Tuesday, March 24, 2015

We're here, we're here!


It's taken me a little longer than expected to sit down and get a post done, mainly because Jim and I have kept super busy - but more on that later! Today marks 3 weeks that the dogs and I have been in Guantanamo Bay, and a little longer for Jim. We are absolutely loving it! There is so much to say about this place that there's no way I could get it all said at once, but over the course of our time here, I'll do my best to keep our stateside friends and family in the loop of what we're up to.

When Jim first arrived, and I was back in Florida, I kept asking a zillion times, "but what is it LIKE there?!" As you could imagine, I was not thrilled with Jim's answers of "it's just really....different...but good different, I don't know....I can't really describe it", etc. Now that I'm in the position of trying to describe it to people, I totally get it though (so sorry for being annoying about it, Jimmy!) Here is my best effort for a quick description:
It's a little like a small town, a little like being on a non-touristy island vacation, a little like being on any other military base (same tan buildings and all). It's beachy, desert-y, hilly, super sunny, and breezy. It all makes sense now, right? I am obviously a genius of descriptors.

On to our recent activities, which I can probably put into words more efficiently. One of the first things on our list was to get our captain's licenses, which enables us to rent boats from the MWR marina. The process consists of a written test, a little boat ride orientation to see where we can and can't go, and a driving test, where we had to park a pontoon boat. As expected, Jim passed with flying colors. The docking didn't go quite as smoothly for me. My Jamaican teacher friend tried his best to explain the process to me, but I would compare it to trying to parallel park a double decker bus. In the end he let me get my license but said he was very glad that Jim would be with me to do the docking. Get captain's license? CHECK!

We (Jim) put our (his) skills to the test on Saturday, and went out with some friends for the day. We did some snorkeling, the boys did some fishing (unsuccessfully...we will have to work on that too), and we explored a couple beaches. I have some pictures, but they are on a real camera, not an iPhone so if you're lucky you'll see them next year. Just kidding, I'll shoot for next month.

Which leads me to the next topic: phones. We have a home phone with long distance, so we can call the states easily. We still don't know how much it is for a call from the states to us, so we haven't been giving out our number. I've heard anywhere from like 25 cents/min to $4/min. For us it's much cheaper... 12 cents/min I think? So we'll do the calling for now. The problem with that is we are gone all the time. We're used to having phones with us literally every second of every day and it was a little strange to leave the house with no cell phone but I got the hang of it real quick. Pretty much all I need when I leave the house is sunglasses, which is great because I hate to carry things. Nobody locks anything, so no keys necessary. We do have Internet at home now, so we can iMessage when we're home. I feel like it's a perfect mix of feeling connected. I can text or call when I want to get in touch with someone, but don't have the distraction of a phone when I'm outside, at the gym, or doing any other activities.

The Internet at our house is slow, but fine. It's a little quicker during the day when people are at work,  so that's the best Amazon shopping time. There are a few wifi spots on base where you can go too, and that's best if I'm trying to download something like a book on my kindle or songs on the phone. Not lightening fast, but it is nice to grab a coffee or giant milkshake and sit outside for the couple of minutes it takes. That may be my best option for uploading pictures on here, too so I may edit later and add some since I'm at home now :)

We are getting used to everything being slower paced and both of us and the dogs are really enjoying it. Hope all is well with our friends and family and you are all enjoying your week!



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