Christmas Came Early This Year!!

You could not have found three happier people in Dominica this week. In one week, we received three large barrels and one large box of frozen food from Miami. I know we talk as if there is no food on this forsaken island but there is and yet there isn't. I'll explain...

You can eat Perky's Pizza, Tomato's, Brother's Chinese, or food from other nearby restaurants. There is also "shawarma guy." Shawarma guy is really interesting because he sells shawarmas (a pita stuffed with lettuce, tomato, curry sauce, and your choice of chicken, beef, or lamb) from a pseudo ice cream truck on the side of the road. He uses a small generator (covered by the shawarma sign) to power his stove. He is ALWAYS there and there are always people crowded around this shawarma truck. My roommate, Derrick, eats shawarma about once a day. Lastly, you can eat something at the Shacks. The food at the Shacks is actually pretty good, and I have yet to experience a "Shack attack." At the Shacks, you can buy fresh juices and shakes, pizza, pastas, rice, grilled chicken, all kinds of salads and sandwiches, and much more. However, constantly eating out gets really pricey really fast. Also, eating out for all of your meals will have you rolling back home instead of flying home in no time.

The problem lies in eating at home. We've had some difficulty cooking here because some foods are hard to come by such as, oh, meat. Just this week we finally found some chicken breasts (not parts) at Tina's. It was the highlight of the week before the barrels came in. Also, it is no picnic walking over to Portsmouth at 5:00 in the morning for some fresh fruits and vegetables. You can buy fruits and veggies at the Shacks but they are much more expensive there - call it a convenience fee. Bread is also a headache because it goes bad REALLY fast. The bread here has no preservatives and you can count on growing your own personal mold farm 2-3 days after buying a loaf. We bought a loaf yesterday and we've refrigerated it to see if we can get through a whole loaf without chomping on some sort of growth.

So, my cousin's dad and aunt sent us some food from the good ol' USA. Derrick's dad also sent him some barrels with bed linens, clothes, food, fishing equipment, speargun - you know, the usual. Thank God Michael's dad also sent food because if we had to live off the food Derrick likes, we'd die from starvation. Part of Derrick's diet is his love of mussels, octopus, and sardines so his parents made sure he wouldn't be without. Michael and I hate fresh seafood as it is so imagine our disdain for canned seafood. Derrick's mom also sent about 40 cans of V8 - the most vile stuff on Earth. You can see Derrick's "delicacies" in the picture to the left. To their credit, his parents also sent over a lot of normal food such as spices, oatmeal, tuna, jell-o, canned veggies, soy milk, and more.


Michael's dad sent a barrel using Tropical Shipping. Same deal as the last time - US$111.00 per 75 kg barrel (this is a flat rate including the cost of the barrel and shipping). In this shipment, we received all kinds of snacks such as chips, cookies, popcorn, crackers, etc. We also received rice, cereal, canned fruit, canned evaporated milk, diet coke, granola bars, pasta, instant mashed potatoes, and more. Along with the barrel, we received a 66 pound box of frozen food. Michael's dad loaded a large styrofoam cooler with a few bags of dry ice and lots of food. He took it to Amerijet Monday night (remember, they fly out to Dominica only on Tuesdays!) and the next day, Alexis' taxi service picked it up and delivered it to us by nightfall. It cost Michael's dad under US$100.00 to ship the 66 pound box and it cost EC$150.00 (including customs and Alexis' service charge) to receive the box. We received a ton of chicken breasts, nuggets, and patties. There were also chicken cordon bleus, pizzas, meatballs, hot pockets, and more. Thankfully, the dry ice kept all of the food rock hard frozen.

So, as you can see, we were ecstatic. Those packages definitely make life a little easier and definitely makes us feel a little closer to home. This coming Wednesday, we're also receiving two more barrels from my mom and Michaels' mom. Christmas part deux.

In case you were wondering, yes, we are well on our way to turning our apartment into a barrel warehouse. We've only been here for one month and we've already accumulated 8 barrels. By next week, we'll have ten huge barrels stuffed in our apartment. (Pictured to the left is a corner of our apartment where we've started stacking them.) Pretty soon, we'll have to try selling them to fourth semesters wishing to ship stuff back to the States or throw them away. Alexis' taxi service says they will buy them from us at the end of the semester but I don't see us waiting that long. If you're in Dominica and you need a barrel, come to Coco Mango Apt #9 - we have a wide selection.

To Our Families

Thank you so so so much for all of the shopping and for taking the time to ship the barrels/boxes over to us. We know it isn't cheap and we want you to know how much we appreciate what you all are doing for us. We really are so thankful. You probably don't know this, but the barrels and boxes smell just like home. Every time we open a package, the smell reminds us of our homes and the people that love us. I know this sounds sappy but we're far away and we miss everyone so cut us some slack. :)

We love you and can't wait to see you guys in three months!!

Breathe and Reboot

The Story

What a nightmare! Last Friday (01/19/2008), my hard drive killed itself. One minute my laptop was working fine, the next.. hello, blank screen. I frantically called HP and they walked me through a few diagnostic tests to see what was going on. Diagnosis? Fried hard drive. And because I am an idiot, I have NEVER backed up any of my information on my computer.

When I told Gabe (boyfriend) and Michael (cousin/roommate), the first thing they both asked was if I had backed up. Immediately, my brain jumped to an episode in Sex and the City where Carrie's Mac crashed. All her friends and boyfriend asked her if she backed up. She responded, "no one talks about backing up...apparently, everyone is secretly running home at night and backing up their work." I couldn't have put it better. No one has ever explained "backing up" or that I had to back up my work. I thought "backing up" was something the computer did on its own.

Needless to say, I had lost all of my work (including all of my notes since I started med school) and I had a dead hard drive to deal with. What to do? What to do? Because I was still under my warranty, HP sent a new hard drive to my home in Miami that following Monday. (HP doesn't ship outside of the USA.) Then, my mom had to immediately take it to Amerijet that night because Amerijet flies out to Dominica once a week on every Tuesday. If she didn't get it in by 8:00 pm Monday night, I would have had to wait a whole week without a new hard drive. (Total cost to send the box overnight from Miami to Dominica = US $160.00) The new hard drive arrived on Tuesday but of course, I couldn't pick it up until Wednesday. Whenever you send anything over here (either by plane or boat), you usually cannot pick it up till the next day after customs has cleared it. PS: the total cost (customs + Alexis' service charge to pick up the package in the capital) was US$60.00.

OK, so my computer broke on Friday and I had my new hard drive in my hands by that following Wednesday. To make things worse, HP sent me the wrong hard drive so I ghetto rigged it to fit. I could not imagine having to send it back and wait for HP to send another new hard drive that may or may not be the right one.

Then, I had to put my defective hard drive back in the box HP sent and take it to DHL in Portsmouth to ship it back to Miami. This cost me US$40.00.

My mom received my defective hard drive this past Monday (exactly a week after she had first received the new hard drive from HP) Now, it is up to her to take it to a Best Buy or CompUSA to see if they can recover any of the data. Who knows how much that'll cost.

Lastly, my mom has 15 days from the day she received my new hard drive to return the defective hard drive back to HP. If HP doesn't have my old hard drive within 15 days, they will charge me for the new hard drive.

See how difficult things are just because you live in the Caribbean? Welcome to my daily frustrations...

So, why the crazy long story? So that everyone can learn.

1) Everyone, please back up your computers!! Buy a backup system or manually do it yourself by copying all of your files from your computer on to a flash drive or external hard drive.

2) For those coming to Dominica, buy an external hard drive (for backing up) and if you can afford another laptop or if you have an extra laptop lying around - bring it! I know it is a hassle to bring two laptops but if I had done that, life would have been much easier for me. If you only have one computer and it breaks, you're going to spend over a week without a computer while you either ship your old one back to the States for repair or while you wait for the new part that broke to be sent to you. But if you have a backup computer, then you will lose no sleep because you still have all of your files from your old computer (on your external hard drive) and you have a computer that works. Of course, this is just a recommendation - albeit, a costly one. I am currently trying to find a cheap but reliable "back up" computer. Thank God for loan money!

