My new favorite things

I have discovered that I am in love with the most random things here in Dominica.  Things that I used to take for granted have become my new favorite things.

1. Tupperware/Rubbermaid containers--They are FANTASTIC!  After waging a constant battle with ants my first night, I decided that the ants weren't going to win.  So the next day I went to the store and bought a Chinese bootleg version of tupperware and guess what!  No ants the following morning. So I have basically outsmarted the ants.  Occasionally I will see one small one wandering forlornly across my counter searching for a crumb but no more ant trains.  Lesson learned--tupperware + clorox cleanups= no ants.

2. Zipolocs--Not only are they great for my war against ants but they provide cheap waterproofing.  A quart -sized one is my dry bag for my little camera and a gallon-sized one is the dry bag for my iPad.  With the random, intense rainstorms we get down here, ziplocs are essential for quick, non-bulky waterproofing.

3. Black Leggings--It is hot here (almost Dante's Inferno hot--I guess my Western New York blood isn't used to constant humid heat).  Because of this heat and humidity, I would choose to wear as few clothes as possible.  Unfortunately this is not socially acceptable (example--when videochatting my old roommates, I was wearing a questionable outfit of a tank top and sarong.  Megan's statement of "What are you wearing" made me realize that this outfit was not going to fly).  Hence the black leggings, they are cool enough and decently socially acceptable but they also provide more warmth than shorts. Now you might be asking, why is she talking about warmth? She was just complaining about the heat down there...well the classrooms are super air conditioned.  I am talking Ice Station Zebra level of coldness.  So I wear a tunic and leggings to class and then throw on a sweatshirt after the air conditioning cools me down.  Black leggings= Dominica's version of skinny jeans.

4. Education--During one of the optional orientation lectures on the food of Dominica, the lecturer was giving a brief synopsis of the island's history.  When she grew up in Portsmouth (the city that the school is located in), the area consisted of sugarcane fields and a few houses.  She spoke about how special it was to own a book and how she had to leave the island and go to boarding school in order to get a high-school level of education.  She credited Ross with "civilizing the island" and bringing education to the island's people.   The state-of-the art equipment at Ross (the 6 simulation dummies for example) show how far this island has progressed in the past 50 odd years. I never truly realized before how amazing it is to be able to read and to have quality education readily accessible and have a new found respect for my parents who always said that an education was the best thing they could give me.  It definitely has a way of opening doors and exposing you to a way of life that would not be possible without it.

Trafalgar Falls

On our island tour we hiked to Trafalgar Falls which is an amazing set of waterfalls.  The hike to the vantage point wasn't bad at all, some ups and downs but it probably only took 10 minutes.

The path through the rain forest

Amelia and Carter at the falls

Trafalgar Falls...absolutely gorgeous!

The really fun part was scrambling up the boulders to get to the pools at the base of the waterfalls.  

The boulder field. It was so refreshing to climb through the water. 

Carter and I in the boulder field

Unfortunately the camera did not make it all the way to the base of the waterfall.  I was too worried that it would get smashed, get wet or destroyed by some combination of the two.  It was so much fun climbing but it made me grateful that I am decently flexible from all my yoga.  There were definitely times were I had one leg bent so my knee was basically to my shoulder.  Once we got the base of the waterfall, there was a crystal clear pool of wonderfully cool water.  It was deep enough that you could actually go swimming in it!  Getting down was somewhat painful because I was only wearing a bathing suit.  It resulted in lots of brush burns on my legs. 

After hiking back down from the pool, we went swimming in a sulfur stream which was warmer than air temperature.  Because Dominica is a volcanic island, there are a lot of sulfur springs, streams, etc.  The locals believe in the medicinal quality of them and go soak whenever they have any bruises, strains, arthritis, etc.  I thought it was a little strange to go swimming in water that smelled like rotten eggs but I must admit that my brush burns felt a whole lot better!  

I would strongly recommend this hike to any one who comes to Dominica.  Not only was it absolutely gorgeous, but it was tons of fun as well!

Tropical Storm Isaac

Living in Buffalo I had snow days, cold days and living in Ithaca I learned that school could close for flooding.  Here, in Dominica, I learned school closes for hurricanes/tropical storms.  I was supposed to spend Wednesday doing all of my random errands around campus (going to the bank, going to the IT department and seeing people I met during my last visit).  Needless to say Tropical Storm Isaac put a damper in my plans.  After getting an email saying the school was closed for the day and a text message from Lime (one of the two phone providers down here) that advised everyone to stay inside for the day,  the three of us spent the day in my apartment.

We got cabin fever around 1pm and decided we would venture to the James store which is located just down the street.   We made it there safe and sound and discovered the store is a crazy mix of Walmart, the Dollar Store, and a store from China town.  One of my favorite things from the store was the only notebook they had.....a notebook whose cover consisted of Obama's face hovering over the White House.  I am really glad I shipped all my school supplies down in my barrel (anyone who knows me knows how persnickety I am about my school supplies/highlighters, etc).

