Bahamas Update #3

WEEK THREE AND PLENTY TO SEE
originally sent Jan. 29th, 2001

Hey y'all,
Well week #3 is drawing to a close and things continue to be as baffling and amusing as ever. I spent some back-and-forth time this week trying to get my phone installed this week. I got two entirely different answers on what I had to do to get my line activated, and this was from two people working in the exact same office. Basically the general conclusion, among everyone at my work, is that people in these jobs (banks, phone co., all other utilities, etc.) just really don't know the rules. It's like no one knows the answers to our questions, but no one wants to admit that either. Luckily I was briefed on this Bahamian quality so I just laugh. But having no phone is a wee problem (and a nice change at the same time).

Monday was a rainy day (my first tropical storm) so the streets were pretty flooded here in Nassau. It rained heavily all day and there's no sewer system here for road water drainage, so it all just collects in ENORMOUS puddles. We were driving through water that was coming up over the tail lights of the car in front of us! But thankfully it's the one time Bahamian drivers actually go slow. There isn't a great deal of intelligent civic planning here and unfortunately the island's surface is so thin, and on such strange land formation (it's made of coral, limestone and other unstable materials), that you can't dig sewage tunnels underneath the streets cuz you'll just hit ocean very quickly. So there's little or no way around the rain problem. All in all things like the absence of road drainage, the absence of door-to-door mail service, the absence of outdoor garbage cans (except in tourist areas), the absence of public benches in public parks, etc., make you realize what your tax dollars back in Canada are paying for. Scary!

Work continues to be as time-consuming and as exhausting as ever. I don't mind the job, and the people are great, but the best thing is that I get to live down here and make some quick dough. But there are some fun routines. I've discovered MP3s and spend any free time at home downloading them. I started this week and already have 54. It's addictive. There's also a woman, connected to the company somehow, who makes homemade lunches, with a different menu each day, and if you put in an order with her the lunch is delivered at 1pm (our lunch time: office-wide). It's a great deal, and all for just $6 (and it's usually enough to still have some left for dinner). She almost always throws in plantain which is something I love. There's also a guy from the local bakery who comes by Tues. and Thurs. with a car full of snacks. Stuff like rum cake, pineapple tarts, as well as banana and cocunut bread. And man is it good! But the coffee situation is still pretty dire. Places here just don't make good coffee, and REALLY overcharge for what they do serve. I've been informed that Bahmaians are more "tea" drinkers.

The weather has been pretty unseasonable (daily highs of 72 and nighttime lows of 55). Still chilly enough to make swimming not seem so important. But it's great walking weather. I've done a few more treks recently. Turns out there is a Bahamain art gallery co-op sort of thing at the foot of my street, and a huge botanical garden about 3 minutes further down the same street. I also visited the local public library and became a member. The selection of books is pretty crap (and in various states of disrepair and cleanliness), but there are a few gems I saw in there. And the building itself is a funky historical site - it used to be the city jail.

There's also a huge tourist part of downtown (where the cruise ships dock) that I recently took a look at, but it's really just an endless parade of kitschy "local" souvenir stands, duty free jewellery and liquor stores, cigar shops, tourist bars and crappy t-shirt boutiques. It's quite a scene. But the amount of stuff being flogged here is truly staggering.

Friday night was spent out on the town with the UK ex-pat community (my co-workers' boyfriend is an ex-pat originally from Leeds). They're too funny these Brits. They're such a blotchy unseemly bunch it's a wonder someone doesn't ban them from breeding. But they're so entertaining and love to drink so much (both sexes competing equally fiercely), that you have to love it. There are a lot of UK ex-pats here, probably something to do with considering it still part of the "empire". And of course they all complain unrelentingly about it here, and yammer on and on about how much better it all is back 'ome. Crikey!

Saturday was a stay at home night, and Sunday afternoon was spent watching the waves roll in on the beach at Paradise Island. I also finally found a café that serves a proper coffee (also on Paradise Island). Here a cappucino clocks in at $3, but it's worth it, and there's plenty of Sunday New York Times newspapers lying around to make it an enjoyable Sunday routine. That's it for now. I told these would get less informative and more sporadic. But I appreciate everyone keeping me up-to-date on all the events back home and/or abroad. I don't feel cut-off (cuz I don't really care what's happening in the world all that much, plus I see the TV in almost every bar in town) but do like to hear what's going on locally.

