Beach Walks

My favourite form of exercise on the island is going for a beach walk. I often forget how lucky we are to be able to wear shorts in January and stroll along the beach. I have heard some say that Seven Mile Beach is the sandiest most beautiful stretch in the Caribbean, but looking at pictures of other beaches, I find it hard to justify any beach as the most "beautiful." With the many different beaches it is so easy to vary the type of beach walk, so I never get bored. When I am feeling like a good work out I grab my I-pod and head to Seven Mile, where you can literally walk for 7 miles on the white sands. This beach is best for gawking at the colourful floral print clad and sun burnt tourists. It is also the hub of the island day-life. From jet-skis flying across the water, to the para-sailers in the sky, there is always an array of activity. This beach is also good for some self-esteem boosting, as there are always plenty of people who are larger, crazier and more fashion naive than myself. Plus, with the new hotel being built, there are loads of local workers who whistle and yell every time a woman (girl or granny) walks by.
For the days when I want to get in a bit of a sanity walk (the kind to make you forget your day and rest your soul), I can leave right from our place and walk along South Sound. We live right across the street from a beautiful little bay, guarded by a far off reef. On windy days I can hear the huge waves crashing as the open sea laps at the barrier reef. On calm days there is hardly a ripple in the tourquoise waters. The strip of beach is quite thin, but it is always void of human life. I love to stroll around, pick up shells and stare straight out... imagining I can see Venezuela. Some of my best thinking is done while wandering this stretch, but the beach is also good for running alongside. In fact, in the evenings it seems like one long treadmill, as all the island's athletes go for their run along the straight stretch of road.
When Blake and I want to go for a walk to get away from it all, or imagine what the island would have looked like before inhabitation, we head to the North Side. There is a huge section of land that is protected by the National Trust, therefore it is completely barren. You can walk for hours and not see any sign of life. Somedays there are horses that lazily stroll by with a rider on top, but most of the time you have the beach to yourself. This area is also best for beach combing. Since it is uninhabited, there are lots of interesting things to find. Unfortunately the wind blows in a lot of junk from the ocean as well. My favourite thing about the North Beach is the way the wind blows off the water and bends the tips of the palm trees. When you look all the way down the beach you can feel what it would be like to be shipwrecked on a deserted island!
Some days we just want to have a mini vacation and a little stroll. On those days Rum Point is the destination. With the most adorable little inlet, and shallow calm crystal clear waters, it is hard not to feel relaxed. It is also nice to have a full service bar and restaurant right on the beach too. As it is a 40 minute drive from home, we usually pack up a good book and spend the whole afternoon out there. A mudslide tops the whole experience off.
The final beach I must mention is Smith Cove. It isn't much for walking, since it is really just a cove, but the snorkelling there is amazing. The dark blue water rushes in between the two ironshore jetties and laps up the sloped beach. The ironshore is also good for jumping off as well. This area can get bombarded by a tourist bus with absolutely no warning, and go from fun to frantic in mere seconds, but they leave as suddenly as they come, and the calm is restored.
So, on this wonderful Friday evening, I am heading out on a walk along South Sound to relieve the stress and tension of a long but rewarding week of work, by gazing at the final rays of sunlight reflect off the cerulean sea. Have a great evening!!!

Pictured from top Shoe Tree on South Sound Beach, Mom at Rum Point, Seven Mile Beach, Sunset at Smith Cove, beautiful and natural North Beach

Exhaustion

Ahhh, Saturday morning and finally a bit of piece in our lives! It seems that since January has begun, we are both running around like crazy, working long hours and basically just falling asleep as soon as dinner is done, just to get up and do it again the next day. I can honestly say that I have forgotten that I live in paradise these past few weeks, but at the same time, it brings a sense of normalcy that has been lacking since we arrived.
My job is going amazingly well. I am both inspired and awed by the children that I teach. I have never seen or experienced teaching quite like this before. I have 16 special ed kids in my class, and 0 hours of aid time. The kids are loving and warm and respectful to me, but they are also fiery and hot headed and loud. It is an interesting combination to be sure. Despite the long days with no breaks (I have to arrange their hot lunches and supervise them during their lunch too) and oddities of the school (no phones in rooms and no announcement system, which means communication, everything is cancelled last minute, you can only photocopy/do any office work from 8:00-4:00 because the secretaries lock the office and we don't have keys) I am loving it. I have learned that I knew nothing about the culture of this island before this job. Everyday I learn something new, both good and bad. One of my students has a father in prison for 18 years because he was the leader of a cocaine ring, another's father "takes wires and cables that don't belong to him"(a.k.a steals) and sells them to the dump. One poor boy allegedly had his father throw kerosene on his mother and light a match. These stories horrify me and bring me to tears, but they also ignite a fuel in my heart to keep my classroom a safe zone. Honestly I have failed a few times, like on Thursday when a girl turned around and punched a boy in his eye, or yesterday when I caught a child wringing another's neck, but for the most part it seems safer than their homes and the street. Aside from the Caymanian quick tempers, bouts of violence and constant loud chatter, I do feel like I am having some successes in the class. Several students start and end the day with a hug. They like to spend their free time asking me questions about my life, and sharing their stories as well. Whenever I am on supervision in the field I have a gaggle of girls following me, touching my pale skin and hair and rubbing my clothes. On a whole I feel quite loved... but absolutely exhausted.

