We are finished with week 4 of living in Dominica and I haven't said a word about the food, restaurants, etc here. Because it's a university town (and I use that term liberally) just like in the good ole US of A the restaurants are expensive so I have been cooking most of our meals....
COOK
To cook in Dominica (as with everything else here) is a little bit of an adventure. First we will start off with the cooking appliances. Oven/Stove - seemed simple enough - I had a gas stove back home and I actually prefer cooking and baking with it :) Oh what's this - a propane tank?!?!?!? Yep here we cook with propane - think of your outdoor BBQ there sitting on your back porch and that little bitty tank that you hook up to it - got the picture in your head? Now remove the barbecue and replace it with an oven/stove and you have our kitchen. So here I am trying to figure out how to light the oven and stove as I wanted to bake fish (yes we get local fish right from the beach another adventure I watched the fisherman take a machete and chop off my portion of fish - awesome, gross (flies were all over the fish) cheap (only $8 ec or $3 us per pound) and tasty). Luckily our landlord was walking by and she showed me how to light the stove (no pilot light) and the oven). Oh did I mention that she raised a glass covering that was over the stove to light the stove top? Ok well she did but not all the way.....
So Kelsey and I are making one of our first meals together on the island and we did fish and rice for our friends.....we lit the stove, put down the class top and cook our meal...I think cooking over glass is a little odd, but it's Dominica so maybe they do things different. We go on to cook several more meals on our lovely stove top and this particular night I begin my first attempt at chicken/veggie fried rice. I have all of the burners going, I'm making chicken, I'm frying rice, I even added an egg, then I left the room to get some bug spray you get eaten ALIVE down here without it...and then it happens.............
CRASH, BOOM, BANG!!!!!!! I run back to the kitchen and there is glass everywhere!
PRAY
I now move into prayer mode. What do I do? How do I explain this to the landlord that we broke the glass? Was the glass faulty? Kelsey tries to phone the landlord and he can't get her. However he runs into our neighbor - tells him what happens to which the neighbor replies "You COOOKED on the GLASS ?!?!?!" Funny thing....turns out the glass was just a cover for the burners, but our racks for the burners are about a forth of an inch higher than the burner itself and there were grease stains on the glass - leading both Kelsey and I to think you cook on top. In our defense (sorry it's the lawyer in me) there was no way of knowing this information, we never had a formal walk though of our apartment, literally we moved in and have been figuring out how things work little by little (did I mention we have a switch that turns on electricity to heat the water for the shower? That was a fun one to figure out lol.)
After cleaning up all of the glass, we try several more times to call our landlord with no luck - I had to get out of the house and they were showing a movie on campus (the only cinema here) and I couldn't look at or remind myself of how dumb I had just been. In hindsight lifting the glass could make sense, but only in hindsight. As we begin to walk back to campus (keep in mind Kelsey has been completely calm this whole time - I am married to the most patient man out there) we see that our landlord is home, so we walk up to her apartment and say "Yeah we were cooking and the glass that was on top of the stove shattered...." to which her husband replies "Did you slam down the cover?" (now I'm thinking - these people are going to think we are sooooo stupid Americans now). But instead we she was so full of grace and mercy and asked if we were ok and then her husband said they should just be able to reorder the glass for the top and that was it...we were on our way!
EAT
So we finally were able to finish the fried rice when we got home (amazingly no glass got in any of the dishes)....and it was DELICIOUS! Since then I have cooked/baked many more things, including banana bread (adventure: try to figure out how long it will take to cook when you have no way to know the temperature and you just have a "high" and "a little less than high" setting for your oven), rice crispy treats (cocoa crispies were all I could find and it was generic and uber expensive but oh so worth it), mashed green bananas with garlic, cherry juice (turned out to be pretty gross - NOT AT ALL the same as when the locals make it), rice - lots of rice, turkey burgers, home fries, egg sandwhiches, and am hoping to make some more local dishes while I am here.
