A Dominican Thanksgiving

To be completely honest, I was dreading Thanksgiving. I had a stubborn moment where I decided I was just going to ignore it and take the vacation days as days to sleep in and relax, and forget all about the holiday because we couldn't be home celebrating with our families.

But I adjusted my outlook and realized that it was important to celebrate our holiday here, even if were were thousands of miles away from where we wanted to be.

So, we had Thanksgiving. My first solo Thanksgiving, and the first time I ever cooked anything for Thanksgiving. I went all out.

Ross doesn't observe Thanksgiving here in Dominica, so Matt still had class in the morning. To get in the Thanksgiving spirit, we started the day with Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks Via.

It turns out, the hardest part of Thanksgiving in Dominican is finding enough room in our small fridge to store everything, and enough pots and pans to cook everything in. We ended up going with a turkey loaf type dish because I wasn't sure a full size turkey could fit in our oven. Plus it was around $40 USD. No thanks.

But don't worry. We still didn't go hungry.

We had turkey, real mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole, crescent rolls and cranberry sauce. Then for dessert, we had carrot cake, pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon maple cream cheese frosting and peanut butter pie. Whew.

I cooked for three days to get ready for this feast.

But it was delicious. It turned out better than I could have hoped for.

We had our friend Bryan over to join us as his fiance' Tabby is back at home getting ready for their upcoming nuptials. We can't wait to celebrate with them and see the rest of our island family in just a few weeks!

So even though this Thanksgiving wasn't with our family, we still had a wonderful holiday with so much to be thankful for.

A Picture Story

Three weeks from today we'll be on our way HOME. Home. I love the sound of that word.

We fly to San Juan then direct to O'hare from there. We have sworn off Liat, and will be trying Seaborne Airlines to get us out of Dominica, then American from there. It has to be better than Liat.

But anyway, with us getting ready to leave for four weeks, I've been trying to soak up the beauty to take that with me while home.

Just look at this place. You don't find these untouched beautiful areas just anywhere. Grateful to call this place a temporary home.

Yes, those are cows. On the beach. Because, why not?

The view on campus.

On the main road walking to campus.

Dominican Oranges. Oddly enough, they aren't orange here.

The normally calm waters have turned into wild waves.

It seems the trade winds are coming in and bringing cooler air, and more active water. These photos above were taken on the beach by campus.

Ross also holds an annual arts and crafts expo. Local artisans are invited to sell their crafts and a portion of the proceeds benefit local charities. It's a great fundraiser, and a great way to stock up on souvenirs. Matt and I definitely took advantage, but couldn't resist the beautiful crafts.

Matt is getting ready for finals. He has mini three on Dec. 3. He will take his last exam for the semester on Dec. 11. And then we are off Dec. 13! So these next few weeks will be stressful as we wind down our third semester. Your thoughts and prayers will surely be appreciated!

I've been feeling a bit under the weather recently. This island can be very tough on your body. I hadn't been feeling well for a few days, so I went to the campus clinic where they provide feel health care to students and families. Dengue Fever, an awful disease spread by mosquitoes, has been on campus so I was tested for that. Thankfully, no Dengue for me. Just a bad case of the flu.

I'll tell you, having a fever is miserable enough, but having a fever when you're already in sweltering heat is a whole new battle. 

It is hard to believe last year at this time we were coming home from the Bahamas as Matt had just finished MERP. He was talking the other day at how unbelievable it is to think the amount of material he has taken in a year, and how far we've come in just one short year. With all that in mind, it is awfully exciting to think about where we could be in just a year from now.

A Very Dominican Christmas

First of all, I know it's not yet Thanksgiving. I, too, was once adamant about no Christmas decorations up before Thanksgiving. No Christmas music until then either. But alas, I have changed. Don't judge me.

Let me explain. We are leaving for home Dec. 13. Which means, the very Charlie Brown Christmas tree we bought here for a steep $40 EC ($15 USD, Holla!) would only get to be up for a couple of weeks before we were gone. And for that price, I wanted to enjoy it as long as possible.

And I'm a little anxious to go home, so it makes it seem closer.

So yes, we are those people who already have our Christmas decorations up with the holiday music blaring. It makes me happy.

But look at this beauty.

Adorable.

Like I said, Charlie Brown tree it is. But we love it. 

I decorated it with the traditional Dominican plaid fabric bows. The 'skirt' is the extra fabric that I had every intention of sewing stockings for. We'll see if that happens. And the mat underneath is from my favorite Dominican basket ladies.

You'll notice there are no lights. We don't want to have to pay for electricity for the lights, so it will go without.

And although it is a very simple tree, we love it. We've made it our own with what we have here. And the purpose of the tree is fulfilled.

