10/03/2011

10 Days in Dominica, Day Three

Before getting on the with blogging challenge, I have a very special announcement:
When I started this blog last June in preparation for moving to Dominica I never imagined that blogging would become such a big part of my daily life.  Thank you to all those who have been faithful followers of my Priceless Adventure for your encouraging words and comments along the way.  I couldn't have done it with you!  

Now, without further ado, I present Day Three of



Day Three- How does the weather affect you?

The weather affects every last thing about my life here in Dominica.  When it's hot, it's boiling.  When it's raining, it's pouring.  For the first few months I was here people would say that it would cool down in the winter but I refused to believe them.  The heat made me grumpy.  I hated leaving the house because it meant walking through the heat or rain down a dirty muddy road.


And then we came back from Christmas break.  It turned out everyone was right!  For the months of January, February, and March the island is significantly cooler.  You can walk to campus without sweating your make-up off.  You can sleep through the night without waking up in a sweat.  It was a huge revelation, and changed my opinion of this place.


Something else I've learned is that even if the temperatures are highly predictable "rain" is its own independent variable.  Here on the island "rain" does not equate with "cool."  Sometimes, all the rain does is make it even hotter because the humidity skyrockets through the roof.  And you never know when it's going to downpour.  There need not be clouds in the sky for rain to fall.  It's no use checking the daily weather forecasts because there is almost always at least a 20% chance of rain. You learn to always, always carry an umbrella or else risk being caught in a downpour.

The weather here is just another part of life on a tropical island.  Some days I love it, some days I hate it.  But in the end I'm glad to be here.

10/02/2011

10 Days in Dominica, Day Two


Day Two- What has been better than you expected?

From reading people's blogs and the info on spouse's webpage before I came to Dominica, I thought that it would be terribly difficult to find food and items that I would need (like kitchen equipment, home goods, etc).  I was certain that if I didn't bring these things, I would never have them.  But between the opening of IGA a few semesters ago and buying things from leaving spouses, it turns out I have almost everything I could need.  I probably have too much stuff!

Have I showed you guys the video tour I made on my apartment here?  You can see that I'm not lacking in "stuff."  My closet is overflowing, in fact.







I've always been a shopper and although I definitely miss the shopping it turns out I don't really miss the "stuff."  I have everything that I could need.  Besides, I don't think our student loans could handle the weekly trips to Target that would be happening if I lived in the States.

Another thing that has been better than I expected is the friendly demeanor of the locals.  The people here are mostly very friendly and helpful.  They are easy to talk to, even if their accent makes them not always easy to understand.  When I lived in Oxford, I was disappointed by the stoic attitudes and properness of the English.  Here in Dominica, people are not afraid to talk to you on the street or joke with you while in line at the store.  Sometimes the men can be over the top with their cat calls, but overall it's just another aspect of the friendly, outgoing nature of most people here.

Life here in general has been better than I expected, even if the weather is worse {Day 3}.

10/01/2011

10 Days in Dominica, Day One


Day One-  What do you miss most about home?

I feel like the "right" answer is my family, but because of Skype it feels like I get to visit them whenever I like.  What I really miss is {drum roll please} Mexican Food.  Chile rellenos, carne asada, beans, tostadas, good salsa, cilantro, cotija cheese...  And don't even get me started about margaritas.  Even the best margaritas on the island don't compare to the ones in California.  Being able to have quality Mexican food any time of the day or night is what I miss most about home.



9/29/2011

My First Challenge!

I've been looking for a blogging challenge to participate in for a while now, but couldn't quite find the right one.  So I decided to make my own!  I'm inviting all the bloggers I know on the island (or who used to live on the island) to participate in my "10 Days in Dominica" challenge too.  You can check out some of their posts from my Blogs I Love page during the month of October.

Here are the questions I'll answer over the first 10 days in October.



9/26/2011

Food for Thought

I've been in Dominica too long.  Tonight, as I was picking the bugs out of the pot of boiling pasta, instead of a normal response like,



my thought was,