Blog: The First

For Christmas, my mother gave me a beautiful, leather-bound journal, and I promised to write in it diligently. I'd journaled all through high school (and loved every written word), but then sort of fell of in college. I got sucked into the livejournal craze, but ended up using that for some manipulative, semi-backhanded sniping, and I'd prefer to not return to that. Thus, I'm stealing a friend's excellent idea and finally setting up a blog, where I can kill many birds with, perhaps, slightly fewer stones. I can journal and keep my experiences straight, while still letting the folks back home know that I'm safe and sound. Here is the e-mail I sent my mother:

"Hey Momma! I'm here on the island and have finally gotten almost everything set up and squared away. On the first day we got here, Nicole and I just relaxed and checked into our rooms. Then, on the net day, we went and took a bus (price: 1$ EC) to the next town (to a shop called Grand Bazaar) to buy transformers, since most of the island is on 220v current, and all of my stuff is on 110v. Shortly after getting the transformers back to the rooms and plugged into the wall, I promptly shorted out my surge protector - and with it, the lights. I should have known better, because we did the exact same thing to Nicole's earlier, but I figured it was worth a shot. That was Saturday evening, but I didn't get my lights back on until Sunday afternoon, when I caugh the attention of a maintenance man. Later on that day, Nicole and I stopped in Tina's grocery store for some provisions (read: peanut butter, jelly, pita bread, toilet paper - etc.), and then walked around to James' Store to get a surge protector for her. After that, we went out to Perky's pizza, and downed a whole large pepperoni between the two of us (we figured we'd get business taken care of before eating). Then, we went back to the PBH bar for a few rum punches, and walked down the beach to socialize a bit at the Ross bonfire.

Yesterday, we didnt' do too much; we took in our laptops to be reconfigured to the school's network, and took a tour of campus. Since it was Sunday, most places were closed, but we found one little roadside shack that was open. Miss Dees (her real nme is Dawn) sold us some grapefruit, pineapple, and, since Nicole wanted one, a basket. I figured that the fruit was a good idea, since we'd been subsisting on Nice Biscuits - which were something like $4.00 USD for twelve packs of twelve. Nicole and I sat on her balcony eating our fruit salad and enjoying the sound of surf. It's interesting here - all of the electricity is prepaid, so we're going to have to be very careful with how we use our AC. That is, perhaps, the reason that I sit here at Ross' upper deck, overlooking the sea as I write to you, instead of back in my room (Portsmouth Beach Hotel 395). The cell phones, of course, don't work this far out of the coverage range, and though Nicole and I had purchased international phone cards, this little country doesn't accept them. At all. So, today, after spending two hours in line to open up our bank accounts (read: Farley's Offshore Bank Account), we went and purchased island cell phones. They're little nokias, and the rates are somewhat agreeable, but it'll be better if y'all call me (1-767-295-1221).

There's been a lot of walking, and I'm sure there are some things I've negleted to mention - like how at home I am here on the island, but overall, I'm really enjoying it. I knew coming in that things were going to be very different here; island time applies everywhere. No matter where we go, it seems like we wait twice as long, but you know what? That's ok with me - I don't really have anywhere to be. And since I've got that island blood flowing through my veins, the locals seem to be a bit nicer to me than everyone else around me. I'm sure that's going to come in handy, because I'm sure I'm going to have a lot more questions and concerns, and I'll appreciate all the help I can get. Orientation starts at 6 today, and we'll get down to business. I love you all very much - give dad, Stef, Bug Bug, and Grandma Cissy my love. "

Rest assured, I've got much more to write, as well as some backtracking to do. For example, Nicole came down and spent New Year's with my family, and got to experience the Neasman's Fireworks Extravaganza (as well as Mexico), and I'm probably going to want to record my experiences with Tropical Shipping in Medley Florida. Sooner or later, I'm going to have somthing to bitch about, and I'm glad that I now have an audience.