Ramble On!

everything is what you make it...just because the library printers have been down for the past two days, the food in the cafeteria has become more and more oily, and the cost of milk,bread and peanut butter hasn't gone down(and will never do so) doesn't make me want to blow up at one of the nice ladies who happen to be behind any of those counters..its not their fault,and while it sucks for everyone;the key is that everyone has to deal with it..i saw a "professional" stateside professor open up a can on this little old librarian yesterday,he was complaining about the copy machine being down, and not being able to make copies for class which at a "decent institution would never be an issue"...when one of the tech guys poked his head around the door and was smirking, the old man said "this isn't funny, i take my job seriously!" ...judging by appearance he did (nice shirt,tie,slacks) but what he failed to understand is that he wasn't the only one who couldn't use the machine, no one else could either, but he just somehow thought that by yelling at the nice old lady behind the counter,he'd get what he wanted..it was sad to see, and it happens all the time back home...
down here the attitude is very laid back,as ive mentioned before..people don't move very fast, and customer service pretty much sucks when you're looking for information, but once you get past the phone line, and into some face time,then you're in the money. people matter to people down here. its more than just the "good morning/afternoon/night" that comes with seeing ANYONE on the street and my favorite: walking into class 30 minutes late (its ok down here, granted its not a good idea,but it happens all the time) i've quickly learned that in striking up casual conversation with the women behind the counters, road workers (bill,from cinncinatti,moved here a year ago, works for the road dept. let me fill up my water bottle after doin the beast for the first time,after we had talked about football for at least 10 minutes in the hot sun..then the two ladies in the library who didn't charge me to print off a page i needed,and even had me use their personal computer to do so...after we talked about me being from arkansas and so on) it just hit me that there are "rules" everywhere, but for each of those there is a seperate rule that is usually different from the actual one,depending on the circumstance..but i know this is everywhere, its not native to the caribbean,i'm not that awestruck and naive (though i don't spell very well)..it just seems that it is more prevalent down here..its tough to make a lot of money on this island..with st.thomas its a different dynamic,but here its tough..
..there is so much potential for the school and the island..but for one reason or another,which im finding out has a lot to do with corrupt politicians,it just doesn't happen..a million dollar (much needed) road bill was passed but the contract was given to a phony company,and the money dissapeared..several cases along those lines have occured recently, and the island isn't quite where it could be..tourism is a far far cry from what it should be, there is a lot of rivalry between st.thomas and st.croix..its a very complex situation that im coming to understand..in talking with islanders i've heard things that won't show up in the text..and that no one stateside really even bats an eye toward;not with the issues back home..
...with all of that...im not at all trying to be negative, because thats not it at all...im just telling it like it is,unfortunately...
...it is still the most beautiful part of the world and i wouldn't trade anything to be anywhere else right now..for those of you who are coming down to visit, don't get the wrong idea, just know that behind all of the big smiles that you'll get, are issues..and thats the same all through the caribbean, tourism has taken over many islands, and its a tricky dynamic..but it is what it is..im heading off to st.john for the weekend, ill be sure and get some "decent" pics
hope all is well back home :)

"I'm naught daed!"

