Foreign country

I'm having a hard time getting my mind around the fact that we live in a foreign country. Foreign country means different music, different flag, different social etiquette, different language (sort of), different currency, different driving style and on and on.

Everyday I'm reminded of how it is different here starting with my Internet which does not work all the time. This is frustrating and hampering my bloggging. I don't know if it is because of the school or because of the service in this country but I have to assume they are related. Our Internet in our room does not work consistently. Very annoying.

Next there is the little thing of service in general. Waiting here is a national pasttime. I can think of some type A friends who would absolutely want to kill themselves living here. You have to be very, very patient. All the school events this week have involved waiting in long lines, disorganization, and getting started about an hour and a half late. This is just how it works here. We have to remind ourselves, this isn't bad it's just different. It is a different way of living. So, we wait. A lot.

The language here. I cannot understand a word they are saying. And they are supposed to be speaking English. Actually, when Caribbean people talk to each other I cannot understand a word they are saying. When they talk to me I can tell they are making an effort to slow it down. And I'm still barely getting it. And by the way, people really do say "yeah, mon" all the time.

Honking is a whole different thing here. It is a very expressive gesture and drivers honk not just to say "move over" or "go" but to say "hi" and "how are you" and "good to see you." They tap on their horn lightly all the time as a friendly statement.

The roads are really small two lane or even one lane. And they drive on the left side. And all the buses are standard transmission but they start out in second gear which I cannot understand. Andy they are really aggressive, fast drivers which seems to be the only area of their lives where fast and aggressive happens.

In this country you can really live off the land. One of the Caribbean students told us that in the summer they fish and go into the forest and pick fruit and basically survive on the food available. It seems a lot of people survive that way. There is something attractive about the sustainability of living here. That's always been my issue with Las Vegas - people cannot naturally survive in the desert. It would make me nervous as hell to live in Vegas.

On another note, C.J. starts school today. He just left for class. I'm anxious to hear what happened on his first day. Let the studying marathon begin.