Time flies here and it's really hard to keep track of it. It's both wonderful and terrible at the same time.

So last week, I was going to go on a hike, but they told me that the trail I wanted to use was closed (I found out later that it wasn't - meh) so I spent the weekend at the beach snorkeling. I found so much cool stuff; one of my friends bought me an underwater disposable camera, so lots of stuff is already on it. One thing I couldn't get was the octopus that I saw. Octopi (?) can camoflauge themselves with their surroundings, and its impossible to tell them from anything else. I saw his little suction cups, so I knew what he was, but after he stuck his head out, it was impossible to tell him from the coral he was hanging out in. Anyways, it was really cool. The second day I went alone, so I could just go and snorkel wherever I wanted to without having to worry about someone else, and I saw this family of fish (there were two bigger fish and about 5 or 6 tiny, tiny fish hanging out in this coral thingy). It was so cool to think that something about the size of a grain of sand is not only living, but has organs and organ systems and all that jazz. So cool!!!

Last week was rough because I had more classes than I usually do (I still didn't have nearly as many I would have if I was home, but you know). So nothing really happened during the week...

But this past weekend, we (me and david and melina) tried to hike to this wonderful view point called 'La Roche Ecrite.' All was going well at first (we got lost a couple of times, but what else is new?), and even though we couldn't see the big views because of the clouds, there was plenty to look at right next to us. The trail was beautiful red mud at times, and reminded me a lot of home. When it was cut out of the mountain instead of placed on a ridge, the walls were dressed in moss and tiny little plants, ressembling a miniature mountain range with miniature trees. Spiders made their homes there as well; big, shiny spiders, black like the aliens in "Aliens." And the whole time, the Tuit tuit, a native to Reunion, flitted past and around us and filled the air with its songs. Enormous fallen trees told us that the polluting noise of a chainsaw had never reached these glades, and it sat well with me.
Sadly, the poetic qualities of the day were spoiled in the night, when a steady rain, along with a 40-50 mph wind kicked up and absolutely soaked us because the tent we had wasn't actually waterproof. Of course, taking the tent down was the worst of it all, but it wasn't so bad, because the gite sells hot chocolate! I think I'm beginning to get spoiled, because at the end of every day, you don't find a cozy little shelter in a clearing with a picnic table, you find a mini hotel, complete with a restaurant, cabins and everything else you could possibly need (usually including a wonderful house 'rhum arrangé'). So maybe I ought to not get used to that. :)
Anyways, the next day was magnificent, despite its beginning, where I fell down because I was so numbed by the cold and I forgot to put in my contacts, (Plus I wanted hot chocolate) and the fact that we decided not to go to the actual view point because we were sure that we wouldn't want to walk that far on the trail the way it was (it would've added another 8 Km). But as we descended, the sky cleared up, and we got our first view of the ocean from the mountains. It's big. Also, where we had camped the night before is called La Plaine de Chicots, but its not really a plain like we know, its more of a bunch of rolling hills, a place where people can live. So we had these gorgeous rolling hills spilling out before us and in the distance, razor-sharp ridges and immediately afterwards, the sea. It was stunning. So stunning that I'm glad we didn't have it for two days straight, because I would not have paid attention to the small stuff the first day. So that was cool.
Speaking of the geography of Reunion, I found out that this island is not like Hawaii (I think) and its not simply a hot spot. The lava underneath the earth forced it upwards, and thats why you can find the kind of geological formations that you do here, because the island is not only composed of new igneous rock, but also ancient ocean crust that had been forced upwards into the air. After that, there were all kinds of fissures and seams that split up the bed rock and caused it to slide all around on it self, and there were other smaller volcanoes that helped too, and its very, very complicated and very, very cool. For those of you who know him, tell Dr. J that I'm thankful that I had his course right before being here because I remember more about rocks and can understand more here. :)
So right now, life is good, and I'm actually beginning to really, really enjoy life here. Plus I'm becoming a pretty good cook!

I love you guys!