Sunday 6 September 2015

Returning to Island Life

Hey Everyone!

Well summer is over, (or for Kyle and I, it's beginning again:the weather that is). We have returned back to Nevis and classes have resumed and I have started work again. It is super hot here!!! Summer in Canada the weather wasn't all that great, in the low 20's for most of my time up north, so coming back here where it's mid 40's has been an adjustment. Especially since our A.C is broken. Even Kyle, who has air conditioning in his classroom is struggling. There are over 100 new students in his class so space is tight for them. Plus he has to dress up for his class for the first few weeks, so wearing a tie and dress clothes and trying not to sweat has been an adjustment for him. 

We arrived on the island by having to take one of those tiny airplanes from the island of St. Maarten. That was an interesting experience! You don't have to worry about hearing those boring airplane safety speeches. Nope, you don't even need to wear a seat belt. They tell you that if there is a crash, to watch out for sharks... yep. It was also risky in terms of our luggage. Since the plane is so small it's not guaranteed that your luggage will make it. Ours had tags on it that said "standby". So we were watching them load everything on, and praying that our stuff made it. We have heard way to many stories where some folks have lost their luggage in St.Kitts or St. Maarten. Thankfully it made the cut! 
I was also nervous about being allowed back into Nevis because of how my work permit visa ended up. It expired in July so I was worried about what the immigration people were going to say. However, they gave me a stamp with expiration in February! Maybe it was because it was late at night, or that the officer was new, but I am very glad it all worked out. Our car was even waiting for us at the airport! 

So, you would think, things are back to normal around here. However, there is just something different about being back. I don't really know what it is, but it is definitely harder than when we first moved here. Maybe because back then, everything was so new, or the fact that I have been away for 3 months. Needless to say, I remember writing about how I was almost sad to leave Nevis, and I thought I would be excited to return here, but so far, I haven't really felt much excitement. Back to this place where the bugs are everywhere, our broken A.C (who knows when it will get fixed), and now our T.V is broken. Kyle has managed to fix it temporarily, but things are different. 

I went back to the school I was working at, and found out I was not on their staff list. I had to do all that running around again to get a work permit. I do have one, but now I have to wait and see if I actually get paid. There have been a lot of staffing issues at the school to the point where there is no teacher for the class I was helping out in. I am not a teacher. I don't do lesson plans, or following a curriculum or anything like that. I don't even know what the curriculum is for Nevis. I tried to make that clear to my supervisor. I just hope that when the kids come back to school tomorrow, that I am not suddenly thrown into their class and expected to teach a math lesson. 

So maybe all of these reasons and the heat factor is why I have hard time adjusting back to this island life. I need to get back into working out again, and I have also started my classes online again. There has been a lot of change this week and we have been quite busy unpacking and getting settled. Oh and yes back to cooking, and doing dishes everyday. I need to get back to my positive thinking I suppose. Summer at home was amazing, and I guess I was hoping it could last longer. I was very fortunate to be able to spend time with family and friends, and even meet my nephew! I think it's different because our time here seems so much longer than when we came in January. Kyle is just starting med school. Our friends we met in January are starting Med 3. Kyle has worked very hard to get to this point, but there is still a long road ahead, and it's starting to sink in. Good news is, we are here until December. Only 3 months. I am hoping after this first month, time will start to go by quicker. I keep trying to tell myself that. I mean we have already been back for one week right??

Anyway that's the update for now. I thought I would be sharing about how my summer went in Canada, however who wants to hear about that! ;)  FYI it was cold and rainy with some weddings and a baby shower :P I hope everyone enjoyed their summer also. Back to reality I guess! 

Here is Kyle from his White Coat Ceremony. All the Med 1 Students are presented with their white coat to officially begin Med school. I am very proud of him, and the coat suits him quite well ;)

1 comment: