Our New Apartment

Since today is our one year anniversary, I thought it would be a perfect time to show the video of our apartment. That way, the video can do the talking while I hang out with my husband!

So, without further adieu, here's our lovely new home.

Settling In

We are getting settled in here into our new apartment, and absolutely love it. I'll be sitting here, and just think, gosh I love this apartment. I'm so happy we moved here. I even forget I'm in Dominica!

The new place is called Fletchers Luxury Apartments. It's a little further walk than Comfort Zone. It's still in Picard, but it is off Banana Trail. It's about 7-10 minutes walk from campus.

The apartment is so spacious and open. It is literally nicer than any apartment we've lived in at home. It would be considered small in comparison to places at home, but it is large for Dominica. The ceilings are high, and they are painted, so it doesn't feel like you're living in a dorm room.

Since I'm so enamored with our new place, I wanted to share what exactly is so special about it. I thought this would give you a glimpse of the type of things which are considered valuable here.

Hot water. Scolding hot water to be exact. The kind that turns your skin red. And to go with it - water pressure.

Beauty Rest Mattress. Queen sized! I have never slept better. Our bed is incredibly comfortable.

Big fridge. It's almost as big as a traditional American fridge!

Nice countertops! It isn't the stone countertops with grouting that you can never get clean.

Large bathroom. It's a standard American bathroom. There's no need to shimmy in and shimmy out.

Desk chair! Yes. You read that correctly. We have an actual desk and desk chair.

New! The apartment overall is fairly new. So it's not run down or dirty. They do a great job of pest control, too.

Secure. They have video monitors, security guard, bars and electronic gates.

Two big balconies. One out front off the bedroom, and one in the back. The one in the back opens to two French doors. Both balconies have screen doors. How wonderful is that?!

A great breeze. The building itself its built on a stilt style platform, so we are fairly high. Which means we have a fabulous breeze that keeps us cool.

American stove. No need to light a match and turn on propane to start the oven; this is all automatic!

Closet! There's a huge closet that they have in the bedroom. It definitely helps with storage.

Two huge TVs. Not that Matt gets to watch TV much, but I can. Dad, you will be impressed.

Two air conditioners! There is an AC unit in the kitchen/living area and in the bedroom. They're the kind that can oscillate the direction they blow and everything. They didn't hold back a dime when they built this.

Storage spaces. Along with the closet, we also have a couple of shelving units, filing cabinet and a large bookshelf. That is like gold here.

New appliances. They gave us a new set of pots and pans! It also came fully furnished with plates, bowls, silverware, etc.

Space! We can have people over! We've got a leather loveseat and chair, along with a table and chairs, and this lovely desk chair. So there is space for people to sit when they come over beyond our bed. And, there's room for people to spread out, too. Bonus, there's enough room in our living area to put up an air mattress for when you all come to visit!  (And if you don't want to stay here, this adorable B&B is right next door!)

Service! The management and staff here have been nothing short of wonderful. There is a woman on site in the office throughout the week should you need anything. They are extremely responsive to all emails - even on weekends/holidays. The cleaning staff is so warm and friendly. And the security guard is just as nice. Overall, they treat you like family. You can't take that granted anywhere you go.

In general, this place feels so much more like a home. It is on the more expensive side of apartments, but it is worth every penny.

So, here are a few photos. Once I get ambitious enough, I'll try and post a video tour, so you can get the full experience!

Enjoy!

Our dining/living area. And yes, that's a glass chandelier. It's on a dimmer, too. No big deal.

Ocean view!

Sunsets here are stunning.

View off our back porch.

The mountain's to the south.

View of Cabrits from the back porch.

Playing Doctor

Matt got to play a real doctor today!

He had his first simulation. Simulation is a time where the students experience real life scenarios. They work with a variety of different simulation mannequins who are to represent potential patients and situations they will be faced with. The goals of Simulation Labs are to prepare the students for real time pace and real experiences. They will learn to think on their feet, deal with ethical situations, learn various procedures and most importantly, apply the knowledge they are learning in lectures.

Simulation is great way for first semesters especially to get their feet wet right away and have a great hands on approach  to learning.

Plus, you get to wear the famous blue scrubs and stethoscope.

He makes those look good.

In the first semester, they will only have two simulation labs. As he gets further along in his medical career, he will have them more often.

Matt loved it. It's a great learning tool for him as he is able to make mistakes, and learn from them, without extreme consequences. It's also helpful to learn how to handle yourself and learn your role as a physician.

In other exciting news, we have signed a new lease for second semester! We will be moving into Fletcher Luxury Apartments after we get back from the states.

Fletcher is quite a bit bigger than where we are now. Currently, we are in 390 sq. ft., while Fletcher is about 800 sq. ft. Although we love our cozy apartment, it will be nice to have a little more space to spread out. A friend of mine told me, that if you can stay married in your first year while living in a 390 sq. ft. apartment in a third world country, you'll be set for life. 

Comfort Zone is a great place to live, especially in the first semester. It's close proximity to campus, wonderful landlord and amenities stand out among some of the other living options. I would certainly recommend it!

Fletcher is a bit further from campus as it is off of Banana Trail. It's a new building, with two gorgeous balconies per apartment with an ocean view, queen size bed, American appliances (yes, a stove I don't have to light a match and pray for the best to cook), a real desk and a desk chair, and two giant TVs among other things. A big upgrade will be the bathroom. There's place to move around in there so you don't' have to shimmy in and out to use the restroom.

