Happy New Year / Gott Nytt År

I want to wish all my friends, in all different time zones, a very Happy New Year!

I believe I'm one of the last one's to enter 2010.

May 2010 bring you health, wealth and happiness!

Again, Happy New Year and Gott Nytt År as we say in Sweden

Cheers my friends!

Camilla

Sent from my iTouch

Crabby

No, I'm not describing my mood! I'm talking about all the land crabs
that inhabitats this motu (island).
As soon as it gets a little cooler in the evening they come out of
their holes in the ground. We have one living on the side of the
terrace. He's one of the really shy ones (which they all are more or
less), while others along the walkway is more.... courageous.

Coming down the walkway, especially at night is rather interesting!
You can hear them everywhere and suddenly there is one right in front
of you with the little claws up in the air, ready to be brave! I'm not
sure what he thinks he can do?! Seriously! Attack? Pinch my toe?
Anyway....














They steal too! I have a pair of flip flopps outside on the terrace and one morning I found one of them in the garden.... Maybe he could not stand the smell all the way to his little house and left it half way! Ha ha ha!

Cheers my friends!

Camilla
Sent from my iTouch

It's Christmas!

Finally Christmas has arrived!

In Sweden we celebrate Christmas on the 24th and the real celebration
usually kicks off by Kalle Anka (Donald Duck) at 3pm. It is a
tradition in Swedish homes since 1959, for the families to gather
around the TV to watch the show together! And its the same show played
every year, with just an additional snippet from the new Walt Disney
movie. There is a great article about this tradition, seen through an
"outsiders" eyes at http://www.slate.com/id/2239252/

After Kalle Anka Christmas begins! In the evening (we are still on the
24th!) Santa comes to your house, knocks on your door and comes in and
hands out presents to everyone (except if you are on the naughty
list!). He sure is a busy man!

Food, food and more food is of course on the schedule too! My
favorites are Janssons Frestelse (janssons temptation, which is a
potato gratin) meat balls, and the Swedish Christmas ham, which there
will be non of, this year.

This year I will go and see a Polyneisan show at the hotel which most
likely will involve drums, dance and maybe some fire! I'm looking
forward to the event tonight! It will be interesting!

But I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, or as we say in
Sweden, God Jul!

Cheers my friends!

Camilla

Sent from my iTouch

Hitch Hiker's Guide... In Bora Bora

On Sunday we went to the main island to go to the grocery store that
is open on Sundays. It's located just past the beautiful beach in
Meitera, 8 km from Vaitape, according to someone. The problem is that
we don't have a car or other type of transportation, and walking is
not an option (seriously, who would walk 8 km in 31 degrees celcius,
with stray dogs like pitbulls wandering the streets?!)!

So we managed to squeeze in to a taxi with another couple and we were
dropped off by the restaurant we had decided to have lunch at. Both of
us already knew exactly what to order and we planned to order before
we sat down at the table. When we arrived, they had just closed....!
(to note, it was only 2:40pm. Who closes lunch that early??). So we
had to walk to the next place down the street. When you have already
made up your mind on one thing, anything else is just not the same...
And so was the food at the snack chack!

After lunch we walked over to the grocery store, filled up the
backpack and started to walk towards Vaitape. We knew there was some
kind of shuttle going halfway around the island but had no idea of
what time and from where it was going. There was also no taxis in sight.

As we had not seen any bus stops along the road, it was kind of a
natural instinct to waive down a bus as it passed. And it stopped, and
was I happy or what?! I was still not ready to be chased by dogs.

As we got on we checked if the bus would stop in Vaitape, and sure,
that was no problems. Just down the road from where we got on, the bus
driver stopped to pick up a family of 3. At this point he introduced
us to the people in the bus (a total of 7 people) who all were going
to church! It was mom and pap, kid 1 and 2 and the cousin and grandma!).

I assume it was the church bus we flagged down!

Before dropping us off he told us not to miss the church event the
same evening at 6:30 pm and pointed to a place in the harbour.
Everyone in the bus waived good bye and off they went to church!

