I’ve officially been living in St. Lucia for 5 months now and it’s been a life changing event.  I’ve had the opportunity to meet some really great people and truly get to know my fellow co-workers in ways that I never imagined.  As I expected, we spend a lot of time together.  We work together, eat together, grocery shop together and hang out together.  It’s become a close nit “family” away from home and I’m thankful for the relationships that I have been able to build with the team of people here.  I’ve had the chance to meet a lot of great people from all the world, a ton of ex-pats and even a foreign diplomat and his wife that we see weekly through dinner or other social events.

I’ve had the opportunity to fly back to the US once since arriving here and it was a difficult trip to make.  I was both excited and a little nervous about heading home seeing as it had taken me a few weeks to get used to the idea of living on a island with only people I knew from work.  After making the transition, I was now headed back home to reconnect with people that I loved deeply.  (More on this an another post).

Since returning to St. Lucia, it’s been hard to readjust being back here again.  I miss a lot of things from home but I’ve been able to push through this and recenter myself in a place that truly is paradise.  Here is a list of things that I’ve learned and have been able focus and reflect on since coming back:

• We tend to eat at many of the same places on the island – we’ve become regular locals
• I can spend hours on the beach and be ok with this
• It’s somewhat easy to find and eat healthy food from the grocery store (although expensive)
• I got my sailing certificate and I am an official international crew member
• The US to EC currency conversion still throws me for a loop sometimes
• Rainy season is upon us and this threatens beach time
• We have been in a drought and they ration water which means no water many mornings
• St. Lucia’s call the first floor ground and the second floor, one. Although I live on the 3rd story, they say the 2nd.
• Electricity is expensive here since the entire island runs off of generators
• I’ve finally mastered Celsius conversions
• I’ve made some great friends here (work and other foreigners)
• I’m quite good at working a Hobie cat. A regatta is still pending
• I miss High Definition Television
• We get US television stations here
• Netflix offerings are very different here than they are in the US
• Amazon prime doesn’t work here at all
• The frogs can keep you up at night – they are loud and sound like an alarm going off
• Two times around the property here make 1 mile – walking and running distance has become easier to track
• The sun comes up at 5:30am and sets around 6:00pm
• I don’t enjoy coming home from work with little daylight left
• I miss being able to drive my own car
• Waitstaff service isn’t always the best here.  Learning to navigate with patience has been successful
• Wednesday night is fish night in town. They grill up the local catch of the day.  It’s become the Desperado y Pescado night of choice
• Desperado = Beer with Tequila in it.  Delicious
• The garlic sauce when getting fish is the best thing to happen to said fish
• I still cannot get used to $1 EC being coins.  They don’t have $1 dollar bills here
• Friends and Family are truly priceless – It helps to reconnect often to stay focused and reminded that you are loved