It began with two American high school teachers wanting to spend the summer in France.  My wife, who teaches French, began applying for seasonal jobs in Paris.  On a whim, we looked to see if there were any openings in the French Caribbean territory of Martinique.  Although no openings were posted, she wrote to the head of the University of the Antilles.  To our surprise she was offered a year-long position with the university.

We joked about how great it would be to press the pause button on our lives and spend the next year in the tropics.  Somewhere along the way, the jokes turned into actual considerations.  And by the end of the school year, we both found ourselves in the offices of our respective school principals, asking if we could take a year’s leave of absence to experience island life.

And so here we are, watching the sunset over the Caribbean each night after she teaches her English classes and I take people on adventures to the places that have made us fall in love with our temporary Caribbean home.