I have to say, they sure are friendly people over here, and no, we
didn't go!

Cheers my friends!

Camilla

Sent from my iTouch

Back to the Apartment

After 2 days of cleaning, blisters on my fingers and a headache most
likely from the cleaning products used, we have now finally moved back
in to the apartment again! After more glue and the leak should be
fixed! Today, even my body is hurting! But, it's clean and it smells
like lemon (and chemicals! I used a lot!)!

The apartment is very Spartan furnished (not by choise as it was
furnished when we moved in) but in my rant yesterday I moved furniture
around and it actually became more "cozy", in my opinion (well, it is
my blog after all!). Then, some fabrics here and there and it's okej
to live, for now (that wrap shop might come in handy after all!).
Since my moves are usually to the extream I have never moved with
furniture. The furniture I have is still in dad's garage, collecting
dust after 7 years and also spread out over the US! But next time we
might need a container as all the "other" things start to exceed the 2
bags and the allowed weight on the airplane! And it's getting so damn
hard to get rid of things...

The neighbouring house is interesting... Today I beleive the CD player
got stuck on the same song. It was playing over and over on high
volume. At least the song is good, but I'm not sure how long I will
like it if it continues! They have plenty kids and dogs too. The dogs
keep barking and the kids are running like mainiacs, with there hands
above their heads, the hair crazy, tanned little bodies and just
screaming, jumping off the dock into the water. Can you picture them
infront of you? I have to say though, it must be amazing to grow up in
a place like this... Until school age that is!

Well, another day in my world...!

Cheers my friends!

Camilla
Sent from my iTouch

It's not bad living in paradise!

I had a great weekend here in Bora Bora. On Saturday I went for my first swim off my bungalow (I know, I'm ashamed to say it, but that is the truth) and on in the evening we went to Bora Bora Yacht Club for dinner and drinks. Great location, with the tables right on the deck where I watch the sunset while sipping on Margaritas! I had a great time despite the nice but awful service and the food in my taste was just okej...  After dinner we joined another table and had a few local beers, and while some people rocked around on the "dance floor" to everything from Cotton Eye Joe to Latin music, I was just soaking it all in! Last call was at 12am (!!! may I remind you this was on a Saturday night!!). So at midnight it was time to get home. Usually at this point most of us are looking for a car to take us back home... Well, we hooked it up with a captain at another resort, who took us back home. Very odd but very fun! I love all these boat rides! Now I just need my own!

Can't you just see me in one of these, when I go to work??!! 

On Sunday I actually slept in a little and caught the boat by 11am to Vaitape to continue to Matira Beach. By the time we reached there it was lunch time. Matira Beach is just amazing. I am sorry to rub it in for all of you living with rain/snow/cold weather etc. right now, but this beach has white sand, crystal clear water, and you can walk 1 km out before it gets deep (no, I did not walk all the way out there!) . The water is like the water you fill up your bath tub with. It's unreal!

Matira Beach

After a good lunch, an enormous amount of sun screen and still turning red, we decided to head back to the bungalow to do some snorkeling. Amazing as always to see the fish in all different kinds of colors in front of you. After snorkeling and lounging on the deck, watching the sun set, we just chilled in front of the TV for the rest of the night!

Another day in my world, in Bora Bora!

Cheers my friends!

Camilla

Laundry Detergent

Living in paradise does not mean paradise living all the time... You still have to do the normal "house" things. But also, what is paradise living anyway??

Today started out with my morning workout (remember that hill and all the steps!) as I had to walk back to the apartment. The view is absolutley fantastic at the top and as soon as I get my computer going I will post some pictures here. To make the workout a bit more challenging today, I brought a really heavy bottle of laundry detergent in my bag! Ugh... Well, I will have some nice muscles both here and there when I'm done with this!

The laundry detergent was of course for my day's activity... Laundry! So, here I was, sorting laundry and about to get the first load going. To my dissapointment I realized that someone had sabotaged the place you put the fabric softer in (it could also be stupidity, but I didn't want to say that, really!). This resulted in that I had to run back and forth to catch the machine on it's last rinse in order to get the softer in. Well, this is how it went: Load 1, totally missd it. Load 2, right on time. Load 3, missed it again. Load 4, not too sure, but at this point, who cares?!