If you cannot afford an extra laptop or just simply don't want to bring one, you have two options. You can spend that week or maybe two (while your computer is being repaired) in the library. They have computers there that you can use. Or, the IT department here at Ross lends out desktop computers if yours breaks. However, it takes them forever to get one to you. I informed them on January 19, 2008 that my laptop broke and I needed to borrow a computer. They called me on January 28, 2008 to tell me they had one ready. However, I did not hound them for the temporary computer because I new I'd have my old one fixed in less than a week.
Maybe if you hound them, you can get one sooner. Also, I don't know how long they let you "borrow" their computer for.

3) I don't know why my computer fried, though I have several theories. The most plausible is that a low voltage spike killed it. Not only is it hard on you to live here, but it is also hard for your computer. As I wrote before, IT installs new drives and installs new anti-virus software. You are also putting a TON of new documents and information on to your computer more than you probably ever have before. Also, if you connect your computer to a surge protector, this only protects your computer against high voltage spikes (such as a lightning strike). This leaves your computer unprotected towards low voltage spikes that can harm your computer. IT told me that the best way to protect your computer against the low spikes is to buy a "Uninterrupted Power Supply/Source/System" which is like a battery back-up system. When the voltage falls too low, the battery back-up will turn on to give a continuous supply of power. This is my understanding of a UPS. If I am wrong, please let me know.

If you have read this whole posting, you're a champ. I know it was long and not particularly funny or charming. I wrote it partly for venting purposes and partly for educational purposes. Regardless, thanks for reading!

Love you all,
The Girl Who Doesn't Back Up

There She Blows!!

After our first week of school, Gabe (the boyfriend) and I decided to take advantage of one of Ross' optional tours. We decided to go on the 2:00 PM Whale Watching Tour. The boat picked us up at the dock behind the Portsmouth Beach Cottages and Restaurant and then we headed out to sea. Every 30 minutes or so, the boat would stop and the captain would lower a microphone into the ocean to "hear" the whales. "Hear that clicking sound?" Soon, one hour passed and there were no signs of whales or dolphins. Two hours later, STILL no signs of any living creature in the area. This was the point where cynical/angry me really started to emerge.

There was an earlier tour at 9:00 AM - they came back without seeing a single dolphin or whale.I also asked the woman who "checked" us in if she had ever seen a whale. She said she has been here in Dominica for 6 years and she's been on 5 Whale Watching Tours - she has yet to see a single whale. Every time that captain put the microphone into the sea and told us to "listen to the whales in the area," I felt like throwing him overboard. I was convinced the "clicking sounds of a male whale" was a tape. Again, I told you cynical me had taken over rational me. And when he told us that time was running out and we had to head back, I was really cursing everyone and their mom. (Only in my head!) I mean, do you know what it is to waste 4 hours of perfectly good study time!? I was so mad, I had to call Michael (he opted to stay home), from the middle of the ocean, to tell him how mad I was. Whale watching capital of the Caribbean - yea, right.

Well, it looked like God began to pity me because 30 minutes before we touched sand, He sent not one but TWO whales my way! Right then, you know I was all like "I am so glad I came! What a beautiful day!" Amazing how the sight of a whale 15 feet away can change my whole personality. I snapped as many pictures as I could and I have posted them below in a slideshow. However, just as both whales started to dive into the ocean and their tails flipped into that cheesy pose everyone wants to capture - including me!! - my camera shut off and mockingly flashed the battery light. Can't win 'em all, huh? To the left is the shot I missed but we can pretend I took this picture.

I have uploaded all the pictures into a "slide show." The slide show is actually kind of boring - all you see is water and the island behind the boat. Bear with me, all I saw for two and a half hours was nothing but ocean. The last few pictures include the whales. You can see the tops of their heads, their dorsal fins, and lots of pictures of the whales blowing air. Yes, that is as exciting as "whale watching" gets. Regardless, you'll be able to see in the pictures that is was a beautiful day, the water is a bright clear blue, and the view of the island from the ocean is pretty awesome. Hope you enjoy!!

Final Thoughts

1) I think it is important to do something fun every weekend while in Med School. You should study your butt off during the week, but also have something fun to look forward to - even if it's just for a few hours. It's the only way your brain will survive here. It feels super guilty and terrible to spend your time doing something fun instead of studying but trust me, it's worth it.

2) Fully charge your camera before you go on any sort of island tour. You'd hate to miss the "shot" you sacrificed your study time for.

3) Don't go Whale Watching. Yes, I saw a whale but it looks like I just got really lucky. Look at that woman I spoke about - 6 years, 5 tours, and no whales!! I couldn't pass up the tour for $25EC (US$9.00) but if I could go back in time, I would have gone on the tubing tour or the rainforest aerial tram for the same price. Upside? I can now say I've seen whales in the wild. I don't think I know of anyone else that can say that.

A little of everything and a lot of nothing

Really quickly Ross students come to realize that they know very little about everything and almost nothing about everything. As I study, I feel that I can maintain a conversation with my peers and roommates up to the third or fourth fact. Any exceptions to the rule or caveat just don’t seem to register. The more complex lectures take a lot more than an hour to fully comprehend (Dr. Martin’s lecture on the autonomic nervous system and nervous system communication). That is annoying in and of itself when you make a schedule to complete a 50 minute lecture in an hour. Everyday I just about catch up mostly leaving 1 of the day’s lectures for tomorrow before going to bed. Only to think that I will be bombarded again tomorrow.

Like Melissa wrote today we had our first day of gross anatomy lab where we began dissection on a human cadaver. My group was very friendly and some of us were more eager than others to begin cutting (perhaps I should say hacking) at our “first patients.” During the lab you can expect one of the faculty members to come by and drill you on your dissection technique, structure identification, their origin, their insertion, their innervation, where they derive their blood supply, or their function. Several times today our group members said to the pod leader “I cant focus I am trying to dissect” to which the teacher responded “It’s about time you learn to do more than one thing at a time.” It reminded me of the scene in the movie Swordfish where Hugh Jackman is supposed to decrypt a computer while a gun is held to his head. Anywho, my allotted time for writing has expired and I am beginning a Biochemistry marathon that begins today and ends on February 18 (Mini I).

Until next time,
Mike

Juicy Lucy

Michael and I just got back from our FIRST 4-hour anatomy lab 10 minutes ago. We got out of lab, picked up some Subway, and came home. We watched a little bit of news (PS: super shocked by Heath Ledger's death!!), and now, to relax for a bit, we are watching an episode of Friends (The One Where Ross Is Fine) before hitting the books.

The Logistics

There are six people to a cadaver and there are twenty cadavers in total. Because there are only twenty cadavers, Ross divides first semesters into 3 groups - Groups A, B, and C. Michael, Derrick, and I are in group A.

Anatomy lab is every Tuesday and Thursday. Normally, Group A dissects Tuesday and Group B dissects Thursday. Then, Group C dissects the following Tuesday and back to Group A on Thursday. You get the gist.

So, today we (Group A) started dissecting at 1:00 pm and then at 4:00 pm, Group B came in to the lab. We were responsible for teaching Group B everything we did and learned in lab. Again, at 4:30 pm, Group C came in and we taught them. At the beginning of lab, each group is given a sheet of paper listing all of the structures we are supposed to find. Each group is responsible for teaching the other two groups what is on that sheet of paper.

The Details

As soon I got to lab, I went to the table I was assigned to - Table 18. Michael's table is Table 2. The entire lab watched the 20 minute tutorial made by Dr. King, the head anatomy instructor. The video is really cool because it is a high definition video made by Dr. King while he shows that day's dissection on a cadaver. After the video, we opened the body bags.

As soon as you open the body bag, a wave of formaldehyde fumes hits you. The formaldehyde really stings your eyes, causing them to water. After you unwrap the plastic wrapping and formaldehyde-soaked cloth from around the body, you come face to face with the cadaver you will be dissecting for the rest of the semester. My cadaver was an 82 year old woman who passed away from congestive heart failure. Michael's was an 85 year old woman who passed away as a result of intercranial bleeding.

