The cemetaries have to be above ground? Why? That's pathetic. I guess you can't have a subway system even if you wanted one. There's trouble with the land. I hope you have good hurricane insurance.

"natives"?!?!?! Wow, talk about ignorance! LOL

You must have been vacationing on SXM for many many years to be SO knowledgeable on the island.

Honey, I don't know how old you are, but you need a little wordly education.
Step out of your Cancun Holiday Inn box and open yourself to the differences in the world and embrace and love the fact that there ARE differences. You don't have to like how the entire world chooses to live their lives, but you should respect their right to do so. Just because YOU don't like the way people are living does not mean that they don't.

peace

I suppose they love the disorganization and the yearly threat of hurricane. The game of Caribbean "house of cards" can be very exciting. It gives the opportunity to rebuild and start all over again.

Like I stated earlier...I think Lucy has had one to many tokes off the ole crack pipe!

You probably need to be in an altered state to accept the shortcomings of St. Maarten.

You may be on to something, Mrs. Craft!!

I don't smoke or do any drugs. I don't really drink, either. Continue in your unconditional love of St. Maarten/St. Martin. The island needs your support.

Lucy, the cemetaries are above ground because of the water table. Some areas on the island are actually BELOW sea level! Did you know that our own New Orleans is BELOW sea level and that their cemetaries are above ground as well? And this is in the good 'ole US of A, where we have all the modern conveniences and technology. You can't bury people in earth like that.....if it floods they rise out of the ground. How is going to a nightclub on SXM any different than going to one in the states? You need a car, a friend with a car, call a cab or take a bus here just like in SXM.......

Oh and most of us here in the US risk the annual threat of tornados, the way people in the Caribbean risk the threat of hurricanes (not to mention our entire East Coast and Gulf Coast also risk annual hurricanes.) Oh, and on Labor Day, my town received nearly 10 inches of rain fall in ONE day!, Yes, I said 10 inches! We were flooded for days....imagine my shock and horror when I realized I was living in a sad, undeveloped country because we don't have a way to deal with flooding after a heavy rain.......I mean, we didnt' even have a hurricane and we flooded.....how sad, like you said above.

Also, you mentioned above someone's "one-sided and unbiased support..." Well, which is it? One-sided or unbiased? Can't be both, because they are opposites.....what grade are you in? Isn't it time for SpongeBob Squarepants to be on? We don't want to keep you.........

I understand your concerns about your town and you have my sympathy. I would not pay airfare, however, to experience the same kind of flooding I get at home.

The person's one-sided support of St. Maarten/St. Martin was unbiased in the person's rose-colored world. Nothing hurts and nothing matters. Anything can happen and the world is still wonderful because there is so much ignorance that nothing can change that person's mind. It's like a Samurai soldier willing to kill himself for honor no matter what. It's also too rigid and very unyielding. This is blind devotion that is unbiased, unthinking, and uncompromising.

What sets apart many US cities from St. Maarten/St. Martin is that they do have buses and subways that run 24 hours a day. These cities have mass transportation set up by the city. The buses on St. Maarten/St. Martin are privately owned. You wouldn't know who to complain to if the bus driver did something to you. There are complaint hotllines for city buses. You can also get the number of the bus driver.

DUHHHHHHHHHHH Lucy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

St. Maarten is NOT the good OL' U.S.A. !!!

It's a multi-national foreign country, who could care less about your gripes about transportation, rental cars, or your other innuendos about "subways" and the like.

If you want Coney Island, we'll be glad to give you directions.....

We go there because there aren't subways, ferris wheels, and all the other "stuff" that some Americans take for granted. If we should have to actually WALK somewhere some day while there.....we can do that. Never has happened, cause we know so many friends on the Island, we always get picked up.

You sound like a faux pa camper. If you can't have your cable tv, air conditioning, microwave, cell phone, and fresh pressed sheets every day......then you won't go camping.

Save some money......buy some pop-right popcorn, a 2-liter bottle of COKE, turn on the TV, and watch the Outdoor Life Channel or ESPN 2. They have some fine shows about places.

DONT STOP THE CARNIVAL !!!!
KIPP n SLIPP

How do you think you can speak for the entire island of St. Maarten/St. Martin? Just because you don't care doesn't mean nobody else does. Did you go survey the entire island? You don't want improvements because you enjoy simplicity. How do you know the islanders don't wish for better transportation? Don't you think they want to be able to stay after midnight to listen to the end of a Reggae concert? You don't stay on the island long enough if you are a tourist to feel the need for more affordable milk. How do the residents go on to get a Bachelor's degree if the main college on the Dutch side only offers Associate's degrees?
You don't care because you come to the island to vacation and then you pack up and leave.