All in all the cuisine isn't that bad. We've had the local BBQ (which they do every Friday night) and we've tried hot tuna sandwiches. I recently found out that the KFC (believe it or not I've actually eaten there) and Rituals (which tries to be like starbucks, but also serves really good food and muffins) have only been here since February of this year, so I feel very lucky to have come at a time when more things are available to eat.
Grocery shopping is a little different as well. There are about 3 different stores here were you can get some items (I say some, because the joke here is that you can make a lot of the dishes you had back home, but you won't be able to find all of the items at one store - you will have to go to 2 or sometimes all 3 stores!) Roseau, which is the capital of Dominica and about an hour drive away, does have grocery (I use the term loosely) stores with bigger selections and more items from back home. Don't get all excited though, they still have more of a Big Lots/Dollar Store feel to them, and you have to check the expiration dates on everything! And just because the pasta/rice/flour/sugar etc. came from one of these stores does not mean it lessens the chance of having bugs in your food. :) So you always take everything home, go through it and then if bugs could get into it, it goes in the refrigerator - which unfortunately with mini fridges - leaves very little room for the items that should be in the refrigerator.
However, we are hearing rumors that an IGA (grocery store that we normally can only go to in Roseau) will be finished in September or November of this year right next to campus (varying information from various sources). Now for those who have never been to the Caribbean or West Indies, IGA is the closest thing you are going to have to a US grocery store. In fact they often carry a lot of the items that we would get back home. So if that actually does happen it will drastically change our lives here. On a sad note, there are several mom and pop type grocery stores here that would be hit hard because of it. SO I'm a little torn, but with me going to work in the fall, it would be nice not to have to get up super early on Saturdays to take a trip down to Roseau an hour each way (on winding roads that go up and down and round and round - Dramamine is highly recommended!)
Well blog family and friends, that is all for me now - until next time, COOK for those you love, PRAY for those in your life and the world around you, and EAT things you shouldn't every once in a while because they taste good! ;)
May 30, 2010
May 20, 2010
Welcome to the Dominican Zoo also known as OUR APARTMENT!
Hello Family and Friends:
Well here is another installment of our wacky and crazy life here on the beautiful island of Dominica. Today I wanted to talk about the creatures that I have found in our local zoo - otherwise known as my apartment. It all began last week, when I walked in the front door to find the largest cockroach I have ever seen (and I lived in NYC!) I screamed so loud poor Kelsey thought that I had found a centipede (oh did I mention they are the ONLY thing that's poisonous on the island....centipedes not the cockroaches) However, with one quick swoop I grabbed my large can of BOP (sorry Mickiala if you read this I just had to do it) and I sprayed the roach, the kitchen floor, the screen and EVERY inch of the kitchen.
Once I felt confident that any friend who would have attempted to rescue this nasty roach I went to sleep. The next morning I arose and went to the kitchen. On the floor there were 10 or so little flies that had also fallen victim to the BOP.....but nothing compared to the massive suicide of fruit flies that were lying on the outside of our kitchen windowsill. As I gathered myself and pushed through the whirl of emotions I cleaned up these poor innocent casualties and moved on with my day. After all it's a dog eat dog or in this can bug kill bug world out there......
Fast forward a night and Kelsey and I are again coming home after dark. After our encounter with the roach we made an executive decision that Kelsey should now walk into the house first. Kelsey unlocks the door with the skeleton key (think Pirates of the Caribbean type key for a treasure chest)...and flips on the light to expose the lizard with weird webbed feet (after writing this I realized I should be more politically correct, but really what lizards are reading my blog???? okay maybe no one's reading? if you ARE reading out there leave a comment, I'm beginning to believe only my mom reads this...and she only does because she gave birth to me and has to!)
So believe it or not - I'm was actually okay with the weird webbed footed friend in our apartment. Chalk it up to fast assimilation to my environment, but it occured to me (almost instantly I might add) that although gross, this little creature would EAT the even grosser (is that even a word) little creatures we found the previous nights before. So no BOP was needed (I don't think it would kill the lizard, but you never know)...and we went to bed.