Anyways, enough about teaching. In other news we have managed to sell our car, for more than we purchased it for!!! We were thrilled, but it turns out the joke is still on us, because our "new" car burnt through a radiator yesterday and cost us $450- but Marvin came to our rescue. Oh Karma.

The weather here has been sporadic at best. We are having a nor' easterly and the winds are kicking up, but we aren't complaining about our weather. We have seen what is happening in the rest of the world. However, I am so impatient to get out diving. This has been a record break for us, nearly 2 months of being land locked!

Well, as it is Saturday morning we have to rush out and get our chores done, and then it is back to work for both of us. We were out on the Jolly Roger pirate ship for drinks last night, thus leaving work early. Tomorrow is Westin Beach Brunch, so I will have to be certain to start pacing myself today as well! Ah, there are still so many perks to living here in paradise.

Pictured above: Yesterday was Junior Police day at school. Some of our students with the RCIPS officers

Kick off to 2011

Happy 2011 everyone! We couldn't have been happier to kick off the New Decade with a beach party for the second year in a row! Fireworks displayed were visible all along Seven Mile Beach, and a huge bonfire was blazing. The only down side was the new infusion of KPMG new-starts (our replacements), reminding us that our 18 month stint will be coming to an end this year, and next year we could be celebrating indoors with a hot chocolate and warm sweater=(
With the beginning of a new year we have attempted to infuse a few new things into our lives. Trivial little additions, like a real lamp in our bedroom so we can see after 5pm, and an extra chair so both of us can sit on the patio have made our spartan flat feel a little more like home. Sweet Christmas gifts, like yoga, massages and gift certificates to a nice clothing store have added to our overall enjoyment on the island. Bags full of Canadian goodies from my parents ( 4 packs of Crystal Light, 3 packs of Thinsations, toothpaste and delicious triscuits) and an overwhelmingly generous box full of Starbucks VIA (F.Y.I- shipping cost of $55) from Dave Kuryk remind us of all the great things back home. Perhaps the best material addition come our way in 2011 was the purchase of a new car!!!! Okay, don't get too excited, it is only new to us, however, it is 7 years more modern than our green monster, and runs much more smoothly. Like any used car on island it has some quirks ( a back window that sometimes falls down, a radio that only plays out of one speaker and most importantly, no air conditioning) but with a little TLC and $400 for an A/C core, our "Snow White" Hyundia Accent should be a huge improvement over the beast. Blake and I had reached our breaking point when we realized that our old car nearly wore through the crank shaft pulley, which would have resulted in a written off car. We decided it was time to upgrade. Like any process on island, finding a good car and dealing with the neurotic, self-obsessed accusatory French owner left much to be desired, but thankfully we came out rather unscathed from the business transaction (minus a few dollars to fill up the tank which La Belle Fille left red-light empty, which was also before I had to drive her around and wait for her to interview at the Ritz Carlton before we could both head to the licensing department)... Anyways, we are now happy with our little car and are attempting to sell the old one with as few "white lies" as possible.
The best addition to 2011 is most definitely my new job!!!! I have gotten a job teaching in a local government school in Hell. Yes, you heard right. I officially work in Hell... Hell, West Bay that is! I have a homeroom year 5 class, which is equivalent to a grade four age level, but grade 5 curriculum. I have been volunteering in the class since October, so I have gotten a chance to meet all of the Hellians, and they are vivacious and enthusiastic. The school is a typical Caribbean school, with outdoor walkways, cafeterias and common areas. All of the kids are locals and only four of the fifty staff members are foreigners. I am well aware that I have my work cut out for me, but as a second language teacher I am jumping at the chance to learn more about the Caymanian culture, as well as get the chance to teach in a homeroom, since I generally have to hop around all day. My first day is tomorrow and Blake has been laughing at me while I prance around the house, as giddy as a child. This job will be quite heavy on the academics, and a lot is expected of the teachers here. They must eat with their class, both recess and lunch. They only get 20 minutes each day for copying and errands, while the kids are out on the field for lunch. The school is applying for IB (International Baccalaureate) status, which means a lot of time is spent co-planning with other teachers, and that great care and detail needs to be put into the lessons, as we will be evaluated and hopefully accredited with this international distinction by the end of June. No matter that I will be working long days, and commuting to the other side of the island, I am thrilled to be back in my career. The timing couldn't be better as well, since Blake also begins his busy season tomorrow ( 3-4 months of 11 hr days).
With the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011 we are excited by all of the additions to our lifestyle, and we are also gearing up to make some tough decisions by June, for we still have not decided what the future holds for us. What we do hope is that all of our families and friends have an amazing year, and that little pieces of joy find their way into your days.