Green Christmas

Merry Christmas!!

Here we are, the Christmas elves on our mission to feed poor, sick and elderly people in Dominica.

Mary and I made four big pots of stew with pork and lots of veggies, cookies and chocolate banana cake and we joined Jennifer from Lamb's Feast to distribute it to people. She feeds people three times a week so they knew we were coming. She wanted us to bring the food in to people - we went into some very poor homes - old, sick, disabled. The people were all very grateful since the food programs were not operating on Christmas Day. It was a really good way to spend our first Christmas here. We then came home and shared our own turkey dinner with others in the neighbourhood that stayed on-island. We had nine people. We had turkey with all the usual trimmings - stuffing, mashed potatoes, roast pumpkin, green beans, salad, rolls - and lots of great desserts - biscotti, cinammon almond shortbread, chocolate cake with blackberry sauce, pumpkin loaf, cashew brittle - oh, and of course, lots of wine.

We started off the day with a great breakfast at Allan's. He made homemade saffron and date bread, salted codfish, eggs, bacon and we had amazing mimosas - fresh-squeezed orange juice, Prosecco and Grand Marnier. What a way to get us moving on our mission. Yumm...............

Today we are going to a pig roast at Pagua Bay restaurant. The owners are putting it on and we think it will be a great way to relax after several days of nonstop cooking and baking.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends.

I am looking forward to New Year's now. I'll post next Sunday - after our brunch at Heaven's Best.

Later..........

Christmas is coming soon - doesn't feel like it

Well, here we are - hot - and there you are - snowy. It doesn't seem much like Christmas here yet. It's not because it's hot - I got used to that in Bermuda, but because there are not a lot of decorations here. The towns aren't decorated like we are used to and not too many people put up lights. Some of it is because people are poor and decorations are expensive here, but it is also because there are a lot of Seventh Day Adventists who do not celebrate "pagan" holidays. Many people don't do anything but we are.

We decided that we don't need anything and agreed not to buy each other gifts but instead to spend the money on making a Christmas day meal for the poor. We bought a couple of big pork roasts and some chicken and we are going to make a stew with provisions - dasheen, sweet potato, carrots, etc. and bring it into town on Christmas day to give out. There is an organization that feeds the poor and we are joining with them. We will make big pots of stew and bring it into Portsmouth to distribute and then come home and have our own turkey dinner in our neighbourhood. We thought that was a good thing to do. We are also baking some stuff to take too.

So, it's really nice to be on holiday now. We went to Roseau for the day on Friday - my goodness it was busy. Now I remember why I don't go there often. It was so crowded - even worse because there was a cruise ship in. Geez, the cruisies!!

So, we are going to go hang out at Calibishie Cove - check it out on the web - and start our exploring today. On boxing day we are invited to a pig roast at Pagua Bay - check it out too. They are both high end eco-luxury guest houses with restaurants. I am quite looking forward to this adventure.

I am really glad I didn't try to fly anywhere because we have heard that flights are delayed all over the place - in North America and Europe. A lot of the people going to Europe were very concerned. I am quite happy to be here.

I want to wish all of my family and friends a wonderful, peaceful holiday.
Stay tuned - I should have something good to post next week.

Love to all

Sorry to do this, but..........

........ here's a picture of me getting a massage on my upper back deck yesterday. That's Lindy - she is a registered massage therapist and an esthetician. I got a massage and a mani and pedi from her at my house. Isn't that great?? She makes house calls. We have her and Nicole (the hairdresser) come for our spa days. OMG - Lindy gives an awesome massage. Sorry, had to :) - especially to those of you in London who got snowed in this week

It is hot and gorgeous here right now. We are going snorkeling today at Toucari Beach and then I am making dinner tonight. I haven't tortured you with food stories for the past week or two, have I? Well, okay, we went to the market as usual yesterday and then we stopped into the 4th semester sale at school. They have big sales when the students leave the island and there are lots of great things to pick up. I picked up lots of food and household things cheap. Of course the students don't want to cart food and household goods with them to their 5th semester, which is in Miami or Michigan. They will then go on their clinical rotations in semesters 6 through 10 in various places.