Now let's jump ahead just a few more nights to when we discovered and fell in like with Charlie....(for those on Facebook - we finally gave it a name).
Meet Charlie!!!! Our first question was do we make him our Dominican pet or have him for dinner?
Yep that's a crab (his or her body is about 6 inches wide)! We were walking up to our apartment and there sitting on the bench right next to our front door was Charlie. And keep in mind we are not near the ocean...we're about 4 or 5 blocks up from the road that goes along the ocean......no body of water to be found.
Unfortunately not all crabs are as lucky as Charlie....some have met a more dire fate.........................
On another note, I wish I had a picture to show you one of the many cows that sometimes resides on the back side of our apartment. I'm not really sure how this works, but from time to time at all hours of the day and night I will see a cow tied up to a tree out behind our apartment. Sometimes there are cows that just roam the sides of the road eating grass, climbing the hills and pooping on the side of the road (that picture is just toooooo gross for this blog). And at times a goat or two or ten will run across the street. This isn't however counting all of the numerous chickens, roosters, and stray dogs you will see on a regular basis.
Well I hope you have enjoyed a little glimpse into our zoo here in Dominica!
Until next time - take time to stop and notice the beauty around you and be thankful :)
Well here is another installment of our wacky and crazy life here on the beautiful island of Dominica. Today I wanted to talk about the creatures that I have found in our local zoo - otherwise known as my apartment. It all began last week, when I walked in the front door to find the largest cockroach I have ever seen (and I lived in NYC!) I screamed so loud poor Kelsey thought that I had found a centipede (oh did I mention they are the ONLY thing that's poisonous on the island....centipedes not the cockroaches) However, with one quick swoop I grabbed my large can of BOP (sorry Mickiala if you read this I just had to do it) and I sprayed the roach, the kitchen floor, the screen and EVERY inch of the kitchen.
Once I felt confident that any friend who would have attempted to rescue this nasty roach I went to sleep. The next morning I arose and went to the kitchen. On the floor there were 10 or so little flies that had also fallen victim to the BOP.....but nothing compared to the massive suicide of fruit flies that were lying on the outside of our kitchen windowsill. As I gathered myself and pushed through the whirl of emotions I cleaned up these poor innocent casualties and moved on with my day. After all it's a dog eat dog or in this can bug kill bug world out there......
Fast forward a night and Kelsey and I are again coming home after dark. After our encounter with the roach we made an executive decision that Kelsey should now walk into the house first. Kelsey unlocks the door with the skeleton key (think Pirates of the Caribbean type key for a treasure chest)...and flips on the light to expose the lizard with weird webbed feet (after writing this I realized I should be more politically correct, but really what lizards are reading my blog???? okay maybe no one's reading? if you ARE reading out there leave a comment, I'm beginning to believe only my mom reads this...and she only does because she gave birth to me and has to!)
So believe it or not - I'm was actually okay with the weird webbed footed friend in our apartment. Chalk it up to fast assimilation to my environment, but it occured to me (almost instantly I might add) that although gross, this little creature would EAT the even grosser (is that even a word) little creatures we found the previous nights before. So no BOP was needed (I don't think it would kill the lizard, but you never know)...and we went to bed.
Now let's jump ahead just a few more nights to when we discovered and fell in like with Charlie....(for those on Facebook - we finally gave it a name).
Meet Charlie!!!! Our first question was do we make him our Dominican pet or have him for dinner?
Yep that's a crab (his or her body is about 6 inches wide)! We were walking up to our apartment and there sitting on the bench right next to our front door was Charlie. And keep in mind we are not near the ocean...we're about 4 or 5 blocks up from the road that goes along the ocean......no body of water to be found.
Unfortunately not all crabs are as lucky as Charlie....some have met a more dire fate.........................