When we were home, we had purchased solar powered string lights for outdoor which we brought back. I have been so excited to put these up, but wanted to wait. We had two strings, so we put them on each balcony. They are perfect! And they add a bit of festive cheer to our home for the season. But let's be honest. We will probably leave them up.

So there you have it. I have to admit, it is hard to get in the holiday spirit being in the tropics when Indiana is getting their first bit of snow. But, putting a little effort into our surroundings has helped put us in the right frame of mind.

I remember when we were first accepted, Matt was reading up on several blogs of those who were already here. I think I was still in denial at that point. But anyway, one of the blogs he read was about a family decorating for Christmas, and using the limited resources (in comparison to those at home) to create a festive holiday atmosphere. He said that was one of the things he looked forward to the most, was having a simpler approach to things, and making due with what we have. At the time, I thought of it as one more item we would have to go without. But we've successfully used notebook paper as wrapping paper, postcards as birthday cards and now, fabric scraps as tree decorations. I don't think we're necessarily going without - it's just different. A different approach to our traditions which we will hopefully remember in Christmases to come.

A Day in the Dominican Life

So while our lives here in Dominican aren't that especially riveting on a day to day basis, they are certainly different than the life we had back in the States.

While I would love to say that we spend the majority of our days soaking up the Caribbean sun, taking shade underneath the palm trees while sipping coconut water, it's not quite that dreamy.

The sun rises here rather early - sometime in the 5 a.m. hour. Thankfully, I'm not usually up that early, so I don't find out exactly when. We shut off the air conditioning in the bedroom, and savor the last bit of cold air in the room by keeping the door shut as long as possible. Then, it's out to the heat.

The first application of deodorant for the day is on, and we get freshened up a bit. And by that, I mean wash my face and brush my teeth. Make up? Yea, right. Doing my hair? Not a chance. It's pointless. Of course, we don't run the A/C all day here because it is ridiculously expensive. So the days that we are graced with a breeze are that much more comfortable - and a little more friendly to my overall appearance.

Matt is a class-goer. Ross University gives students the option of watching lectures online or going to class, or whatever combination suits each student best. He prefers class, so he's off all morning to sit in the freezing cold air conditioned room that campus provides, while I'm left to sweat it out.

It the weather is nice - meaning relatively low humidity, breezy and no rain clouds coming over the mountains, I'll try to get some laundry done before work begins. We invested in a countertop washer that we shipped in a barrel. It has certainly saved us money! Most apartments don't come with a washer/dryer, so for laundry, most students will send out. Different laundry services will provide free pick up and delivery same day for laundry. An average load was costing us roughly $35 EC or $13 USD a week. Now we just send out for our sheets and towels, so we are saving quite a chunk of money. So, every couple of days I'll wash a load, wring it out, and hang to dry on our porch. It's not that big of a washer, so every couple of days I have about two loads to do.

Of course, there is most definitely coffee consumed every morning. We've shipped our coffee down here as well. That's another item that's super expensive here. I can hardly drink hot coffee at his temperature. It's always iced.

Instead of watching the weather, I've resorted to checking the National Hurricane Center's website every morning, especially now during peak hurricane season. We don't get a local Dominican news or weather station, so it's all online reading. Then it's off to work. And by off to work, I mean to my desk where I plant myself for the majority of the day.

The sweat and grime is usually plastered all over by this point. I've gotten used to feeling like a post work-out as a constant state of being. To help with the amount of sweat, I wear as much dry fit clothing as possible. Shorts and tank tops folks. That's all there is.

Throughout the day, we drink so much water or gatorade. It's so easy to get dehydrated.

And I feel like I'm washing dishes all day because it's important to keep dishes out of the sink, otherwise the sugar ants will find you. And you'll be sorry.

On that note, all of our food is stored in ziplock baggies. Event if it's something that's sealed, it's still wrapped in a ziplock for extra protection from the ants. They are vicious.

Matt typically comes home for lunch. On good days, we'll treat ourselves to some Subway. At home, we didn't eat Subway much, but here, it's a taste of home that I think makes it so appealing.

Then Matt will either go back to campus to study for the afternoon, or study at home. We then start dinner around 5 p.m. Of course, afterwards we make sure all the dishes are done and put away in our fight against the sugar ants. Then I take my at least once-a-day a shower, then get comfortable in the bedroom and turn the A/C on. Oh, those glorious sweat-free moments.

I'm not sure if it's the water quality, a chemical they put in it or what exactly, but something about the water irritates my skin. The only relief I've found is to dry off as quickly as possible and get in the A/C.

The sun sets around 6 p.m. so we enjoy the picturesque ocean-view sunset. Then we both settle in in the bedroom with the A/C on for the remainder of the evening. Matt studies, while I watch an embarrassing amount of Netflix. Both of us have our headphones on, so not to distract from his studying. Matt said once that it would be fun to see how many TV series I can get through while we're here. Well, there's nothing 'cool' about that. I won't divulge on that one. But to give you an idea.....here's what I'm watching now.

