Back At It

And the studying begins! We are back to our Freeport routine of Matt studying all day. It's rather exciting I tell you.

He's going green with that iPad of his.

He's enjoying the material. And he is very thankful for MERP. Most of the material these first few days has been review with the exception of some things, of course, too. But, MERP was great because it has given him a head start on this material, taught him how to study, and has also helped him (us both) acclimate to island life, so we aren't having to do that while taking on the first semester. For instance, the grocery only getting milk every two weeks, when we get a lot of rain the water turns brown, etc., etc.

Although it was an expensive, sometimes frustrating and not fun Bahama experience, we are both glad to have done it. And I can say that now that it is over.

As you may remember from our luggage fiasco, half of our stuff didn't make it to Dominica. So our families are busy getting things together to fill up a barrel and get the rest down here. It's actually kind of nice to do it that way, as we are able to come up with a good list of stuff we need that we may not have thought of. It's especially nice for food, because we now know what is rather expensive down here such as coffee and peanut butter. Another blessing in disguise.

Beyond that, we are getting our bearings here learning the ins and outs of Dominica. A few interesting things I've learned:

Sunsets here are gorgeous.

Most of the bread here is made with lard.

Maid service and laundry service is something I can get used to.

Dry season is a myth.

Therefore, rainbows are an every day event.

Don't buy food from James Store.

There is no good fountain coke in the Portsmouth area. But the local juices may make me forget about fountain Dt. Coke. Yes, I said it. And I'm just as shocked as you are.

Honking is an acceptable form of Hello.

There are so many stray dogs. But they are friendly! Love watching them play.

There are more Chinese restaurants here than in Chinatown I think.

We get American cable network TV, with the local station being New York City. The inner news nerd in me was very curious about this!

Mosquitoes love me. Already.

There are several, several steep hills.

I'm sure there will be many additions to this post. But I thought I would leave you with the most important thing that has happened.

Matt and Jon are reunited.

It's like they never left.

Adjusting

Matt and  I have been adjusting rather well here in Dominica. We certainly have Freeport to thank for that, as Freeport gave us a crash course in island living, life as a med student, and being so far away from friends and family.

We made a major grocery purchase to get us started on basic necessities here, and have been catching up on random supplies here and there. The major grocery, IGA, is about a five minute walk from our apartment, but there is a smaller grocery, Picard Grocery, that is just across the street.

Picard Grocery is a small store with only about two aisles, but it carries the basics if we are ever short of something.

We also made a trip to the Portsmouth Market to get some fresh produce. This is on the streets of Portsmouth and local vendors come out to sell their products. We came away with eggs, green beans, passion fruit, cocoa, onions, peppers and more! It felt like home with roosters and chickens just roaming the streets.

The weather here in Dominica has been rather 'mild.' We are typically in the mid-80s, but there is usually a nice breeze, so we haven't had to run the AC. It rains here quite often, but not for long amounts of time. It rains sporadically here and there, then there will a rainbow and it will stop. We've learned to never leave without an umbrella, because even if the skies look clear, a rain cloud is likely brewing just over the mountains.

Yesterday we took a walk along the beach by our apartment. There is a cozy little restaurant there that is perfect to watch the sunset.

Just down from the restaurant are the Picard Beach Cottages. This is where the cast and crew of Pirates of the Caribbean stayed while filming the movie. They have the names of the people who stayed at each cottage above the door. I'm determined to find Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp's cottages.

Speaking of Pirates, there is also a restaurant here where they ate the majority of their meals. It's called The Tomato. They have everything shipped in from Miami, so we are able to get some American type meals down here every now and then.

We don't have anything too exciting going on, as we are trying to enjoy the downtime before classes start up. Matt starts bright and early tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. and has class till noon. For the most part, his class schedule is structured similar to MERP, so he should be able to adapt quickly.

Our biggest task is determining which Chinese restaurant is the best, and what to do when there is no milk available, as the IGA only gets milk every other week. We are also getting back on island time.

One thing we've learned, are that the sunsets here are incredible. A place full of rainbows and gorgeous sunsets can't be all bad!

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!

Dominica - An Introduction

Since we are getting ready to move to our new home for 16 months, I thought I would share some information for you about Dominica so you can get familiar with where we're going to be. I know I had never heard of Dominica before this adventure, so I'm assuming many of you haven't either. And if you have, maybe you can enlighten me.

So here's a look at what I've found through my research!

First of all, it's not the Dominican Republic. I was guilty of that, too.

It's pronounced Dom-in-eek-a. 

Location is fairly important to know. It's about an hour and a half flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The island is 29 miles long and 16 miles wide.

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The capitol of Dominica is Roseau. It is on the south end of the island. We will be living in Portsmouth, which is on the north end of the island. There are two airports on the island, but we will be flying into Melville Hall Airport. Apparently the ride from the airport to Portsmouth can get a little rough. So here's hoping we don't get carsick!

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English is spoken there. But there is British English, African, French and Carib (native Dominican Indian) influence.

They use Eastern Caribbean currency - or EC. 

Dominica is known as the "Nature Island" because its untouched landscape. Tropical rain forests cover two thirds of the island. 

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There are even eight volcanoes in the mountainous country.

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There are natural waterfalls, hot springs, boiling lakes and more.

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Diving is a popular pastime, as it is one of the top ten diving locations in the world. Hiking is also popular, with many trails available to explore. There are opportunities to see sea turtles and go whale watching. 

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And they have black sand beaches!

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71,000 people live in the country - 4,000 live in Portsmouth. There is one major 'highway' in the country connecting Portsmouth to Roseau. It takes about an hour to drive between the two cities.

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It is very warm and humid in Dominica. Rainy season is from July-November and dry season is December-June. When it rains several days in a row, the water will turn brown. Apparently it is still safe to drink, but I don't think we'll be taking chances on that one. Dominica is also in the hurricane path. So we will be paying close attention to that during hurricane season.

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Our apartment, Comfort Zone, will be very close to campus and to Picard Beach!

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There is a IGA grocery store that is about a five minute walk from our apartment as well. From what I've learned, they have most of the same food items at the States, however it's not always guaranteed to be in stock. 

Electricity is prepaid. We will buy the electricity from the IGA in advance. We then take the receipt back home, and enter our receipt number onto the meter in the apartment. We will be able to track how much electricity we use. It's not as expensive as it was in Freeport, so that's good news, but it is still more expensive than it is in the States.

So that's a look at Dominica! I know once we get there, I will have so much more to share.