We be Flexin' and Limin'

My, my, my have we been busy! Since last week we have gotten to go on a tour around the entire Island of St. Kitts, Ziplining through the forest, snorkeling on a catamaran, celebrate birthdays, and hang out at the beach with our new family away from home.
We started out the week with a great Island Tour.  Our first visit was to the Caribelle Batik, a beautiful garden with several exotic plants and took in the scenery all around us.  Then we made the treacherous ascent to the top of a mountain where we found Brimstone Fort.  Gorgeous Views! I'm still impressed that our bus driver made it to the top! This fort was built by the British to keep the French out.  The French over took the fort in 1782 but the British eventually were able to regain the fort via the Treaty of Versailles a year later. The fort was turned into a national park in 1965.
We hung from cannons at the top, took in the views, and absorbed the history. After the fort we made our way down the mountain and across St. Kitts to the point at which the St. Kittian's would say the Caribbean and the Atlantic oceans meet. There was no distinct line but there were definitely a crashing of the merging tides. Here we also found evidence a volcanic eruption from long, long ago.
Driving across the nation we saw where many Sugar Plantations use to exist and learned that the sugar (aka "King") was so good that St. Kittians use to refer to the trade as the "Sweet Trade".
After the island tour we got to experience St. Kitts Carnival. It wasn't a typical carnival like we have in the States it was just like one big dance party in the street. Men and women dressed in all types of scant clothing, yes including men in drag, it was a trip!!
Andrew had orientation last week which consisted of a lots of lectures and meet and greets. He was able to meet a lot of people and also had the opportunity to introduce himself to a few professors. We also were given a campus a tour. The campus appears to be pretty small compared to the campus at NC State, but that will be good that things are close together. I skipped out a few of the lectures to continue settling into our dorm. There are 2 washers and 2 dryers available in each dorm and we pay 8 EC to wash and 8 EC to dry. ( EC = eastern Caribbean and the conversion is something like 1 US to 2.7 EC ) So about $6.00 to do one load of laundry.
Friday was the best though because we got to go ziplining through the forest! We only saw one monkey and she was a pet. The views while we were zipping were incredible. We would zip from one spot to another, such fun! It was so freeing to just zip through the forest and see all the breath taking sights! We were also exposed to a little island lingo. Flexin' and Limin'! Or Chillin' and Hangin' out. The guys that ran the zipline were a blast and were trying hard to teach us common sayings, but for a few of us are roots are just too strong and so are those Southern Accents! "Wog Wan Patna" was another, but a got a lot of flack for enunciating my "r's". Translation: What's Up, Partner. We were told to embrace our new phrases and use them as freely as we want, and we did!
Saturday all the first semester students got to go out a catamaran and go snorkeling. I floated on a noodle and enjoyed everyone "ooohing and aaahhing" over all the fish. Nothing spectacular was reported but nonetheless still exciting. Then we paid a quick visit to the sister island of Nevis where we were instructed to look out for Killer Bee's! Killer Bee's???? No worries they were just talking about a mixed drink, we still heeded their advice and stayed clear. As Andrew's Great Grand Mother would say, "Make sure people don't slip things into your drink!" After a long day of boating and swimming we ended our week of orientation with a few special birthday celebrations and a farewell to our orientation leader. We had a great group filled with lots of memories.
Sunday wrapped up our week with a beach day at Reggae Beach with our friends Ashley and Emily. Here is where we met a few other St. Kittian's. Wilbert, who was the biggest attraction! Wilbert is one of the only pigs on the island and he is massive! Weighing in around 500 lbs. He wasn't very lively, he slept the whole time. But Oliver the monkey and Mocha the goat were a sight. Oliver enjoyed riding on Mocha's back and tormenting him, while Mocha enjoyed head butting Oliver. We caught a few rays and enjoyed a few laughs. It was a nice end to a busy and but memorable week!