Things are winding down now for the break so it should be fairly quiet this week. I only work three days and then I am on vacation until Jan. 3. Woo hoo. As I have said I look forward to having time to play - to explore the island more and to hang out.

Oh, the Club Med II is here again. I can see it in Prince Rupert Bay. What a gorgeous morning - there was a little shower earlier and then a very vivid rainbow that looked like it was coming out of the water in Douglas Bay and reaching up into the sky, the birds are out - Pelicans, Frigate birds, Kingbirds, etc. and the sun is shining on the water. Couldn't ask for anything better - except seeing amazing fish later when we go snorkeling.

Bye............... play is calling.

Part II

Sorry, I have to add this - it's just too cool not to share. We went snorkeling at Toucari Beach this afternoon and besides seeing a gazillion - yes, a gazillion amazing fish, we tried to get close to the pelicans on the poles. Remember the pic from awhile back - the pic I posted of the pelicans on the poles on our walk on day? Well we swam very quietly along the poles and got one pole away from 5 pelicans - 4 sitting on the poles and one in the water. COOL!!!!! When we got to the closest pole, the one pelican was looking at me in a way I didn't like - not sure whether it thought I might be a big fish or if it was just trying to figure out what I was. And then, (yes, there's more) we saw all these police in the dress uniforms and heard all this music. The police go around the island putting on Christmas concerts and they were at the pavillion at Toucari - right across the street from the beach. We should be able to hear it later from home.

Okay, now I'm done - till next week. Enjoy :)

Beach birthday party

We had a 50th birthday party at the beach yesterday.

It was Sho's birthday - his name is actually Ashworth but everyone calls him Sho. He is Annika's husband - Annika is the artist from whom I bought the paintings. She arranged it. The pic with the people in the water with the sun on the water - that's us. The second one is looking down the beach one way - left - and the other is to the right (obviously). The kid on the tree is just about to swing out over the water on the rope. What a blast that looks like huh? Of course a lot of the men had to try it. We thought they were going to kill themselves, but nobody did. We had lots of food and drink and sun and fun. A great day. The weather was gorgeous and Sho took people for rides around Cabrits on his boat - that's it you see with the canopy on it in the second picture. There are some beautiful sailboats and a couple of huge yachts in the bay so the view was even better.

Today is a hang out at home day. There was a hiking trip to Syndicate Trail but I didn't feel like it. I needed a quiet day. I have been really busy at work and out a few times this week already.

Friday night we had a girls' night - we went for Chinese food and then back to campus to watch Eat, Pray, Love. Total chick flick but it fit in with the evening. We also had a good chunk of the Canadian contingent - me, Mary G. from Toronto (not Mary L), Anne W. from Hamilton (McMaster). The rest of the group was international. We had a great time. We howled through the movie.

I am looking forward to a couple of weeks off soon. I need a break. It has been so busy at work. A holiday will be much-appreciated. As I have already mentioned, a number of us are staying and we are planning to explore more of the island and perhaps take a ferry to another island for a day or two.

Oh, I hear that there is snow there. Sorry about your luck - it's beautiful here.

xxx

Sunday at Pagua Bay

Were you looking for a post yesterday? Ah well, I was at Pagua Bay. There was the jewellery show that I mentioned previously. So, we went up there and had lunch and hung out with the people there and ogled all the lovely stuff for sale. The artist is a Dominican guy who now lives in St. Croix but comes back a few times a year. He had some gorgeous stuff for sale. I restrained myself though. I have spent enough money on the two paintings, and as you all know, I really don't need any more jewellery. He was very nice and we talked for quite awhile. It was a nice afternoon.
As for Saturday - our trip to the market was in pouring rain, but it was still fun.

This past week went by in a blur it was so busy for me at work. It was American Thanksgiving so there we turkey dinners happening all around.

That's it - that's all I have to report. Boring huh??? Well, I could tell you about the great weather we're having - do you want to hear about that? I thought not.
Later...

