4 days in....

I have to start by saying that I love my new home in St. Kitt's! I have been on the island for four days and can honestly call it home. First of all, the weather is amazing; it's never cold. At times it would be "too hot", but there is always a cool breeze coming off the Caribbean Sea. But the islands' beauty extends far beyond its perfect weather. The architecture is very diverse. On campus, it is pretty usual: nice buildings, pastures for the horses and donkeys, except that it is located on top of a cliff overlooking the Caribbean Sea. Almost every turn you make is picturesque. After campus you come to the town of Basseterre...aka "the ghetto". The streets are incredibly small and you drive on the left-hand side. All the buildings are incredibly old and some are abandoned, not to mention that the island prison is located right on the street. Many Kittitians line the street, just hanging out, smoking pot and listening to music that is so loud is vibrates the entire van we've been driving around this week. But, in its own way, it's still beautiful. Almost all the buildings are brightly colored stucco and, although most are falling apart, I still like the look of them...by no means would I want to live in them, but if they were cleaned up, they would be very beautiful.
Further down the road the scenery completely changes to mansions. It feels like you've entered into a completely different island. Further still, is the outlook to the peninsula, which is one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen. On one side is the Atlantic Ocean and the other is the Caribbean Sea. The photos do not do it justice. The Atlantic side is more choppy and too dangerous to swim in, while the Caribbean is calm, clear blue, and perfectly safe to snorkel, scuba dive, or just swim around in. You can go out pretty far and you can still stand up on just sand - hardly any rocks. It's so clear you can see starfish on the bottom of the Sea floor. It was an amazing experience!
So far my orientation group has gotten to have really amazing adventures. We hiked along a ridge line that lead to Reggie Beach where we swam, ate, and had some tropical drinks! We took a Catamaran trip to the furthest tip of St. Kitt's where we snorkeled. We didn't see many fish because of the hurricane that came through awhile ago, but I'm sure next time we'll be able to see a lot. We also road horseback through the rain forest which was really fun!
So...needless to say, I wouldn't change the decision to come here for anything! All my classmates I've met so far are really nice and we are all so excited to finally be able to start school! Keep checking back for updates! I miss and love everyone back home!!!