4th of July BBQ at the Pink Elephant

The Pink Elephant is one of the larger houses for rent on the island, and is considered one of the party houses (where semester fundraisers are typically held). And it just so happens that all of our friends (and their many pets) are now living there. Bill and Scott live on one side (with Winnie, Lui and Abigail) , and Justin and Jon are on the other side (with Otis and Nyxxie). They had a big 4th of July BBQ at their house to hang out and talk about the theme for the end of semester party that their semester (6th) is in charge of organizing.

Jen J. brought along her new puppy Annabelle...here is Jen D. introducing her to the crew



Me and Krista inside getting some yummy drinks


The group discussed possible themes for the party...but with such a big group of people wanting to input their ideas, they decided that whoever held the pink elephant could speak. Here is Bill taking his turn...


And here is Jessica, enforcing the rule...she looks pretty serious about it! :-)


.....and the theme is.....Heaven and Hell! Since the house is split into identical halves, with the backyard split in two with a small fence as well, one side will be for the angels, and the other side for the devils! Can't wait!

And then it was time for flip cup



After the BBQ, everyone headed over to De Lime bar to watch fireworks and hang out at the 4th of July party. Bill was going to ride along with me and Cory, and we were the last ones to leave the house. We were about to leave when I accidentally locked the wrong lock on Bill's front door....the one lock that they don't have a key for....so basically I locked him out of his house. It is a long story, and it took about an hour of reaching in through windows with long tree branches and angry midnight voicemail messages to his landlord by Cory about why Bill wasn't given that key before we were able to eventually break in. Thank goodness!

The party at De Lime was alright...by the time we got there we had missed the fireworks anyway. And the night ended as typical nights do at the beach...helping someone get their car out of the sand...


Happy belated 4th of July!

Cory's classes for 6th Semester

These are the classes that Cory has been taking this semester...only one more month of classes left, and he will be in 7th semester!

Small Animal Surgery - (6 Credits)
An introduction to surgery of the dog and cat, with emphasis on basic principles of asepsis, tissue handling, and surgical skills. In the laboratory, students perform surgical procedures which are common in small animal practice.

Small Animal Medicine 2 - (5 Credits)
The study of diseases of the urinary system, followed by common diseases of the eye, skin, endocrine and gastrointestinal systems in dogs and cats. Etiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, and therapy are emphasized.

Large Animal Medicine 1 - (5 Credits)
The course focuses on the examination of and diagnosis of diseases of relevance to the horse. The etiology, epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical signs, clinical pathology, diagnosis, therapy, and control of diseases of horses are discussed.

Practice Management & Jurisprudence - (2 Credits)
The course introduces ethics and law, with emphasis on government regulations and business management relating to veterinary practice. Also covered are resume preparation, interviewing, evaluating and selecting a first position, and public corporate career opportunities.

Night Dive

Last night, we went on a night dive with our friends Jen & Vince, Justin & Anna, Rob and Vajai. We met everyone at the port at 6:30pm, just as it was starting to get dark outside.






We went out to a wreck called Talata, and enjoyed the sunset until it was dark enough to jump in the water.










Once the sun had completely gone down and it was pitch black outside, we jumped in the water with our flashlights. It was so cool being down there surrounded by dark water, with objects and animals appearing only when you shined your light on them. I tried taking some pictures, which I'll include on here, but videos ended up working a lot better.




Vajai explained to us ahead of time that the hawksbill turtles around here will wedge themselves around the wreck at night to keep from moving around while they sleep. We ended up seeing lots of turtles, and we got to touch their shells. It was so cool...










We also saw a few crabs and lobsters, some small shrimp, a pretty big barracuda, and a huge puffer fish!





Here is Vajai's hand above the puffer, so you can see how big he was



At one point, we all formed a circle on the sandy bottom and turned off our flashlights. As we waved our arms around in front of us, it caused bioluminescence of the plankton around us. As Wikipedia.org describes it, bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism as the result of a chemical reaction during which chemical energy is converted to light energy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioluminescence. Definitely check out this website, it has a great picture of bioluminescence in the waves in Carlsbad, CA). So as we waved our arms around, the plankton around us glowed a flourescent blue color. It couldn't be captured on video or camera, but it was beautiful in person!

Can't wait to go on another night dive sometime soon...it was awesome!

More Football Players in St. Kitts!

Last year, a group of football players visited St. Kitts for a golf tournament, and we saw Michael Strahan and Clinton Portis at the Marriott pool: Old post: Famous football players at the Marriott

Well, apparently the trend continues, because 2 weeks ago during the mid-semester break, we got to see more. But this time, it was a lot more fun! A group of football players came down to St. Kitts to participate in a golf tournament called the G3: Gridiron Golf Getaway (G3 Website). Our friend Todd, who is in Cory's class and on our volleyball team, got to play in the tournament because his dad helped set it up in the US, and he invited Cory to play as well. So Cory and Todd were paired up with Indianapolis Colts player Courtney Roby, and they got to play the scenic Marriott golf course. Another person who was supposed to be part of the foursome dropped out, so I got to ride along in Courtney's golfcart and watch the three of them play.

Here are Cory, Todd and Courtney teeing off at one of the holes with the Marriott resort in the background







Then when we got back to the clubhouse, we saw a bunch more players

From left to right:
Vince Wilfork (Patriots): http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/6780
Mike Alstott (Bucaneers): http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/3500
Me & Cory
Courtney Roby (Colts): http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/7244
Rosevelt Colvin (Texans): http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/4761




We were also invited to attend the dinner later that night inside the Marriott's club, Tigers. It was an amazing dinner...so good!



Cory and Todd did some shots with Jim Miller, a retired quarterback for the Giants


We also got to meet Adalius Thomas (Patriots): http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/5215





Good times....maybe Tom Brady will be here next year...I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Wow

Wow, I can't believe our last post was back in late March! We have been slacking!

I'm working on downloading a bunch of pictures, and I hope to have some new stuff up soon!

Julia

Cory's Volcano Hike

After missing the two hikes that I went on to the top of Mt. Liamuiga, Cory finally got the chance to visit the crater himself a week ago with a big group of friends. Here are some photos from the hike:

The Group





At the top, looking into the crater








Cory flying into the crater


The view from the crater's rim, out to the neighboring island of Statia

January Orientation

I work with Orientation for the new students every semester because of my job at Ross, but this past semester it was a little more exciting than normal since Cory joined our team of Orientation Leaders. This means that the successful acclimation of 10 new students was in Cory's hands....yikes! Just kidding! Cory did a great job! Here are some photos from the week:

At Brimstone Hill Fortress for a rainy lunch







John is trying to copy my move from last semester!



At Black Rocks

The guys...


...and the girls



On the Catamaran Trip












Random Photos...

Sun bathing at Reggae Beach Bar


Dinner at PJ's




Out together (I think John might be biting Lizzie in this picture...?)


New Year's Eve party







It was fun having Cory around at all of the Orientation activities, and I know he loved his group of students. If he wasn't going to Africa during the next break, I'm pretty sure Cory would be signing up to do it again....

A Unique Music Video

This music video is one of my favorites and is pretty awesome. You may recognize the song from Apple iPod nano commercials. Check it out: