Round 2 - Back on the "Rock"

After an incredible vacation and the always-painful goodbyes, my second semester at SGU was off to a fantastic start when I discovered that I was becoming quite the American Airlines VIP.  I had been upgraded to first class for free which not only meant that I got all the free food and booze I wanted throughout the 10-hour duration of my trip, but it also meant that I would be one of the first people OFF the plane when we landed on the island. This meant I would be one of the first people through customs!

Sunset over the Keys! Love the views from this flight. I also love that there were 18 dogs and 3 cats in the cabin of our flight! All the students get their big dogs certified as emotional support animals so the dogs can fly for free in the main cabin. So much fun!

Fresh-baked cookies and vino! Whose life is this?

For those of you who haven't been reading since the beginning, let me catch you up. Going through Grenadian Customs as a student is the most miserable, unjust, trying experience you will ever encounter on the island. It tests your humanity down to your very core. It turns pleasant and polite people into a pack of rabid, wild dogs. Customs officers are rude, unhelpful, dishonest and downright difficult people for reasons I don't care to understand. They charge a tax for electronics (laptops, iPads, cell phones, toaster ovens... you get the gist) that we own and will not correct you if, in your travel fatigue, you accidentally pay in US instead of EC (about three times more than you actually owe). Furthermore, after you've been the one waiting in line for 2.5 hours, they are impatient and rude to YOU and automatically assume that you are just as dishonest as they are. The amount of dirty looks and eye rolls an unsuspecting student can receive in a 30 second period is absolutely ASTOUNDING. I pity any and all who try to argue with one of these foul creatures.

Hopefully, you've gained some insight as to why I was positively beside myself when I realized I could bypass this hideous experience altogether.

Dinner and a movie!

Aaaaah. Back in my flip-flops. Much better.

As soon as I got off the plane, O and V were there to greet me with shandies and ear-to-ear grins. It was in that moment I realized how much I had missed them over break! We had had some unsuccessful Skype dates due to technical difficulties and time zone confusion - V lives in Singapore, O in California and I was in Colorado over break. In the cab ride home, I was informed that I had half hour to freshen up because we would be going to the Welcome Back party that SGU puts on at Aquarium. I got to see all my friends at once and we danced until the wee hours of the morning. Our friend Emily's parents own the bar, so when we got too sweaty and hot to function, we'd all take a break in the restaurant's walk-in cooler or dip our toes in the ocean at the bar's private beach. TOO MUCH FUN. I'll post pics when I get them off O's camera.

Our humble abode.

The roommates and I got all moved into our AWESOME new house within the first few days. We don't have a dryer so we have to hang our clothes outside like Little House on the Prairie. The newness of this hasn't quite worn off yet, so I still think it's fun. I'll update you later in the semester and let you know if that is still the case.

Just when I thought I had gotten my rhythm and had school figured out, my semester flipped a "U-ey."

I received an e-mail in the middle of the first week of school from the Director of Admissions, stating that after they had reviewed my undergraduate work and grades from my first semester at SGU, they had decided to promote me a semester. At first glance, I was elated! This would shave six months of my time on the "rock" and get me an entire semester closer to graduation. But that feeling was quickly replaced with anxiety and self-doubt as I scrambled to figure out which classes I would be in the next morning and who my new termmates were.

Needless to say, the first week was baptism by fire and while most of the students were taking advantage of "syllabus week" and out celebrating their first weekend back on the island, I was in the library frantically trying to catch up from the week's unexpected, (please pardon my French), ass-whooping i had just received. One illness, about a million hikes up and down the campus mountain, 5 trips to the registrar, 6 textbooks and 25 introductions later, I am officially settled into my second semester at SGU. WHEW!

Pretty much my view for the rest of the semester. Thanks, Dad & Ingrid for the iPad! :)

Half a ream of paper for ONE exam.... NBD.

The classes are fast-paced, fun and full of LIVE ANIMALS! That's right, we actually get to play with ANIMALS this term and the best part is, they aren't dead! We started doing a full work-up on a turtle this week. HELL YEAH! Blood draws and everything. Totally worth the wait.

First sunset of the semester.

Anyway, I gotta run. I'll post more pic of my adventures the first week and a half when I have time. XOXO