Weekend, AUC Graduation and other stuff

Mainly an excuse for a few pictures. I'll start off the with dancers in Maho on Friday, back to the routine set but they are still good. Saturday was the University's graduation. It had to be split in two halves since there is no meeting room that is big enough on campus. The graduation speaker was Dr. Pedro Greer from Miami who gave a very inspiring talk laced with some most amusing jokes and barbs. He has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his medical outreach work in Miami. After I told him a joke about the Jewish mother, changing it to a Cuban mother, he told me that Cubans are considered the Jews of the Caribbean (new to me). In the picture, he is talking to Ron Testa, our new Dean of Basic Sciences. I met two of the students who will be going to do their residency programs in Toledo. One is joining the new Emergency Medicine program and the other will be in Family Practice. Most of the students from American University of the Caribbean specialize in Primary Care and area where there is enormous need in the USA but which for many reasons tends to be downplayed at US mainland schools. I was pretty impressed by the students who seem extremely well focused and prepared. If it were not for the bias against foreign graduates, I expect AUC students would out compete many students from mainland schools.

OK, the Jewish mother joke. A Jewish boy calls his mother to say that he has met the girl he wants to marry and will bring her to visit with two other girls. He asks his mother to tell which girl is the one he wants to marry. After tea and dinner with the three charming and accomplished girls, he says to his mother, "so which is the one I want to marry?" The Mother says "That's easy, its this one." The boy is amazed, " How on earth did you know?" " She was the one I didn't like."

To move on, the wind started up really strongly in the middle of graduation. It is a little early for hurricane season but I suppose it's a warning since the rain was torrential for a while. The results included broken trees in the neighborhood as in the photo. As well as the tree, I show a wet semi-stray who camps out next door: many of the stray dogs look like this: they tend to be very gentle mannered. Also a prickly pear in the neighbor's fence.




Sunday, rode over to Marigot to get some bread. Saw some pretty cacti on the top of a cutting in Terres Basses which is at the Western end of the Island. Am also including a picture of the French Fort (Fort Louis) above Marigot (from the market place). I didn't walk up this time, leave photos of that for another time.

Pepper plant still doing well

Thought you'd want to know that on Friday it is wet and drizzly, but the pepper plant seems fine. Tonight might be a good time to catch up with some cleaning so I won't feel guilty during the weekend.

Visit from an old lady who lives nearby and other happenings

One week after the haircut and I am getting used to it though I still get comments. I no longer can get away with saying I'm looking for my twin brother who works here. It has been raining a lot the last two days and the snails are out in force: don't know if these are edible but they are fabulously slimy when picked up and generally look gorgeous. My pepper plants luckily don't seem to be attacked.

This week has been quite busy with the first exam in Immunology, the students did pretty well and only one multiple choice question had to be discarded because of unforeseen interpretations. Not bad in my experience since it is amazing how many interpretations there can be.

We have been having some parties this week at the college since it is the annual clinical conference when course directors from hospitals that take our students are brought to the island. They discuss some educational things and have a good time (largely a thank you with not too much arduous work). On Wednesday night, the conference dinner was held: very nice with wine (something we don't get at parties on campus where there is an absolute ban on alcohol). We were entertained with some super dancers and then earsplitting music that meant most gave up staying for all that long after dinner. I wandered home since my apartment is near the hotel, in fact just across the street then up the hill behind the casino in Maho, and on the way saw yet more dancers finishing their outdoor act for the casino. Maho casino has a 9:00-9:15 dance display outside each night - it is usually is a lot of hip thrusting and jerky movement, done by girls in short shorts and a cute boy, but this time there was music from Carmen and Spanish dancers in long dresses who did beautifully; finishing off, so as not to change too much from the routine body exposure dances, with a raucous cancan!

The following morning, actually today, I went out to get my bike from the corner of the garden/yard and had a bit of shock coming back around building to meet an old neighbor who I hadn't seen since Carol was here. She's a bit blind, was here for a bit of scrounging, and had placed her big black body right in from of the apartment stairway (see picture below). A bit of slapping my hands and pushing her got her to make a reluctant and loudly complaining retreat towards home.

