New Apartment

Well, we have moved (again), but are still in the same apartment building we have always been. The last two semesters we were in a double because of family coming to visit, but since everyone has been here who is coming, we decided to switch back to a single. it's pretty small, but we actually really like it. If there's one thing Dominica has taught us its that we don't need a lot of space or a lot of things to be happy. We're really happy in our comfy little apartment. Mary and James live right next door, so that makes it a lot of fun too.

Kubuli was following me around as I took pictures, that's why she's in almost every shot.









This is the kitchen. As you can see, the fridge is VERY SMALL (it's the small white thing to the right of the door in this pic, the microwave is on top of it). I though it would be a problem, but so far it really hasn't. It makes me wonder why everyone thinks they need those monstrosities we have everywhere in the states. For families they're obviously necessary, but for Sam and I, we're fine with the tiny one. Who would have thought...





















One of Kubuli's favorite pastimes is to destroy cardboard boxes. It's very strange for a cat...but she loves it!

One year in Dominica..

Hi Everyone!!

Sam and I are in the middle our two week break between third and fourth semesters, and are certainly enjoying it!! It's so nice to have my husband back, and for him to just have some time to relax. This marks the one year date that Sam and I have been living in Dominica. One whole year!! We can't believe how fast the time has gone.

Last Saturday, we got on a plane and headed north two islands to Antigua! It's another small island in the West Indies, but is a little more developed than Dominica, much flatter and drier, has terrible tasting water, and has much better beaches. We got a great deal at the all-inclusive resort, the Jolly Beach Resort, and it was AWESOME! It was just amazing to us that we could go into the restaurant for dinner, leave without paying, and have unlimited drinks all day long! The resort was really nice. It had 2 pools, 3 nice restaurants that required reservations, an open buffet for every meal, 2 open bars, one of which was a swim-up bar in the pool (where we spent a lot of time!) and an amazing beach. Sam convinced me to just stay at the resort the whole time, so we didn't get to see much of the rest of the island. But it was ok because we really just needed the time to relax and do nothing. Here's a bunch of pictures I took while we were there!!

A view of the rooms, from the pool.

Unfortunately, we didn't buy the strongest sunscreen available, and so we both got VERY burned. Hence, Sam is wearing a shirt on the beach by the end of the trip!!

Ah, cuban cigars...

The beaches were GORGEOUS! Pure white sand, bright turquoise water...it was amazing. I saw a big jellyfish one day, but fortunately didn't get stung by it!

Sam at the bar, thoroughly enjoying our "free" drinks!

We were in the "supersaver room," but it had a king bed and a view of the ocean and we couldn't have been happier!

Looking a little toasty...

Sam and I being our usual goofy selves...

Beach towels and wraps for sale on the beach

One of the unfortunate results of having lots of kids in the pool all day long....eventually somebody is not going to make it to the bathroom to go #2....so everyone had to get out while they "cleaned" it (we don't know if they actually did anything about it, just woke up the next morning and it was open again...). But the sea gulls sure enjoyed having it all to themselves!




















This is a picture of what our whole vacation was like!

And of course, if you're in Antigua you're going to see a sailboat.

Well, that gives you a pretty good glimpse of what our vacation was like! Once we got back home, we rescued our cat who had been living outdoors for 3 days (the cleaning lady let her out), who was very hungry and lonely. We also moved into a new apartment. It is right next door to our old one, just a single instead of the double. We're enjoying being in a smaller place, even though the fridge is made for midgets, and are getting ready to help James and Mary move in next door (they needed a smaller place too). We have one more week of freedom, then we start our last semester!!

Hope everyone had a good labor day and enjoyed the time off. Be sure to pray for Nikki as she gets settled in to life in Peru. She just started a blog, so if you'd like to check it out, its: http://www.nikkidtravel.blogspot.org/

Miss you all! God bless!

