The Truth about the Bahamas

After a week of living here on Grand Bahama, I feel like I can honestly say that it's not quite what I had expected.  There have definitely been pleasant surprises and "wow, this is awesome," moments.  But there have also been times where I think, "Hmmm....this is kind of crazy," and "I'm definitely not in the United States anymore."  Boyd put it like this, "I feel like I'm in Albania again, just with paved roads."

First, the good stuff:)  Today we took a five minute bus ride out to the beach and loved it.  Keido had such a great time picking up sea plants and tossing them back into the ocean.  We could have walked up and down the shore, but he was very content to just sit in one spot and dig in the sand.  The ocean is going to be our best friend.

People here are so nice!  Everyone is really laid-back and super helpful.  I love their accents, even though I have to think for a minute sometimes about what they just said.  

I feel like there are a lot of places to go see.  I think that Keido and I could keep pretty busy catching buses and exploring the island.  The buses are pretty funny.  They are these vans, that aren't much bigger than a family mini van, but they pack 15 seats in them.  You cram into them and when you want to get off you just say, "Next stop coming up."  Keido thinks their pretty great, because he gets to sit on my lap and wave his little arms out the window.  

Our apartment is definitely a plus.  It's by far the best place Boyd and I have ever lived (aside from the Tamanaha home.)  Our back yard is a lawn (with weird grass) and a swimming pool.  We also have a basketball hoop and a completely empty parking lot since we live with all students and no one has cars - it's great for little boys.

Church on Sunday was great.  We were expecting maybe 10 people, but they actually had about 50 or 60.  We got a ride from our Branch President's wife, Brittany, and she said that this is a really new branch.  All of the members are first generation.  As we sat there in Sacrament meeting, I really felt the Spirit testify that the church is true and that God's work is going forth throughout the whole world.  I was also really grateful to see that we have missionaries here.  It made our branch feel alive, and gave me an odd sense of safety.  I think we are really going to enjoy being a part of the Bahamas Branch. 

The "Hmmm...." things.  So far, it seems that we are the only family here for the program.  There are probably close to 150 students, and not one of them brought their families with them.  Most aren't married of course, but those who are came alone.  Even though I'm kind of out of place here, I'm glad I came because had I not, Boyd could have ended up with a female roommate.  That would have been weird:)

Groceries are soooo expensive!!!  A gallon of milk costs $8.00.  A bag of chicken nuggets is $22.00.  Toothpaste is $5.00 a tube.  There are no taxes here, but essentially you are paying for the shipping to import the items.  The only thing that the Bahamas grow are tourists.  They seem to pop out of nowhere.

I guess the only other thing is a lack of side walks.  I brought our running stroller, thinking that I could run or walk places.  However, this is not going to be as easy as I thought.  In fact, there is no way I can bring our stroller on the bus either.  We've had to carry Keido everywhere so far.  I tell you what.  I don't think I'm going to need to run for exercise, because I get so much just trying to get around.

Aside from these things, we are grateful for the chance to be here.  Boyd's classes have gone well so far, and Keido and I are adjusting.  We were definitely way to spoiled at the Tamanaha house.  Probably myself more than Keido:)