The friendly island

St. Maarten is nicknamed "The friendly island" and rightfully so! We have been here 5 weeks now, but I have yet to run into a rude person..whether it be other classmates, faculty, neighbors, spouses, etc. Everyone has been so welcoming. If it wasn't for the Spouses Organization I know I would feel very lonely and isolated.

Mr. Serious doesn't give out many smiles so I'm happy when I catch some on camera!

In the past week here are a few of the gracious gestures I've encountered:

• A spouse donated baby toys to Ian that her boys had grown out of
• A spouse offered to take me to the grocery store because she knew we don't have a vehicle
• 2 male students helped me up 2 stairs with the stroller. (I usually carry it, but was thankful for the help!)
• Anytime we are on campus waiting for Jordan, for whatever reason, his classmates always greet us and give Bradley fist bumps or high fives.

These are just a few examples of the reasons we are really enjoying ourselves on the island. I LOVE the community feel! I don't think I would have felt this way at a stateside school.

Last Thursday one of the spouses hosted a pool get together at her complex in Maho..it was awesome! The pool was great, as well as the company. If you know me personally, you know that I am quite the introvert. Whenever I'm invited to something I always second guess myself, for fear of judgement or some other crazy reasoning. Lately I've just been putting myself "out there" and attending everything, because I know if I don't then I will just go stir crazy! Every time I worry, but always end up enjoying myself. It's a great feeling.

I guess the moral of this blog post is that we are really settling in and feeling "at home" in St. Maarten, the friendly island :)