Hello or as they say in St. Thomas: Good Night,
I am not sure that all of you are interested in updates and I don't want to spam you too much. So, feel free to let me know if you prefer not to receive constant emails from me.
We are doing really well here now. The first week was a bit crazy getting the shipping and settling in. This week I have been sick but feeling a bit better today. Steven has been able to leave work a bit early every day to help out. And today he went in late.
This morning we took our first public transportation trip. It was great fun. They have pick up trucks with benches in the back and a roof and side rails. It stays cool while driving due to having no doors or windows:) This is actually privately run transportation. The actual buses are sporadic and unreliable. The Safari is what we took and it only cost a dollar each way. We found a great health food store which will meet most of our needs. Thank you Whole Foods for breaking us in with your insanely high prices. The deli at this health food store was cheap in comparison. The products there were not. But we can get our needs met. They were also very nice even with all the noise our kids seem to make that locals kids don't.
We found a great coffee shop. My first coffee since we left the atlanta airport over a week ago. There is no Starbucks here:) It is called Barefoot Buddha. Great coffee and great food. Like everything here that is not locally grown it was insanely expensive. I think coffee will be a monthly treat on the island.
We have made our own cat litter. And the only part we paid for was the litter box and baking soda. It is a mix of sand (which there is plenty of on the island), soil and baking soda. You can add lemon peels or other citrus for scent. But we really don't need that here.
Interesting story. The first week here Steven told us about these huge bird eggs all over campus. He was wondering why they were just left there and which bird was laying them. They are basically the size of an ostrich egg. I suggested we get one and crack it open. Well today we went for a walk on campus. And Steven pointed out the eggs. Which happen to be laying right under the mango tree. Silly Steven these were rotten mangoes not eggs.
This weekend we are headed to a place called Family Connection. I think it is a library for homeschoolers or something. They are having a book giveaway and the homeschoolers here are having a bake sale. We will finally have a great opportunity to meet some of the local community with kids that stay at home. Also one of the local cell phone companies that just opened up will be doing fire works for free with live music. And on Sunday a neighbor/new faculty member will drive us all to a local farmers market on the west side of the island. It is the Rasta market so lots of good vegan soups and other items to be had.
I haven't taken pictures yet but I am going to try and link to Kate's facebook page for the pictures she took during her visit last week. Which was a huge help. Thanks Kate for all the food made and served, dishes done, child care help and just plain old having a friend around.
If you want more information or would like to come visit feel free to let us know. We have a couch available. We do ask that you bring us a suitcase full of toilet paper and other luxuries that are very dear here to buy.
Lastly, it is great for me to hear from you. I love waking up in the morning and having friendly emails to read when I start my day. Right now phone calls are really hard to take. My cell phone doesn't work here and seldom gets reception. The home phone works but it hung up on Holly last night. Sorry about that!!!
Much love to you all,
Shana
No comments:
Post a Comment