Sixteen Months in Paradise

It is finished. Almost.

2010-08-17T11:36:00.000-07:00

Graduation: Basic sciences=GOING HOME!

We're going home! The proof is in the photo! After completing 5 terms of bookwork and beaches, Ed completed the first half of medical school.

The hardest part is yet to come: Step 1, a comprehensive 8 hour exam covering all of the material thusfar learned. This should take place sometime in late fall, in Phoenix.

After that, the fun begins, Ed begins clinical rotations!

Please note: Ed wants everyone to know he is NOT yet a doctor! Despite the fancy photo!

Carnival

2010-08-08T10:02:00.000-07:00

Carnival: You should experience it exactly once.

Natalie

My first experience was in Argentina, over 20 years ago. I was introduced to this tradition by the water bombs that flew out of a school bus and hit me squarely on the back of the head as I rode my bike through the streets of Tandil. I should have learned my lesson. But, as you can see, I did not.

Last year's Parade theme: Respect da troupe!

This years parade theme:"NO-BOD-EE MOOOOOOOOVE!

Undoubtedly my favorite moment of the parade....watching the trusty librarian getting her groove on.

This guy did a very special dance just for me.
I don't know what they are doing, but that concrete has to hurt!

My second experience was also my third, fourth and fifth at the same time. The parade, which was a total of 4 "floats" circled around the island for about 3 hours. Two days in a row. I went to see it on Saturday. Then on Sunday, I went to say goodbye to a friend at the airport, and got caught in it my fourth. After an hour or so, I thought It was all over. But the parade circled around and trapped me in a parking space at the airport, so I saw it again.

I just wanted to show you that there is a Hummer on this tiny island.

I should have been walking with this group. I, too, am a carnival survivor

More videos will appear later today....keep posted....

Wrapping up the school year!

2010-07-05T09:45:00.000-07:00

Congratulations

to Sophia and little Charles, and Kai for a successful year in Statia's schools!

In a normal situation, a simple congrats would be appropriate. No blogging or bragging necessary. But this was a special year. Adjusting to a completely different culture was a challenge beyond anything they had experienced.

Among adjustments they had to:

Learn Dutch
Learn pidgin ("Caribeasian") English
Learn to live as minorities
Adjust to local mannerisms, including "shut-up" and corporal punishment as a means of school discipline
Go from 3.6 million and 9,000 square mile city to 3,000 and 9 square mile city.
Adjust from desert heat to 75% humidity
Avoid cow pattys at every turn
Learn to self-entertain
Recess means find some rocks and play with them or chase each other. There aren't many toys on that playground
Eat Jonnycakes and saltfish for breakfast
School supplies are not endless nor top quality.
Trade schoolbus and city streets to goat path walk

The Seventh-Day Adventist school was a wonderful school. The kids were treated with respect, kindess, and even affection. Charles quickly gained the reputation that follows him as a daredevil and class clown. The children liked to touch Sophia's hair. She had many admirers, especially one Oville, whom she was (without her consent) married to at recess. Sophia was praised by all of her teachers repeatedly as a good and hard-working student. She earned a very special award at the end of the year too! Ok a tiny brag moment. Please forgive.I am very proud of the kids this year!

Sophia and Salweh

With teacher Helen, who told me in p/t conference that she regularly prays to have five Sophias in her class.

Goodbye to the pet cow, goats, and Moto, the pet donkey.

With her 4th grade class

"Chalz", 2018 olympic bunnyhop hopeful, with teacher Regina.

Most Outstanding student

*******************************************************************************

Kai's experience was unique. He decided to forego online classes and attend the "big" school at the last moment. This includes grades 7-10.

Important facts about his experience:

Dutch schooling places children in different levels according to ability. Kai was placed in the highest level HAVO (mostly because he comes from an American system, which is more advanced than the island program). This is important to know because it meant ALL his classes, including exams, were taught in the Dutch language. Imagine taking a test and not knowing a single word on the paper.

He was the only American and one of two white boys in the school
His best friends were Dominican Republicans, Dutch and Statian
Was referred to as "Primo" by the Dominicans. They had his back.
Had to wear a uniform but learned how to accessorize with a little bling.
He stuck out like a sore thumb
required to take 10 classes and 4 languages
Was known as the boy who rides the bike
Lots of excitement at school including fights, kids being chased by crowbars, and boys being arrested for drugs.
He became an expert in sneaking out of school early. Mom's consent.

If students don't pass their exams, they must repeat the year. They must continue repeating until they pass grade 10, up until 24 yrs of age. This means there were a few 20+ yr olds going to school with 12 yr olds. Gross.

A poster that was distributed on the Dutch Carribean islands. Front and center, the token white boy. Finally, a poster child.

We are happy to report that Kai passed all his exams, in Dutch.
Kai taking cousin Henry to school with him the last week.

Celebratory day at beach. What else? Taking out pent up energy on Pop.
Nikki, the evil accomplice.

What kind of sunset are they having in Phoenix tonight?

Hellos, goodbyes, and some good times in between

2010-06-25T06:46:00.000-07:00

This entry is a sandwich.

A fun sandwich, with the bun made of hellos and goodbyes.

Above we have Kai with three of his buddies, one afternoon at the pier. These boys are all from the Dominican Republic. For some reason they have decided to watch Kai's back at school. Although they don't spend time with him at school, they call him "Primo" (cousin). We think it is because although he is not one of them, he is a cousin to them. The resemblance is striking.

But wait, back up the bus...I am getting ahead of myself.

Hello #1 :

Ok, here is a photo of a group of our visitors. We are posing with a display of what 20 guilders can buy at the local bakery (sodium free)**Front: Emily, scratching her chin before the feast, Moi, Henry, my nephew

Back row: model Connely Packard, the everlovely Frances, and Allison with baby Isabelle (Allison is Frances' sister in law).

**dutch law requires all island bakeries to bake salt -free. This is due to high numbers of hypertension and diabetes and the cost involved in treating the people. Hmm.

Hello #2:

No party is complete without Kathy. Arriving from New York, Kathy joined us for a few days. On top is the adorable Poeske, begging for a ride on the dune buggy

St. Kitts in the background at botanical gardens.

Q. How many people can fit into this 5 person Jeep Cherokee?

A. 10 persons, 2 boogie boards, 1 surfboard and a turtle floaty

Fact: no seatbelts required on Statia

Introducing Allison to Zeelandia

Homeis of Statia. Yo, for real.

With Frances about to go back to the states after 6 months with us, Henry will take her place for a couple of months. Charles now has 3 teenagers to torture him and drive him to behave like a wild, trapped animal daily. Commence the daily prisoner beatings.Sophia gets practice babysitting little Isabelle, who as a matter of fact, hardly cried or fussed the whole trip. She was a great baby.

Boys looking for the white whale.

Zsa Zsa and stylist

***Now for the sandwich middle***

No blog would be complete without the fine dining of Smoke Alley and a party

While we are all sitting down getting ready to order drinks...

A certain 5 year old takes matters into his own hands and is caught at the bar ordering his own drink and a straw from the bartender. We were relieved that he ordered something non-achoholic. Did these people sitting next to him not find this an odd situation?

Philippe giving Charles instructions on how to get more Sprite without getting caught twice. The key, Charles, is to do it in French.

Side note: Philipe is French, his fiance Soledad, is Argentine. They lived upstairs from us and we have been friends with them for our entire stay here. We have really really enjoyed their company.

This time it is Ethan's party...FIFTEEN. Good grief, what happened to the time? If you don't believe me, count the candles.

