I spent a lot of time trying to remember all the most important things and what I would need to survive the first week in a new country, packing only what was necessary. I meet my classmates and they have two parents checking two of their bags for the and then they still shipped boxes of stuff, so much for packing lite. I was a little worried that I didn't bring enough but that dissipated when I began to worry about what was going to happen when I got to St. Kitts, who was going to meet me, how was my apartment going to be, my neighbors, my ROOMMATE!
Then I was greeted by the largest committee of all four schools holding signs and waiting for students. Adele (student housing coordinator) gave me a hug and asked how I was doing after our flight delays and layovers and was impressed that I still had a smile on my face. I couldn't have been welcomed more warmly, and at that point I knew that I was where I needed to be. I met my orientation leader, Stuart, a nice guy but no leadership abilities, I know his wife wheres the pants in that relationship. I met a few students in my group and over the next few days we few bonded and met other students fresh off the plane and before I knew it we had a full buss of 25 students, some with parents, and all the patience died.
The problem with students arriving on different days for a few days means that we are all in different stages of our transition and there is only one buss to get all of us to where we need to go. When a few people need to go to the store the whole bus has to wait for them to be done to get on with the events of the day. These stops and errands make for VERY long days on a hot bus, so by the time we were at the beach or doing an island tour we were all annoyed, sweaty, and drained from the errands that it was hard to get excited for the event. A lot of people opted out of going to dinner with the group because it was a HUGE affair getting 25+ people into a restaurant. Between the large group and island time we wouldn't get home from dinner until midnight. The whole group activities got old really quick and I am glad to have my significantly smaller group to stumble around town.
As you can see from the posts the orientation trips were great and I got a quick peak at the main tourist spots of the island along with some interesting history but I would like to spend more time in those areas.
I have tried a short (very short, because the drivers drive so fast) stint on a bus to the market and back. I have never waved down a bus before or just told him to stop here and they do. Angie tried to give the driver a heads up on where we wanted to stop and all the driver heard was "bla, bla, bla, bla, STOP" and he did. We apologized and told him we would like to be dropped off at the campus and we got off apologizing again and he zooooomed off. The buses are the size of mini vans and smell musky. All of the vehicles have a nick name or saying on them which gives you an idea of the personality of the driver. I will have to give examples of some later. I would hate to get them wrong because there is so much thought put into them.
Well, tomorrow is another day in paradise and I need to go to bed.
It has been a great week and I have many more stories to come!
KIT (keeping in touch) Kat
This week has already flew by which reaffirms that the time I spend here is fleeting. I admit that my start on this adventure and a little nerve wracking
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