Sports Day Fun at Ross

This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to help with Sports Day! Sports Day is an event held by the Pediatric Club and Sports Medicine Club here at Ross.

For Sports Day, the clubs join together to provide a day of athletics to local kids in the Dominica community. The kids are bused in courtesy of the clubs, and entertained to a day of sports, lunch and fun!

Cole was in charge of the day, so I got to join in and help teach tennis. It was so great to interact with kids who ages were roughly 8-12 years. This elementary school was from the village of Marigot, which is near Melville Hall Airport. So it was roughly an hour's drive to campus.

Many of them have never been to Ross, as you have to have an ID to get onto campus. So this marked a special occasion to play tennis, soccer and basketball on a nice set of courts and have interaction with the Ross Community.

A special thanks to Chelsea for letting me post her awesome pictures she captured of the day!

The day started off with the groups of kids dividing up and splitting between stations of tennis, basketball and soccer. For tennis, we started with a brief overview of the rules - the goal being to hit the ball in the green and not over the fence. I then demonstrated the forehand and backhand while they took turns practicing each shot. And then after that, it was pretty much a free for all. There's only so much you can do when a bunch of kids get their hands on tennis rackets. 

Most of the kids had not played tennis before, but rather table tennis. Many of them were natural athletes and picked it up right away. Very impressive!

After the stations, we walked the group of kids over to the Subway deck for a quick lunch. To us, Subway is nothing new; it's a staple in the US. However, here in Dominica, the only Subway is on Ross's campus, so therefore, nearly all the kids had their first Subway experience on Saturday. They were all very sweet and wanted to take extra sandwiches home for their siblings or parents so they could try it, too. Very endearing. Of course, they devoured it all, along with the platters of cookies!

For the afternoon, the kids were brought back for rousing relay games, a nutrition presentation and a bit of free time.

This little doll latched on to Chelsea and followed us nearly every step we took. We certainly didn't mind. Such a charmer!

We ended the day with nothing other than a water balloon toss! Such fun. You can only imagine the chaos that ensued when we started handing out the balloons!

All in all, it was one of the best days I've had here. It was so great to give back to the community, participate in an event that these children will remember, and have fun sharing my passion for tennis as well. I was so happy to help as I think I may have had more fun than the kids....if that's even possible.

Scott's Head and Champagne Reef

This weekend I got to visit my top must see attraction in Dominica!

We took a trip and went to see Scott's Head. Scott's Head is the southern most tip of Dominica. It's past Roseau, so it was just over an hour or so drive. There is a small 'island' that stretches out across a thin strip of land from the main part of Dominica. Once you drive across the strip, you make a short hike up to the tip of Scott's Head. From there, the view is absolutely stunning.

If you take a look at the map, you can see how Scott's Head jets out from the rest of the island.

What makes Scott's Head even more unique, is that it is where the Caribbean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. Take a look!

You can see the calm waters of the Caribbean on the left and the rough waters of the Atlantic on the right. Plus, you can see Dominica for miles and miles. Isn't it just the most beautiful site?

We couldn't have asked for a better day to go either. The sun was shining, there were few clouds in the sky, and we had a great breeze. It was such a nice change from the rain of rainy season, and it was a perfect day to be spending so much time outdoors.

Just absolutely breathtaking. 

Funny story! Chelsea and Tabby were up top taking photos, and decided to the take the fun, jumping photo. Now, keep in mind this is at the top of the miniature mountain. So there are places to stand, and then drop-offs. Tabby went first and mid jump, her flip flop goes flying! There was no saving the poor flop, so Tabby toughed it out and spent the rest of the day with one shoe. 

After making the hike back down, we walked to a little cove for some snorkeling and beach time. Again, the beautiful day made the water so clear.

After Scott's Head, we headed toward Champagne Reef. Champagne Reef is known for their snorkeling as bubbles come up from the ground resembling champagne. I'm not a huge fan of snorkeling, so Tabby and I picked a spot on a rock and sat and enjoyed the beautiful scenery while the others snorkeled.

The beach of Champagne Reef is all rocks. So they built a nice wooden boardwalk to the make the walk so much easier!

Can you spot the iguana?

