Day Two

So I'm in the Caribbean! It was quite a journey to get here. First, I went to IAD with my mom and dad. My ticket would not scan on the little self-scanner machine though. I asked the nice lady at the counter what the problem was and she then proceeded to tell me that my flight was out of Richmond! I had a small panic attack and then they told me they would be able to switch my flight so I could fly out of IAD.

After I got on the plane and we got out on the landing area, the flight delayed 45 minutes. I only had an hour in between flights so that was a bit of a problem (bring on the second small spaz attack!). I finally arrived in Charlotte and my next flight was delayed by about an hour so I was good. I got some breakfast and waited to board my plane.

I arrived in St. Maarten and had a four hour layover. I read "The Time Traveler's Wife" by Audrey Niffenegger and I actually finished it. I cried in the end of the book so I must have looked like a total weirdo in the airport. Never the less, my next flight arrived and I got on a third and final plane to St. Eustatius. It's a 19 passenger plane and there is very little legroom, armroom, or anything-room really. The flight started out a bit rough, the middle was decent, and the end of the flight was turbulent, but I made it!

When I got back to the garden, Jean had prepared tacos for all of us. They were delicious. I unpacked my stuff and then went to bed. In the morning, I had training with Claire. We went around the garden talking about all the plants and then she began to show me how to use a weed whacker. Joe came back to the garden and had cut his hand up so Claire helped him get cleaned up and then Sarah finished the weed whacker demo. It was fun! I really like whacking weeds down now.

I did a bit of weed whacking today in the fruit garden. The grass was really tall so I got to whack a lot of stuff down. It was really cool, I got grass all over myself and accomplished quite a bit.

Now, I'm down at the office preparing for my first day of Junior Rangers. The kids will come in from school and learn all about the different parts of STENAPA (St. Eustatius National Parks). I'm not sure what we are going to be doing today but I've got silly bands and I'm excited to pass them out!

Two Days Left!

I have only two sleeps and a wake up until I'm off on my journey to the Caribbean. I had a great weekend. On Friday, I went to Brusters (for the last time for six months!) with my family. Saturday, I got snorkel gear with my daddy and then saw "Red" with my mom and dad. Today I went to church with my whole family and then we went to Target (no more Target for six months!) and Sonic (Sonic too!). After we got home, I packed my bags...for the most part. I've got about 100 pounds worth of stuff but it's all things I will need and use on my trip, lots of sunscreen and bug spray, a few can openers too. :]

I'm excited to go back. Here's some more photos!

One of the main roads in Statia. 

Treasures I found on a trip to Crook's Castle.

A few of the kids in Summer Club. They were using my camera to take pictures of each other.

The kids playing in the Childrens' Garden during Summer Club. I can't wait to see them! 

Ashley hanging out with some of the kids on the Signal Hill hike.

The kitchen at the garden.

Delicious avocado and tuna sushi we had one night.

7 Days Left!

Well time just keeps ticking away. Only seven days until I'm in the Caribbean. Technically six, because by next Tuesday morning I will be on a plane on the way there. I'm praying there will be no hurricanes or tropical storms because that would just be no fun on that little island hopper.

Today, I went shopping with my grandmother to get some supplies for my trip. I suppose tomorrow I should start packing my bags!

Last night I dreamt about blue beads. I was picking them up by the handful. I had so many I couldn't carry anymore. So I set them down on a table and organized them by color and by how much wear and tear they had. It was all very exciting until some random lady showed up in my dream and took my very favorite one! The rest of the dream was spent chasing her around trying to get it back. So much for not thinking about blue beads! At least it wasn't in waking consciousness :]

And some more photos for your enjoyment!

A nice sunset over the bay. And a little tiny plane going by overhead :]

We had a dress night. Left to right: Little Ashley, Big Ashley, Katja, Me, Claire, Sarah, Alli, and Makyee

Some of the kids making turtles in Turtle Club. Anna (left) is helping them.

12 Days To Go!

My departure is fast approaching. It's amazing how time flies when you're busy. I've filled my time with two jobs, one class, and some photography appointments.

This post is going to be about the elusive blue bead. It's a tiny little thing and yet it occupies much of my waking thought.

The blue bead dates back to the days of the Dutch East India Trading Company. They were used as a currency by the slaves and as a form of barter, it is said that Manhattan was purchased from the Indians using blue beads. They are five-sided and many of the beads were stored on Statia. When the slaves were freed, many of them through the beads off the cliffs.

Image from: http://www.statiatourism.com/articlebluebeads.html

Most everyone says, you don't find a blue bead, it finds you. And once you find one it is a sign that you will return to the island again and again.

So here's to putting thoughts of the blue bead behind and waiting for one to find me :]

Image from: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGkhitmrqdUjWRtezR6-5F2nDVb3ZxZ-L7GXxeBPPywrXanK50gZi0YT0pYZtW_n1uCXyuMH8DrquYauYqTG-s0QHgaqwdaNEPrbKh7AReT6ytLIuwHK6ggHGV6Nd19ha62zPVBMDeyFx7/s320/IMG_6876.jpg

23 Days to Go!

Today, I wanted to post a few more pictures and tell you a little bit more about the island.

Many, many years ago St. Eustatius was a huge trading center and as many as 20,000 people lived on the island. That's a huge amount of people compared to the 3,500 people that live there today. Benjamin Franklin had his mail routed through the island on its way to the Americas from Europe. This tiny island also had a major hand in the formation of the United States of America. An American ship sailed into the harbor in 1776 (the year our nation was created) and fired off a 13-gun salute. St. Eustatius fired back, acknowledging the United States of America as a sovereign nation. They were the first nation to recognize the United States as independent from Britain. That was incredibly interesting to me when I found that out, they definitely didn't teach me that in middle school! 

So those are my little facts for the day. Now for some more photos!

This is the fort. It is on a cliff overlooking the bay. 

This is Crook's Castle. This is a place where you can find blue beads. There will be a whole blog entry devoted to this subject later. :]

This is Corre Corre (Corey Corey). It's a beautiful beach on the Atlantic side of the island.

This is my view of the Quill, from the garden. It is an extinct volcano with an intact crater on the island. The hike up there is beautiful and the view of the inside of the crater is awesome.

That's all for now! Hope you enjoyed the post and maybe even learned something :]