Had to get a closer look...

So I had to get a closer look. How can you not be part of this Puerto Rico tradition. Just hoping we get invited over for dinner! 

This little piggy was walking down the road just a couple hours ago. Island life...

Christmas dinner....

I love Christmas time in Puerto Rico! Random road closures due to the Governor handing out gifts and bands singing Christmas songs!  

As I'm typing this blog, Christmas dinner is literally walking down the road!! 

Oh the crazy things you see here in the Caribbean! Hoping we get invited!!!

One Last Gift...

Well I have one last gift to pick up today for Christmas. This item got sent to our physical address, which the post office does not ship to. However, when ordering from Amazon we have no idea what the item is shipping until it has already shipped. UPS needs physical address and USPS needs mailing address. Anyway, so I am here at the post office in Dorado and the line is literally about 30 people deep. Let's see how long this takes. Islands have their own time. Its basically slow and laid back. Which sounds great if you gonna hang on the beach or take a stroll but when you have things to do it can get a little aggravating. But what can I expect on an Island the size of holland to Grand Rapids wide and Holland to Lansing long with over 3,000,000 people on it.The Lord is teaching me patience for sure. When we come back to Michigan we are going to be the most patient people in Meijers.  5 deep that's short, 10 deep, normal. It's truly hard to understand unless you visit or live here. Even then it's hard to understand. I am greatful we even have USPS here! It makes things so much simpler. Long but simpler.

I hate to admit it but I am adjusting to island time. I had a meeting at 1pm today for a wedding I am officiating his week. I was late by about 20min. Of course I am used to the ones I am meeting being late too. However, this couple is from the states, they were on time and had eaten by the time I arrived. Oh well, what do you do. The Caribbean life is crazy.

Santa's Caribbean Sleigh

Living in the Caribbean during Christmas time we see a lot of crazy things we don't typically see in West Michigan. People dressed up in what looks like a human pineada costume while standing on the street corners asking for money, parties almost every night; some with very loud music with speakers literally larger that the truck carrying them, and this, Santa in a kayak. Some friends our ours saw this and I just had to share the photo. 

Have a very merry Christmas everyone!

Fresh Fish!!

Tonight we headed out to a beach not many people seem to go to. The boys wanted to fish so we got our poles and hit the water. The next thing you know some fishermen come in and start selling their catch!  Nothing like fresh fish options straight out of the Atlantic Ocean!  While here we ran into some friends who were actually here to buy fish. It was nice to see them tonight. 

Shady Actions...

Here in Puerto Rico a lot of people come to the island to get married. I mean who wouldn't, it is absolutely beautiful. I have been blessed to be ordained as a minister, with that comes the ability to get licensed here to perform weddings. There is a couple coming from the states this week and they have asked me to perform their wedding. In Puerto Rico a license is only good for six months, so I had to get mine renewed yesterday. Now this is where the crazy part comes in. The last time I went to get my license I had to buy a sticker, this is what made my license official. This sticker was sold in the same office I registered for my license. There was no questions ask from my end on the legitimacy of this sticker, after all it was sold in a government office. So, assuming this was the same process, which I should have learned by now never to assume anything here, I went to the same spot to buy my sticker. I was informed that they no longer sell the stickers in the office. The young man behind the counter kindly told me that I had to go buy the sticker from a guy sitting in a chair on the street!!! Yes that's right, I had to walk to the street, find a man sitting in a chair selling stickers and trust these were legit stickers. So I preceded to look for this man and sure enough, sitting in a chair by the street was a man and his wife selling stickers. The amount was $25 but they charge $30, needless to say I was a little skeptical of this whole process, it was a little shady. I felt like I was in a movie or some partaking in some sort of crime. So after buying these shady stickers from a shady man on the street for an official government document I went back up stairs. Low and behold these were what they were looking for! Crazy!! So now I have my renewed celebration license in Puerto Rico. Just another crazy day in the Caribbean.

