Last Friday I took the girls to the dentist. It was just a check-up so it took no time at all. So afterwards I took the girls to Bebe N Kids, which is what appears to be the only toy store on the French side of the island. The girls loved it, since they do not go shopping at all here (except Manolee, who does not mind tagging along to the supermarket from time to time). I then remembered that Hana needed a new ruler for school, so we went to the stationery store around the corner. There was not much at the store and Hana didn't see what she needed, so we walked out and got in the car. I happened to look at the time in the car, it was 4:13pm.
On Monday, I saw on the paper that that very store was held up at 4:15pm Friday!
There have been a spate of robberies on the island - last week there were three that I know about. The post office across the street from us was held up a few months ago and never opened its doors again (I think the French postal workers are really milking it). On the one hand, I know robberies can happen anywhere and everywhere, you just gotta take precautions and move on with life. On the other hand I feel pretty unsafe walking around town even in broad daylight, because all the robberies that I have heard about have happened during the daytime. Of course there is crime in NYC but I never feel unsafe walking around Manhattan, even late at night.
People say that things are much worse in places like Jamaica and Dominican Republic, but that is small consolation of course. I'm gonna go knock on some wood right now.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Did My Husband Just Say That?
"What? You are packing one underwear for each day of the vacation?"
"She doesn't need a shower, she was at the swimming pool this afternoon"
"What, you told me to wash her butt! I washed her butt!" (retort after I remarked that Manolee still has chocolate on her face after he showered her)
"She doesn't need a shower, she was at the swimming pool this afternoon"
"What, you told me to wash her butt! I washed her butt!" (retort after I remarked that Manolee still has chocolate on her face after he showered her)
Monday, April 18, 2011
French St Martin/ American Sint Maarten
Manolee sometimes asks me, "can we go get ice cream on the English side?" - when I correct her, that there is no English side on this island, she then says, "I meant the American side".
Honestly though, the girl is not so far off. The Dutch side of the island is, for all intents and purposes as far as I can see, American. It's like mini Americana in many ways. Mind you, there are chunks of the island that I have not yet been to, so I cannot speak to all of it, but much of the Dutch side appears to exist to serve American tourists/expats.
On the French side things remain quite French. People speak French mostly (though I hear a lot of Spanish and Creole too), shop in French bakeries and French supermarkets (though curiously, a chain called "US Market" carries most exclusively French goods), and white French people from the mainland appear mostly to mingle within their own community. There are no buildings taller than 3 storeys. There are no casinos. Marigot, the capital, is just dead on Sundays (although the West Indies Mall is announcing that it's open on Sundays now). I once went through Marigot at 6:10pm during the run-up to the Xmas holidays and was stunned to see the streets deserted, with not one store open.
On the Dutch side, tall buildings, casinos and neon lights abound. People complain about overdevelopment, but boy does it feel good to find a supermarket open at 6am (you never know what you may need at an ungodly hour), a couple of McDonalds, KFCs, and Burger Kings - even Bubble Tea outlets. My girls screamed out in unison upon learning that a Dunkin Donuts will soon open up shop in the Blue Mall. In the 7 months we've been here, I've only heard Dutch spoken 2 or 3 times. American English definitely dominates, as does the US Dollar.
So back to this ice cream place that Manolee likes so much. It's a place called Carousel and it is exquisite. The ice cream is very good and very reasonable ($3 for a huge cone); the whole place is immaculate; there is lovely a merry-go-round in the back for which leather tickets are issued:
It's a lovely place to while away a half-hour with the girls. I hope the place does well (it is never crowded when we go) and sticks around - I know any time we are around Simpson Bay, it's now become a must-stop for us! I guess I also like it so much because it reminds me of similar kid-friendly places in the US. So - American Sint Maarten - I approve!
Honestly though, the girl is not so far off. The Dutch side of the island is, for all intents and purposes as far as I can see, American. It's like mini Americana in many ways. Mind you, there are chunks of the island that I have not yet been to, so I cannot speak to all of it, but much of the Dutch side appears to exist to serve American tourists/expats.
On the French side things remain quite French. People speak French mostly (though I hear a lot of Spanish and Creole too), shop in French bakeries and French supermarkets (though curiously, a chain called "US Market" carries most exclusively French goods), and white French people from the mainland appear mostly to mingle within their own community. There are no buildings taller than 3 storeys. There are no casinos. Marigot, the capital, is just dead on Sundays (although the West Indies Mall is announcing that it's open on Sundays now). I once went through Marigot at 6:10pm during the run-up to the Xmas holidays and was stunned to see the streets deserted, with not one store open.