First Annual Blaircourt Rum-Off

Well, it has finally happened - the First Annual Blaircourt Rum-Off occurred last night. This auspicious event occurred after much discussion in the neighbourhood as to who has the best rum punch recipe. There was a lot of trash talk that had to be silenced.

As you can see it was quite an official affair at Allan's place. Each contestant brought their rum punch and an hors d'oeuvre. I was the convenor (the only one who knew which punch was which) and assigned a number to each punch, poured it into the little sample cups, called the group in, gave everyone a scoring sheet where they ranked and commented and off we went to sample. What a hoot!!! We had nine different punches, a ton of great food and Allan's Cincinnati Chili after - a layered concoction - that was really good. Boy did we need food.

Allan created a scoring form on Excel and we entered the scores and declared a winner. It was quite funny. John L. said that Allan "geeked up" the scoring. Geek is now a verb.

There were some disappointed contestants but in the end a really good punch won. I have asked for the recipe and will post it in the future.

We had some great food and a lot of laughs. We had a first prize - a bottle of good rum, and a last prize - a bottle of not so good rum.

While not quite hurting today, a quiet day is in order, after awesome plaintain pancakes with rum sauce for breakfast ( a little hair of the dog). It is a gorgeous sunny and warm day and I think I will be reading a book in a chair on the deck after I finish this.

On another note, the Art and Craft Fair took place this weekend at school. Many local artisans showcased their work. There were some really amazing things to see. I bought two paintings from Annika Wide - a Swedish-born local artist, who actually lives right behind me over the ravine. I went to her house last week for a private showing before the fair, as I wanted to have first pick. I bought two amazing paintings as my 50th birthday present to myself. I will post pictures of them next week. I don't want to post too many pics at once. I do hope that you are enjoying the pics as well as the blogs.

That's it for now. Bye.

Look what showed up yesterday

Hey, look what showed up here yesterday. We saw it come in and dock by Cabrits for the day, so we could see it from here. It is the Club Med 2 and it now makes rounds of the islands - now that hurricane season is ending. The big cruise ships dock in Roseau, but the smaller ones dock here at Cabrits.

How cool is that - check it out on the web. Sounds like a great cruise. I was told it comes weekly now so we will be seeing it regularly.

Speaking of making the rounds, we are in the process of deciding what we are going to do over the Christmas break - those of us who are staying here. We are thinking of New Year's on one of the other islands - just for fun. Since it is my 50th I want to do something really special. Perhaps Martinique, Guadeloupe or Barbados. St. Lucia got hit with the last hurricane but it wasn't too bad so things should be in pretty good shape there.

Well, I see on MSN that there was a snow storm in Minnesota. I guess you guys didn't get it though. Good thing - it's pretty early for that. I sure won't miss that. It is hot here today - hot and sticky - no breeze.

Well it looks like my job is going to be changing to the accommodations - btw - for those of you who are not sure, it is accommodations for students who require them academically -not housing. I may be doing some travel too to other Ross sites, like Bahamas, St. Kitts - vet school, Miami, etc. That should be fun. I am looking forward to this. It is not the job I thought I would be coming for but it's better.

Okay, better move, I have to make a dish for dinner at Mary and John's tonight. She is bbq'ing a pork roast and made Key Lime pie for dessert. I am doing a veg dish. mmmmmmmmmm.

See ya.....

Love to all,

D

More great pics

This is the view from Toucari Beach on Friday. It was just nearing sunset and we were on a walk. It was so pretty just then, the sun was shining on the water and the pelicans were sitting on the post and over a little to the left on the water. Some were flying around catching fish.
Isn't it gorgeous? I thought so. It was so serene.

Today is another gorgeous day. The sun is bright and hot but there are the usual clouds over the mountains. The weather is really interesting here because it can change so quickly - and often does.

I know some of you are following my food journey too, so I'll give you that update as well. As usual we went to the market yesterday morning and last night I made a vegetarian moussaka with chick peas in it- it was really good. Today I am making another layered type of baked dish - kind of like a squash and spinach lasagna. I am not too happy though that the tomatoes aren't great right now - they are fine to cook with but not really good to eat in salads, etc. I think I want to grow some. There are plant vendors at the market so I will pick some up and see how they do.