Lots more rain today and Saturday is the annual graduation - then back to routine

Photos for last post

OK: seem to have found out how to load things somewhat.

At top:

Me before haircut this week, now like a shorn sheep

Horses on a gate to a private home. All I saw were iguanas and, occasionally goats, but not there.

Then tomatoes for Carol from the supermaket Grand Marche: great cheese section!

Cakes at Sarafina's. A very french bakery and tea room on the Marigot harbor opposite the market

Agaves along the roadside

A taxi (half for hanging) that came with the previous bus

Sore after biking around the western part of the island

This is Paul speaking

At left is a bit of folk art purches at a fundraiser. It seems very like the local buses.

So, I finally broke down and purchased a new, not very good bike with 7 gears. On weekends there are some very professional bicyclers here in tight bike wear and riding very expensive bikes, but the roads are so awful that I decided a good strong regular bike was OK

Carol just sent down my camera and so I am now able to take photos again. It is much more fun on a bike than in a car since you get to see so much more. I will be including some photos.

So a lot has been happening. I visited my mother and sister in Cambridge over break, a trip that fortunately was not affected by the Icelandic volcano. I also had a few days in Toledo at Easter. Took the coach under the Channel which wasn't too bad except for losing luggage since they took off without me when I went through Passport Control on the French side. Pretty much everything was recovered though.

BTW: Sad news in Cambridge for book aficionados: Galloway and Porter is closing

When I got back at the start of term, I gave several Immunology lectures. Now getting another series together on Interactions of microbes with immune system as well as some basic microbiology. Students at the Caribbean schools are just as good as typical mainland students in spite of less resources. Went to a Quatre PAWS (a stray dog and cat charity) fundraising junk sale and won a really nice painting in a raffle which I'll photograph sometime. Also purchased some folk art items to adorn my office.

Met some interesting local people at, of all places, a Chabad house on St Martin. The Orthodox rabbi had a party for Shavuot, a holiday that celebrates the giving of the Torah (Jewish bible). There was a big mix of people on vacation, living here, and students from both the the Dutch and French sides. Fun, though I had little idea what was happening with the Hebrew reading - it seemed at bit like the days when prayers were recited as a drone in Latin in Catholic churches.

OK here are some photos:

Look at next one since I can't seem to add any to this

Orange link - another side of paradise

www.sxmprivateeye.com, is a blog functioning as an alternative voice to the slash and build mentality in St Martin.

Scroll down to TROPICAL NATURE PROGRAM on SXM, and click the link to the Dutch telly station's program. It IS mostly in Dutch, but wiht subtitles, and gives a good picture of what is going on there as the development mentality roughrides the "paradise" it is selling. The images are mostly of the Dutch side of the island and give a pretty good sense of it. You'll recognize at least one thing from my blog: the Darth Vader-ische
high rise.

I'm home; Paul's home - wait what's wrong with this picture?

I'm back in Toledo.
I've enjoyed 2 of the season's several snow storms, the rapture of the dawning spring, the seemingly endless rains and now the warming sun on the gardens and the fun of the community garden movement. I've been inspired by MultiFaith Council events and activities and responsibilities at our chUUrch. New and old friendships have developed and deepened.

Daughter Hannah and I bought a house!!!! My Mother has improved as the hours of daylight increased. I've taken in a lodger, which forced me to change things around and (temporarily) tidy up but freed me to feel better about being away from the house. But,generally, I've felt stunned by the constant change and have accomplished very little.


Paul is learning about life on SXM; retooling his knowledge and rewriting his lectures from the angle of systems rather than subject; walking the 1 mile to work and back along the beach; joining in Chabad House festivities; finding classical concerts on the island and riding a new bike to Marigot for croissants. I'm sure he's eaten a good amount of goat meat stew in the school cafeteria.
And he's taken some pix wiht his e-bay camera which will soon appear here!