Last month WEEKender published an article, “A typical day for an AUC student” which was modified from a blog. The blog post was written about Ben Johnson who is studying at American University of the Caribbean (AUC) to become a medical doctor. The blog writer is his wife Breanna.
Breanna’s blog “3rdculturewife, Adventures at Home and Abroad” is a well-written and colourful window on St. Maarten life. Both inspiring and funny, it’s certainly worth checking out. Having her writing published in a newspaper was quite a thrill for the young American: “That is the first time I’ve had something published!” she enthused. Well, now she can say it’s the second time, because here is the follow-up post, which she again has offered to our WEEKender readers. Enjoy.
After my last post, “A typical day for an AUC student,” I was encouraged to tell about my own typical day. This is a little harder than sharing a typical day for Ben, mostly because my days are never the same!
Here’s what my day looked like yesterday: We woke up at 6:30, a little later than usual, because we had a late Skype call the night before. I made stove-top toast for breakfast, and Ben left for class at 7:20.
I organized my laundry and took it to AUC’s dormitory laundry room. Our apartment’s washer and dryer don’t work well, so I always do laundry at school. One of the washers had leaked, so an AUC employee was mopping the floor. I stopped to chat with her for a while. While waiting for my laundry, I studied Swahili from a textbook I got a couple years ago in Kenya.
At 8:15, I met a couple friends – other spouses – near AUC and went on a three-mile run with them. The air was humid and warm, so two of us decided to walk to the beach after our run to cool off. My friend brought her dog with us, and it was hilarious to watch her play in the surf!
Around 11:00, I went home and made lunch. I try to have it ready for Ben when he walks in the door. Today we had leftovers from a school-catered lunch we had on Monday.
After eating, the two of us spent a little time together. Then Ben studied his vital signs checklist while I cleaned up after lunch, blogged, and read my Bible.
At two, a friend picked me up and we drove halfway across the island to the Little League baseball field. We parked behind the field next to three containers. These containers look rather unassuming from the outside, but inside, they are filled with all the wonderful things we loved in our childhoods – a labelled shell collection, a train track running along the ceiling, a remote-control robot, science projects, books, a rock tumbler, and so much more!
The Little League coach has set up a player development and tutoring program for some of the island kids. Some of the AUC spouses come to tutor the kids and play ball with them. While we were there yesterday, I got to work on reading with three or four kids, play catch with two little girls, and do warm-up exercises with the boys.
We left around 4:30 and headed back to our homes in Cupecoy. I went shopping at the Asian market next to our complex and started a dinner of beans and rice. While everything cooked, I answered emails for my freelance art job. I design T-shirts and other things on request.
At 6:30, Ben and his friend Matt arrived for dinner. At 7:05, I ran out the door, a little late for my Zumba class. I go to a free Zumba session twice a week at AUC’s gym. The class ended at 8:00, and I had a little time to talk with friends before going to band practice.
At 9:00, I arrived at worship band practice. I’m singing and playing in our church’s worship band on Sundays. Next week, I’ll be singing back-up and playing the drum. Some weeks, I’ll be helping out by playing guitar or piano as needed. Practice went late, so it was almost 10:30 before I got home. Ben and I were both exhausted! We talked for a bit, set the alarm, and fell fast asleep.
WEEKender note: As you can see, this may be one of Breanna’s typical days, but she is clearly not a typical person. Her energy and enthusiasm are an inspiration to many. The contributions the AUC faculty, staff and students make to our community should not be overlooked.
