Island Adventures

I had such a wonderful weekend with good friends from Miami. Meghan and Brittany came Friday night for a visit in the Cayman Islands. I'm almost certain that they fell in love and want to find a job and move here.

On Saturday we spent the morning on the beach, then off to Stingray city on Captain Marvin's tour boat. What an adventure. The stingrays were huge and not shy at all. They walked up to us as we were feeding them. I must have given away about 10 kisses. Each kiss is worth 7 years of good luck. To say the least, I think I'll have many, many years of good luck. Thankfully I got my underwater camera working before our trip. We spent Saturday night on the dock in Georgetown watching the sun set and drinking Buccanero (my new favorite Cuban beer). After that we went for some karaoke and then late night swimming in the pool.

Sunday was a restful day. We went for a casual bbq with our very own Captain Phil, then tucked into bed early. It was hard waking up on Monday and saying goodbye to my friends. I love having visitors and can't wait until the next ones come and experience the island life!

Well this time of year has finally come again and I had my first day of school yesterday. After a busy week preparing, I was able to teach my class of 11 for the first time! It's amazing the backgrounds that these kids have and the experiences they have had throughout the past few years. I have an extremely diverse class: 1 from Ireland, 1 from Argentina, 1 from Germany, 1 from France, 1 from South Africa, 2 from England, 2 from Canada, 1 from Grand Cayman, and only 1 from the states. Of these 11 students, only 4 are girls. We'll have to stick together throughout the year.

The first day went well. I gave a math pretest for the first unit and had 95% of my class score an "A" or above, so there will be a definite need for enrichment. It's amazing the amount of work they can finish in a whole day too. I'm definitely working with students who will need that extra challenge this year.

The students are expected to wear their uniforms each day and can't go outside if they don't have their hat. This helps prevent some of the sunburns since the heat is so bad. Fortunately for me, teachers can wear whatever they want as long as it adheres to the school dress code.

I'm trying to get back into the routine of things. I was extremely exhausted yesterday afternoon but trucked through it and didn't take my nap. I was in bed by 9 p.m. and up this morning by 5:30 a.m. This might be the new norm for me since I'm able to get more work done in the morning. We'll see how that goes.

Some quick pictures from another trip to Rum Point. We ate, sunned, and snorkeled the whole day.

We spent a wonderful day in Georgetown today.

It all started at a beachside restaurant called Hammerheads. We shared a few appetizers and a bucket of Bucannero (our new favorite beer from Cuba), which you can't get in the U.S. After lunch, we set our bags down, grabbed our snorkel gear and went snorkeling in the harbor right off the ladder from the restaurant we ate at. We swam out about 100 feet to a shipwreck. It was pretty amazing. The visibility was about 100 feet and you could see all the way to the bottom. Huge tarpon swam by as we were exploring the wreck.

After the shipwreck, we swam over to the reef and were instantly surrounded by hundreds of fish. The beauty of being surrounded by fish that were nearly an inch away from your face was quite the rush. Pictures to come soon! The variety of fish was also unbelievable. The colors were extensive and it was a sight to see.

The next stop on our GT list was Paradise restaurant for a quick Pina Colada, then the water trampoline. Paradise has this huge trampoline over the water that they allow their customers to swim out to and jump on. It's pretty crazy jumping on a trampoline over water and feeling the water splash through the netting at your feet as you're jumping. After quite a bit of jumping time, we all just laid down and sunned for a while in the middle of the harbour!

Lastly, we did a quick walking tour of GT. Made a stop at Margaritaville to swim in their pool and slide down their water slide. It was a good day in GT!

It's official, we have found our favorite place on the island: The Dog House. They have it all. Tuesday night trivia, Wednesday night $0.25 wings, $1.25 pints on Thirsty Thursday, and even a free buffet and $2 rum and pops on Friday. We have become "regulars" and frequent this sports pub about twice a week. Food on the island is not cheap, but if you know the specials at particular places and the day of the week to go, then you're golden.

