SK Post Office

Only in Saint Kitts...

Matthew's mom sent us a package, so we went to the post office to collect it. Please enjoy the following {Conversations}.

Mail clerk: That will be $50.

Me: What for?

Mail clerk: The value of your package is $35 USD, so you need to pay $50 EC in duty.

Me: Are you serious? What for? I've never had to pay duty on anything I've received from my family...ever.

Mail clerk: Sometimes you get a break, and sometimes you have to pay. Today is the day you pay.

Matthew: I only have $40.

Mail clerk: That'll do.


WTF? Whatever. I guess I didn't look cute that day. *sigh*

Tropical Storm Isaac

If you haven't already heard, it's hurricane season down here in the Caribbean, and we've already experienced a tropical wave in July. You can read about it here thanks to Stephanie. 

Earlier today, I received a text message that said the following:

Tropical Storm Warning issued for Saint Kitts as TD NINE moves in area; strong wind, heavy rain expected w/in 36 hrs. Make storm prep now.

And Matthew and I just caught the end of a weather update a few minutes ago from Hurricane Central regarding Tropical Storm Isaac. I hope the storm misses us, but I guess we better prepare ourselves—like the text message suggested.

We are just northwest of Guadeloupe.

Here's a map so you can see exactly where St. Kitts is.

Birthday Shenanigans

Matty and I had waaaay too much fun last night, and boy did we pay for it today. On top of being completely hungover this morning, I have a cold from hell. (This is the second cold I've had in four weeks. WTF?) Eh, well. Memories!

The reason for our 'inside day' is due to our dear friend, Sharon, and her birthday festivities. We had a blast!!! We started off the night at Rock Lobster for dinner and sangria. Yummmmmy. And in addition to celebrating Sharon, we were also celebrating Sara, who recently had a birthday. Unfortunately, Sara spent her actual birthday studying for finals. Blahhhh. No fun, right?

After dinner, our crew headed to Shiggidy Shack for drinks and dancing. I believe this is when the night took a different turn and the details are a little fuzzy. Overall, though, we had a great time. Thanks for sharing your birthdays with us, ladies!

Tyler and Sharon. :)

Birthday ladies: Sara & Sharon

Sillies. :)

We be dancin'.

A Little Big Flower Never Hurt Anyone

I looooove fabric flower accessories. And I especially love them when they are obnoxiously large boldly displayed. Please see examples below: 

Here I am celebrating my 25th birthday, pink flower and all.

Celebrating Sharon's bday with a tulle flower. 

Oh look at that: another flower accessory...on my head.

Here's a personal favorite of mine: Kristen, former SKB Desperate Housewife, is happily displaying all of her handcrafted fabric flowers while singing karaoke. Please note the flower in her hair, the flowers on her necklace, and please don't miss the flower ring. 

So you're probably wondering why I'm taking the time to blog about this. Well, today I was perusing my friends' photos on instagram when I saw the little gem below. My friend, Janae, shared the pic to capture the height of her son, Raymond, (in the background), in comparison to the other children. While he is a tall lad, my eyes couldn't focus on lovely Raymond because they were too busy gawking at the gray hair accessory on the girl's head in front. I added a pink arrow to the photo in case you, for some crazy reason, missed it.

At first I guffawed—I mean, c'mon! That flower is huge! Bigger than her own head! Sure I've got a big flower like that but you don't see it on my head! Needless to say, I had quite a few laughs because of it. And then...I shut my face. Mostly because I realized that I'd probably do that to my kid too. And it wouldn't stop there. Oh no no, my friends. My poor kid(s) would show up to school in top hats and fascinators, and maybe a spectacle, like Mr. Peanut. Therefore...I judge not.

{Conversations}

Matthew has a patchy beard, but this isn't 'new' news. Some men have been blessed with an aggressive form of facial hair. Sadly, Matthew is not one of those people men. However, he can grow a mustache, and as you may already know—I love mustaches! To placate me, he grows his out once in a while. Lately though, he has been complaining that his mustache makes him feel physically uncomfortable. His reasons excuses are usually something along the lines of it tickling, itching, or poking him. Normally I just ignore him since mustaches are justifiably cool. I definitely think that they are worth the 'trouble' to grow and maintain them.

Anyway, due to such hairy drama, this {Conversation} happened:

Matty: Ughhhhhhh. This mustache is driving me nuts!
Me: Why?
Matty: I swear that it's causing me to have chapped lips.
Me: How is that possible? 
Matty: I don't know. But when I shaved it off last time, these dry spots on my lips disappeared. 
Me: [Cue dubious glance.]
Matty: ...I think it's affecting my sleep. It's like I can't breathe correctly with this mustache, and so I'm breathing differently because of it, and it's causing me to have chapped lips.
Me: Do you...hear yourself?
Matty: ...?
Me: Your mustache is affecting how you sleep and breathe?

There's an End in Sight

Matthew survived finals week, and we are happy to announce that he will be heading into 7th semester starting in September! This means that we only have four months left on St. Kitts before heading to our clinical placement location, (which we'll find out about in four weeks).