The next day:

Kai, Charles, and los Primos

This is the fish that was caught for the festivities

This is the man who caught the fish. He is Naldo.These are the people who ate the fish...Matt the trusty scuba instructor, Jamaican bodybuilder and pastry chef, Vinnete, 14 year old Julicia, her daughter, and the best mezzo soprano gospel singer I've ever heard, and Sole. In back: Ed playing peek-a boo. Also caught for the fine dining: King crab. Julicia enjoying it whole-heartedly

Q. WHich if these fabulous things in the island did Emily, Allison, Laura, and co, do in ONE (the last one) day?

A)7AM Hike the Quill and descend into the volcano

B)11 AM A final Scuba dive/snorkel off the boat

C)2 PM snorkeling at private beach

D)4PM Swimming at Zeelandia

E)7PM Crab/fish/Conch soup cookout at pier

F) All of the above

G)None of the above. Too busy packing

Fact: Pineapples produce exactly ONE fruit before they die.

A: F. We crammed as much in as possible.

On our morning hike:

The best view of the island. We had to hike a trecherous single track goat trail to get there, but worth it.

(pause)

Now for the goodbyes:

Goodbye, Philipe and Sole. Off you go to Argentina, then to Brazil to start your own scuba business. We are going to miss you. Charles especially. Both boys may look jovial here, but it was actually a miserable moment when they realized they were losing their buddy.

Goodbye #2:

Goodbye, dear Frances. We will miss you. Back to Provo, real school, schedules, seatbelts, closed-toe shoes, curfews, chores, and responsibilites. You are going to miss us.

No ending is complete without the sunset.

It reminds us how much we miss those we love already.

The End

PS Thanks for the gift you left the boys upstairs when you moved away, Philipe. And Ethan, the answer is no. You can't go down to Happy City and sell it.

Queen got some amazing drummers to celebrate her day

2010-05-10T07:08:00.000-07:00

For anyone who has lived on Statia, you know that there are only two events in the year that start on time. The first is Statia Day, where the cannons are fired from the fort and three flags (Statia, The Netherlands, and the Antilles flags) go up at precisely 6AM.

The other is the Queen's Birthday. Ditto Statia Day, minus the cannons. Everything else starts anywhere from 1-3 hours late. If you think I am joking, ask me when I get back how long we waited for the fundraiser last July to start. Sophia was doing a cultural dance and was told to be there at 7PM. We rushed to get her there and were astonished that the stage was not even set up. This pattern continued until we finally caught on and realized that "Be there at 4:30" really actually means "Get there around 6. If you're busy doing something else, then just come when it's convenient. We'll wait for you to get here to start" . I do not exaggerate. When the school Christmas program came around, 7PM start time at the community center, angels were barely rolling out of the family car in the parking lot a 7:45, johnnycakes in hand, moseying to the back stage.

Finally, Statia Day, in November, we decided NOT to rush around like crazy people at 5 AM to get to the fort at 6:Am, where were were all playing our instruments with the steel pan and other band. We arrived at approximately 6:04, Certain that we were complete fools. Indeed we were, but not for the reason we thought. They had actually started ON TIME.

We were sure to arrive on time for the queens birthday. Kids get 5 days off for her royal highness' Queen Beatrix' birthday. Now how is that possible? For my birthday I don't get 5 days off! I want to be queen!

No Bus Necessary

2010-04-22T15:25:00.000-07:00

Sooo, this is Sophia. I want to tell you about my walk to school. Sooo, usually I meet a goat on the way. Chickens too! sometimes I meet a few donkeys and cows, like in the picture. It's dusty so if it rains I might not get to go to school!!!!!Ummmm, walk down the big side of the mountain. we can see the ocean.Yep.

Steel Pan!

2010-04-22T11:07:00.000-07:00

few weeks ago there was the inauguration of a new island governor. As it happens, there was quite a celebration. All of the kids except Charles got to play steel pans. Charles just went for the free food.

On our way to the concert. Charles gets the easy ride, as usual.

Charles with his friend from Colorado, Rowan, and two strangers, Ginger Rogers and Flavor FLAVE!!!!

Rowan was the only other American boy on the island besides Sammy who is 13. Rowan was here for 6 months and now is gone. Charles will be mourning his friend for a long time! Chip and island friends: Medani, Salahuddin, and Ibrahim.

This video is for Sophia's third grade teacher, Mrs. Goshert! It is the Statia national anthem

Between the deep blue ocean
And the Caribbean sea
Where the waves are all in motion
Lies a pearl so dear to me
From quill to little mountain
From Venus to White Wall
Long ago a golden fountain, once a diamond waterfall
Golden rock I'll always miss you
When I am far from here
Never ever forget you
Wheresoever I may be

Tour of de Island

2010-03-03T08:13:00.000-08:00

This is the start of a fabulous tour Ethan, Frances and I got to go on with the kids at the terminal school. No, not for the terminally ill children. For the children of the oil terminal employees. Since Jan we are attending the school full time, although the kids take most of their courses online and I am their spanish teacher. The guide is Gaye. She is reportedly Al Gore's cousin. She's got a photographic memory and I say, she knows something about everything!

Ethan and Frances are standing on a cistern. Since there is no fresh water supply on the island, inhabitants built lots of these to hold rain water. This one is around 300 years old. Some of them are still being used today.

We are looking different kinds of bricks. You can see that some buildings have been rebuilt because they were destroyed by hurricanes. So, the buildings have different kinds of brick.

The history is told in the layers of bricks.

It's really me.A view of the main drag on the strip of businesses along the shore Sorry about the morning shade

The Old Gin House. This is a great hotel, probably the nicest on the island. They used to have Wednesday night BBQ night and lots of people would come out to the outdoor dining and bar and eat and drink and there was a live band. Mr. Dennis Amajan, the wonderfully gifted leader of the culture (music) department has invited myself to play with him and his band a few times and Connely and Ethan have played with the band as well. It was a great experience. Now they have quit having BBQ night and locals are not happy.....Wed nights will never be the same.

Old Gin House is named after a cotton gin that was brought to the island, not the drink. The island used to grow lots of cotton. The gin cost the island a great deal of money at the time and vastly improved the ability to make cotton (obviously). The hotel is restored and in beautiful condition.

http://www.oldginhouse.com/#/Home/ seriously they have the coolest website. It makes this place look so hip and modern. Really it is nothing like it at all, but it is worth checking out the aerial photo. It is spectacular. Sometimes I like to fantasize that the whole island really does look like what that website advertises. And since you are in america, this only takes a second to go to (takes about 5 min here to pull it up) so GO!

OK, Gin House photos are fantasy. This is reality. This is Dive Statia, one of three dive shops on the island. The beach side of it is one of the only places in the last year that has had sand enough to use for swimming. Recently a lot more sand has been brought in so we are pretty happy because there is more beach.

OK, here is my least favorite part of the tour. This is in the dirt parking lot across the street from Dive Statia. This hand belongs to Sammy, 13 year from Texas. It is supposed to be a picture with MY hand in it. Because this is the blue bead in Sammy's hand that he picked up on the ground, sitting right there on top of the dirt, between Sammy's left foot and my right foot. And because I was paying attention to the tour guide, Sammy bent over and got that blue bead first. Oh sure, I am happy for Sammy. Since he is leaving the island soon I guess I can be happy that he found it first, But WAH WAH WAH! I WANT a BLUE BEAD TOO!!!

Blue Beads are an important part of Statian history. People on this island wear their blue beads proudly on a necklace. Basically, the more blue beads you sport, the cooler you are. Slaves wore them to show their value, and there are blue beads to be found still if you have a lot of luck and search in the ocean right after a big storm. Or if you just happen to be standing in the middle of a dirt parking lot and the gods are on your side that day. This is the plaque I would like to take home and nail to the dining room area where one enters my kitchen.

The path was not actually build FOR the African slaves, but BY them. It is a very very steep shortcut to town from Dive Statia if you can handle the 95% grade.

