Anticipated Arrival

Today I woke up before my wake-up call. (More than 8 hours of sleep isn't necessary.) Eating that chicken in the Airline-paid Subway sandwich caught up with me. I went down to the second floor for breakfast and a quick email check before checking out of the hotel. The cute French-speaking girl was in the breakfast area and in the hall! She recognised* me and something to her mom in French. I could only smile back. When I got to security to enter the terminal, the woman told me to go back and turn in my voucher from last night for a boarding pass, which wasn't a problem. On the way back to the security point a gentleman stopped me. He complimented me on looking nice, asked what I planned to be (I said maybe teacher.), and offered me a book about Hare Krishna chanting for $1. He was a good guy. I asked if he had heard of the Bahá'í Faith; he said yes and that we're kind, well-mannered people. I gave him US$2 for the book. After all, Thaddeus had been raving about this sort of chanting at Green Acre, and the only other thing I was carrying was Ruhíyyih Khánúm's pioneer manual. Maybe I'll get to reading it or give it to someone else who will it someday.

So I'm back at gate 1 -- 24 hours after I was first here. I hoped to see Michael in at the gate and surprise him, but his flight from the States was delayed. This time everything went on with out a hitch. After all the regular passengers boarded the woman at gate 1-D called my name and I was set. After trading seats with a boy so he could sit next to his friend/brother, I sat next to a woman who is coming to St. Kitts for med. school for 2 years to become an Emergency Room doctor because it has the shortest residency and can over the greatest variety.

The very first thing I did on St. Kitts was to leave the Subway chicken to fly back to San Juan. I went through immigration fine, getting a tourist visa for three weeks. I should have said a month because that's what Millie said, but I could only remember what their embassy in America told me. All of my bags were there in the pile of left-over luggage! Apparently it's not unusual for bags to get separated from their owners in the Caribbean. I told the taxi driver that I'm going to the National Baha'i Centre in New Pond Site. He couldn't find it and we almost stopped at a phone so I could call the Williams, but he finally found it. He asked for US$8; I gave him a 10. I think I should have let him give me change, though, because it's probably what a Kittitian would do. I don't want distinguish myself from them.

Lynda (St. Lucia, but from Canada) was the first person I met. I don't remember who the other woman was. Later that day I met Philip (St. Martin, but from the D.C.), Lloyd & Millie (Nevis), Daren (Trinidad), Doreen (Daren's mother-in-law from Trinidad) Darlene (St. Martin), and Cristina. They are all wonderful people. We went to the beach. You can see your feet while in the water. You can't sink to the bottom if you try because of the high salinity. We got to sleep fairly late.

*Kittitians use British spelling.