Right back to it

Again, sorry for the lack of posting. It's been a lot busier than I had thought it would be moving back to the island. So far though, so good. I've moved into my new apartment and the new semester has begun. Thursday was the first day of classes and it looks like it won't be too awful. I think I'm going to like physiology and possibly immunology. MCB is, well, MCB, so we'll see how that goes. I'm kinda looking forward to the genetics part because I liked that block last semester and I like Dr. McIntosh, who teaches it. He's pretty amusing, doesn't take crap from people, and definitely knows his stuff (He worked at Hopkins for years before coming here).

I'm very glad to be in the new apartment, but it's been a bit of a hassle to set up. First of all, running errands here is an all day affair. There is no such thing as just running out for an hour to get some things. Partly because the tourists have made traffic absurd, partly because watching employees work in SXM is like watching grass grow, and partly because you need to go to multiple stores if you want more than one thing. There's nothing here like a WalMart or Target that sells everything you could possibly want. If you need toothpaste, lighbulbs, printer paper, and some food, you're going to 4 different stores herer.

The new place is pretty awesome (I'll get pics up as soon as I set up my camera gear), but unfortunately, it was not cleaned when we moved in. Apparently, every person on the island that cleans apartments was either off or already spoken for over the holidays. I half believe this because people are lazy, but I do not totally believe it because as poor as this island is, someone has to want to work! So, the apartment was pretty messy when we got here, which was a big disappointment. The dishwasher which we were promised has also not been installed, and neither has the new washing machine (there is already one, but she bought a second). However, the maid is coming today and the dishwasher and washing machine are ordered, just need to be installed. So, at least things are getting done, even if they are getting done on St. Maarten time. And, the fact that the land lady just bought me a dish washer because I asked her too is still pretty great.

P.S. - I'm pretty pissed off at the fact that any state in American could pick Huckabee as a presidential candidate (I'm looking at you, Iowa). Why must the evangelicals screw everything up? A post about why you should not vote for Huckabee is probably coming soon.