1. St. Maarten “The Friendly Island” By Melissa Erdman

2. The Island’s Brief History Christopher Columbus discovered it in 1493 and named it “San Martin” after Saint Martin of Tours The island is divided into two parts: French side (‘Saint Martin’) and Dutch side (‘Sint Maarten’) The French side covers 21 miles to the North; the Dutch side covers 16 miles to the South The divide was official in 1648 and has remained the same since 85% of St. Maarten’s economy depends on tourism; the other 15% includes trade, financial services, and agriculture Its inhabitants have some of the highest incomes in the Caribbean The weather is sunny and humid all year long with average temperatures at 80 degrees Fahrenheit

3. Why St. Maarten? My family and I have spent time there every year since I was four years old I love being in warm, sunny weather I grew up in Fenwick Island, Delaware, next to the beach, so naturally I love all kinds of beaches and oceans The people who live there are friendly & generous I love to travel and visit new places, especially islands in the Caribbean The shopping is great, the nightlife is always busy, and the beaches are clean and beautiful Everytime I go, I learn something new about the island, find a new place to shop, or find a new beach to relax on

4. Making My Website… I used information I already knew about the island and its history to help with my PowerPoint presentation I used some of my own pictures and some I found online on the site Problems? –BIGGEST PROBLEM: I own a MacBook… Although I have a “dual boot” system, it is hard to switch back and forth when using my programs and the CSI software  –Finding an applet related to St. Maarten is not so easy –I wanted to put more information about the people of St. Maarten, but TIME is an issue in this presentation –Resizing images is difficult –Remembering that the display is 1024 by 768 and not the default size that laptops use –Trying to link my pages together and making the background pictures appear on the site was a big problem Overall I enjoyed the project, but it made me way too excited for my next trip to St. Maarten

5. My Website Includes… Proposal –A MS Word document explaining why I chose St. Maarten as my project topic Presentation –A MS PowerPoint presentation listing some facts about the island, why St. Maarten is important to me, and problems I encountered while making the site Tourism –A MS Excel graph displaying the rise in tourism from 2003 to 2007 Photos –A collection of photos from St. Maarten, including a video about the 2008 Heineken Regatta Weather –A “weather.com” applet that gives current conditions and the weather forecast Why Visit? –St-Maarten.com’s “10 Best Reasons to Visit” list My Recommended Itinerary –I created a sample itinerary for a typical vacation day in St. Maarten St. Maarten Links –External links to help you learn more about the island