One of the most interesting thing about The Dog House is their "Eat the Wall" challenge. It's a burger eating contest. The size of the burger started at 2lbs and once the first person finished that in under 60 minutes, then he/she got his/her name on the wall. After each person beats the previous weight of the last burger eaten, then they increase the weight of the burger by 1/2 pound. We got the opportunity to watch someone try the 5lb burger challenge. Coincidentally, it actually turned out to be the husband of a teacher at our school. It's such a small island that you run into people you know all the time.

Well it's almost that time again-WNDC goes out for Round 2 tomorrow.

It's ironic that the two biggest clubs on the island both meet on Wednesday nights. Along with the WNDC, there is also the WNRC (Wednesday Night Running Club). The running club is a good way to train for the Cayman Islands marathon, half marathon, 10k, and 5k races that will take place on December 5th. I'm still undecided as to whether or not I'm planning on signing up for it, but it's a definite possibility if school doesn't take up too much time.

Back to WNDC...it was quite interesting. The club met at 7:30, but in island time that means they don't actually leave until 10-ish or so (I'm starting to realize that island time is a real thing). The bar that the club met at was called "The Attic." As soon as we walked in, we noticed about 4-5 beerpong tables and a decent amount of young, medical students playing. They were playing with Heineken, which is pretty hardcore.

Three buses arrived around 10, right after they passed out some jello shots. We quickly loaded the bus and it took no time for me to meet our driver, Dennis. Imagine a tall, dark, very muscular, bodyguard-like Jamaican who had a bit of road rage. You know what they say about Jamaicans and their driving. He definitely made the ride seem like a roller coaster (great, just what we need when we're drinking!)!

Our first stop was at the Cracked Conch right on the ocean. Our WNDT fee of $10 included the bus ride and a free shot at each of the three places we stopped. I think we probably had about 3 free shots at our first stop. It's hard to resist the islanders as they are walking around with a tray full of shots and keep telling you, "no prob mon, you have a ride."

Our next stop was Calico Jacks, again on the ocean. CJ's is known for their parties on the beach when it's full moon. They are supposed to be the biggest beach dance party on the island. I'll report back once we have our first full moon.

Our last stop was at "The Jungle." I think our shot consisted of some Jungle Juice that tasted somewhat similar to Jager. Now if you've ever tried jager before, then you know it's something that tastes like someone squeezed straight out of a fruit that one might find in the jungle (yes, it's that terrible). The place was decorated with vines draping from the building and stuffed jungle animals hiding among the trees.

WNDC was a good way to meet new people, enjoy some drinks for a fairly inexpensive price, and have transportation from bar to bar. It's definitely something that will be short-lived after school starts, but for now, it is a good Wed. night tradition!

It's true, you can always find a little bit of "home" wherever you go. I've managed to find my comforts of home two ways so far:

1) The beyond annoying chickens that roam outside my apartment door and cock-a-doodle-doo at 5am each morning. I can only hope that when I'm at the grocery store and buy chicken with the "local meat" sticker that the Caymanians are doing us all a favor and trying to decrease this chicken population.

Less chickens=more sleep=happier people on the island

2) Any southern gal knows that a thrilling bull ride is the way to a good country heart. One would think that I based my apartment choice on which location had a mechanical bull, but it was actually a complete surprise when I saw it there the other night. Supposedly there is only one on the island and the different places host it about once a month.

Two teachers on the bull at once=entertaining.

Three teachers on the bull at once=a mess on the ground about 0.2 seconds later!

Bull pictures to come soon!

As a way to "adjust" to the island life and meet new people, we have decided to join the WNDT. Here's a clip from their website discussing what they are all about:

The WNDC (Wednesday Night Drinking Club) is a great way to meet new people (usually a mix of tourists, locals and students). It costs CI$25 to join and includes a t-shirt, wristband and drink specials. Meets every Wednesday at 7:30pm at The Attic and typically visits three local bars and ends up at the O-Bar at 11pm. Transport is provided for free.

Luckily for us, Attic and O-Bar are the two closest bars on either side of T.I. so it's a quick, 5 minute walk to get there and home. I'll report back after we check it out.

