Quotables

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we do apologize for the delay. Upon leaving Miami airport we were informed that the St. Martin airport was out of jet fuel, therefore we had to return to Miami to add enough jet fuel for this return trip to the States. We do appreciate your patience."

"Only in St. Martin" became a familiar refrain whilst living on that beautiful rock. But alas, today's post is not about flying, but indeed about something I am thankful for, especially after experiencing two years of "Only in St. Martin's". Today's post is about energy and I recognize the moment I publish this post, something will happen. After all, not even America is perfect when it comes to keeping the electricity on - there are blips. But a BLIP is much different (and more acceptable) than a big friggin' smudge that never goes away!

There is a country song that says "No shoes, no shirt, no problem" - in reference, actually, to life on an island. That said, I finished my time on the island in April. Since April, I have lived in the comfort of America again. And since that time, I have never once approached a light switch with trepidation that it would flip up but cause no lights to turn on. I no longer poop in the restroom with fear that I will have to put a sign on the door that warns Nareg (my roommate on the island) not to enter the bathroom because, "Surprise!! The water is out...AGAIN!" And yes, it stopped being a "surprise!" to us around the 1,329th time water was cut.

See, when you visit the island as a tourist, you stay in the comfort of some resort that has generators and water tanks that clean the water and ensure that you never once experience an outage of water or power. For the rest of us yeomen who actually have to live on the island longer than a week, we are exposed to the lack of infrastructure planning that has resulted in an explosion of new high rise buildings without adequate build-up in water and electricity resources. The result: our last few semesters we experienced almost DAILY power outages and water stoppages. Indeed, some days were a double whammy: no lights, no water. What can you do? Smile, say no problem, and just keep trying to study with whatever power is left in your laptop battery.

Therefore, this Holiday season, I give much thanks to a power grid in the US that, while not flawless, provides bountiful electricity. And I give thanks for bountiful safe water resources, regardless of whatever it tastes like. I may no longer live by the ocean, but nothing beats knowing that a nice hot shower awaits you after a long, hard day.