And a happy v-day to you too!

What week am I in? Is this week 6 or 7? Nope, definitely week 7 which means I'm HALFWAY DONE with Vet Prep! In honor of Valentine's Day, my OL group did a secret valentine exchange.

Proof that you CAN bake with the toaster ovens provided-
may look messy, but they turned out delicious.

My friend's Valentine's gift! Fresh picked flowers
and a bottle of sauvignon blanc.

We all got pretty creative with our gifts, ranging from wine to handpicked flowers to Double-Stuffed Oreos and Hershey's Kisses (thanks Christina!!) to cheesecakes to cute handmade Valentine's pictures taped on all of our doors. A few girls and I wanted to celebrate a bit further, so we went over to the Marriott for some R&R by the pool. We only spent about 4-5 hours there, but the experience only solidified why having your own transportation is almost crucial on St. Kitts.

Not the best picture, but hey, we were all jumping
around the entire time.

     We had contacted a local taxi to take us over to the Marriott and told him we would call him when he should come and pick us up. The drivers' rates are variable- it costs $20EC (about $8 US) per total ride, but some drivers have you pay $10 EC for the ride there and for the ride back while some just have you pay upfront or when you get back to Ross. Anyways, we each paid all of our money when we got to the Marriott which was a bad idea overall.

    We called the guy around 4:00 who told us that he would come and get us at 4:45.  He didn't show up. We called him at 5:00, he said he would only be a few more minutes. We called him again around 5:20, he said that he was right around the corner. As soon after we called our fellow VP friend to come and get us, he showed up saying that fellow students had wasted his time which why he was late. In any case, it didn't matter- we were still late getting home. Normally it wouldn't be such a big deal, but we were with a first semester friend who had to be back by 5:30 so she could walk her kennel dogs. It is part of your grade for 1st semester to walk your dog(s) on time, and you can only walk them at certain times throughout the day. We didn't get back to campus until 6:00. Moral of the story- make sure you research your taxi drivers. There are about two who really respect students and understand their time constraints- figure them out and you'll be ok.

   So after that, a few of my other friends went to a free concert celebrating the opening of St. Christopher's Harbor. The opening act was a local reggae guy named Banky Banks (who was pretty fun!) But the real fun and headliner- Darius Rucker. And it was free. He sang most of his top charting songs, both from his solo career and a few Hootie and the Blowfish songs, and most of us students were only about 30 feet from the stage. It was honestly one of the best concerts I have ever been to, and it was just another reminder that life on St. Kitts is not as different as that in Pittsburgh.

I leave you with this gorgeous parting gift. Until next week!

Happy almost mid-semester break from yours truly at the Marriott on St. Kitts!