July 2010 - The Second Half

Hey Family and Friends,

I know I know, it's been a while since there was a post about our glorious adventures here in Dominica.  And it hasn't been because they were non existent, on the contrary I have been super busy these last few weeks of July and August is moving full speed ahead (no boat pun intended). 

Let us go back to the last post of July 18th....that was a rainy rainy night (as have been most of the nights in July).  But it was the night before my first ever CANOE RACE!  That's right folks, yours truly participated in the Kabuli (local beer) Canoe Races for Dive Fest 2010!  What is Dive Fest you ask?  Well I'm not really sure but I know it has something to do with highlighting all the awesome and amazing dive spots around the island and believe it or not - there are people who fly in just for THIS WEEKEND!  Why I have no idea but they do and we had a pretty big crowd for the races.....

The spouses ended up having 3 teams (4 each) and we had a blast - we were 3 of only 4 female teams and we took 1st, 2nd (my team) and 3rd in our heat, but we had to leave before the finals.....we thought the races would start around 1pm (but because it's an island event and therefore on island time it didn't actually start until 3pm and our heat didn't begin until 4:45pm)  Here is my team.....

So all of this was happening in the middle of July - right about the time Kelsey was studying for mini 2.  He will eventually have had 3 minis, 5 practicals and 1 final.  Whew I'm exhausted just typing it all out.  So what better way for me to keep busy than by playing some sports.....yep I'm on a softball team now made up mostly of spouses called "Shake n Bake" (Talladega Nights anyone?).  It was great - took the female spot that was left vacant when two other females left the island.....so I got to play in two regular season games and two season finale games where we .......

Became the #1 Champs for Summer 2010 semester!  And we did it with only 9 people (10 is the norm). 

Also beginning the middle of July I began working one on one with a incoming kindergartner at the school during Summer Camp (held at the preparatory school).   His name is Jack and he is adorable.  It was a great new challenge because Jack has several learning disabilities and it was a nice change of pace to be able to work one on one with a student instead of a whole class as I normally have in the past.  It was also a great way for me to get to know the students that I will be teaching in the fall =)  which with the way things are working it looks  like I will be teaching 4-7th grade English and Social Studies!  I'm really excited about this year it's a different type of teaching and the other teachers I will be working with are great!

We are super excited that our living arrangements are changing.  Starting around Aug 25th we will move into a 2 bed/ 2 bath apartment where we will have lots more space and an ACTUAL kitchen!  I can't wait to be able to have more cupboards and a counter to cook on!    God is sooooo good to us!  This is also a GREAT time for any of you that would like to visit - you will have your own room and BATHROOM complete with extra beach towels!  We're not sure we're going to keep it the whole time but for this semester it will be our home (we have a habit now of moving every 4 months and we don't want to stop now LOL) The only tough part is paying more rent, about $300 more than we are right now.....but as always God provides a way.

And a way he did!  Kelsey and I were both excepted to be on the Welcoming Committee for Ross (which is apparently really rare for 1st semester students to get - which we quickly realized when we saw that out of 20 members there were only 4 of us from 1st semester).  Being on the Welcome Committee will require us to go on several trips around the island (some we did when we first arrived, but others we didn't get the chance to) and will help with campus tours, welcoming and greeting people as they arrive off the bus from the airport and helping out with other various orientation tasks.  It's great because the money we will make will cover the cost of our increase it rent!  So once again God has thought of EVERYTHING and again I am learning that I need not worry but to "trust in the Lord with all my heart, and with all my soul and with all my might!" 

Lastly Kelsey and I will be taking a much needed vacation (really more Kelsey than me LOL) once his final is over on the 17th.  We will be taking a ferry (cross your fingers and hope I don't get really really sick) to St. Lucia!  We are going with another 1st Semester couple and it should be a great time to relax, enjoy nice pools and beaches, run AC all night long and eat some great food (not to mention stock up on supplies from their grocery stores - literally that was the advice one spouse who had been there before gave me because "good" grocery stores are rare here in Dominica).

Our Room at the 4.5 star resort Coco Palm

The Pools at our hotel.........

I promise to try and update more often....hopefully posting some pics from the ballet recital I'm having this Saturday for my Mommy and Me dance class.  

