Home At Last!

This will be very short! But I just wanted to let everyone know that I got home safely and have been enjoying myself so far. Tomorrow morning I will rise early to bond with my dad on our regular fishing *adventure*, and then who knows what else!

Finals are allllllmost over guys, just hang in there! I'm very excited for everyone else to have the chance to relax and go back home--we all need it right? :)

Classes Are Over

I just got out of my last class for the semester! Now I have to finalize packing up my room so that my grandpa can come pick up my belongings and not have to pay tons of $ for storage :) Unfortunately, I just realized that, because he is coming Wednesday and I am flying home Thursday, that means I will be sleeping on a naked bed Wednesday night...that should be interesting! 

I have 2 finals tomorrow, and one on Blackboard due by Friday--which means I still have time to study/procrastinate (really)! I hope that everyone is enjoying their end-of-the-semester and that finals go well for all. Study study study...summer is almost here! :)

I'll Be Home Soon!

I just bought my plane ticket home! I put it off for so long because I had two countdowns going--there was a good chance I would need surgery after finals, but it turns out that's no longer the case!

When will I be seeing my pretty little home? MAY 6TH!! Clearly I'm excited.

There are a lot more people than I would have expected who just don't want to leave, not sure why though. It could simply be because they have had the opportunities to go home a few times (Christmas, Spring Break, etc.) but I haven't been home in almost 9 months...I need to be back! 

Anyway, my itinerary is as follows:

Depart Tampa @ 7:10am

Arrive in San Juan @ 10:00am

Depart San Juan @ 12:05pm

Arrive in St. Croix @ 12:44pm 

(by the way, the Henry E. Rohlsen airport on STX is the smallest one I know!--pictured below) 

Channelside Ponds

This weekend involved quite a bit of adventuring and discoveries! On Wednesday, Paulina and I were both bored and decided to wander through Channelside for a bit. There, we found 2 little ponds filled with softshell turtles and baby Moorhens (which I will get back to later). There was also this really large, strange looking duck that Paulina thought looked like a turkey--she looked it up, and it is...a turkey duck! Alright, so the proper name is a Muscovy duck but who cares...the thing definitely looks like a turkey. Softshell turtles are really interesting to me. I've actually held one before, and yes, their shells are very soft. But the most exciting part of our discoveries were the baby Moorhens!

At first we saw one parent and 2 babies, so we followed the babies around a little bit, only to then find a nest with the other parent and ANOTHER baby! So then there were 3 right? Well there were, until we saw another one pushing its way through the tall grass to get home to mama! They were absolutely...adorable! We just stood watching all the little babies, 4 in total now, walk all around the pond for about 1.5 hours until it was time to leave.

But that's not the end of the story! It was clear that 1 day of observations was not enough, so we went back Thursday to get another peek at them before going to see Disney's Oceans (which was only 75 minutes long but still good!) I'll wrap this up with a few pictures of the lovelies that we found :)

Only 20 days left..

     The semester is coming to a close very fast, with only 2 weeks of classes left before finals. Luckily, I'll only have finals on Tuesday the 4th, and I'll be going home May 6th if everything goes according to plan. I thought I'd be getting a lot of work as the semester ends, but surprisingly, I'm finding that I have less assignments now than I have so far! Then again, most of the work I had came from my English class, and we only have like 3 assignments left... 

      I'm glad to finally be able to take a breather, at least for a little while, because once finals come around, we all know what that means--a few hours of intense stressing, and then suuummmmeeeeerrrrr!!!

The Caribbean: In words.

I just wanted to put together a short summary of what you will find in the Caribbean--from the ordinary, to what only locals might see:

tamarind balls, heliconias, palm trees, sea fans, smiles, passion fruit, culture, sea turtles, chickens, dreadlocks, big beard, sea glass, soccer balls, calypso, johnny cake, rain forests, snorkels, iguanas, kalalloo, gorgeous sunsets, roast pork, hibiscus, madras print, mongoose, sugar mills, pasteles, plantation houses, boardwalks, coppers, forts, conch *everything*, boats, hummingbirds, hot sauce, white sand, lizards, goats, pot holes, soca, 80 degree weather, fish fry, something new every day.