I am really busy at work getting into the other part of my job that I have inherited - the accommodations coordination. I am hoping that it becomes full-time because there is a ton of work to do here in this regard - coordination of services for students, acquiring the necessary equipment and doing some faculty training. This is a really new area for this school - not for all med schools, but it is here. I'll keep you posted on that one.


Okay, time to go and get something done. My deck is also calling me - I am going to sit and read a book on it today - no trips planned. There was a faculty trip to Pagua Bay with some river tubing, but there were a lot of people and kids signed up. I thought I would prefer some peace and quiet instead. At the end of the month there will be a jewellery exhibition there so we will get a small group to go then. I am looking forward to that. There is a local guy who makes some very pretty stuff and Pagua Bay is a really nice setting. It is on the east side of the island - the Atlantic side - and tends to be pretty wild and windy - not like my side - the Caribbean side, which tends to be calmer. There are some pretty good waves on my side today so I can imagine what it's like on the other side - should be some wild tubing.


I know that a lot of people are reading this blog. Thanks. I hope you are enjoying it. Don't be shy about commenting.


Miss you all,

A little windy

First - how cool is this? This rainbow was present Monday, Wednesday and Friday this past week in the same spot, around the same time - about 5:15 pm. The picture doesn't quite do it justice - it was really vivid. It looked like it was either coming from or going into the mountains right in front of me. Amazing!!!

Okay, now for the wind. You probably know that hurricane Tomas just whisked by us - a little to the south - it hit St. Lucia and St. Vincent apparently - we got some big wind and rain - no damage though. It was pretty wild yesterday and last night. I had a bit of a door problem - the wind slammed my door shut and the lock stuck. I was stuck inside. I had to call John, next door, and ask him to remove the lock. That was fun. Just another part of living here I guess. It was interesting for a while and I ended up missing the neighbourhood Hallowe'en pot luck. I sent my dish though - caponata - yummm. Renneth will replace the lock tomorrow. There were also power outages but we have a generator up here so we are fine. It is interesting to look down at Portsmouth and see it all black when we have power up here on our hill.

Don't worry about me - we are quite safe and just fine. The storm has passed.

A cruise ship just went by very close to shore. It must be closer in to land than planned because of the hurricane in the Caribbean Sea - which is a category 3 now I hear. It is winding itself up over the water.

It is a grey day - good day to hang out and watch a movie. See ya.

Early morning beauty

This is what it looked like this morning over the hills. It is really beautiful when the mist and the clouds move over. That is the view from our hill looking south. It is so nice to see the water one way and the mountains the other. If I look east I see the high peaks and can watch the rain moving over them.

It is still hot here - over 30 every day. It is a bit weird being my first fall here. It doesn't seem like the end of October.

Right now looking at the view in this picture I can see the sun shining on the green with misty clouds right behind. Very cool.

We had dinner at Allan's last night and each contributed something. I made coconut brownies that we had over bananas flambe with ice cream for dessert. Mary brought homemade bread with carmelized onions as an appetizer and Allan made a pasta dish and salad for the main. We talked again about having our progressive dinner party. We'll have to get on that one soon.

It seems as though we have all settled in now and everyone seems pretty comfortable. People are kind of doing their own thing and that is good too. Now that we've all gotten well into work we are pretty busy. There never seems to be a dull moment - lots going on.

There have been a number of changes in my dept and we are trying to adjust. I had just gotten used to things and now they are different. Ah well, it keeps you on your toes.

I am making a curry chicken dish tonight with eggplant and pumpkin. It sounds really interesting. It is in An Embarrassment of Mangoes - Ann Vanderhoof's first book.

As usual we went to the market yesterday morning. A number of the vendors seem to know us now - one guy from whom I have bought lettuce ran out by the time I got to him. He saw I was disappointed and said he would save some for me. He seems to have the nicest lettuce. I was busy buying the coconut bread that I really like. That and the French coffee that one lady brings in from Guadeloupe. It is really good - even better than the coffee from here - and less expensive - if you can believe it. It is a lot of fun to shop at the market - we see a lot of people that we know - Dominican and ex-pat - faculty and students.