Don't fear this photo was taken up on campus so I don't think it's Charlie.
On another note, I wish I had a picture to show you one of the many cows that sometimes resides on the back side of our apartment. I'm not really sure how this works, but from time to time at all hours of the day and night I will see a cow tied up to a tree out behind our apartment. Sometimes there are cows that just roam the sides of the road eating grass, climbing the hills and pooping on the side of the road (that picture is just toooooo gross for this blog). And at times a goat or two or ten will run across the street. This isn't however counting all of the numerous chickens, roosters, and stray dogs you will see on a regular basis.
Well I hope you have enjoyed a little glimpse into our zoo here in Dominica!
Until next time - take time to stop and notice the beauty around you and be thankful :)
May 15, 2010
White Coats!!!!
Hello All,
Well it's OFFICIAL! Kelsey received his "White Coat" in the wait for it, wait for it......... at the "WHITE COAT CEREMONY" (I know clever name huh?). Anyways, Kelsey and his other 1st Semester classmates all received their white coats in a 2hr ceremony yesterday (oddly enough this was longer than my graduation from grad school!) And family and friends were all able to watch via a live stream on the internet (how cool is technology?!?!?!)
Don't they "look" like doctors?
The best part of this whole ceremony (for me anyways) was the free food after - at 4 something in the afternoon this meant I didn't have to make dinner! And the spread wasn't too bad! Nice job Ross.
So now my husband looks all official and with their first "mini" (one of three exams they take each semester covering ALL the classes they are taking) only three weeks away - this may be one of the last events we go to for a while.
Until next time.....love - do it unconditionally and with all your heart.
Well it's OFFICIAL! Kelsey received his "White Coat" in the wait for it, wait for it......... at the "WHITE COAT CEREMONY" (I know clever name huh?). Anyways, Kelsey and his other 1st Semester classmates all received their white coats in a 2hr ceremony yesterday (oddly enough this was longer than my graduation from grad school!) And family and friends were all able to watch via a live stream on the internet (how cool is technology?!?!?!)
Don't they "look" like doctors?
The best part of this whole ceremony (for me anyways) was the free food after - at 4 something in the afternoon this meant I didn't have to make dinner! And the spread wasn't too bad! Nice job Ross.
So now my husband looks all official and with their first "mini" (one of three exams they take each semester covering ALL the classes they are taking) only three weeks away - this may be one of the last events we go to for a while.
Until next time.....love - do it unconditionally and with all your heart.
May 13, 2010
Laundry - Dominican Style
Laundry it is one of my favorite house chores to do (compared to the bathroom - which I abhor). There is nothing better than having fresh clean clothes, wrinkle free and ready to wear. Or better yet, warm hot towels as you get out of the shower.......
Thanks to Dominica things have changed....introducing......our new washing machine.................
ME! Yes sink washing has been our solution to having any type of clean clothes since we have arrived. There are people that do your laundry but we are still searching for the right person (plus am I the only one who is a little creeped out that someone else would be touching my undies?????) Any who apparently the service here is across the board - from crappy places that will leave bleach spots and maybe lose your clothes to those who have both a machine for washing and drying and you have clothes without wrinkles!!! Prices vary as well, but really where in the US can you get your laundry done for about $10 US a week? (Sadly Kelsey and I have been walking around in wrinkled clothes for most of our time here since we thought peanut butter was a more worthy element then an iron and therefor higher in the pecking order that was our packing list).
I do have a couple of leads on a few places (thank you Chelsea!) and hopefully I will decide soon, as the towels are not going to make it much longer without leaving us smelling worse than we did BEFORE we got in the shower.
Ahhhhhhhh whirlpool/kenmoore/ect. how I miss you dear sweet friend.....
Until next time......peace - bring it with you where ever you go!
Thanks to Dominica things have changed....introducing......our new washing machine.................