Today's dissection was especially messy and difficult. My cadaver had hefty amounts of fat deposits all around her back. We spent almost an hour trying to cut through the fat in order to reach the muscles of the back. The fat was a vibrant yellow and extremely oily. Every new incision brought a wave of oil. We often couldn't even see the muscles because of the pools of oil collected around the back and spine. We tried to cut out as much fat as possible in order to reach the muscles. By the end of the 4 hour lab, we had found and isolated the trapezius, rhomboids (major and minor), latissimus dorsi, erector spinae, levator scapulae, and the posterior serratus (superior and inferior) muscles. We were also able to locate most of the nerves that innervate these muscles and the arteries that supply blood to these muscles.

Because of the cadaver's age, the muscles had atrophied and were hard to locate and isolate. However, my group pulled through and we found all the required structures.

I'll continue to write about lab some other time. Right now, I really need a shower because my scrubs are covered in oil and other random juices. After that, I have a date with Biochem for the rest of the night.

White Coat Ceremony

Hello everyone!

Tomorrow afternoon's ceremony officially commemorates the fact that we have survived our first week of medical school! Actually, that is not the reason behind the White Coat Ceremony even though I like to think it is. At 2:00 pm Dominica time, we will have a White Coat Ceremony that goes from 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm. All we know is that we are supposed to wear our white coats but we haven't heard much about what goes on during the ceremony. Lucky for you, you can find out right alongside Michael and I. Ross sent to our emails today a link that will allow you all to watch the three hour ceremony in all its glory live! Just click on the link below, then click on the link that says "View Live Broadcast," and the video should pop right up.

Live White Coat Ceremony Broadcast

For those of you in Miami, I don't know if this means that you should tune in at 2:00 pm Miami time or 1:00 Miami time. Remember, Dominica time is an hour ahead. 2:00 pm here in Dominica is 1:00 pm in Miami. Therefore, please tune it at 1:00 pm Miami time and see if the ceremony is broadcasting. I hope you all get to see it!

Regardless, Michael and I will post an entry about the White Coat Ceremony along with pictures.

Wish you all could be here!

Maggot Brain

Our first day of medical school began two days ago and Michael and I are already drowning. In the past two days, I've slept a total of 9 hours and have had 3 meals. Today, we finished our studying early (at 11:oo pm) and we thought "lucky us! we'll actually get some sleep tonight." But if you've read Michael's blog about Murphy's Law, then you'd know that nothing EVER goes the way we plan. I'll explain...

I was getting ready to go to sleep when Michael suddenly bursts through my door in the floor. (For those who don't know, I basically live in an attic - albeit a nice one.)

Michael: "Meli, come here. I'm going to throw up."
Me: "why?"
Michael: "Just come here"

(I walk down my stairs to the kitchen where Michael is standing, pointing at our garbage can.)

Located inside the garbage can were about two dozen, 1/2 inch long maggots. And what's worse, when he took out the bag, about 10 of them fell to the floor. As I stood in shock, Michael kept pacing around saying "who told me to start cleaning at 12 o'clock at night? I just came to get a pudding. I'm going to throw up." The sight of him taking a napkin and picking each crawling maggot up one by one was priceless. I helped him pick up the rest and we threw about 1/2 a gallon of dish washing detergent and bleach into the bucket. Maybe that will kill them?

I came back upstairs so I could go to bed. I really need to sleep!! Michael follows me up and the following conversation takes place:

Michael: "Where do I clean the maggot bucket?" (He points at my bathroom.)
Me: "No Way"
Michael: "I would have cleaned it in mine but I can't get in." (yes, he is bathroom is still locked!)
Me: "No Way"
Michael: "There's no hose"
Me: "Just put it on the balcony"

So, it's 12:06 AM, I am exhausted, and there is a garbage bin with maggots on my balcony.

I took 5 minutes to write this because I hope you can learn from our mistakes. Even though you are never home because you're studying in the Annex/library, please take a moment to take out the trash before you find it infested with maggots a week later.

Murphy's Law

Medical school has started. There is an interesting dichotomy that we have come to realize on the island of Dominica. Everything around us happens excruciatingly slow. Meanwhile, school has taken off and left us behind. My favorite analogy thus far is that at Ross they will have you “put your lips to the fire hydrant and open the key”. Good luck taking it all in, huh? Anyhow, I will write more about what we are studying and how much we are studying and how little we are sleeping, or eating or whatever in a later post. For now, I have decided to add a post to clear my mind after a busy day and a couple of hours in the library studying.

I have appropriately labeled the post Murphy’s Law. For those of you who don’t know (myself included) Murphy’s Law is an adage (un “dicho” if you will) that simply states: “Anything that can go wrong will go wrong.” Here are some of the occurrences over the past two weeks that have me full heartedly believing in Murphy’s law.

For those of you who know me, there are very few things I am religious about and refuse to give up. College football games and Diet Coke probably top the list. Well for the first two weeks on this island there was not one Diet Coke on this entire island. At subway there is a soda fountain with a wide range of “soda pop” beverages including Fanta, Coca Cola and Sprite; and while there is a lever for Diet Coke, it has been labeled “Out of order” since the day I got here (almost 2 weeks ago). I asked the cashier at Subway and she said that it is difficult to find Diet Coke on the island. That it is. That it is. Finally, I find one and Gabe (Melissa’s boyfriend) buys it for me and nearly has to file for bankruptcy as a result (7.50 EC). I won’t say where because if you live here you know that everyone knows everyone and we cannot afford to have one less grocery option (there are only like 3). Anyway since school has started we have been able to find them much cheaper (4 EC or $ 1.50 each). So all was good till Derrick drank my last one this afternoon. He promised to buy the next pack. [laughs]

The first night of orientation I was already a little saddened as my Dad had flown home and now it really hit that this was not just an adventurous vacation but instead my Dad would leave and we would be left behind. Ross scheduled our first part of Orientation at night and on the way home I fell in a drainage ditch (like 2 feet). Nothing happened as a result of the fall except that my toes were bent back and I swear I broke one of my toes. Apparently falling and breaking limbs is inevitable here. It doesn’t help that the streets have pot holes, rocks line the streets, sidewalks are paved 10 feet above the grassy median and that there is no light. By now my toe doesn’t hurt but it was tough walking for a few days.

To celebrate our week anniversary on the island we went to a restaurant called Tomato’s. Melissa has a menu and she says she will load it so that all you back home can see all the dishes they serve. From other blogs and by word of mouth, Tomato’s came highly recommended and so we tried it. Wow! The food was excellent. It rivals Chili’s and Applebee’s and all those restaurants back in the states. Thank goodness Gabe had already been to Tomato’s on his first trip to Dominica because we had first semester written all over us. We didn’t know exactly where to order, where the menu was, or where we would sit as the place was packed. In the end, we ate a great meal (though mine arrived to the table after Derrick and Melissa finished their dessert). The place is littered with pictures of Johnny Depp and the cast of the Pirates of the Caribbean as they apparently ate there while filming the films.

As most already know, the worst thing that has happened while I was here was that my barrels full of all my essentials arrived one week later than it was supposed to because “it did not clear customs in Miami.” Worst of all I did not receive a phone call notifying me of this. Instead, I flew out here with the essentials for a couple of days and had to wait another 8 days for my belongings to arrive. Fortunately, Melissa, Gabe and Derrick stepped up in a big way and spotted me till my barrels arrived just a couple days before school started.

My latest blunder was that I apparently locked the door to my bathroom without realizing it and walked out with the door locked. Well our apartment sits on what is a 5th and 6th floor and the roaring wind must have shut the door at night. So for the last 2 days I have locked myself away from the very items I waited another week to get. Once again I find myself needing Melissa to spot me a razor and a place to shower so that I am allowed into the annex for school. I spoke to the landlord the day it happened and he handed me a Ziploc of about a hundred keys. Of course, none worked. He said the locksmith will be in tomorrow as none of us have the skill to pick the lock (Gabe, Derrick and I tried). The hinges are inside the door and the old credit card trick doesn’t work.

Well I wrote a lot more than I expected and spent about 20 more minutes than I should have so I will get back to studying.

