We have arrived

So we have now been here in Trinidad for a full week. And we love it.

We got here very early last Monday morning after the Carribbean Airways overnight special and walked out of the airport before 7 am to a hot and humid day...but was told it was neither that hot or humid!

After a stop in at the office in downtown Port of Spain, to say hello and pick up keys, etc., we were dropped off at our house and were very pleasantly surprised. It's in a wonderful neighbourhood full of large houses which we figure are mostly occupied by expats. It's very near the newest mall in Trinidad and the grocery store.

The grocery store is actually an IGA affiliate which carries some 'No Name' and 'President's Choice' products. Pretty funny that we come all the way to Trinidad and can get that stuff - although not at bargain basement prices!

Our apartment has a great big living/dining area off a nice kitchen. We also have lots of room for guests with two spare bedrooms and a spare bathroom. We think the apartment might actually be bigger than 395 Belsize!

It only took a couple of days to get hooked up with cable TV and internet. Luckily the landlady doesn't want us setting up our own accounts, and having installers here, so we just agreed to pay her and she provided the cable box and her password to her wireless high speed. The internet is a little off and on, but we pretty much have it all the time now. Much better than some areas, from what I've heard around the office.

Things in the office are a bit slow to start. Pretty much feels like starting a new job, having to learn the people, the systems, etc. And the project I have come down here to primarily work on hasn't started yet. Although I hear the contract is supposed to be signed any time, I heard that when I was down in May! They do things at a much different pace down here!

The people have all been really friendly. My new boss took us out for dinner at a nice hotel on our second night here. We've eaten out a couple of other times, but mostly at 'American' type places. We're still getting comfortable with our new surroundings. Having said that we haven't felt at all unsafe one bit - quite the opposite. From what I can tell, Kate's good looks and blonde hair will get us pretty far! All the locals are very friendly and nice to her - in a good way.

We were out at the beach yesterday afternoon which was beautiful. It was a nice afternoon, which is a bit lucky here in the rainy season. It seems to rain almost instantly at any time through the day - and really rain hard, but only for a few minutes, then it stops. Definitely important to carry an umbrella with you at all times.

We had our first Bake and Shark out at the beach - it's a Trini specialty - and very yummy. We're also developing a taste for the local beers - Stag and Carib.

Kate is still finding things a little slow, but we were expecting that. She got out and drove over the weekend, so now feels somewhat comfortable on the "wrong" side of the road. She's going to come in to explore the downtown area tomorrow, and has a lead on a Yoga studio that is run by a Canadian women here in Port of Spain.

We miss you all and look forward to hearing your news via e-mail and/or Skype.

Talk to you soon,

Stu and Kate