Category Archives: American University of the Caribbean

Dear America, Love an Expat

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Dear United States of America,

Happy birthday! You’re looking good for 240. Sorry I had to miss celebrating this one with you, but I hope to be there for the big quarter-century next decade.

Sunset Arizona

You know, I think I like you better now that we’ve been apart for a year. I guess I sort of took you for granted when I couldn’t get away from you. Now that I’m gone, I appreciate you a lot more.

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You’ve done some strange things lately, and there’s a lot we should talk about, but today’s not the day for that. Today’s a day for me to tell you how much I love you.

I do love you, I’ve found. I never really loved you until I left you. I guess I didn’t have anything to compare you to. But let me tell you, I know now how lucky I am to be a part of you.

atlanta

America, you are beautiful. You have virtually every kind of biome within your borders. You cover the plains, the hills, the mountains, the deserts, the tundra, the beaches, and the tropical forests. Even better, you have every kind of people within your borders. You are beautiful.

America, you’re great to live in. International comparisons say your food kind of stinks, but you do well in quality of life, equality, innovation, education, and freedom. And you’re always pushing to do better.

Flag

America, you stand out globally. Of all the nations in the world that receive immigrants and refugees, you’re among the best at integrating people and upholding their well-being and their rights. It’s expected of you, and you do your best to deliver. I didn’t recognize that until I left. I didn’t see how unusual it is, because to me, it just makes sense to operate that way.

America, you’re a good place to be able to go home to. It’s nice to know that I could always go home without any trouble. It’s good to have a passport from you that opens so many doors. It’s good to be confident of the freedom to move from place to place, to speak without fear, and assemble with others as I please.

Phoenix

America, I miss you some days. Some days I don’t. But I’m always glad to know I belong to you. I keep the Stars and Stripes on my wall, right next to the flag of my new home. I used to see the flag every day, and I never thought twice about it. Now, I am glad whenever I see it. It’s strange; I usually see it everywhere on your birthday, but today I only saw it on a Digical ad and on a French man’s t-shirt! I miss seeing it fly high and proud on a pole on every corner.

Happy birthday, America. I hope you make good choices this year. It’s sad to think that this could be one of your worst years, but I’m praying that it will be one of your best. Happy birthday. I’ll see you soon!

Love, an expat.

Emancipation Day!

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Today is a huge national holiday on the island. It is Emancipation Day! On July 1, Sint Maarten celebrates the official end of slavery in the Dutch Caribbean.

Ironically, this is not the date of the true end of slavery. Slavery on the island ended in sometime in 1848, while the date we celebrate is July 1, 1863. Why is this? It’s actually a pretty interesting story.

Cane_cutters_in_Jamaica

In 1863, the French government abolished slavery. This meant that the northern half of Saint Martin gave freedom to their slaves, but the slaves on the southern Dutch side were still in bondage. Naturally, this caused the Dutch slaves to run across the border for freedom. Because this caused a massive disruption in the Dutch side’s productions, the Dutch slaveholders all agreed to release their slaves and pay them wages. Fifteen years later, the Dutch government officially decreed emancipation for all slaves in the Dutch Caribbean, which is what we celebrate today.

Tropenmuseum_Royal_Tropical_Institute_Objectnumber_3581-33h_Ingekleurde_litho_voorstellende_de_oo

There is a lot of fascinating history about slaves on Sint Maarten that is, unfortunately, not widely known or taught in history books. I only know bits and snatches about brave people making a break for freedom, maroons living in caves and eluding detection for years, and secret conversations in the very salt pond I drive past every day. If you have a chance, it’s worth looking up. I’d love to write historical fiction on some of these people someday, or read somebody else’s. If you any  good sources, please let me know in the comments.
Caribbean on Sale

8 Things I Took for Granted Before I Left the U.S.

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Before I left the United States, there were a lot of things I took for granted. I guess everyone thinks their own life is pretty typical until they get a taste of something else.

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1. Traffic lights. We have a single traffic light in the entire country of Sint Maarten. It spends half its life blinking yellow. Here, we have few intersections and a lot of round-a-bouts. It’s actually a much better system, and a lot fewer accidents occur because of it.

2. Refrigerated milk. You can get refrigerated milk here, but not every grocery store carries it. I always buy ultra heat-treated (UHT) milk. It’s cheaper, safer, and easier, especially since we get so many power outages. Also, I can stick several cases on the fridge and use them as I need them.

3. Electricity. Speaking of power outages, we get them a lot. Our single power plant can only handle so much at once. So we go without water and/or power on a regular basis.

4. Air conditioning. I grew up in Phoenix, Arizona where air conditioning is literally vital for life. Here, we like to use it now and then but we could certainly live without it. Our apartment complex took almost two months to fix our unit last summer when it died. We were OK; we have a nice trade winds breeze that we welcomed through open doors and windows.

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5. Multiple traffic lanes. Unlike Phoenix’s six-lane highways, Sint Maarten has a basic two-lane road going all the way around the island. Passing anyone is an adventure.

6. Self-defense weapons. I used to carry mace everywhere I went. That’s just what you do in Phoenix if you’re walking around alone. I can’t carry anything here– not mace, not a pocket knife, not even a chair. Well, realistically I can carry a chair, but not legally. If you could whack someone in the head with it, you can’t legally carry it down the street. People will make weapons with anything, though– the supermarket next door once got held up by a guy with a stick.