Until next time,
Mike

F.Y.I: Some interesting topics to come are:

-Our first day of classes
-Our first study session at the annex and how we almost died on the way there and back (it’s a funny story, so please do not make any frantic calls to the campus police or U.S Embassy.)

Who are you? And, why did it take so long for you to write?

I should probably start off my first post on what was supposed to be a shared blog by apologizing to Melissa (the busy little bee) who has kept you all in the loop while I have sat back and selfishly taken in our new home.

Now that that’s done. Where should I begin? For those of you who have no idea who I am. My name is Michael, though lately I've been referred to as Melissa's cousin (on this blog) and Gabe's Friend (as he is the one making all the friends). I am a graduate of the University of Florida (Go Gators!). At some point between my graduation and Melissa’s graduation I decided I would join Melissa and her boyfriend and take the Ross University/Dominica adventure. The three of us had come across Ross University in our search of Foreign medical schools and then together we have made the venture.

As you can imagine the first blog is always a tough one to write. By now it may seem a little bit late to write in some details on what Melissa has already covered in depth. Further, I don’t feel it is my part to judge an island and school that has opened its doors and offered me an opportunity through the same schema we are used to back in the States. Nonetheless, I think I will begin by summarizing and/or supplementing Melissa’s experiences with my own perceptions.


Arriving in Dominica…revisited

Arriving in Dominica, I think is a fair place to start. As is stated in many different sources, arriving in Dominica is both strangely exciting and slightly unnerving. I thought to myself “I had heard that the island was “untouched”, “years behind other 3rd world countries” and by the same token “stunningly beautiful” but seeing it for yourself is very humbling. As soon as the plane began its descent I knew that this time we were really arriving and not just passing some neighboring island. My dad handed me his video camera and I did my best to capture the views in the small viewfinder of the camcorder. I quickly gave up. When the plane is decending toward the airport, you see mountains and trees flying by in the windows and depending on the day there may be turbulence. Luckily we had little turbulence, though Melissa would tell you otherwise. Once we landed we began taking pictures immediately and were politely told that pictures were restricted. I read Melissa thoroughly covered this section so I wont bore you with the details. Ill just say that we all made it through customs without any problems and no fines.


The ride from the airport to RUH…revisited

The ride from the airport is interesting to say the least. Some of the portions of the trip are unpaved or broken pavement. The roads are definitely wide enough for one car but not two. You see where I am going with this? Buses zoom pass one another without any apprehension. Instead they beep at one another to greet one another. When I asked the driver why they beeped he said that they would be considered a rude driver if they didn’t beep at one another in greeting. Well that’s odd I thought. The trip was the worst drive I have ever taken, but I haven’t exactly been a lot of places. Melissa and others described the trip as a roller coaster ride. I did not find it nearly as exhilarating. The scenery were at times beautiful and at other times very depressing. The little towns were as poor as video I’ve seen from Africa. I did not take Dramamine and would say I was fine.

Tip: The trip from the airport is a great chance to make initial friends. One thing you quickly realize here is that there is one common enemy: surviving this completely foreign island. The others in the bus are in shock as well (unless there not 1st semester students). On that first bus we were introduced to two students, one of which we are still really good friends (more on this later).

Arriving in Portsmouth or Picard… part deux

Fortunately the nicest part of the island is exactly the town in which the school is built. Ross stands in the valley. We are surrounded by mountains on every side, which makes for a beautiful panorama (Check out the pictures). The streets are littered with dogs, cats, sheep, goats, cows and bulls. For the most part they look pretty healthy. The locals do not really like dogs and so they look at us strangely when we use child-directed speech to the dogs.

Our place… the Coco Mango Suites

How is this for a plug. Our place is excellent. Our only complaints were:
1.) One of the rooms is much “shorter” than the others. By shorter I mean the roof is lower and anyone taller than 5’8” would hit their head once or twice if they walked around carelessly.
a. Fortunately, Derrick our resident caveman said he was completely fine with the room and decided to take it.
2.) When we arrived at night the apartment was a little dark for my taste, more so than Melissa’s or Derrick’s taste. I have always needed plenty of light especially in places I plan on studying in.
a. The next day our landlord arranged for an electrician to place outlets and lights “anyplace we needed them”. Our landlord has been nothing but understanding of our spoiled rotten selves from the states. He has willingly done anything we have asked.

I absolutely love my room it is much more spacious than I thought and is equipped with A/C and my own bathroom with bidet (not much use for me but Derrick has taken a liking to it) and everything. Below are some pictures of my room before I rearranged everything and had my stuff in its place (more on this later… including the pictures I just promised).

Like Melissa covered we ate dinner at a Chinese restaurant that was alright… I have never been into Chinese food.

I think I will jump back in real time the next time I write a post to break the monotony. I thought this entry was too important to skip especially for my family members and friends back in the States. Hope all is well back home with anyone and I apologize that I have not written or called with as much frequency as I should. We thank you for what you do for us every single day whether we mention it or not. On that note, where is my barrel full of Diet Coke? (Much more to come)…. Stay tuned!

Until next time,
Mike

'Twas The Night Before..

Tomorrow is our first day of class and I am petrified! So, how did I spend my last few hours of freedom? Watching the NFL playoffs, of course. I watched my Colts lose to the San Diego Chargers today. I was genuinely heartbroken. But every cloud has a silver lining, right? I figure it's a good thing they lost because had they won, I would have watched the AFC championship game. And if they won that game, then there would have been the Super Bowl. So, there are two perfectly good study days I would have given up for football. God has a plan...

1) Notes - We picked up our packets of notes from several departments. We have our Microscopic Anatomy, Biochemistry, Genetics, and Physiology notes. When you combine all the packets, there are about 350 pages of notes. This may sound like a lot but it gets worse! These are only our notes for the first two weeks of class. And what's even worse, we're still missing our Histology, Embryology, Neuroanatomy, and Doctor, Patient, and Society notes. I knew we'd have a lot of notes and that we'd be studying A LOT, but I must say that I was shocked by the sheer volume of notes we have. They say first and second semester is the toughest and I can certainly see why. Please pray for us...

2) We decided not to cook tonight. After all, it is our last meal before it all begins. Since it is Sunday, most places are closed. So, it was either Perky's Pizza or Brother's Restaurant (Chinese). We rolled Chinese. Ironic how our "last supper" here was also our first supper the night we arrived. Of course, my boyfriend and Derrick went will ole reliable (the chicken chow mein). Mike had the same chicken tenders he had last time. I tried to be adventurous and ordered the Chicken Phai Thai. Woah, did that backfire! Stay away from the red chili stuff - it creates fire in your mouth...

With the first day of class looming its ugly head, its easy to recall how we got here in the first place. We want to thank everyone that helped us get this far. To our family and friends, thank you for all of your support. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for all of your help. Please continue to pray for us and think of us from time to time. It will be hard living and studying here and being away from you all, but know that we'll do our very best to make you proud. You've done everything you could to get us here and now it is our turn to bring it home. Even though our marathon is just about to begin, we know we have the best cheerleaders on the sideline. We love you and we'll keep in touch. Please forgive us if you don't hear from us for a while. We'll try to keep you posted as best we can.

Love,
Michael and Melissa

Orientation, Registration, & Exhaustation..

The past few days have been exhausting and busy with orientation. Orientation began Monday night and since then it has been a series of long, boring lectures. Some of the lectures have given useful study tips (such as How to Outwit, Outsmart, and Outlast Your Professors), some have been interesting and fun (such as Foods of Dominica and the History of Dominica), and then some have been a big waste of time. Of course, this is my own personal opinion. Regardless, we've learned a lot this week and we feel ready to begin class. Here are just a few things we've done this week:

1) Laptop Configuration - It is MANDATORY for everyone to bring in their laptops to Information Technology so that they can configure your laptop for the wireless internet on campus. They will also install a G drive (where professors post various documents such as notes, syllabus, etc.) and an H drive (which is your own personal drive for your documents). IT will also remove any existing anti-virus software you may have (no matter how expensive or up-to-date it is), and they will install their version of Norton, which never expires. They will also charge you EC$30.oo for the new anti-virus program. Also, it takes them a few hours to get to your laptop depending on how many laptops they have to work on. Therefore, it is my recommendation that you take your laptop to IT early in the morning (they open at 8:00 AM) and as early as possible before classes begin. I brought my laptop to IT on Tuesday and they had it ready in 4 hours.

