AUC: American University of the Caribbean

Breakfast at Ocean Beach Club

When we all arrived on the island of St. Martin sixteen months ago, the stress of relocation, of being jobless, of being in a strange place, and of med school all made it a challenge to really feel like this island was “home”. After the last two months Tanner and I spent down there, however, my feelings for this place have changed completely.

I love this island. I wish I was still there, and I hope I get to go back again before Carina is done in August. I’m also a little sad it took me so long to feel this way about it. I’m not saying I didn’t like the island at first… I guess I’m saying that it just took a while to be able to honestly say, “I LOVE it here!” Read the rest of this entry »

Written on April 29th, 2013 , AUC: American University of the Caribbean, St. Maarten Restaurants, St. Martin Activities

Faith, Fear and The Free Clinic (by Carina)

For eight months Casey has been persistent in requesting another blog post from me. Up to now I’ve declined, using the “I’m too busy” excuse. But in reality, I’ve tried to write something several times and all I’ve wanted to say is, “I want to go home”. Read the rest of this entry »

Written on April 25th, 2013 , AUC: American University of the Caribbean

An Evening in Cupecoy

Rainbow Beach Sunset

Last Saturday evening we were all sitting in our Rainbow living room when I happened to glance out the window. The sky was literally on fire with the pink glow of sunset, like I’d never seen before. I grabbed my camera and ran barefoot down the stairs, across the parking lot, and around the middle building to the pool area. By the time I got there, the best of the light was gone, but enough of it was still there to grab this photograph.

When I got back, Cari suggested Pizza for dinner. Nobody felt like cooking, so it sounded like a great idea. She Skyped in an order to Pizza Dan’s, and 20 minutes later she, Piper, Tanner and I made the short walk to pick it up. It was a pleasant evening… gentle breeze, not too humid, and even a bit cool (for Caribbean standards). Read the rest of this entry »

Written on March 11th, 2013 , AUC: American University of the Caribbean, Rainbow Beach

New Tires, Potty Training, and HIV Testing…

Carina, holding Piper, volunteering at the tie-die event with at-risk kids.

Yesterday I received the following Facebook message from my sister, Rebecca: “I’m trying to figure out where you live right now. Did you get a job that lets you live in St Martin’s? Or are you just visiting? What are school plans for Cari? And how is Andi doing? I guess I’m hoping for an all-around update on life.”

And Rebecca isn’t the only one who has asked us the same thing, so I figured I’d set the record straight.

Yes, I have a fantastic job (with great people) that is 100% remote, meaning I can literally work from anyplace that has a solid and reliable internet connection. I’ve had this job since the end of October, 2012. So, the obvious question is: Why have Tanner and I not been on the island since I’ve had this job? Read the rest of this entry »

Written on March 4th, 2013 , AUC: American University of the Caribbean, St. Maarten Shopping, St. Martin Activities

A Tour of Our Corner of the Island (As Seen From the Car)

The ‘Welcome to St. Maartin” sign by which tourists love to take their photos.

It’s good to be back!

Hey, I’ll be honest… I wasn’t at all sad to leave winter behind and come down here with Tanner to spend two months in the Caribbean with the girls!

In the months that I’ve been away, I’ve fielded a lot of comments and questions from people back at home about the island. As a result it made me realize that I’ve not done a very good job of documenting in this blog what the island of St. Martin is really like. I vowed that as soon as I got back here, I would take some time to drive around and photograph the inside of the island, away from the beautiful beaches, to show the parts of the island that you’ll never see on postcards and tourist brochures. Read the rest of this entry »

Written on March 3rd, 2013 , AUC: American University of the Caribbean, Learning Unlimited, St. Maarten Beaches, St. Maarten Shopping, St. Martin Activities

A Thanksgiving Full of Thanks

Andi and Tanner taking off on a para-saling adventure

What a trip!

It is now Sunday, December 2nd, 2012. Tanner and I got back to MN a week ago today. The time we spent with the girls down in St. Martin was fantastic, and I was profoundly grateful to be back with my wife and two daughters.

Little Piper is growing up so fast it’s scary. She talks incessantly and acts more like an adult than a two year old. Andi is doing remarkably well considering all that life is putting her through, and I am deeply impressed with her resilience. Carina is happily slogging along, and despite the pace at which new material comes at her, she still seems to be enjoying this whole med school thing. (Thank goodness!) The first weekend I was there was block weekend so I didn’t really get to spend any time with her for the first couple of days, but after blocks her schedule slacked off a little and we had some good, quality time with each other and the kids. Read the rest of this entry »

Written on December 3rd, 2012 , AUC: American University of the Caribbean, Mormons in St. Maarten, Rainbow Beach, St. Maarten Beaches, St. Martin Activities Tags: American University of the Caribbean, Families at American University of the Caribbean, St. Martin Activities, St. Martin Beaches

The Girls Have Been Busy (mostly by Michelle)

Halloween on the island isn’t quiet what it is at home, but the American community still makes the most of it

While Tanner and I are keeping busy up in the northern hinterlands of Minnesota, the girls in St. Martin are filling up their days with lots of fun island activities as well. Andi and Tanner have both had birthdays recently… Tanner turned 12 and Andi turned 14. Michelle recently shared a fun report on her blog, and I thought I’d re-post a condensed edition here as well. If you’d like to experience the whole report, checkout her blog!