This is a cool achiterctual structure build to take the water to the cistern. It reminds us of an Aztec temple. From the top of the slave path. You can see Saba in the background. There is a good medical university on Saba, like most of the Caribbean islands. Now there is an island I am glad we didn't go to. Saba is beautiful , but a giant ROCK. There are NO beaches at all there! I cannot fathom going to the Caribbean for 1 1/2 years and not being able to swim in the ocean. It would have been pure torture. Just standing there, sweltering on a gigantic rock, staring into the clear blue waters for 16 months. SO even though Saba has a really good reputation for a Caribbean university (and that is still not saying a lot) I vetoed it .

Wrong direction, Ibrahim!

uuuuuuuup
This is at the top of the fort. There are several cannons there. During the latter part of the 18th century, St. Eustatius was the major supplier of arms and ammunition to the rebellious British Colonies in North America and the subject of conflict among the most powerful seafaring nations of the time.

For a while, Statia was the only link between Europe and fledgling American colonies. Even Benjamin Franklin had his mail routed through Statia to ensure its safe arrival.

This is where the cannons fired the famous first shots, making Statia the first country to recognize the USA as a nation!On November 16, 1776 the American Brig-of-War, the "Andrew Doria", sailed into the harbor of Statia firing its 13-gun salute indicating America's long sought independence. The 11-gun salute reply, roaring from the canons at Fort Oranje under the command of Governor Johannes de Graaff, established Statia as the first foreign nation to officially recognize the newly formed United States of America. ok, so I actually stole this part from the brochure, so what?

Statias are super-proud of this tidbit of history and the fact the they housed the revolutionary ammunition here as well as food and supplies for the revolutionaries. They have a really cool place in American history that we americans don't hear about often.

This sundial is from the 1700's and can you believe it still works?

Slave path winding up

This is part of the remains of the Jewish synagogue. There were so many on the island at one time that they have their own graveyard. In 1718 someone burnt the whole building down. There were two Jewish groups, the Sephardic and Ashkenazic, were very different in religious beliefs and life style. They continually squabbled and fought among themselves. Frequently the militia had to be called to settle disputes. There were around 350 Jews at one point in the 1700's. Here is a link for more info:

http://statiatourism.com/history

I love this photo. It looks like there is something holy about to happen. Wait, could it be student loans finally came through???Ahhhhh, (angelic music in the background)

Drat, a nasty mirage.We got lucky at the end of the tour because Grant, the island archeologist, was there doing an excavation of a micvah. A micvah is a Jewish bath or baptisimal font. The women would bathe in it to "cleanse "themselves once a month.

These are some of the little slave beads that Ethan has discovered after hundreds of hours scavengering through the ocean. When Statia was flourishing in the 1700's the value of a slave was known by how many beads they wore. The island has beads all over it and in the ocean still, but you have to get really lucky or look a really long time, and they are quite valuable.

Did you know Thirty Statian blue beads were used by the Dutch to purchase New York's Manhattan Island from the Indians? How much of Saks 5th Avenue would I own if I had that blue bead in Sammy's hand? Huh?

The law on Statia says that you cannot take any artifacts off the island except for beads. So these are coming home! Ethan has also found a blue bead, of the color black (I know, it doesn't make sense, but blue beads come in many different colors. The ones that are not blue are more valuable)

BTW, Sammy, the legend goes that if you give away the blue bead, more will come your way. Want me to hold that for you?

In case you were wondering who to vote for, her's de woman. You go, guhl!!

Venus Bay

2010-03-02T17:33:00.000-08:00

It was time for another weekend hike and campout to Venus Bay. Ed takes the kids every few months for a short hike and campout on the other side of the island. I decided to accompany them this time, at least for the hike part. It turned out to be a spectacular place on the island rarely visited! View of the quill from the opposite side of the island. Yep, that's it. that's the entire island!We have many choices...all lead to water.....
Note the sign Ed stands by, one announcing the presence of the Antillean iguana. These are rare iguanas only found on a few islands, and Statia is one. We see them occasionaly around the island or at the dive shop.The start of the hike to Venus BayCharles wants us to follow him to see his new treasure

What is it, Charles? Eeeeeeeeew, again?Arrival at Venus Bay. There is nothing there except the bay itself. Ed and the boys strung up some fisherman's nets that washed ashore the last time they were there and made hammocks out of them. Otherwise sleeping on those rocks is pretty brutal. I don't sleep there....I hike back home, have a hot shower, curl up with a good book, and sleep in my own bed.

Sophia and Guenie search for treasures not of the bovine type.
I got a little crazy with the camera and took some individual photos
The corner of the bay there were some wicked waves that nearly tossed us off of the rocks.
A little calmer here

To build a fire
Frances
Sophia
All the girls and friends too
Aaaaar, me buckos!

What is this girl doing?
Three amigo-pirates

Shucks, it's already time to go home.

A Sunday afternoon

2010-01-27T18:23:00.000-08:00

We really do live here! Pinch me, please!

Last week we took a walk to see Clover. Clover is the pig that we found down at the old English plantation ruins. Someone keeps a bunch of pigs there and some are penned and some are roaming freely (who decides that?)She is tied up to a tree and wags her tail every time we see her. Adorable! Can you say Babe? Oh, so cute. Smelly, but oh so cute. We took her some delicious food like banana peels, rinds, sour almond milk, stale bread, and even an avocado pit, which she crunched on like an Atomic Fireball.

Sophia is holding her second-grade class mascot, Spunky the monkey, whom we keep forgetting to include in the photos. Spunky really liked the pigs.

Clover has neighbors, a couple of pens of little piglets. They are not the usual variety either. They have long furry ears, and I discovered months ago when I chanced upon them while taking a run in the countyside, that if you scare them, they will all squeal unanimously and jump up, all fours in the air, at the same time. It is one of the funniest things ever and I hope to capture it on video! This pig won't be wooed.

After our noses could take the foul smell no longer, we headed down the hill to the coast.

Everyone, meet Frances! This our our adorable niece who came to stay with us for about 6 months for the island experience (ya, mon). We waited until she settled into take her to see smelly pigs. She first had to get used to chickens everywhere and goats standing on walls and buildings and donkeys braying first thing in the morning. AND she had to slap a cow at least twice before we would take her to this place. I would say she has adjusted heartily and is now part of the familia. She even smells like us now.

This was meant to be the family picture. Charles ruined it with his usual antics.

And this is Charles' favorite photo. He made me take it. It captured his attention as he was running down the trail and he spent at least 15 minutes analyzing and admiring it. Can you tell what it is?

Overlooking the beautiful Carribean coastline

OK, anyone remember the most recent Pride and Prejudice film? You didn't have to have seen it 148 times like I did to remember Keira Knightly standing on a cliff just like this. I made Frances do this. Let me emphasize, for her sake, that this was entirely MY idea. I think it captures her lovely British-romantic-countryside self. Besides, I may need to use it someday, like when I need a favor from her, or maybe at her wedding.

Another try at a family photo, and Sophia decides to wear her batman mask, Ethan tries unsuccessfully to hide the stick he used to prod cows and his siblings along the path, and Charles whistles on a blade of grass (or perhaps he is trying to hide a finger in the nose). Mission aborted.

By the time you are in junior high school, posing for a photo is absolutely ridiculous. But I got a little smile out of him anyway

This is most of the tiny island!

Spunky meets the pigs

Finally, a winner! The only reason it worked is because I promised to take Charles back to his favorite site of the day if he would keep his tongue inside Mr. Mouth.

Anyone guess what it was that so captured his attention? It was....(drumroll , please) a cow patty with mushrooms growing in it! Fascinating!

Charles heading down the path to the glorious shroom-patty

Are they gone yet? (snort snort)

A really bad fall and a really great aunt

2010-01-01T15:07:00.000-08:00

Poor Charles, always in a predicament. After a terrible fall face-down onto a jagged rock from the huge tree in our backyard, his little face looked something like this:

Cheerful little guy trying to smile:

We are glad that our dutch neighbor is a doctor and that he was working in the yard when it happened. It was frankly a miracle that he did no more damage than he did. His gums got the most damage, but the nose didn't even break and he lost no teeth!