On the Dutch side, tall buildings, casinos and neon lights abound. People complain about overdevelopment, but boy does it feel good to find a supermarket open at 6am (you never know what you may need at an ungodly hour), a couple of McDonalds, KFCs, and Burger Kings - even Bubble Tea outlets. My girls screamed out in unison upon learning that a Dunkin Donuts will soon open up shop in the Blue Mall. In the 7 months we've been here, I've only heard Dutch spoken 2 or 3 times. American English definitely dominates, as does the US Dollar.
So back to this ice cream place that Manolee likes so much. It's a place called Carousel and it is exquisite. The ice cream is very good and very reasonable ($3 for a huge cone); the whole place is immaculate; there is lovely a merry-go-round in the back for which leather tickets are issued:
It's a lovely place to while away a half-hour with the girls. I hope the place does well (it is never crowded when we go) and sticks around - I know any time we are around Simpson Bay, it's now become a must-stop for us! I guess I also like it so much because it reminds me of similar kid-friendly places in the US. So - American Sint Maarten - I approve!
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Island Specialty: Part II
I've been taking lots and lots of pictures of cars these days - it's high time I posted some.
I was behind this car in Philipsburg one day and I got kinda spooked:
And if you thought that was verbose, here is another one:
And this one is kinda creepy, especially combined with the derelict condition of the car:
More to come!
I was behind this car in Philipsburg one day and I got kinda spooked:
And if you thought that was verbose, here is another one:
And this one is kinda creepy, especially combined with the derelict condition of the car:
More to come!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Local Tsunami Drill
This coming Wednesday apparently there will be a tsunami drill throughout the Caribbeans. Apparently this was scheduled long ago and has nothing to do with the recent horrifying tragedy in Japan (boy did I go through tons of youtube videos last week - morbid curiosity got the best of me).
According to the French newspaper here, 10% of tsunamis that occurred in the last 500 years have taken place in the Caribbeans, claiming more than 3,500 lives since 1842. Woah. That gave me pause.
The thing is that there is no tsunami alert system here - not like those unending sirens and calls to higher ground that you can hear on the Japanese videos. The newspaper says that it's the role of the radio to inform the public if there is a tsunami alert. I gotta remember to turn on the radio more often here.
Of course the other thing is that there isn't much "higher ground" on St Martin - by French law, buildings cannot go higher then 3 storeys. There ain't much "inner land" here where we live either - we live in the stretch of land between the sea and the lagoon. Even if we had enough warning to think "let's go over to the high rises on the overdeveloped Dutch side" - who are we kidding? The traffic that will ensue will get us nowhere.
The events in Japan also made me think - these people lost everything - so is it better to have had it all and have enjoyed it (whatever "it" is) then have lost it, or is it better to never have had much at all, so that you do not have much to lose and mourn? I'm at two minds about this (and trifling and irreverent as it may seem, yes it has something to do with that Hello Kitty Beach Bag purchase I have been deferring)...
Better not to think about it. I am rather hopeful that the series of so many natural disasters we've seen in the last couple of years is coming to an end...
Saturday, March 19, 2011
US Market
One would think that a supermarket called US Market would cater to Americans by having shelves and aisles filled to the top with American goods. Boy was I deceived when I first set foot in there. The place is undeniably French - I would venture to say that 99% of the food/household items there are imported from mainland France.
US Market is a chain - there are maybe 4-5 stores under the same management (I believe they hold a near monopoly on the French side) and it used to be called, even more deceivingly, "US Imports".
So why call it US Market? It is certainly misleading and I am sure I'm not the only one who has walked in there expecting to find Cheetos and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, but instead running into canned Cassoulets and Petits Filous...
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Busy Busy Busy
Strangely enough, living in a sunny and hot climate means lots of people suddenly want to come visit. We've averaged a visitor a month so far - I'm not complaining, I love having company - it's just that nobody was that enthused about visiting us in Rennes ("can you come meet us in Paris?" was a frequent question I used to field).
So frequent visitors along with occasional work and housekeeping and kids have kept me busy busy and busy. I'm on the run all the time, it seems, or at least, I'm in the car incessantly. And because I cannot get everything done while the kids are at school, I tend to drag Manolee around everywhere - Hana is old enough and disinterested enough not to follow me around while I run errands, but Manolee is wiling to accompany me as long as there is a little treat at the end. However, I did feel quite bad when I saw her conked out at Ace Hardware while I was picking up some knicknacks:
At least she has the talent to fall asleep anywhere - it may serve her well in the future!
So frequent visitors along with occasional work and housekeeping and kids have kept me busy busy and busy. I'm on the run all the time, it seems, or at least, I'm in the car incessantly. And because I cannot get everything done while the kids are at school, I tend to drag Manolee around everywhere - Hana is old enough and disinterested enough not to follow me around while I run errands, but Manolee is wiling to accompany me as long as there is a little treat at the end. However, I did feel quite bad when I saw her conked out at Ace Hardware while I was picking up some knicknacks:
At least she has the talent to fall asleep anywhere - it may serve her well in the future!
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