7. Private beaches. There are no private beaches here! Every strip of sand on this island is public property. I took my dog to one of the less beautiful beaches this afternoon. There were a dozen locals there and me. And it’s a Saturday. If that beach was in the States, it would have been PACKED because so many good beaches are privately owned and the rest are perpetually filled. Here, you can enjoy the most incredible strips of paradise no matter your paycheck. I love that about Sint Maarten.

8. Sales tax. Yes, there is no sales tax here! Hooray for no math! Oh, and for not paying extra for stuff.

pinel

No matter where you go, there will always be something better and worse about it than the last place you lived. I guess the moral to the story is that wherever you are, enjoy the good things about that place instead of focusing on the bad things. There’s so much to appreciate in life!

took for granted
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Zika. We Have It Here.

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Yes, we have Zika. Our little island has joined the rest of the West Indies and is now home to this nasty virus. How common is it? Not too common. How bad is it? Depends.

The most obvious thing that effects our community is that some people have contracted Zika. There have even been a few students at American University of the Caribbean who have had it. You hear a lot of horror stories about how awful it is, but honestly, it varies from person to person. Some people have hardly felt a thing and didn’t know they had it until they were tested. Others have had severe flu-like symptoms that put them behind in their studies for a week or so. Ben and I may have had it and not known it.

mosquito

Zika is known to cause birth defects in unborn children. The World Health Organization has recommended that women carefully consider delaying pregnancy. This really stinks for the families in our community who were trying to have children. It’s been hard on a lot of people.

Zika is scaring some of our visitors away. Many of us had friends who planned to visit, and some of them cancelled their plans because of pregnancy or fear.

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I’m not particularly worried about it. I did take a few pregnancy tests to make sure I’m not pregnant, and they were negative. So we’re just going about our business as usual and being sure to wear bug spray and keep the door closed after dark.

So just in case you were curious or worried, we’re OK. Like any other epidemic, Zika is a little scary, and the media makes it sound much scarier than it is! But life goes on here and we battle the mosquitoes the same way we always have to for more familiar viruses like dengue.

Dogs in the Dugout

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My favorite breed of dog is rescued. There is no shortage of rescue dogs on the island of Saint Martin! Meet Kito, Rosie, and Herald, three island mutts who joined the Daily Herald Little League team in the dugout today.

Dugout Dogs

Kito is my puppy. She’s eight months old, and we got her from a shelter on the French side of the island. She knows how to sit, stay, come, and roll over, among other things. She is also learning yoga moves. So far we have “downward dog” and that’s about it. She gives high-fives to the kids in return for cookies.

kito

 

Rosie is the team mascot. She belongs to Coach Tom and Lisa. Some of the boys on the team found Rosie on the field a couple years ago. Lisa wrote a book about it and is trying to get it published. Rosie’s special trick is standing on her back legs and spinning around. She’s the kids’ favorite!

Dog on a bench

Herald is the newest member of the team. He’s a six-week old puppy that one our families found near the stadium. He has five or six siblings living in the dump, so if you really like this little guy, you could probably find one just like him in the Philipsburg dump. Jaeda’s family named him “Matti,” which is Dutch for “friend.” Coach renamed him Herald after the team, which is sponsored by The Daily Herald. Coach also has Herald’s brother Tommy, who Aloyel found. Tommy is available for adoption.

Matti

On Saturdays, we always bring our dogs to baseball practice. Today was the day of the all-star game, and a lot of our team were selected for the game! We coaches expected to watch this one from the stands, but we were needed to run the game. So Coach Tom umpired and the rest of us packed in the dugout with the kids and the dogs to take care of stats.

baseball team

The dugout is always a pretty loud and hectic, and the presence of three dogs only added to the craziness! We always have fun, though, and the dogs added to that, too.

dugout dogs

Our kids team actually ended up winning the all-star game! They were pretty thrilled. It made up for not making it into the championship game. You seem, our kids are mostly ten and under, and they play in the ten-to-twelve-year-old league. After all those games playing against big kids, they were more than ready to take on kids their own age. Our best pitcher is nine and regularly strikes out twelve-year-olds.

baseball on sxm

The kids said that Herald was their good-luck charm.

jaeda puppy

Do you love rescue dogs, too? Anywhere you go, puppies need homes. In Saint Martin, there are many dogs who need families! Adopt your own good luck charm from one of the shelters, or rescue a puppy from the dump. You won’t regret saving your little buddy!

The Dean’s List Again

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We’ve started Round Three of medical school, and we’re celebrating two semesters of achievement in the books! Ben made Dean’s List once again last semester.

Tonight was the recognition ceremony, complete with a speech by the lovely Dr. Julie Taylor. I think Dr. Taylor is one of the coolest people I know– she’s had over 100 publications and a lot of important jobs, but she doesn’t act too important to talk to someone like me. I’m pretty low on the totem pole as far as the medical world goes. If I ever end up in a prestigious position, I hope I’ll remember to be like her.

Speaking of awesome people, here is Ben receiving his second Dean’s List certificate! I’m so proud of him. He has worked so hard these past eight months to stay toward the top of his class and, more importantly, perform to the best of his ability. He’s going to make one great doctor someday.
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The night ended with an Asian dinner catered by AUC staff and time spent with friends. Here’s a photo of us on the patio of American University of the Caribbean. Don’t you love that view? Too bad the students have to spend more time staring at textbooks than they can staring at those mountains. But as you can see, it pays off!

Portrait on the balcony

Two semesters down, three to go!