It is amazing how quicky children's cells recover. Within one week he looked like this:

I am taking advantage of this to post a photo of my new, adorable sister-in-law, Annie. Annie married my brother Jon recently and they came for a visit. Annie is a kindergarten teacher and clearly a serious kid magnet. Charles couldn't stay away from her the whole week. The funny thing is, Annie didn't even have to try! He followed her around, did what she did, ate what she ate, and rode in her car wherever she went. He tried to be subtle about his affection, but his efforts to hide it made it even more charming. When she had to leave, he refused to go to the airport because he said he didn't want to cry. But he went, and he did sob. It was oh-so-sweet. For a boy who is ordinarily only drawn to men, Annie was a real exception. Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou Jon!

Annie is fab-u-LOSA!

Thanksgiving at the QUEENS

2009-12-06T05:13:00.001-08:00

We love our friends the Queens! Whenever they are in town there is never a dull moment. This posting for our Thanksgiving day is a little late, but not forgotten. We had a wonderful time with our island friends there that day, eating, playing , talking and laughing.

Tennis courts on the Queens property. It kept everyone busy for hours.
Wim helping charles with his forehand
The Adorable Nikki, Sophia's dear friend.
Kai, Ethan, Charles, Maggie, and "little" Sam, chillin' on the deck. Check out the view of the island.
Buffets are not an American thing, even though Thanksgiving is.
Manny, the owner of Smoke Alley, and Kathy, the hostess with the mostess.

This is the coolest dune buggy ever. It floats effortlessly over the rocky, beat-up roads. Charles decided to strap himself in thinking that if he did so he would get a ride. However, no one was willing to leave the feast, so Charles sat for a long time and just pouted.

On deck: Two Dutchmen, A Spanish-Portugese Caribbean, and two New -Yorkans.

This is the best island drink ever; family members will confirm. Ting is dy-no-MITE!

A Dutch family holiday: Sinterklaas

2009-12-06T04:34:00.000-08:00

All the way from Spain on a 15-foot dinghy, it's Sinterklaas!

Accompanied by Zwarte Piet, Sinterklaas made his grand entance to Statia on a dinghy at the harbor, then took a tour through the town in the bed of a pickup.

To be honest, it was sheer conincidence that we saw him arrive that day as we jumped off the dock. We saw a little boat floating through and Ed told Charles that there was a "party" boat. I looked and saw a strange figure at the bow of the boat, standing in a red robe and cheap paper-bishop hat, with a staff and a gaze at the horizon like a noble sailor chancing upon land after months at sea. I remembered reading about him and looked towards the harbor where there were a few dozen children gathered and the black Ford "horse". We quickly jumped up and followed the party.

It was a parade which lead to a party with presents, a pinata (which they held up to show everyone, then simply put it away and threw candy out to the kids), cake and donuts and bitterball, croquette, juice boxes ( we picked up at least 398,944 of them thrown on the ground). Then they gave all the kids presents and played loud Caribbean -beat Christmas carols for hours.

For those of you who don't remember learning about this holdiay in the fourth-grade, this is the most popular Dutch holiday of all. Here are some interesting facts:

Celebrated on the 5th of December
All about the presents he distributes!
Average Dutch household spends 130 euro on Sinterklaas gifts
Like Santa, Sinterklaas is good to good children and strict to the naughty
Children leave a shoe by the chimney with a carrot for the horse in it
According to tradition, he rides over housetops with the grey horse and drops gifts through the chimney into the shoes
He leaves chocolate letters and cookies for the children
He leaves unusual gifts for the adults including humorous poems making gentle fun of each other and wrapped in very unusual ways

Zwarte Piet getting the kinderen ready to chase him. Attention, everyone, Please! Piet was a real jokester.

So who was Zwarte Piet (Black Peter)?

Based on exotically dressed servants from the Dutch colonies
He guides Sinterklaas' horse through the streets of the Netherlands (rides in the flatbed with him in the Caribbean I guess)
Carries a burlap bag and chases children through the streets, attempting to stuff them inside
Tradition has it that he takes the naughty children back to Spain in the bag
Children love running from him and after him!
As the Netherlands became more multicultural, it became a moral dilemma for the Dutch, but politically correct experiments with blue, white, and even multi-colored Pieten have been unsuccessful. Tradition remains strong!

Charles, recovering from facial injuries, and friendZwarte Piet getting ready to run from the children. On the broken up rough concrete streets, there were more than a few tripping injuries. This game Never EVER would have happened in the sue-happy streets of the USA.

I am not sure that the formal and traditional Netherlands Sinterklaas and Zwatre Piet do the Electric Slide through the streets either.

Our Caribbean Piet, is noted, doesn't really look much like the Dutch Piet. Check out the high top Nikes, gold jewelry, and sunglasses, and MJ glove...

My favorite Carribean twist to the whole thing: Sinterklaas painted his face white......is that politically correct?

Announcing the winner and a new list!

2009-11-27T16:41:00.000-08:00

OK, since no one has commented on the last post (despite much whining about not posting enough blogs) I am going to assume that you are all sick and tired of reading about how much darn fun we are having on the ocean. I am going to have to send you some photos and posts about the real lifestyles of your rich and famous Packards. In the meantime, I hereby commit to post no more beach photos. I know it is making you all mad and resentful.

Meanwhile, congratulations to Dave Buck for winning the last list contest (only 5 months ago!) It was a very close run, with Robin only being beat out because of Dave's single best response to the challenge: Describe the food labeled "picks in blanket", to which Dave responded "where your boogers go at night". Slam dunk.

Now for a new list! Check out the names of some of children in Charles' kindergarten class (all names are spelled correctly):

Sineille Lieuw

Wenson Saladin

Zique Pandt

Deshendree Jack

Xaviera Smith

Reeshandres Mercera

Madani Berkel

Ra'myah Brown

Jertino Marsdin

Raishel Lopes

Shamaria Schmidt

Kayvaughn James

Leon-Pozas-Esteban

Chanel Scmidt

Nusjheeli De Graf

Amarykecia Busby

Dejeanee Maduro

Khadija Skeete

Giovandris Harrigan

and there are more....The dogs tend to have names like Fergie, Tilly, Buster, and Roxy. I can pronounce those.

Any one getting any new baby name ideas????

Are you ready for MAD house?

2009-11-15T16:42:00.000-08:00

These are the words I found posted on a note for me from Stefan the first day I got to Goldenrock Dive. The past two weeks I have had been helping out at the local dive shop while the owners, Glen and Michele, were at a dive show in Miami. What a great two weeks! The shop is small and located right on the shore. Stefan, our Dutch friend, is the dive master and instructor.
Basically my job was to help Stefan with whatever he needed, answer phones, help out the customers, and wipe eye goobers out of Glen and Michele's beloved brown lab, Duncan.

There were so many interesting people that came to the shop to dive, there was never a dull moment. Ok, there were a few that occurred while Stephan was out on the dives, but those were spent napping in a hammock outside the shop, overlooking the ocean. Oh, dreadful life!

We assisted customers from exotic place, such as the Netherlands, Switzerland, Brazil, and Detroit, Michagin.

Ethan went with me each day and was able to do school because internet was connected there. However, he didn't really do much school. This was also the week that, due to the generosity of some dear friends, both Connely and Ethan were able to started on their dive certification!

Stefan instructs the boys on their dive gear .

Charles and his new friend Rowan , waiting for the dive show to begin.

Sophia came after school was out and played with Duncan.

Duncan is a swell mate and fine swimmer in the high seas

Getting ready for their first jump in the water. Getting final instruction from the Master Diving scuba Instructor. It is important to note that in this word there is a BIG difference between master and instructor. First level is master, the next level is instructor. And if you are the most qualified and have the most training you are a master diving scuba instructor. Voila, Stefan!

