Bitter sweetness.

A few days ago, I got some great news!! I found out that the job I applied for is giving me an interview!

There were hundreds of applicants, this is an absolute dream job, and I get to start my nursing career!

This sounds perfect, right? 

Wrong.

What this great news means is that I have to leave Kevin. It means leaving the most beautiful place I've ever been, leaving wonderful friends, leaving the flexible, relaxing life of Dominica.

I have two more days here and it's the most bitter sweet feeling I have ever had. I'm absolutely stoked about this interview but really am not ready to leave. Because flights are so expensive, I won't be coming back if I do not get the job. Kevin is done here in August, so I will stay at home and continue my job search.

The biggest challenge I'm facing is leaving Kevin. It has been so great being here and sharing this experience. He's feeling the same things, very proud and happy for me but he's going to miss having his support system here. We're not looking forward to having a "Skype" relationship again. But we've done it before and we know we can get through it! 

Back to California I go! Wish me luck!

And we're back!

First of all, sorry for not updating you for a while! Kevin and I have been very busy, but are doing great! We got back to the island last Sunday, after an amazing two weeks at home with family and friends. Kevin started his last semester here in Dominica and is ready to finish with a bang. One of our goals before we leave in August is to really explore this beautiful island as much as we can. So we spent our first Saturday back doing an incredible hike, called "7 waterfalls." Kevin and I both agreed that it was our favorite day on the island so far.  

Here is our crew! There were 7 of us and 2 guides that we hired. Without them, we would still be out in that jungle!

Playing in one of the 7 waterfalls 

A lot of our hike was spent walking up the river to get to the falls. Beautiful! 

...and climbing up and down huge boulders

We even got to do a little "cliff" jumping!

These photos don't do it justice. This part of the island was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen, one of God's masterpieces!  I hope these last 3 and a half months hold more memories like these! :)

While Kevin studies for finals, I...

So here we are in the last couple days on the island (for now). Kevin has been working his butt off studying for his final exam tomorrow. Say a prayer for him around 10am our time...that's 7am Cali time! So, needless to say, I have had to find things to do while he's locked up at school. 

So here is what I've been up to...

Adventure one: Beach day at Batibou!

Adventure two: Beach day and dinner at Red Rock!

Adventure three: Wine Cruise!

Adventure four: Meg's baby shower!

Adventure Five: Girl's Night!

...card games, wine, sweet treats, more wine, girl chat!

Adventure Six: Spinning Class!

...I have been teaching spin 3 days a week, so downloading new music for my girls, making new "spin routines," and staying energized for them has been a fun treat for me!

Ok, so that's about all for now! Kevin and I really looking forward to heading home on Thursday and being with our families for Easter weekend. It will be a well deserved break for Kevin. I'm so proud of him. Only one more semester here on the island! 

You know you live on a third world island when...

Ok, I have big news! HUGE! The small town I live in, Picard, just opened it's first grocery store ever! It's not one of those little 7-11 type of markets, either. It's like the ones we love back home...Safeway, Vons, Lucky! Ours is an IGA and it's beautiful with an actual bakery, deli, fresh meat, produce area, and an ICE CREAM section (my favorite part!). 

Just a little excited about the ice cream!

It opened on Tuesday evening and if you didn't know what was happening, you would have thought President Obama was in town. People were roaring and flocking towards the new green building. It was all over everyone's Facebook pages and was (and still is) the talk of the town. It has taken them over a year to build this thing, something that would take less than a month back home. It's very surreal to the students and spouses that have been here the whole time watching it being built. They never thought they would actually see this day. To say the least, we are all pretty excited. I will no longer have to take an hour long transport (taxi) ride into Roseau to get my groceries.  I will simply be able to put on my flip flops and walk about 8 minutes down the road.  :) Life is good.

Happy Birthday to my amazing brother! Love you! Wish I could celebrate this day with you!

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In Light In.

When I got here, I was invited by a few of the girls to get involved with a volunteer program here called In Light In. Not knowing what to expect, I showed up and saw all these beautiful faces...

Once a week, we spend a few hours with these kids from the neighboring town, Portsmouth. We do different things with them, including sports, arts and crafts, and games. They are given a small snack and treat. It's incredible how so little can mean so much to them. Some of them really remind me of the kids I worked with in Kenya last summer. I'm so excited to get to know them better in the upcoming months! They are just another one of the many blessings this place has given me...

Starting to LOVE it!

