Zoo Day!

Last Wednesday, I went with the spouses to the zoo here in Philipsburg, St. Maarten. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. Here are some pictures of everything:

Giant boa behind the glass- thankfully

Funny how this iguana had to be behind the glass when there were literally probably 30 roaming around free inside the zoo. 

Random turtles behind the glass

Raccoon

He was so cute drinking from his water bottle

Homemade sign.. very fancy

These turtles were just walking around on the gravel without a fence to even keep them in. We could touch them.

Some kind of warthog or boar or something. The sign says what it is.

Much better sign

Free turtle

Cute monkey

He looks a little not-so-cute now

These guys were either fighting or mating, but they were in the middle of our pathway, and we were a little scared to cross. We finally shoo'ed them out of the way. 

My favorite

Pretty

Bright red bird/duck/flamingo thing

One of the people working at the zoo had a blower and was blowing leaves and cleaning the paths, and this parrot was NOT happy. He was biting the cage and flapping around. I felt so sorry for him.

Another free animal roaming around- peacock

Hilarious sign

Baboon/Monkey

Lazy peacock in the heat relaxing

So pretty

Giant rodent- capybara

Ostrich 

Turtles mating..

Beautiful peacock just roaming around. We fed him peanuts legally. 

Wild dog thing

he looks vicious here

Small alligator

Loving the sign!

Me with some of the spouses!

Here is an upclose picture of the lizards that blocked our path!

I am literally touching the turtle.

So, that was our day at the zoo. I had a great time, and there was a petting zoo at the end where we got to fee goats and rabbits. Kinda random, but I enjoyed it! There was also this talking parrot that would say "Hello." I took some video of it:

Anyway, it was fun and I am glad that the rain stayed away for that morning since it seems to rain on and off everyday now due to the rainy/hurricane season. 

Speaking of hurricane season, it looks like we may be facing our first tropical storm now- Emily! (Ryan was hoping that it would be named, Eileen- so we could sing about it!) Here is a link to track it: www.stormpulse.com. Here is a map of it: http://www.stormpulse.com/atlantic?desc=NHC&idx=0&trk=1&sid=250034&lat=14.066&lon=-49.701&z=2&rd=0&cd=1&tk=1&ww=0&mo=0&sl=0&ht=0&mg=0&ob=0&wf=1&ml=1&ql=0

 It is at 70% for it to be a potential storm- which is very high... great. It actually says it is a "High Pressure Disturbance #1." I am still trying to figure out what all of this means. I am just now learning the difference between a tropical storm and a hurricane. It should be interesting, nevertheless. Ryan just doesn't want it to interfere with school because if it get's too bad, then school will be cancelled. Which would be great, but then it would cut into his break in August. Boooo! We shall see what becomes of Ole' Emily!

In other news, I start my new job August 17. So, I am very ready and anxious to begin and to make some money! Don't get me wrong, I loved having this summer to relax and enjoy myself... but I also enjoy what I do and I love being busy. And who doesn't love getting paid? Besides, I am ready to help contribute to our finances. I already have an assignment to do, so I should be pretty busy this weekend while Ryan studies away. 

I have also been doing the patient thing, which is fun and challenging. I really wish that I could record it because it gets pretty funny sometimes. It is definitely not easy acting. My character is a 21-year-old with anemia, so I have to act very exhausted. I don't give much information away to the students as they interview me.. which is hard for them. It is very fun to act, but it is hard to also be receptive to how they do. The main reason we do this is to give accurate feedback to the students to let them know how they did and what needs to be changed. It is definitely helping me to work on my communication skills. For example, "When you looked down at your paper throughout the interview, I felt un-listened to. I would have preferred it if you would have given me more eye contact which would have made me feel heard and comfortable." Sounds easy, but it is hard to come up with these things right after it is over- especially because we are in front of a whole class! Eek! It can be very intimidating!

I hope that everyone has a great weekend as the summer is dwindling down! 

Time Flies When You are Having Fun!

I don't know how I manage to keep forgetting to update this blog, but here goes nothing:

• Ryan made it through his 3rd blocks with flying colors, and he is very happy to be done with such a terrible schedule. We went to Bay Rouge afterwards to relax. Here are some pictures from the beach:

• As some of you know.... the last Harry Potter movie came out!!!!! I have now officially seen it 3 times so far. I know.. I know. Get a life, huh? Well, each time was just as good as the last and I just love movies in 3D. Here are some pictures of my friend Priyal and I getting geared up for the show! 

                                

Gotta have your lightening bolt scar

 

Can't wait to see it!

 

Happy because it was so good but sad because it is the last one

• Last weekend, we went to the brunch at the Westin Resort here which was amazing! It was all you can eat and drink for 3 hours, and the resort was gorgeous. There was so much good food that it was overwhelming: shrimp, mussels, oysters, a whole seared tuna, rotisserie chicken, pasta table, sushi table, a whole wall of breakfast, an omelet station, fresh fruit with chocolate fountain, a dessert table, etc. 

Here is the link for the resort: http://www.westinstmaarten.com. We stayed afterwards to hang out and take advantage of such an awesome place.

The crew

We found a beach ball

• Yesterday was my first day to be an actual patient in front of a class of medical students.. I was so nervous! Once I got over the fear of it all, it was actually pretty fun. I had to perform 6 different patient cases- each being different. So- I improv'ed it, which is pretty interesting. I made up different symptoms, cases, etc. off of the top of my head and the students had to practice "setting the agenda" with me. It is harder than you think being a believable patient with different things to focus on, while at the same time- having to be perceptive of how the student is doing so that you can give accurate feedback (their positives and negatives). I think I did pretty good for my first day, but now I am looking forward to doing it again now that I sort of know the ropes. 

Here is a quote that one of my facebook friends posted, and I think it is perfect:

‎"There comes a time in your life, when you walk away from all the drama and people who create it. You surround yourself with people who make you laugh. Forget the bad, and focus on the good. Love the people who treat you right, pray for the ones who don't. Life is too short to be anything but happy. Falling down is a part of life, getting back up is living."



So I think that's all for now! I will try to be better at updating this from now on. Who knew you could be so busy not working! I love it!