Real Housewives & Merrie-Woode Girls

[caption id="attachment_314" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Kristen, Rebecca, me, Brandi, Tanya, Katie, Nicole, Meagan, Taylor, Emily, Heidi, Megan"][/caption]

My friends here on the island are pretty amazing.  Not only are they beautiful women, but they are also all extremely talented.  Sometimes we call ourselves The Real Housewives of Dominica.  That makes me laugh.  It has been so much fun getting to know all the girls here.  For example, check out our cooking blog, Spouses' Kitchen.  We all contribute, and the computer/design savvy girls make it look good, and we all use it as inspiration for deliciousness.  Love it!  We all come from so many different backgrounds, states (Alaska, Kentucky, Minnesota, Arizona, Colorado, Texas, California, Florida, Kansas, Arkansas, New York), and are talented in so many ways.  We are teachers, artists, nurses, yogis, spinners, cooks, bakers, counselors, fundraisers, hair stylists, designers, sewers, athletes, dancers, decorators... the list goes on and on!

[caption id="attachment_319" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Katie, Tracy, Emily, Heidi, Meagan, Taylor, Brandi, Casey, Jen, me, Megan"][/caption]

Sometimes this island reminds me a lot of Merrie-Woode (my summer camp growing up!), but with wine!  Here are some reasons why: wonderful girls who you get to know better and better each day... learning so much about each other quickly, because you spend so much time together...  signing up for trips and taking long rides in vans, with windy, bumpy roads, carsickness, and Dramamine... cool mountain mornings and evenings...  costume parties...  game nights... snakes and bugs, often in your apartment... refreshing afternoon and evening rainstorms... swimming in waterfalls, rivers, and swimming holes... saying goodbye to close friends leaving the island at the end of the semester...

[caption id="attachment_318" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="On our girls' trip to Barbados! Me, Tanya, Megan, Kristen"][/caption]

While I miss my family and friends from home, I have loved getting to know all the new friends I have made here in I cannot imagine what this experience would be like without all of the wonderful friends I've made here.  Thanks to all of you for making my first semester such a great one!

[caption id="attachment_317" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="At Cabrits! Kristen, Heidi, Mary, me, Tanya, Emily, Taylor, Rebecca"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_316" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Barbados! Megan, Tanya, Kristen, me"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_315" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Afternoon on the dock! Rebecca, Tracy, me, Katie"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_311" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="At Red Rock at the beginning of the semester: Katie, Emily, Megan, Taylor, Heidi, Tracy, Brandi, me, Meagan"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_310" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Sunset at Cabrits! Emily, Brandi, Nicole, Megan, Francis (aka "the black Michael Jackson"), Meagan, Heidi, me, Katie, Tracy"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_312" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="An afternoon in Glanvillia: Katie, me, Tracy"][/caption]