Katrina

Finals, birthdays and goodbyes

These pictures were supposed to go below with the others, but hey're being annoying. The top one is from Larissa and Michaela's going away party (two girls in the center, Larissa's holding her daughter Azariah). The second was taken at Larissa's birthday party at my house, at the top from the left: Michaela, Ralna, Meg's daughter, Me, Meg. Bottom from the left: Mary, Alia, Larissa, Schlomit, Katie and Nellie.

Hey Everyone!

I hope this blog finds you all well as you wrap up your summers and get ready for another school year. Things are going well down here, the weather has been even more hot and humid than usual, and school is keeping us both busy.

Sam is in the middle of finals. He's done with regular class and has just been studying like a maniac for all his tests. So far he's taken 3 in the past 9 or so days, and they've gone pretty well. Tomorrow (monday) he has Mini 3 and then on wednesday he has his final and then he's free!! Pray for him these next couple days. He's getting a little burned out and so it's hard to stay focused. He's very ready for a break, which he has definitely earned!

I finished my summer classes (yay!!), and have now started my fall semester, with no break between them (again). I'm excited for the new semester and classes, especially since its my last semester! I'm hoping that the load isn't too much with work and stuff for the next few weeks. For the next 8 weeks I am taking intro to cross cultural missions, fundamental theological issues, and history of the Christian church part 1. This will be the first time I take 3 classes while working, so pray that I have enough time to stay caught up with everything.

That's about everything going on in our lives. We are SO READY to have a little break. We're excited to get off the island for a few days (going to Antigua!), and to have some time to relax together.

Alright, as usual I've attached some pictures from the last couple weeks. These first few were taken on our 2nd anniversary!! Sam was able to take the evening off and we made reservations at this little place called the Iguana Cafe. It's a tiny little shack on the side of the road, but I'd heard the food was amazing, so I called them the day before to let them know we were coming. It rained all day that day, but we still managed to get all dressed up and call a cab to take us there. It's run by a really sweet woman and man, who opened the place just for us that night, and waited on us hand and foot. They were so sweet. We both ordered lobster ($45 EC for a giant bowl of it--that's only about $17 US) and it was delicious. The only problem was, as you can see it's mostly open to the air with no screens or anything, and because of all the rain, there were a TON of rain flies. These things are attracted to the light and they just swarmed it, and therefore, also us, the whole time we were eating. Definitely annoying, but didn't ruin the whole night. After dinner, we both realized we'd forgotten our phones, so we had a nice walk home (it had stopped raining, fortunately), and I managed to make it all the way home in heels without twisting my ankle, which if you knew what the roads looked like here, you'd know that's quite the feat, especially for me.

Last week was my friend Larissa's birthday! Mary and i put together a little party for her at my house. We stuffed about 15 people in my tiny house, ran out of plates and forks, but had amazing food and fun company! It was a lot of fun to hang out with everyone. Unfortunately, Larissa is fourth semester which means she's leaving us! =( I've realized lately how many great friends I have here, but that a lot of them are leaving this break. I'm especially going to miss my workout buddies, Larissa and Katie. Also, pray for Mary and James over this break as they decide whether or not Mary should come back or stay in the states for the next semester, since the health care here isn't all that wonderful. I don't know what I'd do if Mary didn't come back!!

From the left, Katie, me, Nellie, Larissa, Mary and Alia.

Me, Larissa and Mary!

These last few pictures were taken at a going away party for our friend Heather. It's so sad how close you get to everyone here, and yet how quickly we have to say good-bye to each other.

From the left, Larissa (holding her daughter Azariah), Sarah, Elizabeth, Heather, Liz, Ashley, Ralna, Me, Mary.

Me, Larissa (and Azariah), Liz and Sarah.

Mary, Liz, Ralna and Ashley. Such a great group of girls!
Ok, that's all from us!! Good luck to everyone as you start the next year...We miss you all so much! Christmas seems a little far away....

God bless,

Katrina