Semester Olympics—7th Semester

This was our very last Semester Olympics. Le cray cray. Soccer,  kickball, flag football, and beach volleyball were the sports we competed in...as usual. What was interesting though, was that Black Semester (7th semester students) won the soccer tournament. They're terrible at soccer so it was quite the upset.

Let's see, what else? Oh. Blue Semester and Black Semester got into a fight during flag football. Classy.

And the VIPs were knocked out of both soccer and flag football in the first round. Ouch!

Matty was the pitcher for his semester. Yes, he's in jeans...

Sophia and her boyfriend.

Seventh Semester

Tomorrow means back-to-school for Rossies, and it's Matthew's first day as a 7th semester student. I cannot believe that we only have about three months until we leave St. Kitts. As I've said countless times before, time has just flown by so incredibly fast. I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that it's already September! I think I blinked and August disappeared. In hopes of slowing time down a little, I tried to convince myself that the month of September would be a slow one. I even voiced this to Matthew the other day. His reply?

M: Hmmm...
C: What?
M: I think September is going to be busy.
C: Really? You think so?
M: Well, think about it. We submit our clinical placements next week. We find out the following week where we'll be going. Then you'll probably start selling the stuff we accumulated while here. And you'll need to start looking for a place for us to live. I know you'll want to start searching as soon as you find out where we're going. Not to mention that we also have Semester Olympics and Mr. RUSVM the first week...
C: Oh...oh right.

There goes that idea...

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.