It all came out clean with no visible damage at first sight!

This afternoon I was watching my fish in the "aquarium" (reed ocean) underneth the bungalow, as they were feeding off the corals. As you can see in the pictures in my last post, all bungalows has a terrace that leads to a small dock underneth the house. That's where I was sitting! Small, beautiful, my kind of fish was right there! Black and white, yellow, and other colours. Time to whip out that snorkling gear (or buy one) and the under water camera and get going... By the way.. Do they have a photo-develop-place here on this island??? Good question... I will have to investigate that!

Anyway, that's another day in my kind of paradise living!

Cheers my friends!

Camilla

Tomorrow!

Coming from Sweden and move to the US was big in many ways, but one thing I love about the US is that you can get anything at anytime. Sure, Sweden is not far behind... But moving from the US to a Caribbean island made me realize how "spoiled" one can be and had to adjust to what was there. Sometimes you would go to the grocery store and it was almost empty... Well, the boat just didn't make it, but check tomorrow!

Bora Bora is even smaller... The closest to a clothing store I can get is a shop who sells pareos (wraps) and although the grocery store has most basic products needed I can not find things like onion (you guys who really knows me know how much I love onions!). I am not worried and I am sure I will adjust to this too, as I'm not too "needy" (although I do love shopping!). I am glad I lived in St. Martin before I came here though. Otherwise it would have been too much of a chock I beleive.

This takes me to the maintenance issues I am currently experiencing. We moved in to a temporary apartment on property and right away I realized there was a leak in the bathroom. It was reported and someone was supposed to come and look at it. On Sunday a big guy without any kind of tools (!) (poor guy, he had to walk that zig zag road up, and all the stairs) came to evalute the problem. I showed him, and he stared at it for a moment, with his headset blasting with music, and then turned to me and said "tomorrow". Great! No problem, I understand it's Sunday (I have lived on a French island before after all!) Of course no one came on Monday and after phone calls on Tuesday someone showed up. Again, looking at the leak and concluding, someone would be back "tomorrow"! I'm glad I'm patient!

Finally they did show up on Wednesday, and after gluing (!!!) the dripping pipe they said they had to finnish it the following day. Well, guess what... The glue did not fix the problem and no one showed up today! Not until another phone call was made I found out they would not make it. Thank you for letting me know as I have been waiting all morning. Not to worry though! I'm back in an over water bungalow with an amazing bed!

Loaded up some pic's (as requested!) but unfortunately my damn computer decided not to recognize my card anymore, so there are just a few, for now!

Enjoy the pictures!

Cheers my friends!

Me in Sweden before I left

Flying in over Bora Bora

Over water bungalows                                                         

Ahhh.... That heavenly bed!

You can not beat a vew like this from the apartment

The Backpack and I

Yesterday I was working on my computer, sitting on my terrace facing
an incredible view of the lagoone and the main island of Bora Bora. I
love sitting out there, sipping on my coffee (trying to forget that
I'm actually drinking instant coffee!). In the evening you can hear an
ukulele play on another island, probably at another resort. Very
peaceful....

The weather is about 31 degrees and right now I'm sitting on the dock
in Vaitape waiting for the boat back to my place. There is a nice
breeze here in the shadow. I have ventured out once again as I needed
more grocery. Oh yea... New flip flopps on! And This time I followed
Lina's tip... I brought a backpack!!!

I'm now back home and was that backpack idea great or what!! I looked
like a little school girl with a too big bag, just so I can grow in to
it! LOL! I can't believe I'm about to say this but, who cares!! As
long as it's practical!

Time to snack on some BBQ chips while I finnish the movie on the TV.

Cheers my friends!

Camilla
Sent from my iPod

Workout for the day

So, yesterday we moved from this nice, over water bungalow with the
most comfy bed I have ever slept in to the apartment where we will
stay until we find our own place in paradise.