We all changed clothes back up at the restaurant. They had a couple of changing rooms for guests to use. While we were taking turns using the rooms, a brave iguana started prowling toward the group. At first it was pretty neat to see one not scurry off right away. But then they informed us that the iguanas would bite, so don't get too close. About then, the brave iguana took a sharp turn and ran underneath the door of one of the changing rooms! It didn't stay long, as it turned around rather quick and ran through the middle of us all. Poor Angie had the unwanted visitor in the room with her! Only in Dominica.

After a busy morning, we went to Zam Zam's for lunch. It's a small Mexican restaurant right on the waterfront. 

And it was absolutely delicious! We had great company, too, as most of the guys were able to join us this trip. Except for Matt and Bryan, we had a full group!

After Zam Zam's, we went into Roseau for a bit. Unfortunately most of the booths in the market were closed, so we opted for some delicious ice cream. Of course, Cole took the lead in ordering Pizza Hut to go for us all - a rare treat and a must have when you're in Roseau. I took back a pizza for Matt to enjoy, since he was doing school things all day!

After Pizza Hut, we made the trip back to Picard. The day was exhausting, but so much fun. I am definitely planning on taking Matt as he would have loved the experience! And I would love to go back again.

Weekend in the Sun

It is officially hurricane season here in the Caribbean. With hurricane season comes plenty of rain. Plenty, plenty of rain. And clouds. And some more rain. And with rain, comes brown water.

I'm beginning to realize that the gorgeous weather we had when we first moved in, is not a year-round event. Now, it feels like I'm sitting in a steamer. Trust me, I have the sweat stains to prove it. Gross, I know.

It's been raining so much that all of the land crabs have lost their homes. So now, you have tons of land crabs lining the streets looking for new homes, and the unfortunate ones, you find as roadkill. Apparently, you have to watch out for the bigger ones, because they can even pop a tire if you're not careful!

But, with all the rain, the island is becoming so green and lovely. And, the sunshine is much more appreciated!

I was talking with the woman who cleans our apartment today. I was telling her about the four seasons Indiana is blessed with having, and how fall and winter are my favorite seasons. She looked at me like I was a crazy woman. She said winter? Snow? When I open my freezer and there is ice and frost in there, is that what it is like in the winter? She's never seen snow, and she said she was sure I would laugh at her the first time she saw snow. I responded with telling her to feel free to laugh at me once a hurricane is headed our way, because those are new to me!

Anyway, she informed me that Dominica has two seasons. Dry season and rainy season. Not quite the same definition of a season such as summer, winter, fall, spring like we are used to. So, we are obviously now in rainy season which will last until Nov. 25. Then, it's back to beautiful, dry weather.

But, back to the point of my post I suppose.

This past weekend we did get a glimpse of the sun. And it was glorious. It was the first I was able to relax by the beach since we've been back. (#DominicaProblems or something right? Only if this was Twitter...)

Saturday, the girls and I took a public transport to get to Mero Beach. It is about 35 minutes south of Picard and is the 'touristy' beach on the island.

We got some great sun and were even able to relax on lounge chairs. Big living right there.

After we were done, we waited by the road to catch a public transport back to Picard. We snuggled into a very full bus and made the journey back. Catching a public transport is much more cost effective, as it was only about $12 EC round trip for each of us which is just under $5 US.

Our impromptu bus stop.

Sunday, Matt was able to sleep in, and studied for a few hours, then took the afternoon off! He had his first neuro practical on Friday, so his study time was a bit limited for the weekend.

We took advantage of the time, and the sun and spent the afternoon on the dock at the beach on campus. 

It was the first time in awhile that we were able to go to the beach together. Perfect way to relax and refresh for the coming weeks!

We came home to find out that the neighbors bull had broken off it's leash. It's very common for Dominicans to tie up their livestock and let it roam in the immediate area. However, this lucky one snapped it's leash and was grazing along the trail with the poor leash dragging behind. 

If you look closely, you can see the rope trailed behind him. Only in Dominica my friends.

Don't worry, though. As of today, he was back in place. The word from the woman who cleans, was that this bull in particular is a pet. She said many times people will keep them as pets, and then butcher them when they are too old to keep living. Not quite the same approach to livestock as I'm used to. She agreed that it would be awful to eat your pet when it is time. To each their own, I suppose.