Arrival

The trip down to Grand Cayman was not as difficult as I expected as my two large suitcases were checked all the way through. That made it easier to manage going through customs. They were very friendly and helpful. It seemed strange to check the box marked "Resident" instead of visitor on the form.

I got off the plane around 5:00 p.m. and after going thru customs went next door to pick up the rental car that I needed to use for two days until my car was ready for me. I was apprehensive as I went to get the vehicle and my fears were realized when I discovered that the steering wheel was on the right side of the car - and by right side, I mean wrong side. They drive on the left here and that is somewhat difficult to get used to - but having the steering wheel actually on the right side is a whole 'nother situation. On the way to my condo, I washed the windshield several times while trying to indicate a turn. Shifting with your left hand is also somewhat difficult when you're not used to it. And you'd be surprised at how different it is to see traffic behind you when you're used to looking over the other shoulder. This first experience was compounded by the rain and "rush hour" traffic and the fact that I wasn't sure where I was going - but I made it safely anyway.

My condo is basically an elevated two story unit with a garage, a kitchen, dining and living room on the first floor and three bedrooms on the second floor (the first floor sits a little higher than a split level house would). At any rate, it's somewhat simple but will do for the time being. We're still working on some of the details - like a faster internet connection, some additional linens, and some non-working outlets - but it's been comfy so far.

My first day travelling to work turned out to be quite an adventure. I wasn't sure of the route, but I figured "how hard can it be on a small island" to find your way. After my second trip around the high school and 40 minutes of driving time, I began to find out how hard it can be. I think I would have done better - again, without the rain, traffic, and those intimidating "round abouts" that they use for intersections. Actually I like the roundabouts - but I'm just nervous about getting in someone's way as I'm trying to exit and I've made a few circles around trying to find the right turn sometimes.

My office is on the second floor of one of the newer buildings in Camana Bay - the development we're building. We've basically completed about 6 blocks of buildings so far and have tenants occupying about 95% of the space. There is a theater, coffee shop, bookstore, clothing store, cell phone store, home linens store, ice cream shop, bank offices, legal offices, and a lot of Dart Realty offices open. They started the whole project by building a school and other public facilities and are now in the process of designing the layout and architecture to be used to connect the business area with the school area. There is about 500 acres of development to be done over the next 25 years, including a wide range of residental units and homes, a hotel property, a beach club, and several more retail and office buildings. Camana Bay is essentially a new "town" on Grand Cayman. All of the development is privately financed and although the goal is to eventually be profitable, the overriding drivers right now are quality, functionality, and the incorporation of the "Cayman" atmosphere of the area. We ever have our own arboretum to populate the landscaping with native plants and all the design components going in are amazing. They're working on a mosaic walkway with tiles being placed on the floor and walls that connect the town centre with a bay area. It's really cool to see.

At any rate, my first week on the job was mainly spent learning names, office locations, and getting a lot of logistical things done. I got a bank account established - one for US $$ and one for Cayman or CI $$. You can get paid in either but it's better to get US $$ cause the exchange rate going from US to CI is better than the other way around. I got my vehicle - it's a used Ford Escape that will work perfectly. They originally gave me an Explorer but I asked for something smaller as some of the parking and driving is harder to navigate here with a bigger vehicle. I went shopping at the grocery store, set up a gym membership, and toured the island (again sometimes inadvertently). As for work, I met and went to lunch with my new staff - there's a few from Jamaica, a few from Canada, and several from Cayman. They all seemed very friendly and welcoming. One of them is 8 and 1/2 months pregnant so I won't see much of her for the next three months. Next week will be very demanding as we are having board of director meetings a couple of days to review budgets and financials from my dept along with reports from operations and construction. Talk about jumping right in ....

It rained and rained and rained my first days here ... which didn't seem to surprise anyone too much although a certain tropical storm was being watched quite closely. And as it turned out - that tropical storm, later to become Hurricane Paloma - would become the highlight of my first week.