Category Archives: Caribbean

Eight Things You Won’t Buy on Sint Maarten

When we first moved to Sint Maarten, I was expecting to be forced to go without some of the things that I’ve always been used to having. Not the case. In fact, not only do the stores here carry virtually everything you could possibly need, they also carry some things you could never, ever possibly need in a million years. For your entertainment, I have compiled a stack of photos from the Ace Home Store.

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First is the Palmpeeler. Basically, it’s a ring with a carrot peeler on the inside. This in the answer to one of the great questions of life: What would Larry the Cucumber buy his girlfriend for an engagement ring?

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The Garlic Keeper! For only $5.95 (plus tax!), you can keep garlic clove halves fresh. It will only take a few years for this thing to pay for itself.

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The Easy Twist! Works on pretty much every jar anywhere, and you’ll never have to ask your husband to open a jar of pickles again. Of course, you could just get one of those circular grippy things (or a kitchen towel), but why save kitchen drawer space when you could have a cool new toy?

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A lime squeezer, a lemon squeezer, and an orange squeezer. I get the need for  an orange squeezer, I get the need for a lemon squeezer, but I don’t get why you’d need both a lemon squeezer and a lime squeezer. Just to have all three colors? And how often do you really use lime juice in cooking, anyway?

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Because we wouldn’t want to lose our silverware, now would we?

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Here’s what every kid wants at her birthday party: two creepy centipede balloons with bunny ears.

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The jar safe! It’s an empty jar with the inside painted to look like it contains fresh strawberry preserves. This is a great idea, but it should probably be a Pinterest pin, not a twenty-dollar retail product.

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Bagel slicer. Because knives are super hard to handle.

That’s all, folks! Tune in next time for Chinese-English mis-translations on plastic imports, brought to you by the Asian market next door.

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A Day in the Life of an AUC Spouse

After my last post, A Typical Day at American University of the Caribbean, I was encouraged to tell about my own typical day. This is a little harder than sharing a typical day for Ben, mostly because my days are never the same!

Here’s what my day looked like yesterday:

We woke up at 6:30, a little later than usual, because we had a late-night Skype call the night before. I made stove-top toast for breakfast, and Ben left for class at 7:20.

Making food has extra challenges here! I don't read Dutch...
Making food has extra challenges here! I don’t read Dutch…

I organized my laundry and took it to AUC’s dormitory laundry room. Our apartment’s washer and dryer don’t work well, so I always do laundry at school. One of the washers had leaked, so an AUC employee was mopping the floor. I stopped to chat with her for a while. While waiting for my laundry, I studied Swahili from a textbook I got a couple years ago in Kenya.

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At 8:15, I met a couple friends– other spouses– near AUC and went on a 3-mile run with them. The air is humid and warm, so two of us decided to walk to the beach after our run to cool off. My friend brought her dog with us, and it was hilarious to watch her play in the surf!

Sasha plays on the beach
Sasha plays on the beach

Around eleven, I went home and made lunch. I try to have it ready for Ben when he walks in the door. Today we had leftovers from a school-catered lunch we had on Monday.

After eating, the two of us spent a little time together. Then Ben studied his vital signs checklist while I cleaned up after lunch, blogged, and read my Bible.

At two, a friend picked me up and we drove halfway across the island to the little league field. We parked behind the field next to three containers. These containers look rather unassuming from the outside, but inside, they are filled with all the wonderful things we loved in our childhoods– a labeled shell collection, a train track running along the ceiling, a remote-control robot, science projects, books, a rock tumbler, and so much more! The little league coach has set up a player development and tutoring program for some of the island kids. Some of the AUC spouses come to tutor the kids and play ball with them. While we were there yesterday, I got to work on reading with a three or four kids, play catch with two little girls, and do warm-up exercises with the boys.

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We left around 4:30 and headed back to our homes in Cupecoy. I went shopping at the Asian market next to our complex and started a dinner of beans and rice. While everything cooked, I answered emails for my freelance art job. Want to see what I do for work? Check this out!

One of the T-shirts I designed for a client (copyright 2015)
One of the T-shirts I designed for a client
(copyright 2015)

At 6:30, Ben and his friend Matt arrived for dinner.

Dinner at the Johnson's
Dinner at the Johnsons’

At 7:05, I ran out the door, a little late for my Zumba class. I go to a free Zumba session twice at week at AUC’s gym. The class ended at 8:00, and I had a little time to talk with friends before going to band practice.

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At 9:00, I arrived at worship band practice. I’m singing and playing in our church’s worship band on Sundays– next week, I’ll be singing back-up and playing the drum. Some weeks, I’ll be helping out by playing guitar or piano as needed.

Practice went late, so it was almost 10:30 before I got home. Ben and I were both exhausted! We talked for a bit, set the alarm, and fell fast asleep.