In the mean time, we are on vacation until September 3rd. What are our plans, you ask? Well, we'll be spending his semester break here in SK. Here's a list of approved activities thus far:

— Beach

— Pool

— Snorkel

— Read

— Hang out with our friends (obvi)

— Take naps

— Enjoy copious amounts of food and drinks

— Beach volleyball

— Paddleboarding

— Sleeping in

— Haircut

— Fishing

— Movies

— Trip to Nevis

As you can see, we have lots of fun things in mind for our last SK break. (Can't believe it's our last one, btw.) Although, I'm sure Matthew has other things planned like cleaning our house and car. Regardless, we are looking forward to soaking up the Caribbean sunshine, spending time with each other as well as Milo and Trooper, and enjoying island time. It's a beautiful thing. 

Milo No Likey

Living in Frigate Bay, (an area in St. Kitts), we are prone to hearing and seeing random firework displays. Milo haaaaaaaaaates it. Absolutely hates it. Every single time he hears fireworks going off, he runs to his 'bomb shelter,' which happens to be our shower stall. Clockwork.

It's That Time Again...

Finals begin on Monday, and Matthew will have an exam every day until Wednesday, having already taken a final last Thursday. In the mean time, he is working hard to soak in as much information as his brain can handle. As I'm sitting here writing this, Matthew and Sharon are in my living room, already studying the day away. Sharon arrived at about 8:00 a.m, and she'll probably be here until at least 5:00 p.m. This is...normal.

So what do the VIPs do while our students are in finals mode, you ask? Well, I'm sure it varies a bit for each person, but my schedule usually involves the following: 

- Clean

- Cook

- Bake

- Sleep

- Do laundry

- Take a nap

- Try not to distract the student

- Run errands

- Blog

- Pin

- Soak up vitamin D

- Go to the movies

- Keep the dogs occupied

- Take another nap

- Stay out of the way

As you can see, our main job is to take care of our students as best as we can during the most stressful time of the semester. Thankfully, I have it pretty good considering that my student usually has things under control, and doesn't shank me when I say stupid things like, "Go study, but before you go, can you hand me that remote? And the cheetos?"

In other news, Matthew recently passed his 'Rossie.' To those of you who are not part of our RUSVM community, this is a really big deal. A 'Rossie' is basically a mock spay performed on a model. You are only given two chances to pass, and if you fail on both attempts, you have to repeat an entire semester. Thankfully, Matthew passed on his first try. I like to think it had something to do with my words of wisdom prior to him beginning the procedure: "Matty. Just remember: You're pretend-spaying a sweatshirt." 

Anyway, that's the update for now. Good luck on your finals, vet students! And of course, good luck to my fellow VIPs.

Farewell to Rob & Steph

Living in St. Kitts has been really manageable, and I credit a lot of my positive attitude to surrounding myself with wonderful people who also really like it here. Stephanie is one of those people. You've probably heard me mention her before, or maybe you also follow her blogs which can be found here and here.

Anyway, I'm sad to announce that they are moving back to the US of A. Stephanie leaves this Wednesday, and Rob leaves right after finals. Why are they leaving sunny St. Kitts, you ask? Well...they are having a baby, (which I guess is a good excuse), and Rob is transferring to UGA to finish up his vet med studies. 

While I am excited for them to get settled somewhere semi-permanently, prepare for their newborn baby boy, (who shall remain nameless until Rob decides on something else besides Rafiki and Walter Melon), and enjoy the riches of the great land of America—I am super bummed that they are leaving.

Thankfully, a bunch of we students and VIPs were given a chance to head over to their Dolphin House this afternoon to say our goodbyes, snack on yummies, and enjoy their company. As you can imagine, it was a lovely afternoon.

Farewell, Stephanie and Rob. Safe travels, good luck, and please keep in touch! You both will be missed immensely. P.S. Looking forward to meeting little baby Seerley. xoxo

Happy 6!

Yesterday, Matty and I went to The Beach House for dinner to celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary, (which is actually today, August 5th). Neither of us had been to this restaurant before, but it turned out to be a wonderful choice. The Beach House is located out on the peninsula and situated on Turtle Beach with a lovely view of Nevis. Having arrived fairly early, we paid a visit to the bar first, and then walked the grounds. The atmosphere was beach-ey and peaceful, with dim lighting and soft music playing in the background. It was the perfect setting for a romantic dinner date. We also took a stroll out onto the dock. Although it was a bit of a gray day, it didn't rain and the breeze was really refreshing. After a little sightseeing, we went back inside to be seated for dinner. And let me tell you: our food was quite lovely...yummmmm. I might be drooling a little at the memory. We ordered the following:

—Caribbean Seafood Chowder (I am not a chowder person, but this was yummy.)
—Goat Cheese, Pesto, and Pinenut Baguettes (This was uber delcious. Seriously could have eaten fifty of these babies.)
—Creole Spiced Swordfish (Ummm we were in love with this.)
—Pan Roasted Pork Porterhouse in a Coconut Crust (Also delicious.)
—Key Lime Pie (We actually had not planned on getting dessert, but our server brought us this slice of heaven as a complimentary 'Happy Anniversary' treat...I didn't complain.)

So...it's safe to say that we enjoyed our visit. I'd love to go again before we leave St. Kitts in December.