Oh one thing I almost forgot......we would love to hear from you!  You can send us pictures, cards, snacks, cookies, candy, etc......it's really like camp here and getting packages from home brings such joy!  Most of all Kelsey and I would really like some pictures of Friends and Family!  We miss all of you and would love to have your smiling faces on our walls :)

You can mail letters and packages to the following address (use USPS for the best rates):

KELSEY BUDD 1ST SEMESTER

(767) 255-6500 Ross University School of Medicine

P.O. Box 266 Portsmouth Campus Roseau, Commonwealth of Dominica, West Indies (there are no zip codes here)
 

Until Next TIME - remember to be thankful for the little things you have in life.....the hugs, the sunsets, the silent moments with a loved one, the beauty of God's creation.....each little thing is life is a gift from God!

Rain Rain Go Away - It's a bad thing today

Ok so after falling in love with the sound of thunder and the beautiful lightening that lights up the ENTIRE sky - I am about done with the rainy season.

It all started Tuesday night when I so lovingly agreed to take Kelsey dinner at 8pm after his Anatomy TA session (I know I know - he's such a lucky guy ;-p).  Well around 7pm it started to rain, and when I say started to rain, I mean monsoon, hurricane preparatory, end of the world, beginning of the 2nd great flood type of rain!  While making dinner I literally heard the windows and door rattling because the thunder was so loud/close and then the lights kept going out.  So I was sitting on my bed (this is due to the small apartment with no other real furniture other than a desk and chair) thinking to myself...."if it will just die down a little I can walk quickly to the Annex (about 5 minutes away) and hop in a shuttle to campus (about another 10 min walk from the Annex) and not being in a scary apartment that has lights going out and no cable" really the no cable was what was mostly motivating me to leave....SO around 7:50 I hear it die down, I rush to the Annex, wading through about 6 inches of a mini river that is now crossing the main street and arrive to find the shuttle there waiting.  Alas I have been saved,  I arrive on campus with dinner, laptop (to entertain myself), and fairly dry.  If this was the worst the rainy season was going to through at me, I was not only ready to take it on, I was going to CONQUEROR it!

Until Thursday night when I came home to make dinner and discovered.....................

Ewwwww.....these are what are called "flying ants".....and literally I kid you not there were over 100 of them on my kitchen floor when I was trying to make dinner.   These little ants will come out after a big rain (or apparently before a big storm) and the fly all around and towards any light....and because I had left our windows open - they are small enough to get through the screen.....

They will fly around, bite you and then die on the floor - it's really gross and makes me feel like I'm in some sort of weird horror movie.  So rainy season - if this is what you are going to through at me I would like to retract my previous statement and say - "Can't we all just get along??????"

Until next time family and friends......

Rain Rain Go Away - It's a good thing today!

Yes family and friends it is rainy season here in Dominica and I'm finally seeing the repercussions of this as our trip to see the 7 waterfalls was canceled.  So sad and now I am left to sit in the apartment all day because every 30 minutes or so a HUGE downpour of rain will pass through making it almost impossible to walk anywhere in flip flops....

On the other hand it gives me plenty of time to oooh and aaahhh over my new nephew Christopher Scott Pennewell Jr.!  He was born yesterday at 1am (about 5 weeks early) at a healthy 5 lbs 10 oz, 18 1/2 inches, and is a beautiful new addition to the Pennewell clan.  I'm so happy for my sister Danielle and brother-in-;aw Chris as this is their first child :)

He's so adorable - I wish I could have been there but thank God for technology and being able to see him on facebook and email.

Welcome to the world Baby Scott!  We love you lots and lots!

Until next time - Love always and with all  you have!

Long time NO POST....Life of a wife come mini 2

Hey Friends and Fam:

I know it's been a while since I posted so I thought I would update folks on our life and what has been happening here in Dominica.

For starters it's July!  Yes I have absolutely NO IDEA where the month of June went - which is pretty sad considering I don't have a full time job right now to take away half of each and every day.  None the less, the month has gone and it means we are two months closer to moving - ah you say to where.....and much like most of my life is where the story begins....

