Moved in

January 03, 2013

So, I am all moved into my dorm. It’s nicer than I thought – it has the set-up of an actual apartment as opposed to feeling like student housing. I love that my building sits on a hill because it gives me a great view of the town below as well as the ocean and the mountains. I also love that I am in the newer building and that my roommates are all girls.

After moving in, we went for a walk down to see the university itself. We ran into Nation, the IT guy for Saba University, and he was nice enough to give us a mini-orientation. He talked to us about the importance of discipline you need to have to succeed in the program and also how important it is to have a strong support system. He let us into the testing center and into the main classroom so we could get a feel of where we want to sit on our first day. He answered any questions we had and it was great to get a feel of the campus.

My newest friend Brenda, who I have spent the past couple days with, happens to know a lot about different fruits and flowers and all that so it has made going out for walks and exploring even more interesting. We’ve picked and eaten guava, lime, and mangos. We’ve also seen trees with coconuts, pomegranate, and many others that were either too far to grab or that I just don’t remember the name of.

It is morning as I type this and I can hear a rooster, birds chirping, many wild goat sounds, and some sort of Caribbean music. The rain clouds are coming in, so there is a cool breeze, but still warm enough for shorts and a t-shirt. Although the views and the sun are great during the day, I discovered that I love it here in the evening. The combination of sounds from all the birds and other animals is soothing.

Yesterday it was such a clear day that we could see the neighbouring islands from here. From the town of Windwardside, I could see St. Maarten/St. Martin, St. Barth’s (which they call the St. Tropez of the Caribbean), and St. Eustatius (which the locals nickname ‘Statia’). Along the drive to The Bottom (the capital of Saba and the town that the university is in), I could see St. Eustatius again, but also St. Kitt’s and Nevis.

I met my first roommate – Beverly! She arrived this morning and she is moving in now. I am hoping to make it down to see the water and maybe go swimming within the next few days before classes start. Here are a few pics to illustrate the info in this blog!

Love,
Kimberly

Smallest plane ever