That's right. All the way from season one. I've got a lot of spare time.

Then, lights out around 10 or 11 p.m. when Matt's done studying. The Dominica outdoors is rather loud with the sound of crickets, frogs, bats, etc. that serenade us to sleep.

So see, it's not all palm trees, ocean breezes and paradise. Just a little bit of it all!

Fall Fever

Well we are getting settled back into our routine again here in Dominica. Matt has his first mini of semester three Monday morning. So I've seen my husband very little these past few days. Oh how great it will be to have some normalcy again in say.... five to 10 years.

But our normal for now is Matt studying constantly. I'm busy working. And the time in between, well, that varies. I've been enjoying shopping trips to Roseau, and I've been on a baking spree. Matt just doesn't have any time in between.

I'm not usually in the mood to bake, so when I am, I need to take advantage because it doesn't last long. It could also just be the 'fall' fever, too. I've been craving anything pumpkin lately. And I don't even like pumpkin.

I've made two batches of pumpkin cookies in the past two weeks. Last fall, I made no pumpkin cookies. So see, there's a significant increase.

I've also been oh so thankful I brought back the Starbucks via pumpkin spice latte packets. Delicious. Now we just need some fall weather. 95 degrees and ridiculous humidity? Just doesn't have the same effect.

Shopping in Roseau has definitely been successful for us. We started our Christmas shopping, and are nearly finished with the items we were going to get here. And we've also stocked up on souvenirs for us. 

Handmade floor mats, baskets galore, Dominican plaid fabric for Christmas stockings and handmade leather shoes! 

And these fabulous tank tops I got this stud to model for me.

Speaking of stud, this semester has been more fun for Matt. He's getting to do more 'doctor' stuff as he calls it. He's had a trip to the clinic, and done several patient interviews. So that mean's he has to dress up more often. He put it well when he said he would enjoy dressing up, if it wasn't blazing hot outside. But regardless, he still looks handsome!

Sporting his official name tag Landon made for him.

Even though it's still blazing hot, the weather is definitely cooling off. I use that term loosely. When I was back home, I wondered how the humidity compared to Dominica as I always complained how humid Indiana got. Well, Indiana folks, you have nothing to complain about. It was lovely for me when people were complaining about how humid it was. Enjoy it. 

We have had some beautiful days here with a nice breeze. Except for the one day I decided to make sun tea.

Not ten minutes after I put this out, clouds rolled in and opened up on us. And you may be thinking how great the rain is as it will cool things off. False. It turns everything into a steam room. The sun tea was still good, though. 

I suppose that's about it. Nothing too exciting to update you on - just cute pictures of my husband. And here's a sunset. That seems like a good ending.

Portsmouth Market

Portsmouth Market is a few miles from here in Picard and is best attended on Saturday mornings. Saturday mornings are usually reserved for sleeping in, but when the mood strikes, I may get up early to go.

Keep in mind this doesn't happen near as often as it should, but when I do go, I am ever so glad I did.

The fresh produce is cheaper than what IGA has available, and there's more selection as the IGA's produce is hit or miss.

Chelsea, Ann and I made our way to the market, and were welcomed by the scent of fresh baked bread, which is a wonderful thing early on a Saturday morning. From there, the bright colors, lively patrons and praise and worship music that is blaring sets the perfect ambiance for a Dominican morning.

You  make your way from table to table, scoping out the produce and make your selection of the finest, pineapple, peppers, lettuce, eggs, flowers, sugarcane and more.

Speaking of pineapple, it is in season right now. We were offered this giant pineapple for just $13EC which is about $5 USD.

And it is one of the most delicious pineapple I've tasted! Even better when you dip it in Nutella. 

If you are there at the right time, you can hear the fishermen blow the conch shell, which means they are bringing in the day's catch. 

Step up, and choose your cut to take home.

Definitely not my first choice. I'll stick to the pineapple.

Coconut water is also a hot commodity. Truck loads of jelly coconuts (the local term for a young, ripe coconut) are ever present. The vendors slice up the jelly with a machete and pour the water into your container.

Or, you can sip it straight out the coconut like this adorable girl.

As I mentioned earlier, praise and worship music is blaring throughout the market. The locals will often sing and dance, and we captured the sweetest older gentleman bubbling with joy that was too great not to capture.

It was a little windy, so it's too bad you can't hear the joyful sounds accompanying him.

The market is just a great way to immerse yourself in the local Dominican culture. You leave feeling refreshed and stocked with some fresh goodies.

The short drive back lends for some great Dominican sights. For instance... the Dominican Bus Station..

Art Gallery..

And local signage..

It's my goal to drag myself out of bed go to the market for often! Take a look at our treasures for the day.