We had been looking for apartments closer to school and although we were willing to go higher than our current rent of $500 we didn't want to break the bank (what little is left) while we were doing it either.  So the search began, endless conversations with random people always had a "so where do you live?" question weaseled into it somehow....and finally we thought we had hit the Dominican jackpot (ironically I just found out today that there is indeed a Dominican lottery - however, it's the scratch off kind - no powerball here folks).  We had found an apartment only 6 minutes from school, on a paved road that was actually a 2 - bedroom - this meant for all of you coming down you would have an actual bed to sleep on and not some air mattress (although let's be real a free room is a free room - know what I mean....)

Anyways, the landlord had told me that they wouldn't know until the end of the week and kindly showed us a 1 bedroom as well - which we thought were nice, but didn't want to sign up for unless we absolutely had to.  So prayers went up, fingers were crossed and we got a call saying she didn't know whether the 2 bedroom would be available, but we could give a deposit for a one bedroom and still move to the two bedroom later on.....ok not bad.  The one bedroom was alright (bedroom with desk, kitchen with desk, etc.)  However I failed to notice on the first visit that the 2nd floor 1 bedroom opened to the street (everything is on a hill here) and that wasn't going to work out.....so now we are back on the hunt and only have a week until the *new* first semesters are allowed to find an apartment as well.  So once again we're back to prayers, fingers crossed to find a place that is close to campus, NOT $1000 a month and maybe just maybe some place we can call home for the next year (scary - it will still be an actual year that we need to stay).

As the title of this little snippet also indicates we are currently living in the week/weekend before mini 2.  For those not down on this little gem of a island that means I don't see my husband until 2am or later each night and I bring meals upon which I get a quick kiss before he heads back to the laptop to watch lectures at double time!  (trust me - the professors here speak so slow - double time is needed for most!)  So I have made do this week with trying to make no bake cookies for a bake sale (sad attempt considering it was so humid and hot this week that they melted upon delivery), watched sex and the city with some other spouses, actually worked out a few days, taught a dance class for little people (2 -4 year olds, not ACTUAL little people), played a fake patient for some 2nd semester students and made some dinners from scratch....all in all productive and a little exhausting.

Last but not least a *new* discovery!!!!  SAVE A LOT - to the average American this little phrase may mean no more than a mere discount store - but to me and the rest of the spouses here on the island  - it is as if the heavens have opened up and God has poured out his own sweet manna!  Save a Lot my friends is the newest grocery store and pharmacy to hit Roseau (capital and about an hours drive from campus).  It not only has great deals, but an actual PRODUCE section - you can get apples, asparagus, fresh broccoli....it's incredible!!!! I know I know you all must think I have lost my mind, but the littlest things here truly do make a difference.  I have had limited fresh veggies while here on the island and I am so excited to try something new (or old - as in I used to have it at home).....plus they have a *real* meat section!!!!  Most of the meat we get here is ground up in those 1lb tubes (which I had never eaten until I arrived here - but when you are looking for USDA approved  you go with what you can get).  So now I am hoping my every three week trip to Roseau for our main groceries will be more fruitful and that we will have a healthier diet because of it....still looking out for good dark chocolate, but you can't have it all in one month!

Well that's the update for now - will try to be better about posting more often....

Remember to Love those you are with when you're with them for before you know it they're not with you anymore................

First Year Anniversary Take 2

So the ACTUAL day of our Anniversary was the week before the Anatomy exam so as our previous post stated, we decided to lay low until the next weekend.


We were in luck!  The Wellness Group was going Zip Lining (one of our new favorite things after Thailand) so we decided to go there in the morning and go out to dinner later on.

  All geared up and ready to hit the zip lines!

  This was the HARDEST part for me!  My arms were killing me afterward.

Kelsey making his way through the course!  It isn't as easy as it looks :)

This was the last zip of the trip - it was awesome we went back and forth over the river!

Starting dinner off right with some wine and a Heineken.

  Beautiful deck right over looking the ocean

Sunset!

Happy couple 1 year after.......

So we finally got to have our anniversary dinner and drinks and went home and made peanutbutter popcorn and watched a movie - couldn't have asked for a better night......

Do You Know What Today is........................................It's our Anniversary (made for you and me)

Thanks to Tony, Toni, Tone' I always hear "Anniversary" play in my head each and every time I even say the word!  And Sunday was no exception as it was our very first WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!!!! It completely baffles me how a year has gone by and we have already done so much and grown leaps and bounds in our relationship.

