Hello all! So I completely dropped the ball this month as far as blogging goes. Once we finally got to Kwaj, I feel like we have been on the go non-stop and I haven't had a chance to blog. It also doesn't help that we have dial up internet in our houses, which means if you want any chance of being productive on the internet (read: stalking on facebook, online shopping) you have to "go into town" where there is wifi. My "in town" options for wifi are as follows:
THE BAKERY-this is nice because I can blog inside, but it also puts me within arms reach of pastries-not nice.
THE SNAKE PIT- It's as classy as it sounds. It's one of 2 bars on the island, and during the day it serves its dual purpose as internet cafe. downside-its outdoors, and I die of heat and humidity in the first 5 minutes.
THE ARC-This is a multipurpose classroom of sorts with a computer room and pool tables. Its indoors which is nice, and there is no real problem with it other than I tend to laugh out loud when I read emails and blogs, and its creepily quiet in there.
As you can see...my options are limited. Ah well, such is life. All in all, Kwaj has been great so far. Everyone here has been so welcoming, and have made sure we have everything we need. On our first night, some of our friends threw us a welcome party on the beach so we could meet everyone, and watch the famous Kwaj sunsets. It was a great way to start our adventure. Living on a tropical island definitely has its perks. I can walk out my front door, and be at the beach in 2 blocks. I am such a water baby, and I love that I can snorkel or hit the beach at a moments notice. Unfortunately, Sadie doesn't share our love for the beach. I put her paws in the water on one of our first nights here, and she froze and looked panicked until I physically had to move her out of the water. She does however like to investigate all the hermit crabs on the beach, and seems to have adjusted well to island life so far.
Kwaj really is a bit of a throw back to 50's style living. Residents don't drive, so we all commute on bicycles. My bike is bright yellow and has affectionately been dubbed "the big banana." The whole bike thing is great, minus the fact that it is the rainy season right now, and I have had many trips to the grocery store derailed by unexpected, typhoon-strength rainstorms that spring up from absolutely nowhere. The ladies here also entertain themselves with bingo nights every other Thursday. On my first trip to bingo, I had little expectations of the amount of fun I would have. I pictured a bunch of old ladies sitting around with their cards an inch from their faces trying to figure out if they, in fact, have a bingo. I was wildly off base. This is Kwaj bingo. First, its held at the Vet's Hall so you can drink while you play. Our bingo group also dresses for the occasion. I was gifted a subtle, classy silver chain with a $ sign on it, which apparently is our groups good luck necklace. So far I've been bingo-less wearing the necklace, but I look fly. There are also several Kwaj Bingo hats going around our table at any given moment. Turns out, our bingo table is "that table." While we have been known to get rowdy when anyone has 3 or more squares dotted out, the rest of the bingo crowd doesn't share our enthusiasm. We get "SSSHHHHHH'D!!!" quite often, but it doesn't keep us down long.
While I am busy with bingo, Johnathon got entered into a fishing tournament. All the ladies went down to the marina to see what the guys caught, and they came off the boat dragging there cooler, like it was sooooo heavy and filled with fish. Everyone gathered around for the big reveal AND.....goose egg. Nothing. Not even a minnow. I'm gonna go ahead and say it was a moral victory though, because nobody got seasick or sunburned. Success. Even though they didn't catch any fish, our friends Preston and Leanne had some left over from a previous catch and invited some of us over for a sushi party later in the week. After having fresh caught yellow-fin, I am completely ruined by any other kind of sushi, especially Dallas sushi. I have never had such fresh fish, and I'm sure will never be able to eat sushi state side again. We have done so much so far that I'm gonna have to split it up into many more blogs, but for now I will leave you with lots of pics of our adventure so far!
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| Us getting off the plane in Kwaj |
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| First sunset on the beach |
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| The Texas group enjoying the sunset |
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| playing in the water |
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| This doesn't even do it justice |
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| View of the sunset from Emon Beach |
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| Gorgeous |
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| Home sweet home...we're the one with the broccoli spear in front of it :) |
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| View down our street |
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| View from Johnathon's commute to work |
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| View of the neighborhood |
