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.

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.