HOMECOMING!!

In 6 days I'll be back in the US!!! Albeit only briefly (I'm only home for a week), but home none the less. I'm definitely enjoying my time in Dominica and am glad I'm not leaving here for good yet (we'll see when that happens, but I still haven't lost my love of the place yet). It will be good to go back to the US for several reasons.
Firstly, HOT SHOWERS!! Don't get me wrong, it's usually pretty hot here so a cold to lukewarm shower is actually quite pleasant. However, getting a cold to lukewarm shower in the morning (when it's still in the low to mid 70's outside) is kind of chilling to wake up to (but yes, it does wake you up in the morning). Plus since it's going to be in the 30's to 50's at home (and I'm used to 70's and 80's), I'll definitely need hot showers to keep me warm.
Secondly, STARBUCKS!!! I was one of those people back in the states that lived at Starbucks. I went every morning (and if you figure out how much you're spending per year by doing that your jaw will hit the floor!). Dominica doesn't have a Starbucks (but Rituals is a good stand-in). The first time I see a Starbucks (in some airport on my way home probably), it's a grande non-fat pumpkin spice latte (if they still have it, if not then the good 'ole standby of a grande no-foam skinny vanilla latte will do).
Thirdly, OPTIONS!! Don't get me wrong, you can find everything you need in Dominica. Note I said need, not want. Usually here you only have one option and that's what you get. I can't wait to be able to go into a store or restaurant and be able to choose from more than one thing that I like to eat or try! I've actually gotten used to it here and don't mind it. But sometimes it is nice to have a variety.
Word of warning...I got used to living like this in Australia (though not quite as rugged) and when I stepped off that plane in LA, I wanted to go right back to Australia. Hopefully it won't be that bad this time. And if it is...at least I'm only home for a week!!

And the winner is...

So, it's election time in Dominica. Interesting to say the least. The political system here is modeled after the British parliamentary system (since Dominica used to be owned by England~ and the Queen is still on all of the money). Dominica has only been independent since 1978, so she's still in her independence infancy. As best as I have it figured out, which is not very well I might add, there are two main parties. And since it's the Caribbean, they are fittingly usually referred to by their colors. The red party (the Labour party) and the blue party (the Workers party) seem to be the main ones (akin to Democrats and Republicans back in the US). How the two parties differ, I have no clue. I do know that the current party in power is the red party and the current prime minister is the youngest elected in the world (yes, you read that correctly. He's only 37~ now whether that's how old he is now, or how old he was when he was elected, I dont' know). There are also some smaller parties (think Independent party back in the states), the green party (Freedom party) and the yellow/orange party (the Para party, that one i really haven't figured out yet. I think it broke off from the Labour party) and probably another small one that I haven't heard of yet. So campaigning is pretty harmless (see picture). Mostly flags hanging on telephone posts, trees, cars, houses...basically anything you can tie that color fabric to, as well as some posters and signs (the large blue signs with the question marks in them are for the Workers party. It took some digging but we finally found out that supposedly for each sign they have around the county~ and they're EVERYWHERE~ it represents a question that hasn't been answered by the current government).

So, anyway, elections are every 5 years (which should make the election next year), but this year it was called early (it can be anytime within the last year, and is called by the current party in power). I think one of the reasons it was called early is because the prime minister's speech got stolen and read on the radio before he gave it. So, it will be December 18th (and I will be glad when it is over). Riding around are pickup trucks decked out with speakers and bullhorns blaring music and covered in their parties colors (at ALL hours of the day... and night~ I was rudely awakened by one at 2am that decided to essentially sit outside my door for 5 min with music so loud you couldn't sleep or drown it out with pillows!). So since an election has been called, the president of Dominica is now in power. He's more like a figure-head really (like the Queen of England), doesn't do the work, just signs the documents and goes to parties or what not (I actually have seen him and his wife on occasion~ they were at the White Coat Ceremony this past semester).

