an old sugar mill. It is actually a square one which I found out is very rare. 

Under the tent is where they had the service set up. 

That's the site of where they are hoping to build their own church, you can see the foundation is already laid out.

I really like that I have been stretched out of my comfort zone here. I feel like I have been breaking through my shell, and I have found myself in situations that I never thought I would be in. I am really proud that Kyle and I have been able to settle in here so nicely. The biggest lesson I am learning here is: you never know what can happen unless you ask. This has forced me to ask a lot of questions to people, and get to know them. Even the work I have been doing at the school, I have been able to gather some resources just by asking the right people. Today someone gave me a free mango! Haha, I was just chatting to a farmer next door, and telling them I like the mangoes, and then I found out I was talking to the aunt of one my kids from the school. So they gave me a free mango! So sweet :) It's these little cultural experiences that have made me appreciate life so much more. Having an open mind has been really critical here. 

Today is a holiday on the island. It was actually nice to be able to enjoy an actual long weekend. I like that I have this work life happening. Although my grocery schedule has been thrown off, I am making it work. I don't like that I haven't been working out as much though, but I am doing my best to still fit in a workout here and there. The kids at the school don't do much physical activity, so I am trying to incorporate more of that. They have been teaching me how to play cricket! So fun!

Since it is a holiday, of course there was a parade at 8 am this morning. Kyle was just heading to class, when the group started to pass by our house. Music blasting for miles, people dressed up in interesting outfits, drunk people hitting on me while I was trying to take pictures, and of course the police guarding the lot while showing off his machine gun. Haha! It was very intense. Here are some pics of that. 

 

So that's the update for now. Keeping busy in my new island life! Miss you all!