Carlson's Caribbean Adventure

This Christmas break we decided to spend with my husband Luke's family in Minnesota. Our journey began early, 3:20am early, which happens to be 1:20am, Minnesota time. We took a taxi with our neighbors and another student to the airport where we stood in line for awhile before the workers arrived to check us in for the flight. After checking in, we filled out our immigration forms and headed in to go through security. We got as far as getting our passports checked before we were called back to go into the baggage room. Our suitcase was chosen for a random check, so we had to open it for them to search through. Thankfully, there were no issues, so we were able to continue through security. We had purchased water in the airport, but unfortunately, they wouldn't let us take it through security. Thankfully, after we drank it,  they made sure the bottles were empty and let us keep them! Eventually we boarded our plane. Luke and I had the front row seats, so we

Different is the best word I can think of to describe this Thanksgiving. Now, I don't mean different in a bad way, but when I think back on past Thanksgivings, this one was quite different. I grew up spending Thanksgiving in beautiful New England surrounded by family and delicious food, breathing in the cool crisp air, playing football (sometimes in the snow), and shooting some guns. Some years we would even go Black Friday shopping. Then I went off to college in Florida, and Thanksgiving was different with the air not so cool. I spent it with only my sister one year, then only Luke and friends for the next three years. Last year, I was back in New Hampshire on break from teaching, and spent one more Thanksgiving with my family and Luke. It was just perfect, complete with some Black Friday shopping with my sister and brother in law. Fast forward to this year. This year was almost completely different. My last name is different this year,  for one thing, and as it was our first m

What many of you know as Hurricane Matthew was only Tropical Storm Matthew to us, thankfully! Our island is very hilly, so usually storms don't do too much damage, but it is always wise to be prepared. We were told that the water supply would be shut off, so we filled every water bottle and pot we had with water. Luke's classes for the next day were cancelled, so while I was looking forward to having him home, I was dreading the possible effects of the storm. It rained through the night, but it didn't seem very bad. Apparently Luke's classes had been rescheduled, even though they had been canceled. Unfortunately for Luke, the email informing him wasn't sent until it was too late for him to catch the bus. Thankfully, his classes are recorded, so from home he was able to watch both classes he missed. The storm was still over us, so everyone was asked to be inside by 2pm. It rained harder that evening and the wind was fairly strong. Luke's classes were

For a medical student, the white coat ceremony marks the beginning of their careers as physicians. They are presented with a short white coat in a special ceremony held by their school. Luke's white coat ceremony was held on September 3, 2016. The day before, during orientation, they practiced for the ceremony, and I have to admit, I was tearing up.  All of the studying, praying, working, and waiting had led to this moment that would mark the beginning of his dream career. The ceremony was to be held at Faith Temple Church with a reception following at Young Island. We packed our bathing suits and towels for the reception, got all dressed up, and rode the bus to the church. The ceremony was very nice. They included a video of previous students giving advice and telling about their experiences. A doctor gave the history behind the white coat and explained that to distinguish them as students, they would be donning short white coats instead of the longer ones that physi

Grocery shopping in St. Vincent is always an experience.  You never quite know what to expect. Every Saturday and Sunday, the school sends the vans to the various apartments to take people on the grocery run. Thankfully for us, there is also a small grocery store a short walk away, so if we run out of something midweek, we can possibly get it. Since we ride the van to the grocery store,  it's important to bring bags to help carry the groceries. Some students even bring a small suitcase. The school takes us to two grocery stores. The first of these is called Sunrise Supermarket, and it is located in Arnos Vale across from the airport. It is always busy on Saturday when we go. Since the prices are generally lower at Sunrise, we do most of our shopping there.  Luke and I usually start at the back of the store where we find our bread and meat. The bread here is very fresh and comes in tied off plastic bags.  Next, we look for eggs, which are not always available. Our

As much as we loved vacationing for almost two months after our wedding, we were very excited to unpack our bags in the first place we would call home together. We arrived at the Thomas Apartments in the Diamond Community, and searched for apartment #14 along with the welcoming committee who had picked us up from the airport. We found out place, and eagerly unlocked the door. I was picturing a very small, practically one room apartment, but much to my surprise and delight, we opened the door to a pretty good sized kitchen. We followed the hallway to the bathroom on the right, small, but sufficient. Continuing down the hallway, we entered a good sized bedroom on the left. Since there didn't seem to be any major issues with the apartment, we said goodbye to the people who dropped us off, and quickly began checking everything out. We decided we didn't like the way the bedroom was set up, so a quick rearranging of furniture fixed that. After living out o