Me, Miss America, Miss UVI

This past weekend could have been very fun, but I didn't make the most of my opportunities. On Friday a group of people went out at night, which they do most nights, and I decided to stay in. It costs at least $6 to ride two miles in a taxi ($6 is rare, normally is around $8), and I feel like thats not worth my money, so I, being an accounting major, try to limit my taxi rides as much as possible and often times that keeps me in. Normally I don't regret it, but this past Friday I did. While the group was out they met pair of guys who owned a yacht. Those guys invited them to their yacht (because if you have a yacht, you're going to make friends) and apparently everyone had a blast. I, however, was on campus not having nearly as much fun as them. Lesson learned.

I misspoke. Friday afternoon something cool did happen. Miss America 2015 came to the school and talked about domestic abuse. Originally I was just going to see what she was like and say that I've seen Miss America, but I actually got a lot out of it. I never really thought much about the topic before, so I ended up learning a lot about domestic abuse. Also, she seems like a very genuine person, and I wasn't expecting that. When it was over I got to take a picture and talk to her. And yeah, you see that, I got to one-arm side-hug her. I told her back off because I already have a girlfriend.

Sand chair

Coki Beach from the water

Saturday was great! After breakfast we caught a safari ($2 to go literally across the island, but they only run during the day) to Coki Beach. From my experiences thus far, Coki is the best beach on St. Thomas. I still haven't been to Magen's yet, which supposedly is a National Geographic top 10 beach, but I've heard from the locals that it's overrated, but I digress. Coki is on the far east end of the island, so it took about an hour to get there with all the stops the safari makes. Coki is known for it's great snorkeling, so after getting there and lathering up (and waiting the suggested 10 minutes for the sunscreen to soak in, of course) we went to check out the reef. This was the first time I got to use my new snorkel gear that I bought earlier in the week for my swimming and SCUBA classes. The water was so clear! Just look how far back you can see in the picture. For some reason there were so much more fish there too. Also, someone suggested to bring dog biscuits with you to make the fish go crazy, and it worked! It was amazing to see so clearly and to interact so closely with them. It's definitely a must if you're visiting on your own. Beyond the snorkeling, Coki has bars, restaurants, and shops all right there on the beach. I built a chair out of sand and sat on the beach for most of the day. It was perfect. I plan on going again sometime, and when I do I'll put up some good under water pics of the reef and fish.

Sunday was kind of lame. I did a lot of housekeeping stuff and stayed in. I did get quite a bit done, but it was boring. At night I tried to watch the Panthers play, but couldn't figure out a way. The cafeteria and student activities center both have TVs, but they were closed for the night. East dorm  also has a TV, but it was being hogged by residents playing video games. I tried my best to stream it online, but after 45 minutes and some very sketchy websites I just gave up. I heard we won though, so that's good. Definitely going to have to go out to watch them win the Superbowl.