Rina dies out but the rains continue

Yesterday we got some welcome news as Rina died out after brushing against the Yucatan and her projected turn east and then south never happened.  We continue though to get rain from the remnants of her as well as the remnants of 97L.   We were going to take Arianna to a Halloween trick or treat festival at Caymana but that got postponed because of the rain.  Instead we went to a party with the other babies in her baby group.  Ironically yesterday afternoon and evening were rain free and this morning the sun is shining.  Hopefully that helps some of the flooding on island to recede.  We did put up sand bags on the southern end of Friends Hall Friday as an emergency measure just in case we had massive rains over the weekend.  Turns out they weren't needed but we would rather be wrong and overreact then under react and flood half that building.  Here are some shots from yesterday of Arianna is her Ladybug costume.

Presents from Rina

Although now well to the west of us and menacing the Yucatan, Hurricane Rina continues to give us a ton of rain and now some incredible swells as the picture below, that I got off the web, of George Town Harbour shows.  She is the storm that keeps on giving and our campus is a virtual lake with islands of buildings and parking spaces.  It has gotten so bad that we are almost to the point of sand bags for the southern end of Friends Hall as the water is close to cresting the sidewalk.  There is no where for the water to go as the ground is so saturated so now we have almost a foot and a half of standing water surrounding the eastern, western and southern parts of Friends Hall.  Only the northern part is dry and that is because the building sits on a slight slope from north to south.  Rina will be turning back east tomorrow and then perhaps straight south this weekend so we are continuing to watch her closely.

Way too active late October

Hurricane Rina (which is to the south and west of us right now) is giving all of us stomach acid as it does a long slow semi circle around us.  One little move and we are in the cone and on alert so we have to watch each update closely.  And now invest 97 L in the eastern Caribbean is beginning to form and its track takes it toward us as well.  The first map below from NHC shows the two storms with Rina already formed and 97L the orange circular area.  Right now it has a 30% chance of forming a tropical cyclone in the next 48 hours.  The second map shows the semicircle track of Rina.  We are the island in the southern quadrant below Cuba with the 5 day uncertainty cone basically going across the tip of West Bay.  Whether we actually get hit or not we continue to get a ton of rain with nowhere for it to runoff.  Our parking lot has two large lakes though so far at least our parking spaces aren't being affected too much.  The house is 4-5 feet above the parking lot so it hasn't had any issues either.  The college is a lake with any area that isn't built up underwater.  The buildings are fine so far but other than the buildings and the raised sidewalks and parking lots everything else has at least a 1/2 foot to 1 foot of water and the field has a couple of feet.  Yesterday egrets and ducks took advantage of Lake ICCI as a temporary home.  Classes went on as normal last night but we are now day to day. Arianna is taking it in stride sleeping through a loud thunder and lightning storm late last night just doing her normal every three hours wake ups.  I still remember her mommy sleeping through the loudest parts of Dean and Gustav without an issue so hopefully she inherited that from her.

Update with new map that gives a good idea of distances:

Tropical Storm (now Hurricane) Rina floods Cayman

The depression to the south of us finally formed into a tropical storm and while its path takes it toward Cancun and the Yucatan, we are in the upper right quadrant from it which is the area that gets most of the rain.  It was a long rainy night and we awoke this morning to flooding all over the island.  TS Rina (which became a Hurricane Rina this afternoon) won't bring us anything more than the rain so the three year streak of leaving the hurricane shutters in the back is still safe but there were some anxious moments over the weekend as we waited to see what the path would be.  It looks like Rina will go around us in a half moon like track, starting below us as it heads west then turns north and finally then above us as it moves back east after an expected turn just before it hits the Yucatan.  Yesterday we attended the first birthday part of one of Arianna's baby buddies, Brayden.  The party started outside but had to head inside as the rain got going and never let up.  All the babies from the baby group were there and Arianna was definitely in her element.  She is very social and had to play or talk with everyone.  Her birthday is just a few weeks away and we are hosting her party the Sunday before over at Camana Bay so yesterday was a food day to take notes also on things to do.  Here are some pictures from before the rain drove us inside.

