Happy (Belated) 4th of July!

Happy Belated 4^th of July! What a weekend! Let me catch you up to speed…

A few of our lessons didn’t show up on Friday, but the lessons we did have went really well! Ana and I have been making completion cards for the kids on fish we made out of construction paper. They all seem to enjoy them and like the fact that they have something to bring home to show their parents. They’re fun for us to make too! In the afternoon, it started to downpour so Ana and I had to run back to the house. It felt like we were being pelted by icecubes! After a brief shower, the sun came out again. Later in the evening, the instructors from the south came to visit. We thought it would be fun to hitch up to the North and take a water taxi to Harbor Island to celebrate the 4^th of July. I guess a lot of Americans go there since it is a more touristy location, so there was going to be a celebration for the 4^th. Before leaving, we gave the other instructors a quick tour of Gregory Town and they ate icecream while Ana and I got our first bowl of conch salad. It was so yummy! We had gone to the place by the dock asking about conch salad all week and they said to keep checking back. A man actually found us walking around town to tell us that he would have conch salad on Friday, so we made sure to be there! They made it fresh to order. It has conch, onions, herbs, tomatoes, green peppers (I think), lime, squeezed orange, and cayan pepper. Shortly after, we decided to start hitching. We were picked up within minutes. It couldn’t have worked out more perfectly! We actually had previously met one of the men in the truck. The two men and the woman all work at the airport! I hope we see them on our flight out!

They waited us at the dock so they could make sure we got on the water taxi alright. It was so nice of them! The water taxi came and brought us over to Harbor Island just as the sun was starting to set. It was absolutely gorgeous. Eleuthera and Harbor Island were like night and day. It felt so surreal! The only way I can explain H.I would be to compare it to some resort/tourist location down the Cape. There were wealthy white people everywhere riding around in golf carts and wearing polo shirts (there some pink polo sightings which completed the picture). After strolling around, realizing we weren’t quite in “Kansas” anymore, we went to the docks and marveled at the multi-million dollar yachts. I feel like we all had a bit of culture shock going from our small settlements on Eleuthera to being left at a vacation destination for the wealhy, rich, and famous. Supposedly Cher was visiting the same time we were! We did a little more exploring; found a pizza place (with frozen yogurt!), and made our way back to the docks before the fireworks started. We struck up conversation with a lot of different people; a family from Texas, a man from Brazil, a few captains and first-mates who work on the private boats, and a few locals as well. We were told that the yacht decorated in red, white, and blue was having a party with free food! We bumped into Amy who told us we should make our way to Gusty’s and then try to check out Vickums (I think that’s how you spell it…). We decided we would check them out for a little while. I would say the highlight of the night would be Vickums. It’s a danceclub/”disco” with an open roof so you can see all the stars! We were all getting pretty tired, but Zane was a dancing machine! He was getting everyone up on the dance floor and making friends left and right! At around 2:30am, we decided we should start looking for a place to sleep. We were so tired that we sat down next to the harbor and we all fell asleep. Who would have thought that we’d sleep on a sidewalk? It was surprisingly comfortable! There was however, an obnoxiously loud rooster that was sleeping in the tree above us. We woke up when the sun came up and took the first water taxi back to Eleuthera where we hitched back to Gregory Town to sleep a little more. The rest of the day we tried to catch up on sleep, but then went to Monicas for lunch and pineapple tarts. Later that night, Fish stopped by and asked if wanted to join him at Seaside; the danceclub in Hatchet Bay. After some convincing, we agreed. I’m so glad we went! I forgot how much I missed dancing. It was exactly what I needed! When we first got there, there was only one man on the dance floor (also with out a roof- I saw a shooting star!). It’s amazing how good people are at dancing here. It was a little intimidating, but I decided not to let that stop me. After a few hours, I was definitely ready for sleep.

Sunday we all went down to Long Bight for a swim. It was so refreshing! Then, we spent some time jumping off of the cliff. I can’t believe Ana and I waited so long to jump off of that one. It was so much fun! We spent the afternoon eating beans and rice and relaxing in the air-conditioning before the south had to start hitching to Tarpum Bay for their lessons this week. After they left, Ana and I went for a walk to, what I like to call, Sea Turtle Point. The sea turtle was still there! A couple of potcakes accompanied us on our walk which was a nice surprise. Ana walked back so she wouldn’t miss her phone date with her parents and I decided to stay and try to catch the sunset and do a little meditating. Sadly, the sun slipped behind a cloud before sinking below the horizon, so I did not catch a complete sunset, but regardless, it was breathtaking. The sun illuminated the outline of the cloud in a brilliant, burning white while the rest of the sky was a deep shade of peach. I will admit, that after two weeks, I definitely felt ready to go home. I miss you all so much! I still miss you, but it’s getting increasingly difficult to accept the fact that I have to leave the island in a few weeks. I have fallen in love with the island and the people here. I have a feeling this won’t be my last trip to Eleuthera…

I started a new book before drifting off to sleep last night. So far, I have completed Three Cups of Tea, For One More Day, Sylvia Brown’s Guide To Dreams, and The Alchemist. I recommend them all! I have just started reading A Million Little Pieces. It’s pretty intense so far…

Our first lesson today was with Tina and her mother, Monique. They always crack me up! They invited us to a wedding this weekend. We’ll see!

The weather is a little crazy today. Hopefully it holds up until after our afternoon lessons!