When people ask me, "What's new," or "What have you been up to," it always takes me a minute to respond. Not because I don't have anything exciting on my schedule, but because life sometimes becomes such a routine that you don't always exam your day, week, month—or in our case---semester. However, April has recently 'showered' me with new changes, so here's the update.
Update 1: This past semester, I've been volunteering at the
RUSVM Preparatory School teaching Arts & Crafts on Wednesday afternoons. I've taught 4th graders and up how to crochet, make friendship bracelets, stitch fabric flowers, and create accessories like necklaces, bracelets, and headbands. It's been a great experience and I'm happy to have shared some of my 'artsy' knowledge with more-than-willing students. It's been enjoyable getting to know the girls and seeing their creativity blossom. Today was my last session, but I will see most of them again in June when I start working full-time for summer camp. I'll resume my role as the Arts & Crafts teacher, and I'm really looking forward to the projects that
Emily I have planned for them.
Update 2: Tiffany and I had been running consistently since mid-to-late January...until I started noticing a very uncomfortable, wrenching pain on the outsides of my calves---that would not go away. Unfortunately, I have no idea what's wrong with me, but eventually it got to a point where I couldn't run more than a half mile. And that's pretty damn depressing and frustrating when you've been routinely running three or more miles a day, five to six days a week. However, I've had running issues in the past. When I was in high school, and ran cross country my senior year, I often experienced pain on the outsides of my knees and numb feet which resulted in me missing out on several races. Annoying. Again, when Matty and I were training for a 10K in 2009, training stopped short because of the calf pain. Coincidentally, I have never had problems playing soccer or basketball. Talk about frustrating. Anyway, running and I have temporarily split up until I can get new running shoes, (they've expired). I have an inkling that my running form could be the culprit too. I try to run heel-toe, heel-toe, but my feet have a mind of their own and want to land on the outsides of my feet first...and then heel...and then toe. The bottom line is that running is the simplest form of exercise and it drives me bonkers to think that I can't run a 5k without problems. Absolutely ridiculous. Not to mention that Tiffany and I were good running buddies. We kept each other motivated...okay let's be serious here---she's way more motivating than I am. But I feel that I'm leaving her on out a limb now that I'm on hiatus. Good thing she's got great self-discipline to carry her through until I can get my shit together, and get back in the game.
Update 3: Sundays were for soccer and flag football, which have both recently come to a close, due to finals week looming steadily ahead. During our soccer tournament we won our first game, but lost our second. In addition, my flag football team lost the first game in the playoffs, but Matthew's team is headed to the championship game which is this Friday. Go Black Semester!
Update 4: Trivia-Night-Tuesdays have been a nice way to change up my evening activities. Last year, I fell out of attending on a regular basis because it's also 10EC-movie-night, and that often won over going to trivia. However, when
Stephanie arrived on-island and showed an avid interest in going, I was inspired to start going again. Since then, I've faithfully attend every Tuesday, even though I'm clearly not the MVP...ever. BUT—I have actually hosted three times this past semester! Imagine that. Me...the quiz master. Muahahhahaa. To be fair, I have previously split up the work with Stephanie twice and Tiffany once. Coming up with 60 questions and six different categories is a little daunting, but when you have someone to split it with you, it's a lot more manageable.
Update 5: Wednesday evenings used to be for karaoke at Bobsy's, but sadly, I haven't gone in a very long time. It was a nice night to meet up with the VIP
Ladies of Leisure, but Bobsy's hasn't been too busy lately. Not to mention The Blue Martini, SoBe, and Club One have all closed down, so when you get tired of karaoke, there's nowhere else to go to get some dancing in. *sigh*
Update 6: Spanish classes have recently resumed, on Thursday evenings at 5:00 p.m. in
Basseterre at the Venezuelan Institute. Speaking of which...I should probably sit down and condense my notes so that I can be prepared for our upcoming vacation to Puerto Rico. (More about that later.) Thursdays are also when I meet with my friend, Esther, to work on her English. She is from Taiwan and our weekly meetings have become something I really enjoy and look forward to. It's fun to compare cultures, interpret we spoiled Americans, examine the funny English language, and share island stories. Last week she made me homemade sushi...and it was to-die-for. Matthew is lucky that I didn't gobble up the entire roll before he arrived home from school. DAMN. I am such a good wife.
Update 7: Beach Volleyball games are on Friday, like usual. Heather, another VIP, is captain of our team, but her spouse is currently in 7th semester, so they are heading back to the US in a matter of weeks. Heather kindly asked if I would carry on the torch, and I accepted. So now I'm the boss. ;)
Update 8:
Kristen, Matthew's fellow classmate, recently asked me to join her basketball team which is part of the SKABA, (St. Kitts Amateur Basketball Association). Now
this is a change worth noting, mostly because I have not played a competitive basketball game in about a decade. My friend, Hope, also joined the team and is in a similar boat. However, we had our first game tonight, and while our team lost, I'd say Hope and I hustled pretty well for a couple of old ladies who haven't touched a basketball in damn near ten years! Thankfully, because of all the running, soccer-ing, and flag football-ing, I didn't feel too out of shape. It is, however, funny to note how playing different sports affects your body. With running or swimming, I feel like I have all the time in the world. I can just keep a steady pace and keep on trucking along. Mostly it's a mental game---how far can I really run today? How many laps should I swim? With flag football, there isn't a ton of running around, unless of course, you're sprinting, but you have to be alert, quick at grabbing flags, anticipating passes, be ready to catch the ball, and be okay with getting knocked around. Soccer is a different story...lots more cardio involved. The field is large, with plenty of room to roam. I feel like I can control my pace a little bit, but you still need to be able to cover your player, run fast, control the ball, make accurate passes, score goals, head the ball, etc. And then there's basketball, which I put into a similar category. Dribble. Drive. Shoot. Pass. Jump. Don't get beat. Turn. Anticipate. Repeat. It's a fast-paced game and very unpredictable at times which makes it enjoyable for me. Couldn't be happier to be playing on Kristen's team, especially when I've had to stop running daily.
And a funny photo to add to my basketball rant:
Update 9: Matthew recently received an email indicating that
U.C. Davis is now accepting
RUSVM students for
clinicals, which is really exciting news. I don't want to speak too soon, but I think we may have found our third preference for clinical year. The other two are
Oregon State University and
Louisiana State University.
Update 10: Matthew and I are heading to
Puerto Rico in T minus 16 days for a mini vacation, and I am so very excited. I am really looking forward to exploring
Old San Juan, shopping at
the largest mall in the Caribbean, and going on a
kayaking tour to experience the sights of a
bioluminescent lagoon. Praying for on-time flights and beautiful weather!
So those are the updates...a bit wordy, I know.