Wet and Rainy Late October

As we reach the final days of the month of October, rainy season and a cold front have made the past few days wet and cool.  That beats the heck out of wet and hot but means that there isn't much stuff that can be done outside.  It also means a wary eye to the south where possible late season hurricanes form.  This week we have a close watch on a system down by Nicaragua.  In 2008 we got hit by Paloma with only two days notice since it formed in the Caribbean to the south of us.  The problem with this weather is that Arianna gets bored easily when stuck in the house so we are always looking for opportunities to get out and this weather is making that tough.  Yesterday a trip to A.L. Thompson hardware store became her outing so she could wander up and down the aisles, stare at all the fans and make some future decisions about a new bathroom or kitchen.  It was also cool enough to put her in the Texas track suit my sister sent down and here are a few shots.

Guest Lecture by the Premier of the Cayman Islands

This week has been an eventful one on campus.  Yesterday we were visited by the local commission that is charged with doing a national survey on the relationship of the UK to its overseas territories in the greater Caribbean region.  They were in a number of classes to talk to the students and discuss the implications of the survey and the input desired.  This evening we received a visit from the Premier of the Cayman Islands, the Honorable McKeeva Bush, who came to do a guest lecture.  Under the new constitution, the Premier is the leader of the majority party in the legislative assembly and is the leader of the government.  Only the British Governor holds higher office.  He spoke to a combination of three classes out in the new classroom building for a good two hours doing both a lecture and a question and answer session on the current Cayman economy and the role Cayman plays in the greater world economy.  The college is apolitical and interestingly the instructor who invited the Premier, Joey Ebanks, is actually associated with the other political party but it is always good to get government officials out and on the campus.  A reminder of the role ICCI plays in the Cayman Islands.  The premier is the holder of an honorary degree from ICCI and he mentioned that during his lecture lauding the college for its role in helping the Cayman Islands over the years.

Greeting the Premier upon his arrival

Listening to the Lecture

With Premier Bush and Joey Ebanks

Happy Birthday Katie

On Friday we celebrated Katie's birthday by going out to dinner and then Saturday heading up for a morning at Rum Point.  We did another baby swap sitter for Friday night and that gave us an evening just the two of us.  We went to a new restaurant called the Blue Iguana Grill at the Ramada Grand Caymanian on the North Sound Side of Seven Mile.  We hadn't been to that resort before and Katie wanted to do something new for her birthday.  Saturday we got up early and drove the family up to Rum Point to spend some quality beach time together.  Arianna got to swim and spent some hammock time with mommy.  Saturday evening Katie had a girls night out with her Mommy group while I stayed home and watched Arianna.  This week we have the Premier of the country coming to the college to deliver a guest lecture along with a government committee on another of the nights to interview students for a UK government white paper.  Sadly we also have the funeral for Hank Bodden so it will be a busy week.  I have been doing Thursday baby sitting with Arianna which is giving quality daddy-daughter time though she still cries each time Mommy leaves.

At dinner Friday night

In the hammock at Rum Point

Tough Start to Week

This week has started with some very bad news.  An ICCI graduate and former Director of Admissions Hank Bodden was found dead on Monday.  He was only 43 years old.  It looks like natural causes but on a small island like this there are always a lot of rumors that often are quite mean.  We were all shocked to hear the news Monday afternoon and it has cast a pall over the campus as many current and former students as well as our staff and faculty knew him well.  It has given all of us a little pause to reflect on how no one is guaranteed time and that we should never forget to enjoy the little things in life and take nothing for granted.

World Cup Qualifier Cayman v. Suriname

The second home fixture of World Cup Qualifying was last night at the Truman Bodden National Stadium in George Town against Suriname.  A much smaller crowd than attended the El Salvador match was on hand to watch two teams that were a little more closely matched than what we saw in the first home game.  Once again a mostly defensive first half saw a nil-nil draw at halftime though Suriname hit the post and Cayman had a couple of good scoring chances.  In the second half a defensive breakdown by Cayman gave up an easy goal but Cayman pressed and created three or four really good chances to tie.  Unfortunately, none found the target and the match ended in an exciting but ultimately disappointing 1-0 loss for the home squad.  Cayman was officially eliminated from possible advancement though there are three matches remaining including one more home game with the Dominican Republic.  That game though is during our fall seminar so I will be unable to attend.  Today is Texas-OU so I will head over to the Dog House to watch and hope that the Horns can pull off the upset.

