What a busy week! Received my birth certificate in the mail, filled out my application for a passport, and will get the picture taken at Walgreen's today, then bring it all to the Post Office sometime during the work week.
A word of advice to those of you planning a trip or move out of the country: check with the embassy of the country to which you are traveling for passport requirements. Everything I had read maintained that I would need a return ticket to the states. However, upon checking with the Honduran embassy, I was assured that I could renew my stamp each month for 3 months (visas are not required in Honduras), then either leave the country for a few days and return or pay an extra $100 to stay. This is if you are entering the country as a tourist. If you enter as a resident, or apply for residency after arriving, the requirements are different. But don't believe everything you read...check with the country's embassy to get the facts
I emailed my new friend, Mark (Webmaster of official Utila Website), with more questions. He put me in touch with an ex-patriot from New York who has lived on Utila for 7 years...Jan. She called me last night and answered many of my questions, and will call again today for more conversation. She sounds like a delightful person, and I'm looking forward to already having some friends when I move to Utila.
I think I have an apartment lined up. Emailed Rita, owner of the Sandstone Apts. regarding availability. She has a lovely one-bedroom with hardwood floors, cable tv, A/C, wifi, completely furnished and right by the ocean for only $450/month! I can fall asleep to the sound of the waves every night. If this is a dream, please don't wake me up!
Wisconsin is having more than its share of political woes right now. As an employee of the Middleton-Cross Plains School District, I have not been to work since last Wed. Teachers are protesting our new governor's bill which would strip them of their collective bargaining rights. As a school bus driver, I am non-union, but I defend the stand taken by the teacher's because this is (supposed to be) a country founded on people's rights. None of us should stand by while our rights are threatened, even if we don't agree with them. This is one of the reasons I am anxious to move to Utila. America is not the country it was when I was growing up in the 50's & 60's...the political climate is almost intolerable, and the sense of entitlement embraced by the American people is deplorable. Whatever happened to common courtesy, living within one's means, and raising one's own children?
I'm hoping the island will allow for a more stress-free life...at least one in which I won't have to be embroiled in political unrest. I will finally have the time to sit at my laptop and write. It might even be nice if I could sell a few articles to travel magazines, or get a novel or two published perhaps. But even if the writing is only for me (and posterity!) it will be a welcome change.
There is also some volunteer work I can be involved in...one having to do with iguanas (or wishy willies as they call them) and the other with whale sharks. Utila is surrounded by the world's second largest barrier reef, and we all know the damage being done to the coral reefs. Maybe I can learn to dive (the world's cheapest diving is available on Utila) and somehow do my part in helping to preserve this wonderous reef.
So many challenges await!
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