January

January started off amazingly!

Spent New Year's Eve with Amy and Nicole! Girl talk, "Love Actually" and mimosas! I miss you guys!

Chris came back! Picked him up at PBIA and was jumping around like a fool when I saw him! He acted like he didn't know me, which was funny because I'm ready to jump on him and he's looking around like, "Who is this crazy person. I don't know her". I still get all nervous when I see him! Butterflies in my tummy! It's the best feeling!

Within the first week of being on Dominica, he learned what he couldn't get on the island. And he realized that the prices of the things he could buy were astronomical. From August to December, he made me keep a list of all the things he misses from the States and all the things he wants to bring back with him in January. Thus, the first three days he was here, we were shopping. We went to Target, Walmart, Office Max, Publix, BJ's, Whole Foods, Home Goods, and this little Asian market on Lantana. We also went to the Gardens so he could visit Urban Outfitters and H&M.

In all, he spent nearly $2,000 on food, shower stuff, school supplies, toilet paper, new clothes, vitamins, work-out protein, and other random stuff. (Luckily he has a housekeeper who cleans his apartment and does his laundry, so he didn't have to buy detergent and cleaning supplies.) Since this was going to be the last time he'll be in the states until December, he needed to buy everything to last a year.

On Tuesday, we drove down to Miami to the shipping place. We had to take my mom's SUV because there was no way all of his stuff was going to fit in my car. My little car just barely fit all the food he got from BJ's alone! He was able to fit all his stuff in four shipping barrels, which was a miracle!

We didn't do anything large-scale when he was here. We talked about going to Disney or St. Augustine or Gainesville, but we ended up staying in Wellington. That was fine with us because we had things we needed to do. The shopping was extremely important, as was spending time with family and friends.

Chris's aunt, uncle and cousins live in Tequesta, so we had dinner with them one night. His grandparents came over, and Chris's sister Caiti and her boyfriend were in FL for a mini Christmas vacation, so they were at dinner too! It was such a fun night! Chris's little old granddad was drunk. His grandma speaks broken English so talking to her was an adventure. Two-year old Kiera was this ball of energy who wouldn't sit still. Baby cousin Lily is only a couple months old so she was this little sleepy mushball. Seeing Chris hold Lily and jump around the house with Kiera on his shoulders made me excited for the future when Chris and I could have a family of our own. During the car ride home, we talked about kids and how Chris wants to name his first son "Christopher Michael Shu the Second", and name his second son "Christopher Michael Shu the Third". Oh goodness! I told him there's only enough space in this world for one ChrisMike Shu... we don't need 2 more!

Chris thinks the next time he'll be back in the States is December, when his schooling is done. Ross University has an accelerated program, meaning no spring break or summer vacation. It was because of all the religious holidays in December that he was able to have such a long break this time. Without time off, he can't come back. It absolutely sucked having to drive him to the airport. When he first left in August, I knew he would be back in four months. This time, it is going to be a whole year. I cried really bad in the airport. I was fine during the drive to Ft. Lauderdale. I was fine while we checked his bags. I was fine sitting, waiting for the right time for him to go. But once we knew it was time for him to go, I couldn't hold it in anymore. I cried. Hard. I made Chris cry because I was so heartbroken. I don't remember driving home because I was just numb.

We're trying to figure out if I can visit. He gets a couple days off between semesters, and he would like it if I came during that period, that way he can take me places without having to worry about studying and class. As of rght now, it's either going to be April or August. I'm hoping April!