One great thing about moving away from everyone you know is that you get a chance to reinvent yourself. Connely changed his name to "Kai", since it is very difficult for locals to pronounce his given name. Scott, a new med student, joins Ethan and Connely in certification. He now goes by "Scubascott" or just "Scube". Scubascott, Scubakai, and ScubaE.

Here I am trying to pretend I have something important to do. Actually, I am just sitting on the quad because the seat is much softer than the dock. I never even drove it...

I have an itch right underneath...

If you see a shark, pop him in the nose, right between the eyes!

Checking to see if the heart is still beating

Some final instructions

Ready, set.....

Aaaaar, Jump right here, divers, right into the dinghy!

JUMP!

The real driver of the quad, Bion, a boy who works at the suba shop. He is from the Dominican Republic, and is in training to be a dive master

What Charles did to entertain himself since he wasn't invited to dive.

Anyone want to come visit yet?

2009-10-25T13:43:00.000-07:00

OK, I have to get something off my chest. It has been bugging me for as long as I have been posting blogs here on Statia. I feel guilty, almost sorry, for having such wonderful things to blog! Really! Ok, so I really want to apologize if these posts seem as if we are rubbing it in that we are living on a tropical island and you are not. That is not my intention. But you have been asking for more posts, and I must comply.

When I read the posts and remember the good times, I cannot believe how many wonderful things we have experienced in such a short period of time. It seems unfair, that my readers, are suffering either in the sweltering sun of Arizona or trudging through grey sloshy snows of Colorado and Utah. It's a crummy deal. But I can't let it get in the way of my fun anymore. I now pledge to go by the Dutch motto: It's all about having fun!

OK, now that it's off my chest, let's move on!

One of the great benefits to having kids of different ages is that you have many different opportunites to meet the parents of all of the friends of your kids. This is what happened here: Meet the Queens!

Our friends from upstate New York have a great place here on the island, and they come out to stay here one week every month. They have two kids, ages 11 and 15, and they often bring friends with them. You can see where this is going.......

Naturally the Queens want to have fun when they get here, you think YOU have sloshy snow. The Queen's son rides a snowmobile to school and sometimes takes a boat to get there to, which he drives (rows?)himself. So, in the Dutch spirit, they plan all sorts of fun things, and we have enjoyed much fun with them. Fun, fun, fun. We just adore them, they are truly sweet and wonderful family. Did I mention fun?

Last month was a birthday and a large group of friends accompanyed the Queens here. A boat ride was scheduled, and we took a visit to Venus Bay.

Getting off the island for the first time in six months! Note the happy, happy grins

Bion, Kai, and Stefan at the helm. Relax, Stefan!
Dag, doue, Statia!

Charles and Guenie naturally find a great sitting place

Kai is feeling a little crabby Great, now everyone is a little crabby! (celebratory hats for the birthday party)

Arrival at Jenkins Bay

Ok, sports fans, I am now going to perform my new trick!

Whoopeee!
WHew! Made it!
See Saba in the background?

flexing for the camera

Ik met het kinderen

Return to Statia
After arriving at the dock, it didn't take long for the for the kids to figure it out a useful purpose for those hanging ropes and the dinghy

Ethannnnnnnnn!
Ed and Bion, a double gainer. Considering the age difference, Ed deserves some respect!

Even Charles took a few swings

Connely is so fly
What the ladies did while the kids played like kids and the men tried to play like kids....we tied up the floaties and "floated" with a cooler of beverages and yapped to our hearts content

A perfect ending to a perfect day

Just another Saturday

2009-10-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

The past several weeks our friends Wim and Petra have been inviting us to the "no swimming allowed" beach, Zeelandia. Wim works for an oil company and is frequently gone on business, so when he is in town it is ALL about having a lot of fun. Wim also is the owner of 5 surfboards, and possessor of great karma. Also, his are the only surfboards on the island. So Saturdays when he is around means a great time at the beach.

We pass this wall everytime we go to Zeelandia. It is painted next to a Red Cross building. Now think about it....really think about it.

Ethan has a borrowed skimboard..slicing and dicing up the water!

Charles smells some tasty waves.

drawing a line in the sand....

Guenivere puts a lot of grown ups to shame when she does her thing

A good beating keeps them in line.

These kids were caught surfing in the "no swim" beach, so they are being punished. Behold, their misery!

Ya think?

2009-10-14T04:55:00.000-07:00

Does anyone find it odd when your husband wears his 9 year-old daughters purple flipflops to school?
Just askin.

Coconuts

2009-09-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

In order to get some fresh island coconut, you will have to follow these steps. Just remember, this form is made for FRESH ISLAND coconut, not the garbage that you get from the store. But, if you really want, you can use your chewy, ten day old junk. It will not be the same.

First get you coconut. If you have one with a husk, then it is better. It keeps the treasure inside clean and fresh. Then go and get your machete that should be lying around somewhere near. If you do not have one then go and look around on the ground. You will find one soon. Thats how we found both of ours.

Now go and take your anger out on the coconut with your machete! Tear it apart! Rip off the husks! Get WILD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now you should have ripped off the husk. You should also feel much better. Your coconut sould be nice and neat. It should look like a normal coconut now. Carefully crack the hard shell and peel out the coconut inside. It should come out with a soft shell on the cake. Leave it there. It will not affect the taste.

This is the peeled coconut. Rinse it off and get ready for the next step.

Now get out your grater and grate it to shreds. You should grate it with the grater that you would normally grate carrots with except with the smaller version.

When you are done then you should have a nice big plateful of coconut. If you are using it in something sugary of sweet then you can use it just like that. otherwise just mix it up with powdered sugar.

more pics in paradise

2009-09-15T17:02:00.000-07:00

early morning visit

Sophia and Camberley

Can you spot Charles on the poster?

Sophia and island dogs

every day pictures of paradise

2009-09-13T16:12:00.000-07:00

Charles first day of kindergarten

Poes exits out the window

Charles and Gary, Ed's classmate from Phoenix

Kai's sandface masterpiece

sunset at Dive Statia

Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman

2009-08-30T11:57:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday night, a dyslexic Laura turned 14 years old. The occasion was celebrated along with Charles' 5th birthday. There were pirates, a treasure hunt, barbeque ribs, chicken and shrimp, a pirate cake; it was crazy. Our dutch friends, Wim, Petra, and Stefan were invited to celebrate and they sang their version of happy birthday.

In A few More Days....

2009-08-10T08:01:00.001-07:00

In only a few more days, Packards will partake of this beautiful watermelon. We have been watching it, sometimes checking it 5 times a day, carefully since June.
Fresh fruit, despite what one may think, is hard to come by around here. There are mangoes, in season, an occasional bunch of bananas, and other unusual fruits, including papaya, soursop (guanabanana), plantain, guava, on rare occasions a pineapple, and an abundance of coconut. None of these make a good sack lunch snack. Nearly all fruit is imported. A couple of weeks ago I scratched my head wondering how I could be on the Caribbean eating an avocado with a "Chile" sticker and a Red Delicious from Washington state. What the heck? Furthermore, the only fruits imported regularly are the apples, dry oranges, a few struggling strawberries, and grapes, at a mere 8$/lb. Sometimes there are melons, but they look squishy and moldy and are sold by the wedge. Once a street vendor had a whole watermelon. I would have bought it, but he wanted about $30 for it. I dejectedly shook my head and walked. We find ourselves yearning for any fresh fruit.

So, as an experiment, I threw these seeds in the ground. I found, to my astonishment, that they grew rapidly and with little care. After 10 years of failed attepted gardening in Arizona, I think I expected them to shrivel up and die a few days later.