Slow October

Hasn't been much to blog about this month.  The term is going well, Katie is really enjoying teaching and generally we are marking time as we approach Katie's birthday in a week and Arianna's first birthday in just over a month.  The Longhorns are 4-0 so Saturdays have been enjoyable though Oklahoma looms this weekend.  This week is also World Cup Qualifiers and with Cayman hosting Suriname I am hoping to again get some tickets to the game and catch some futbol.  I am now on baby duty every Thursday evening giving Arianna and I some daddy-daughter time.  This past Sunday we got to spend some time together at Camana Bay as mommy did some work at the coffee shop preparing for her classes.  One of my students was out that day and took this shot of us and emailed it to me.

First Week of the Term and Grand Opening of the New Building

Last week was the start of our fall term and with 233 students registered it was typical first week of the quarter insanity.  Adding to the regularly expected insanity were three things.  First Katie is back teaching for the first time in over a year.  She is teaching two classes, both on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  That means a sitter on Tuesdays and that on Thursdays I am working a full day and then in the evening watching Arianna.  Katie is very excited to be back teaching and has already set out weeks worth of lesson plans.  The second thing was that with the first week, a board meeting and the grand opening of the new building, John was on island and staying with us.  Finally, there was of course the new building and getting it opened and in use.  It was supposed to actually host classes last week but we couldn't get electricity to it until Friday so we had to move classes around all week while we waited for that to happen.  Tonight will be the first classes in the building which is quite exciting.

The ceremonial grand opening went off Friday afternoon with the Minister of Education on hand to give remarks and representatives from the financial services organizations that had donated money to outfit the two classrooms.  Arianna was on hand and happy to be passed around by her ICCI family all of who wanted to hold her and pay attention to her.  The building looked great and it will definitely be well received by the students who take classes in the new classrooms.  The first official function in the building would happen Saturday as the Board of Trustees held its fall meeting in the CISPA (CI Society of Professional Accountants) classroom.  In a bit of good timing this was the bye week for the Horns so no football watching was harmed in the insanity of this weekends events.

Arianna in her outfit for the ceremony

Arianna and Daddy after the ceremony

Gang War in Cayman

The real world is interrupting this island's desire to be a quiet sleepy tourist and banking destination.  Two gangs from up in West Bay the far west and northern part of the island have broken into open warfare and there have been four murders in the last six days in tit for tat shootings.  That is almost as many as these islands will get in a year.  The Governor called a special meeting of the top government officials and there has been open discussion of a curfew for the West Bay area and with the spread of shootings to the capital yesterday the Premier made an address to the nation yesterday about it.  So far at least everything has been far away from our neighborhood and from the college but we are keeping an eye on things.  Everyone seems conscious though of the fact that this is one short step from us being like Jamaica and not being the "safe" tourist destination in the Caribbean so we expect heavy police presence and crackdowns over the next few weeks.

Classes started yesterday but unfortunately we had a hiccup with the new building as CUC wont get electricity to it until Wednesday.  That meant last night we had to move classes around and use the canteen, something we will have to do again tonight while we wait for the new classrooms to open.  Yesterday was number 41 and we did a baby swap sitter and had a nice birthday dinner for me Sunday night at Yoshi's to celebrate.

New Building on Campus Complete

McLaughlin Hall

Last fall we broke ground on the newest building for our campus, a new classroom building to be called McLaughlin Hall after one of our distinguished graduates and benefactors.  It had been two plus years since completing the tearing down of the old administration and library building and that work had left a big empty space in the rear of our campus.  During the spring we dealt with delays from the architect and from planning but as we entered May construction finally started.  All summer we have been watching the construction of the new building with growing excitement.  The weather has been kind enough to not cause too many delays.  That doesn't mean we didn't have problems but the majority of issues with it were caused by government's generally slow and plodding movement which isn't unexpected, though definitely frustrating. 

