Caribbean Livin'

Hello dear readers!

I apologize that it has been so long since I updated, but wow have I been busy! This past week I took my first major exam over a whopping 7 weeks of material. (Normally our exams are a bit shorter, only over 4 or so weeks of material, but special unit this semester. Interesting material... but what a task to remember that all! Studying 7 weeks of material over a weekend!) I got through all 171 questions and an anatomy practical and am finally getting a bit of a restful weekend (though I was woken up obnoxiously early by a few noisy goats today)!  I live to fight another day. 

But I wanted to share one of my favorite island things! The area is just alive right now with these beautiful orange flowers (I will have to see if I can get a shot overlooking some of the trees, they are all over!) and their crazy pods. I have been waiting for a tree low enough to the ground to get a good shot and today I got it!

I haven't been able to pin down exactly what they are, but aren't they beautiful? They are just so bright and their pods are so funny, they remind me of a dragon's claw.

This particular tree is located on my walk to school! I've been trying to study there a bit more. I tend to be a little more focused and it's nice to sit around some other people instead of just sitting at my apartment by myself.

Dragon's claw!

Other than that, I've been settling in a lot more. (Another reason it'd be a real bummer to not pass and maybe leave... yeah, hopefully that won't happen.) Finally gave in and bought pans to bake with, flour, and have even expanded my cooking repertoire outside of fried rice and box pasta (though it remains delicious). Last week was banana bread experiments-- all of which were wildly successful.

I tried a brown sugar banana bread recipe that turned out so perfectly! It's a little tricky in my oven, but it seemed to turn out okay. I should've gotten a picture of the loaf... but to be honest, I couldn't wait. I would've liked to make my Grandma's proven recipe, but getting all of the ingredients was proving a bit tricky. This is definitely a good one though (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/brown-sugar-banana-bread)! My friends enjoyed it too. However, after two batches I decided I need to go on a baking hiatus because unless my friends take what I make, I have no self control over my sweet tooth. 

So dinner experiments! Or eggsperiments (title courtesy of a friend)! Largely because I have a dozen that I otherwise don't know what to do with. I saw a great looking recipe on pinterest and actually there is a little place here that makes some kind of egg grilled cheese so I decided to give it a try! 

Um. Delicious. Absolutely delicious. I even got the eggs to not fall apart all over the place! I do want to try it with some vegetables. The restaurant that sells something like this near here has cucumber, lettuce, and onion on it, plus some kind of sauce that vaguely reminds me of thousand island and mustard, but I can't quite put my finger on it. I didn't have lettuce so maybe after a shopping trip tomorrow. That said, I really enjoyed this sandwich and have actually stayed full! Something also quite impressive for a little sandwich. 

And otherwise, just can't complain! Beautiful as ever down here! It's been nice to have a little time off (finally, after this 7 week haul) to spend a bit more time outdoors. The waves were pretty big after our exam, but my friends and I risked a little swimming and otherwise just played football in the shallows. Very fun! And I discovered I can throw a bit farther than I thought I could! Definitely nice to have an afternoon off. Plus, yesterday night I got to finally see Skyfall which I enjoyed and tonight my closest friends came over to watch Tangled! So much fun. I am happy to report that I am very much happier here this semester. I know it's not easy and my journey certainly isn't smooth... but it helps to have bread pans and good friends. 

That's it for now I think! Have a great weekend and coming week everyone!