It's on property, and to get there from the resort you have to walk up
this zig zag little road to the top of the hill and then walk down the
stairs, which contains of about 87 steps ( this according to our
neighbor, and I beleive him!). As our luggage weight over 100 kg
total, we decided not to do that trip. Insted we had a guy come and
pick us up with his boat as the apartments has a dock right outside.
Odd, but fun!

Then I needed to get to the grocery store to get a few things, like
food and cleaning stuff. Oboy, oboy! I hiked up the stairs (remember,
87 steps!) and walked down to the reception dock to catch the boat to
the main island. I was dropped off and walked to the store. So far so
good! I knew I had to think about what I could buy as I had to carry
it all by myself. I got 2 bags of grocery and started the hike back to
the dock in Vaitape (the "town"). My hands were already hurting from
the bags...

The boat came and all was good until they dropped me back off. Now I
had to do the walk up the hill... Ugh... Just after I reached the
hill, my flip flop broke down! After some cursing and attempts to fix
the broken flip flop I decided to take them off and continue my walk.
So here I am, walking up the hill barefoot with 2 grocery bags and my
hand bag. In the last turn an employee came in a golf cart and picked
me up and dropped me at the top of the hill. Not a long rude but was I
thankful or what?! Then I started my journey down hill on the steps.
Did i tell you that it's hot here too? I finally made it to the
apartment and could breath out!

So, another day in my world! It' not easy living in paradise, let me
tell you!!

Cheers my friends!

Camilla
Sent from my iPod

Bora Bora, here I am!

I have finally made it to Bora Bora! The trip was long (Paris to LA toTahiti to Bora Bora) and took about 24 hours. But I'm here now, and I have slept like a rock in the best bed ever!

Right now we are staying in an over water bungalow and it's just amazing... Well, at least I can imagin it beeing amazing... Since yeaterday afternoon the wind has been blowing so much that I get slightly sea sick in my bungalow, which is rocking in the wind. I sit on my beautiful terrace because I have one, but I can't stand it more than 5 minutes at a time. I'm about to blow away! But I have to try it all before tomorrow, as we are moving out of this place to an apartment. I'm going to miss that bed though... Fluffy, comfy, down.... Ahhh... It's the best bed I have slept in for years! And I'm a little nervous about the apartment. Don't think the same bed will be there... But tomorrow I will know!

Yesterday we took the hotel boat to the main island of Bora Bora and then the car around the island to see whats here. Beautiful views around here. But there is next to nothing here... You have a few tourist shops where you can find paeros and t-shirts for 20 euros (!). Oh yea, did I tell you that it's expensive over here? Plenty of pearls too... And I went in to a grocery store just to see... They defenitely have the base products you need but the wallet will feel it. I have a feeling I will not be eating things like cheese for a long time... And a bottle of (70 ml) Absolute was about 25 euros. In St. Martin they sell a liter Absoulte for what, 12 dollars? Cheaper than water over there! It will be a different lifestyle here.

Looking for a place to live as well... Not in a rush though (have only ben here for 2 days!) so I hope we find something nice. We did see (from the outside) these bungalows (not on the water) which looked nice, but we will see. I know people who used to live here, so I'm waiting for them to send me all the good tips!

So, I was thinking of going to the gym, but my mind has almost managed to convince myself, once more, not to go. Funny how that is! Motivation, motivation... I can do it... But the gym is so incredible boring... Maybe I take one of my books instead and read... Reading is good too! What ever I do, I have to do something!

Cheers my friends!

The Terminal

I think everyone saw the movie "The Terminal" with Tom Hanks... Well,
that's how I feel at the moment!

Cheers my friends!

Camilla

Sent from my iPod

It's cold out there

I have now been cold for 2 weeks straight. No wonder I caught the
worst cold ever (well, that's according to me!)

I just spent 10 days in Sweden with my family and friends, got my
swine flu vaccine and got the cold. The last 2 was not planned and I
don't mind the vaccine but having a cold when you are about to sit on
a plane for 20 hours is not reccomended. I am a traveling pharmacy at
the moment!

