Things I have learned...

After two days in the Bahamas, I have managed to learn a couple of important things.

1. Honking is a good thing. Bahamians honk in order to give you permission to enter traffic and cross the street. They also honk to say thank you. So, if you honk out of frustration, you are likely to cause a traffic accident or give a pedestrian a false sense of security.

2. Lights and sirens still mean you should pull over to the side of the road so they can get through. However, there really is no side of the road to pull over to. The result is that people on each side of the street pull over as far as they can to make room for the emergency vehicles to come down the center of the road.

3. The little I have learned about Bahamian history is a sad commentary on the consequences of imperialism and slavery. There are no native Bahamians left. They were wiped out by European diseases and the slave trade. It is a very diverse culture with a large European influence. The accent is generally British, but is not as heavy as most Brits. Bahamians speak softly, which is hard to get used to. I have come to realize that most of the world thinks Americans shout all of the time...we really are a loud group of people.

4. Driving on the left side of the road is harder than it looks. Especially when making right turns. I have opted to allow Kurtis to drive until I get used to flow of traffic. There is something unnerving about traffic coming at you on the wrong side of the car.

5. When the cruise ships pull into port, the nature of the town changes drastically. I will have to work on putting it into words, but it almost a schizophrenic experience. The normally quiet, laid back city becomes busy, loud and intense. Of course when your economic survival depends upon the tourist trade, it does tend to change your outlook.

6. My anal retentive, somewhat obsessive nature has no place in the Bahamian culture. Planning means that things get done when they get done. Everything happens at its own pace and believe it or not, it actually gets done. This may be a good life lesson for me.

The staff at the church and the Kids UP program have been wonderful! The kids arrive next week and we are anxious to get started.

Peace,
Keri