With a clean house and clean bodies (we had not showered and were in the same clothes for a good 3 days, and had no razors...that was interesting) we felt on top of the world. Today the student that sold us her car was going to bring it to us! At that point we had been driving a rental and were ready to get acquainted with our new car.
She pulled up with the ugliest car I have ever seen (that is probably an exaggeration, but it was really bad). There was a large dent on one side that was not visible in the photos, the donut was on, there was a crack in the windshield, one of the door handles was missing, and you can't open the passenger side door with the key. Then we got in...it too was filthy. There was dirt and sand everywhere, she did not even attempt to clean it for us. Whatever, she already had the money and it was all fixable.
Joe and I drove her back to her apartment and then went for a little joy ride. Five minutes into the fun, the car would no longer turn. The steering wheel was turning and turning, but the tires were not moving. We were stuck. Thank God it was in a parking lot. At this point it was just getting comical and blatantly obvious...the island hates us.
Luckily, we had not returned the rental car, so a cab took us home and we were still able to get around the island. Getting a hold of the student was a different challenge. No internet, no local phone. Joe had to go to the lobby to attempt to communicate with her as well as and family and friends. Once we finally got in touch she seemed shocked, apparently it had never broken down on her. She contacted her mechanic and said she would pay for the repairs...duh! But, we still had to pay for a rental car for five additional days (island time).
That night the spouses organization was having a pasta and cupcake sale at the school. It was a good chance to meet them and for Joe to see his school for the first time. It was pretty exciting. We met some really great ladies and had some really good food. Things were looking up!
The next morning I woke up, fed the girls and took them potty. Since we got to the island we were letting Hope and Jasmine out on the large lawn in front of our condo off of their leashes. Everything was going well. They were able to run and play, it was perfect. This particular morning another resident was also taking her dog potty...Hope began barking, which prompted Jasmine to bark, and then all hell broke loose. Jasmine followed the dog (Gabana) and his owner down to the street. I told Hope to stay and ran after Jasmine. She just kept going and wouldn't listen. I chased her up and down several streets until I was able to herd her back to the house. I cannot even imagine how it looked. I had just woken up, my hair was all over the place, in pj's with no bra. Crazy American lady alert!
Now I know that the only danger was her being hit by a car, but there is not much traffic in our complex and she could not have gotten lost. But, if somehow she did get out of the complex she would have been screwed because this island is teeming with wild dogs...packs of them. She is most def not equipped for that.
So, at the end of the day we have no car, no wifi, no phones and none of our boxes of stuff had arrived. But, we did have each other, our girls and and island to explore!