After the James store, we ventured into the IGA which is right across the street from me.  When we got there, the entire building was locked and there was a big crowd standing outside pushing to get inside.  I followed three local people who decided to sneak in the exit of the store.  This worked out well and I was able to buy some hurricane "essentials"--more water, some Rum mixers, and a chocolate bar.  While waiting for me outside, Amelia and Carter started talking to people.  The main take-away from their conversation was that we "HAD" to fill the tub up with water because the island's water might be shut off due to the storm.  So we had a bathtub filled with water for the next two days because we weren't sure if/when the water would be shut off.

The funniest part of this entire storm was that we never, ever got good weather.  The entire day was gorgeous! No major rain and only small clouds in the sky.  I was kind of bummed because I wanted a really good thunderstorm.  O well.  At least the next time I will know what I need to do to survive a Dominica tropical storm/hurricane. The main thing I will remember is that the weather stations are always a day off...the weather hits the island generally a day ahead of schedule (I swear the storms might be the only thing that runs on time on the island though).

Eventually I will post a picture of our filled washtub along with some pictures of my apartment.  Still getting things settled.

Made It!

Safely arrived in Dominica after only about 18 hours traveling (from time leaving my house in Buffalo to arriving at 3am, I arrived to Campus at 7pm).  Some major shout-outs go to the amazing Amelia and Carter who helped me lug my extremely strangely packed bags through the airport and into my apartment. Also, US Airways was amazing.  When the lady at the front desk realized I was heading to school and desperately needed my bags to get there, she made sure the bags were checked all the way through to Dominica.  If she hadn't done this, I would have had to pick up my bags, recheck them and go back through security in San Juan (of course this would have all had to be done in my 40 minute layover).  So you can see why I was so excited that she did this for me.

Plane flight went well.  No delays, only slight turbulence.  The only semi-strange thing was our "layover" in Antigua on the supposedly direct flight from San Juan to Dominica.  This direct flight was actually a 2-leg flight with a weird stop in Antigua which included going through a lame attempt at security (Their level of intensity varied from passenger to passenger...some passengers got through with two entire bottles of water, while others got pulled aside for interogation because they had packages of tea and a wireless router. Because...ya know...that tea and router are dangerous things! Especially immune-boast tea which this was).  After passing through security, we were held in a seating area which was surrounded by lots of little shops.  Then we had to walk SUPERR far out onto the tarmac to an entirely different plane.  Yup, a different plane!  Basically don't trust LIAT (the Caribbean airline when they tell you that it will be a direct flight...expect to change planes at least once).

We arrived in Dominica just as it was getting dark so unfortunately Amelia and Carter weren't able to experience the gorgeous scenery. But they did get to experience the night-time version of the roads...the roads that have the oncoming traffic blazing straight towards you).  Before getting in the car, the driver warned us that "If you feel sick, tap on the roof and I will pull over...You do your business, and we start driving again."(I really hope there is a story behind this statement!)   After the 50 minute drive, we arrived safe and sound with ALL of our bags!

Ross had a nice welcome meeting in which they gave us dinner.  Everyone was thrilled to get food because many, like me, hadn't really eaten anything all day because they had been traveling since early morning.  At this meeting all the new students received welcome bags which included a binder with orientation week details, a USB, a pen and of course the extremely important umbrella!

Today I had an IT orientation to get my computer all ready to go for the wireless internet on campus (super intense...you need to have a specific anti-virus and there is a gazillion steps you have to go through).  So worth it though! I now can print from my laptop, can access all the lecture vides online, and get all of the files I need to download.  The orientation also meant I didn't have go out in the TORRENTIAL downpour (I am talking sideways rain here that is so intense you can't see far out inside of you).

Speaking of torrential rain, tropical storm is coming through tomorrow!  I am excited because it means a massive thunderstorm.  Hopefully my Dad will get in safe and sound and won't get stuck in San Juan.  We have loaded up on water and crackers in case we lose power or can't get outside for some reason.

Alright thats it for now.  Wanted to give everyone a brief description of whats been going on so far and wanted to let everyone we got here safely.  Let me know what you think/what questions y'all have!

BARREL TIME!!!

Sorry for the delay since my last post, I was extremely busy packing up my Ithaca apartment and finally making the move back to good ole Buffalo.  During this insanely hectic time, I had the wonderful experience of shipping a good portion of my worldly belongs in a barrel.

Yes....in a barrel! It turns out that the most cost effective way to get personal belongings down to Dominica is to ship them via ocean freighter.  Since I thankfully did not have enough stuff to fill an entire metal container, I used a 75-gallon fiber drum...aka my barrel.  I was a little skeptical at first about how this was going to work out, especially because in Buffalo and Ithaca all the people at UPS/any other shipping company looked at me like I was an alien when I asked them about a shipping barrel.  But I decided to trust the school and use Tropical Shipping.