...hopefully some of you have seen monty python's search for the holy grail...if not you'll be missing the humor in the title of this here blog...its been a few days i guess,since last i rambled on and on...so you must be thinking I was waiting around collecting a myriad of amazing stories for your enjoyment....well you're probably going to be dissapointed,and utterly crushed to learn that I have nothing of the sort..what I do have well..here it is..
...monday was nice, had an early start with a pit of "fat camp" PT around 6 am..I say around because nothing happened until 6.30,so much for structure,organization and all that jazz from the Army...oh well i didn't sign up to learn time management,it was more for the outside stuff, and thus far its been decent..today was actually a drastic improvement, a very well organized affair with the same "fat camp" participants as before, but a few others who either are reserves or in the Guard, either way they seem to have a clue..while I would openly confess to know nothing about marching, or specific commands of formation, I can at least follow the simple instructions of "don't quit"..its quite alarming the number of people who can't do a push up, or jumping jacks...i keep referring to it as a "fat camp" because a majority of the freshmen cadets are not used to any sort of physical activity..what i dont get is, what did they think they signed up for? anyway, its a growing program and there is a lot more emphasis on numbers at this point than other things..as long as they are here its a good thing..
...this school is pretty much a community college, there is very little that shares anything close to universities back home..in a discussion with a great guy who i met in rotc, he said that there is really nothing different between the education he's getting here and the one he could get at harvard..i was glad he mentioned that often quoted statement, made at most any university that isn't the caliber of a harvard or a yale, but the differences are many. for starters,as i sit in the library surrouned by three seperate groups of people standing around talking, not in a hushed tone, and with no idea that they are in a library,where people come to study..everytime i've been in here its been the same way, one person on a computer with a crowd hovering around...not to say that it doesn't happen everywhere, but it is somehow different here..there just isnt the sense of study here...another thing he mentioned earlier was the lack of class participation in discussions,even in classes such as caribbean history or other "home hitting" courses..the glaring problem is that people don't care!! they don't want to be in the classes, dont care about what the professor is saying....can't seem to understand that of course the guy may seem a little weird to them,but heck if I devoted 8 years of study to indigenous peoples of the caribbean, i think i would get excited about "Carib indian lecture day" (not a real holiday) but yeah...as opposed to say a harvard where one pays a huge amount of money to sit in a class with others who can 1.form a decent opinion to be backed up with something close to reasons, instead of "just because i think that" ..and 2. care about their education..
...again down here,its a very sad and unfortunate thing that, education is not what excites the masses...
im not saying that there isn't anyone who cares about a decent education,thats not the case,because there are a good number who are doing amazing things down here, its just been my observation up to this point, in the classes that I'm in, both "grad" level and intro level, that there isn't a lot of excitement....part of this stems i believe from the state of high schools on the island,as most of the students at UVI have lived their whole life on St.Croix, which serves as a disadvantage in a couple of ways..im tired of goin on this, im sure I'll pick it up later, but I dont want it to seem that I'm unhappy or anything close to it...so here's some other news
saturday im heading out early to get to the ferry docks in st.croix, and head to st.thomas to catch a ferry then on to st.john....so besides that its pretty much a straight shot! why would i want to spend a few days on beautiful st.john you ask?(home of kenny chesney's get away house,by the way)just to run in a little race they are having, and take advantage of the free night in the beachside cabin they are offereing to all racers...like many of the things im taxed to do down here, its going to be tough,but i'll find a way to do it...somehow..i think that about does it..this wooden stool is killin me so im gonna seek the comfort of a nicer chair elsewhere...today is inca movie day! aaahhoora!

beachin'

So far the weekend has proved to be just exactly as I had planned previously..2 days, 2 different beaches, and 1 more to go tomorrow..the weather has been great(of course) and its pretty much paradise...there's no other way to say it..It is now kinda sinking in that I'm not here for just a week or something, and have to rush to see everything on the island so fast..this is where i'll be for a while, and with the schedule that i have this semester it looks like i'll have time to do all sorts of amazing things..

...friday morning i got up around 6, and made it out by 6:30 to go run to the beast and back, while it was dry when i got up, as soon as i hit the road the rain started,and it wasnt just a little sprinkle, it was a downpour..but it was awesome really, running in the rain is so cool, anyone who has done it before(and hasn't been in a suit gettin to work) will echo that...anywhoo it seems that after getting up early and hittin the road not long after, my day got off on the right foot(followed swiftly by the left foot....but alas i digress) ..met with mrs.hepburn and she informed caroline and i, about the policies for how to deal with a hurricane...theres no need to go into specific details here, but there is a plan in place and if it comes time then i'll be fine..she just wanted to make sure we knew what all to do,since dean came rather early in the semester she hadn't had a chance yet to breif us..so it was comforting to say the least....

....the prospect of getting a job down here is fading rather quickly...if i had a reliable set of wheels, it would be a different story,but since there isn't anything close by campus that is looking for: a strapping young lad of 19 with 2+years in the fabled foodservice industry...im pretty much SOL, but its ok...ive rethought any plans for trying to put a mt.mudd kiosk up on the island, it would really be a bad idea, simply because these people don't know how to drive for beans around here!!! its ridiculous....last week a cop fled the scene of a hit and run...a freakin' cop! supposedly they are 'corrupt'.."just give em' twenty bucks and they'll let you off"..always comforting :) ...things are just really really different around here...as in legal and such

unos ejemplos son:

1.the only people required to wear a seatbelt in the car are the driver and up front passenger

--->but its illegal to talk on the cell phone while driving --->it is legal to ride in the bed of a truck..and they do it all the time...they always seem to stare when they pass me on the road running (wonder why? haha)