Trip to the ER

Well this was unexpected. No we are not going on a trip, to the beach or staying overnight some palace....We are headed to the ER. Our youngest son was playing a little to hard and gashed his head open on the wall. Here in PR a visit to the ER is an all day event. So we packed extra clothing, snacks, and blankets, not only that they make you buy your own supplies, so my wife packed up all we had at home. And they expect payment up front, even with insurance and they reimburse. So here we go...

Things you just don't see other places

Today as I was coming home from dropping of my son to football practice I saw and odd scene, well for West Michigan anyway. Thee grown men riding down the road on BMX bikes. I mean a main road not a side road headed to the local gas station. The problem was is that there were only two bikes. Yes three grown men two bikes. And no one did not have pegs on the wheels. The third guy was literally riding in between the driver of the bicycle and the handle bars. I am almost sure this guy was passed out. How they manage I have no idea! This comes one day after I saw a teen boy riding down the road on a bike with a chicken hanging by his feet. Something just make you go wow! Sorry no pictures of these guys. It all happened so fast.

Anyway, just another crazy thing I thought you might get a laugh at. Enjoy your day! God bless!

UPS.....What an experience

So ya, UPS pick up here in PR is kinda crazy. Waiting to pick up packages for Christmas and I have been here about 15min so far and there is still about 10 people in front of me. The line is wrapped around the lobby like a spring and it is about ready to burst! I hate to be the one in the middle, they could get dizzy. 

The addresses in Puerto Rico are crazy. We have a physical address and a mailing address. UPS can't seem to find either address. If we get one major thing taken care of in a day it is a good day! Then add the language barrier on top of that and you have a day of it. This is my fourth time to UPS in the past two weeks. I have been here three times just for this one package. You learn just to thank God for the opportunity to have UPS here and just learn to be extremely patient. 

Wishing I had a blow gun.

Many people have dogs as pets. This is not a shock or surprise. However most people tend to care for their pets and have some sort of concern for others concerning their dogs barking and what not. Not here! Last night, 2:00 am I am  awoken once again by my neighbors dogs (4 Boxers) barking like their is a masked invader ready to take the life of their owner. But no, it was a coconut or lizard or cat. The owners don't even wink! This went on for about an hour! Non stop barking. I literally was hoping I had some sort of blow dart that would make them go to sleep. All I wanted to do was sleep, is that to much to ask? Finally they stopped, until about 7:00 then they started right back up again! This is an on going issue. No one in the neighborhood seems to mind. Trying to adjust to this but it is not easy. 

Most dogs here are all outdoor dogs. Which is weird to us because we have two indoor dogs; a German Shepard and a Sato (Puerto Rican mut). Pet dogs here are treated like animals, which they are, but our dogs are treated like family. Just a different mindset I guess. Well any way, now I am up drinking my coffee and getting ready for our Christmas Service at church this evening. No morning service today which is really odd for us, but kinda nice at the same time. Until next time, have a blessed day.

Intro to my blog

Hello. My name is John Hoogeveen. I am excited to share some of the crazy things I experience here in Puerto Rico.  I am a missionary here with my family in Dorado, Puerto Rico. Although this is not a "religious" blog, Jesus is involved in my everyday life so He will be referenced. With that being said, this blog is not to share my ministry experience, faith views or what God is doing in my life ministry wise, but rather my everyday life experiences while living here in Puerto Rico (an island in the Caribbean). During my first year here I have experienced some crazy things and shared them with friends. Time and time again they suggested I share what happens, because sometimes, things are just truly unbelievable. I have been asked to share them with you all, so I have decide to do so. Being I do not speak Spanish well, and growing up in West Michigan having a very different cultural background, things can get a little hairy, and that is just with people, not what happens due to simply living in the Caribbean. I hope you enjoy my blog and it gives you a break from your daily grind. So here we go, get read to experience just a glimpse of my crazy Caribbean life.

Typically these blog post will not be long, just little tidbits of crazy stuff that happens. There may be one post a day, one post a week or several post a day based on what I experience. Some days are just a little more crazy than others.

Say hello to our Caribbean Snow..I mean Sandman