Election is done the old fashion way, paper ballots and hand counting. Luckily, since the population of Dominica is around 78,000 people, the results will be in by 8 or 9pm the night of the election. And I've heard that there will be partying all night long. So, stay tuned, we'll see who the next ruling party of Dominica turns out to be.

Smorgasboard

I know, I know... I've been slacking on the blogging. It's just that I need to be inspired to give to you guys and there just hasn't been that much going on other than work! I generally like to keep it light and funny, so I need good subject matter. So, right now nothing is jumping out at me, so I guess this'll just be a smorgasbord of things! (Some of which may just be reiterations from before.)

First and foremost, I've decided that I hate roosters. If I were any better at cooking than I am, I would become the worlds foremost chef at making Coq au vin (for those of you less culinarily inclined, this is a French dish whose main ingredient is old rooster). Don't get me wrong, they are interesting to watch (especially when they are climbing trees~ yes, they do this in Dominica) and are decently attractive (much prettier than a chicken), but when they are crowing or cock-a-doodle-doing or whatever it is they do at 5am when you are still trying to get that one more hour of sleep, you just want to shoot them! I've gotten to the point where on most nights I don't need my A/C anymore, but will inevitably have to turn in on at 4-6am bc they're waking me up! Those damn roosters are running up my electric bill...they must pay!

Secondly, don't start thinking that you haven't felt an earthquake in a while, bc as soon as you do, you'll have one (as I write this, I just had a small minor house shaking one and then another little aftershock)! Ah, the life on this island...

Let's see, what next? Did you know that it is really hard to hang pictures here. See all the houses are generally made out of concrete and therefore don't really have any drywall or plaster on the walls (just painted concrete). So obviously, you can't just put a nail in the wall to hang your pictures. You need to actually drill holes and what not. Well, I don't do power tools (I plead the estrogen clause on this one). But, I've found a way around this lack of easiness. There is crown molding at the top of the walls, so I've put two nails into this and then attached fishing line to the pictures/paintings and made them hang from the two nails (think of the fishing line making an upside down triangle). It actually works pretty well (i hung my hummingbird feeder outside like this too~ when you're on a roll...), but obviously the pictures aren't flush against the wall. It works, and it's not causing me any sleepless nights over it, so why worry.

Anyway, I think I've taken up enough of your time on randomness, so I better sign off. Hopefully I'll become inspired for the next blog and you won't be subjected to the random workings of my brain! Tata!

Internal Clock

One thing that I love about summer back home is that it's daylight until 9pm during the longest days. This is great for everyone. Hang out longer, kids play outside with each other longer, and enjoying the coolness of early evening while it's still light and pleasant outside. Oh how I miss those days. An interesting thing occurred when I arrived here... See, Dominica does not abide by daylight savings time. :( So no long days for me anymore. Here, on the longest days in the summer, it gets dark around 6:30pm. Now that "winter" (yes yes, I definitely use that term loosely) is starting to begin, the days are getting shorter. (I know time changes back in the states this weekend, so I guess I can't complain too much!) So now sunset is around 5:40pm and by 6pm it's pretty dark. Grrr... (And all the stores close at like 4-5pm anyway, so there's NOTHING to do once there is no light.) Though it does get light much earlier here (usually around 5:30am). I'm usually at work by like 7:45am, which would NEVER happen back home in the states. I was lucky to get out of bed at 8am (here it's 6am) and be at work by 9:15am (now I'm at work before I was out of bed back home). Crazy. And I'm not any more tired from it. (It's amazing what early morning sun and roosters crowing will do for your sleep patterns~ oh and the goats too.) I did mention to my parents that I feel like I'm getting old (or becoming more like them). At home, they're usually in bed by 8-9pm and up at 4-5am (if they're lucky). I will admit that on more than one occasion I've started to fall asleep on the couch between 7-8pm and then wind up in bed by 8pm (and then proceeded to sleep until 8am...I was REALLY tired in my defense). Back home I never went to bed before 11 or 11:30pm. Here, if I'm not in bed by 10:30pm, there's a big problem. I figure part of this new internal clock thing is a consequence of getting old (and I really don't want to age myself), but I'm going to attribute it to this crazy daylight schedule the islands have. So if anyone ever desires to actually come and see me, then they can enjoy pretty sunsets, but REALLY early ones!