2.the drinking age is 18, though they dont card at any place on the island...so pretty much,whats the point...it should be noted that drinking is not a national pastime by any means...there is something to be said about the line of thinking that takes the taboo nature out of something, people respond differently to it...its just something interesting

3. i just found this out tonite, and was floored..i was talking to a guy in the dorm tonite..i think his name is remy,but anywhoo thats irrelevant to the story...he was telling me how many girls in his sr.class got pregnant last year alone(5) and then went on to say it was illegal. it is illegal for anyone under 18 to have sex. irregardless whether or not it is consentual or not...he said its just from the huge numbers of teen pregnancy,and high AIDS rate down on the island..its really a sad sad thing...but part of me cant help but think that the law may in itself be counterproductive to its noble end..this is just one example of the complexities of life down here..there are others that im becoming aware of,through classes and just casual conversation...calling this the U.S. virgin islands is a huge stretch..we share the language(sort of,ha) and that is about it.

....no one cares about the political crap goin on...as they can't vote for president down here...and the war in iraq and afganistan is not the big story that it is back home...ive yet to feel out the pervading mood regarding the millitary,but im sure i'll find it out at some point when i wear the rotc BDU uniform on tuesdays...

...all is still well, and the beaches are magnificant,hope the pictures convey such

...after a hard 4 days of classes that for the most part didn't actually start until after 2, looks like i can actually get some rest tomorrow...its about time....except it probably won't happen, i've got soo much planned for the weekend, hit up the beach and hold down a chair, give the sun something else to burn besides the blistering sands..again, someone will have to do it, and it looks like i'm one who can help.
today wasn't that bad at all, we got a little bit of a shower to cool it off/make it more humid,but still it was refreshing..i didn't melt or anything...i thought of CCR when it was comin' down on a sunny day, cause it was today...anywhoo enough about rain and such, as i know yall haven't gotten much of that back home, and on to more important matters:food.
...dinner was a special treat, thanks in part to the "selectivly bi-lingual" cafeteria lady who works every now and then, somehow me saying "2 hot dog buns" earned me 2 scoops of mashed potatoes with a hearty spoonful of chili on top of the potatoes...i just figured it was some sort of caribbean dish "taters-n-chili" seemed like a pretty catchy name for the stuff, i could probably market it..to my immediate surprise it wasn't bad at all, it just made the chili somewhat thicker, and the taters much runnier than i like...if the chili would have been like mom's back home with more beans and some actual flavor to it, and maybe let it cook for more than an hour and throw it over some real mashed potatoes, twould be good...i guess its not much different than gettin a baked potato and putting chili and such on it, but still there is a world of difference between a backed potato and two hearty "plops" of mashed taters...but that was a very unfilling meal, that i finished off with a yellowish hotdog...mm mm...probably the first meal i've actually thought" ehh, i could have gone without that" ..but mrs. matthews loves me and knows me by name as well(that makes two caf. women now) and she's the manager and whatnot..she's such a nice lady, actually took me and two other girls from washington state*should be noted that they hate it here* to the grocery store tonite, so i could secure a 5$ jar of peanut butter...i think i found where they stockpile it on the island..k-mart was lagging behind..oh and if milk gets around 3 a gallon, thats about 1/2 the price it is down here..i saw gallons for 5.90, and half gallons for 3.50...loraine*washington girl* and i talked mrs.matthews into getting some skim milk, so we dont have to chew our milk and cereal at the same time now!! whoo hoo!
..the coffee they brew down here is soo strong and black, its hard on my stomach and i don't want to drink too much of it, or it'll turn my teeth really brown, its ridiculously thick, but it does taste better than fourbucks...but then again you could grind up lava rocks, run them through a filter and that would be better than their excuse for a "coffee type drink"...but enough of that
...tomorrow ill hit up the beast again, this time im going to go early in the morning before it gets all hot and such, should make for a goodtime...
...it should also be noted that there is this awesome fruit,actually called the passion fruit and the juice they have here on the island is amazing..its pretty sweet and id almost compare it to like...well a really sweet drink...lots of sugar seems to be the way to go on the island..these folk aren't too keen on cooking foods in any other way besides frying, and they love their whole milk..which is grosss,in case i haven't said that yet...anywhoo whatever time this says it posts,its probably not true cause its nigh 11 here and since im gettin up early, im off to bed...should get some more pics up after this weekend...hope all is well with all who read this rambling mess..i just hope mrs.southard (my favorite english teacher this year) isn't reading this and wanting to take her trusty red pen to my innumerable grammatical errors..such is life :)

