Blogs from Saint Croix, US Virgin Islands, Central America Caribbean

Well, we had an uneventful (thank heavens) trip down to St. Croix in the US Virgin Islands. I had to do two days of training for some of the educators here but once that was over we started a mini-vacation ;-) Our first hotel was the Divi Carina on the east end of the island. Beautiful setting, long beach but we didn't see much there as I was at the Casino across the street doing training all day and Cope was teaching online. Since there wasn't any internet access in the room he had to do it from the lobby with the caribbean breezes blowing and the sea just outside...tough duty. But yesterday with Cope driving on the left side of the road (shades of New Zealand) we moved to the north side of the island ... read more

How We Roll… I’m hip…I’m cool…I’m down with the lingo! HA!! Some of you will remember that Kel and I returned from our grand viaje back at the end of 2007. We came back to the United States as the same people but had also changed at the same time. We were a walking contradiction; seemingly the same but somehow fundamentally different. But, we were really, really lucky because when we got back there were new friends and old friends who welcomed us with open arms. Almost as soon as we returned we found a group of people who accepted us as the not quite normal Americans that we were. People like Brian & Laura, Melissa & Andre and many others were willing to make us into a part of their group. We were so ... read more

Hello everyone, I guess it's been awhile. I just celebrated Halloween festivities here on island last weekend and friday night which included much dancing to the celebrated music of Kurt Shindler, a favorite local artist who just plays some good island dance jams. I dressed up as a Taino (indigenous people from island) woman complete with plant leaves coming out of my hair, although I was also mistaken for Pocahontas and Jungle Queen. Photos attached. Also a new development for the past week and a half is that I finally got on the insurance here so am now able to drive!!! On the left side of the road, mind you. Actually it's been an incredibly easy transition and I didn't have to think twice about it after the first trip out. I also get to drive ... read more

wooooo last week went by fast! i've been busy working out in the fields harvesting lettuce (the first salads i've had for awhile!), harvesting baby pineapples to plant soon, weeding, harvesting limes (70 pounds today!). when working with pineapples you should wear long sleeves and pants because you will get scratched up, no joke. well, i was stubborn (hey, it's humid and hot here!) and now my arms and legs are a bit inflamed. but kyle found the VERY last ripe pineapple and let me eat it because i haven't experienced a pineapple here yet, and it was so delicious and sweet! oh yeah, and i have a little mango rash again (i can't help it if mangos are the most delicious fruit and i keep eating them. and i'd do it again!). however, we're nearing ... read more

So I've just completed my first week of farmwork, which was definitely a little labor intensive prepping this area for growing. We planted beans (lots of varieties), cucumbers, eggplant, passionfruit, basil, lettuce mix and arugula, and we've still got lots of room to plant. Everyone here is great - we have family dinners on wednesdays and jen made homemade mint chocolate chip ice cream with the mint we've got (not vegan...but delicious). A few days ago we had some excitement in the morning when some pigs were wandering on the farm (introduced species...but so is almost everything else). So ben got his gun and killed them, and then a guy who's working on a house on farm came down and gutted them...so now we've got pig galore (and those were BIG pigs), our freezers are all ... read more