2) Registration - Registration went a lot more smoothly than I thought it would. My registration time was at 12:30 pm on Thursday. Michael's was at 10:30 am but he opted to register at the same time as me. My boyfriend's registration time was 11:30 AM but he went at 10:30 AM to try to get it done quicker. It took him about 3 hours to finish the whole process. Michael and I went at 12:30 and were done in about an hour and a half.

TIP: People from the States are under the impression that you want to get somewhere right when it opens to avoid having to wait. That train of thought totally backfires here. Michael and I quickly learned that the longest lines and wait time is early in the morning. For example, everyone tries to be at the bank right when it opens. If you do this, you'll be in line for three hours. However, if you go at 2:00 pm or 3:00 pm, then you'll probably wait 30-45 minutes. Once people are done opening accounts, exchanging money, and depositing refund checks, I assume (or hope) that a trip to the bank will take less than 30 minutes. The point is: if you wait until later on in the day (whether it is to register, go to the bank, etc), then you'll probably cut your wait time in half. That's just a little something I've noticed here...

Going back to registration: you register in the ICM building. In the ICM building, there are a series of rooms (like stations) and you must go through each room to complete registration. There is the housing station, check-in station, IT sign-up station, photo ID station, registration station, and my personal favorite - the pick-up-your-refund-check station! You go through each station in order (the stations are numbered) and when you get to the last station (the refund check room), then you're officially done with registration.

3) Refund Check - If you have done all of your financial aid correctly and on time, you will pick up your refund check the same day you register (you cannot pick it up sooner!). The refund check is the money left over from your loans after tuition, health insurance (if you didn't opt out of the University insurance), and the student government fee. Once you get your check, walk your little happy self to the bank on campus to deposit it. Once you deposit, the funds are available to you immediately. You DO NOT have to wait any number of days for the check to clear. From your refund check, you can pay your rent, electricity, groceries and whatever else you need or makes you happy. That money is yours and you can spend it however you'd like.

TIP: Pictured to the right is the SGA building where the bank is located. In the SGA building, you will also find Cable and Wireless (where you get your cellphone), Subway, an ATM outside, and the SGA room. In the SGA room, there is a big screen TV, a DVD player, a pool table, microwave, refrigerator, and a few couches. This room is also where you'll go to sign up for any activities (such as Ross' free island tours at the beginning of each semester), rent DVDs, sign up for a free locker (you must sign up for one - no squatting!), purchase school T-Shirts, and more.

4) We took the time this week to orient ourselves to the campus and to eat at places besides Perky's Pizza and Brother's Restaurant.

The Shacks - On the left is a picture of the Shacks on campus. You can buy all kinds of food there and for 1/3 of the price you pay at Subway. We have bought fruit juices such as passion fruit juice, guava juice, orange juice, serrel juice, strawberry passion fruit juice, and orange strawberry juice. These juices are delicious and only cost EC$3.00 (~ US$1.15). The food is also good and inexpensive, as well as the fruits and vegetables for sale. Today we bought chicken burritos for EC$10.00 (~US$3.85). We have also bought some used text books students sold to the vendors at the Shacks. I bought my Grant's Dissector, Histology, and Biochemistry book for EC$130.00 total (exactly US$50.00). If you know
how much one text book costs in the US, then you'd
know that I paid practically nothing for all three.

5) The Main Campus - The campus here is really beautiful. Behind every building is a mountain or the ocean. Below are some pictures I took of the campus, as well as more pictures of the sunsets behind the deck next to Subway.

6) Maps and Schedules - I know I've thrown a lot of building names and locations around so I've uploaded the map of the school Ross gave us on our first day here. I've also uploaded a copy of the Detailed Examination Schedule, Academic Calendar, and Basic Science Division Course of Study. Someone on ValueMD took the time to map out the trails (where housing is located) on Google Earth. I've posted that picture below and edited it to show where we live. Our house is the one I've labeled "Coco Mango." My boyfriend's apartment is right next to it. To give you an idea of the distance/time ratio, from Coco Mango to the Annex is a 3-4 minute walk. From Coco Mango to the main campus is a 5-6 minute walk. Ideally, you want to live somewhere in between the Annex and the main campus. Lizard trail is located between the two.

Dominica Bound - Day 5

Today was a day of relaxation. After an exhausting four days, we decided to stay in and enjoy Michael's dad's last day with us.

1) For the first time our electricity went out. We made it a whole 5 days without a power outage. Thankfully, our first power outage was pleasantly short. I was surprised it came back on in less than 30 minutes. My roommate, Derrick, was probably happier than any of us when the power came back. He was unfortunate enough to have been taking a shower when the power went out. He says the water went from warm to instantly arctic. It was a pretty funny when we heard the screams coming from his shower.

2) We headed out to the Portsmouth Beach Hotel around 5:00 PM. We had only been to the beach once before throughout the week so we were hoping to make it to the beach by sunset. Luckily, we made it in time and I was able to capture these pictures of the sunset behind the pier.

As you can see, the beach is simply beautiful. The sand is black and smooth, and the mountains in the distance are breathtaking. I have uploaded some pictures I took of the sand, the pier, and the beach right outside of the Portsmouth Beach Cottages. The pack of stray dogs you see were running up and down the beach with us.

3) After the sunset, we walked to the Coconuts Beach Hotel and back to the Portsmouth Beach Hotel (seen in the picture with the dogs). Just as we returned, we realized that we haphazardly stumbled upon a Ross social event. Ross provided free food (chicken quesadillas, loaded nachos, fried chicken chunks, chicken burritos, and french fries) and free drinks (sodas and juices). The hotel also has a bar so many students opted for a Kubuli, the locally brewed Dominican beer, instead of the free drinks. We made the line for the food, stood around eating and speaking to fellow first semesters, and went home. Everyone was really friendly, and we spoke about where we were from, where we live, the island, etc. The local dogs also had a feast that night as students fed them their scraps.

4) After the social event, my boyfriend and I went home, and Michael and his dad walked another student back to her house in Glanvillia. Glanvillia is far and it is dark at night so we all decided it would be safer for her if someone walked her to house. Apparently, that was a big mistake, and Michael has vowed never to return to Glanvillia. I'll let Michael tell the story but I'll say this much, if you find an apartment located in Glanvillia, run the other way.

Luckily, Mike and his dad made it back home in one piece, and we spent the rest of the night talking and hanging out.

Dominica Bound - Day 4

1) Portsmouth Market - We woke up this morning at 4:30 AM to go to the Portsmouth market. Every Saturday the locals set up a market on the bay in Portsmouth. You can find all kinds of fresh produce that were just picked fresh off the trees. We started heading out toward Portsmouth at 5:00 AM. It took us exactly 50 minutes walking from Coco Mango to the market. If I had to guess, I'd say it was about a 2 mile walk. So, if you can, take the free transport Ross offers on Saturday to go to the market. I believe we missed it because we headed out too early. It has been recommended to get to the market at around 5:00 to 6:00 AM. This is when you'll find the best produce. Also, on Saturdays, fishermen come to the market to sell whatever fish they caught that morning. This past Saturday they had marlin, tuna, and snapper. We didn't buy any fish but we did buy onions, garlic, green peppers, lettuce, potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsley, sweet sop (anon), bananas, mangoes, sugar cane, tomatoes, yellow limes, oranges, tomatoes, passion fruit, and star fruit. Below are pictures of all the fruits and vegetables we purchased as well as a picture of Derrick holding his sugar cane. I also posted some pictures of the market. The darker picture was taken before sunrise. We were able to get all of these fruits and vegetables plus a large bottle of sunflower oil for about US$27.00. The best thing of all is that these vegetables and fruits are all organically grown with no preservatives, pesticides, or genetic modifications.

