SK v. USA

This here is a throw down between St. Kitts and good ol' America. Being home for two weeks has brought some discrepancies, both large and small, between SK and the USA to my attention. Some differences are nice, some are annoying.

Weather

Win- St. Kitts

The temperature in the ATL has been about 5-10 degrees hotter than it's been in St. Kitts since I've been here. It was 94 degrees the other day! GROSS. Also, I have no delightful ocean breeze in Johns Creek, Georgia. Stagnant, hot weather. Bleh.
Note- The sun sets in St. Kitts around 6:30, which is lame. Today the sun is set to... set at 8:40 pm. Two extra hours of sunlight! That's pretty awesome, but not awesome enough for the win.

Food

Win- USA

There are so many reasons why the US wins- lower cost, wider variety, freshness, I don't get covered in bacon liquid from a ripped package (that has happened to me more than once at IGA in St Kitts).  I bought a mango at my regular grocery store for a dollar yesterday (and yes it was imported from somewhere in the tropics). This is especially ridiculous, since mangos can be grown for a large market in St. Kitts, but no. It's clearly much easier to import tropical fruit from other islands and charge a butt load of money for crappy, bruised, over ripe fruit. (Shakes head). However, the real reason USA wins this category- PIZZA. I f*ing LOVE pizza (excuse the language, I'm passionate). Let me be clear though. I do not love all pizza. I rather starve than eat crap pizza. I have eaten pizza about, actually, I am not gonna say how many times I've eaten pizza since I've been home. I'd just embarrass myself.

Driving/Cars/Roads

Tie

So, really the entire driving situation is crappy in both countries. The US has WAY better roads and better, safer, newer cars, but it also has AWFUL traffic. AWFUL. Also, everything is so far away in the states. It takes me equal time to get from house to grocery store in SK and the USA. This is a bit absurd since in SK the store is on the other side of the island (and the other side of the country), and in the US the store butts up against my neighborhood. So, the better roads and cars of the US tie St. Kitts for lack of traffic. And traffic lights. I now hate traffic lights. Everything should have circles!!!

Scenery

Win- St. Kitts

This is soley based on where I have been on this trip, and the type of scenery I personally prefer. Which is the beach/ocean. The view from my back deck in Half Moon Bay is the ocean. Completely uninterrupted panoramic ocean view. The view from my parents back deck- their pie shaped yard, some trees, and our two neighbor's houses. I like the backyard, don't get my wrong, but I rather stare at the beach than pine trees.  Now, when I was in NY/NJ/Philly I did have several views of the water. However, gross heavily used ports are not exactly the same as crystal clear waters of the tropics. Yeah, I wish I was laying on Shipwreck beach right now...

Sites to See

Win- Egypt

Ok, ok, I know Egypt is not one of the official contenders, but it wins as a write in. St. Kitts has the beach and Brimstone. The USA has loads of fun stuff I don't feel like naming. BUT Egypt has all kinds of amazing things- things that both St. Kitts and the USA has AND MORE. St. Kitts has the beach and the fort (as I said)- but so does Egypt. The Red Sea is a HUGE tourist destination for snorkeling, scuba, and all kinds of other water sports. The Citadel in Egypt is also way bigger and more badass than Brimstone (it even includes a Military museum that is not at all accurate when it comes to battles between Egypt and Israel). Compared to the US, Egypt has big cities, lots of natural wonders (like Wadi el-Hitan and the White Desert, to name very few), and really... can any country compare to Egypt when it comes to historical sites? The answer is No. Stop thinking, nothing compares. NOTHING!!!!

People

Tie

This is a tricky one. Here is the states I have my family and lots of old friends. I really love all these people. However, all these people have jobs. So I am pretty bored during the day. While my friends and "St. Kitts family" are newer to my life, most of them are VIPs like me, and are also jobless. This means I ALWAYS have someone to hang out with. I am a social girl, I like being with people. Fun people. Everyone I know in SK is fun! I currently miss them as much as I miss my American friends and family when I am down there.

Rob

Win- St. Kitts

Clearly my access to Rob is non-existent here in the USA. That is not ok. I miss him like crazy, and I still have about 26 days til I see him again. How would you like to be away from your partner and best friend for 6 weeks? It's the worst. 

All in all, St. Kitts has it's pros and cons and so does the USA. I miss the laid back lifestyle in St. Kitts, but I love the convenience (and pizza) of the being in the states. Oh, and being away from Rob = Sad face.

Our Egypt BFFs come to town!

Rob and I have been really lucky to have a lot of friends and family come visit us since we moved to St. Kitts. My cousin Lia and friend Mauri came down in October for my birthday, my cousin JP came in Feb/March, my parents visited the beginning of April, and most recently, our friend Beth and Damian visited from the UK.

Damian and Beth by the river at Wingfield Estate.

