[previous monthly letters: 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1]

dear Nevis,

how are you? over the previous months, i have often felt like we were in a long-distance relationship even though you are just outside my front door.

but not this month. with a car, i am seeing more of you than ever and it’s exciting to learn new things about you every day. i love seeing where some of your unnamed roads meander without meaning, like short stories made longer with the adventure of telling.

i spent part of this month with wonderful marvelous Tiffany and she introduced me to a whole new side of you that i never would have experienced on my own. just seeing you through her eyes was fascinating and enlightening. you are the kind of island that likes to stay up all night partying, but you are also the type of island that can curl up with a good book in the hammock and doze sleepily for hours on end.

i met a few more people that were born or raised here, from porters across the street to beach vendors selling strange looking pipes that sorta look like the animal they were meant to represent if you turn your head just so… i also met some of the guys from Missouri that are down here on 3 or 4 week rotations drilling into your volcanic rock looking for geothermal power. apparently, they have dug a hole as far down as Mount Nevis is high!

May is also the month that brought itty bitty attack kitty into my home. nobody believes that i will be able to eventually give up the adorable little guy to a more permanent family, but i’m prepared to prove them all wrong. oh, the lack of faith! i’m actually getting quite practiced at this love-and-let-go thing.

the weather is getting more varied. are you bracing for hurricane season? the rains seem to be coming back slowly but surely. my front lawn is dry and prickly and brown, but the shady back is tall and green. there have been a couple of mornings where i looked out the front window (and glanced at the noisily drumming roof) and have been thankful i don’t need to bring a full spare set of clothes to school. i miss my bike, but i really like staying mostly dry and not toweling off with paper products in the school bathroom.

as usual, the month positively flew by. this time last year, i was en route to Zambia. can you believe it? can you believe everything that has happened in these 12 short months?

i can hardly imagine what the next 11 will hold.

lotsa love,
`Jennifer XO