But they grew. They grew more. They thrived....until the worms came to visit. WORMS!And the worms had no manners whatsoever, staying far longer than the socially-acceptable three-day visit. They, in fact, had no intention of leaving. So the battle began. Pest spray. Soap and water spray. Picking them off, at first with closed eyes, gloves and tweezers, throwing them quickly into a pail of water. Nausea. Later I became indifferent and just squished the little boogers between two fingers on the leaves, showing no mercy. "DIE, sucker, DIE!" I would think out loud. if you ask my kids what they did on their summer vacation this year, they might reply, "squish worms" (eerily reminding me of the nickel my dad paid us for each tomato worm we killed when we were little. I never made any money doing that).

Miraculously, we conquered worms in our desperation to have fresh melon. And now we watch, with frothing mouths, over the patio wall, the melons sit and ripen. So next time you are at Fry's/Smiths/Whole Foods, get a melon in our name an enjoy. ENJOY it, darnit!!

Trouble Comes in Threes

2009-08-05T18:20:00.000-07:00

Crime #1
Date: June 26, 2009
Location: front yard, Shaw/Packard residence, Upper Round Hill
Time : 7:25 AM
Perpetrater:passenger door, Hyundai Atas
Victim: Charles Packard's thumbkin, right hand,
Description: Rushing to get the front seat of the car on the way to school, Charles slammed the door of the perpetrator inadvertently onto the victim and let our a yell that everyone on this tiny island heard. Mother panic-tripped down a flight of stairs to his aid. But alas, the perpetrator refused to release the victim from its clenched jaws. The door simply refused open. Not from the inside, not from the outside. Not when the lock was violently pushed up and down several times. Not under shrieking threat of being torn off of its body. Mother further panicked, screaming for father. Father, seeing the drama from the kitchen window, searched frantically for a screwdriver with which to pry the door open. Mother began to sink in despair, certain her baby's thumb would soon be be severed off of his hand and he will have to be the first four-handed violinist or work as a circus clown for the rest of his life. To everyone's horror, father could not get the door open either. In desperation, he reached down and quickly yanked the victim out, thus saving thumbkin and, to his relief, his wife's poor, failing heart.
Mother is currently in recovery, and Charles and his victim have recovered. However, victim appears to be losing his helmet.

Crime #2
Date: June 29
location: Zeelandia beach, Sint Eustatius
Time: 2:14 PM
Perpetrator: a longboard named "Santa Cruz'
Victim: one Ethan Packard, age 14

Description:
Victim was on top of the perpetrator with permission from perpetrator, when perpetrator unexpectedly and ferociously flipped victim upside down in the ocean. Victim emerged from the water with a giant gash on his thigh, open to the bone. Victim was rushed immediately home where mother began her usual screaming routine. Victim taken to the hospital. Father drove, calm, as usual. Using the family vehicle ensured that they would arrive in 2 minutes rather than waiting the usual 30 minutes for the hospital "ambulance" (a beat-up pick-up truck, since the "real" ambulance is currently broken down, and there are circulating island rumors that certain folk of importance purchased a new ambulance on Ebay, but were scammed out of 50K, so there remains nothing but an old pick-up to pick up the dead and dying) . A doctor was called to meet us at the hostital since there were none at the hospital. Doctor Odonga arrived and did an excellent job at giving the victim approximately 15 stitches. Vicitm has recovered and appears happy to have his first stitches and a great story of surfing in the Caribbean to tell.

Crime #3
Date: June 30
Location: side porch, Upper Round Hill
Time: between 1 and 4 AM
Perpetrator: Unknkown
Victim: Edward Packard
Description: While vicitm was sleeping, his very nice bicycle was stolen from the residence. The car was also rummaged through, but nothing was stolen. Crime was reported to the police the next morning. Vicitm and spouse spent the following few days searching for the perpetrator. They posted fliers all over the town and spend much time talking with storekeepers and residents. The bike becamse the talk of the town (it's a very small town and the bike is a very distinguishable) and was so hot that apparently the perp couldn't hang onto it without risking jail time. Or, perhaps, they thought the Yankee was loaded and imagined a fat reward. A phone call to wife reported it "found" behind the police station. Since wife arrived without reward money, she arranged to meet the boy-caller, "Eric", at his home later. She came, along with the vicitm and three policemen. The boy "Eric" was acquitted, but not until he and his aunt and uncle spent an hour enraged at the victim and spouse for calling the police, and threatened lawsuit and accused, indirectly, the victims of racism and doing them wrong. Victim didn't care, and was enourmously relieved and LUCKY to have retrieved his bicycle, since this almost never happens on this island. A stolen bicycle is nearly always painted over or parts are pulled off of it and used elsewhere, or stored for 2 years until the student is gone.

And so, happily, this story has a happy ending.....

Officer Edwin, of the Dutch Politie, has become our friend

ATTENTION!

2009-07-27T19:10:00.000-07:00

Attention! Attention! Oh my, it has been brought to my attention by a VIP that our address may need to be altered. It is with horror that I was recently informed that if you don't put "Dutch Caribbean" at the bottom of the address then some brainless postal workers actually send the mail to HOLLAND. I regret if anyone has sent something, namely chocolate, jelly bellies, and expensive jewels, and we have not received it. I understand that sometimes it does actually get here, but since it gets routed to Europe first, it could take a very, very long time. DO know, that a letter with cash did arrive however without the bottom line, so maybe if the planets are lined up correctly there won't be an interruption....

So here is our address for anyone who cares to send a letter:

ED Packard
SESOM
Goldenrock
Sint Eustatius
Netherlands Antilles
DUTCH CARIBBEAN

Attention Bored People and Competitors of a Hungry Kind

2009-07-16T09:17:00.000-07:00

Ok, all you competitors, here is an exciting afternoon activity for you! I thought I would let you examine the list of items for contribution to the Goldenrock Elementary School Picnic. Spellings have been typed as written on the form.

This delicious cheesecake was NOT on the list of items to contribute, but I think every post needs a photo or no one will read it...

See how many you recognize and report back. Please include specifics on how you think it must be made, as in, don't say macaroni pie is pie made out of macaroni. No smart alecs will be be considered for prizes! That means you, Dave! Winner will be announced in an upcoming post, and the prize will be.....TBA!

1. Bami

2.Spare Ribs

3. Goatmeat

4. Potato salad (a freebie)

5.Doughnuts

6. Pastechi

7. Bitterball

8. Stuffed eggs

9. Nasi

10. Baked chicken leg

11. Macaroni pie

12. Peas and Rice (and you must specify what KIND of peas...)

13. pick in the blanket

14. Croquette

Good luck and happy eating~
Now get going, Kim!

Breaking News

2009-06-25T19:23:00.000-07:00

(and NO! I am not announcing Michael's death! )

Attention all friends:
Anyone who knows me will understand when I tell you that I am submitting these blogs out of order. I am just an out-of -order person. Not orderless, nor odorless, but just a little out of order. So I want to announce that there will be postings below that have been submitted out of order. I started several but had a hard time downloading pictures, so I am submitting them late. You will have to scroll down if want to see them.

Today's forecast: sunny, breezy
I miss: carpet, jelly bellies, and a CD player
I don't miss: the dad gum "dry heat"
I am happy for: Parrots flying over the ocean, 50 mangoes ripening on the porch wall
I look forward to: experiencing Carnival, a sunny, breezy forecast

Count them. Fifty.

A 14th birthday

2009-06-10T17:53:00.000-07:00

June 7 Ethan turns 14! with a shaking knee, popping knuckes, and a crackling voice, he is nearly a man, yet still but a lad...

Celebrated at the beach..where else?

Rueben, Ethan, Hillary, and Jaylin (her nephew visiting from Holland)

Hamburgers for lunch....a real treat around here! We even splurged for a jar of dill pickles and a bag Cheetos! Whoohoo!

We had a simple party. We invited all of his friends. That would be 3. And three quality friends!

Ethan, Reuben, and Naomi

(wow, I am a great photographer. Gordon would be really impressed.)