It was a big change to get to Sweden from St. Martin. The weather was
about 20 degrees colder and the shopping possibilities were amazing! I
have lived away from this convenience for too long. Its just too bad I
don't need winter clothes! And I think the story about God being
surprised when he came to check on earth and saw people were actually
living in Sweden is correct. We were not supposed to live there, only
come and visit in the summers!

And I have been eating and eating and eating! The last evening we had
a traditional Christmas buffe at my dads house! I really miss the
Swedish food. Who knows what we can get in Bora Bora? Well, in a few
days I will know!

Spending my day at the airport hotel as we are leaving tomorrow
morning. I can tell you I have done more exciting things in life, but
it will do. At least it's one flight less tomorrow.

Soon I'll be in Bora Bora!

Cheers my friends!

Camilla

Sent from my iPod

Watch out for that tree...

So, it's time to start packing again... Packing for a trip is stressful enough, but I have to, once again in just a few months, pack my whole life in to 2 suite cases. And the airlines don't care if you are moving to a new destination. So first I have to pack here in St. Martin, which should not be too hard... I did the worst packing already, but then I have to go back to Sweden and pack all my other stuff that needs to come with me. I'm getting tired just thinking about it!

The other day me and my friend, that is down on the island for work, went zip lining. How fun is that?? So fun! We of course took the extreme course and it is just amazing zipping through the trees in a rain forest! So here you are zipping from tree to tree, feeling like Jungle George, trying to look cool in your equipment while you are sweating. Great! Also, I wanted to look as cool as the guys who took us through the course, but I'm not so sure they would like that when they would have to rescue me half way through the line. They went flying both upside down and backwards.

"George, George, George of the jungle. Watch out for that TREEEE...." was used as one guy forgot to break on the line! Ha, ha, ha! Many animal noises was made too, however, some was more of the barn animal kind. After the zip line we had tapas and drinks at the Tree Lounge. I love this place, as it is built up in the trees with a really cool design! The staff is very "French", but it's okej!

I better go back packing so I have it done...

Cheers my friends!

Francis Coppola Wine Dinner

Just received the pictures from our Francis Coppola wine dinner at Evason & Six Senses Spa and Resort in Phuket, Thailand. It was a great, very small event we were invited to. We had a dinner by their Executive Chef which was paired with wines from Coppolas vineyard, the Director's Cut.

To give a short introduction, Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screen writer and directed among several, the Godfather films. He now also have a vineyard, and it was his wines we tried.

So with this really short intro, the dinner event's theme was Red Carpet Premier. We arrived with our "movie tickets" and was greeted with champagne on the red carpet that was rolled out and the flashes from the photographers did not stop. We mingled with the other guests, which in total there was about 18 people at the long table, which included the GM himself and the wine rep from the vineyard. The dinner was a five courses, fine dining with molecular influence. During the dinner event they kept showing a silent movie on the screen at the end of the table. It was a really nice event and I'm thanking the resort for inviting us to it!

No I have to get going, so....

Cheers my friends

Job Hunting

One thing I really hate is to look for jobs... I'm just not good at it. But sometimes you end up just having to get yourself together and do it, even if you don't like it. I feel like a kid in this situation, sitting on the floor with the arms crossed and the bottom lip pushed out. NO, I DON'T WANT TO DO IT! But I know better, so today I took almost all day to get my resume ready (thank you Will for all your help). I'm still not completely happy with it though.

Some people can just go on and on about what they have done but are they really that good when it comes to it? I know it's all about selling yourself, like selling a product, but writing down what you have achieved and what you have done in your previous jobs is hard. I bet you things like "I had to break up the door every morning, with a butter knife I had to hide, to get in to the TV room to make sure the TV channels were all on" does not really count. The future employer is going to wonder where the hell I was working!

And the interviews are almost worst. Well, you have to get prepared before and read up on the company etc. but I know a standard question that comes up all the time is "Tell me about a bad situation you turned around". Well, where do I start?? I deal with irate people on a daily basis. One example is just not going to do it... I deal with it and move to the next one. If I would have to remember them all, I would go crazy. Although, on another note, I probably should have written down the worst ones, because they are usually really funny when you look back at it. Anyway, today I have written emails, filled out forms etc. and I just have to see if I get something good.

