Wow, its insane to think that we have been in Martinique for a over a week! There have been so many new and exciting experiences :) Last Friday we visited a mangrove near Trois Ilets, a town just south of Fort de France. The kayaking was great! We had a guide who explained all about the different ecosystems within the mangrove and told us about the various trees and their flowers. The river we kayaked on was a mixture of both salt and fresh water and had TONS of little, yellow crabs everywhere! They were cool at first but got kinda creepy towards the end, but maybe thats because Hailey and I kept running into the trees they were crawling on. The weather wasnt the best for kayaking but the pouring rain made for a more intense kayaking experience. By the end of the trip we were all soaked and had exhausted fore arms but it was definitely worth it! After we finished kayaking we headed to yet another beach! :) We had a small picnic in the sand and a couple of us went for a swim. Mary, Katie, and I got intouch with the child inside of us and built a sand castle! After about an hour on the beach we headed back to the University. It was pretty early yet in the afternoon though so we decided to walk around and explore the town of Scheolcher. Unfortunately we found that much of the town's shops and restaurants were closed, however we did find a crèperie! A couple of us enjoyed honey crèpes with lemon juice and others some fresh sorbet!
     The weekend was spent with our host families. Some of us explored the southern part of Martinique while others enjoyed family feasts! I spent the weekend at my family's beach house in le Diamant. The beach there had black sand and the waves were HUGE which made the swimming more fun.
      The beaches and sunshine are a definite bonus to the experience here in Martinique but I think the best part has definitely been the complete immersion in French. I can already tell an improvement in both my speaking and understanding, and its only been a week! Everyone here is very patient as well, which is great when you're a beginner :)

This week we have dance lessons, a hike, and of course the beach to look forward to!

 Hailey and I!

 Kaylena and Katie!

 Mary was brave enough to pick up a crab!

Au revoir!
Nellie