Here we are -

Wow. It feels like we've been in Barbados MUCH longer than 12 days! I've hardly been online and I'm trying to keep all of these new experiences fresh in my mind to post. As I only have a few minutes now to get down as much as possible, I'm going to give you a few bullet points about these last 12 days -

- The kids traveled wonderfully. We were SO thankful. Noelle napped twice on the way and they both slept for the whole second flight. What an experience to fly in to our little island in the middle of the night and see the lights scattered around the island.
- We traveled with 9 bags, 2 carseats, a stroller, and 4 carry-ons
- We arrived to a few college staff there to meet us and takes us to a different house than expected.
- The positives are that it is very clean, has a big tv with cable, and 3 bedrooms.
- The negatives are that it is 30 minutes from the college and no internet.
- It's HOT, but we're adjusting. We're getting used to feeling a little sticky all the time.
- The kids don't mind at all, still loving snuggles even in the heat.
- You must take out the trash and dump all milk cups every day. The next morning after eating chicken, the house smelled pretty nasty before we learned this!
- We've had 3 lizards in our home so far.
- We're still driving a rental car, but we're hoping for our own in the next few days.
- It looks like Luke may only be teaching 1 course this semester. We're glad to have the extra time to get settled and for him to finish the thesis.
- We've spent a good bit of time at the beach, and I have to say I'm still not a beach person. I'll do my best to really cherish and enjoy our time here, but I'm just not loving the beach.
- I cried every day for the first 4 days, but i'm hitting stride a little bit.
- We're going to a mom/toddler music class today and a play group next week. Yay!
- We attended church last weekend, which was a cultural experience, most notably how looong it is. I think this is the way it is in every denomination here. Whew. It was long.
- We've apparently chosen 2 very common BOY names for our kiddos.
- The breeze is nice and cool-ish.
- I'm amazed by how quickly things dry, even though it is pretty humid. I'm glad about that since we don't have a drier. I can see how we don't really need one.
- Driving is crazy. We're getting used to it, but some of the roads are really narrow, with no shoulder and people stroll along as if they're not walking in front of cars going 40 mph!
- There are little brown sheep wandering around.
- Many houses have guard dogs that do not seem at all friendly. Luckily they are all fenced in.
- The kids are thrilled to be here, which makes the transition much easier for us.
- We're exhausted, but that is just the way culture shock and transition works. One day at a time.
- They eat chicken like crazy. There are about 3-4 fast food chains here, all selling fried chicken. One place, Chefette, is really good!
- I guess that's all I can think of at the moment. Here are a few pics of the house, some beach time, and the view from Luke's makeshift office at the college (his real office and our house are in the process of being made ready...)