Still, everything has finally been resolved, the construction completed and Monday the new McLaughlin Hall classroom building will finally open.  It is the third building on our campus and is to the rear of the Friends Hall classroom building back where the old storage shed used to be, behind the old library.  The new building has two large classrooms with seating for 32 students.  Two local financial organizations sponsored the classrooms purchasing smart boards, lecterns, whiteboards, tables and chairs for seating and generally insuring that these will be state of the art classrooms.  It is an exciting time on campus and will definitely make for a fantastic fall term as we get the 2011-2012 academic year started.

For comparison, here is an aerial view of our campus taken in 2008.  You can see the white shed to the rear of the campus where the new building and parking lot now sit.  The college owns the field north of the lot and Clayton Strain so there is still a lot of room to grow.

World Cup 2014 Qualifier

Cayman scores its only goal on a PK in 4-1 loss

One of the perks in my work for the Ministry of Health is that the Minister of Health is also the Minister of Sport and from time time that means an opportunity to attend significant sporting events on the island.  This evening was one of those times as I got to sit in the VIP section of Truman Bodden National Stadium in George Town as the Cayman Islands took on El Salvador in World Cup 2014 qualifying.  I attended with the CEO of CINICO and was a few rows up from the Governor of the Island and most of the CI Government Ministers and officials.  We were also one row above the officials from El Salvador and it was interesting to watch how they were living and dying with every pass and shot.

El Salvador was unlucky not to get two or three first half goals as the half ended in a nil-nil draw. But as the second half began they scored twice early to take a commanding lead.  But then, trailing 2 nil Cayman had a fantastic ten minute run that included their goal on a deserved PK and then culminated just a few minutes later when a great shot from distance after three beautiful set up passes almost tied the score at 2 but went just over the cross bar. The crowd was really into the game and you could feel the electricity in the air.  After that though it was back to dominance by El Salvador as they scored twice more and easily could have won 7 or 8 to 1 but hit the post at least four times. The crowd of around 2000 was great for a small nation and it was a blast to see world quality futbol (such as it was) in person here in the Islands. Even though it was "work related", it was a great evening and a fun match to watch.

Fan below us shows the colors

With one of the El Salvador officials before the match

First Day of Football

The sixth annual First Day of Football (FDOFB) celebration kicked off in the Cummings household last night with the ceremonial giving of gifts.  This year that consisted of two new Longhorn car decals for our vehicles and some Longhorn cookies made by Katie.  One of the decals we had been trying to find for a couple of years and Katie found it on the Internet and secretly ordered it.  Unfortunately, a few months ago I randomly ran into someone in a parking lot at a restaurant who just happened to have the decal.  With Katie watching on in horror I proceeded to ask him where he got the decal and after he mentioned he was leaving island began to negotiate for the purchase of it right then and there.  That forced Katie to step in and reveal she had already bought one and it was a FDOFB present.  Although the surprise was lost, it was still great to finally put the decal on the car after waiting patiently for a couple of months knowing we had it.

Katie also hung out the Texas Longhorn flag this week from the window of the nursery overlooking the living room.  This morning we took some family photos decked out in our longhorn gear and this evening I will head over to the sports bar which is going to be streaming the Texas opener against Rice.  Someday this will take a lot of explaining to Arianna why Daddy gets his own private Christmas in September (after all, it is the most wonderful time of the year, the start of the college football season).  I am so lucky to have married a women who embraced my obsession rather than fighting it. Lets hope my daughter is as understanding as her Mom.

August winding down

Sunday Dress

As August winds down and we head into September this past weekend was the last one before, as Katie likes to say, "my mistress begins to want time with me".  By mistress, she means of course football season.  Though somehow calling football a "mistress" just seems strange to me. Obsession sure, but mistress, not hardly? Regardless, with our cable just having added ESPNU and the Big Ten network (though no Longhorn network just yet) we are definitely ready for the games to begin.  The hope here is that last years disaster of a season is not repeated.  In this family we celebrate "first day of football" as a holiday and it will be Arianna's first.  We have her Longhorn onesie ready to wear and new decals for both cars.

We have two weeks left in our summer term and are getting ready for the grand opening of our new classroom building.  It has been great watching it go up all summer and now that they are in the final stages everyone is watching and the excitement is rising.  The celebration with the ribbon cutting is set for the 23rd though we actually will start classes in it on the 19th.  I have my surgery on the 14th during the off week between classes and should be ready to go by the 19th.  I meet with the anaesthesiologist next week to finalize everything.

