By: Wilkie Gonwa
We started the week on a high note celebrating Memorial Day. We ventured to Mullet Bay for a beach day and of course had to go back to “Da Sweet Tooth” for another matcha latte. We spent the day relaxing and playing games at the beach before returning to the resort. We had dinner at the pool bar where we all hung out and sang some karaoke. We ended the night by checking out a spot for a drink and some pizza.
Tuesday, we got to work on our campaigns, coming up with our big ideas and strategies. This was hard since we do not have a budget for our campaigns, so we had to get creative. Our team ended up with a few ideas that we are excited about developing further for our final campaign booklet. We spent the rest of the day hanging out at the pool and went to “Shogun” for their eight-dollar burrito night.
Wednesday, we had class and then Olivia and I found this great little salon where we go our nails done. It was super cheap, and the staff was amazing. In the afternoon we all took a trip to “Toppers Rhum”, where we went on a tour and learned all about how they make their rhum. They had so many flavors of rhum including dream sickle. We got to see their whole bottling process and try some foods they infuse with rhum including some yummy gelato.
Thursday was another class day, which I also used to work on my online classes. We ended up staying at the pool and then going for a swim in the ocean which is steps from our resort. I spent so much time reading my book, Never Let Me Go, which if you haven’t read is such a good futuristic fiction novel. That night a group of us got dressed up and headed out for dinner at “Big Cee’s”. Our table had a view of the marina, and I had some mahi and then cheesecake for dessert. The whole dinner was great, and we had a good time hanging out with our friends. We ended the night early because we had a big day ahead.
We started our Friday morning with an early pickup to head off to the boat for a trip to Prickly Pear Cays and Anguilla. Once we arrived at Prickly Pear Cays, we were able to snorkel and experience the amazing reefs. Even though the waves were a little rough I was able to see some cool sea life, including baby squid and a big fish that has unique red markings. After snorkeling we enjoyed a fantastic lunch on the boat, which included chicken, ribs, coleslaw, and johnny cakes. I had never had johnny cakes before, but they were basically a sweeter bread, comparable to a benight without the powdered sugar. We then sailed off to Anguilla where we floated in the ocean and were tossed Carib’s from the boat. We then sailed the two hours back to Sint Maarten and returned home exhausted.
Saturday, I started the day by getting in a workout and walking to the local market for some coffee, following that up with a bit of studying and schoolwork. We headed out in the afternoon to ride horses. We went on a trail ride through a nature pressure and ended the ride with taking the horses in the water. My horse Indie was the sweetest and the ride was needed, because being here in the Caribbean is the longest I have gone without riding. That is about the only thing I have missed while being here.
It sad that this is our last Sunday on the island, I started again by hitting the gym and walking to get coffee after. I then worked on some school and got ready to go back to the floating restaurant with all our friends. We spent the rest of the day relaxing and spending time together. This week has been so jam packed but I would not want it any other way!