More folk

While nothing compares to the unbearable heat and humidity of back home, its still pretty warm down here today..the locals are freaking out, I'm used to it,but to say that its comfortable at 90 with no AC would be a farse..classes are goin well, sadly archery was cancelled today since the targets were broken,and ever the dedicated one that he is ole coach wray(reminds me actually of a jimmy buffett type character, just some older white guy from the states who is just bummin...archery,tennis, and bowling...seriously the guy is a workaholic!) anywhoo so with nothing to do until 4, i went for a little run,whereby i discovered that its a little warm outside..im just glad that my roomate doesn't mind that our room probably has a little bit of a "funk" to it..but its not that bad...i dont think it is anyway...
this sunday the school is putting on a big beach party/BBQ thing out on fredriksted beach, should be goodtimes, of doin..oh i dunno, not a whole lot,but at least it'll be not a whole lot on the beach and not in the dorms,which you wouldn't believe how much DOESN'T happen with a whopping 70 people staying on campus at night..its makes sleeping a little easier i guess..
..hair was getting too long so i cut it today,my goal is to only go through the 2 travel size shampoos i brought down with me...by showering once a week i should be on a good pace..so far so good..they dont have gatorade down here, powerade seems to have the market cornered, and no one likes the orange flavor except me it seems ha..its always the coldest out of the machines and such..we finnaly got our lounge fridge/freezer switched out.....wow this is some boring mundane stuff,im sorry...haven't scaled any mountains lately, and there is only so much of the beach i can talk about, or running...so i guess you'll have to just bare with,until something amazing happens..but holding you're breath,i wouldn't do that..
...think im gonna have to break down and buy a coffee pot, the stuff they brew here isn't dependable at all..its no mt.mudd..and with nothing but whole(lard ass) milk cereal is out of the question...
...on a lighter note, big jay(he looks like some huge african warrior,who is always smiling) anywhoo that guy gave me a list of races on the island and some that are over on st.john. there is a tri. over on st.john over labor day weekend, and he said he can hook it up with a place to stay since he has friends over there and stuff..so im pretty sure im gonna do it.....
......well i best get back to reading all about the indigenous folk of latin america...boy is this interesting stuff, its really sad and depressing and all that, no wonder they want to get out, their history classes must really suck the life right out of you...what is really cool is that the professor is from guyana(eventually ill ask him about jonestown...but i thought that a little much for day 1) and he's written a book about the carribean, doncha know that puppy was required reading. I've got him for both Latin America and Carib. history, both classes are a teleconfrence class where kids on the st.thomas campus sit around a tv and mic. to hear him talk and see us..its a pretty bad deal for them,as they never get to see him and he is rather soft spoken and yeah..kinda rough first day...

The folk

Not a lot of time today...I did get my ASU email back up, so if anyone sent anything over the weekend, I didn't get it.
Started classes yesterday and surprisingly they are very small..archery has a whopping 7 folks, and latin america,along with being a teleconfrence course broadcast to st.thomas has like 10, 6 here and 4 there...we have AC, they dont,and the professor is here as well..lots of reading in that upper level, as well as my carribean history...
..i've come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter where you go, there are always those people who don't really care about school,and i thought it would be different here on the island with the situation being slightly different..as in not a lot of play money floating around and the evident need for a good education to make something of yourself..seems obvious to me,but i guess not everyone sees that..the library closes at 8pm, and some classes don't start until 8.30, there is a 24hr confrence room that is open in the dorm where I'll be doing most of my studying..it has AC,which is key...
...maybe its just the culture, and maybe my scope is limited, but so far, from what i've seen/heard amongst most of the girls around here(from the island) their mouths are pretty rough, it was hard to pick out with the accent at first, but by now i can pretty much get the gist of an F bomb and several others that seem to come out a lot..really unattractive also is this snorting i've heard...like in public..its gross...something like with a runny nose,but one of those deeper guttoral snort things, like i said its gross, and its gross..its the kind of stuff that daniel gates does and no one says anything to him about it, just making random noise and such,haha....we were really lucky that Dean missed us...its gotten pretty nasty from what i can tell..maybe yall will get some rain..
...the ROTC bit is going to be great..a little pt from 6-7am M W F..haha there are way more girls than guys,the program is really small..and most of the folk are freshmen, not used to physical activity...they threw out doin a 2 mile run and the place went nuts...looks like ill keep running on my own haha...this island is so beautiful,but sadly i think too many of the residents forget that people come from all over the world to climb their mountains, swim in their water, and drink their rum...Noell, one of the sophmores in the class told me about a hike the 29th, and that there is a club onthe island as well, so I'm gonna get it hooked up..hope yall are staying cool..and again my email is back up and running

