Quick Update

Hey All,

So quick update of some interesting things that happened recently.

1) I forgot to mention this the other day, but yesterday I saw my first Barbadian green monkeys.  I was walking up to my apartment and I saw these odd looking creatures with long tails running down the street away from me.   At first I didn't know what they were, but then I realized they must be a bunch of Barbadian green monkeys up to no good.  I believe they had been exploring the trash offerings of a couple of my neighbors.

2) Also, on Tuesday I tried the campus cafeteria for the first time.  I had roasted chicken with Marconi pie (Barbadian form of Mac & Cheese) and steamed carrots.  For a little over $10 bds it was a pretty decent meal.  That said, it wasn't good enough to get me to walk up the hill every day for lunch once I stop having my 9-1 class on the main campus.  But it is nice knowing that there is a decent and inexpensive food source nearby if I should ever need it.

3) Today in my Globalization & Global Governance class we watched a documentary called "Life and Debt" which is about the impact the IMF's structural adjustment loans had on Jamaica after they were implemented in 1977.  It was a really depressing film, but one that I think everyone should see.  It's available on Amazon for those of you that are interested.  (http://www.amazon.com/Life-Debt-Belinda-Becker/dp/B00008NNPK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1284580622&sr=8-1). 

4) I just got back from a lecture at UWI where the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs responsible for the Americas spoke about Canada's foreign policy initiatives and interests in the region.  It was an interesting presentation and there is clearly a lot that Canada can do to help the region.  Right now Caribbean-Canada relations are a hot topic in Barbados because CARICOM and Canada are in the beginning stages of negotiating a new free trade agreement.  Normally this would be cause for excitement, but the Caribbean is having buyer's remorse about signing the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the EU, and under WTO rules, countries cannot offer preferential trade terms to one country (or set of countries) and then not offer the same terms to another country.  Doing so would open the discriminating countries up to punitive tariffs and quotas.  So, in short, Canada expects the same treatment from CARICOM that CARICOM decided to give to the EU in the EPA, but CARICOM is realizing that its decision to sign the EPA was a mistake and is trying to avoid replicating its terms in another negotiation.  Its a very interesting topic and there will be more to come on this for sure.

Anyway thats all for now.  I have to go make a veeery belated dinner and get ready for a marathon day tomorrow; I am going to have class from 9am-1pm, 2-5, and 5:30-8.  It's going to be brutal, but thankfully this is a one-time occasion.  Also, it will give me the knowledge I need to make a decision, finally, about how many classes I want to take this semester!

See you tomorrow!