On Friday morning, I got in the car at 6:30am, made a quick stop at CTB for some wonderful Hazelnut coffee and then started my drive to NJ.  The drive was pretty uneventful, not too much traffic and only one minor monsoon.  (Of course the monsoon occurred as I drove through Scranton.  I swear that every time I drive through that place, it is raining like crazy).  My favorite part of the drive was when I came over a hill and saw the NYC skyline.  That doesn't get old! I arrived at the port around 11:30 and was immediately convinced I was in the wrong spot because there were no normal cars.  I was literally surrounded by huge tractor trailers on all sides.


After waiting for the 5 trucks in front of me to go through security, I pulled up and told the security guards what I was trying to do.  After calling my sweetie multiple times, they finally directed me to the office of Tropical Shipping.  The people there were super helpful.  I was able to pack the majority of my stuff into the barrel (including some coffee and ramen as well as a WHOLE bunch of index cards).  And the best part of the barrel is that it only cost around 150 to ship it, which was WAY less expensive than shipping everything in boxes or then bringing bags onto the airplane.

My Barrel 

The "official" way of addressing the barrel

The barrel should arrive in Dominica on August 8th.  The caretaker of my apartment complex is going to pick the barrel up from Roseau for me, take it through customs and then put it into my apartment.  So hopefully it arrives in tact to Dominica. If it does, I won't feel nervous about having to use the barrel to ship my stuff back to the states. 

Dominica's Roads

Without question, the roads in Dominica deserve their own little shout-out.  My first introduction to the roads was the trip from the airport to Picard, where Ross is located.  After flying for 20ish hours, we got off the plane and got right out onto the road.  And it was terrifying straight from the start because they drive on the left side of the road!  (The native drivers will tell you that the left side is in fact the "right" side of the road....for now I will agree to disagree with them lol).   It was pitch black with no street lights and dim headlights.

So not only are people driving on the opposite side than I am used to, but the roads are very narrow, very pot-hole filled, and don't have guard rails.  The narrowness and the lack of guard rails are particularly disconcerting because the road is right on top of cliff. Basically within 2 feet of the side of the road, there are 100 foot drop-offs in some places.  AND generally at the top of these cliffs, there is a sharp pin-point turn which just adds to experience of the roads.

On the island, there is one nice "modern" road.  There is even an attempt at guard rails on this road.  The Chinese government built and maintains this road so it stays in decent shape.  Normal people would see this road and think "Whew finally a safe place to drive" but nope, the Dominica drivers think of it as their own personal NASCAR track.  One of the times I was being driven on it, the car I was in kept taking the turns so fast that the tires would squeal and fishtail around the turn.And there weren't any seat belts in the car. Definitely quite the experience!!!

It is also custom to just hitch rides with random cars/pickup trucks because the majority of people don't have their own vehicles. What people do is stick out their hand and wave it up and down, which causes the driver to stop. Then they jump in the back of the pickup and cling on for dear life while they go speeding around turns and up the hills. I haven't decided if they are incredibly brave, stupid or reckless.

One of the nicer roads on the island.  There weren't potholes because it was made of poured concrete instead of pavement. 

Picture this road, with another car barreling up it on what you think is "your side of the road".  You hear a faint honking (how they warn oncoming traffic that there is another car coming) and then all of sudden you are mirror to mirror with the car, while going 60mph.  The tires squeal and you see the manic grin of the person hanging on to the back of the pickup that is passing you.  Yup, you have just pictured driving on the roads in Dominica.

Dominica Trip

Last week I traveled to Dominica to get a closer look at Ross University and I was very surprised by what I found.  Reading the various forums online as well as looking at both the University's and the Island's websites does not give an accurate description of what life is like down there.  I was pleasantly surprised in many of the aspects surrounding the actual school.  The classrooms look high-tech and all the lectures are recorded and then put up online.  The anatomy lab is huge and state-of-the-art.  Also I was able to meet some of the faculty who were very friendly and did not appear to have the "attitudes" that many of the comments on the internet forums implied.

However, nothing prepared me for how rural the island is.   The area surrounding the school as some basic things such as a grocery store, taxi service, and some restaurants.  The apartment buildings surrounding the school are much more developed than the nearby town of Portsmouth.

The roads are so ridiculous that I am going to write a separate entry about them so everyone can get a clear picture of how TERRIFYING they are! The rest of the island, including the capital of Roseau, is definitely different than what I am used to.  People live in buildings that are not completed/ buildings that would not pass fire code.  Most people get their food from their little plots of land or from the local markets. In general though, I think it will be eye-opening and I will learn a lot about a friendly new culture.

Alright stay tuned for more fun stories about my trip!