Hey there hi there ho there friends! Well we are entering into week 3 of our Nevis adventure and I have to say that I am really really pleased so far. I really like this island, it has much to offer and we feel that we made a great decision in coming here. I have so much to tell you but to get it all in would require a novel length document....soooo I am going to try to give you the readers digest version.....(and you know how good I am at keeping my stories short and to the point....NOT) but I am gonna give it a go.
So Nevis is beautiful, the beaches are awesome, there is lots to do, we are meeting many new and fantastic people....I feel so blessed to be here......I am not going to lie, that the first week was tough and an adjustment....leaving PEI after getting to spend the summer with family and friends was not easy.....but I am feeling really positive now that we have been here a few weeks!
I will start with Joe since he is the reason that we are here.....he seems to be liking the med school so far, likes his profs, meeting some nice students....there is actually a guy from Montague PEI here in his class and they knew each other a bit as this fellow was a nurse in Montague and Joe was a paramedic there....so that is kind of neat. Joe misses some of his Saba peers obviously, but he is adjusting well and appears to be happy with the decision to move......He has been snorkeling and swimming for stress relief......and loving the water and the beaches here. He is hoping to get out golfing sometime soon and he has a few fellows who are interested in doing this with him.....so overall h e is pretty pleased I think.
The boys are doing well. They have had their first week at their new school and they are both settling in. Monty made a new friend, Lu, who just moved here as well from Cancun, Mexico (his parents run a hotel here in Nevis) and they have really hit it off. They are a very nice family and they live closeby so the boys have had a few playdates already. Monty being Monty isn't completely thrilled by his school but he isn't hating it either...so I will count that as a positive! Christian is enjoying school so far and has made some friends there. He has an awesome teacher, originally from Sweden and recently from England. She is lovely and so kind and he seems to really like her. The school is very tiny and so this has been an adjustment for both of them. Monty is excited though because on Fridays the school offers archery lessons to the older kids...so he thinks that is pretty cool!
Monty is enrolled in a few programs here and he is very excited about them. The first one is called Survivor Camp (based on the reality show) and the leader calls it "Scouts on Steroids!" which I think is hilarious. the leader is a special ops fellow who was in the army in South Africa and he is a real outdoors fellow! Basically he takes the kids up the mountain and they learn how to survive off the land, making shelters out of whatever they have, making fires (without matches), making spears for fishing and catching and cooking the fish, learning what bugs they can eat if they are hungry!! (he ate a centipede on Saturday...the guide, not Monty) Anyway it sounds so great and I think Monty is quite excited about it.....the second program he is in is a marine biology camp, where he will learn about sea life and conservation and will go out on a boat snorkeling and learning about underwater creatures.....it will be a great opportunity for him and the leader, Barbara is a very nice lady.....I am only slighly nervous about Monty going on the boat snorkeling as last week a local was eaten by a tiger shark....so that freaks me out a little....apparently that is extremely rare and not usually something to worry about...but you know me! I love to worry...it is like a sport for me....and I am an Olympic calibre worrier!! Unfortunately, Christian can't attend these camps as he is too young...but that is ok because he is having lots of fun anyway! He is doing so well with snorkeling I can hardly believe it.....he just skims across the top of the water now like a pro......it is so amazing to watch him! Not that long ago he was afraid of the water....now you should see him!!
The beaches here are amazing and we have spent alot of time down the road at Oualie Beach Resort (you can google it) the beach is great there, very safe and calm. We just had a big SOS bbq there yesterday and it was a blast. We have a fantastic SOS group and I am meeting so many wonderful people from all over who are here for the same reasons....to support husbands through med school! (so basically we are all crazy!) I have to tell you a funny story about yesterday......we were all sitting around and chatting and beside me was Hedda, a quite pretty blond woman from Norway.....well Hedda looks pretty good in her bikini and I see Monty eyeing her....finally he looks at me and says " so Mom, look at her, isn't that the body that you have always dreamed of having?" Said so matter of factly that it was as if he was asking me h ow I enjoyed the bbq!!!! I nearly died laughing....and poor Hedda....she thought it was pretty funny...some of the other moms weren't sure how to react! it was just Monty being Monty so i wasn't too put out over it! I mean, really, its not like he was saying something that wasn't true! I would have loved to have Hedda's figure! Anyway he is a funny funny kid.......
So I am having a great time.....I am connecting with my new SOS friends....i am now the Treasurer of SOS......(yeah I know....me with money......) I am exploring the island and learning my way around.....I am learning to drive on the wrong side of the road....it is going much better than I expected;....well except for the part where I continue to turn on the windshield wipers instead of the signal lights and then I get flustered and turn the wrong signal on......LOL.....but overall it really isn't that hard to get used to.....I also have a very cool opportunity that has popped up here.....kind of like my dream job! There is a stable here that has been closed for a while for a number of reasons and I searched the owner out and offered my assistance with the horses in exchange for some occasional riding....Well he was so thrilled to have me to help out (he works full time and drives to the stable to feed the horses 2 times a day) and in exchange i can ride all I want, anytime I want and he may start up some trail rides and have me be the guide.....so that will be taking people from the cruise ships on beach rides with horses....ok really people....does life get any better than that!! So I am excited that I will get to do some riding and so will the kids...and maybe some evenings all 4 of us will go down to the beach on horseback.....so exciting I can hardly believe it....
Anyway I better run....lots more to say but it is very hot out and the boys want to go over to their friend's pool for a swim......so I will talk to you all again soon!!
God Bless and have a great week!
D