These days are starting to blend together.

We had planned on yesterday being a pretty relaxing day, and for the most part, it was. Until about 4:30… but lets start at the beginning. We took our time waking up and getting ready and headed to the beach. When we got outside the hotel, Aaron was there and told us that the ship had arrived in port and you could see it if you walked down to the water! They all made bets that I would freak out when they told me, and then cry when I saw it. I freaked out yes, but did NOT cry! Hahah It’s just so surreal seeing the ship we are going to be living on! So after we saw the ship, we layed on the beach for a while, and then planned on going parasailing, but changed our minds last minute. We went to eat at this little local fast food place called Imperials (it’s the cheapest place we can find… we eat there all the time now) and then cam back and hung out here. Tram and Rolando got in at about 5, and I was so so so excited! Rolando went to his place on Paradise Island before I could “meet” him, so we took our time getting ready and then took the water taxi over. That was an awesome way to go, let me tell you! Kayla asked the driver if he wanted her to drive because he seemed a little… off (She jokes a lot) and he goes “noo baby, you are too sober to drive” We got to sit on the roof of the boat, which was so awesome! So here is the… fun part of the day. Once we got onto Paradise Island, we literally walked for about 2 hours trying to find the place that Rolando was staying. We finally found it, and he was just leaving to go somewhere with his roommate, Idin. We were so lucky to get there when we did! We hung out in their AMAZING condo for a little while, before walking back (BAD idea) to the towne to get food at imperial. By this time, there were about ten of us. All in all, we walked about 4 hours yesterday… I guess it’s good training for what’s about to come! After dinner, Tram, Rolando, and Idin and I took a cab (why we didn’t do this earlier is beyond me…) back to their condo to meet their other roommate, Francisco. When we got there, Francisco was standing outside with another SAS kid, Drew. It was very cool to meet both of them! We hung out at their place for a while, and Gina came over for a bit with her friends. Oh—somewhere in all of this, I got my hair braided on the beach (these days are starting to blend together, bare with me). My braids were really hurting my head and giving me a constant headache, so I was going to take them out, when Idin asked if he could do one. So, Idin and Francisco ended up taking all my braids out. It was actually really funny, two guys concentrating so hard on my braids.

The next day, Tram and I pretty much spent all day on Paradise Island, not even knowing where the boys were. It’s our joke, that we spend all day going back and forth between the islands. And the boys come over here to wait for us, and then we take too long so they go back and then we go over there and then we come back and so forth and so on. So yesterday, we got dunkin’ donuts because it was cheap and Tram had never been to one before! We then tried to wave a taxi down, but no one would pick us up! Normally, when you walk around the streets, taxi’s wave YOU down to ask if you need a ride, but then the one time we actually tried to do it ourselves, no one would stop! So we finally got over there, and Idin wasn’t answering my texts, so we went up to their condo and sat outside their door for a good hour. It was actually really fun. We tried to pick the lock… didn’t work. Finally they came back, and we met their 4^th roommate max, and hung out with them for the rest of the night (until my parents got here). We hung out by their amazing pool, and sat in the hottub. Well, I had my clothes on so I sat on the edge. We took a bunch of pictures, and in one of them, Francisco and Idin tried to pull my into the hottub. I went in a little bit, but caught myself! I hate being in wet clothing! My parents got here later that night, and took Rolando, Tram and I out to dinner on Paradise Island (I told you, we go back and forth so many times). After dinner, Tram and Rolando and I went back to his condo and started to watch a movie. About 30 mins into the movie, Tram told us she was going home. This is something we had been battling with her for a while, and she finally made the decision. I won’t lie, I cried. Tram and Rolando are more than just SAS friends for me, we are super super close and I can’t picture myself doing this trip without one of them. We can’t tie her down though. It’s going to be hard for a while, but I know I’ll make more amazing friends on this trip. Alright—time to explore the island! I can’t believe I’m getting onto the ship tomorrow!!

(Pictures of all of the above will be up here soon!)