New Life Change

I've thought about it for a while, but finally decided to stick with my idea--I'm no longer a meat eater. My cholesterol has always been really bad, with no change from dieting, but there was one thing left to test. I want to see if cutting meat out of my diet will affect my cholesterol in any way (but that's not the only reason why, I'm just particularly curious about that aspect). Honestly, I've gotten bored with meat. When prepared properly, there's a different story, but most of the meat here is cooked very unhealthily (ex: chicken fingers/burgers/fried chicken sandwich/etc). Today started the change, and no it's not an April Fools joke! 

 :) I love fruits and vegetables, even though there aren't many vegetarian options here at UT, I will make the best of it. On the bright side, I am not cutting out seafood because fish has omega 3 oils (very good for cholesterol) so I will up my fish-consumption once I get home--and actually have a fresh supply! 

My Monday classes were canceled for April 5th, which means--4 day weekend for me! Couldn't be happier, I definitely need the break. I hope everyone has a joyous Easter! The only thing that could make it better is if we were all back home dying Easter eggs and smiling with friends and family. 

A Change Of Pace

Because of all the health issues I've been dealing with, I've decided to make a few changes. Number one is to cut out meat from my diet as much as possible, but definitely not because I don't like it--trust me, I do. It's the easiest way to decrease my fat intake, which will hopefully aide my cholesterol on lowering. Secondly, I plan on drinking a lot more water than I do now, because it seems like I always have a headache. Third on the list is to try to stop worrying about others, and put myself first. That's probably the most tiring aspect of my life, and may be the most detrimental to my health. 

I'm still waiting on results from medical tests to come in, but I'm not worrying. Whatever will be, will be. All I can do at this point is figure out how I will handle whatever comes my way. I want to be more positive :) so I just have to be patient! 

Worst Possible Scenario

Last night around 11:00, I decided to take a shower before hopping into bed. I've always wondered "what should I do if the fire alarm goes off while I'm in here?" ...and apparently I'm really good at predicting the future because that's exactly what happened! 

I was the lucky one who had to run downstairs with wet hair (mind you, there was still conditioner in it) and stand outside for 20 minutes in 50-something degree weather with a robe partially on, and a thin blanket wrapped around me. 

But did anyone help? No. Did anyone feel sorry for me? Nope. Everyone just laughed at me, even my "friends" which was the best part of all. I want to give a big THANK YOU to all of those people, and I hope that you are put in the same situation one day--it's really fun. 

TO ALL OF THOSE WHO SAY "my life is a joke," "my life sucks," or things like that...I can assure that nothing is more embarrassing than what I had to go through last night. The END.

Bye Bye Spring Break!

     Spring break is finally over and I could not be happier! Why? Because it means that there are only a few weeks left in the semester, and then I will be on my way home :) I haven't been there since mid-August 2009, so I'm LONG overdue for some relaxation! Let me rephrase that...I'm long overdue for a LITTLE relaxation because I'll be taking summer courses, yay? It's alright though because that just means there's less stress for me to deal with once I come back to UT.

     My plans for the summer as of now are, like I said, to take a few classes, and do a lot more painting. It's one of my only stress relievers that actually helps, and it's been a while since there's even been time to paint anything. I love just lying in the sand, painting what is just two steps in front of me. Only 53 days until I'm home! 

Spring Break

I have a feeling that I won't be having the best spring break possible this year.  Instead of being home and moving into my new house, I'm stuck in Tampa, really cool.. :(

It all started off with a broken phone and waiting for an hour in the Sprint store, and creepy cab drivers saying "I've been waiting all day for you baby...do we have a date?" No, we do not. How will I spend my break? Oh, you know...just going to doctors appointments, doing homework (of course I get assigned a lot over break, should have known), and attempting to find food because EVERYTHING minus the cafeteria is closed for the entire break. It should be really interesting....slash horrible!

Honestly I just want this break to go by as fast as possible. On the bright side, 2 months and 2 days until it's HOME for the summer!!! I miss my island home.

Buccaneer Resort, St. Croix, USVI

February 28th

Guess what? I've been thinking about changing my major for a while now because I realized that psychology (my current major) doesn't interest me as a whole. There are certain aspects about the field that interest me, mainly biopsychology, but everything else would simply feel tedious to take classes in. That's not the case for criminology, however. I have looked through the classes offered for a criminology major, and every single class sounds interesting and exciting. I can see myself working in the field with a criminology degree, and believe that there is where I would be happiest. Tomorrow is the day that I will make the step, submitting a change of major form. All I can do is smile :)

Aside from that, my life isn't so interesting right now. I'll be stuck in Tampa over Spring Break because I cannot afford to go back home (*waaah*) but I'll try to make the best of it and get school-work out of the way even earlier than I would have.  I'm looking forward to a week of slower-paced life since, as you all can tell, it's been like I was in a high-speed chase for the past 4 or 5 weeks.