Just had a friend over for dinner, which pointed out that I can't cook pasta without my timer! No I can't! And the only thing I can cook without a recipe is meat sauce! It's sad, I know, but when do I cook?? I have lived in places where going out for dinner and split a bottle of wine is completely accepted at any time. So I eat in restaurants! And when I eat home cooked food I have been spoiled enough to either have a boyfriend, friend or a room mate who is a chef! So why bother?! I feel a little bad for that day I have children and need to cook lunch/dinner... I hope they like spaghetti and meat sauce!!!

It is time to turn on the A/C in the bedroom and crawl up in bed, watching TV. Not a bad day after all in my world!

Cheers my friends

Adventures

My friend Will came and picked me up on his Harley the other day and we wroomed out to Orient Beach to chill on the beach and catch up. It was great fun to ride on the harley which I have never done before! I was working really hard to look as cool as Will on the bike. Not sure if I reached to ultimate coolness though. It was the first time after all!

Orient Beach is a place where you can see most things. The tourists love it as they can be topless, they can wear their string (this includes the men!) and no one cares. There are several restaurants along the beach and it is the "cool/happening place" with music blasting and Champagne is flowing. It is always fun to go and people watch once in a blue moon! Me and Will had some rose, and talked away non stop. When the beach started to be empty, after all the cruise ship tourists had vanished we decided to head back to the Dutch side and to the Yacht Club for cheap Heineken beer. We watched the bridge go up and the the vessels coming in (always fun) before we went next door for some pizza. After that it was time to go home.

Yesterday, after I dropped of my boyfriend, I picked up Will at his place and we went for breakfast. I love going out for breakfast! Then we decided to do some snooping at an old abandoned hotel, so we went off-roading with my little Kia Picanto before we hiked through water and vegetation to finally end up on the beach side of this old resort. We walked up this little paved path, which was surprisingly enough cleared and swept (?) until we came to the pool area. You got a weird feeling when you saw the empty pool and it's surrounding, over grown and spooky! We went in to this empty, open hall with high ceiling, and along one side was an empty desk... Then we entered a bar area and another big hall. The entrance ground was in cobble looking stones and this was also extremely tidy for being abandoned for over 15 years. One room was affected by fire and everything was black. Another room we entered must have been the archives, as you could find accounting reports, memos and meeting minutes. I found one letter stating not to renew one employees contract when it was up. And the meeting minutes stated the same issues and concerns that we go over at work today!

We went to a few rooms, which I was surprised to see had electronic door locks, and while the rooms were looted on all the furniture, there was still remains of weather beaten curtains moving in the breeze through the broken windows. We entered courtyards with fountains that had been destroyed by the surrounding trees and was overgrown, and there was a "hall of mirrors" in one building. Before we left we went by the Tennis Pro shop, where one of my former employees used to work. The tennis courts are long gone, but we still found an old magazine in the shop.

Obviously people must come here often as most areas are creepy clean of spiders web while other rooms are probably inhabited by tarantulas (big hairy spiders!). There are many rumors about this place about being haunted and they also say that this place will soon be gone for new development.

The afternoon we spent on Will's porch and drank beer! Will has the most brilliant stories to tell, as he seem to end up in the most random situations. One favorite at the moment is when he was hanging out of a truck, driven by a friend on a field, while trying to shoot rabbits. Who has those kind of stories? I suddenly feel like I live a very boring life. But that's when you have a few beers with Will!

It is now time for me to be somewhat productive.

Cheers my friends!

Weekend

It was Halloween this weekend, but I was not celebrating it, this year again. Not really a Swedish tradition that I grew up with and my costumes are in Sweden anyway (from my time in the US). Instead I had a great, quiet dinner at Del Destino. I had spent my afternoon at Karakter, and my tan is getting really nice now! Finally!!

On Sunday I did absolutely nothing! It's nice to do that once in a while and I seriously don't think anyone can do it. It is a hard task! I slept in, woke up at 12 noon (!) and turned on the TV, and barely left the bed all day!