ME! Yes sink washing has been our solution to having any type of clean clothes since we have arrived. There are people that do your laundry but we are still searching for the right person (plus am I the only one who is a little creeped out that someone else would be touching my undies?????) Any who apparently the service here is across the board - from crappy places that will leave bleach spots and maybe lose your clothes to those who have both a machine for washing and drying and you have clothes without wrinkles!!! Prices vary as well, but really where in the US can you get your laundry done for about $10 US a week? (Sadly Kelsey and I have been walking around in wrinkled clothes for most of our time here since we thought peanut butter was a more worthy element then an iron and therefor higher in the pecking order that was our packing list).
I do have a couple of leads on a few places (thank you Chelsea!) and hopefully I will decide soon, as the towels are not going to make it much longer without leaving us smelling worse than we did BEFORE we got in the shower.
Ahhhhhhhh whirlpool/kenmoore/ect. how I miss you dear sweet friend.....
Until next time......peace - bring it with you where ever you go!
May 10, 2010
Week 1 Continued (and some of Week 2)
Ok, so by now we are getting better adjusted to life on the island. We have rearranged our apartment (see photo below - don't judge the mess oh and keep in mind the couch is across from the bed) and we have gone to the market (well 2 times by this post).
The Market - let me explain....
Picture if you will a small little town with narrow roads and minimal transportation. Insert multiple vans, cars with vegetables being sold our of the trunk, trucks with watermelon and coconuts being chopped before your very eyes. To your left there is an elderly gentlemen with a wheelbarrow of sorts with a large (what appears to be dolphin) fish on top of which for the right price you can get a slab of wrapped up in a bag for you to take home. Further down the road and down a side street are rows and rows of stands. Stands with tomatoes (bruised, over ripe and under ripe), bananas (bright green), plantains, potatoes, something that looks like lettuce, onions, brown eggs (warm yes warm), green peppers (about half the size of what we see at home), cooking peppers (even smaller), mangoes, pineapples, and some veggies, roots and other fruit I've never seen before. THIS is the market. You must bargain to get a good deal, you must wash right when you get home in salt water (or the eggs that have been laid will become actual animals, bugs, whatever). And yes after my first trip to the market that resulted in throwing away a nest of pupae (at least that's what Kelsey called them) that had made a home in my spinach. And most importantly you have to get EVERYTHING you would want for the week because the market is only open on Saturday mornings and if you want to GOOD stuff you have to get there by 5:30 or 6:00am! YES you heard right 6:00am!!!! Believe it or not Kelsey actually went to the market with me this past Saturday and did quite a good job - athought I think once school starts I'll be going solo.
This brings me to cooking and the does and don'ts of Dominica.
Cooking - it is almost always cheaper to cook than go out - most meals will be around $15 per person. Second we cook with gas stoves that use propane tanks - which usually are replaced every month or so. Lastly - we have a small kitchen and counter space so cooking has become something of an essembly line and cook in pieces, but I'm getting the hang of it and hopefully with the Ross University Cookbook and the Spouse Organization Cookbook, I'll be great in no time.
That about sums up our life here on Dominica - Stay tuned for more updates and stories as our time here continues..........
The Market - let me explain....
Picture if you will a small little town with narrow roads and minimal transportation. Insert multiple vans, cars with vegetables being sold our of the trunk, trucks with watermelon and coconuts being chopped before your very eyes. To your left there is an elderly gentlemen with a wheelbarrow of sorts with a large (what appears to be dolphin) fish on top of which for the right price you can get a slab of wrapped up in a bag for you to take home. Further down the road and down a side street are rows and rows of stands. Stands with tomatoes (bruised, over ripe and under ripe), bananas (bright green), plantains, potatoes, something that looks like lettuce, onions, brown eggs (warm yes warm), green peppers (about half the size of what we see at home), cooking peppers (even smaller), mangoes, pineapples, and some veggies, roots and other fruit I've never seen before. THIS is the market. You must bargain to get a good deal, you must wash right when you get home in salt water (or the eggs that have been laid will become actual animals, bugs, whatever). And yes after my first trip to the market that resulted in throwing away a nest of pupae (at least that's what Kelsey called them) that had made a home in my spinach. And most importantly you have to get EVERYTHING you would want for the week because the market is only open on Saturday mornings and if you want to GOOD stuff you have to get there by 5:30 or 6:00am! YES you heard right 6:00am!!!! Believe it or not Kelsey actually went to the market with me this past Saturday and did quite a good job - athought I think once school starts I'll be going solo.
