Saturday, October 20, 2007

The first semester on the island


Our first semester on the island was full of adventures, adjustments, and lots and lots of walking. We lived about a mile from the campus and after a few days of taking busses and walking while carrying children I knew we needed a stroller. My friend Angela came through for us in a big way, buying the stroller we needed and shipping it to us so that we could get it in a matter of days and pay her back later. The stroller made our lives so much easier! We got to take a tour of the island within our first week and went and hiked around Fresh-Water Lake, bathed in a hot spring under Trafalgar Falls, and swam near Scott's Head where the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea are separated by about 30 feet of land. The following weekend we went whale watching. Shane was sick the entire trip, but we did get to see the fluke of a baby whale.
Shane completed orientation and registration and non-stop school and studying quickly became the norm for him. We had a couple of issues with our landlord, who was elderly and couldn't handle the noise if we had any of the girls' friends over to play. Setting up a home here was very difficult. Most of the products are the type that you can find at a dollar store, but they cost a whole lot more than a dollar. We ended up having Shane's parents ship us a whole box of kitchen supplies.
My days have been mostly spent doing the 'Mom' thing. School starts at 8:00, we are responsible to supervise our own children during lunch from 12:00 to 1:00, and school ends at 3:00. I quickly discovered that by the time I walked home from lunch I only had 20 minutes before it was time to head back and pick Chandee up from school! So, Kira and I started hanging out on campus during this time, every day. There is a playground under the full strength of the sun, and a semi-airconditioned room where we spent most of our time. It was taxing on both of us.
Truthfully, it was a rough semester. I'm glad it's over!

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