Peanut Butter Jelly Time

So today I conquered all to secure the last two remaining containers of peanut butter and jelly,on the entire island,and probably the world,but that could actually be stretching things a bit too far....but you never know. Still haven't gotten back with ASU's email service, tis rather frustrating I might add,however it is what it is,and there isn't much more than that..
As of now its been a week on the island, its crazy to think that just over a week ago I was chillin in the boro' with the todd..but not any more...
...last night was fun, i guess you could say, had my first and probably last experience "hittin' up the local clubs", and wow! they can dance, and I,my friends cannot. Think of just about every stereotypical white kid thrown into a mix of dark island folk and some blaring calypso beats..and there's me just standing there in something a little less severe than shock and not enough appreciation to be in awe. (no anti-terrorism subliminal messaging meant by the aforementioned uses of shock and awe) i guess im just more of a sit around and talk type of person,not the jump around and yell,and sweat all over everyone...did i mention i can't dance...i must say it was a beautiful sunrise,which thankfully was my cue to go to bed, haha...so from now on when i see the girls gettin all dressed up to "go out" ,my answer is a most definately no...
im ready for classes to get started, even though we'll have a little break for labor day (?) that first monday in september, a few of us calmer folk are plannin a little hop to st.thomas...oo0oo i also heard about camping out on the beach of cinnamon bay over on st.john....as far as that goes, its not matter of if,only a question of when can i go and do that...no runnin today...not yet anyway maybe a little later,but im still a little sore from the beast

Strike one!

<--that would be a little st.croix sunset on a night before the "big storm"

So this Dean character never showed up, the whole island was waiting and he decides to be a no show, pretty much just blew right past us. All we got was some high winds and a little bit of rain..anyone who knows whats up with ASU's new email system let me know because I can't get into my email as of now and,that my friends isn't good...


...went for a little run yesterday out to Carambola, mostly just tiny backroads that aren't that busy, but this Carambola place is a resort thats way back in the hills (mountains) and ends up to be right on the beach..as none of the water can be owned, even the resort's beaches are open to the public,though this one is back up and around mountain roads so its rather exclusive due to its location..heading out of carambola,back up the mountain, is what they call "the beast" its a 7/10 of a mile climb up, with a 16%-27% grade going up, its freakin' steeeep! but it was amazing to be able to just set out on a run from campus that is basically inland and run to the beach,look out over this outcropping and whamo,you've got carribean water crashing on carribean rocks..a little different than runnin up and down Garland and the ones on campus..not much else is goin on, the island is slowed down even more than usual with some of the weather problems,but its really just cloudy and windy,nothin more than that...looks like ole Dean swung and missed....im sure there will be another one comin in a week or so...


there is supposed to be this travelling party band that leaves christiansted blaring music and dancing on the back of trucks and ends up on the beach, Jay said its goodtimes, almost like a mini Carnival celebration...its actually called a "Tramp" ...should be interesting and all that jazz

Day 3

Today was filled with.....well....the usual as of late,and thus, not a whole lot. Rise and shine at the crack of 9:30, roll out of bed, off to breakfast where the cooks know my name(already) eesh..anywhoo..then we had some dinky convocation bit where we were once again welcomed,i guess its for all those who may somehow not feel welcomed enough by the overarching hospitality of the island folk themselves, and somehow need that extra little dash of "welcome to UVI and the St.Croix" ..my welcome has come in the way of drivers honking whilst i go out for a run, it seems though they may have the 6 ft worth of lane space, they somehow think i owe them the 8 inches of sholder as well..ahh oh well...mom dont worry its way bigger, more like 11inches really :D...
..."tryin' to reason with hurricane season"...ha,may as well faget abouwt it maan! its gonna go wherever it wants to..but fear not, im ready and all that jazz, i actually slipped in my hurricane boots to my carry on, so im good to go..some kids from the states who i guess never get anything close to rain falling from the sky and little bit of wind,were completly flippin out asking a million specific questions about where to go, and what to do...all to no real avail as "big jay" (housing admin) laughed it off saying he loves hurricanes and that they are the best things..the irony came when i asked the girl who was about to have a breakdown,where she was from....LA of all places...ummm,excuse me....HUGE holes in the ground all of a sudden, buildings collapsing, roads jacked for days, and you never know its coming...i found quite a bit of humor in all that...
..classes start on monday, which will be quite a relief, im actually looking forward to a bit of book larnin'...
....on a lighter note...all of the dorms windows face eachother, and with no airconditioning mine stay open all the time,of course..well lets just say im waiting for my "newness" to wear off..i suddenly have a girl back home,haha, and am currently off the cruzan market..eesh...ill get more pics up probably after the storm passes..they say that the day before a hurricane, its the most beautiful day ever..i can't wait to see