This brings me to cooking and the does and don'ts of Dominica.
Cooking - it is almost always cheaper to cook than go out - most meals will be around $15 per person. Second we cook with gas stoves that use propane tanks - which usually are replaced every month or so. Lastly - we have a small kitchen and counter space so cooking has become something of an essembly line and cook in pieces, but I'm getting the hang of it and hopefully with the Ross University Cookbook and the Spouse Organization Cookbook, I'll be great in no time.
That about sums up our life here on Dominica - Stay tuned for more updates and stories as our time here continues..........
May 5, 2010
First Official Week in Dominica
Well it's official I work up today and realized that it was one week ago that I woke up and left for Dominica......here dear friends, family and followers is a recap of this week in Dominica. After days of goodbyes and phone calls to family abroad we were ready to finish up our packing and head to Dominica and here is where we shall begin.
It all began like any other trip where you are leaving the country for the next 16 months....you have over packed your bags beyond the seemingly generous (although very limiting in actuality) weight requirements of 50lbs a checked bag (although we found others were held to the 70lbs total for two bags rule so really who are we to complain). As we weighed the bags over and over (taking out the peanut butter and coffee were NEVER an option) trying to get that perfect weight we left behind books and sweatshirts (believe it or not we told to bring a couple) and at last we were able to pack what we so naively thought at the time was "All we would need."
Kelsey and I lugged our bags into the car at 3:30am on Wednesday morning we tried to rack our brains always wondering "Did we remember to pack X?" (name any item you would love to have if you couldn't have it for 16 months). At 4:30am (yes we only got one hour of sleep) we were groggily up and in the shower. By 5am we were on our way to the Philadelphia Airport leaving the comforts of the great USA behind. Thankfully I (Nicole) have an awesome mother-in-law who saw that there was no running to Wegman's at 5am and got us muffins, chocolate, trail mix and dried mangoes for our adventure the day before.
Once there we lugged the large army duffel bag, the black duffel bag, the two black suitcases, two backpacks, my (Nicole's) big red bag and a brown carry-on, which if either the red bag or brown carry-on were to be weighed we would have been thrown off our flight indeed. It was a scene from Amazing Race as we packed and shifted our items to hit the magic number of 50.5lbs. Brilliant husband that Kelsey is he noticed that we don't get charged for excessive weight until 51lbs...talk about hitting the max! Finally through security (with mild alterations to our carry-on bags) and on the plane to San Juan we felt like we were rock stars having put on the performance of a life times as we had "all that we needed" despite the limits of the baggage system. Kelsey clothed in a t-shirt, button down shirt, sweater and suit jacket was a site to see but we were there and we were on our way.
Arrival in San Juan was less than spectacular (and if you have ever been in that airport you would understand why). We waited at the gate and eyeballed all the other passengers, looking for back packs and multiple carry-on bags but non were found. We then began to see multiple people holding "Ross University" papers and soon felt like 1: Yay we have found students and 2: why do they have papers we don't? As much of this process for us, we missed the table for Ross as we were tunnel focused on finding our gate. Luckily the student next to us showed us where we could find the paper.....