Shiver me timbers! Today brought a whole new meaning to the David Shannon "How I Became A Pirate" book. As soon as we boarded the Jolly Roger's pirate themed booze cruise, I quickly learned that there are 2 main things that pirates do/say.

First, you have to like grog (rum). And I'm not talking about a splash of grog in your drink. They mix about 2 parts grog with 1 part punch to make their deadly punch. How else do you think the pirates get all of that hair on their chest? Argggggg!

Secondly, you have to learn the pirate lingo. Just throw in a few "arrgggs" and "scalliwags" and make sure you drop your endings, ye hear? It would probably help to use a rough and tough voice, too. Oh and ladies, you need to be ok with being called a "wench." Just think to yourself that it's about the same as a nice gentleman calling you beautiful...

Now, one might ask what happens to someone who doesn't abide by the pirate rules? It was immediately obvious that they have zero tolerance for "lubbers" (people who spend their time on the land). Well that's when they FORCE you to walk the plank. Yes, those childhood nightmares that you used to get from watching Peter Pan are real. And the pirates definitely don't play around.

On the otherhand, they were nice enough to feed us some grub and instead of throwing away our chicken bones, we threw them out to sea. A positive person might think that this is to feed the wonders of the ocean, but those tricky pirates are smart. They are just attracting the sharks for when someone "gets the boot," or walks the plank.

It wasn't long before we won over our B.W.I. (British West Indies) pirates. It might have been that we showed them how to fish with just a line and a chicken wing attached on the end. Or maybe it was the fact that we introduced them to Ludacris and the newest hip-hop dance moves. Now you want to talk about crazy...imagine pirates seeing "how low they can go" after a few rum punches.

To say the least, I think it's safe to claim that by the end of our adventure at sea, we were truly pirates. We drank the pirate's blood a few times to prove it. Don't worry, pirate's blood is a mixed shot of rum, red wine, and a splash of rum punch. They even trusted us enough to let us shoot off the canon...ahoy mateys!

I went on a mission today to find the highly Endangered Grand Cayman Blue Iguana. In 2002, there were left than 20 left in the world. The Cayman Island wildlife conservation fund started a massive recovery program, that has allowed them to release over 40 iguanas back in the wild at the Queen Elizabeth II Botanical Gardens. Now there are over 219 captive-bred blues. It's not mating season for the lizards right now, but they become bright blue during the season.

I was able to spot 2 blues today. The first one was hidden in a forest-like area, but came out of the woods and perched himself in the middle of the trail as if he was staking his ground. He was massive! I'm talking about a 4 foot long lizard (tail included) that wouldn't budge out of the walkway. His blue coloring wasn't too obvious, except for on his face. It looks like the blue color will be more pronounced after he sheds his skin.

The second one I spotted was perched up in a tree about 7 ft high. He appeared more blue than the first. He, too, needed a good shedding. His coat shimmered in the sun and reflected the blue from the sky. I can definitely see why the caymans love these lizards.

So I broke down and bought a new camera today. Yes, before you tell me that I'm obsessed with taking pictures and have an addiction for buying cameras, let me tell you all of the reasons WHY I NEEDED THIS CAMERA!

1) The water here is so clear (some places have a visibility up to 100 ft), that I needed a camera that had underwater capabilities.

2) I need a durable camera that can withstand the beach conditions...sand, water, rain.

3) I've been so good at holding off on buying a car that I might as well reward myself with a camera.

4) I wouldn't be able to take all of these fabulous pictures to put on my blog if I didn't have a camera.

Ok, are you convinced yet? Check out the underwater pictures I took and maybe that will seal the deal for you.

Wow, I've spent 10 years driving on the right side of the road and today I took a ride on the wild side and explored the pleasures of driving on the left side of the road. I rented a bright yellow car for the day and went exploring on the east end of the island.

I didn't realize how comfortable I was driving on the right side of the road until I went to get into my rental car and went to the wrong side of the car. Yep, it was a right side steering mount, so I looked like a goofball not knowing what way to enter the car. I'm sure I looked even more crazy when I was driving with my windshield wipers on in the middle of complete sunlight. Every time I went to turn my blinker on, it was actually the wipers. That happened quite a few times. The Caymans also have alot of round-a-bouts that took a while to adjust to. Thankfully the locals were patient and realized that I was an "out of towner."