Shaking at the Knees

So when I was younger (and much more naive), I said that I wanted to experience (and live through, of course!) every type of major natural disaster, just to say I had. This includes hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruption, and the like. Some of these events just don't happen in NC, so I was basically outta luck. Got the hurricane thing down to a science. They're really not that bad. Just a lot of rain and wind (don't drive in it). I missed the big flood at home (had just gone off to college a month earlier), and tornados happen, but very rarely so "Twister" will have to suffice.

Being in Dominica (which is essentially the top of a volcano), I get to have earthquakes now. Granted, they're pretty much tremors (lasting a second or two) and they haven't been huge (just rattled the house a couple of times), but nevertheless they are still unnerving. And apparently the shallower ones (the ones you hear but don't really feel) aren't tectonic, but magmatic (hehe, I just quoted "Dante's Peak"~ I know too many movie lines!). I hope you have seen the movie "Joe versus the Volcano" with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan (1980's movie, not great but entertaining). In this (disclaimer: from what I remember), Joe (Hanks) discovers he has an incurable disease and takes a trip to an island where he is to be the sacrifice. He's going to jump into the volcano on the island to appease the volcano gods, so it doesn't erupt and the island will continue to survive and prosper. On the way there, he and Meg Ryan happen to fall in love, and she obviously doesn't want him to go through with the sacrifice (I promise, you'll see where I'm going with this in a minute). So when Joe (and Meg, bc they're in love and obviously if one dies, they both have to) are jumping into the volcano it decides it's going to erupt and they get shot out of the top of it into the ocean. They watch as the island sinks and everyone is killed except them (they survive with some high tech luggage that floats, but anyway...). The point is, if Dominica decides to erupt, then I want to be that person that makes it off the island and is sitting there watching it sink (this is the only stipulation, dying isn't an option). The reason I'm getting all these earthquakes is apparently bc the side of the island I'm on is really close to a fault (it runs in the channel in between Dominica and Guadeloupe), and the north side of the mountain close to me (I'm on the south west side of it) is supposed to eventually fall off into the ocean and take out Guadeloupe with a tsunami (if that happens, maybe Dominica will actually make the nightly news and people will have heard of it!). So, I'll keep you posted on that situation. :) Until then, keep in mind that you might be in for a "rolling good time" if you come visit!

A lesson learned

So today I officially went on my first hike in Dominica. Sure, I've done trips where there have been some hiking, but pretty short ones (~30 min). My idea of hiking is 2-3 hrs. worth of hiking. That's what I'm used to from back home. 2-3 hrs. is essentially 5-8 miles in NC. Granted, it's pretty darn flat, so it's not that difficult, just long. So today was my first long hike since I've been here. I hiked the Capuchin to Pennville Trail, which is like 8 km (or 5 mi for all you non-metric folk). Now, in the guidebook this hike is rated a 2 out of 5 (in my mind I was actually thinking it was a 1 while we were on it and I was about to go ballistic on the writers!), where 1 is the easiest and 5 being most difficult. I had asked around and people said it was a pretty easy hike. I've now learned that all these scales and opinion are REALLY RELATIVE!! This was not my idea of an easy hike (not what I had imagined at all), but I definitely wouldn't call it difficult either. It was a moderate hike. All in all, there were parts that there were a lot of hills (especially at the beginning), but the last 1/2 was more even or down-hilled mostly (which really helped). We completed the hike in around 3 hrs (maybe a tad bit longer). If we didn't have to wait for a few REALLY slow people in our group, we definitely could've done it in 2-1/2 hrs easy. The guidebook (if you're wondering which one I'm always referring to, it's Bradt's Dominica) says guide is recommended...well, I think it should be required! At some places its pretty well marked, but there are numerous forks and ultimately the trail is pretty covered and hard to see. I had thought that I would only need one time and then I could remember the way, and that's totally not the case (sorry Matt, when you come down and if you want to do the hike, I'll find us a guide!). Also, it just so happened that it rained the majority of the time (downpoured at one point). This is typical in Dominica and I figured that it probably would rain, especially since it had been raining off and on since the night before (that's okay, we really needed it!). By the way (tangent coming), people never cease to amaze me. One of the guys (obviously one of the two we waited on) actually brought an umbrella on the hike. I'm sorry, but you're in the elements in the middle of the jungle...live a little! Anyway, this in my mind was supposed to be one of the easy hikes here. I was using it to gauge my ability to go on the harder hikes that are around (Boiling Lake- which is rated 5 and is 3 hrs each way, etc). So I think the lesson learned here is that there's no way that I'd survive the Boiling Lake hike, so I should just kiss that option good-bye. I might try a 3 hr. level 3 hike, and maybe if I'm ambitious a 4, but only if it's less than an hour. Not all people's minds (and bodies) have the same idea of easy!! I'll let you know the next hike I partake in!

