Happenings

Well maybe the best news of all - there's a NEW STORE. And not just any store - a store on our side of town. Hallelujah!!! Up until now, whenever we needed anything, be it toilet paper or ultrapasteurized shelf milk, we had to hike down to the town center and hit up the World's Nastiest Grocery Store. Always smelly, always filled with rude people who look you right in the face then cut in front of you in line (who does that??), always selling bug-infested cereals and cake mixes. And the walk back home from there is a mile uphill. Not a great overall experience. I give it a D minus. But now, oh sweet mercy, a brand new shop has opened up only five minutes' walking distance from our house. The world is glorious! They seem to have everything we might ever need, including fresh rolls from our favorite bakery and ICE CREAM BY THE SCOOP. You don't understand how beautiful of a thing this is. Let me explain. The gross grocery store turns off their freezers each night. Just imagine the gummy, freezer-burned result of ice cream that’s been frozen and melted and frozen again every day since it first made its debut on Statia. We made the mistake of buying a carton our first month here, and oh gahhhhhh. Ice cream is the number one thing I’ve missed since being here. I pined for it. I talked about it with everyone I knew. My mom bought me a Cold Stone gift card as part of my birthday present last year. The most memorable parts of my trip to Florida in April were when my sister-in-law Serena and I got double-scoops of Edy’s ice cream in Epcot and when Corinne, Kyle and I hit up the Baskin Robbins in Pompano Beach. And NOW, for a mere two guilders ($1.14) I can buy a vanilla, chocolate, Neapolitan, or butterscotch ice cream cone. They load it up fairly well, too, and actually smash the ice cream down inside – it’s not just a tiny blob perched on top. Our first day there, I had two. I’m so happy.

Also kind of exciting – I saw another iguana! This time Eagle Eyes Jon was with me and spotted it sitting on top of a vine-covered tree. It had never occurred to me to search the tree tops, but there it was, and there we were, WITH NO CAMERA. We watched it for a while before continuing our trek to Darcy and Lianna’s, where Jon did a pivot turn and left the house with their camera in hand. The minutes ticked by. The next thing I knew it had been AN HOUR since he left, and I’d just barely determined that he was for sure dead when he showed up, soaked with sweat. Darcy was with him – he’d encountered Jon CLIMBING THE TREE on his way home from class.

Speaking of wild animals, this happened:

This is the same bull from the video. These local guys had him all lassoed – to what end I’m uncertain. But he was angry, and we had to walk right past him to get home. Once we were at a safe distance I snapped a couple of pictures. This is the last shot I got…

…because I was running for my life as I took this. He’d bolted, and snapped one of the ropes. We scrammed out of there.

ALSO EXCITING – we’re going home during Jon’s August break. We’ve got our flights and everything. I’m going to Idaho early, as usual, so Jon can be less distracted for finals, then he’ll join me. We’ll spend a few days in Alberta too. Jon needs to sort out some student loan stuff and also get his EYE LANCED. He’s had this infection in it ever since Christmas. A sty I guess you call it. A sty! Anyway, sterility is an issue on the island, so it’ll just have to wait.

And lastly, this is my favorite church ever:

Really, who hasn’t had this happen to them at some point or another? Of course, when it happened to me, I started my posterboard project over. These guys just shrugged.