You Know You’re In GTMO When…

I realized I haven't really written anything about where we live. So here you are:

There is only one grocery store, gas station, internet service provider, major street (Sherman Avenue, where the maximum speed limit is a whopping 25 mph… this actually may be one of my favorite things about GTMO), salon, school, church/chapel (serves all religions), auto shop, hospital, radio station, dry cleaners, library, McDonalds (we don’t care ‘cause we go MAYBE once a month… seriously though, how many places do you know that have only ONE McDonalds?), you get the gist.

You have to order online anything out of the ordinary (although I'm proud to say I've only done this twice--plastic sheets and Jacob's favorite cake mix--and everything else we just go without). And when I say "out of the ordinary," think balloons, and stuff of that sort. So, pretty much everything you don't use on a daily or weekly basis. The NEX (Navy Exchange, the one grocery store) runs out of stuff at seemingly random times and it feels like forever before they restock. You think, "There are only four packages of chicken breasts left. They wouldn't really run out of chicken... would they?" Yes, yes they would. The kids haven't had their fruit-snacks-fix in about a month. But, you learn to adapt (which I take pride in being good at... adapting, that is... not learning. I stink at learning). And the fruit snacks thing is probably for the better.

You figure you need some exercise, so you take a walk outside and five different people pull over to ask if you need a ride.

One of the women at play group had to take her car to the shop because banana rats ATE HER SPARK PLUGS (which apparently is not uncommon)

Iguanas are protected animals, so if you see one in the road you have to stop until it crosses. Banana rats are not protected animals. Also, they're really dumb, so it's pretty easy to run them over (on accident, of course...) They're called banana rats because they poop bananas. No lie. But not real bananas. The poop just looks like rotten bananas. But still smells like poop. Mental picture: both iguanas and banana rats are about as big as a pillow, folded lengthwise. With a tail. Actual pictures:

(picture stolen from a photographer here on island)

This is actually one of the iguanas that hangs out by the chapel

(picture stolen from online)