4 years......fast.....

Well, today is my four year anniversary on St. John. I don't even know how i feel about that. I graduated college, said thanks to dad for four years of out of state tuition, drove across the country with Tom, and hopped on a plane with a one way ticket, no job, and no where to live. Its not as dramatic as it sounds, i had visited here before and had just enough knowledge to convince people i knew what i was doing and enough faith to know i was heading where i was supposed to. I'm not even sure how i got to where i am. Thats not true, i do know, but it had nothing to do with me.

People constantly ask what it is like here......the honest answer is, its weird. I'm serious, this place is just weird. The island, Maho where i work and live, its all just weird. Can i describe that? No, I cannot.

I've taught school, crewed a boat, and I manage a hotel. I've said goodbye to lots of best friends. That sounds sad, and it is. But....every time you lose one, you have to find a new one, and that works out i guess. It's different every time, but its good. Do we keep in touch? Nope. Is it good to talk to them on those rare occasions? Yes.

People say they would give up anything to live here. If you do live here, you'll give up more than you think. You hand someone a whole bunch of normal when you arrive, and they give you back a pile of weird.

I do love this place, and i hope that it loves me. I just can't believe i've been here for 4 years.

An incomplete list of those i have met because of my life here: tim L, matt, josh, mary laurel, tyler, megan, jamie v, jamie z, scoot, steph, ad, cici, kels, lucy, pastor, ardath, allison L, adam, amy, chutney, doug, john ryan, bearded matt, matt ice, kyric, liz, greg, mariel, ginger, dan, capt larry, tim, scott, sheree, logan, kent, robin, maggie, carson, sam, kerrin, frank, jeanie, luke, weston, grace, nikki, shaiman, isaac, tristan, tiareh, coulter, rachel, joie, nicole, ruth, jordan, jennifer, sara, noah, jonah, bryan, katie, asher, gabe, liam, marty, stephan, chris, trevor, kendall, oli, zach, princess, joey, regina, leif, paul, cyrille, parrish, ted, slade, alan, tina, nicholas, ronnie, glen, don, seth, melissa, alley, sarah, tyler, rachel, brew, tim, sylvie, herman, .....................