Playing catch-up: a christening party and losing voting rights
Well, it's been awhile since we've posted anything. So, I'll try to give the short story of what's happened since last weekend....
Last Sunday we went to a co-worker's baby's christening party at Magen's bay. Neither of us had ever been to such a party, but this party was happening. It was an "invite your friends and neighbors and anyone else you meet" type of party. They had a huge music system set up playing calypso and reggae so that almost everyone on the beach could hear it (made it a little hard to talk to people at the party though). and TONS of food, some of which they were making right there, and a variety of drinks (and i mean drinks.
Here's a sampling of the local food available there: mutton (which people here say is goat but we thought it meant sheep?), souse (pigs feet!), sweet potato stuffing, macaroni and cheese, stewed pork and chicken, soup made from a variety of seafood (i think i found an eyeball in my bowl), and beans and rice.
After we went swimming with some coworkers, we found that even more food was being made on the spot: stuffed shellfish and johnnie cakes.
The stuffed shellfish are made from the fish called shellfish - not what you'd normally think of as shell fish. These fish have scales that are super hard, so basically the chefs cracked them open like a hard taco shell and gutted them, stuffed them with veggies and other goodies. Then they wrapped each one with tinfoil and put them on the grill for awhile. I wish we'd brought our camera because it was a pretty neat production line.
People were also making the best johnnie cakes we've ever had. Johnnie cakes are essentially biscuits, but deep fried. They remind us of doughnuts but minus the sugar. We got them hot and they were tastey.
Other items of interest this week....
I discovered that when we mail packages to the states we have to use customs forms. It's bizarre. Half the time we're considered part of the U.S. -- it only costs 37 cents to mail us a letter, or vice versa, we use U.S. dollars, and you don't need a passport to come here from the states.
But the other half of the time, we're just this second-class part of the U.S. -- we have to fill out customs forms when we mail things and when we fly to the states too; we also have to use passports to enter the states from here (while the dept. of state website says otherwise, the airport officials will seriously hassle anyone who doesn't have one, as we witnessed two weeks ago); and of course, we can't vote for president and we don't have a voting senator or representative in the house.
I officially gave up my right to vote in federal elections on Thursday. I am now officially a VI resident. (Dave has been one for a month now.) I went to the DMV and got my license. Not quite as easy as it is in the states. It involves 1) going to the DMV to buy a health form ($2), 2) which you then take to a local optomotrist who checks your eyes and makes sure you don't have any serious health problems (for $20), 3) then you go get two passport photos taken of yourself ($10), then 4) you return to the DMV and pay the cashier for the written test ($10) and 5) stand in line for the test which you don't have to take to be signed off on (only available two days a week from 8am-10am) and 6) go back to the cashier to pay for your license ($35) and then, believe it or not, 7) get in line to have your photo taken for the most expensive driving license you'll ever have.
Even though you have to bring in two passport pics to get a license, they don't actually use them on the license, they just put them in your file. Normally I'm not one to complain about an ID photo, but this one is just amazingly poor. My photo is pixelated, grainy, distorted, and incredibly zoomed in. My ears aren't even in the photo and it's stretched so that my chin is almost as wide as my forehead; I have a box as a face. But the good news is, this lovely piece of plastic gets me a 10% local discount just about anywhere except the mall and the grocery stores.
One more thing about the DMV - when I say you get in line to get your photo taken, I don't mean stand in line. You stand near the photo room and look at everyone else standing or sitting nearby who are also waiting - it's just a group of people. There are no numbers to take to hold your place. You memorize the faces around you. When everyone who was there when you showed up has left, it's your turn.
Okay, not exactly a short summary, but it's the details that make life interesting here. :) We haven't figured out what's in store for the weekend yet. Definitely some beach-going and swimming. No cruise ships until next Tuesday, so we should take advantage of the emptiness.
Last Sunday we went to a co-worker's baby's christening party at Magen's bay. Neither of us had ever been to such a party, but this party was happening. It was an "invite your friends and neighbors and anyone else you meet" type of party. They had a huge music system set up playing calypso and reggae so that almost everyone on the beach could hear it (made it a little hard to talk to people at the party though). and TONS of food, some of which they were making right there, and a variety of drinks (and i mean drinks.
Here's a sampling of the local food available there: mutton (which people here say is goat but we thought it meant sheep?), souse (pigs feet!), sweet potato stuffing, macaroni and cheese, stewed pork and chicken, soup made from a variety of seafood (i think i found an eyeball in my bowl), and beans and rice.
After we went swimming with some coworkers, we found that even more food was being made on the spot: stuffed shellfish and johnnie cakes.
The stuffed shellfish are made from the fish called shellfish - not what you'd normally think of as shell fish. These fish have scales that are super hard, so basically the chefs cracked them open like a hard taco shell and gutted them, stuffed them with veggies and other goodies. Then they wrapped each one with tinfoil and put them on the grill for awhile. I wish we'd brought our camera because it was a pretty neat production line.
People were also making the best johnnie cakes we've ever had. Johnnie cakes are essentially biscuits, but deep fried. They remind us of doughnuts but minus the sugar. We got them hot and they were tastey.
Other items of interest this week....
I discovered that when we mail packages to the states we have to use customs forms. It's bizarre. Half the time we're considered part of the U.S. -- it only costs 37 cents to mail us a letter, or vice versa, we use U.S. dollars, and you don't need a passport to come here from the states.
But the other half of the time, we're just this second-class part of the U.S. -- we have to fill out customs forms when we mail things and when we fly to the states too; we also have to use passports to enter the states from here (while the dept. of state website says otherwise, the airport officials will seriously hassle anyone who doesn't have one, as we witnessed two weeks ago); and of course, we can't vote for president and we don't have a voting senator or representative in the house.
I officially gave up my right to vote in federal elections on Thursday. I am now officially a VI resident. (Dave has been one for a month now.) I went to the DMV and got my license. Not quite as easy as it is in the states. It involves 1) going to the DMV to buy a health form ($2), 2) which you then take to a local optomotrist who checks your eyes and makes sure you don't have any serious health problems (for $20), 3) then you go get two passport photos taken of yourself ($10), then 4) you return to the DMV and pay the cashier for the written test ($10) and 5) stand in line for the test which you don't have to take to be signed off on (only available two days a week from 8am-10am) and 6) go back to the cashier to pay for your license ($35) and then, believe it or not, 7) get in line to have your photo taken for the most expensive driving license you'll ever have.
Even though you have to bring in two passport pics to get a license, they don't actually use them on the license, they just put them in your file. Normally I'm not one to complain about an ID photo, but this one is just amazingly poor. My photo is pixelated, grainy, distorted, and incredibly zoomed in. My ears aren't even in the photo and it's stretched so that my chin is almost as wide as my forehead; I have a box as a face. But the good news is, this lovely piece of plastic gets me a 10% local discount just about anywhere except the mall and the grocery stores.
One more thing about the DMV - when I say you get in line to get your photo taken, I don't mean stand in line. You stand near the photo room and look at everyone else standing or sitting nearby who are also waiting - it's just a group of people. There are no numbers to take to hold your place. You memorize the faces around you. When everyone who was there when you showed up has left, it's your turn.
Okay, not exactly a short summary, but it's the details that make life interesting here. :) We haven't figured out what's in store for the weekend yet. Definitely some beach-going and swimming. No cruise ships until next Tuesday, so we should take advantage of the emptiness.
posted by Kendra at 10:17 AM
1 Comments:
OH, please let us see the funny face photo!!!! It sounds like a true classic. :)
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