With paper and customs in hand we felt like we were prepared for anything. And boy did ANYTHING come. We soon walked out to the tarmac to get onto the small toy plane that would be our ride to Dominica (if you think I am exaggerating, we had to wait an additional 45 minutes because half of the passengers bags had to be flown on a second plane). So on the toy plane I begin to see the beautiful ocean and the various islands below, as I prepared myself to land on a quite little strip of runway (having flown to St. Kitts a year earlier) I was taken aback as we approached Dominica and the mountain to my left got closer and closer and closer until it was a mere 20 ft from the plane...although I have not seen the movie, many on the plane referenced "Apocalypse Now" when recapping the life-flashing-before-my-eyes landing that is the Dominican Airport.
Bags in hand cleared through customs we awaited our ride to Ross. We had been told it would be a bumpy ride and to take Dramamine...this road had more twists and turns than a gym full of teenagers at a school dance. By the time we arrived at Ross I couldn't wait to get off the bus! Immediately we were allowed to call home and let family and friends know we had arrived safely. Then Judith - our landlord- came and picked us up to take us to what would be our new home.
HOME:
Now in the US when an apartment is referenced as a one bedroom, the assumption is that the bedroom is separate from the living-room, kitchen, etc. When Kels had discussed such one bedroom accommodations with our landlord we had been assured that we were moving into an apartment that was more suitable for a couple. THIS WAS NOT THE CASE.
We arrived to find a large room that had a kitchen that had a 3/4 wall cutting this small room in half. Luckily we had actually signed a lease for a different apartment (long story) so we were able to switch to a studio ish apartment across the street.
Pluses of our new home for 1st semester
The best things so far have been the great students and couples we have met and the trips that we have gotten to take for FREE (you know it's not free when you're paying $15k a semester but it feels FREE at the time). We saw the emerald pool, water falls, and a trip to the market where I finally got some veggies and bananas. Although I have to learn how to shop for a week at a time and how to buy veggies and fruit so that they don't spoil to soon. Best thing about the food is it's organic no pesticides (i think) and you get it done all by 6:30 am on a Saturday...(insert sarcastic tone here). YES you heard right to get the best fruit and veggies at the Saturday Market you need to be there by 5:30 or 6am which isn't as big of problem as it sounds considering the roosters start crowing around 5am and the cow may be mooing by then as well.
Part 1 Ending -
All in all it is going to be quite an adjustment for Kelsey and I and not as exotic as some of our other trips oversees, but I know that God has us hear for a reason and we will if nothing else have great stories for our kids one day.
Part 2 of 1st week to come tomorrow.
It all began like any other trip where you are leaving the country for the next 16 months....you have over packed your bags beyond the seemingly generous (although very limiting in actuality) weight requirements of 50lbs a checked bag (although we found others were held to the 70lbs total for two bags rule so really who are we to complain). As we weighed the bags over and over (taking out the peanut butter and coffee were NEVER an option) trying to get that perfect weight we left behind books and sweatshirts (believe it or not we told to bring a couple) and at last we were able to pack what we so naively thought at the time was "All we would need."
Kelsey and I lugged our bags into the car at 3:30am on Wednesday morning we tried to rack our brains always wondering "Did we remember to pack X?" (name any item you would love to have if you couldn't have it for 16 months). At 4:30am (yes we only got one hour of sleep) we were groggily up and in the shower. By 5am we were on our way to the Philadelphia Airport leaving the comforts of the great USA behind. Thankfully I (Nicole) have an awesome mother-in-law who saw that there was no running to Wegman's at 5am and got us muffins, chocolate, trail mix and dried mangoes for our adventure the day before.
Once there we lugged the large army duffel bag, the black duffel bag, the two black suitcases, two backpacks, my (Nicole's) big red bag and a brown carry-on, which if either the red bag or brown carry-on were to be weighed we would have been thrown off our flight indeed. It was a scene from Amazing Race as we packed and shifted our items to hit the magic number of 50.5lbs. Brilliant husband that Kelsey is he noticed that we don't get charged for excessive weight until 51lbs...talk about hitting the max! Finally through security (with mild alterations to our carry-on bags) and on the plane to San Juan we felt like we were rock stars having put on the performance of a life times as we had "all that we needed" despite the limits of the baggage system. Kelsey clothed in a t-shirt, button down shirt, sweater and suit jacket was a site to see but we were there and we were on our way.