Take it away, Michelle….

“We like to parrty. With two r’s”

Christmas came early this year for the estrogen tank in St. Martin. As I mentioned in my last post, my niece Andi who JUST turned 14 (WOOT WOOT) went home for medical tests and was diagnosed with Probable Lupus. With a brave face and confidence from her doctor, she decided to return to us on the island to continue her school year as normal and get her regular teenage life back. We missed the little nugget, and were so excited to have her back, and just in time for her birthday. Read the rest of this entry »

Written on November 13th, 2012 , AUC: American University of the Caribbean, Learning Unlimited, Mormons in St. Maarten, St. Maarten Restaurants Tags: American University of the Caribbean, Families at American University of the Caribbean, Learning Unlimited, Mormons on St. Maarten, Mormons on St. Martin

a Tropical Storm, a Beautiful Autumn, and a Medical Diagnosis for Andi

It’s Sunday, October 14th, 2012. Down in St. Martin, Carina, Piper and Michelle are enduring Tropical Storm Rafael. Luckily it wasn’t too brutal, but from what I’ve heard, it dumped a lot of rain, knocked out power and water for long stretches of time, and threw up an impressive wind storm.

Rainy season, hurricane season, and hot ‘n humid season are all at their peak in the Caribbean right now. Although I miss Carina and Pipes terribly and wish I was with them, it might be stretching the truth just a little if I said I wish I was on the island right now. Read the rest of this entry »

Written on October 15th, 2012 , AUC: American University of the Caribbean, Everything Else Tags: American University of the Caribbean, Families at American University of the Caribbean

Estrogen Tank (mostly by Michelle)

Piper, Carina, Andi and Michelle at the White Coat Dinner, fall semester 2012

Well, it’s been almost three weeks since Carina left with Andi, Piper and Michelle to head back to St. Martin. Tanner and I miss them terribly, but otherwise we are doing well in Suburbia, Minnesota. We are enjoying the cool fall weather and the turning trees, and we both agree that if we have to be here and not in St. Martin, this is the time of year to do it, as the girls are suffering in crazy hot and humid weather right now.

Tanner is loving 6th grade where he has enrolled in the yearbook committee, an after school golfing class, and a baseball batting clinic. He and his uncle Tommy (who is a year younger than him) are living it up together. And Tommy, who would otherwise be an only child as all of his siblings are grown and gone, is thrilled to have a built-in room mate.

We are hearing good reports from the island, and I thought I would take some extracts from Michelle’s blog (with permission) and share them here as well. But before we turn the floor over to Michelle, I’ll include one update that happened after she wrote her last blog post. Read the rest of this entry »

Written on September 24th, 2012 , AUC: American University of the Caribbean, Mormons in St. Maarten Tags: American University of the Caribbean, Families at American University of the Caribbean, Mormons on St. Maarten, Mormons on St. Martin

Whirlwind Trip Back to the States

Entering customs at Newark airport

As I write this, it’s Sunday September 9th, 2012. Tanner and I are settled down into the home of Cari’s parents for an unknown period of time, and all the girls are back in St. Martin. Andi has begun 8th grade at Learning Unlimited, a private k-12 island school, and Tanner is enrolled at Highview Junior High in New Brighton, MN.

Nine weeks ago, Andi, Tanner and I left Saint Martin and flew back to Minneapolis. Four weeks ago we were joined by Piper and Michelle, and two weeks ago Cari escaped finals and made it back here in time to squeeze in a short visit as well. One week ago, Carina, Andi, Piper and Michelle left to go back to the island, and Tanner and I stayed here.

It has been a crazy, intense nine weeks, full of the entire spectrum of emotions plus lots of catching up with friends and family. We shuttled back and forth between St. Cloud and the Twin Cities, and managed to squeeze in a trip to Utah to see my family as well.

I’ll let the photos do most of the talking. My good camera was broken the entire extent of this trip, so this post is heavily indebted to the photography of others, and to the very few pics taken with my poor little ancient iPhone camera. Read the rest of this entry »

Written on September 10th, 2012 , AUC: American University of the Caribbean, Everything Else Tags: American University of the Caribbean, Families at American University of the Caribbean, Family Separation, Summer Vacation

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