 1 YEAR TOGETHER AND STILL SMILING!!!!!

Since last June we have moved FOUR times.  Kelsey moved in with me at his sisters apartment - Philly, we moved to our fabulous little studio in August in Rittenhouse Square - still Philly, we moved into Budd Manor in January - Moorestown, and into our first studio/1 bedroom Dominican style - Picard, Dominica and will move again this August into our final apartment (hopefully) here in Dominica.

Since last June Kelsey and I have been to FOUR countries.  Kelsey and I went to part 1 of our honeymoon in St. Kitts in the Caribbean, in November Kelsey went to Mozambique while I drove cross country to Louisiana, in December Kelsey and I traveled all over Thailand for part 2 of our honeymoon and then this past April we moved to Dominica for the next 16 months while Kelsey is attending medical school.

At times, I have felt like our relationship and most definitely our first year of marriage, has been like one of those chose your own adventure novels I used to read as a child.  Each chapter would end with me changing the direction of the adventure based on my "choice for the characters". On this miraculous adventure called "marriage" I have wanted to "chose" (at times) the direction of our adventure, thinking I would know how it was going to go.  However, each "decision" has brought me to a completely different destination than I thought.  But along the way we it has brought us closer (although sometimes through precarious circumstances and stressful situations).  But none the less we are closer now then we ever have been before.  And I pray that this statement rings truer and truer as the years begin to pass.

As I continue to reflect upon the past year I have realized that God has and is continuing to use my beloved husband to make and mold me into the woman HE has always created me to be.  My thoughts of "me" have become "we" and doing things for Kelsey fill my heart with joy more than a gift to myself ever could (ok maybe a choloe purse may come close).  This is not to say that I don't have my moments of selfishness, where thoughts of "what about me" and "why does he (Kelsey) always get his way" (totally not true, but from the viewpoint of my fleshy soul it is alas the lens that I first look through). 

But most of all I now know, more than ever that I have found the love of my life!  He is the only one I want to wake up to each and every sweaty, hot morning here in Dominica - actually he is the ONLY one I would move to Dominica for.  And he is the one that I know always has my best interest at heart - even if I can't see it at the time.  He loves me like no other person in my life, for my family will love me because we're family - but Kelsey has chosen to love me for the rest of my life and I him.......it's the best gift I have ever received (aside from Jesus ;) ).

SOOOOOOO I know you are all wondering - "How did you celebrate?"  Well since Kelsey had an Anatomy Practical on Tuesday we decided to play it low key - so we started with sleeping in late (which Kelsey does with ease - but I struggle with) and then had a french toast breakfast with bacon (Kelsey's favorite!)  Next we went to church and then had the daunting task of where to eat!  We didn't want to do a fancy dinner, since we were thinking about doing that the following Sunday to celebrate, and we didn't want to do chinese, so that didn't really leave us many options, so we ended up at.........................................

Yes  - we did KFC!

We were starting to run out of options and neither of us was really feeling one place or another, so we ended up at the KFC which was on our way home.  

Then we came home and I finally watched the Count of Monte Cristo with Kelsey and it was great!  However our celebrating doesn't stop there - this Sunday we will be ziplining and going to a fabulous dinner.....look out for future posts.

Until next time - Remember to always take time each day to be thankful......for something!

First Mini

This Monday Kelsey took his first mini.  For those of you not in med school - the mini is one of 3 that students take each semester that will test them on all 5 subjects they are studying (histology, anatomy, physiology, dps (doctor/patient/something else) and biochemistry. 

Kelsey all ready to go with his #2 pencils 

(that was all they could take into the testing room with them)

After the mini we went to "Beach Bash" which is thrown by the student government each semester for mini 1.  It was a beautiful day and we got some free food and t-shirts out of it.

They made it through mini 1!

BEACH BASH

After the beach bash we headed to the CAC for the Ross Christian Fellowship Mini 1 Party - it was awesome! We had a blast playing Taboo and having hotdogs wrapped in bacon (well Kelsey did at least).

After mini 1 Kelsey still has a Histology exam this morning and an Anatomy Lab on Tuesday so even when you think you might get a break for a moment you don't!

Hopefully we will get to celebrate our 1st Anniversary this Sunday with at least a little dinner - we are hoping to go away for the day next weekend to go snorkeling and a nice dinner.

Until next time.......study hard (or at least try to learn something LOL)