We met Beth and Damian in 2010 when we moved to Egypt. Beth, like me, worked in Dr. Zahi's office. The four of us quickly bonded over living abroad in Cairo. We hadn't seen each other in a year; since Rob and I moved back to the states last April. I was really excited when B&D booked their trip to St. Kitts! The best part was they planned a nice long 10 day vacation!

They arrived on Tuesday April 17th, smack in the middle of Rob's finals! Luckily, he only had two finals to go (and yes Rob passed all his classes, is moving up to 3rd semester, and has a 3.0 GPA!), and was able to spend time with our guests for the majority of their trip. The first full day they were here was a beach day- Rob had a final and I had to work. So, I dropped them at the beach at noon and picked them up at 4. Thursday was Rob's last final of the semester, so Beth, Damian, and I met Rob and his fellow students at port from some salted cod johnny cakes and some frozen cocktails. Salted cod johnny cakes is local fare, and Damian was eager to taste one. Beth opted for a chicken johnny cake, I don't blame her (salted cod=
yuck).

Since Rob was done with finals, he had plenty of time to hang out with our guests. We had a beach day and Beth and Damian went snorkeling. Beth had never been before, and I was pleased that they were able to see some cool stuff. Damian found a bunch of sand dollars, and once back on shore he promptly sat on and broke all of them!  Rob also took Beth and Damo on an island tour, driving them completely around the island and giving them a lay of the land. We visited Brimstone Fortress and learned about its history AND saw loads of monkeys! That night we ate at Sprat Net's and watched a beautiful Caribbean sunset. Life is hard in the islands.

Sunset from Sprat Net

On our second trip into town we had more Johnny cakes, and Beth was the victim of an exploding hot sauce bottle. She twisted the top off, and it sounded like a champagne bottle being uncorked. Hot sauce flew all over Beth and the wall next to her. The hot sauce was coming out of the bottle like lava erupting from a volcano. It was gross. Needless to say, no one used THAT hot sauce. After lunch, we visited the National Museum, housed in the old Treasury Building. It was a small museum, only three rooms, but very interesting and educational.

Damian, me, and Rob at the Main Ordnance Store at Brimstone

We also went on two turtle walks. We went out to Keys Beach at 8pm, and met up with the St. Kitts Sea Turtle Monitoring Network, in the hopes of seeing some Leatherback turtles come on the beach to nest. The first night we were there from 8pm til 1:30am. No turtles. Well, we found out the next day one came up at 2am!!! We tried to go out again on Wednesday night, two days later, we stayed from 8pm-2am, NO turtles!!! We were really bummed out. Apparently, this year has been a very slow nesting season. I guess usually there are 1-3 turtles a night, and this year they will go days with no turtles nesting.

Wednesday during the day Beth and Damian went on a mini hike to the Bat Cave (although, they didn't climb over the boulder). They did enjoy the jungle-y scenery, the petroglyphs, and Beth got a wicked bruise on her thigh (although, I don't think she enjoyed that).  Thursday I took B&D to do some more sightseeing at Wingfield Estate and Romney Manor. They were able to buy a few souvenirs and gifts for people back home at Caribelle Batik. Friday morning we did a bit more gift buying in Port Zante, and then we were headed to Reggae Beach.  Of course, my wonderful island car decided not to start. It seemed the battery had died. I called Ross security, and they sent the mobile unit out to jump the car. Interestingly, it seemed that when the guy pulled the plastic off the terminal the lights came on... weird. But just to be safe we connected and jumped. Success.

Down to Reggae we went! We had some lunch, waited for a small rain shower to pass, then grabbed some beach chairs and lounged away. Well, I lounged away. Beth and Damian did some more snorkeling alone and with Rob. They found some really cool shells, including a small conch that was perched atop a large sponge. They couldn't figure out how it got there, but it looked cool so they grabbed it. Later, as we were packing up to head home, Damian was deciding which shells he should keep. Rob had found the one sitting on the sponge, so Damo handed it to me to hold. All of a sudden the shell jerked in my hand. I, being a huge baby, freaked out and threw it on the chair. Beth peeked inside, and sure enough there was a HUGE hermit crab living in the shell! We decided to set him free, and put him back in the water so he could climb up his sponge to his penthouse apartment in the sea.

Beth and me at Brimstone

Saturday was the day Beth and Damian had to fly back, but first Trevor and I took them over to SNAPPER, where the rehab turtles live. We got a "free" tour since those selfish Leatherbacks refused to show during our night walks! Beth and Damo got to meet some cute little hatchlings, Brimmie and Frodo (my two favorites), and poor two flipper Olivia. No giant, wild, Leatherbacks, but I am glad they got to see some sea turtles nonetheless.

Damian and Rob and a cannon.

Later that afternoon we had to say goodbye and part ways at the airport. It was so great to have Beth and Damian here that it was hard to say goodbye to them. I hope we don't have to go another year before seeing each other again. Maybe next year, Rob and I can make a trip to England... even though it will probably be cold and rainy... ;)

Oh... and if you haven't hear, I'm pregnant! If you are interested, I have created a pregnancy blog, and you can follow it here.