We hope all our relatives on the east coast came through Irene OK.  The locals down here have questioned why the fuss over just a Cat 1 storm because down here going through a Cat 1 as we did with Gustav and then Paloma a couple of years ago was easy.  But we forget that those were small storms no where near the size of Irene and that had this Island been hit even by a Cat one for as long as areas were hit by Irene we would have massive flooding and issues too.  The storm season isn't even yet at its mid way point so we are still being vigilant.

Another reason why this is not exactly Paradise

August and September are our yearly reminder of one of the costs of living in "paradise", storms.  It looks certain now that Irene will not be paying us a visit but the shooting gallery has 8 more weeks so while we breathe a little easier this morning that is just until the next one on the assembly line rolls off the African coast.  We get other reminders from time to time too.  A couple of weeks ago, I was in the kitchen when out of the corner of my eye I saw a pretty big black object moving into our downstairs bathroom.  Initially thinking that it might be the largest roach ever I cautiously approached.  When it came fully into view I was shocked to see that it was in fact about a 4 inch long scorpion that had wandered into our house.  It did not survive the meeting with my shoe.  We get other exotic visitors every once in a while from centipedes to strange looking water bugs driven in during the hot summer.  With Arianna moving all over the downstairs we are extra vigilant as we don't want her making a new "friend".

Again with the A/C

Yesterday afternoon around 1 p.m. Katie called down stairs to tell me that the air had gone up to 88 degrees in the house.  We checked the air conditioner and could feel air coming out but it wasn't the normal cooled air.  We were able to get a Sunday service call but it was not a repair that could be done that afternoon and the return call would not be until first thing Monday morning.    We got a hold of our landlady who is currently in Panama and she asked us to get a second set of eyes to look at the unit and give an estimate.  Unfortunately, the man she suggested also couldn't come out until first thing Monday morning.  After some debate about spending the night at a hotel we decided to tough it out and use fans to get through the night.  It was a miserable night as poor Arianna just couldn't keep cool even with a fan on her crib.  She woke up several times and at one point was awake for about a two plus hour stretch between 1:00 and 3:30 a.m.  She finally fell asleep and slept until a little after 7 a.m.  She was happy this morning but still tired and went down for her 9 a.m. nap happily even though she had only been up two hours. 

The repairman suggested by our landlady showed up right at 8 a.m. and for now has gotten the unit back up and working (cool air never felt so good).  It is a bit disappointing that the first repairman couldnt get it back up and running at least for last night as this one did.  However, even this repairman says it is just a temporary patch job and that the unit will have to be rewired and repaired though his estimate is substantially less than the first one.  He is communicating directly with our landlady who to her credit has said to him to get it fixed asap.  Much like the blackout last week this was another dry run for a hurricane aftermath when we wouldn't have A/C though this time we got to see how it would be if we at least had battery powered fans and frankly it is only marginally better.

Blue Dragon's

The Rock and Chloe's Iguana at the Mission House
 in Bodden Town

Yesterday afternoon we went in search of more blue dragon statues to add to Arianna's photograph collection.  We have been trying to get photographs of her with all 15 of the original Blue Iguana statues that comprise the Blue Iguana trail on Grand Cayman.  We have a map of where they are supposed to be but have discovered to our distress that only about half of them are where they should be and thus far only have six of them photographed with her.  We had two hours free and wanting to keep Arianna occupied we set out to find the one in Bodden Town.  As luck would have it, we found two of them (neither of which was where they were supposed to be).  We found them at the Mission House a national trust historic site in the original capitol of the Cayman Islands.  One of them was the Bodden Town statue, the other was supposed to be out in East End.  Neither were attached to their pedestals and had we been more felonious, we could have taken one home as a souvenir as they didn't seem very heavy.

Chloe's Iguana which is supposed to be out in East End

Lights out in Cayman

Last night about 9:10 p.m. as I was working in my office the power suddenly went dead.  We are used to the occasional rolling brown out in Newlands so at first I just sat there for a moment expecting the power to pop back on any second.  The college has emergency lighting and after a few seconds it was clear this wasn't something that would pop back on any moment and I started to wander the campus checking rooms and making sure that no one was stuck somewhere in the complete dark.  About ten minutes into the blackout it was evident that this wasn't going to be a short one and so we ended classes early sending everyone home.  I had called home to Katie who told me the blackout was affecting Red Bay as well and that it had awoken Arianna.  After getting everyone on campus off safely and making sure the radio station was unplugged and all the A/C's along with as many lights as we could switch off were turned off, I headed home.  It was weird driving home as everything was dark except for the car headlights.  The power outage seemed to be island wide.

