Boa Land

It has been on my bucket list to see a boa constrictor while in Dominica. I thought my only chance would be on a hike deep in the rain forest. I didn't realize my neighbor just up the road would have one on her kitchen window! The local name for the boa is tete-chien. They eat chickens, iguanas, and agouti (a kind of rodent). It was pretty awesome seeing it!

Happy St. Patty's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day! The older I get the more I find I love the Holidays. Even the little ones like St. Patrick's Day. I painted my nails green last night and cooked green pancakes for breakfast this morning. Stephen and I even wore the same green shirt today. I think I might just have to make something green for dinner too.
So far March has been pretty good to us.The month started out with an island Holiday called Carnival. This mean't that Stephen didn't have any lectures! We slept in, enjoyed the morning together, and made breakfast. Then we rode our bikes to Douglas Bay. It's about a 10 minute bike ride. It is known to have lots of sand dollars but we didn't find any this time. There were a lot of local families there enjoying the Holiday and barbecuing and playing in the ocean. After swimming in the ocean together for a little bit Stephen snorkeled and I read on the beach. It was a great morning together. On our bike ride home we noticed quite a few conk shells that were alone in the dirt not being claimed by anyone. So we helped ourselves to one. They are pretty hard to find so we feel pretty happy to have one now.
Like I said March has been pretty good to us. This month has been flying by. I can't believe it is already half over. There was a little bit of excitement at aftercare this week. We found out that there is a pinworm issue among quite a few of the kids in the school. So Stephen and I are taking a pill today and one two weeks from now to kill off any pinworms that we may possibly have. Just like the lice issue that is still an issue at the prep school, now we get to deal with pinworms probably until we are living back in the states and can just kill off everything that could possibly be living in us. Lucky us.
Besides the possible worms that could be living in our bums we are doing good. Stephen is getting ready for two exams this week. He has been a little bit stressed for them but I know he will do really well. His hair is getting pretty long too. He has been growing it out since August and it almost is long enough to put it in a small ponytail. He hasn't decided how long he will go without cutting it. The original plan was to leave it long the whole time on the island but I wont mind if it gets cut sooner. This last week he wore a headband in it to church, silly boy. There isn't much new with me. I have been working at aftercare still and doing my standardized patient job. Last week one of the girls who works in my group brought all of the jewelry she sells on the weekends on the beach. She is French and has been living here for about six years. She makes really interesting jewelry. It was fun looking at it all.
Not much else is new with us. We have been debating whether or not to move into a new apartment over the break and about a week ago we finally made up our minds and signed a contract for a new place. We really love where we are living now but we are paying way too much for it. We will be saving 500$ a month in the new apartment and it is just a two minute walk from where we are now. Hopefully it will be a fun change for us.

Douglas Bay

One of the cows on our road had a baby a couple weeks ago. 

It is the sweetest little thing.

Some of my best girlfriends!

Bye Bye February

Bye bye February. It wasn't a bad month but I am glad it's over. That means one month closer to the end of the semester and going home for a few weeks. Stephen and I are starting to reach the point we did last semester where it just needs to end. I have enjoyed this semester, a lot more than last, but I reach a point where I just need a break. Routines are set now and we feel comfortable living here which makes such a difference. February was a lot of fun because I did more with all the spouses. We started a weekly girls night and I have been getting more involved in activities.
Stephen had his second mini exam this week and after it was over we met up with Stan and Taran at coconut beach just off of campus and the three of them snorkeled while I read. They saw some really cool fish but we forgot to bring our camera. oops. That never happens with me either. They also found the tiniest sand dollars. They were the size of my fingernail and so perfectly detailed. Of course they shattered before getting them home to take a picture.
This week I did a hike with a couple spouses and two second semester students. There is a 14 segment trail on the island called the Waitukubuli Trail. It covers about 90 miles throughout the entire island. I did segments 12 and 13, which was 12 miles! It was the longest day yet here on the island. We started first thing in the morning and were still hiking as it was getting dark. At times I thought I wasn't going to finish it but working out the last couple months the way I have been really improved how long I could go. Plus I wasn't nearly as sore the next day as I was when we did the boiling lake hike at the beginning of the semester. I was pretty proud that I did such a long hike in one day. Now just another 8 weeks of second semester and Stephen and I will be back in Utah for a couple weeks.