I'm still trying to figure out how to change the name of my actual blog.. now that we've moved it seems a bit funny that its still labeled Puerto Rico - so if anyone can help out in that department, it would be greatly appreciated!
So - our first few days here have been BUSY! We managed to load up Alpie's crate with an air mattress, towels, bed sheets and about 10 cans of tuna, as well as her food, a Costco packet of batteries and some other bits and bobs. Yes, all of a sudden our little puppy ended up being almost 90lb!!!! We got away with it though ("Yeah, she's just big boned") and Alpie didnt seem to mind the plane ride over at all - she was as happy as a clam once we arrived in St. Croix.
We got ourselves a little Suzuki rental and made our way to our new home - only to find that it looked like something out of a candy store - it was painted bright yellow with a bright red roof...right next to the pink and purple house next door to us .. oh well, as long as it's got a kitchen, bathroom and someplace to sleep, thats all we were worried about.
We set up our room (with whatever we had - air mattress and a backpack full of clothes) and set out to door some chores and a whole lot of job hunting.
On Tuesday Geoff went to apply for his V.I. licence - the process was really easy. Since his Washington licence was still current, all he needed was a print out of his driving record and it was a straight swap-over. Mine involves a little more work - I need a medical exam done by a doctor, take the written test and thats it. No driving test like I was originally told!
On Wednesday Geoff and I went to Carambola Resort, as there was a huge job fair on. There were about 500 applicants! We spent a good two hours there, chatting with people and conducting our interviews and I left feeling pretty confident (Update: I got a phone call yesterday with a second interview on Tuesday).
Yesterday (Thursday) we went to the Department of Labour - now this is something that Puerto Rico can really learn from. Its a small office in Sunny Isle (mid-island) and offers unemployment benefits, resume-writing and career building workshops, and helps you to find work. Centerlink, I'm sorry but even a tiny island provides a more efficient and effective service that you do. We walked in, and were seen within 10 minutes of arrival. A short application form, and then we could look through a book with all the job postings from the last week. We could pick as many as we wanted, and then had to write why we thought our skills/abilities/training matched the job description. We were then introduced to our own careers advisor and she talked through with us about what we were looking for, and if she thought that the jobs we applied for were right for us, then she would go ahead and fax our resume through to the employer. Geoff applied for a couple, and so did I.
He's had some luck already - he had an interview that same afternoon as a plant operator for a corrugated roofing factory!
Alpie is settling in a lot better after her first day being a complete and utter pork chop. She was really confused and upset when we had to leave her on the first day for our errands, but she's getting used to it now -and as long as we do something active with her every day (beach, jog etc), then she's a happy chappy.
Overall we're feeling really happy and positive about this move. The response, support and opportunities regarding jobs has been overwhelming, and although people are still on "island time", things still GET DONE here.. unlike Puerto Rico.
Signing off for today - its back to job hunting for one last day before the weekend!
Note: The one pic is of our new home - and the view from our front porch (yes - no skyscrapers!!!) The other two I put in just for fun.. when Geoff and Alpie were wrestling.
