I mean, we're definitely not the least social people on the island, and we do enjoy talking to others, but you know. The only way I can think to describe it is that we're introverted, but not shy. As much as we enjoy the occasional social interaction, too much of it leaves us feeling a bit tired.
Something we've learned since being here is that we tend to make friends with similar couples: introverted, but not shy. When we have dinner with our loud friends, we appreciate that they're all funny and we don't have to talk much, but we always go home feeling slightly stressed out. When we have dinner with our introverted-but-not-shy friends, we find ourselves more at ease, talking and laughing about our shared love for developing our hobbies and experiencing wide open spaces. So maybe it's not that we're unsocial. Maybe we're just picky.
Just about every time I go to an activity here, someone will comment to me, "How are you? I haven't seen you in ages!" I smile and say something like, "Yup--been real busy with work lately! I've kind of had to lock myself away." And that's not untrue, but it would be more honest of me to say, "Yup--hung out with people twice in one day three weeks ago, so I just finished regenerating and now here I am." It's not that extreme--I try to get out with others at least once a week (which is a minor amount compared to what the other wives do)--but you get the picture.
Jared and I both enjoy going to the SO socials. There's always food and something fun to do (swimming, tubing in the ocean...). Most of our friends show up, and oftentimes we meet new couples and enjoy chatting with them. I love the casual vibe of being able to eat and catch up with friends, and then go home whenever we've had our fill of it all. Saturday was the end-of-term social at the University Club pool. The SO board splurged for us (because the midterm social was canceled due to all sorts of drama--it amazes me how quickly adults turn into middle schoolers when too many of them are together for too long with too much free time), so the food was really fantastic. I wasn't big on the tofu skewers, but the fish and chicken were to die for.
As much as I value my alone time, I'm really glad that there's such a great support system here of hundreds of ladies who are in exactly the life position I'm in and know exactly what I'm going through. That situation is incredibly unique and would make a fantastic reality tv show (Lives of Caribbean Med Students' Wives). And with that, I'm going to drag myself over to pool day. Jared's home all week studying for his upcoming finals, so I don't have to stay here with the cleaning lady this morning. Party time.
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