Week One Was a Success!

So my computer made it safely to the island and I had to (begrudgingly) set right to work on a magazine as the deadline is creeping up fast and a solid week of no design work made for a hellish few days trying to catch up. Combine that with the whole Kick Em Jenny hoopla and several days without cell service or Internet and “playing catch up” just doesn’t quite cover it. I did manage to fit in some fun though!

I’m settling into my new home quickly and am slowly learning to live without constant stimulation. Admittedly, I am having a hard time letting go of the technology as not only is it how I make a living but it’s also my primary way of staying in touch with my friends and family. In fact, my hosts and I know immediately when the internet has returned because my phone and iPad make a symphony of sounds with all the alerts and various methods of communication. We’ve had some good laughs about it!

On Tuesday, we made the hour long drive into St. Georges to retrieve my computer. Since we were there, Joy and I did a little shopping as I had to gather a few odds and ends, like a micro SD card for my GoPro and some “American” cereal. Once Hans gathered us from the “mall”, we stopped at a little sushi restaurant and ate and ate until all the plates were clear of any food. It was a really good day with lots of laughter!

Of course, the day after I get my computer, the internet goes down. And not like it goes down in the States, it was an island-wide outage. Pair that with the cell towers being down as well and it was like we were living in the 17th century. Okay, that’s a huge exaggeration but dammit if it didn’t feel really weird! Joy and I decided to stay busy busy busy when the internet was down by tackling some projects around the property. Here we are staining a couple of Adirondack chairs. Those and weather sealing and staining a large deck, proved to be very fun because Joy and I have similar sense of humors so we mostly just talk and laugh our way through just about anything (much to the chagrin of Hans, who I’m am positive is tried of hearing us yap). Sorry, Hans…we’ll try to be better!

On Friday, Joy and I went to Yoga at one of her friend’s homes with the most amazing view I have ever seen! Now, I’m not a huge fan of Yoga to start with (a little too slow for me…I prefer to hit a heavy bag, dancing, lifting or running) BUT this Yoga class was AMAZING! I felt so relaxed and centered afterwards. I can’t wait to go again this Friday!! After class, Hans came to pick us up and we headed over to By the Sea where we chatted with two more of Joy and Hans’ friends (they own By the Sea) and had a delicious lunch.

It was sometime this week that Kick Em Jenny started waking up and I felt my very first earth tremor! Of course, from what I could gather, the news in the States as well as Social Media made this event out to be disastrous. It was actually pretty funny when we ran into a friend of Joy’s and they were telling us that they had heard that a couple of homes had fallen into the sea in the town I’m staying. We had a giggle at that….but I guess that’s what happens when there’s no phone or internet on a small island! Rest assured, fellow Wanderers, Kick Em Jenny is not going to take me out. Even if it were to erupt and cause a tsunami, I am 275 feet above sea level and would not only be perfectly safe, but I’d have a front row seat to the fireworks.

Yesterday, after working all morning on solving a computer issue, I walked into town to grab a few things from the market. I had yet to do this on my own and felt like I really should start getting used to it. It was HOT but I took the most wonderful little path partway and it really just hit me; I’m LIVING IN GRENADA! I am so thankful to be here and am often taken aback by the beauty of everything around me. I am especially grateful to Joy and Hans for taking me in and showing me that there is absolutely nothing to be worried about here (aside from the occasional lack of technology LOL). There was simply no reason for me to have been nervous in any way…..heck, I may just stay a little longer!!!

We rounded out the rest of the day with a trip to another of Joy and Hans’ friends (they literally know EVERYONE on the Island!) for some tea and conversation. Everyone here is just so friendly and welcoming. Joy made her insanely good pizza for all of us so we ate and drank and had a wonderful evening. Today I don’t think there’s much of a plan. I’m going to get a little work done and help Joy with staining the rest of the chairs…maybe I’ll go for a little walk on the beach too!