I got home to a dark house that was quickly heating up with no air flow.  All we had for light were flashlights and the upstairs was too hot to get Arianna settled down.  We decided to bring Arianna down stairs where it was cooler and set up sheets and pillows on the tile floor as well as her pack and play.  It wasn't so  much that the house was hot as it was there was no air flow from the fans and that makes the heat stifling.  Arianna was freaked out and didn't understand what was going on.  We tried rocking her and shushing her but she was very disturbed by how dark it was.  We opened the downstairs blinds because the near full moon gave us some good ambient light.  The power outage lasted almost an hour after I got home finally coming back on around 10:45.  It was a short dry run for what it might be like during a hurricane if we do lose power.  We definitely learned that we need to have flashlights in every room and some battery powered fans for air flow.  We found out this morning that the outage was over most of the island and caused by a truck accident right near CUC's power plant in the industrial park.  Last night was Arianna's first Caribbean style black out and hopefully isn't something she gets to repeat these next few weeks during the height of hurricane season.

Sunday Morning Snorkel

Several weeks ago Katie started a baby swap with several of the mommies in her baby group.  Basically it is free baby sitting as one mommy watches the babies for a couple of hours while the other couple gets time out.  We used one of our turns to go see Harry Potter a few weeks back and this morning cashed in another one to go have brunch at Eats cafe and do some snorkeling over at Eden Rock.  We havent been able to snorkel together just the two of us since Arianna was born so it was nice to be able to do that together again.  Here are a few shots from this morning.

A tarpon that meandered beneath us

Stoplight Parrot Fish

Black Durgon

Friday afternoon in George Town

For a long time we have talked about picking an afternoon and going into town to play tourist like we just came off a cruise ship.  Yesterday we finally found the time to do it and after packing up lots of food, toys and other items for Arianna drove over to Bayshore Mall on the water front and parked to begin our tour.  We started looking for the National Gallery which is moving to a new location on the Harquayle bypass but for now is still located in the Harbour Shops.  It took us a little time to find it but eventually we did and went in to see an exhibit on the Persistence of Memory.  There were only two viewing rooms which made it a brief stop but still interesting and when they move to their new larger location it should make for a nice afternoon out.  After the gallery we headed into the town square.

Saturday is Jamaican Independence Day and with so many Jamaicans on island, Cardinal Avenue was closed to traffic for a two day festival celebrating their independence from Britain.  We wandered past the booths smelling the food and enjoying the cultural displays.  We were headed to the downtown post office and the two blue iguana statues that are near it.



Arianna with Arti who celebrates 500 years for Cayman

 

Across from the historic downtown
post office



Arianna really liked the blue iguana in the post office roundabout and played with it and on it for several minutes.  But when we crossed the street to get pictures of her with the second statue she decided she had had enough and wanted to be held and given water (it was quite hot so we completely understood).  Katie held her for a moment we clicked the shots for the blue iguana trail book we plan to do and then it was on to Heroes Square and some food.

Our next stop was Heroes Square the town center of George Town and a look at the statues of some of the national heroes and the wall of history as well as some peaches and bread sticks for the little one.



Statue of James Bodden, First National Hero
and the man who donated the land on which ICCI sits

From Heroes Square we made the short walk over to the waterfront and Fort George.

After reading the markers we headed down the waterfront and back toward Bayshore mall.  To really be tourists we took one more photo.

Walking around in the hot sun for two plus hours left us all a little exhausted.  We headed up to Camana Bay for some frozen drinks and a chance for Arianna to unwind.  It was a great afternoon and we got to see some parts of George Town that we have always intended to visit but just never found the time.

