More from our newly minted island girl:

Paradise:

Date: 12th century

1 a : Eden 2 b : an intermediate place or state where the souls of the righteous await resurrection and the final judgment c : heaven 2 : a place or state of bliss, felicity, or delight

We anticipated high emotional points and low emotion points in our journey but I am not sure if Steve and I expected so many so quickly. I decided if we are actually going to write this blog, then we have to be truthful and not pretend for the sake of PARADISE that emotions don't get the best of you. 

So saying that - prepare yourself for this roller coaster ride in Paradise! 

The employment situation I thought that I was walking into didn't turn out to be exactly what I was expecting it to be. Some miscommunication, some changes in policy, and maybe one or two other things were contributing factors and, while there's not really any blame to be directed at anyone I left my initial orientation wondering if maybe our move was premature, poorly thought out, or that I was going to be stuck doing a job that I'm not suited and don't care for!

So... take a breath and concentrate on the small things that I could solve  and my priorities; 

 I could get my Internet set up,

 I could get my license situation figured out in person,

 I could figure out just general living on the island. 

Our landlords had advised us that the phone connection was sketchy at best since we are in a valley. So they advised us to get a wireless internet setup at the house. The "easiest" method appeared to be getting a MiFi system through AT&T which could service up to ten devices at one time ( phones, laptops, cameras etc.) After three different units, five visits to the local store and over eight hours on the 800 AT&T "customer service"  line - guess what? I have internet but not thru Mi Fi! I have it through a personal hotspot using my cell phone.  The great part about this is that I have gotten to know the AT&T local reps so well and they are such nice West Indie ladies. We have shared stories about our kids, our lives, and our silly adventures all while being on hold with 1800 "AT&T care" ( now that's an oxymoron!)  One down!

Next up - PT license. Preparation: real clothes:  (Read :casual business wear with closed toed shoes - doesn't that violate some island ordinance?) 

Plan: people ferry to St Thomas, $1 open air bus to hospital, and find the dept/woman I need to speak to so that I can't be ignored, but do it with a smile and prepare myself for an insane wait. 

People ferry - check! 

No shuttle due to torrential downpour so taxi here I come( along with the other seven people in the van). 

Get to hospital - eventually find room. Knock. No answer.  Knock again. No answer. Peek in as it looks  like a patient room - nobody home. I wait in a hospital corridor without any seating and finally a woman comes out of her office and tells me that woman is not in today due to a death in family ( Ugh! I'm sorry lady - I really am but .... you are messing up my plan!)  

This kind lady is the Asstistant Commissioner ( I don't know what that means either) but she sends an email to the supervisor in St Croix and tells me that I have to wait until Monday but should have some type of answer by then. 

Now what? My day that was completely planned is over in less than two hours. 

Called St Thomas friends, both of who were working but they kindly fetched me a car to take me over to close to work and we had lunch together. We decided that I should stay for dinner, but what was I going to do for the next four hours? Window shop and think in the streets of St Thomas! 

Being alone allowed me the luxury of not having to talk to anyone, or to talk to locals as I pleased. People were kind, especially if I smiled. By the time I got back to the Marina where our friend worked, my phone was dead. He took it and charged it on one of the boats he works on. I hang around at a great place and talked  to more local people. I realized that many St. Thomas residents perceive St. John residents to be rich and snobby ( I hope I might have changed that opinion a little today!). One of the people I spoke to was the cook at the restaurant, Glisnette - her autistic nephew lives with her and it was then that I realized that no matter what happens with my license, I have to work with kids! 

I could start an island guest babysitting  service to make ends meet and if therapy was in my future, I could do the babysitting until I built the therapy up to a sustainable level.

When I got my phone back,there was a message from the woman in St Croix -my license was approved! Wow! - two  big positives in one day! That ferry ride after a nice dinner with friends felt great!!! How wasI to know that it was a little bit of the calm before the storm?...