2) After shopping at the Portsmouth market, we headed back to Coco Mango because Alexis George's taxi service was picking us up at 8:30 AM to go to Roseau. It was about a 1 hour drive to Roseau but the ride was MUCH smoother than the ride from the airport to campus. Also, you drive mainly around the coast of Dominica to get to Roseau so the view you get is simply breathtaking.


3) Our first stop was at Astaphans. Astaphans is like the Dominican Wal-Mart. On the bottom floor is a "market" and on the top floor, they sell TVs and other electronics, furniture, and other random items. I've posted a copy of our receipt so you can get an idea what Astaphans charges. In total, we spent about US$190.00. However, I really didn't like coming to this mart. The store was really busy, and the aisles were so small that two carts couldn't fit side-by-side. Also, the meat looked brown and I still can't find chicken breasts, only boxes of "chicken parts" (whatever that means).


TIP: Bring a cooler when you go to the market. We forgot to bring one and ended up buying a small one for EC$90.00 (about US$35.00). Remember that Roseau is an hour away from school; you don't want your frozen items to defrost or your meat to get any more brown than it is.

4) After Astaphans, we started heading back toward Ross because we had food that was meant to be refrigerated. On the way out of Roseau, we stopped at the KFC and ordered two 15 piece buckets of chicken, mashed potatoes, and popcorn chicken. That KFC was awesome - it tasted just like the KFCs in the States. I think there's something a little sad when you think KFC food is the best food you've ever had. I guess its that little touch of home that was much needed since we arrived. We also passed by the Roseau market, which is the same as the Portsmouth market but much larger. From now on, instead of going to the Portsmouth market and then to Roseau, we're just going to head toward Roseau at dawn and do all of our shopping there.

5) Our next stop was Brizee's Mart in Canefield. This place is 10 times better than Astaphans. They only sell food but it was 90% US brand products. We bought peanut butter, jelly, evaporated milk, bread, and other items we were having a difficult time locating. Even though this place is better than Astaphans, I still recommend going to both because you won't find everything you need at either one.

Side note: A reader made a great point about trying new things and helping out the local economy by purchasing Dominican food versus expensive imported items. As we get more and more accustomed to the island and a new way of life, I have no doubt that we'll slowly let go of our attachments to US products. In a country where everything is foreign, it has been nice to at least eat the food we're used to. However, I've always looked at moving to Dominica as a wonderful opportunity to get away from the fattening, processed foods we're used to eating and gaining a healthier diet. Therefore, I completely agree with the reader about going "local" while I'm here, and I certainly hope other students will do the same. Thank you for your insight. :)

5) Once we got home, we unloaded groceries and watched the NFL playoffs.

TIP: We hired Alexis George's taxi service to take us to Roseau. They picked us up at 8:30 AM (at our apartment) and dropped us back off at 12:30 pm. It was a private bus and the driver stayed with us the whole time. This service cost us EC$175.00 (about $67.00). If you don't want to pay for a private bus, you can take the free bus Ross offers. The bus picks you up by the library at 9 AM and will take you to Roseau. However, they will simply drop you off (and tell you to return at a certain time), and you will have to find your own way around the capital. It's up to you what you would like to do, but I really recommend the private service at least the first time you go to Roseau.

6) Random Item: Here in Dominica, there are cows EVERYWHERE. They are by the side of the roads, in the bushes, in your backyard, etc. We were walking the other night toward school and saw a cow by the road eating grass. Today we were walking toward the Annex and saw a baby cow in some leafy area under the canopy of trees. Just thought you'd like to know there isn't a road called Moo Cow Trail for nothing.

Dominica Bound - Day 3

We started off Day 3 (Friday) pretty late. I slept in till 11:00 AM because I spent all night unpacking my barrels and setting up my room. We also stayed in most of the day because we were expecting Michael's barrels to come in and because the plumber was supposed to stop by. After we learned that Michael's barrels were indeed not in Dominica, he and his dad went to Jame's store to pick up a few things.

1) Jame's Store - Jame's store is similar to Tina's in that it has a little of everything. However, Jame's store is literally across the street from campus and it offers a little more variety. It's also a little pricey as well, although it's slightly cheaper than Tina's. Here's a list of what Michael bought and how much it cost:

- Lucky (brand) Shampoo (EC$8.33)
- Colgate Shaving Cream (EC$9.52)
- 5 pack of Gillette disposable razors (EC$13.00)
- Ludao (brand) Air Freshener (EC$6.96)
- 1 Tube of Pringles (EC$7.50)
- 1 Bottle of Hawaiian Punch (EC$9.26)
- Small Pack of Table Napkins (EC$2.60)
- 1 Tube of Colgate Gel Toothpaste (EC$5.61)
- 1 Pack of Bounce Napkins (EC$2.60)
- A Box of Nilla Wafers (EC$7.52)
- A Bottle of Ajax Dish Soap (EC$5.13)
- 1 Roll of Bounty Paper Towels (EC$11.27)

The total bill came out to EC$102.64 (about US$40). I uploaded a picture of the receipt above so you can see the charges as well as the added taxes.

Tip: My boyfriend decided he wanted to try to save a few ECs on toothpaste so he bought the imported toothpaste from China. When he tried it at home, he almost vomited all over his toothbrush. So, if you're at Jame's Store and you happen to see this toothpaste, don't be frugal and spend the few extra dollars on the Colgate stuff.


Side note: I hope you're starting to get a feel for what things cost over here. If you have the option available, try to bring with you as much food as you can. Produce is readily available, but I have yet to see fresh milk on the island. There are some dairy products (such as American and mozzarella, and cream cheese) but they are among the priciest items. I have seen meat and chicken (I've seen no chicken breasts, only boxes that say "chicken parts.") but judging on appearance, I wouldn't touch the stuff. Of course you have the option to eat Chinese food, pizza, or Subway every day but I think you'll quickly find your wallet getting thinner and your waist getting wider.

2) My boyfriend also secured his housing today. While we were in Miami, he had placed a deposit at Avie's Ville. However, once we got here, we realized it was about a 15-20 minute walk from Avie's to Coco Mango where I'm staying. Also, at night, it is pretty dark and scary walking from Avie's toward school down Banana Trail so he decided to get something closer to the main road. Luckily, we found out that the brand new apartment building next door had vacancies. The apartments are EXTREMELY expensive but some students (like my boyfriend) find it completely worth it. The apartments look just like apartments in the United States. The furniture is really nice, the appliances are brand new, and there are marble (or some material resembling it) floors. There is also a "security guard" that walks around the building all night. After seeing the apartment, my boyfriend spoke to the landlord and decided to rent one of the apartments. His rent is astronomical, exactly US$990 per month; this includes the 10% government's Value Added Tax, water, and maid service but does not include electricity. Despite the expense, he is extremely happy with his apartment. The apartment is right off the main road and it takes less than 5 minutes walking to get to either the Annex or the main campus. Below are some pictures of his empty apartment before he moved in. The other picture shows how close his apartment is to Coco Mango.







3) After my boyfriend secured his housing and transferred his barrels over to his apartment, I stayed in my apartment to wait for the plumber and the cleaning lady. While she was cleaning my bathroom, she apparently didn't know or forgot that the faucet was broken. When she went to turn it on, the faucet practically exploded and a 3 foot fountain of water was spewing from the bathroom sink. I had to immediately rush to use my brand new towels to mop up the water that was quickly flooding my bathroom. Thankfully, my roommate ran upstairs and shut off the water. The landlord sent a plumber later in the day to fix it and now it is working just fine.

Side note: The shower curtain I bought was too long and was touching the floor. I asked the cleaning lady if she knew anyone who was a seamstress or where I could send it to get hemmed. Turns out her neighbor is a seamstress. The cleaning lady took my curtain and shower liner and three hours later, a man showed up at my apartment with my perfectly hemmed shower curtains. The price was EC$20.00. It only cost me about US$11.50 total including a EC$10.00 tip for the excellent work and fast service. My point is that Dominica is home to very handy people and labor is cheap. If you need anything fixed, ask around and you'll find someone that knows someone. Everyone knows everyone here.