It was a beautiful drive to the east end of the island. I drove along the shore the whole way and had a great time "oohing" and "awhhing" over all of the amazing houses on the beaches. Most of the houses are named and the streets have pretty darn cute names too. Lime Lane, Coconut Creek, Rum Point, Niceville, and Turtle Bay are a few of the names.

The other side of the island was peaceful. It's more "country" and less populated. There are less tourists and everyone waves as you drive by. It's kinda like you're in an old-school movie. The furthest point is called "Rum Point." Legend has it that Rum Point earned its name from the barrels of rum that would wash up on the shore when rum smuggling schooners ran into trouble at sea. It's basically a little slice of heaven! I can definitely see myself going to the east end on the weekends.

So I'm going exploring in the Botanical Gardens tomorrow. I'm on a hunt to spot and photograph the Cayman Blue Iguana. In the early 2000's these iguanas were on the highly endangered list and there were less than 20 left in the world. They started a rehabilitation program and now there are over 100 left, most of them found at the Botanical Gardens. We have green and brown iguanas that run around the island, but they are actually considered to be "pests." I still think they are beautiful and can't take enough pictures of them. I actually saw one scaling the side of a huge building kinda like Spiderman.

The other teachers are coming to the island starting on Sunday, so I'm sure I'll have more pictures soon. I've waiting to explore some of the water sports until they get here. I'm actually buying an underwater camera tomorrow. I figured it would be a good investment since everything here is so watersport-based. Ok, that is actually just an excuse for me to buy another camera.

I'm not sure what is in the water here, but since I've been in the Caymans I have been super productive. I've read 3 amazing books, and can't wait until the afternoon showers stop so I can make a quick walk to the nearest bookstore and pick up a couple more books. I have the last book left in the Percy Jackson series and am currently reading "A Long Way Home." I just saw the preview for "Eat, Pray, Love" and can't wait to read the book before the movie comes out. There is something relaxing about reading on the beach!

I haven't ventured out too much from this area of the island. I can't wait to explore stingray city, the botanical gardens, the pirate caves, rum point, the sister island, and even learn to dive. Many of the "new" teachers at my school are coming at the first of August so I'm using a little self-control and waiting on some of these activities so we can all explore together. It's also nice to enjoy some me-time. I've been doing some art, like we did in Spain. I'll have to take some pictures and post it on here. I'm becoming quite the island artist! Maybe I can make some side money and sell it on the beaches (haha).

One of my new goals for my new home is to try and actually save some money. I'm planning on visiting the bestie in S. Korea for winter break, so I need some moo-la for the plane ticket. As an attempt to save money, I've limited my number of "eat-out/delivery" days to one per week. So far, so good! I've been making trips to the grocery store and actually buying "healthy" foods. Gotta get that beach bod! Anyways, my meal that I ate out today was jerk chicken with black beans and rice. Many of local dishes here are Jamaican since they were some of the first inhabitants of the island. Mmm, was it delicious. Oh, and I tried the BEST cupcake of my life today as my reward for saving money! The cake part was somewhat heavy and half was vanilla and half was a light guava flavor. The best part was the icing...mmm, delicious. Imagine a little piece of heaven in your mouth. It was fresh and homemade and delicious!

I allotted today my "taking care of business" day. Ms. Nimmi picked me up and took me to Cayman International for a tour of my new school. I immediately fell in love. The campus is gorgeous and my classroom is even better. I'm going to be teaching 3rd grade and my room is on the 2nd floor. I have full sized windows lining the walls, which will make a good view as I'm teaching. The other 3rd grade teacher, Jill, will be right next door and we have an office connecting our rooms. I have an old-school black board, a white board, two bulletin boards, and a SmartBoard in my room. The average class size is about 15, which was a relief to hear. The school also has some amazing sports facilities. There is an olympic sized swimming pool on campus, soccer fields, a gymnastics/dance room, full science lab, music room, and a breath-taking cafeteria. There are 3 local restaurants that cater the school lunches so my stomach of steel will probably no longer be needed. I'm very excited for pre-planning to start and can't wait to set up my new classroom.

