St. Thomas.

Working Del Sol in STT is so awesome. Our managers are the exact opposite of our managers in Durango, and it is awesome. Our first day we smashed a record for this new port lecturer, and people noticed. Jeff Pederson the owner of Del Sol sent us an e-mail congratulating us on such a great day. It is sweet to see how fast we can make an impact down here.

Yesterday I had the day off with my roommate Joel. He is probably one of the funniest people I have ever met. We went diamond shopping and strolled around main street seeing the shops. After breakfast and shopping we decided to hit the beach. It was awesome. We got friiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeed so sunburned :)
We decided to check out Brewers beach after hitting up Lindburg beach.

Our car brokedown-

After just walking down to the beach to check out the water then straight back to our car to get our stuff, we tried to start the car- it was dead. We had to be rescued by Courtney (one of our managers), Jake and Charles. We called our rental agency, and to our surprise they showed up super quick! They ran us over to the airport where we got our brand new Hyundai Elantra, and a free full tank of gas!!! (we were almost empty). We were super friendly to Alwin, (rental car guy). It is so sweet to see how far a little bit of kindness can take you in this world. Especially in a rough place such as St. Thomas.

Don't Stop Breaking Down the Doors

-Kam

St. Thomas!

Whew! What a three days it has been. Tuesday I went sailing up at Deer Creek with my Dad, Jason, Sister and her friends. It was a blast. My Dad forgot to pack the windsurfer boom, so he was rather mad at himself when we got there, but it was just fine (The wind that day wasn't even enough to be fun windsurfing). Over the past few months I have really learned to be content with whatever situation I am in. It was fun to also be able to see my best friends hockey game before I left. It was sad saying goodbye to such a close friend after only seeing him for a short time. Once I got home I had to immediately go drop off some stuff to another friend I had neglected to see while I was home. After I got back it was the moment I had been looking forward to the least. Saying goodbye to my Mom. God bless her, she is one of the funniest people I know, I always find myself saying stupid stuff or just conducting myself in a funny way and I know I got that from my mother. It was one of my saddest goodbyes ever.

Wednesday hits- flying out of Salt Lake to my new home on St. Thomas, where I will be living for the next six months. Miami is definitely one of my least favorite airports after arriving this trip. Constantly being told different things from different people, none of which speak English.

Flight Canceled- awful.

Jake and I had to spend the night in a hotel just outside the airport due to some technicalities with checking our bags in (one of which never came). We got transferred to stand-by on an 11 o' Clock flight. We made it by the skin of our teeth. (<-----Huge story behind this. Ask in person)

Landed on St. Thomas today, Thursday August 23rd. More to Come soon. Shorter Posts. More pictures :)

Don't Stop Breaking Down the Doors

-Kam

So bitter sweet seeing all my friends today. I miss them dearly saying goodbye and hello in the same conversation is definitely a weird feeling. I think I finally understand why Hawaiians say Aloha. With every goodbye you are saying hello to something new. Breaking down a new door. More posts to come soon and updates on photo per day. Love my family and friends more than anything, now more so than ever.

Never Stop Breaking Down the Doors

-Kam

This is Paul, he has been such an inspiration to me this summer.

The Umbrella in action.

Today was an amazing day for me at work. Jake and I finally got to work together for the first time in a month, and we KILLED IT! It was so great for us to have such an awesome day together. The pictures above are of a man named Paul. He is constantly roaming around Durango in his wheel chair. He has such a bright spirit. Whenever he comes into our store Jake and I make it a point to talk to him and really get to know him. He is sooo funny. We have really grown to love his visits, and thank goodness he frequently stops by. It isn't very easy to understand Paul, but after having a lot of conversations with him Jake and I have really learned to understand him. He is so smart, you can tell that his brain is one hundred percent there, he just doesn't have the motor skills or body to accompany his brilliant mind. Today he found out I was from Salt Lake and was quick to point out how the Jazz lost to the Bulls in the finals a few years back. He was rubbing it in my face about how good Michael Jordan is. It was fun to be able to joke with Paul about sports.

We had talked so long that it had begun to rain outside so Jake and I asked him what he does when he is rolling around town and it begins to rain. He joked that he finds anywhere and every where that he can drive into to stay dry until the storm stops. I told him that he needed an umbrella. The light bulb went on. He told me I needed to the back of the store and get a box so I did and he had me make him an umbrella. The pictures above are ones of the makeshift umbrella that I made him (just to his specifications). When I finished the cardboard part he was quick to tell me that he needed me to cut bags to drape down from the edges to keep him dry. He even made me tape the corners together so that the bags wouldn't flap funny in the wind. The whole time he was telling me how he is a "MacGyver" and that I needed to make it sturdy. I definitely feel like I failed. Customers were coming in and we definitely got some funny looks but it was so much fun to be able to build him something to keep him dry on a cold wet day like today.

It is so humbling to be able to watch Paul on a daily basis. I have learned so much from him. He is an incredible person and I will never forget the kindness and friendship that he has shown all of us.

This is a very long post (sorry) but today I also finally got my opportunity to pay it forward. Some bikers pulled up in front of our store and didn't have any money to pay for their parking meter. I had payed with cash for my coffee at the Bean earlier that day, which left me with filled with loose change. I hesitated for a second, then it hit me this is my change to pay it forward to some bikers who had shown me kindness earlier in July. I payed for their meter until 6 when the clock stops. They were so appreciative. They stopped in later to try and pay me back for the money I had put in my meter. I refused to take it, they tried so hard to get me to take it. I told them about how I lost my debit card while riding my bike to Purgatory (a local ski resort). I got to the gas station and realized it had fallen out somewhere along the way. I was in desperate need of food and water to make the 26 mile ride back to Durango. The first guy I asked (on a Harley) gave me 5$ which was just enough for water and some food. After telling my story, I explained how tonight was my chance to pay it forward to someone in need (just happened to be another Harley rider and his wife). They instantly took back the money and said that the next chance they had, they would pay it forward. WOW what a day, I can honestly say that it was one of the most humbling days I have ever had working, anywhere. Never pass up a chance to pay it forward, and enjoy the simple things in life.

Never Stop Breaking Down the Doors

- Kam

New Chapters-

The last few months have been INSANE for me. I have met so many great people and seen so many incredible things while spending my summer in Durango, Colorado. I have been working on documenting my adventures as best as I can so when the time comes that I should leave, I will always have incredible videos to look back on.

Jake and I are anxiously awaiting our departure for St. Thomas. We got offered an extension to live in the Caribbean for 5 months from August until January. It definitely was not an easy decision for me. I miss school. I miss my friends and most importantly I miss my family. I have been so fortunate to be surrounded by some of the most incredible people my entire life. I know it will be the experience of a lifetime, but I will be so sad to leave Durango, then leave Salt Lake for another 5 months. I HATE goodbyes. They honestly scare me more than anything in the world. You never know when a goodbye might be your last.

Life is moving so fast right now. Some days I find it hard to sit still. I feel like I am everywhere at once yet nowhere at all. I have never been so anxious to see what new things I will come across every day I wake up. I love living wide eyed, and with an open heart; constantly seeking a new adventure.

I am in the process of making a photo album of my life for a year, with a picture per day. I will figure out how to link it here soon.

Never stop Breaking Down the Doors

- Kam