Lucy -

I am so happy you have such concern for all the people in SXM - who are obviously living in such deplorable conditions that their lives and future are in perile. I am so glad that you are in the position to speak on behalf of every single one of them. In your many, many, many, many, many, many trips to SXM (I forgot - how many has it been?) you have obviously learned so much about these "natives".

I cannot believe in my 25+ years of having a home there that I have not opened my eyes to all these horrible things. I cannot believe that I have been walking around the area near my home and driving to explore the island. Shame on me for not demanding a subway to take me from Maho to Philipsburg to Marigot - that's brilliant! And living on the beach, I cannot believe I am so stupid. I will immediately start working on a 20 foot steel/concrete wall to surround the property so as not to have my house of cards fall in the ocean during all those stupid hurricanes.

Thanks so much for opening my eyes. Rock on Lucy! Next we have to work on getting those stupid English to drive on the right (correct) side of the road... and those French? get them to speak English for heaven's sake! Bien sur!

Lucy for Governor of California!!!!

peace


p.s. When I was in Cancun a taxi driver did not take me to my desired destination but instead continued driving to who knows where. I had to jump out when he slowed down to stop at an intersection. True story.

I've rented a car on past trips to SXM. I was staying at the Belair but missed my other timeshare at the Royal Palm. On my way to an Owner's party at Royal Palm, I stopped at the small Texaco gas station on Airport Rd. The gas attendant started talking to me and asked me about the US. He said that he really wanted to get a college education and is thinking about applying for a Visa to study in the US. He thinks that he is going to wait a long time and would I be interested in marrying him? I listened to him tell about how difficult it is to get a college education in St. Maarten and how unlikely it is for someone there to have a different future if they stayed on the island and how many people are trying to get out. I told him I couldn't marry him but spent half-an-hour listening to him.

At the party, the host asked if anyone had spoken to any of the natives about their way of life on St. Maarten and nobody raised their hand. They were all tourists and were only there for the week or two. The host offered a prize for the best story but scrapped the whole thing when nobody responded. Was I the only person who could've done something? They just went on to party the rest of the night.

Lucy,

I have been going to SXM on vacation for over 15 years. I have met and remain friends with many people who live there. There is no place in the world that is perfect in any sense of the word. One of my friends has built his own house on a hill on his family's property. He works as a chef in one of the premier hotels on the French side. We see him every year. He talks about his life on SXM and, while it is not perfect, he gets to enjoy the sun, sea, and peace of this beautiful island. Since they do have airplanes that leave SXM, many people do. I know some who come to New York on a regular basis.

SXM is an island in the caribbean. There is only so much that the infrastructure can accomodate. SXM has grown in many aspects and remains the same in many others. That is the way it is. If you have a purpose with these posts, state it. What do you propose to do? Trust me, you are not the only tourist who speaks with SXM people. Just like anywhere else, there are those who have done well for themselves. I know some of them personally. You can't judge a society by talking to one person working in a gas station, not there or here in the US.

Lucy: I asked:

P.S. Have you been posting on orientbeach.com, accusing someone of trying to force you to have lemonade and leaving you stranded somewhere?

You replied:

 Re: night life/getting around
Author: Lucy (---.ny325.east.verizon.net)
Date:   09-20-03 12:07

You probably posted about the lemonade yourself. I was never left stranded by anyone.

I did not mean to insult you. I read some posts on orientbeach.com by someone named Lucy, who was, understandably, very upset and angry at a driver who apparently demanded lemonade under the threat of leaving her stranded, and I wondered if you were the same person. Such an experience would certainly effect one's views about the state of public transportation on the Dutch side and French side of the island, so I wanted to understand where you were coming from. I admit that I haven't spoken with folks on the island about the transportation situation--when I chatted with folks in the van, I asked them about other things.

I have spoken with a number of residents who are saddened by the fact that their children will have to leave the island if they want to pursue higher education (one of those was the driver of the taxi that took us to the airport). That is the situation on a number of the islands in the Caribbean basin. Many others choose or feel compelled to move to other countries, such as the United States, to pursue employment and other opportunities. The economics of the times dictate what local residents have to make hard decisions that I wouldn't wish to have to make.

The information I know about the hospital situation and health insurance on the Dutch side comes from The Daily Herald, not personal experience.

I am shy about talking about politics and religion with people I don't know well, so I don't usually start those conversations with people I meet on the island. Maybe some time in the future...