Nevis Part II: The Experience(s)

Survived the holidays! Back at the office and kind of looking forward to the beginning of classes. I have 3 night classes this term, MW APII at SouthWest TN Community College and a Thursday night Patho class. Going to be a whole different feel in terms of my schedule this trimester, but I will adjust.

Back to Nevis: Yes, I felt terrible my first days (weeks) on Nevis, but I guess the time that has past has tempered those feelings and I can reflect with more objectivity now. I was alone, my son, daughter, wife and Mom hundreds of miles away and I felt trapped! No car, didn't know where to go if I had a car and no luggage (by Sunday night). I must admit, the folks there were nice. The lady that owned the house made me a tuna sandwich and brought it down along with a Coke. That was nice and needed. Later, the guy that I originally talked with to rent picked me up and took me to a local grocery (Sunshines by the Airport) to get some toiletries. I felt so alone and out of place, but knew I had to get through somehow. Around 5 or 6, a couple of MUA guys knocked on my door and said there was a dinner for MUA faculty and what time should they pick me up. Of course, I had no intention of going anywhere, but I did manage to borrow a clean shirt to wear to MUA orientation the next morning. Greg was the van driver and I guess I was lucky that he lived only a few doors down from me, so I could get on the van each morning, FRONT SEAT, and get to MUA easily enough. I found that I could walk across the goat pasture and get to the MUA dorms, replete with a store and restaurant. I found a payphone, how to make calls and discovered a local drink, Rum and Ting! I met the owner of the restaurant and made friends, just in case I ran out of money and needed a free meal or two!

While at MUA orientation on Monday, most of my luggage showed up, the other piece soon followed and I felt a lot better. By Tue afternoon, Dr. Allerton had taken a group to Charlestown to open checking accounts and I found out about Cell phones on Nevis. For a mere $99 USD, I got a Nokia phone and entered the world of pre-paid cell phones. For a mere $10 EC, I could talk almost 4 whole minutes to my family in the US! But, it helped ease some of the pain and they could call me for free! My wife ran up a huge Bellsouth bill that first month until we learned about calling cards and internet calling! The best part of my whole Nevis Experience was the people I met. Some of my students turned out to be great friends too (at least until they passed my classes). But one guy in particular made my first couple of weeks more bearable. Jamie was waiting for his family to come down, so he and I ended up have dinner together at Sylvias rather often. Another major event was when I found out I could borrow a beat up, old blue Samurai from Sirhan! Man, the feeling of being able to actually drive around again was awesome, although there weren't too many places to drive to, it felt great! And, by the end of my first week, I had found a better place to move into, and just before the end of my first month there, Jamie and helped me find a small house in Charlestown that I could "sit" rent free (just pay utilities)! The final piece of the "saving Wayne's sanity" puzzle came when Sirhan turned the rental over to me and got another jeep. Now I had wheels (ableit shoddy) and a house to myself (no AC or windows)! Turned out that Jamie was in my API class and Sirhan was in my APII class, so they turned out to be real friends that I could turn to whenever I needed. One thing about the Nevis experience that was tough on me was the fact that I had to depend on people to get by now. I had always managed to get by without actually needing anyone else, but Nevis changed that and I think that is one positive thing that came from my time there. I also realized how much I missed and loved my wife and daughter. I wanted to provide for them and protect them, but I was trapped on this island (prison?) and could only provide a little financial support. Being able to talk to them and my Mom kept me going. Being alone and having to finally face my own inner self forced me to realize the mistakes I had made, the people I had let down or hurt and how far I was from the man I wanted to be. Nevis was not paradise by any means to me, but the time I spent there allowed me to "re-program", so that when I finally escaped, I was able to put my life back on track and make a better home for my family.

Ok, the next episode will not be so deep and will include all the various impressions of Nevis that I formed while there.

Got to find some work to do now!

Good day!