Keep me posted.

B.

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Hey y'all,
Well week #3 is drawing to a close and things continue to be as baffling and amusing as ever. I spent some back-and-forth time this week trying to get my phone installed this week. I got two entirely different answers on what I had to do to get my line activated, and this was from two people working in the exact same office. Basically the general conclusion, among everyone at my work, is that people in these jobs (banks, phone co., all other utilities, etc.) just really don't know the rules. It's like no one knows the answers to our questions, but no one wants to admit that either. Luckily I was briefed on this Bahamian quality so I just laugh. But having no phone is a wee problem (and a nice change at the same time).

Monday was a rainy day (my first tropical storm) so the streets were pretty flooded here in Nassau. It rained heavily all day and there's no sewer system here for road water drainage, so it all just collects in ENORMOUS puddles. We were driving through water that was coming up over the tail lights of the car in front of us! But thankfully it's the one time Bahamian drivers actually go slow. There isn't a great deal of intelligent civic planning here and unfortunately the island's surface is so thin, and on such strange land formation (it's made of coral, limestone and other unstable materials), that you can't dig sewage tunnels underneath the streets cuz you'll just hit ocean very quickly. So there's little or no way around the rain problem. All in all things like the absence of road drainage, the absence of door-to-door mail service, the absence of outdoor garbage cans (except in tourist areas), the absence of public benches in public parks, etc., make you realize what your tax dollars back in Canada are paying for. Scary!

Work continues to be as time-consuming and as exhausting as ever. I don't mind the job, and the people are great, but the best thing is that I get to live down here and make some quick dough. But there are some fun routines. I've discovered MP3s and spend any free time at home downloading them. I started this week and already have 54. It's addictive. There's also a woman, connected to the company somehow, who makes homemade lunches, with a different menu each day, and if you put in an order with her the lunch is delivered at 1pm (our lunch time: office-wide). It's a great deal, and all for just $6 (and it's usually enough to still have some left for dinner). She almost always throws in plantain which is something I love. There's also a guy from the local bakery who comes by Tues. and Thurs. with a car full of snacks. Stuff like rum cake, pineapple tarts, as well as banana and cocunut bread. And man is it good! But the coffee situation is still pretty dire. Places here just don't make good coffee, and REALLY overcharge for what they do serve. I've been informed that Bahmaians are more "tea" drinkers.

The weather has been pretty unseasonable (daily highs of 72 and nighttime lows of 55). Still chilly enough to make swimming not seem so important. But it's great walking weather. I've done a few more treks recently. Turns out there is a Bahamain art gallery co-op sort of thing at the foot of my street, and a huge botanical garden about 3 minutes further down the same street. I also visited the local public library and became a member. The selection of books is pretty crap (and in various states of disrepair and cleanliness), but there are a few gems I saw in there. And the building itself is a funky historical site - it used to be the city jail.

There's also a huge tourist part of downtown (where the cruise ships dock) that I recently took a look at, but it's really just an endless parade of kitschy "local" souvenir stands, duty free jewellery and liquor stores, cigar shops, tourist bars and crappy t-shirt boutiques. It's quite a scene. But the amount of stuff being flogged here is truly staggering.

Friday night was spent out on the town with the UK ex-pat community (my co-workers' boyfriend is an ex-pat originally from Leeds). They're too funny these Brits. They're such a blotchy unseemly bunch it's a wonder someone doesn't ban them from breeding. But they're so entertaining and love to drink so much (both sexes competing equally fiercely), that you have to love it. There are a lot of UK ex-pats here, probably something to do with considering it still part of the "empire". And of course they all complain unrelentingly about it here, and yammer on and on about how much better it all is back 'ome. Crikey!

Saturday was a stay at home night, and Sunday afternoon was spent watching the waves roll in on the beach at Paradise Island. I also finally found a café that serves a proper coffee (also on Paradise Island). Here a cappucino clocks in at $3, but it's worth it, and there's plenty of Sunday New York Times newspapers lying around to make it an enjoyable Sunday routine. That's it for now. I told these would get less informative and more sporadic. But I appreciate everyone keeping me up-to-date on all the events back home and/or abroad. I don't feel cut-off (cuz I don't really care what's happening in the world all that much, plus I see the TV in almost every bar in town) but do like to hear what's going on locally.

Keep me posted.

B.