Dodging bullets

So okay, not really bullets, but you'll get the idea soon enough...

Anyway, I'm from North Carolina. So most people in the states will appreciate this. Back home when you learn to drive, your parents teach you specific things about driving at night. Namely, white-tailed deer are abundant in NC and you learn to drive cautiously and to look out for the reflections from your headlights in their eyes. Thanks mom and dad!! That's saved me and my car driving at night back home. Now, being in Dominica, something that is lacking is deer. Or really any native mammals to be exact. However, this doesn't mean that you don't have to pay attention while driving at night (the potholes will eat your car, seriously!). So instead of trying not to hit deer, here you try not to hit crabs. Land crabs to be exact. Now back home, crabs on the beach are quite small (as they generally are here too). You have to go to a restaurant or deep sea fishing to see big crab (or just watch Deadliest Catch on Discovery channel, especially during King Crab season~~ yes, I know I'm a geek, but that show is AWESOME!! I love you Phil and the Cornelia Marie!). However, the land crabs missed the tiny crab memo apparently, bc those suckers are huge!!! (And not fast either, though at least they'd beat a turtle.) When I say huge, I generally mean about the size of a dinner plate. Not too shabby! So, while at this point, I technically still haven't driven a car in Dominica, I'm learning what I have to look out for when I do start driving. Once I embark on that experience, believe me I'll blog about it! Until next time...dodge those crabs!

My new favorite hobby

So most of you know that back in the States, I was into rock climbing. Unfortunately Dominica (being a volcanic island and all) isn't conducive to rock climbing. Believe me, I've tried. Most of the "rock" here is like sandstone (as soon as you try to put any weight on it, you fall right off). However, it is apparently a good island for canyoning (canyoneering to some). You may be wondering, what this is exactly. Well, it's rappelling (abseiling) essentially. Though here, it just isn't off cliffs, but down waterfalls! Awesome, I know!! So the canyoning trip I went on this past weekend was to the Titou Gorge, which is a little west of Roseau. We went with Extreme Dominica (check out their website) which is in affiliation with Cocoa Cottages (you REALLY need to stay there if you just want to get away from it all and experience living in the jungle in luxury). Anyway... we get there and changed into our "gear." "Gear" being full-on wetsuit (long sleeves and legs- HOT in Dominica), helmet, climbing harness, shoes, and life jacket. (I admit I was thinking that it was REALLY overkill at this point.) After a brief training session, we then drove to the middle section of the gorge and started our adventure. (I've got pics posted on Facebook so you should check them out!) Luckily for me, it came quite naturally (I guess with my climbing experience, though I'd never really been a fan of rappelling) so I was pretty efficient and fast. We rappelled down around 7 waterfalls ranging from 15-30 ft. high. There were places we jumped (if it was deep enough) and they were 5-15 ft. high. There were also a few place (2) that we were just lowered down (didn't really know why). In between waterfalls we trekked through the gorge (for my Australia peeps, think Northwest trip through the gorges up there, but green instead of red!). The gorge was about 60 ft. deep (from what I remember, maybe more) with a river running through it. It was pretty shallow in some places, and in other, you definitely had to swim! (At this point, I was glad I was decked out in all that gear!) We were probably in the gorge for 3 or 4 hrs and I wish it were longer! The hardest part of the whole thing was the hike back out! Since we were going down the gorge the whole time, we had to climb back out, so it was 20 min. of scrambling!!

