"No, ma'am, they are very nice people, and they are American. You know this is American territory, right?” I shot back. She immediately changes the subject to the overpriced taxis.
I walk downtown; floods of tourists swarm the street, eager to bargain on fake Prada purses. The bank is only a few blocks away, but I am hurrying because it’s almost 2, and they close at 3 p.m. A taxi driver yells out his window at me, “Back to da ship!” Recognizing me, he speeds off. I pass by a St. Thomian woman, who looks directly in my eyes. “Good night,” she says with a big smile.“Good afternoon,” I respond.
“Oh my, yes, it tis, still afternoon! Mine feets hurts. Me think its time fa bed,” she says with a loud laugh.
I go to the bank and try to open an account on the island. This is my fourth time at First Bank this week trying to open an account. “Why do you want to have an account here?” asks the teller. It seems like she is questioning my citizenship. “Where do ya live?” she asks.
------Or Choose a story from below------
Rio: City of Wonder and Poverty
A Million Needles: Catching the King
Top Photo: Another one of St. Thomas' beautiful beaches.
“I have my address written down on the application,” I reply.
“But ya gone need to get da letter from da landlord. Me gonna hold dis information till you get da leddar.” Walking by a family of sunburned mid-westerners, holding a map and bickering at each other, I laugh to myself about the bank, not knowing or caring when I would get the chore done. It was hard to believe I had been in St. Thomas for a year.
I walk into the bookstore to sell my schoolbooks back. I realize that not one of my books is on the list. I then realize the books they are buying back are only the ones needed for the next semester, and since classes are only offered once a year, you have to wait for an entire year to sell the books back.
Island life is a cycle, and there is only one place to go - in a circle. Nothing you can do makes anything easier or more affective. You could fight it. You could get yourself worked up. But, you'll end up resenting it because it takes an hour to go to the bank, everything is overpriced, and nothing happens on time. Or, you could just slow down and go with the flow.
For those on vacation, St. Thomas is a great way to relax and do nothing, but living in perpetual slow motion takes time to get used to. For some, it is easy, and time flies without their noticing.
Seasons and lists use to rule my life, but without them I learned how to adapt to the unknown.
Time now goes by less unnoticed, and I live my life with my hair loose.
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Osprey - JournAlum - The Lumberjack - KRFH/610 AM - Travel