A Typical Day at American University of the Caribbean

Every day, Ben wakes up at 6:00 AM to study before classes. I prepare breakfast while he studies the Bible and then sets up his laptop to read about anatomy.

Bible reading in the morning
Bible reading in the morning

A little after 7:00, Ben kisses me goodbye and heads to the auditorium at school to get a good seat and study more. The auditorium is a silent zone when not in use for classes.

At 8:00, classes begin. First is Molecular and Cellular Biology with Dr. van Oost.  At 9:30 is Anatomy and at 10:30 Histology begins with Dr. Beveridge.

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Class with Dr. Nwosu

At 11:20, Ben comes home for lunch. After lunch, Ben studies at home for a while and returns to school by 1:00 for lab.

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The Auditorium

Lab alternates every day between wet lab and dry lab. Wet lab is cadaver lab. Ben is part of a group of nine students who work together on the same body all semester. There are a couple dozen different groups of students. Dry lab is in another room, where students study bones and other things that do not include body juices and formaldehyde.

Ben in his lab coat
Ben in his lab coat

After lab, Ben usually stays at school to study with friends.

Ben comes home around 6:00 for dinner. After dinner is–you guessed it!– more studying. Usually, Ben goes back to the auditorium for quiet study.



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Late in the evening, after a loud and exciting game of ping-pong, Ben comes home again. We have a little time to talk and then we do devotions together–worship songs, prayer, and reading a Christian marriage book.

Ping Pong
Ping Pong

Ben does the last of his studying and then turns of the light around 10:30 or 11:00.

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Caribbean Cooking: Plantain Chips

Forget potato chips– I’ll take a crispy, salty plantain chip any day!  Here’s how to make them:

Start with a nice bunch of plantains. Don’t try to substitute them with bananas. Fried bananas will turn out sweet, sticky, but while still delicious, that’s not what we’re going for here.

Before you begin, heat an 1-2 inches of oil in a pot over the stove on med-high heat. The oil is right when you drop a slice of plantain in and it bubbles and quickly floats to the top.

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Peel and cut your plantains. Make sure your slices are nice and thin.

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Drop plantain slices carefully into the oil.

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Allow the plantain to cook for a few minutes. It is ready to come out if the slices are hard and crispy, with a golden-brown hue.

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Drain the slices on paper towels or newspaper. I’m a little disappointed that I only had this sheet of newspaper, because I really wanted to do that crossword puzzle later! Sprinkle salt on the slices.

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Allow to cool and enjoy!

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You can also bake these! I’ll probably opt for this next time, because it’s so much healthier. Click here to find out how!

Sint Maarten, The Netherlands, and Holland (Explained)

As many of you know, I am currently living in a Dutch island in the Caribbean called Sint Maarten. Some of you may be geographically befuddled about what exactly “Dutch” means and what country my island belongs to. Never fear, you’re not alone. Actually, until I watched this video about a year ago, I had no idea that Holland is not actually a country. If you don’t know the relationship between Sint Maarten, Saint Marten, Saint-Marten, the Netherlands, and Holland, this entertaining video will clear things up! Have fun.

Holland, the Netherlands, and the Dutch Caribbean

Liked that one? Here are a few more to widen your understanding of the world.

The United Kingdom (And a Whole Lot More) Explained

The American Empire

Where is Scandinavia?

How Many Countries are There?

Tropical Storm Erika

I have to admit that we were rather disappointed when Hurricane Danny dissipated and left our little island with nothing but a bit of rain (which for us Phoenix folks still seemed pretty exciting). Despite the summer time being rainy season, Sint Maarten/Saint Marten is in drought, as is much of the Caribbean. According to rumor, Puerto Rico has been rationing water for quite some time now. Besides, I’ve never been in a hurricane, and it sounded kind of exciting. And a category one didn’t seem like it would be too scary.

After Danny blew over (literally), we began to hear about Tropical Storm Erika. I assume many of you may have heard of Erika after the disastrous events of this week. To begin, let me assure you that here on Sint Maarten, we are OK. We were hardly touched by the storm. The worst damage, as far as I could tell, was to the sandy contours of our beach and to the palm trees, which lost a few coconuts. We pretty much just stayed inside during the afternoon and evening and let the rain pass.

Tropical Storm Erika on Sint Maarten
Tropical Storm Erika on Sint Maarten

Many people weren’t so lucky. According to CNN and other news media, the island of Dominica is recovering from a tragic encounter with Erika. Many people lost their homes and a few lost their lives or their loved ones. Please keep these families in prayer.

Erika is now headed to Cuba where it is expected to either dissipate or become a full-blown hurricane. Friends in Cuba and Florida, please stay safe! Our prayers are with you.

National Weather Service Hurricane Center on Erika

PS– If you have stories or photos of Erika, please share in the comments!