We had a BBQ at the beach and were joined by Ruben, who we believe is the only other white boy on the island Ethan's age, and Ruben's mother, Karla, and sister Catalein, who is 16. They are a wonderful family and we enjoy them much. Reuben is fun. He likes tennis, snorkeling, scuba diving, and will go on a campout with Ed and the boys this weekend. He has a cheerful disposition, even when Sophia splattered ketchup all over his super-hip white shirt. Karla, his mother, is a beautiful red-headed school teacher (instantly entitling her to the highest respect in our family). She teaches the Dutch language and has been here from Holland for 2 years now. Catalien rides the only rideable horse on the island. She is going to equestrian school in Holland this summer. She also works at the Duggins, the grocery store.

Karla and the Dutch-style carrot cake she made just for Ethan! yummmy.

Tina and her daughter Naomi came as well. Tina is American and has over 20 years on the island. She is warm and kind and runs the animal shelter on the island, even though the government won't pay her for it. that is another issue in itself....

Naomi is going to be 14 on MY birthday (29 again for me). So this puts Naomi at the top of my A-list. She's a very very sweet girl and Tina homeschools her since there are some issues with sending kids to the public school. She lives just down the street.

Tina has the cake now. we couldn't get the candles to light due to the tradewinds so we just kept posing for pictures with it instead.

Finally Hillary, the niece of our landlady came. She is going to be 16 soon, or "making 16" as they say. She lives upstairs, but really spends a lot of time downstairs. her aunt keeps her close and out of the wild Caribbean culture, but despite it I can hardly understand a word she says. Her slang is strong! She has a beautiful smile, ya mon, even when she is "vexed".

Seriously, who can resist this smile???

There isn't much to buy or want on the island, so Ethan was the proud recipient of the first and only bar of pepper -jack cheese I have seen in the store. It is his favorite and I don't know if or when it will ever come in on the boat again. I snatched it up so quickly.....but I don't think anyone was in line waiting to get it behind me.

Ritz and chips and bottles of Crush soda , compliments of Connely the Chicken-Killer were necessary to go with it. He liked his gifts so much I was wondering why I didn't start the cheese and crackers thing years ago....I could have saved a lot of stress, time, and money.....

All in all, a great birthday jam, Caribbean style. We'll be doing it again very soon. Maybe for Connely's party we can eat chicken.

Advanced warning!

2009-06-06T20:19:00.000-07:00

Hello, Friends.

I am fully aware of the blog that has been published by Connely, which follows this one, so I should preface it by giving you a little background.

The first day we arrived at the island were amazed at the beauty, yet somewhat primative feel of the island. Here, animals walk around the island freely without fear. there are no predators on the island. So there are wild donkeys, cows, chickens, goats and sheep that roam freely, grazing on anyone's garden who is foolish enough to not have a fence.

Now, where we live there is a lot of places for a boy to explore. Our house that we rent has an acre or so, and there is a huge empty field across the road and each house that is in the community here up on the Quill has at least an acre or two. And there is nothing for a boy to fear, because like I said, there are no predators.That is, except in this case the boy became the predator.

See, Connely is the proud owner of a slingshot. And Connely got up early the second day and decided to go about the neighborhood.

There is another important piece of this story. Ed told the boys that meat here is expensive and that it can be handled badly because of shipping so that if they wanted it they would have to hunt it. He was saying it in half jest. But the boy Connely, A.K.A. "The Carnivore" took the challenge very, very seriously!

So that fateful morning he set out for a chicken and within a short period of time (while his mother was sleeping) he got one!

This was much to the horror of his mother and the pride of his father. After all, Ed says, a boy has to hunt. Mom screamed for a good half hour at the horror of a poor dead chicken in the yard, then at the boy for being so disillusioned as to have believed his father's instructions to kill, then to the father for the carelessness of his words and then to all of them for the mess they were making in the yard, and yada yada yada....

At the end of the day we had chicken soup. I only ate it because Connely was sooo proud, I couldn't let him down. But I confess, it was pretty tasty. And Connley was elevated halfway to the status of manhood .

The better 40th birthday party

2009-06-06T19:45:00.000-07:00

Could it be..........Big Bird?

Ok so last night Ed had REAL party! Friends at the medical school decided to throw him a surprise party, doing it jointly with Anh Thu, another student and friend whose birthday just passed. I had to get Ed to Renee's house and tell him it was a party for Ant Thu. I thought there would be about 15 students there, but I was shocked. The entire school was there and wow, was he surprised!

They had all the music hooked up and more food than we have seen in months! Oh, food...the food.....you can't imagine how great to have all that food! Since there are a lot of students from all over the world, there were a variety of dishes from other cultures none of us have tried. The Indian food was Amazing. Ed loved the steaks someone brought in an hour late. There were plates of brownies and cakes. But the best was the giant dish of fruit salad! There was a buzz and a stirring within when that giant dish was set down.

Connely curled up in a corner with some wings someone brought. He was silent in that corner most of the night. A few times he got up to refill his plate, but other than that he couldn't be heard except for the silent sucking the bones of a chicken wing.

If he died right now, there would be no regrets.

Pinder and I, one of our first friends here. She is from Riverside CA.

The kids had so much fun. The students are great with them. They spoil them with attention.It has made the transition much easier on them.

Mohommad "AZ". He left a brave wife and two weet kids (temporarily) in Canada to do his studies out here.

They let the boys play volleyball with them and cheer them on. They are very kind.

Charles is the new school mascot. After this party I don't know if either he or his parents will recover....I mean, just how much attention can one little boy get? Throughout the night we heard hooting and hollering and usually Charles was in the middle of the crowd for hours, either fighting some big burly- football -player -type student or break dancing on the dance floor.

Gary was seen multiple times running through the house with Charles slung over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes yelling like cowboys and indians. Rayon taught him some good dance moves. All the women adored him and fed him Cheetos and soda like a monkey at the zoo. Others swung him around their heads to funk music. Sophia ran around taking pictures and videos of everyone.

Connely purchased a 9 -inch pinata. He stuffed it with lifesavers and everyone had a blast trying to kill that thing.

In the end we had to take the kids home at 10. the party went on long after that, and eventually everyone walked up to Smoke Alley, the local bar, but Ed and I took a nice evening stroll on the beach and wondered why it took us 40 years to get here.

a Caribbean funeral

2009-06-04T18:41:00.000-07:00

Today was a noteworthy day. It was the funeral of our friend and teacher, Dave Shaw. Dave was our landlord and lived upstairs from us with his wife, Inez. We rent the bottom level of their home in the best neighborhood on the island.

The first time we met Dave we were drawn to him. He was a man with a really wonderful legacy and a remarkable wit. He was elderly, but was as sharp as could be. As we visited with him we learned that he had a remarkable life. Dave was originally from Boston. He got two masters degrees; one in music education and one in French literature. He went to the New England conservatory and Boston University. He got a bachelors in French and one in music composition. He was also a professional jazz musician and a teacher. This instantly caught our attention and when we told him Ethan played the trombone he really got excited because that was one of his instruments. he started teaching a very excited Ethan lessons in composition. His goal was to have Ethan compose his own hymn before we return next year. Ethan studied every day for his lessons and came to be very fond of him. Dave was also a ham radio operater. He spoke with people all over the world! This was pretty cool to a 13 year-old.

A few days ago Hillary, his neice, woke us in the middle of the night. Dave was a heart attack and the phones were down and their cell phone went dead. We called the hospital but ours was down too. Thirty minutes after the phone call the "ambulance" showed up. It was actually a pickup truck. The ambulance was out of order. The hearse was broken, so they sent a back up hearse, a pickup truck. It was to Hillary's horror because Dave was not dead at all! He was alert and talking! Ed and the driver had no stretcher so they had to put dave in a chair and carry him out to Inez's car. They took him to the hospital, which by the way was only 3 minutes away....

