Just Another Normal Afternoon

Sometimes it shocks me how accustomed I've gotten to this island. The things that happen to me here on a daily basis are so bizarre and crazy yet that is my life here. The bizarre and crazy has become normal. When I came home from school this afternoon, I told Michael the following story.

I had just gotten out of my Problem Based Learning class and I was on my way to the Shacks for lunch. I picked up a banana and peanut smoothie and a sandwich and started walking towards my apartment. As I was walking home, I immediate froze when I saw a huge snake in the grass a foot from where I was walking. I just stood there not knowing which way to move next. I'm not scared of snakes by any means but I've never seen one that wasn't in a zoo or someone's pet. This was a "wild" one. I guess a local noticed that I was acting strangely because he came up to me to see what was going on. This was our 10-minute word exchange:

Local: "what is it?" (he asks as he walks up to me and looks to where I am staring)
Me: "there is a huge snake!"
Local: "ohh, what a waste of money!!
Me: "oh, so it's dead?!"
Local: "yes, it was crossing the street last night and a transport ran over it. What a waste of
money."
Me: "a waste of money?"
Local: "oh yes, from its skin you can make belts. And its fat..."
Me: "you eat it??"
Local: "no, no. You melt the fat and then you put it all over your body. It is very, very expensive
in the islands."
Me: "snake oil? really?"
Local: "oh yes, it cures everything! Rheumatism, arthritis, everything."

I start to take out my camera because you know I'm thinking I definitely need to take a picture of this for the blog.

Local: "would you like me to hold it up for you?"
Me: "oh no, no. I was just going to take a picture of it lying in the grass."
Local: "it's O.K. I know people like to take pictures. I've held up snakes before."

So, he runs over to shawarma guy to get a ziploc bag so he can pick up the snake. He picked it up and held it high so I could take a picture. He must have thought I was so insane for wanting a picture of a dead snake. Who am I kidding? He probably isn't "all there" either. It is hard to say who is more insane: the girl who wants to take a picture of the dead snake or the guy holding up the snake so the girl can take a picture?

Me: "looks like he had just eaten something. What do these snakes eat?"
Local: "anything that gets large enough to eat."
Me: "what kind of snake is it?"
Local: "it's a boa. We have them all over the island. They are harmless."

(Yea, tell that to the small child it ate.)

Local: "do you like mangoes?"
Me: "yea, I like mangoes."

I knew where he was going with this. He puts down the snake and runs over to the shacks. He comes back with a huge box of big, green mangoes.

Me: "how much for four?"
Local: "you can buy five for five EC dollars."

I picked out five mangoes and gave him EC $10.00. I figured a EC$5.00 tip was fair for picking up the dead snake.

Local: "here is a little gift for you. You can hang it up."

He hands me a miniature Dominica flag (just what I needed) and walked back to the Shacks with his remaining mangoes.

If you look at what happened, it is all very bizarre. The man was all upset that the snake had gone to waste because he could have used it for his body. Then, he picks up the snake so I can take a picture. After I take the pic, he drops the snake and tries to sell me mangoes. As a bonus, he threw in a Dominican flag. So, at the end of the day, I walked away with a picture of a dead snake, five mangoes, and a Dominican flag. I'm out EC$10.00 but I'd say it was worth it.

The things that happen here make me laugh. Every day, you meet someone or something happens that you would never expect. It's all part of going to medical school on a remote island in the Caribbean. When I am not stressed or running somewhere, it's amazing what I can experience here if I just take a moment to take it all in. This may not be my favorite place right now, but it has its charms. There's shawarma guy, rainbows, goats on people's lawns, bats (more on this later), rivers, wild dogs, beautiful beaches, and so much more. The locals are pretty strange and funny, and most have been very nice. Don't get me wrong, there are times I wish I had wings so I could fly home. It can be very frustrating living here as I'm sure you've seen from our previous posts. But for the most part, I am enjoying life here and learning how to laugh more and not take things so seriously. Ross is everywhere here. If you're not in class, you're talking about class. If you're not studying, you're talking about what you've been studying and what you are going to be studying. It's nice to experience the island outside of school. My conversation with snake man was the highlight of my day and I'm glad we crossed paths. I had just gotten out of class and he put a smile on my face. I'm still laughing about it hours later.

So, if you are a student thinking about coming to Dominica, know that not everything is bad here. I felt it necessary to write an entry praising Dominica for once instead of complaining. It's easier to write about the things that go wrong. Truth is, Michael and I like it here so far. Like I said, it's an incredible opportunity we're both trying to take advantage of.