Rainy July gives way to likely stormy August

There hasn't been a whole heck of a lot for us to write about these past few weeks other than the usual updates to the baby blog.  Of course Arianna dominates our days and activities.  In non-baby news,  my father was on island for a week and a half for college business as we get closer and closer to opening the new classroom building and negotiate with the government on the daytime program we have been working with them on for the past year.  August promises to be eventful though not necessarily the type of events we want as the storms are lining up over in Africa for their long trek across the Atlantic.  Emily should form later today though she may be a problem for Florida and hopefully not us.  We have been watching the TV series Lost and at a rapid clip of 2 plus episodes a day will finish all six seasons in just a little over a month of watching.  We have decided to do a team triathlon in November with Katie doing the ten 10k me doing the 40k bike and one of Katie's Mommy group friends doing the mile swim so we are both in training for that now.  Football season is inching closer and just the dog days of August to get through.

Watching an 8 month old

While the majority of updates on Arianna are going on the blog especially designated for her, it is hard to update in general what is happening with us as a family without focusing on things related to her.  This weekend for example we decided we had to address the fact that our little "thrill junkie" loves to climb up the stairs. This of course required one of us to follow very closely behind to catch her if she missed a step or took a tumble. 

The problem of course is that Arianna doesn't realize she needs Daddy or Mommy to go up with her and wants to climb them all the time.  We put the laundry hamper in front of the stairs as a temporary measure but she quickly discovered that she could climb over it or pull it out of the way so we couldn't look away for even a moment when she is on the floor downstairs.  When I was in Miami two weeks ago I picked up a gate and on Sunday we had some time to put it up.  We borrowed a drill from a friend and after a few starts and stops got her new gate up.

We are going to add a few more gates around the house in the next few weeks as we get a better feel for what areas we dont want her getting into so easily staring with the top of the stairs so she can start crawling around the upstairs. 

We are now in the fourth week of our summer term.  I have been reappointed for another one year term as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Cayman Islands National Insurance Company and this past Friday began service on a government committee examining healthcare costs to the government in the Cayman Islands and ways of reducing them. We are now entering the real hurricane season which everyone says starts on July 15.  The Cape Verde season doesnt begin until August 15 but we are now into that mode of checking the NHC site every morning and having plans in place to move quickly should it look like we will get a storm.

Visit from Danny Knowles and Family

All of us at Rum Point

Today we got a visit from Danny Knowles and his family who came to Grand Cayman on a cruise ship and were in for the day.  Danny is the Minister who married us just over five years ago and it was great to see him and catch up with him and Sharon.  We got to introduce them to Arianna who was very happy to make more friends that would play with her,  We took them out to Rum Point and got to do some swimming and snorkeling as well as all have jerk pork for lunch.  It was a far too quick a visit as we had to get them back to their tender so they could head out early in the afternoon.  Still, it was great to see them and really good to spend some time with people from home.

Home from Miami

I am home from Miami this evening after a long five days away.  I have never been happier to have a bumpy landing in Cayman than tonight so I could get home to Katie and Arianna.  This past weekend was our Seminar on Religion up in Miami and I attended my first ever Muslim call to prayer and service, Jewish service, and Hindu morning service.  I was really fascinated by all three and learned a lot I didn't know about each of those faiths.  One thing I had experienced before was Greek Orthodox service, but after a four hour long Greek Orthodox service this weekend, the only thing I took away was that I will never again complain about Mass running long.  Today is also a national holiday in Cayman for Constitution Day so no school as we traveled back.  Tomorrow it's back to the grind of classes and the dog days of summer.

--Scott

When you are the immigrant "stealing" someone's job

Next month both Katie and I apply to have our work permits renewed.  They both expire at the end of August and we are making sure our applications are in with plenty of time to spare.  We probably won't hear anything until later in the fall as there is a huge backlog and the wheels of immigration move slowly down here.  These renewals are an every two year reminder that we are guests in this country and here by permission not right.  Most locals are very welcoming and view us as a part of the community.  Our students in particular could not be more open and friendly whether you are an ex pat or a local.  We feel a sense of obligation to our community and do what we can to pitch in and be a part of it. 

