Last days of summer.

Today is my last day of Caribbean leisure before classes start tomorrow. I'm oddly nervous about class. I'm not a bad student; I study hard, take good notes, read assigned material, etc. In undergrad that rarely netted me below a B. In my last 45 credit hours I think I got one B- and one C. But something about the threat of vet school-level course material has my insides turning into jello.

The heat here will completely reconfigure your appetite. It is much easier to adopt a healthier diet here than in the States because not only does your metabolism slow down, so you're hungry less often and satisfied with less food when you do eat, but it also leaves you craving crunchy, cold things like fresh fruit and salad instead of carb-heavy, fried meals.

I'd been out of academia for about six months before starting here and my immune system apparently requires very little time to acclimate to an environment where I'm not being exposed to a high volume of contagious pathogens on a daily basis, because it was not prepared for being in close proximity to over a hundred people every day. I have been sick with a horrible cold all week. Although I'm on the tail end of it now and can taste and smell things again (YAY!), I still have almost unbearable pain and swelling in my throat. I've been taking 800mg doses of ibuprofren 2-3 times a day just to manage it enough to swallow.

On a happier note, I have more pretty pictures from the last two days of orientation.

I'm still playing around with my new camera. I love this thing! For anyone who has a good eye for shots but lacks the technical skills to justify a pricey, high-end camera, the Canon SX130 is idiot proof.

Downtown Basseterre, in what is known as the Circus.

On our drive out to Reggae Beach we stopped to take photos here. On the left is the Atlantic Ocean and on the right is the Caribbean Sea.

Lion Paw! Reggae Beach's resident beach dog.

Wilbur, the beach boar. He's super friendly and enormous! This picture doesn't do him justice because there's nothing to scale his size by. He's much larger than an adult person, let's put it.

The Orientation Leaders threw a barbecue on Timothy Beach for the firsties.

There are two major Caribbean beers that are brewed locally; Carib and Stag. I much prefer Carib. It starts off with a flavor similar to Miller Light, but finishes much more malty/nutty, like a wheat beer. Perfect for hot weather.

Pretty sunset needs no explanation.

Our catamaran trip out to a snorkeling site off of St. Kitts called Shitten Bay, and then to Nevis for some cocktails on the beach.

Our sister island, Nevis. The bars on Nevis make a famous cocktail known as "Killer Bees" that are quite potent and have fresh-grated nutmeg on top.