I’ve been here 24 hours and justthatquick I am learning what is meant by “living here is not the same as visiting here”. One. Water. Water is expensive on the island so those long, leisurely showers I’m used to in the US? Those days are over. Here, you learn to shower in stages. Turn on water. Rinse. Turn off water. Soap up. Turn on water. Rinse and wet hair. Turn off water. Wash hair. Turn on water. Rinse. Done. Same with brushing teeth. Washing dishes. Anything where I was used to just letting the water run, nope. #notinKansasanymore #completeparadigmshift
In other news, I did buy a car today. 🙂. I went to get it registered in my name but no, it had to be insured first. No problem. I go to the insurance company and they have all the paperwork they need but I do not have my driver’s license with me. Why? I never travel with my driver’s license when I travel internationally because I have my passport with me. Heretofore Andy has always driven on the island, I never saw a reason to bring it. So, FYI, if you buy a car on the island you must present your driver’s license to insure it. Seems like a no-brainer but I can’t be the only one who leaves their license at home when I travel internationally, so, now you know. As a side note, because I did drive the car to Philipsburg (without a license, lol) to attempt to register it and a bit more after that, I have now mastered the roundabouts 😁. I’m also very quickly learning my way around. Double victories for me today. I’m grateful that our landlord is letting us keep the car in the garage of our complex until we return.
I did not buy any furniture today. 😐 Tomorrow is another day. Won’t be the end of the world if I don’t completely furnish the place by 9/29. I’ll keep searching.
One other exciting thing happened yesterday but I cannot say yet….that won’t be revealed until after the move 😉😁 Stay tuned!!
St. Maarten Move 
ADORABLE car!! Your shower instructions made me laugh…YUP! Our contractor told us that is why the “rain” showers with separate hand wands are so popular–wet down, soap up, rinse off = less water! I think about it each time I shower–with warm versus hot water because electricity is expensive too! It’s all environmentally sound stuff, so not so hard to adjust to the changes.
I bought an additional bed pillow at Ace while there last visit and got a good price–Cost U Less has them too! Though prices are somewhat higher than Chapel Hill, we didn’t feel they were prohibitively high and the supplies have REALLY improved since spring. Have fun shopping! Yvonne
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Welcome to driving quasi-European style! Tiny cars and roundabouts, until recently (we bought a station wagon) that was my life. But with a “big” station wagon (mini wagon by US standards) I have to chose parking carefully. I’ve after 2 years mastered roundabouts, but it took some time. My favorite thing is to get “lost” after going someplace different. Fuel is crazy here (roughly $8 a gallon) so I’m glad I have a job that I can afford to do that.
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Yes, I LOVE my i10! It’s tiny and easily maneuvered. We have roundabouts in the US too but not with 2 lanes, at least not that I’ve ever seen. Once I was able to grasp the concept of the inside lane or the outside lane, it was a beeeze.
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