Things I miss, Mark, and muddy water

Today was the first day since I have arrived that I did not see the sun. It was raining and cloudy ALL day. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The second test for the school is Monday morning so the rain just encouraged Mark to stay in and study. He has been studying days and days for hours and hours. It is incredible how much information is thrown at these students, and even more incredible that he can actually sort through it and make sense of it. Mark has been quite diligent when it comes to staying focused and studying, occasionally I will "catch" him playing on the Internet or happen to walk in while he was "resting his eyes.." But honestly, he has a pretty good system going on, he times himself and every hour he takes a 10 to 15 minute break before moving on to the next topic. This seems to be working quite nicely. But just before the mini, which is what the school calls these exams, the study habits increase and if you didn't know he was studying you may think he is loosing his mind due to the pacing and the talking to himself. According to some of the other spouses it is a good sign if he is talking to himself while studying, a bunch of the students do it to talk through it and he isn't shutting down, it was nice to know that is normal but what about when he talks to the dog?? (just kidding... well, maybe.) Either way I am proud of him for the hard work and dedication so far and how he just jumped into it and didn't let things overwhelm him.

Mark and mason when I walked into when they were JUST resting their eyes.....

So surprisingly I have adjusted pretty well to the island. There are a few things I miss desperately in the first few weeks...

1. Water pressure ( I would love it if I could actually get all the shampoo out!!!)

2. Not having to check expiration dates on absolutely EVERYTHING you buy.

3. A mirror- we have one in the bathroom on the medicine cabinet but all I can see is the top of my head- it is WAY to high. Not that I am vain but it would be nice to see if my hair is not all over.

4. Sharp Knives.... you have to be somewhat creative sometimes with what you can get and what you want, but when you can't even cut a piece of chicken it brings the frustration to another level

I am sure there will be plenty more in the coming weeks, but it has only been three weeks since I arrived.

When it rains alot here, you tend to get quite a tint to your water. It is basically mud flowing through the pipes. It hasn't been all that bad until today. The water is pretty much brown. It's amazing how many things in life you adjust to so quickly...Muddy water, ants everywhere you go and everywhere you eat, cows in the road, crabs in the road, people peeing on the side of the road when you are walking to campus... crazy.