So now I'm hooked on canyoning. I found out that they divide the gorge into three sections. The middle is the easiest (DONE!), the first part is the intermediate one (on my to do list, hopefully before Christmas or just after), and the last part is the Advanced one, this one includes a 260 ft. rappel down Trafalger Falls (REALLY want to do this!). So, if you're planning on coming to Dominica and you have a sense of adventure, you HAVE to put this on your "To Do List!"

Living without DVR

So I will say that of all the things I miss from living in the US, I miss my DVR the most. I mean, come on... has there been a better invention in the past couple of years in entertainment? Being able to record more than one thing at a time and pause and rewinding live t.v. That's pretty awesome! So of course, Dominica doesn't have that technology yet. (Shoot, I'm pretty darn sure they don't have digital t.v. ... it's all regular cable.) Though you can get satellite dishes (I've even seen those old-school ones that are bigger than your car!). Luckily, I have a great landlord that covers the cost of my cable (the reason will become apparent in a minute). I thought, "This is great! An added perk that I wasn't even going to ask for!" And the t.v. stations are pretty decent too. NBC, CBS, ABC, CW, Lifetime, Spike, Disney, Discovery, most of the American channels that I generally watch. There are even like 4 Starz channels too (~60 channels total), so you can watch movies!

The caveat of this great t.v. experience for such a small remote island is that unbelievably cable is pretty cheap. I'm talking like $30EC, which is equivalent to about $11.25 US. Now, tell me... when is the last time your cable bill was that low? Come to find out, that the reason cable is so cheap is that it is completely stolen. Meaning, they just point their satellite (or whatever) and those that they can pirate off for free, they get! Pretty cool (in a completely illegal sort of way), huh? Though it's interesting because this means your t.v. channel viewing doesn't always stay the same. For example, when I first got here, we got SyFy channel, which we no longer have. :( Because apparently they found us out and encrypted it. Grrr! Also, one day NBC will be on channel 26, and the next day it'll be on channel 40 (this I haven't experienced yet, but am sure that when I do, I'll be utterly confused).

But getting back to my DVR, the stupid networks have completely screwed me over this t.v. season! There are 3 shows at 8pm and 3 shows at 9pm on Thursdays that I watch (and can only watch one of them!), and no way to record them (VCRs are so 10 years ago). I'm sure you're thinking, "Come on Kristjan, just go online and watch them!" See, the US has a monopoly on that too. You can only watch the shows off their respective channel websites (NBC.com for example) if you live in the US, and also Hulu.com only works in the US. That sure does narrow it down! Luckily, I am surviving. SurftheChannel.com actually works, so I've been able to watch my shows at a later date (as long as the internet is actually on and isn't playing the "let's see how slow we can be today" game). But at least I'm fully caught up on Bones, Grey's Anatomy, ANTM, and only one off on Supernatural. So the moral of this story is, be glad for what you've got (though in reality, life would be so much greater if we all just threw the t.v. out the window!). Until next time...

On a clear day...

So you know how there's this old play/musical/now a movie called "On a clear day you can see forever." Well, it's hard to imagine how true it is here in Dominica. The other night there wasn't a cloud in the sky, so the stars were amazingly bright! You could actually see the Milky Way! That slight opaque white color swirling through the stars. It reminded me of being in the Outback of Australia. Absolutely amazing. If you've never experienced darkness like that and skies so clear, then you're really missing out.

