I already knew that many of the houses had built in swimming pools, which I must admit made me slightly nervous. I wasn't off the plane ten minutes before I decided that a swimming pool was a necessity in order do stand the heat/humidity!
We saw several beautiful houses with gorgeous yards and interesting landscaping: palm trees, mango trees, banana trees, lime trees... but upon the advice of our guide, we ended up looking more at condos and townhouses. The girls will be attending the international school, which isn't near any of the houses we looked at. Condominiums and townhouses have a central pool, playground, park, bbq area where families socialize after school and work. We realized that the girls would probably have an easier time making friends in that kind of a setting, so that is what we focused on. It will be quite an adjustment to have to actually walk Daisy every time she needs to go to the bathroom, but if the girls don't establish relationships with other kids then our trip will be a waste as far as I'm concerned.
So... we ended up making an offer on a 7th floor condominium in a high-rise building right in the heart of the city! Not at all what we had planned, but we're hoping we made the right decision. We will probably never live the"big city" life again, so I think we can handle it for one year. Not having a front door will take some getting used to. The elevator stops at our floor, opens, and suddenly you're in our living room! It's so weird. We have a spare bedroom (with a balcony) so if you were ever considering a tropical vacation...
It was so good to see the island for myself. My anxiety level has decreased immensely! The center of the island looks like a shiny, sparkly New York City, only with tropical birds, palm trees, and immaculate streets. Since you can land yourself in jail for littering in this country, everything is really clean. Yet, if you travel just a few miles in any direction, you will find yourself on the coast surrounded by coconut trees and if you're lucky: monkeys! That's right, we actually saw monkeys playing around in the trees. It's really one of the most beautiful places I've ever been to.
Our departure date is June 21, so please be praying that everything goes smoothly for us! I'll start posting blog entries once we arrive and get settled. Here are a couple of pictures from our trip.
Take care!
Jenny
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| the local market |
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| Not sure exactly what this is, but it was still alive, and I thought it looked interesting. |
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| Yeah, we ate this for dinner. With chopsticks. |
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| I just love embarrassing Andy. |
