Steel drums, barracuda, and urachus...

All is well here in sunny St. Kitts. The cruise ships have begun to arrive, and with them all of the crazy tourists. I've seen more gaudy t-shirts, floppy hats, and cameras in the past week than in the whole of my life combined. Despite the crowding and occasional chaos that the tourists bring, the island itself seems to have woken up, and all of the fun shops, crafts, and performers are out and about, which makes for a fabulous time.

Although all of this excitement is going on outside, I have been spending the majority of my time inside, studying away. Our second round of exams started last week, and for the most part it blends into our third round of exams, so there will be no break until, well, Christmas vacation! Fortunately, I have had a few chances to go out and take advantage of the island, and have found a few places where I can study to steel drum bands and calypso music. Good times :)

I also FINALLY went snorkling again yesterday, and adventured to a new place recommended by a 6th semester friend. He failed to mention the schools of barracuda that live in the area, which I had never seen before and kind of a had hoped never to see, but they were beautiful and scary all at the same time, and I was happy when the swam away. Kate, Kara and I adventured around the area and saw squid, octopus, fish of all shapes, sizes, and colors, and are hoping the next time we go out there that the barracuda will give way enough for us to check out the shipwreck further down the beach.

Otherwise, things here continue as normal. My lizard (yet to be named) still lives in my A/C and turns it off at random, Sydney continues to love the beach and now will jump out passed the waves to swim, my books are starting wear thin from all of the page flipping, and my notecard collection has grown to mildly obscene. I actually get cold at 75 degrees (I am going to die when I come home for winter!), and the hurricane season seems to finally be at a close.

Pictures from snorkling are on the way, I am getting them developed and onto CD tomorrow (if they can do that here...).

Also, I will be back in the states for Christmas, and would love to see folks! I will be in Boston Dec. 18th-20th, New Hampshire Dec. 30th-Jan 1st, and in Brooklyn all of the time in between. Let me know what you are up to, so I can catch up with as many people as possible while I am home!

Cheers from the Caribbean!