We will have to be out of Comfort Zone when we fly out on April 16. We can store our barrels of stuff with Fletcher, who then will move them into the apartment for us when it's available. In order to move those barrels, we will like arrange that with Alexis Taxi, so we don't have to carry those around!

The rest of our stuff will be stored with help from our friends. With the last couple of weeks being stressful for Matt with Mini 3 and his final, and then packing for our trip home and moving, it is going to be a whirlwind. Sounds like fun, huh?

And finally, for those of you back home experiencing this awesome winter weather, know you're always welcome to visit. We'd love to have you! And it's supposed to be 85 deg. tomorrow.

Our Dominican Home

Happy New Year from Dominica!

We had a great time on New Year's Eve playing Apples to Apples and a bit of Uno with the Womack's and Grey's. It was a wonderful way to start the New Year all together where we will be for the next 16 months.

We ordered Chinese delivery and have found that the food prices here are nothing compared to the Bahamas. Yesterday we got lunch, a cheeseburger, fries and a coke each and it was $26 US. Not too bad! Knowing that it won't be $60 to eat a nice dinner out has been nice. Chalk up another point for Dominica.

Matt's excited.

I thought I would share with you our new home! I did a video as I thought it would be easier to see, and I could explain things a little more.

So, sit back and enjoy!

We also saw our first Dominican rainbow! With the mix of sun and rain that is the norm here, rainbows are fairly regular. I don't think I'll get tired of seeing them.

Matt's off at orientation. He will officially start classes on Monday, and the White Coat Ceremony will be on Friday. Many exciting things are coming our way!

Dominicans!

Well, we made it!

And it is gorgeous here.

Our flights were uneventful, except for the fact that American Airlines decided not to let us take our second suitcases on. So we had to shuffle four suitcases down to two in the O'Hare ticketing gate, during the holidays. You can imagine how well that went.

We only forgot to repack a couple of necessary items, but we are getting those down here thanks to some very friendly people! Plus we made a quick trip to Walmart in Miami. But, we got our luggage, so that's all that mattered.

We arrived into Dominica around 2 p.m. (They are an hour ahead of Indiana during the winter months as they don't observe daylight savings.) It was a quick trip through customs, then an hour long taxi ride to Portsmouth. Keep in mind, it was probably about 20 miles, but the roads are small and winding. It was a beautiful ride as it was through the hills and around the coastline.

From there, they take you to Jenner Hall, or the Barn, and get some briefings, student ID, get fed and then get luggage. We were also able to make a call home. Landlords then come and pick you up to take you to your apartment. Lucky for us, our apartment, Comfort Zone, is right next to the Barn!

We even got our barrels that night. Alexis Taxi is definitely the way to go. They even delivered them up three flights of stairs for us. Definitely worth it.

Beyond all of the initial unpacking, we've been taking tours, getting Matt's computer set up and attending various check-ins and such. We both have agreed we are happier here than Freeport. It's much more of a community, the locals are nicer, it's prettier and cleaner. It's also much more of a community here with a campus environment. Everything is within walking distance, so we aren't needing to rely on Tyrone. 

It also has been great to see some familiar faces from Freeport. That has helped Matt and I feel at home more than anything. It's also nice to know we can settle here for a bit. We aren't only going to be here for four months, so that is nice too. 

We are definitely getting our exercise, and our blistered feet are proof. Everywhere you go, there are hills and stairs and more. But with this kind of scenery, it's not a big deal.

We also finally went to visit the beach. The black sand is very cool! Your mind tells you it's mud, but it feels like sand. The beaches definitely aren't Bahama beaches, but they are gorgeous in their own way. This is the beach that is right behind our apartment and campus.

There is so much more to share with you all! But this post is getting long enough already. I'll be sure and post pictures/video of our apartment, and share details with you of our new life here.

Thank you all again for your support, love and prayers. We both feel their calming assurance over us!

Welcome to Our Humble Abode

We are finally moved in and unpacked! We've had a bit of wait to get into our actual apartment since arriving in Freeport, but the landlord here at Sunset Lodge has been nothing but wonderful! 

Since our apartment wasn't ready, they put us in a spare apartment until we could move in. It was going to take a bit longer than planned to get into our original apartment, so they worked out it so we could switch apartments and move in to a different one. They even helped us move our luggage! Like I said, they have been nothing short of wonderful.

Since we didn't have a key and entrance to the security gate, we didn't get to do much sightseeing. We haven't even been to the beach yet! Needless to say, we are relieved to get all moved in and secured so we can get settled in and eventually venture out!

However, we did find a drug store, gas station and KFC all within walking distance. Woo! We tried the Bahama soda - Pretty good!

So this blog post will be mainly photos of our apartment for those of you who wish to see a brief tour.

Our Kitchen

Dining Room

 

Living Room

Don't let the couch fool you, it isn't near as comfortable as it looks.

 

Our balcony is off the living room!

 Second Bedroom/Office

 

Master Bedroom

Got to have our wedding photos up there!

And my sweet Emmy!

 Bathrooms

The other looks the same, so I didn't think you needed two photos. :)

Outside of Sunset

This was a random 'before' photo of the bedroom! Lots of clothes...

And here is our view.. Not too shabby!

Hope you enjoyed:) And hopefully we'll see you soon!