Life here is pretty unreal. And I'm finally starting to fall in love with it. The transition to "island life" where I didn't know anyone (except Kevin) or anything was scary and challenging. But I'm about to start my 4th week here (time is flying!) and really starting to love it. I've met some awesome people that have made all the difference. And Kevin and I have found a routine that works well for us...when Kevin and I wake up and he goes to study I either relax at home, go to the gym or grab coffee with a girlfriend. Then he comes home for lunch, then back to his studying. In the afternoon I find many ways to fill my time. Then he comes home in the evening for dinner and usually gets a few more hours of studying in before coming back home for some well deserved sleep. It's working well for us. We are actually seeing each other a lot more than I anticipated, which is awesome! I love it! Last week I started teaching a spin/cycling class at the gym, which has been a fun new challenge for me. I'm teaching it 3 days a week. So far, so good! After a fun filled post-midterm week, Kevin is really back to the grind with his studies. We love and miss you all back home, but we are home in 32 days!

I'm so lucky to have her here...

Hey Everyone! Well I can't say enough about how much I have enjoyed having Jen here with me in this experience. She has been so supportive and its great to spend time with her here in Paradise. We have had a great week since my exam on Wednesday. This weekend we had the chance to do a little boat cruise and everyone on the boat had an awesome time.
I have to show some pictures of some of the meals Jen has made for us since she arrived..Some of the best food ever!! Tonight she made Shrimp Lasagna and it was heavenly. Homemade pizza, grilled chicken wraps, and meat sauce spaghetti just to name a few.  We are excited to be back home in a few weeks and share some of our stories about life on the island. Miss you guys. Kevin

Fun at Carnival

Beautiful sunsets

Post-midterm fun

Our week.

This has been a great week. I could write about 4 pages about it, but for our sanity I will keep it short and sweet. On Monday I ventured out with a few girls to the most beautiful beach I've ever seen. We spent the day there hiking down to the water, soaking up the sun, and swimming in the crystal clear water. Tuesday was one of the big days of Carnival here, so a few of us went into Roseau to join in the festivities. Bright costumes. Load music. Pizza hut, too! Wednesday, Kevin took his midterm, so he finally got to play with me! We spent the afternoon at the beach with many friends and Kabuli (Dominican beer...yum) and the evening at the only bar in the town, Champs. This weekend will hold more adventures. Saturday we are going on a boat ride (aka booze cruise) on a catamaran with about 30 other students. It should be a blast! To all of you at home...I love and miss you all!

Just a little trip to the grocery store.

Let me start by saying that I will NEVER take the fact that I live 3 minutes from several grocery stores at home for granted. When I say I took a little trip to the grocery store, I really mean...woke up early to catch the bus into Roseau (the "big" city on the island), rode 50 minutes on a windy and bumpy road, then grocery shopped. However, once Kev and I arrived I was pleasantly surprised. There were all these outdoor markets selling fresh produce and the grocery store was way nicer than I expected. One of the ladies I was with put it perfectly when she said, "Isn't this great! It's a little slice of America!" (There are a few small stores walking distance from our house, but they are way overpriced with very limited selection of goods.) So, overall it was a fun adventure and it was worth the journey. Having some home cooked meals is so great after eating out every meal for 5 days. Tomorrow I am headed to one of the most beautiful beaches on the island with a few of my new friends. I'll let ya know how it goes! Pictures coming soon!

Where are we?

My "roommates"

So one of the toughest parts about moving to a new place is not knowing the people, especially people you live with. Kevin and I live with 3 other guys that are Ross students. I met them briefly when I was here in November, but didn't really get to know them at all. But they are great guys. I'm a lucky girl to be living with such good people. The strange thing is that the boys are not my only roommates. We also have mice and bats, and a friendly cow outside our house. I have yet to see the mice and bats, but we hear them all the time. If I'm not woken up by an alarm clock, it's either the moo of the cow, the flapping of bat wings, or the claws of mice above me in the ceiling. Fantastic.

The first few days...

So here we go, my first blog! It's now Thursday afternoon, so I've been here for almost 3 full days. It's been interesting adjusting to everything. But I'm having a great time and love being here. So far, the best part is simply being able to see Kevin in person (not behind a "skype" screen) every day. He has a big exam next week, so our time together has been limited. But we try to make every second count. I have met some great people already. One of Kevin's friends here is married and he got his wife and I in touch before I came. So it was nice to kind of know someone before coming. She is great. I am a part of a small Bible study group with her and a group of 5 other amazing ladies. I'm really excited to get to know them better. The food situation has been tough so far because I have not had time to go grocery shopping yet. (It's a 45 minute bus ride into the capital city) So every meal has been out, except for the Cliff bars for breakfast that I brought with me. Thanks Costco! The shopping trip will take place Saturday morning...I'll let you know how that goes...I think that's all for now! Love and miss you all :) -Jen