Sandals Beach

Hello everyone!  It has been a busy day here at AUA.  Today was my first experience with house keeping and needless to say it was unusual.  I decided to sleep into about 9 am this morning however that was cut short by getting woke up by the cleaning lady.  It all started by her knocking on the door and proceeded to come into our apartment and knocking on our suite doors.  Yes mom I was sleeping in my underwear and had to find clothes just in the nick of time too.  lol My housekeeper is an older Antiguan with a name like "mamma missy". I was a little too sleepy to remember and she told me she cleans this that and the other but isn't responsible for my rubbish.....Whatever that means.  I dont know I just was polite, shook her hand and said yes ma'am. Later that morning I had the opportunity to go shopping at a giant home goods store on the island and purchase kitchen ware.  It was fun and exciting to go to another part of the island with my roommate and friends.  It was a little further away from my apartment than some of the other places that we have been to but, it was fun to gaze at the town as we traveled by taxi.  It was a hot ride but well worth it to purchase measuring cups, a plastic bowl and a cookie sheet.  The heat here is just as intense as MO but, at the same time very different.

After our mid morning shopping adventure the boys, my roommate and a new friend by the name of Sam decided to go to the beach at the Sandals resort!!!!  Needless to say it was amazing!!!  The only down side was that I got a major sunburn!  Ouch!  I am one pink white girl!  The beach was beautiful and spending time with new friends was even better.  For the first time I got to officially swim in the ocean.  My new friend Brian made sure it was official by running with me into the tide and making sure my head got submerged!  It was one salty experience I will never forget for sure. Some of the other people that went with us rode what the locals called a Jet Boat.......AKA Seadoo or jet ski.

While riding in the taxi it wasn't unusual to see people selling produce out of their cars, horses hitched to road signs and cattle roaming the streets in the middle of town.  It is crazy kind of like home to be honest!!!!  There is no air conditioning other than the school and it has not been an adjustment at all.  However some of my classmates are not taking the heat very well.  So if this makes you feel better mom thank you for making me sleep without conditioning for the last 2 years.....it has strangely paid off :-) I do have air conditioning in my bedroom but, because of  the high cost of electricity here or as my Canadian roommate calls it-"hydro" I don't run it very often.

There has been so many different cultural experiences that have blown my mind.  The majority of my class is Muslim and it has been interesting to learn about the fasting and praying that has been going on during Ramadan.  To be quite honest I don't know how these individuals have been able to fast through all this heat.....they cant even drink during the daylight hours.  Even meeting people from other parts of the US has been interesting.  The slang and interest are vastly different than anything in Missouri.  I get teased but it has all been in good fun.....or at least I think it has been :-)

This whole experience has been pretty surreal and strangely relaxing.  For the first time ever that I had only myself to worry about and school.  I have been enjoying.  I just hope that this feeling I have doesn't go away.