Arrival in San Juan was less than spectacular (and if you have ever been in that airport you would understand why). We waited at the gate and eyeballed all the other passengers, looking for back packs and multiple carry-on bags but non were found. We then began to see multiple people holding "Ross University" papers and soon felt like 1: Yay we have found students and 2: why do they have papers we don't? As much of this process for us, we missed the table for Ross as we were tunnel focused on finding our gate. Luckily the student next to us showed us where we could find the paper.....
With paper and customs in hand we felt like we were prepared for anything. And boy did ANYTHING come. We soon walked out to the tarmac to get onto the small toy plane that would be our ride to Dominica (if you think I am exaggerating, we had to wait an additional 45 minutes because half of the passengers bags had to be flown on a second plane). So on the toy plane I begin to see the beautiful ocean and the various islands below, as I prepared myself to land on a quite little strip of runway (having flown to St. Kitts a year earlier) I was taken aback as we approached Dominica and the mountain to my left got closer and closer and closer until it was a mere 20 ft from the plane...although I have not seen the movie, many on the plane referenced "Apocalypse Now" when recapping the life-flashing-before-my-eyes landing that is the Dominican Airport.
Bags in hand cleared through customs we awaited our ride to Ross. We had been told it would be a bumpy ride and to take Dramamine...this road had more twists and turns than a gym full of teenagers at a school dance. By the time we arrived at Ross I couldn't wait to get off the bus! Immediately we were allowed to call home and let family and friends know we had arrived safely. Then Judith - our landlord- came and picked us up to take us to what would be our new home.
HOME:
Now in the US when an apartment is referenced as a one bedroom, the assumption is that the bedroom is separate from the living-room, kitchen, etc. When Kels had discussed such one bedroom accommodations with our landlord we had been assured that we were moving into an apartment that was more suitable for a couple. THIS WAS NOT THE CASE.
We arrived to find a large room that had a kitchen that had a 3/4 wall cutting this small room in half. Luckily we had actually signed a lease for a different apartment (long story) so we were able to switch to a studio ish apartment across the street.
Pluses of our new home for 1st semester
- Close to the annex where Kels has classes ***Update as of May 3rd we found out classes will be had on campus this plus is now a minus
- Across the street from Tina's - best grocery store (and I use the term loosely) in town
- Across the street from gas and electric (yes think of prepaid cell phones and you have their electricity system down)
- Closer to Portsmouth the closest town with markets (sat only) for veggies and fruit and fresh fish any day of the week.
- CHEAP RENT
- Freezer has yet to FREEZE anything
- 20 minutes from campus
- no fan - although awesome spouse sponsor is loaning us one!
- ac - but ac is a luxury here that you can't afford to have it on all the time.
- small one room only
- only one closet
The best things so far have been the great students and couples we have met and the trips that we have gotten to take for FREE (you know it's not free when you're paying $15k a semester but it feels FREE at the time). We saw the emerald pool, water falls, and a trip to the market where I finally got some veggies and bananas. Although I have to learn how to shop for a week at a time and how to buy veggies and fruit so that they don't spoil to soon. Best thing about the food is it's organic no pesticides (i think) and you get it done all by 6:30 am on a Saturday...(insert sarcastic tone here). YES you heard right to get the best fruit and veggies at the Saturday Market you need to be there by 5:30 or 6am which isn't as big of problem as it sounds considering the roosters start crowing around 5am and the cow may be mooing by then as well.
Part 1 Ending -
All in all it is going to be quite an adjustment for Kelsey and I and not as exotic as some of our other trips oversees, but I know that God has us hear for a reason and we will if nothing else have great stories for our kids one day.
Part 2 of 1st week to come tomorrow.
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