One of the things we miss the most here are friends. Those people whom you have known for a long time and share life experience with. When Deneen returned from her trip back to Columbus, we talked about the things she missed. What she realised was the only thing she really missed was visiting with her girl friends (and her mother). The people she knows very well and the people who know her.
We have friends here, but many of these friendships are just developing. We all have something in common, so we have a bond. But it is not a strong bond. We are also finding that the population we fit into here is very transient. There was a fairly tight group of people within our social network here when we came. But many of them have now left.
The season ended the last week of April. Since then, many of the people we hung out with have left. Josh and Danny left and took the trapeze. The helicopter excursion flew the coup, along with the mechanic and pilots. Danny, the Canadian fudge maker, Jenn the masseuse, and JP the beach rental guy, all left. Andy fulfilled his one-year contract with Blue Water Divers and left. Louis, from the Dominican Republic, left yesterday. He had a going away party at the SandBar on Saturday. We did not even know he was leaving and missed the party.
However, there are new people and we have met interesting visitors. We have been eating out a lot the past couple of weeks. And this is always an experience. Dinners are long and very expensive. Time and money is evidently what everyone has. Dinner starts at about 7:30 and ends at 10:00 - every time we go out. Martin has been complaining that all we eat is chicken and rice, so going out breaks this up. But a couple nights ago, we went to eat at the Turks Head Inn, a really great restaurant in a historic home. The managers, Jorika and Darren, are becoming friends and treat us very well. Martin ordered Jerk chicken and rice, it was $25 plus 15% plus 10%. I figured his one meal cost around $32. And this for the meal he complains about eating at home.
Last week Pawan and Kim stopped by the museum to see me. They had read that we were from Columbus. So are they. They were here for the week diving. On Sunday we invited them over to the house for dinner. Finally, someone who knew about Walmart and Target and Tim Hortons. We had a great evening. On Sunday morning, they were diving near our beach at about 75 feet and had a nine-foot hammerhead shark pass four feet in front of them. What a great story.
On Friday, we had dinner with Debbie and Dave, and Dave's two boys, at the Turks Head Inn. They are from Charlotte, but have a house on Salt Cay. They were visiting Grand Turk for the day and came by the museum. Debbie has been reading my blogs, and though we had never met, she knew all my stories. So, it was like eating with old friends. We had a great evening.
Earlier in the week, I gave a private VIP tour of the island and museum to a Russian super model and her husband. They are looking at very high end property on another island and wanted to know the history of the islands. They were very cool. I took them to the Turks Head Inn. This is my new Grand Turk slam dunk. We ordered a sample of most of the menu and had such a good time that they almost missed the plane. The airport had to call me to say we had five minutes to get there or the chartered plane was leaving.
On Saturday, we went to get pizza at Big Daddy's at White Sands. Everyone was there. By this, I mean all the new people. The new divemaster and his significant other, Gary and Sara, who live next to the museum, were there. David and Katya, the banker who has come to replace Thomas and Deborah, were there. And we invited Ben and Caroline, who works for the Governor's office, and who happened to walk in while we were sitting down, to eat dinner with us. This turned out to be a great dinner as well.
It is wonderful to meet new people, tell old stories, and make friends. Maybe this turns out to be the coolest part of being here.
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