Day 2

<--"Doo doo dooo lookin' out my back door!" Thanks John Fogerty...yeah anywhoo thats a shot from the balcony looking out onto the "front yard" per se, with the tree lined driveway. For those who know the distinguishing features between regular coconuts and yellow ones, they'll be happy to know that the trees on campus only produce the fabled yellow breed..its a pretty awesome treat,not gonna lie(actually its a totally mundane fact that means abosolutely nothing but i thought id throw it in there to bore you)

"Wake up! Wake up! Don't be alarmed when the time comes! Don't be alarmed when the time comes...let us go!'' It seems James Brown must have been from the islands, and most surely had lived through hurricane season...the "rumor" is that we should get hit with a little bit of weather this weekend..the best part is that they haven't had one in a "while"..i don't know what that means, but usually back home its a recipe for a pretty nasty one...but again we all know its coming, and actually have a party planned out in the courtyard during it, should be goodtimes,goodtimes(the flag was the first thing up btw!)

Today its a little cloudyier(because thats how i spell it) which may bring some refuge from what the locals are calling the "heat". Yesterday on the beach it got up to almost 90,and the wind just wouldn't die down to below 15mph!!! it was gorgeous, but even with the heat wave the water is still sittin at about 70,so its cool when you get in but not too shabby afterwords. yesterday's beachin' was fun,and it was nice to get off campus and as an added bonus, we took a little stop into the K-MART!!! tis the place to be any ole time, service is....well...people do work the registers.....more so at their own pace..again goodtimes goodtimes...as a general rule, anything that has to be shipped first from china(where its made horrible cheap) and then to the states (where its packaged and re-shipped) is going to run you a fair bit more than at home..milk is about double the price,though the world famous cows on the island are used only for their beef, i think somebody is missin out,im not even sure if they've tried to milk them, though tryin is the first step to failure,its worth a shot...on a lighter note, the locals don't get out when it rains, bad luck or somthing, and they dont get in the ocean in the "wintertime" because its "too cold"..70 is jacket wearing time and 60 would be freezing...such is life...today doesnt hold much in store other than registering for another class and hittin the beach again

Day 1

I finnaly got the blog thing set up, which for me, being the technologically and phonetically challenged lad that I am this is a first! woot...but thats beside the point. After a scenic journey up to Chicago's O'hare Intl. instead of Dallas's DFW and a pleasant stay in San Juan overnight, I made it to St.Croix on Sunday morning. Taxi rates are horrible, but all i heard the whole way was how much people gripe about the price, only to be slapped with 17$ after no more than a 5 minute ride...I too am one of those ppl now! But its ok..the school itself is pretty small, 1200 kiddos and a whopping 70 folk in the dorms,which aren't airconditioned, but are pretty nice,as in new condidtion and all with huge screened windows that catch a pretty good island breeze..its regrettable that i have yet to make it to the beach...the school is at least 5 miles inland. it has to be 5, because i set out to run to the beach and after 5 miles, decided to turn back for risk of going on forever and running out of daylight. They had the typical meet and greet the activites booth thing today in the commons, fortunately for me I was volunteered by way of being at the right place at the right time (or something like that) to wear the traditional island Carnival troupe costume..dont worry there are pictures floating around the internet by now im sure, i was caught trying to dance, but trying was the key...the locals seemed amused...very amused..its a much different society down here, one where race and color aren't an issue,which is of course why they looked past my attempts at "dancing". i've found that we in the south share the same notions on politeness and hospitality as do the islanders. Good morning,if not returned promtly can result in...well..ahh..i dont want to know,but i've heard bad things..