I hope that everyone doesn't begin relaxing TOO early, remember that midterms (if you have any) are this week. I only have one that I know of for certain, but there is one where my teacher will not tell us when the exam takes place. I'm particularly excited for that one....NOT! Good luck to all, take care!

Island food!

Today was the first in a while that I actually felt the warmth of the sun! Obviously it made me miss my home, but I soon realized that what I miss even more is the FOOD. 


SOME of the things I miss include: fungi, oxtail stew, goat roti, spicy doubles, saltfish pate, puerto rican seasoned rice, fried fish, johnny cakes, peanut punch, sorrel, tostones, ginger beer (carbonated ginger tea, no alcohol), guava berries, souse (not the cold, lunch-meat type thing in the states), lobster, curry goat, breadfruit chips, blood pudding, cow tongue, dumplings, conch ceviche, tamarind balls, callaloo, purple tania, beef tripe, chicken hearts, and passion fruit


Only 2.5 months until I begin the feast of champions! Can't wait.. :)


Here are pictures of some of the foods I mentioned.

 Tostones (twice-fried green plantains, dusted with adobo and served with a garlic/lemon juice sauce.)
 Sorrel (tangy fruit typically used to make juices or tarts.)

 Blood pudding (yes, it has real blood, and rice in a sausage casing.) Sounds gross, but everyone that I have introduced to this delicious food agrees that it is something amazing!

 Oxtail stew (much-like beef stew, but with pieces of beef tail.)

 Spiny lobster (possibly the most delicious thing on the face of the planet!) This is one that I baked myself :) 

 Breadfruit chips (sliced and fried in vegetable oil, dusted with adobo.)

 Chicken hearts (typically fried, they have a delicate flavor. Yum!)

February 17

Guess what Friday is? Yep...Global Village! The country that I am representing is India, which means that there will be scrumptious food at our table! I'm in charge of food and henna with some classmates, so that should be really fun. I've never worked with henna before, but always have found it really interesting. We will have 3 people working on henna sitting at the table, also there for conversation and fun :) If you're looking to get some henna and REALLY good food, then come visit INDIA in the morning! 

Friday, February 19th in the Cass Gym! See you all there :)

Is it finals yet?

This week has been absolutely insane for me. I'm preparing for a lot of tests, quizzes, projects, and future assignments that will come my way. I have my first two tests of the semester (already taken 2 quizzes this week) and 1 quiz tomorrow. I've been doing papers all weekend, but just haven't seem to catch a break yet. There's not a moment that I'm not busy anymore. Sometimes I get all my work out of the way early, but I just get tons more piled on, so it doesn't even have an effect. I'm overwhelmed! 

I apologize for not writing earlier, although I had every intention to Monday--but I felt a nap was more crucial. It's 10:15, I've been doing homework straight from 1:30 this afternoon, and I'm still not done. It was the same story last night, the night before that, and will continue to be for the rest of the semester. Hopefully I'll make it out alive and with a worth-while GPA. I sure hope that not everyone else has the course and stress load that I have this semester because it will just leave everyone in a bad mood--and who wants that? Anyhoo, I need to get back to my work before I lose focus. Tomorrow I'm in class from 10am-4pm...wish me luck! I'm going to need it..

February 3

    I have had so much work to do this weekend/week, as you probably could have guessed. I hate being swamped with assignments, but it feels SO GOOD once they're all done and out of the way EARLY! That means that I have the rest of the day to relax, eat food, go shopping, and watch Flamenco dancers right?! Now I won't have the rest of the week to relax since tomorrow is another one of my hectic days, but after that I'll be free! :)

    So I'd like to share something cute with you guys. Everyone should know that I have 2 main obsessions: squirrels and turtles. I collect turtles whenever I find one worth buying (my collection is back at home, but my new collection in Florida has 2 baby turtles already :). Anyway, so my dad sent me an email this morning with a whole bunch of cute turtle pictures, and I figured I'd post them because they are simply...adorable. Enjoy!