Now during the day, being clear brings an entirely new meaning. Dominica is situated in between to French islands, Guadeloupe (and Les Saintes) in the north and Martinique in the south. Since I'm on the northwest end of the island, I can generally see Les Saintes (small island group thats a par of Guadeloupe) in the distance. However, on a clear day when there's no clouds or haze, you can see not only Les Saintes, but also the towering island of Guadeloupe behind it. I'm not exactly sure what the distance is between Dominica and Guadeloupe, but it takes an hour by high speed ferry to get there. If it's a clear day and you're standing on the southern most tip (Scott's Head), you can see Martinique. Also, since I'm living on an island, the ocean goes on and on and on. It's cool to look at the horizon and see nothing but water, but to also see the curve of the earth.

This whole place and the atmosphere lends itself well to being able to go all philosophical, however, I'll spare you that misery, bc philosopher I am not (even though I have a doctorate of philosophy~ hardy-har-har!). Anyway, I just hope everyone one day gets a chance to appreciate what I have had the opportunity to appreciate. Until next time...

My new home...

So, I promised pics of my house and here are some. There are more on facebook, so if you're my friend, check them out! I have a two bedroom, one bath house (actually the second floor of a two house~ the first floor is rented by a couple from England who are in the process of building their own house near here) (also the bathroom is split, so the toilet is in one room and the shower-that may or may not have lukewarm water- is in the other with the sink outside in between two, with no mirror). I've got a pretty great view (you can see the Caribbean ocean and Cabrits National Park from my place) and its quiet (at night almost all you here are crickets and such). Since I live a decent ways from campus, I get to catch the bus in the mornings with all the locals (a bus is supposed to hold 12-13 people, to give you an idea of how large a bus is). Good times! So whenever you guys want to come visit me, let me know! I've got an extra bedroom and a decently comfy couch!

Wagging war against the mosquitoes

So I really like my new place. However, I DETEST the amount of insects that it contains. It's nice up on the hillside, however, sometimes there is a lack of air flow through the house. Unfortunately, since I have my kitties, I am unable to open the doors to help the air flow bc there are no screens on them and I don't want them to run away! Though the windows do have screens, which is nice, there just needs to be more ventilation (I'm looking into getting a fan, however, getting it to my house is a logistical nightmare without a car).

So since I had been here (all of three nights), I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. I counted around 40 (I stopped at that point bc I couldn't see anymore) just on my arms, shoulders, hands, and upper chest area (bc those are the parts of me that are sticking out of the covers at night). Finally my neighbor told me about this bug spray you spray in your house to kill everything. I purchased some yesterday, then proceeded to fumigate my house. That stuff works, let me tell ya! No new mosquito bites last night, plus all the little bugs (gnat like things) were gone too! Yeah! So it appears I'm starting to win this battle. We'll see how long it lasts however, bc if they survived while the dinosaurs died, I think they'll probably prevail. :-(

Moved in...but I'm HOT!

So I have officially moved into my new house (or top floor of a house to be exact). The business of moving is crazy here. They finally out-sourced my move to one of the locals bc it was going to take at least another week if I had waited for the Ross people to do it (and it had already been sitting on the docks for a week!). So I get a call telling my they're on their way to my house, meanwhile I'm still sitting in my temporary housing and have to somehow get to my new place (which is a 20-25 min. drive and I have no car). Luckily I ran into a taxi guy that I had used that morning so he took me up there. Yeah!!! The movers moved all my stuff in and actually helped set up some of the larger things (my bed, kitchen table, bookcase, desk, etc) which I was totally stoked about bc I definitely couldn't have done it myself! I spent all day Saturday unpacking boxes and setting everything up.

And today, I moved out of my temporary housing (with all my suitcases, things I'd acquired over the last two weeks, and my kitties) and into my new house. Now, I know you're itching to see pics, don't worry, they are coming. I want to make sure all the boxes are gone and everything is in its place before I take any to post. My kitties are settling in, but they (as well as I) are RIDICULOUSLY HOT!!! I got this place bc it was cooler (temperature wise) and there's usually a nice breeze. Well, today there wasn't. My poor babies were panting like crazy! Now, I know at this point you are wondering..."Why don't you just turn on the A/C dummy! You do have A/C don't you?" Yes, I do have A/C units in both of the bed rooms. However, it's really expensive to run them (electricity wise). Oooo, on a side note, the way the electricity works here is pretty cool. It's a pay-as-you-go type deal (think pre-paid cell phones, that you buy minutes for and when they run out, you can't talk anymore). So basically I figured it out, that its a dollar an hour to run your A/C (steep, huh?). I've definitely gotta invest in some fans (now if I could only figure out where to buy them...). But back to the cats. I shut them in my bedroom and ran the A/C for a few hours so that they could cool off and start to acclimate to the new temp/place.