Unfortunately there is a small but vocal group here, much like some Americans back home, who view all immigrants with disdain and distrust.  In their minds we are just here stealing some Caymanian's job and we will always be the "ex-pats" who are just taking advantage of the "true" Caymanians.  There is even a morning talk show on a major radio station that seems to feed on the "ex-pat" hatred.  Sadly, some local politicians also seem to believe they can make their careers capitalizing on this anger at "ex-pats" and they stoke the fires whenever they can even in the most absurd of cases.  In the last two years, several thousand ex pats have left the island according to the government figures.  That is a couple thousand people no longer renting properties to live in.  Those same thousands are no longer buying groceries, or clothes, or eating at restaurants.  They aren't buying cars or gasoline or having their autos serviced.  No cable or electric usage or work permit fees being paid to the government or importing goods and the attendant duties government relied upon or using the banks and those fees.  In the same time unemployment (which is calculated only by Caymanians since all ex pats must have a job to be on island) has grown and now tops ten percent.  In the same period, long time restaurants and businesses are closing and the government is struggling to bring in enough revenue to continue to operate. 

It has also created a sense of resentment amongst some ex pats who then go on to act exactly like they are accussed of, giving nothing back and just making their money and leaving.  A vicious circle that benefits the community not at all.  The law of unintended consequences comes into full play when you run off thousands of people who were pumping money into your economy.  The USA in many ways and on a grander scale faces this same issue and perhaps would do well to look at Cayman and see the stark consequences of scapegoating foreigners for your own issues. 

Gnips and Red Plums

Although the summer means heat and hurricanes down here, it also brings us my two favorite tropical fruits, gnips (pronounced ga-nip) and red plums.  Gnips are small golf ball size fruits that grow on trees.  They have a tough outer shell that you split and pull off.  The fruit itself is around a hard pit and you literally chew it off the pit in your mouth until you have gotten it all (at least that is how I eat them). Other more refined individuals probably bite off small bits thus leaving way too much still on the pit when they finish.  Red plumbs also have a skin and pit but you eat the skin of them along with the fruit around the pit.  Willie's fruit stand near our house has started carrying early season pickings of both fruit and this week we got our first batch of both.  Arianna has already tried red plums and likes them as much as her father, gnips are for later this week.

Father's Day out at Rum Point

Yesterday was my first official Father's Day and to celebrate we loaded up the car and made the drive out to Rum Point on the north side of the Island.  We went out early to beat the heat which has been pretty intense down here.  Arianna loved the water as she always does though after a long day at the beach yesterday she was ready to call it a day earlier than she might have under other circumstances.  Katie and I have started watching "Lost" so we headed home to a quiet afternoon of DVD watching and playing with the little one.  All in all it was a fantastic first Father's Day.  This is an off week at the college with no classes, though we do have our comprehensive examinations for graduating Bachelor and Master candidates along with the summer faculty meeting and summer orientation so it will still be busy.  The summer is traditionally our smallest term so it shouldnt be quite as hectic around the college for a couple of months.  We are looking at a huge fall though so we are already gearing up.

Saturday Afternoon Beach Cookout

Yesterday the college held a cook out on Seven Mile Beach for students, alumni, and staff.  Arianna had a great time meeting many of the students she hadn't been introduced to yet and was happy to be passed around and meet them and their children.  The event celebrated the end of spring finals for current students and was a chance for alumni to get together and reconnect with each other and meet the current students.  We spent several hours out there and everyone had a great time.

Grilling the Chicken



With Esther from Kenya and Maxine from St. Vincents



With Carmarla, Sheena, EJ (the other little one)
and Shakira all from Cayman

End of Spring Term

Yesterday was the official end of our spring term and for Katie and I the completion of four full academic years at ICCI.  Construction has finally begun in earnest on our new third building which will house some state of the art business classrooms and that has the campus even more busy during the day.  It is a great sight each day to come in and see the building going up bit by bit.  The foundation is already laid and this week the outer walls started going up.  We hope it will be done by the end of July in plenty of time to have our grand opening and use the classrooms this fall.  The summer is always a little more laid back as the student body is its smallest of the year and everything slows down with the heat and the rain as well as the constant watching for hurricanes.

On the home front Arianna is just a bundle of energy crawling all over the house and using anything she can leverage to lift herself up.  She is definitely going to be an early walker.  We were warned that once they started moving everything would be different and it certainly is.  The days do just seem to run together lately and I sometimes have to look at a calendar just to see what day it is.