4) After my boyfriend finished unloading his barrels into his new apartment and I finished with the plumber and sink fountain fiasco, we all decided to get something to eat. We walked over to Subway only to find it was closed (they close at 4:00 PM). Since we were already there, we took a minute to walk down a small trail (pictured right) that led us from Subway to the beach. The beach was gorgeous as the sun was setting. It was the first time we all got to step foot on the beach since we had arrived. The sand is black volcanic sand, and the view is just spectacular.




5) After a quick visit to the beach, we headed back to the Chinese Restaurant we ate at the first night we arrived. My roommate learned his lesson and ordered the chow mein I had the last time instead of the beef curry. My cousin and I weren't in a Chinese food mood so we both ordered the fries and chicken tenders. They were really good! My boyfriend and my cousin's dad both had the sweet and sour pork. Both of them really liked it. Therefore, our second time around at Brother's Restaurant and Bar was better than the first. After dinner, we went back home to prepare for a very early morning the next day.

Dominica Bound - Day 2

Day 2 was an extremely busy day. It was the first full day we had here so we got up early to take advantage of the daylight. Here in Dominica, everything pretty much shuts down after the sun goes down so you can't get anything done after nightfall. Also, most stores (except the bank on campus - it opens a little earlier) open at 10:00 AM and close at 6 PM. Therefore, plan to wake up early to take advantage of the daylight. Here is what we did on day 2:

1) Breakfast/Subway - We woke up early and headed to campus around 8 AM. We finally got to see the Subway on campus and I must say, it's EXACTLY like a Subway in the United States. However, in Dominica, no one is really ever in a rush so it took the guy from Subway 25 minutes to make 4 omelet sandwiches. The Subway on campus is also a little pricey. For example, a 6-inch chicken Parmesan sandwich costs $19.00EC (about $7.30US). Regardless, the food is good and apparently, everyone else thinks so. According to the people at Subway, when school is in session, it takes about 45 min to 1 hour to stand in line and get your sandwich. When you get your food, you can either eat inside Subway, inside the student center where it is located, or outside on the picnic tables overlooking the ocean. From the picnic tables (seen above), this is the view as you eat, study, or simply relax.

2) Banking - After breakfast, we went to the bank for an application to open an account
and to exchange money. To open a bank account all you need is your
passport and driver license, a copy of your Ross acceptance letter, and a minimum of $10US or $25EC. Your bank account here functions just like a bank account from the States. They also provide a debit card which you can use at the ATM on campus to take out ECs. As for exchanging money, these are the conversion rates:

From USD to ECD
- Cash US$1.00 = EC$2.67
- Checks US$1.00 = EC$2.6882

From ECD to USD
- Cash US$1.00 = EC$2.7169

****NOTE: US conversion rates are fixed against the EC dollar****

**Other currencies fluctuate daily**


3) Cell Phones - After the bank, we headed to Cable and Wireless for our cell phones. Some people just buy a SIM card to put it in their phones and they are able to use their US cell phones just fine. However, I believe this works depending on what kind of phone you have. It has something to do with a phone being unlocked or if it is a world phone. (I'm not too sure about this.) I bought the cheapest phone they had at Cable and Wireless. Some people spent more money to get nicer phones but I don't think it is necessary. You're only going to be here for 16 months so I think it's better to get whatever is cheap but functional. After all, there is PLENTY of other things you'll be needing to spend a lot of money on. That being said, I bought a Nokia 1600. It cost me $48EC (about $18US). The phone works on a pre-paid system so I put $60US on the phone. I lost the handout with the rates so the next time I pass by Cable and Wireless, I'll pick it up and post the rates. I've posted a picture of the phone. It has a color screen and a lot of cool features like a super handy currency converter. If you need to put more money on your phone, you can go anywhere that has a sign that says "Top Up." There is a Top Up machine right next to Subway and there is one across the street from Ross' main entrance at Perky's Pizza.

4) Tina's Store - After the bank, we headed back toward Coco Mango to go to Tina's store and pick up a few things. I just want to warn you: if you buy anything that is US brand, be ready to pay for it! US brand food, toiletries, etc. can be extremely pricey (depending on the item). Tina's store has a little of everything in terms of food and toiletries although the variety is very limited. For example, if you want to buy cereal, you have a choice of about 5 or less varieties. Therefore, if you find something you really like, try to buy as much of it as you can because you don't know when or if you'll find it again. Tina's didn't give me a receipt for my purchases so I've listed what I bought and how much it cost from what I can remember. These are pictures of some of the stuff we bought.

- Two 15 oz. cans of Chef Boyardee (EC$7.95 each) (~ US$3.00 each)
- 4 cans of Vienna Sausages (EC$2.85 each) (~ US$1.00 each)
- 11.6 oz. box of Frosted Flakes (EC$15.95) (~ US$6.00)
- 25 Styrofoam Plates (EC$4.65) (~ US$2.00)
- 3 Crisp Crust Tostino's Pizzas (EC$13.95) (~ US$5.00 each)
- 4 Top Ramen Noodles (EC$1.25 each) (~ US$0.50 each)
- 26.5 oz. Lipton Ice Tea Powder (EC$20.95) (~ US$8.00)
- 24 oz. Kool-Aid Powder (EC$17.65) (~ U$$7.00)
- 1 bag of Doritos (EC$7.65) (~ US$3.00)

5) After shopping at Tina's, we went back home to relax for a bit and wait for the electrician to come install more lighting. Also, we were waiting for Alexis George's taxi service to call us and let us know that they were on their way with the barrels they had picked up in Roseau. While we waited, we hung out on our balcony and enjoyed the sights and sounds of the river below and the forest around the house. We live in a tree house! I also discovered that the tree next to my balcony is home to several hummingbirds. Those birds are fast! It was hard to get a picture, but I was able to capture a decent photo. Also, Dominica is HOT! You sweat ALL of the time even when you're standing doing nothing. The heat drove my roommate Derrick to have my boyfriend use a beard trimmer to cut off all of his hair. So, that entertained us for a while until the electricians were done. Here are the photos of the view from my balcony, a photo of the hummingbird, and some photos of Derrick getting his head trimmed.


6) Electricity - Our apartment functions on a pay-as-you-go system. Therefore, if you don't put more money into your meter, you won't have electricity. Our landlord had placed 50 units of electricity on our meter before we arrived. According to him, this would be enough for 3 or 4 days. However, we still wanted to make sure we had plenty of electricity. You can add more money to your electricity meter at Tina's or on campus. Although we were at Tina's earlier in the day, we didn't have time to update our meter because we didn't want our frozen food to defrost. Therefore, Michael and Derrick walked over toward RUH and placed EC$200.00 on our meter. This brought us up to 201 units of electricity. Right now we are averaging using 15 units a day. At that rate, we are spending about EC$600.oo (or US$75.00 per roommate) a month. However, out of the three bedrooms, only one has turned on their A/C. We only keep the water heater and the refrigerator running all of the time. It's still a trial and error process figuring out what appliance is spending electricity and how much.

7) Barrels/Customs - Around 5:30 PM, Alexis George's (AG) taxi service finally called to tell me that my barrels were picked up in the capital and were at taxi office across from campus. They also informed us that my boyfriend's barrels would be a little late because the pick-up truck carrying them had a flat tire.

Side note: Unfortunately for Michael, we learned his barrels were not shipped from Miami when my boyfriend's and my barrels had been shipped. Tropical Shipping ships every Wednesday and, according to Tropical Shipping, Michael's barrels were not cleared in time for the Dec. 26 shipping. Therefore, they were shipped on January 2 - the same day we arrived here. They never even informed him that his barrels hadn't shipped in time. Since it was a mistake on Tropical Shipping's part, they refunded 50% of the shipping price Michael had paid.

Earlier in the day, I had walked over to AG to inform them that I had some barrels I needed to have picked up. This is how AG across from campus works: When they go to pick up your barrels in Roseau, they pay Customs what Customs decided to tax on your barrels. Then AG comes back with your barrels and receipt from Customs. You're responsible for paying them what they had paid Customs plus AG's service charge for picking up your barrels. Then AG drives your barrels over to where you are living and they unload them for your wherever it is you want your barrels to be placed. Thank God for this because those barrels can be heavy! According to Tropical Shipping, I shipped 350 lbs in two barrels.