Gasparilla Weekend

As we all know, tomorrow is the *big event* = Gasparilla! Sadly, I won't be attending due to the massive amounts of homework I was assigned this weekend. Thanks teachers! But that's okay, there's always next year and pictures to live through (it would probably be too chaotic for me anyway..) Most people will be dressed up in their free t-shirts that they received from Pirate Fest downstairs of Stadium this afternoon, adorned with pirate ships, skull and crossbones, and "Gasparilla '10", but a lot of people will be dressed up as pirates, or simply wearing red/white/black. 

I really hope that everyone enjoys the parade, but I don't want to hear about anyone I know getting arrested for whatever reason. Stay and be safe! 

SO BUSY!

This week has just started, and is already extremely chaotic! Today alone, I've spent 8 solid hours doing homework due for the next two days, and last night I spent 6 hours alone reading. OVERLOADED! However, I will see it as a learning experience :) Because I arranged my schedule to have no classes on Friday, I realize that I should take advantage of this free day to actually get some work done. I cannot have it build up on me like this or I will crash! And that would not be good for anyone, especially me! But I can finally wipe my brow, because I'm DONE for the week! Why is that?

Ohhh, well it's because I now have a 4-day weekend rather than my usual 3-day weekends. President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden will be at the university Thursday afternoon to hold a town hall meeting, which is open to the public. I know that some people are excited, others not so much, but think of it this way--if you are excited, then attend! if you're not particularly thrilled, then enjoy a day free of classes! Either way you put it, it's a win-win situation :)

http://eurthisnthat.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/obamabiden2008-med-wide.jpg

FRIDAY yayyy!

I'll just start by saying that one of my classes is going to be absolutely dreadful. I have never enjoyed English, and I've just been reminded of why.. But I'm not going to go into detail. My second hardest class will be College Algebra, call me a sucker, but I also have a major love/hate relationship with math. The rest of my classes will be just fine though :) I'm looking forward to Global Issues, Gateways (who isn't?), and Criminal Justice. They should be fun.

It's been really dark all week. Not so much cold or even rainy, just windy and dark, which I LOVEEEE! People always ask me why I came to *sunny Florida* if I love dark and stormy weather...but they'll understand come summertime when it's super stormy each afternoon ;)

I no longer have classes on Friday, which is ABSOLUTELY a dream come true. The main reason I didn't want classes on Friday is because I wouldn't get any sleep Thursday night because everyone wants to go out and party, except for myself, and then I would get awoken. I have a hard time falling asleep if I'm awoken in the middle of the night, so I changed things around to better suite the floor's schedule. Tonight I'll see if it was worth while (even though I already know it was), because everyone is going to The Kennedy to see this Situation guy or whatever...I don't care about that at all!

My buddy Tyler drove his car down from Connecticut, so now I have a ride and company to go to the zoo! I know that he's excited to take me, RIGHT Tyler? He probably won't read this, but that's alright, I know the zoo will be fun regardless :)

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND EVERYONE! And stay safe please!

The sky currently..

Welcome back!

Ahh, break is FINALLY over! It has been really amazing for me, but honestly I was ready a while ago to come back and start classes (yeah I know, I'm a nerd.) Classes start tomorrow, beginning with one of my busiest days.   Last semester, I didn't take any math or english, so this semester I have to take those basic freshman classes. The only class I'm taking this semester out of choice is my Criminal Justice class, and the topic of global climate change for Global Issues. But it's alright...next year I'll have a little more freedom :)

I haven't published my schedule yet, so here it is:


Spring 2010 (click picture for full schedule)

I hope everyone is happy with their schedule for this semester and that things aren't too crazy. And if you think your schedule is wicked, don't worry. It'll probably feel weird for the first few weeks, but then you'll slip into it and things will be much easier :) Have fun!

Back in Florida!

   I just want to give a quick update since it's been a while, but there's not much to discuss since it's the middle of winter break.

   Sunday meant it was sadly time to say goodbye to Indiana and my love - but I had to. I returned to Florida, which is surprisingly...cold! The past 2 nights it was actually dipped below 30 in Arcadia for several hours, which means that I woke up to frosted cow pastures! It was almost like looking at snow, so of course I thought it was really cool. 

   Last night, a calf was born in the freezing temperatures. That poor thing.. :( My grandma decided to name him Tough because that's what he had to be in order to survive the night, which he did! We went and visited the calves this morning where I learned that they love tangerines and oranges. Whoooo would have thought? They absolutely love them. Sooooo here are some more cow pictures! :)