Today is a new day though and I am waiting to hear from a friend to see what he is up to today. He had sent me a message on FB earlier this morning and announced that he was off! Me too! So, I'm quite sure the day will include beach, rose, and food! I just don't know where! So, in the mean time I will get ready and then head back in my A/C bedroom and play a game of Sudoko on my iTouch or something like that!

Cheers my friends

Karakter

I had a great day today!

Got up as usual and drove my boyfriend to work (well, I have done this for a week and a half!) and got back home having a good breakfast. Then, as usual, I went online to check FB, emails and the Swedish news. It has fast become a daily routine in my life... I am not a morning person at all and could easily crawl back to bed and turn on the TV for a couple of more hours, but I am now grown up and knows better than doing that (yea right!)!

So, instead of getting back to bed I did "home activities", as altering a top with too long straps, folding laundry and sweep/clean up the place with the music blasting. And then I went to Karakter, which also is becoming a routine here.

Karakter is a great spot! It's on the Dutch side of this island (the island of St. Martin is divided between France and Holland) and it lays along the runway of the well known Princess Juliana Airport (SXM). The place has an old school bus as the bar, and below on the beach you have beach chairs and cushions, for free! They are playing lounge music and you eat and drink well. So while you get a tan, eat and drink or just lay in the crystal clear water which feels like a swimming pool with fish in it, you can also watch the planes (all sizes) land and take off on the runway next to you. Yes, it might sound like a crazy place, but it's awesome. I still bring my camera every time for yet another 10 pictures of airplanes. And on top of all this, the staff is great too! So no wonder i like this place! So this is exactly how I spent my afternoon! Sometimes it's hard to realize it's part of my world at the moment!

And to another subject... I have wanted a dog for years, even decades (gosh, now I feel old) but always convince myself it's not the right time. I grew up with an Irish setter named Donna (Bon Bon Irish Donna Theresa). So today I went online and looked at SPCA (American) where you can adopt pets. A place like this is where I will get my puppy from. I almost cry looking at the pictures and reading the stories of how they were found. I just want to give a dog like this, that has been abandoned and/or mistreated a second chance. I could take them all if I could. I just don't understand people that don't take care of their animals. Just look at St. Martin... There are many stray dogs here and I remember 2 which I strongly believe was siblings, hanging out at the beach by the golf course. Adorable dogs! They would come there as many people would spare a rib of their lunch or a pice of the burger they didn't finnish. Well, I will have a dog one day, and can't wait until that day comes!

That would be it for today...

Cheers my friends!

New to the blog World

I have now entered a new World... The world of blogs.

So, to start let me introduce myself really quickly.

Grew up in a small town in south Sweden, and my first trip on my own went to Toronto where I worked with horses for a year, thanks to my dad and sister. I was 17 years old and terrified! But it turned out to be a great fun. After a year a came back home and finished school.

When it was time for university my dad pushed me for the world outside Sweden (again) and I applied to Johnson & Wales University and got in. My first year at university was in Gothenburg and I stayed with my grandma. Then to finnish my studies, I had to transfer to the US and I ended up in Charleston, South Carolina. I moved there when I was 22 and I had the best, although the hardest time of my years as a "young adult". Study hard to get good grades and party hard!

I graduated in Hotel Management at JWU and got a job right after at THE hotel in Charleston, Charleston Place hotel, an Orient-Express property. I started as a front desk agent and was then promoted to Front Office Supervisor. After 3 years there, and after my work visas were up I was wondering where I would go next. I wanted to see more of the world!

I got a new job at another Orient-Express property in the Caribbean as the Front Desk Manager at La Samanna. What a beautiful place! Now, 2 years later it is time to pack those bags again towards new destination.

So, after traveling to Thailand, France and Sweden, I am now back in St. Martin on vacation for the first time! Why is it always like that?? I manage to live in beautiful places, but never get to enjoy them... But that is what I am doing right now! Enjoying my time and working on my tan!

Time to hit Karakter and the beach with my book!

Cheers my friends