Christmas in the tropics

The first two weeks of December passed by in a whirl of assignments and finals. I don't think I have ever spent that much time writing and studying on my computer. I learned that "take home finals" are not to be desired because instead of taking a 2-3 hour final you end up spending 30 hours researching and writing your 12 page answer section. Needless to say, when it was all over and done with I was wholeheartedly ready for a month of vacation! I am proud to report that I did well on all of my finals and ended up with all A's and a 4.0 GPA this semester.

On Dec 21st my two younger sisters, Sara and Rosemary, came to visit and spend Christmas down here with me. I'm quite glad they came because it would have been a lonely and most likely boring holiday without them. We were able to go snorkeling almost every day they were here. We saw loads of fish, crabs, conch, corals, sponges, seagrass, turtles, squid, urchins, eels, and even a little baby octopus. We went on a 4 hour hike on St. John which was quite beautiful. We saw mongooses, spiders, hermit crabs, forest birds, pelicans, and even a few deer. It was a good hike and we were all exhausted after it was over. To celebrate Christmas we watched Christmas movies, made some Christmas cookies, and I opened my presents on Christmas morning. It certainly wasn't a grand Christmas but it had it's own charm. I think the girls had a good time all around and they are welcome back any time!

Since their departure I have been passing the time by cleaning, playing mariokart, reading Wicked, researching about seagrasses and queen conch for a potential thesis project, cooking, and lazing around the apartment. Last Wednesday I did go out with some fellow researchers at UVI to collect sediment samples in Fish Bay. We also got to watch some parrotfish spawning and dove around a small island looking for invasive lionfish. It was fun despite the rainy, somewhat cold weather we had that day and it was nice to get out and dive again.

Here are some pictures of the week the girls spent with me!

Christmas 2009