Cheers from Grand Cayman!

Inspired by friends who started a blog to chronicle their move to England (where many of my friends seem to be relocating to lately), I had the best intentions of creating my own web page (I prefer web page to "blog") in order to share my Caymanian adventures. My usual procrastination got in the way, but I finally did it! The fact that nothing good was on t.v. helped tremendously.

Today is the 9-week anniversary of my arrival in Grand Cayman. It feels like only yesterday that I stepped off the plane into the sweltering heat and thought "What the heck am I doing?". That thought has crossed my mind several times over the past 3 months, especially while my mom and I were packing in 35C weather in my non-air conditioned apartment. Despite the occasional doubts that crept in, I am really glad I decided to move down here. It has been an incredible experience so far and, hopefully, will continue to be over the next several months.

Here's a glimpse of what the past 2 months have been like:

DAY 1

After heart-wrenching farewells, a sleepless flight surrounded by kids and a Mr. Bean-esque episode with my luggage, I was so happy to see the familiar faces of Chris and Litza at the Cayman airport. I thought the humid Toronto summer had prepared me for what the weather would be like here, but the humidity hit me like a wall as I stepped off the plane. All I wanted to do was change into my shorts and flip flops and check out the island. Being a British territory, people drive on the left-hand side of the road here, which made for an unnerving initial tour. Each time Chris turned I panicked because I thought he was turning into oncoming traffic!

We made a pit stop at Chris & Litza's posh (one of my new English words) new condo to drop my stuff off and change. I also could have used a shower because I worked up a real sweat by sitting in the car. I threw on my bathing suit and we hit the beach. C & L took me to Calico Jack's, a beach bar, for lunch. After eating chicken fingers & fries & enjoying a refreshing Corona, we went swimming in the Sea (didn't even wait 1/2 hour!). The beach is soft, white sand and the water is warm and crystal clear. It was while I was floating in the water that I started to grasp that I wouldn't be leaving here in a week's time - this would be my life for the next 6 months. Very strange, yet I was excited to discover what was waiting for me here...