Countdown To Freedom

I am in the final week of my month in St Thomas, and I am sad to see our time here coming to an end. It has been incredibly restorative to my soul. Before I left for this trip, I was feeling run down and unsettled. I felt trapped and without purpose. Since being away from my routine, I have found a new direction and I am eager to return stateside if only to implement my plans. I have also been without WiFi for at least half of my time. At best, telephone and internet service is spotty and erratic. In the places we have stayed, we “had” WiFi, but for various, usually weather-related reasons, we have had long periods without. I am actually writing this post on my mobile phone. I am laying across my roommate’s bed, right next to the open sliding door, which we have determined is the most sustained signal in the house. Being so disconnected has been akin to detoxing. It has been unpleasant and unsettling. I have tried to take a stoic approach to it all. Keeping a good sens

I overheard my girlfriend referring to me as a minimalist last night, and for some reason, that struck me as funny. I suppose it is because I have never really consciously embraced that. Yet, I look at the choices I have made over the past couple of years, and I realize that is exactly what I have become. At this moment, I am sitting at a cafe in St Thomas drinking a carton of coconut water. My small backpack is sitting next to me. I have two mobile phones on my right. They are both prepaid. One has a dual SIM slot so I can connect both at home and abroad. I have a small leather journal, my Passport, and a basic black leather purse. I have embraced minimalism due to necessity. I came to St Thomas for a working vacation about 2 weeks ago with a small carry-on. I have about 6 wrap dresses with me and 2 sets of yoga pants. I have a pair of flip-flops, tennis shoes, and dress shoes. Believe it or not, I have not worn all of the things I have with me! I am realizing how little I act

St Thomas is wild, chaotic, and wonderful! From the breathtakingly amazing views to the clear blue water to the haphazard homes plucked on the mountainside in complete ignorance of the “laws” of gravity, this place is a study in contradiction. You are surrounded by obscene wealth and heartbreaking poverty. There is an undercurrent of hostility to the state-siders. We bring our money to spend, which supports life here, but we also bring traffic, drive up housing prices, and we can leave when the inevitable pitfalls of island life become more than we can handle. As a state-sider, there are definite adjustments that you must make to live here. One, the grocery stores are limited and expensive by state-side standards. A block of cheese that I paid $2.50 for in the mainland, is $6.99 here. Ironically, alcohol is sinfully cheap and way too easy to obtain. Frankly, it is very much a way of life here. Steep Roads in St Thomas The roads here are steep, poorly maintained, and li