St. Lucia : Last week in February

Tuesday was Tanya’s birthday so after school we went with Jen to Smuggler’s Cove. It was seriously gorgeous there! I got even more excited when I found out that this was the location in which part of the Bachelor was filmed. If you know me, I’m a pretty big Bachelor fan and yes I still follow and make bets on it even from far away. We got a drink and enjoyed our time there. Afterwards Jen dropped us at home and we left shortly after to try out Spice of India (number 1 on tripadvisor). I will say though that I was not impressed. The serving sizes were small and it was very pricey. However, the food was good and I’m glad we were at least able to try it out. A birthday is a good excuse to treat yourself.

After school on Wednesday, Abby and I rushed home to quickly eat. We then headed off to piano before the 6:30 Lenten service. After the service we finished up piano and I had my guitar lesson before heading home. By the time we arrived home it was past 9:30 and I was exhausted and ready for bed. What a long day!

Thursday was another long day, but I was happy and excited that our workshop after school ended before 5. This meant that for the first time all week I can finally have a relaxing night.

Friday was an interesting day. School for the most part was normal, with the exception of practicing for sports day. In 2 weeks sports day will occur and each of the students participate in different events in which they have to practice. I’m starting to realize how exhausted I will be after that day.

Friday afternoon Karen and Mike (our landlords) came over and while Mike worked on the fridge, we chatted with them about different things to do on the island. Abby and I then headed to Jade Terrace where we had delicious Chinese food. Unlike Spice of India, the portions were big and reasonably priced. I will be going back again, but next time I think Abby and I will share a meal. Afterwards we met Casey and Kerne to take the bus to Mega J’s where we met Pastor to get a ride to church. While waiting to get on a bus, there was a fight between some of the bus drivers because one of the bus drivers pulled into the wrong area. It caused Abby and I a bit of anxiety, but we were okay and nothing came of it. The topic at CIA was patriotism and it was interesting to learn a bit more about St. Lucia. CIA finished up and Pastor Bram brought us back to Rodney Bay where Abby and I headed to Keebees with Casey and Kerne. We were pretty excited when another table bought us a drink. While it turned into a late night, we enjoyed our time out with the guys. It’s been awhile.

Saturday morning came early when I was woken up by the sun at 7:30, however I was able to sleep in until at least 9 after I put my sleep mask on so that was a little better. We spent out morning planning our spring break trip. After coming up with our basic plan we went to the beach where we made friends with some of the workers from the local hotel. It had been raining so we went under the umbrella of the hotel. Once the rain got a little lighter the security guard came over and thinking he was going to kick us out from under their umbrellas we told him that we were visiting, which was followed up by questions about what we had done and where we planned on going. We had quite the story going for the 2 workers and another guy on the beach about our "vacation" in St. Lucia. On the plus side, the hotel worker offered us free drinks and we enjoyed a nice and relaxing time on the beach. If only we could get free drinks every time we were on the beach. On our way back from the beach we stopped at the supermarket and then headed home to eat, shower and finish booking our trip. I’m excited to announce that we will be spending 4 days in Barbados over our Easter break. Ahh!!!

Sunday morning started off with my alarm going off at 5:30. While this was quite early to wake up, I would say it was worth it. Abby, Tanya, Darnelle, and I did the colour run this morning. This was the 2^nd colour run that I have done, but vastly different from the one I did back in Minnesota. I would say it was a very cultural experience. While the race was supposed to start promptly at 6:30, it of course did not fully get under way until a little after 7. Not too bad for St. Lucia! The girls and I had previously decided we were going to walk the color run. We followed behind a truck that was blaring soca music. The music was great and definitely kept us going, however it kept everyone else moving at a snail’s pace. The color run/walk turned into more of a dance down the road. The color throwing zones were a bit different as well with only about 3 workers or so throwing color at the runners. At the end the color party had only 1 big color throw as they threw out all of the extras for that one throw. There was lots of music and dancing, but the DJ kept stopping songs in the middle and switching to a new one. I think he just liked hearing his own voice. Overall the color run was good and fun, with lots of students from school involved, but I’m uncertain as to if I would do it again here. We ended too late to get to church, so instead we came home, showered, ate, napped, and had an extremely lazy Sunday at home.