So this is my first post since my arrival here on there island. I got in Tuesday (the 26th) in the afternoon with my good friend Reg waiting to pick me up at the airport. Which by the way is tiny, it has two airstrips which apparently can handle a 757 - but easily handled our small Cessna.

So far I haven’t gotten alot done here yet (still no car or job) but I have been getting settled in and familiar with the island. I’ve set up my local cell phone with Cingular. They are a bit more expensive then sprint here on the island but the coverage is suppose to be substantially better, I have 30 days if I want to switch. Housing wise I have been staying with my friend - he has a extra guest suite with full bath, kitchen, living room and bedroom so that’s been really nice. I’ll probably be there for a few more months until things really get jumping with the restaurant, then I will start to look again.
So far things here don’t seem to much different from back in the states but in line with that a few posters have said over at www.vimovingcenter.com have said - I have noticed a few things.

• 1st
  - Many of the people at first glance do not all seem friendly, they seem to give me a look that is less then welcoming, but I have found that if I smile and seem friendly towards them they lighten up rather quickly. No one yet has actually been rude - they just seem a bit standoffish at first. I guess with all of the people coming and going and with the attitude I am sure some of the tourists bring it could jade the locals a bit. It seems what you put out there is what comes back and I guess if someone were to take the wrong direction things could become unfriendly rather easily.
• 2nd
  THE BUGS!!! The bugs are one thing that differently are not fun. They mostly come out at night and the main bug de pain is the classic mosquito. I have never been a big fan of bug spray but I’ve gotten very friendly with it very quickly. During the day things are pretty normal, so its a night time problem mostly.
• 3rd
  The internet is not easy to come by! The majority of providers on the island are “wireless”… that is they send the single like a cell phone signal. There is one local phone company - Innovative - and they offer but dial and hard line connections but there speeds are not what one would get back on the mainland. We are currently trying to set up service with Ackley Communications. They should hopefully coming out this week to see if we can get service. If we can it will be 199 set up costs and $99 a month for 256k speeds (not exactly lightening fast but better then nothing or dial up)
• 4th
  The cost of gas is crazy high! The cheapest on the island is $3.30 (this is on St. Thomas, STT). Coming from LA I was use to high prices but things had come down a bit before I had left, as low as $2.70 in some places so seeing $3.30 low and $3.70ish high I was kinda surprised. This of course is the course all consumer goods take, they cost more here - food, things at Kmart, even the stateside newspapers catch a higher price on the island (4 + bucks for a USA today). The only thing I did notice is a bit more in line if not cheaper is the alcohol. But in the end of course all of this is the cost of living on an island… things take longer to get here obviously and the cost to get them here in more.. I am actually somewhat surprised that some things don’t cost more… I got a pair of decent sandals for 15 bucks… so go figure.

There are other differences I am sure but right now at this point I haven’t come across them. As things come up I will be sure to mention them!

On the agenda for tomorrow I will be heading to the post office to mail out some postcards, running some errands and starting my search for an island car (aka a beat up piece of crap!)

Oh. - For those interested I shipped 3 packages priority mail last Friday - two of them arrived on Thursday and one of Friday, so that’s pretty good timing. They all had insurance and or tracking on them. I also sent one box parcel post with tracking so we will see how long that takes to get in.

If you know of a decent car for sale (circa a grand) leave me a comment or send me an email.

Cheers