Anyway, now that the sun has gone down, it is cooler (about 82 F), but I'm still sweating like crazy. I'll have to get used to this. I'll definitely be glad when cooler weather comes around! (Besides the fact, that I'm gonna freeze my ass off when I come back to the states in December!)

Animals Abound

One of the interesting things about moving to Dominica is all of the random animals roaming on the side of the road. It's not uncommon to have a cow in the middle of the road as you're driving along. Take for example, the campus of Ross. There are multiple dogs running around the campus. Island dogs as people call them. They are very sweet and just want you to rub them and of course, if you have leftover food, they are glad to take it off your hands (though they are pretty good about not begging incessantly for it). There are also cows on campus (as pictured above). I don't know exactly who the cows belong to, but they just kinda chill out and munch on the grass.

Now, at my house, there is this open hill opposite from my front door that is apparently the grazing area for random goats and sheep. They are bleating at all hours of the day. The chickens and roosters also hang around and I think by the time I come home for Christmas I'm gonna be sick of hearing the stupid rooster crow! (There's also a random cow down the road)

So the moral of the story is, when you move to Dominica, be prepared for all the animals running around wild (cows, sheep, goats, chickens, dogs, cats, etc) and drive carefully because they run around in the road too and just take their sweet time moving out of your way.

Emerald Pool

So in the Dominica guidebook (or any other travel book about the Caribbean), Emerald Pool is on the list to do. It is definitely worth it (though kind of a long drive to get to~ about an hour and 15-20 min. from Portsmouth). It is situated in one of the better tended to parks so the walk is pretty easy. The pool is crystal clear though very cold. However, since it's been pretty hot lately (low 90's) and every time you walk outside you feel like you need a bath, this cold water was quite appealing! So if you come visit, this would be any easy thing to do and still see all the beauty of Dominica!

Syndicate Falls

So on Friday, I went on a trip to Syndicate Falls, which is just south of Portsmouth (like a 25 min. drive). I was pleasantly surprised by this trip. Of course, the bus we were on had to break down a little ways from our destination, so they dropped off the students and one bus came back for us (our broken one was taken back and we were given one that actually worked). I had noticed that the speedometer on the bus had not worked since we left school, but who really needs to know how fast they're going anyway.

We get to our drop off point and we do a small hike (it was supposed to only take like 15 min., but probably ended up being closer to 30-40 min. bc of the lines). Pretty good hike! We had to cross through two streams/rivers (so note to those wanting to go here, were appropriate shoes that can get wet and are still sturdy). The falls were nice though. It was crowded bc there were so many of us, and unfortunately the bottom of the falls are fenced in so no one can swim there or get really close. But in the long run, it was definitely worth it, just for the hike! Oh, plus there are lots of fruit trees on the hike (we got some which was either unripe orange or grapefruit, couldn't tell which).

After the falls, we went a little further up the mountain (Morne Diablotin) to the Syndicate Nature Trail. This is where you were supposed to be able to see the parrots (Sisserou and some other kind), unfortunately we didn't see any. But the hike through the woods was pretty good. Since this peak is the highest, the top part is always covered in clouds, so it was really neat to be so close to a cloud-covered peak. Apparently you can hike up to the top, but from where we were it was a 3 hr hike each way (which you must start before 10:30 am!).

