6 Months in Pictures

So here goes, a quick summary of the past 6 months in pictures:

August:
We arrived on Friday the 27th of August. We hit the Maho beach pretty much straight away, the girls finding the heat a bit much upon exiting the airport (even though we were arriving from hot NYC!). Saturday 28th we spent at the beach as well. Sunday the 29th was full hurricane preparation! -Hurricane Earl was about to hit the island. Originally thought to be a wimpy category 1, by Sunday morning it was forecasted to be a pretty fierce category 3. The forecast was eerily correct - rain and winds really picking up by 8am Monday and continuing all day long until about 6pm. The girls got quite spooked by this, and kept on saying, "Mama, you said in St Martin it's sunny every day!" - I realized then, belatedly, that I never spoke to them about the hurricane season! The winds were impressive and unrelenting - I never heard howling windy sounds like that, even during the couple of hurricanes that we experienced in La Reunion.

By Tuesday morning, the sun was back - but there were lots of trees and debris on the ground and I took this picture of the view from our flat:


September:
The beginning of the new school year for the girls. They were split this year since the elementary school did not have a kindergarten section. This was a big shock for Manolee, who was used to seeing her big sister from time to time in the hallways or the cafeteria or the courtyard. The girls were not enchanted with their respective schools, much to my chagrin. So September was a trying month for us all, as I tried to make the best of having three less-than-happy campers in the family - we hit the pool almost everyday after school, we tried exploring different beaches, we tried dealing with stuff that we had largely been sheltered from up to this point: things like lizards, iguanas, flying cockroaches, weavils, ants.... and here is the majestic iguana that lounges around the pool:


October:
The girls were getting used to school life, though I would not go as far as saying that they were starting to like it. They were bummed when I announced that we wouldn't be going to NY for Halloween (for the first time since 2004) - but with our friends we hit the Princess Country Club for its Halloween party. Hanaya won third prize in the kids costume and strut contest, much to Manolee's unhappiness and jealousy fits that lasted about 45 minutes thereafter:


November:
We had two of my best friends from the US visit - a bit of drama at first since one of them missed the outbound plane and had to rejig all the vacation dates by one week, but all went well in the end. We discovered much of the island with them and it was super fun to be surrounded by good friends ALL THE TIME. Our friends had a good time too, as they promised to come down as much as they can! November also marked a turning point for Manolee, as she started to really enjoy her school. Instead of crying at pick-up time and giving me much angst (she used to feel anxious that I wouldn't come pick her up on time), now she was starting to hide from me when I showed up and complaining that she wanted to stay longer at school.


Picture on Left: Kids fascinated with iguanas on Pinel Island
Picture on Right: Kids and adults fascinated with landing planes on Maho Beach

Pictures above: Kids on Orient Bay

December:
The visit from my mother-in-law and preparing for Xmas took up much of the time. It began to feel much cooler, and I stopped going in the water (too cold when getting out). We met a few tropical Santas, all of whom I felt really bad for, having to dress up the traditional way in the heat. We spent New Year's Eve at first with our good friends C. & C., but then went to one of the grand villas in Terres Basses where they had giant TV screens showing NYE celebrations around the world, fire eaters and cha cha dancers. We then came back to our friends' house where we stood on their roof and watched the fireworks from around the island.

Picture on Left: Santa on Pinel island
Picture on Right: The girls at the Maison de Pere Noel, a major Xmas attraction on St Martin

January:
Last month went by really fast. My dad came for a week - he really enjoyed being here, especially since NY was undergoing a major cold spell. The girls loved having him here and were a bit deflated after he left. The weather was just gorgeous while he was here.


There you have it, our 6 months in pictures!