"The boat"

A few highlights from the past week... starting with "the boat"!

"The boat" came on Tuesday! There are, of course, lots of boats around here, but this one is special. And HUGE! It comes every other Tuesday and brings in all of our food, as well as any other major items we’ve ordered and paid to have shipped here. The new SFS van, for example, came in on the shipment two weeks ago. "The boat" makes everyone at the center happy because it brings fresh fruits and vegetables, which often don't last the full two weeks in between shipments. (Notice the fresh fruit salad included in our Wednesday morning breakfast!)

This week’s boat delivery was especially exciting for me because it brought my (and Brett’s) boxes of personal belongings!! I’ve been living out of the duffel bag I brought with me on the plane up until now, and sleeping on sheets one of the students from the previous semester left here. But now I have my own sheets, snorkeling gear, an extra bathing suit, and my hat, plus some extra clothes, shoes, and soap. Yay!!!!

We had to drain our pool a few days ago. We don't have a filter for it, and the method we've been using up until now for cleaning it, which involved periodically pumping old, dirty water back into the ocean and then refilling the pool with fresh sea water, now warrants a hefty fee levied by the DECR (Department of Environment and Coastal Resources). We're working on getting a filtration system put in, but major operations like that tend to take a while down here so it's hard to say when the pool will be up and running again.

Also this past week, I got my blood work done at the clinic so I'm one step closer to getting my work visa. Here's a shot from the front of the clinic:

Last Monday night we were taught to dance the Bachata by a woman named Lenore who's from the Dominican Republic but moved to South Caicos about two years ago. Her uncle, Daniel, is actually our nightguard/handyman and lives here at the center. In the first photo on the left, Lenore (on far right) and Daniel (on far left) are demonstrating the Bachata for us, and in the second photo, some SFS students are taking a crack at it!

...Tonight, Merengue!