Well, after months of planning, months of training, and about 6 weeks of sitting around homeless and unemployed, the dream is finally becoming a reality, and our little adventure is about to go into full swing. Andrea has been down in Cayman for almost three weeks now. She has been working hard and having fun, and seems to really enjoy it. But I’ve been stuck up here in the States, first waiting to find a job, and then waiting for my work permit to clear. Everything has finally come through, and on Monday, August 13, I will finally fly down to Grand Cayman to officially begin the next stage of the Team Schmoop adventures.
This has been a very interesting process so far. It’s not easy to change your life in such drastic ways as we have done, and it’s taken a lot of sacrifice to make it happen. I’ll write more in the coming days about the sacrifices that Andrea, Duffy and I have made. But right now, in my last post from America, I wanted to say thank you for the sacrifices that others have made, and the assistance they have given, to make our dreams a reality.
Specifically, and on behalf of both myself and Andrea, I would like to say thank you to my parents, Mike and Harriette, and to Andrea’s parents, Andrew and Gladys, for all they have done for us over the course of the last year or so, and especially during July and August. Our parents have been very supportive of what many would consider to be a crazy idea, and without their support I don’t know if Andrea and I would have had the courage to make such drastic changes in our lives. But beyond that, they have been there for all of our needs, from issues with the Binghamton house to helping us with car issues to offering financial support assistance to running errands for us. And since the end of July when we left Florida, Andrea and I have been homeless and jobless, and we’ve drifted around New York spending time with both of our parents. We were always welcomed without question as to how long our impositions would last, always made to feel at home despite the fact that we ourselves felt unproductive and non-contributory. I will say that both Andrea and I really enjoyed getting to spend a good deal of time with our parents — for both of us, as with many people our age, extended visits with our parents are rare. So it was very nice to get to spend a good deal of quality time with them. But even considering that, it must be an imposition on them to have people living in their houses for an extended period, even if it is family. Andrea and I are very appreciative of how welcome Andrew, Gladys, Mike and Harriette made us feel.
Also worth mentioning is the very sad development that Duffy is not able to come down to the Cayman Islands with us immediately. We hope to get him down there as soon as possible, but between the restrictions on bringing pets into the country and the restrictions on pets in most apartments in the Cayman Islands, he will have to wait behind for a while. I know that other dog owners out there will understand how much love you have for your dog, and I’m sure that you can imagine how sad we are to leave Duffy behind. But thankfully, Andrew and Gladys have agreed to watch Duffy for us until we can get him down there, and it eases our minds to know that he is in good hands. Even though he is a small dog, this is a big burden. So on behalf of all of Team Schmoop, an extra thank you to Gladys and Andrew for taking care of the smallest and cutest member of the team.
THANK YOU HARRIETTE, MIKE, GLADYS AND ANDREW FOR ALL OF YOUR LOVE, SUPPORT, AND ASSISTANCE!
And thank you, teamschmoop.com readers, for sticking with this blog so long while we’ve worked to transition from our corporate jobs to scuba instructors. When I conceived this blog I envisioned it relating more to the scuba jobs and the island lifestyle, and I am excited to finally be arriving at the point where I will be able to provide that content and blog about living abroad and diving adventures. So please keep reading — the best is yet to come!
The next post will be in a few days, and it will originate from the Cayman Islands! Until then, GO TEAM SCHMOOP!