The Dominica Port Authority charged a EC$10.00 tailgate fee. Then Customs charged me EC$219.37 (EC$89.00 Import Duty + EC$17.40 Customs Service Charge + EC$8.70 Environmental Surcharge + EC$104.27 Value Added Tax = $EC219.37). Then AG added a EC$140.00 Service Charge. In total, I paid AG EC$369.37 (about US$142.00) for both my barrels. I have attached pictures of all of the receipts so you can see what and how much they charged. Also, when I opened my barrels, I found that they were packed EXACTLY as I had left them. Because of the way I had positioned items to maximize space, I know for a fact that nothing was moved around. In which case, I don't know how they found that I had a printer, kitchenware (my rice cooker), and a power pack. All of these items were located at the very bottom of my barrels. Therefore, I'm under the impression that at some point, either by customs or Tropical Shipping, my barrels were X-Rayed or something similar. All I know, is that they knew what expensive items I had in my barrels without having searched through my barrels.


Side note: In case you thought I was kidding, here are some pictures of my barrels. The chicken pox barrels are mine. The plain ones are my boyfriend's. Somewhere along the way, his barrels were beat up. Therefore, when you pack your barrels, make sure you bubble wrap anything valuable or fragile that may break.



8) Dinner/Perky's Pizza - We finally had dinner around 8 PM at Perky's Pizza located right across from campus. We ordered a large cheese pizza and large pepperoni pizza. They were pretty good! Below are pictures of the price lists at Perky's pizza and a picture of a dog that was kind of hanging out by the tables.



After dinner we called it a night. As you can see, we did A LOT on day 2. You have to remember that you're basically setting up a whole new apartment and a whole new life in a different country. It is definitely my recommendation to arrive to the island no less than a week before classes begin. The past few days have been stressful and busy, and I couldn't imagine going through the acclimation process along with the first few days of class. The earlier you get here, the better. Trust me!

Dominica Bound - Day 1

We (my cousin, boyfriend, fellow friend, and I) finally around to the island! The past few days have been EXHAUSTING and there is still so much to do. Here's a little of what has been going down...

1) The Flights - My departure time in Miami was at 6:25 AM. I got to the airport and checked in. They weighed my checked luggage to make sure both didn't weigh more than 70 lbs. They never weighed or looked into my carry-on or my personal item. That was definitely a blessing because my personal item was my Targus book bag that weighed exactly 34 lbs. The flight was smooth but a bit cramped. The layover in Puerto Rico was about 3 hours. During this time, it was quite obvious who was headed toward Ross. Furthermore, you could easily tell who was a first semester as the plane was getting closer to the island. First semesters were glued to the windows waiting for their first glimpse of the island. Returning students were rolling their eyes. The flight from Puerto Rico to Dominica was a little under two hours. For the most part, the plane ride was smooth. However, as the plane got closer to the island, some mild-medium turbulence began until we landed.

TIP: Since you only have 70 lbs MAX to take with you, I'd recommend buying large duffel bags (they don't weigh much!) instead of those heavy suitcases. However, there is a downside. Duffel bags aren't that sturdy. 1 of my duffel bags was perfectly in tact when I picked it up. The other looks like a velociraptor got a hold of its next meal. These are the remnants of my $10 duffel bags. No lie, I picked them up in this condition. That white tape is what American Airlines used to keep my bag together. Luckily, nothing fell out.

2) Arriving on the island - Arriving on the island is like something out of Jurassic Park. There is nothing in sight but trees and more trees. Click below to see a video of a cockpit view landing in Melville Hall, Dominica.

Right when you get off the plane, you follow the herd of people into the immigration building. Immediately, someone from Ross will check you in. Then you wait in line til you reach an immigration officer. You show them a copy of your acceptance letter, your passport, an immigration form, and your driver's license. They stamp your passport and then you walk about 15 feet to an area where all the luggage has been unloaded. You pick up your luggage and walk another 8 feet to a customs officer. You hand him the immigration form, he asks what you have in your bags (I said clothes and personal items for school) and then he stamps the paper and lets you through. They never opened any of my bags. Then you walk another 5 feet through the doors and you're outside where there are a few trucks, fellow students and their parents, and locals loading luggage into the trucks. This may take a while if a lot of people came with you because you have to wait until you can get a transport. When you finally get a bus, some local men will load the luggage (make sure to tip!) and off you go.

3) Heading toward Ross - The real adventure begins as soon as that bus takes off. The ride from the airport to Ross is NO JOKE! It really is like a roller coaster. The driver drove really fast, as did the other locals that zoomed right by the bus. They buses literally drive within inches from each other. From the airport to Ross is basically one LONG road. It goes up and down, to the left and to the right, and curving in every direction. EVERYONE on the bus got nauseous including the people that took Dramamine. Thankfully, the A/C in the bus was super cool. If not, a barf party probably would have ensued. One thing is for sure, Dominica is gorgeous and you can definitely see that as you drive through the mountains/rain forest. The ride was a good 45 minutes and then we were dropped off at Ross University Housing. This is located a few yards from the main entrance to the campus.

4) Arriving at Ross - When you get to RUH, follow the other students into the main office. There, Ross will hand you a bag with some goodies (an umbrella, key chain flashlight, water bottle, pens, green Ross legal pad folder, and a white Ross folder with all kinds of info about campus). There you pick up a small packet with the orientation schedule and activities list. (The school offers all kinds of free activities and tours such as hiking excursions to the Emerald Pool, a trip to the Roseau, beach bon fires and much more.) Then you fill out a "check-in" form and you get a temporary Ross Student ID card. If you have housing secured, they will load you on a bus (your luggage goes in a pick-up truck that follows the bus) along with other students that are either living in the same building or in the area. If you don't have housing secured, then you get to spend a night in the lovely RUH rooms. I've heard some people describe those rooms as "glorified jail cells." Luckily, I had secured my own housing. When you get to your apartment, the drivers of the pick-up truck will unload your luggage into your apartment/house. Make sure to tip them because chances are you'll be seeing them again.

Side note: In the hustle of seeing the apartment for the first time and speaking to the landlord, I and my roommates forgot to tip the drivers. Sure enough, they were the same men who came to deliver my barrels the following day. They made sure to remind us the next time they saw us that we forgot to tip. Of course, we doubled their tip when they finished carrying my barrels up 3 flights of stairs.

5) Arriving at the apartment - After we got to our apartment, we decided to stay put for a while. The landlord walked us through the apartment and explained how to operate all the switches and appliances. For example, there are 110 V and 220 V. You have to turn on the transformer in order to use your US appliances in the 110 V. Also, you must turn on the propane tank before using the stove and turn it off when you're done. Then we went over the lease contract and payment procedures. Our landlord is pretty awesome and told us to go around the apartment looking for anything we may need and he would have it installed. We asked for some more lighting in certain areas of the house and sure enough, they were installed the very next day. I'll be posting pictures of the whole house once it is all settled.

6) Dinner - After meeting the landlord and walking through the apartment, we went to have dinner at the Brother's (Chinese) Restaurant right across from campus. My boyfriend and I got the chow mein, and it was pretty good! It tasted just like the Chinese food here in the states. My roommate Derrick, however, got the beef curry and apparently battled it the rest of the night. So, take note - stay away from the beef curry. Click on the picture below if you'd like to see the menu.


7) Thoughts On Day 1 - After the Chinese food, we walked a whole 5 minutes back to our apartment and called it a night. I have to tell you that the first day was exhausting and terrifying. All I could think about for the rest of the day was how badly I wanted to go home. Four hours after arriving here, I was already considering transferring to another Caribbean school. I mean, Dominica is extremely primitive compared to the States. And it is HOT HOT HOT here! By the time you get home, your clothes are drenched from head to toe. What's worse is that we hear that January is the coolest month of the year here. I can't even imagine what the hottest is like. However, that soon wears off as you get accustomed to the way of life here. I've been here 5 days now and it gets a little better every day. Of course, every day has its highs and lows but I get the feeling I'll be o.k.