Woe to the roads

So I've decided the US is ridiculously spoiled and people should not be complaining about the state of the roads there. Those people just need to come and live in Dominica. Not only is there really only one main road, but they're lucky just to have it! Yes, the majority of the road is paved (but riddled with potholes), but there are some locations (such as near to where my house is) were there is no pavement yet. (I'll be glad when they have finished paving it too!) The potholes will eat the cars. No joke! Just ask any of the people who drive here. You have to get a new set of tires and new brakes each year (brake pads 3x a year).

Also since it is so mountainous, the roads are not straight (it worse than driving the Blue Ridge Parkway), so you need to use your horn everytime you round a corner, so you might end up getting hit by another car or large dump truck (though they are pretty good about blaring their horns). As you can see by the picture, there are plenty of places where there's a 180 degree turn that buses navigate.

I have a new respect for the drivers here, and am leaning toward not getting a car because I'd probably kill myself and someone else trying to navigate these roads. With the lack of shoulders, lanes, traffic lights, traffic cops, and paved roads, I'm just doomed. So, if you decide that you want to visit me (and you're more than welcome to!), expect to be carted around by taxi. Once you're here for 10 minutes you'll undertand why.

Snorkeling in Toucarie Bay

Since I've gotten all I can get accomplished done currently, I've signed up for a bunch of different trips (mostly with the students) to see some of the sights for cheap!! (Note to all new students, take advantage of these trips, they're much cheaper than you'll find later on!). So the one this time was snorkeling in Toucarie Bay, which is actually just north of where I'll be living in Savanne Paille (so about a 20-25 min drive from Ross).

Now, I haven't been snorkeling in a while (quite a few years actually~ I guess working on your Ph.D. doesn't allow you time for much else if you're really trying to graduate!), so this was nice. The reef is quite shallow and close near the cliffs, but will go quite deep (probably 40-50ft). I saw a lot of the same fish that I saw when I was diving in Australia (the names escape me currently, so I guess I'm going to have to become a fish person--I was a bird person in the US). So lots of good snorkeling and scuba diving locations. I'm going to have to invest in a pair of fins and snorkel/mask! But I thought I'd just put a picture in of the bay and the group that went. Lots of fun for only $20EC (about $8 US)! Note to people...bring food, because the snackette only had cheese curls (and they apparently weren't that tasty!).

The Move...

So moving to the beautiful island of Dominica is definitely easier said than done. I moved from North Carolina down to the island in August. So...it's hot as heck. I ran into issues, mainly because I was moving three of my cats down with me (I'm not the crazy cat lady, so do not judge!). Now within the US, they allow seven animals on a flight in-cabin, however... once you land in Puerto Rico, the flight to Dominica only allows two in-cabin. So way back in June (yes, you should definitely book at least this far in advance) it took me over an hour on the phone with an American Airlines representative to figure out how to get me, my parents, and three cats from RDU to Dominica (FYI, this cannot be done with US Airlines/LIAT), going back and forth from one day to the next, just to book us. But it was finally accomplished. Carrying your animals as a carry-on is the cheapest way to go ($100 per animal as a carry-on as opposed to $3000-6000 total with a private pet moving agency).

The big day finally arrives. I'm so stressed out as to how my poor babies are going to handle an airplane (when they usually stroke in a car!) and the whole move, I'm the one needing a valium!! Luckily for the kitties, they got some (Thank God!). After driving to Raleigh in such a bad rainstorm that we actually had to pull over onto the shoulder of the road (as did about 10 cars around us, one of which got stuck in the mud), we arrived at RDU. Check-in went smooth and we went over to security. I was not aware that when you travel with pets as a carry-on, they actually have to be taken out of their carriers and walked through the metal detectors (while the carrier is put through the x-ray machine). Thankfully, the drugs had kicked in by then and the cats didn't try to bolt out of my arms. We arrived in Miami at 9:30pm and had to go to our hotel (about 10-15 min drive away). We had an interesting night in the hotel (another new experience for the kitties) and I didn't sleep a wink! This was essentially repeated in Miami all the way until landing in Dominica. However, I had to take an earlier flight than my parents since only two animals were allowed on the last flight.

Needless to say, we all arrived safely and after 38hrs of being awake, I finally got some sleep! Now the adventure will begin. :)