I also got a cell phone today. I'm starting with a pre-paid plan (since I'm not really making many calls right now) and will eventually change to a monthly plan once school starts and I'm using my phone more frequently. My new number is 345-328-5758. I will be using the school's mailing address, so my new address is P.O. Box 31364, Grand Cayman KY1-1206.

The last order of business that I took care of today was getting my driver's license. I had to wait in this obnoxiously long line that appeared to get longer and longer the more I was waiting. It was a pretty easy process...I had to show my passport with the work permit stamp and then show that I had a full license back in the states. You might notice that my birthday on my license is different. It's because here in the Caymans they write dates by putting days first, so when I put 9-2-84 as my birthday, they typed it up and printed it as my birthday being February 9th, 1984. I guess this just gives me an excuse to celebrate twice!

Now that I have a license my next order of business is buying a car. I've been looking at a few used ones (that seems to be what everyone drives here), but can't really move forward with that process until I have a bank account opened. It's typical that my bank made a mistake on my reference letter, which is prolonging the process. I'm actually enjoying the exercise that I'm getting from walking around the SMB area and might wait until the beginning of September before I make any major moves and buy a car. I guess it can be a birthday present to myself!

I can't believe I'm actually writing this blog from my new home in the Caymans. I arrived early on Tuesday afternoon to the very small and unique Cayman airport. As soon as I stepped off the plane there was a local band playing reggae music. I immediately fell in love with the island life.

Ms. Nimmi, the vice-principal of my new school, picked me up from the airport and drove me to my apartment. I quickly unpacked the one suitcase and backpack that I brought to the island and ran out to the beach to explore. On my way out to the beach I ran into quite a few iguanas. They definitely startled me to death. I always remembered my brother having these lizards as pets, but never imagined that I would be living with these huge monsters running around everywhere. Thankfully they scurry up the nearest tree as soon as people are approaching them.

The beach outside my apartment is absolutely breathtaking. In the far distance to the left you can see all of the cruise ships that are at port for the day and to the right you can see a line of hotels where vacationers are enjoying "paradise." Most of the beaches are pretty rocky and great spots for snorkeling. The next major buys that I'm going to have to invest in are definitely a mask and snorkel and an underwater camera.

The past few months have been extremely hectic as I've been trying to find a place to call "home" in the Caymans. It's hard to find something without actually being familiar with the area. I've done quite a bit of research and have finally made the decision to live at Treasure Island for my first month in the Caymans. Treasure Island is a hip resort on the beach. Yes, I said, "on the beach." They offer both short-term rentals for vacationers, as well as long-term rentals for newbie locals like myself.

I have decided to sign a 2-month lease at Treasure Island as I explore my new paradise and if something else pops up, then I will always be able to change locations. Some of the "selling" points of staying at TI include: an all-inclusive package that includes a weight room to help keep me bikini fit, a beachfront studio apartment on SMB (Seven Mile Beach), and my very own swim up bar for those extra hard days teaching. I hope this luxurious apartment on the beach will help convince any of you to come visit my paradise. You're always welcome!

My final move date is Tuesday, July 13th. This will give me enough time to settle in before I start school on August 20th. I can't believe that it's a little over a month away...

Wow, can August come any quicker? There isn't a day that passes since I signed my contract to teach in the Cayman Islands that I don't think to myself, "I wish I was on my tropical island right now."

My seven year run here in Gainesville has been fabulous; I've met many friends, made an impact on the lives of the students I teach, and even managed to celebrate the Gators winning several national championships. My next 4 months here will be bittersweet. I will always have a soft spot in my heart for William's Elementary and am sad to leave my students. On the other hand, I can't wait to start a new adventure in my life and get even more life experiences. I've always dreamed of teaching in a different country, and I feel like I'm finally making this dream become reality.