I have finally seen one of the iguanas on campus

Yea,,,, I finally saw one of the iguanas on campus - he scurried across the road the other day as I was driving out. Boy can he move fast on those little legs. I don't think he's the "Old man" - I don't think he was big enough.

Speaking of scurrying - I heard all this barking outside my house the other night and Dexter and Nica were barking like crazy at a big crab on the road. What a hoot. They were hot-footing it when the thing moved. Renneth told me that Nica was pinched on the nose when she was younger and is now very careful. Boy are they big here. I might have to catch some and make one of the lovely sounding recipes in The Spice Necklace. The same recipe is on the coconut milk that I bought so I guess that will have to be one of the first dishes I make when my stuff arrives.

I am now up to 5 students - they are sure keeping me busy - making sure I don't get bored while waiting for my stuff to arrive. I told them that this will be on the tab for later. It's okay, it helps me to meet students - they are all stressed out now since we are getting close to finals for this term and it's make or break time for the 4th semester.

Yesterday there was a charity fundraiser at lunch - soft tacos and a contest for one of 4 profs to kiss a pig. Paul Abney won and he was a really good sport about it. Better than the pig - she wasn't too impressed. It was a hoot.

There is so much going on here - there is a 5k charity run/walk this weekend that I may join and yoga is actually almost everyday. I haven't done it yet, but I will soon. Next week Carol is taking the spouses group (she plans outings for them) to Toucarie beach on Wed and I am tagging along. I am also going to do a tour of the Indian River (the one in Pirates where they go up river to see the voodoo priestess) soon.

I am settling in my house nicely now, even though I don't have my stuff yet. I will be really glad to get the rest of my clothes.

We had the most wicked thunderstorm the other night. The lightning over Douglas Bay out my front windows was incredible. Too bad my camera is packed in the container.

I got the nicest compliment from one of our office staff yesterday. She said "Dr. Renaud it seems like you have been here a year not a week because you seem so at home." Everyone is amazed that I bought a car after two days and that I am driving it. It makes me feel a lot more independent. I hated being stuck and dependent on someone else to drive me around or to call Lee (a taxi driver). Lee is a doll - he's like a son to Claudia and I am going to inherit him. He will do anything for you. He got me a water cooler in Roseau the other day (I didn't like the colour of the water after the big rain and I don't want to spend a fortune on small bottles of water). He put it on the porch and when I got home I brought it in and set it up. I called him to come get the money and he said "Doc, I'll be right there to set it up for you". He didn't believe me when I said that I had already done it. He just shook his head and said "Man, you are something else". Claudia gets him to do just about everything for her and he expected me to be the same. He kept shaking his head and chuckling. I said, "I am an independent girl Lee".

Renneth said the same thing. He said he couldn't believe that I got a car after two days here and that I am driving like a local. That is a pretty big compliment. I guess I just have to drive like a bat out of hell like everyone else since there are no speed limits. I am getting pretty good and I am more comfortable in the really narrow roads in Portsmouth where you have to squeeze to the left for another car to pass but not go into the gutters - they are open and you will get stuck. Luckily the locals will all pitch in to push you out. Everyone says that it will happen at some point and it's not a big deal.

Okay, off to some new adventure now. I may have to go talk to the puppies on campus. There are some young ones and are they ever cute. There is a group that tries to find homes for them so that is good. They come and stand beside you when you are sitting at a table eating. They don't intrude, they just stand there. When you give them something they take it ever so gently - it is amazing - right out of your fingers. Dave and Deb you'll have to tell Tess that.

Hope everyone is enjoying reading this - please comment or email me.

Again, my personal email is drdrenaud@yahoo.ca

Bye for now.

Love to all
D