Ramble On

Another video I took at the St. Joseph parades yesterday.

I joined YouTube to be able to post these, so I hope it works....

I have had a solid weekend. Friday night I went to a bar frequented by students at the IUFM an d the University called Feuille de Tol to say goodbye to one of Zie Juhmans, Andy. I had a great night, meeting new people, hanging out at the bar, singing Piano Man at the top of my lungs like the boisterous American I was allowed to be when others were willing to help. There were a group of students spending their winter break doing a one-month study abroad program through University of Delaware. It was interesting talking to them and getting their impression of the island. They weren't too pleased with the place, but I told them, just rent a car for your last week here and it won't be so bad. They are only here for a month anyway. They have managed to do a lot more than I did in my first month. Saturday, Ceri and I headed out to Anse Trabaud. The beach was off the beaten path, to say the least. There was a sign pointing the way to it, but about 100 feet after the sign, ther...

In keeping with my promise to be more adventurous, I have gotten out a bit to some new places on the island the last couple of days and had some very Caribbean experiences. After finishing all my classes on Friday, I sort of took the night off, watched some movies on TV and went to bed early. Saturday morning I was excited because I was going to a new beach, Cap Chevalier, and going to a birthday party on the beach that night. I picked up Ceri and we set off to the southeastern part of the island. Cap Chevalier is a beautiful string of beaches protected by coral reefs. The only thing that makes the swimming not very enjoyable is the amount of seaweed there is in the water. I went off and hiked part of the 17 mile trail that goes up the southeastern coast of Martinique. It has beautiful views but also lots of thistles so I was getting scraped up pretty good. I turned around after a few miles and headed back to the beach. Ceri was relaxing in the late afternoon sun and we were wa...

It’s been a good while since I’ve been back and it has been much better since my shaky return. I have been going out more, being more adventurous, spending a lot on gas, teaching private English lessons with kids who are motivated (!!) and finally getting a sense of enjoyment out of living here. I’ve been going to the beaches more, making a checklist of things I have to do before I leave Martinique… The secret of life here is to stay busy, even if busy means taking the time to relocate to a beach to read instead of just hanging out at my place. There are a ton of tourists here now. The season for the Caribbean has begun and the prices reflect it, so do the crowds. As always, Martinique is visited by vast quantities of French people, a few German people, and even fewer other nationalities. I am glad I went to St. Lucia before the break, but now I am wishing I had gone to other islands too. I have 4 day weekends now. I do private English lessons on Tuesday nights at a family’s ...

I have been in Dominica all day. I was supposed be in Martinique by now, but they cancelled my flight. So I had an impromptu one-day layover in Dominica today. And I have to spend most of tomorrow here too. It sounds strange to say it but I REALLY wanted to get back to Martinique today. I was so angry when they tol d me I couldn’t go. This happened to me with the same airline on the way home too. Thankfully, they found a way to get me to Dominica on time to catch my flight to San Juan, and ultimately, to the states. But today I couldn’t help myself and I just broke down in the middle of the Take Airlines office. I knew it wasn’t going to be easy when I came back, but I didn’t want it to start this early. I didn’t want there to be a problem before I even got to Martinique! Today wasn’t completely wasted. I went to town to wash the one set of clothes I hav e w ith me, and then I went to Trafalgar Falls just to see a little bit of Dominica while it was still possible. I know ...