Dave survived the heart attack but they sent him to St. Martin the next morning. Then he had a massive attack the next night and passed away. We were all devastated.

The funeral was held at a beautiful, historic Catholic church on the oceanside, and the program was wonderful. In particular the music. It was hard to believe that such a small island could produce such fine musicians. There was a barbershop qauartet, an amazing solo from an older woman who was obviously professionally trained. There was a few other small groups and there was to be Hillary singing, but she was so broken hearted that she couldn't sing, so the song was just played on CD.

In the eulogy, Ethan was mentioned as the last student Dave ever had and how much he had enjoyed Ethan.

***********************************************************************

In the meantime, we still had to celebrate Ed's birthday. It wa a small party, just how Ed likes them. We had a cheesecake, his favorite and a few small gifts

"Dear Dad, I love you

Happy Birthday to you

May all you Tropical dreams come true

I stick to you just as glue

Even though we were away from you

So Happy Birthday to you!

It's true dad

Love, Sophia Charles"

Raise your hand if you've ever had a Pim's!

Warning...PG-13 for violence and gross images

2009-05-28T06:58:00.000-07:00

Hi everybody, this is Connely. I was the one who killed de chicken. I am here to give you a chicken hunting lesson.

Number Uno: Go and buy a slingshot from a sporting goods store. Preferebly a wristrocket.

Then get some marbles, or led hunting pellets.

Number Dos: Find an area where the chickens roam. Do not go on somebodies property unless if they are not home or not looking.

Number Tres: Look for a chicken. Then slowly sneak up on it and try not to let it see you. If you have been practicing, you should know how to aim pretty well.

Number Quatro: As soon as you are about ten feet away, shoot it with a marble. Go for the head if you can but otherwise aim for one of the legs or the wings.

Number Cinco: Chase it down and shoot it once or twice more marbles while running. Try to corner it against a wall or something that it cannot get through.

Number Sies: Grab hold of it firmly by the body and do not let go. Then move to a spot where people dont have to watch.

Number Ocho: Now is the good part! Find a sharp knife and cut it's head off. Hold it upside down and let all of its blood drip out. Then pull up the wing and make a slit in the skin. Keep on cutting until all the skin is off. Then cut off the part next to the throat with all the half-digested food. Using your fingers pull out its guts and place then next to the skin. Break it's feet off, unless you wish to eat them. Bury the skin and guts. Wash or rinse all the feathers off of the meat and bones.

Number Nueve: Cook the meat in water and then pull it off the bones. Throw away the bones. You may cook this in soup.

Number Dies: If you know anybody in the area that gardens, tell them. They will probably be happy because the chickens destroy their gardens. I know this from expirience.

There is your whole lesson for free. It is a fun sport. Both me and my brother have wristrockets. So does my friend on the island. He told me he is getting a pellet gun. With a scope. Man it's going to get wild here. Enjoy your shriveling heat!

-Connely

Please Pass the Handle!

2009-05-27T11:05:00.000-07:00

For those of you, which is many, who don't think it is possible for the Packards to get a vehicle any worse than a couple that we have recently unloaded, you are gravely mistaken. This one has to top the cake. A Hyundai Atos (not sold in the states) it was the least expensive car available, and it was a good idea not to get anything too nice, since so many of the cars on the island are completely hammered anyway. This way there is no stress to keep it looking good an aviod the imminent accident....and this whole experience is about no stress!

The car seats five, but has a nice little hatchback, which makes the most luxurious and wonderful seat any precocious four-year old could want. In Statia, no one wears seat belts, so this is entirely possible. There is no seat belt or car seat law, due to the slow traffic. We rarely go faster than 25 MPH around here. Much of the time it is about 10 MPH because roads are so bad and also you have to watch for goats, iguanas, and cows and such creatures that might jump out of the bushes in your way!

Charles is thrilled with his new situation, altogether too aware of the fact that he dodged his final 3 months in a car seat and 16 months in a seat belt. I however, am not so thrilled. See, the car has a few problems. For one, the windows in the back get stuck and don't go up sometimes. This isn't a problem most of the time because the weather is pretty nice. But two weeks ago it was a big problem, as it rained for nearly a week off and on. And when it rains here, it pours! Most of the handles are broken and when I want to get out of the car, I have to reach my hand outside the car and open it from the outside. I can't help being polite and thanking myself. Then, the radio falls backwards and into a deep hole and I can't find it. This annoys me in the mornings when I drive the kids to school because i like to listen to the French station that broadcasts out of St. Martin, and I have to find the radio first. Finally, there are a couple of missing handles on the windows. So when someone wants to roll a window down, we simply have to ask to please pass it, you know, like passing the salt.

The black Spot

2009-05-21T20:07:00.000-07:00

Today I am quite sure that my ship has sunk.

I know it. I could see it a mile away.

Picture this drama: A warm, seemingly inconsequential day at the beach. Renee, the med student-island -animal -advocate walking toward me decidedly. A cute nine-year old girl skipping aside of her with a giant smile on her face. A tiny, multi-colored ball of fur cradled in her palm. two giant shiny grey eyes placed directly on that ball of fur. getting closer. Crooked teeth smiling bigger and, piggy tails bouncing higher, the fur is beginning to take a clear form. One I have seen before. I take my new glasses off, sure that they are decieving me. Maybe if if I blink it will go away.

"Mom, look what renee found! She's all alone and she's sooooooo ca-youte! Can we keep her can we keep her can we keep her? Pleeeeeeeze! pretty pleeze? PA_LEEEEEZE!"

I think it was all a ploy

Spot and her favorite horse- toy

I am trying not to glare at Renee......we've done this before. Everyone knows how desperate we were until only a day before moving out of our house to find a home for our two cats (thanks Partridges and Kauffmans). I can feel it, I can see it. but then comes the poor- little- thing -she'll -be- euthanized schpiel. yeah I know that one too. She'll starve. She'll get hit. She'll be eaten by the Chinese. Yeah, I've heard them all.

In the end I am a sucker. She is purring the instant she is placed in my hands. Everyone knows I wanted another baby anyway. here she is. The little calico with a giant black spot on the back of her neck. A perfect name for the Caribbean-pirate kiss of death.

How do you know...

2009-05-21T19:21:00.000-07:00

Question: How do you know when you are far from home?
Answer: When during a discussion on "expressing emotions" you ask your four-year old what kinds of things make him sad and he replies,"when a coconut falls on my head !"

Welcome to our blog! Welcome to the Caribbean! Welcome to a remote island in a far corner of the world that few people visit on vacation. Welcome to a place rich in history and diverse in culture. We hope your stay with us, which will continue 16 months, will allow you to close your eyes and take you to a world far away, where you can only dream you are during those long, hot summer days. Come fly away to an imaginary world, which is actually only imaginary to you, but real to us, where coconuts and bananas and mangoes grow wild, where the ocean is warm and the breeze is cool, where no one has to go to work and there are no responsibilities, no appointments, lessons, meetings, or tournaments, no answering machines or phone calls, where every day is a beach day, where there is no pressure to do anything you don't want to....and you can dream and dream to your heart's content but this is our reality! Whoopee!

OK, okay, to be fair, and so you don't think that we are entirely cruel and heartless in doing the victory dance while you suffer another boiling hot Arizona summer, the previous two years were not exactly a picnic for us. In fact, many times I would find Ed in the closet, banging his head against the wall, chanting,"I don't want to be a butler when I grow up, I don't want to be a butler when I grow up..."

So I guess rather than an in-your-face, neener- neener- neener attitude, it would be more precise to say that we are dancing a jig around the mango alter because we are so happy and relieved with the change of circumstances and great opportunity! We have so many wonderful people to thank, and chances are 98.3% that if you have been invited to this blog, you are one of them. And we do thank you all, so many times over.

So sit back, relax, and join us on this adventure. And if you dare face the falling coconuts, save your pennies and come visit!