Stay off the road, Rachel is driving!

Stay off the streets... Rachel is getting behind the wheel...

So drove on St kitts for the first time. It was quite possibly one of the most nerve wracking experiences ive had in the recent past. i have to say though, i only almost killed us once :)

to be completely honest, I had no intention of driving that night night. I was handed the keys and told to go. Not that it really makes a difference I guess. I'm thinking I may have been better off driving during the day though, not at 9pm in a place where there are very few lights.

Mistake #1 i tried getting in on the wrong side of the car. Here, the drivers side is on the right. note to self, getting into a car on the wrong sign doesnt look good... especially when your sober.

Mistake #2 I tried to put the car in reverse and reached out with my right hand. Note to self, center console is in the center, not outside the door.

So Now I'm off and running, so to speak. I'm doing my best to stay on the left side of the narrow road without falling into the huge ghauts that drain the water. for a while I get the hang of it. things were twisty and turny and dark, but not too bad.

Mistake #3 I attempt to put on my directional/blinker and I promtly turn on the windshield wipers instead. Note to self - have we noticed a trend here yet, everything is reversed!

Mistake #4 I go to make an easy right, and slip into NY mode. I make my right without looking.... bad move. Oncoming traffic is on the right side of the road, and for just a moment I blanked on it and reverted (again) back to driving in the US. Luckily I hit the gas and sped out of the way.

All and all, we got to the Marriott safe and sound. I was fully convinced that I wuld never be allowed to drive again. My friend said that she'll change the oil before she lends the car to me next week. Sweet deal!

I blew on what?

I have made a stunning development in Carribbean living over the past few days.. I have learned how to sound/blow a conch. It really is as simple as putting your lips together and blowing.... but is actually pretty difficult to master. I liken it to playing the trumpet (not that I ever have) or possibly a zerbert (or razzberry)on someones belly. It was kind cool to finally get it to make some noise other then what sounded like a dying giraffe (insert southpark joke here). My bud Jason taught me how. I promptly went out this weekend and found a (already empty) conch to bring home. Just so you know, this whole bringing big shells home is much more gross than you would think. My whole apt smells like dying algea and bleach. It's pretty grody, but in a day or two I will have a clean conch! I dont know if I'll cut off the end or not (so that people can make sounds out of it) but I'm pretty happy I have one, even if it is just for show.

In addition to my conch blowing (ha ha make you your jokes now, this is my last reference to conchs and my blowing of them...) I finally got a few pictures with Wilbur. He is the friendly pig that lives on the beach. When i say friendly pig, I mean friendly 300 pound beast that is bacon-olicious.






mmmmmmm I <3 ham




:)

Random update

I think I am finally carving my niche here in St Kitts. I am fully satisfied with my core group of friends, and at the same time i am excited to meet new people from other semesters. People have been very good to me, in accepting me fully into their lives.


I have found my roomate for next semester, David. We are in the same class, and in the same lab groups. We are already pretty close and comfortable with eachother. It is even better because we have zero romantic interest in eachother. We bicker, and make up. I tell him I am going to shank him in anatomy, and he tells me thats fine (of course I never would...lol). He's become family. He deals with my crazy well. I deal with his pretty well too, as we all have our moments. in addition to finding someone I can actually live with (and I really believe we can coexist) which is difficult, I am also secretly happy about that fact that i'll have a male roommate. I hate to say it like that, but it really is a safer situation.

I have a whole bunch of exams monday, and I have been living in the lab and 24 hour reading room for the past few days. I feel pretty secure in them, but I'm not about to get cocky. I can always study more. In fact, i should probably stop procrastinating and go look at some slides for histo. :)