Okay, off for a little walk now. We may pop down for a swim - or a sea bath as they call it here.

Hope you're enjoying reading.

Later,

The famous Nica

Here she is - the famous Nica. I thought it was time I posted a pic of her so you can see how pretty she is. In case you forget, she is the dog that Orlando Bloom adopted as a puppy when they were here filming Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and 3. He couldn't take her back to the U.S. because she was under a year old, so Renneth kept her.

She is the queen of the neighbourhood and comes to my door every morning and night. She makes the rounds of the neighbourhood and visits everyone. She gets treats and love. She doesn't just want treats either - she really likes the love too. She is such a sweet dog and she really guards the neighbourhood. She knows the cars and the people that belong here and lets us know when something is amiss. Like this morning, someone walked by with another dog and she let us know. Last week she chased a stray dog off the street with gusto - that dog yipped and tore out of here. Like I said, she is the Queen and rules the neighbourhood. She has put all the other dogs in their places too. Mary and John's dogs - Sandy and Pebbles, and Allan's dog - Taffy - have all been educated. She is very good natured, but definitely in charge.

Of course there is Dexter too - Renneth's other dog, but he is just a little mop and spends most of his time in the house. Nica is an island dog and is outside pretty much all the time. She goes around and lays in different spots, depending upon where the sun is. Sometimes when you come down the street she is lying right in the middle of the street and because she knows the cars she doesn't move. She will lay there and wag her tail. I have had to get out of the car and coax her to move. She is really funny.

Speaking of dogs, I get pictures and reports from Dave and Deb about Jimmie and Tess. They are doing really well and are very happy with Jasmine and Amber . The crew - as they are called - all get along very well. That makes me feel a lot better. I really miss them, so I am happy to have a lot of dogs here to love - especially Nica. Sandy and Pebbles roar over here every chance they get for a visit and treats. It is not far from my door to theirs and they are like rockets.

Okay, that's it.

Later.

Thought you'd like to see...............

.............. the sunset last night from my upper deck. Isn't it gorgeous? I thought so. There are a few more pics but I won't torture you with them.

As you can imagine the weather is still gorgeous here. It is still over 30 during the day but it is now cooling off a little at night and we get a breeze so I can keep the windows open rather than run the air in my bedroom. I like the breeze, the sound of the tree frogs at night and the birds early in the morning. I can also hear the waves on the beach down below me, depending upon the surf.

So, I didn't go to Les Saintes yesterday because I was a little under the weather but I am told it was lots of fun. I will have to catch the next trip there and tell you all about it then. I just stayed home and hung out - a nice quiet day.

Mary and John, next door, have a friend from Canada visiting so I went over there for awhile to visit.

I think we are going to go for a little swim and/or snorkel on the beach just down from us. It is another beautiful day - just like every day. We haven't had any real rain for a while now, so that is nice. We may still get a little shower during the day but not much.

Hmmm.... lets' see what else can I tell you? I really feel at home here now. I have settled in quite nicely and I am really enjoying myself. I plan to have as much fun here as I can while I can. It is still so amazing to wake up every day and look out at the beauty of this island. I appreciate how lucky I am to be here and I will enjoy it for as long as it lasts.

There was another spa day this week for the girls - not at my house this time. I had to cut out of work a bit early on Wednesday to get my hair done again - it sure needed it. I got a quick mani and pedi too - much needed.

I have tried not to miss anything from Canada but I was thinking yesterday that I would really like zucchini to make ratatouille. I have everything else but that. I am not sure why they don't grow it here. I will ask at the market next week. Ah, well, not a big deal. I may just have to improvise and add christophene or something similar. It's not like we don't have lots to choose from. We were talking about that last night - the mistaken notion that you can't get everything here. That's not true - you can get most things, but you may have to improvise a little sometimes. Not a big deal. You make do.

Lee is here now to wash my car. He comes every second Sunday to wash it for me. He vacuums it, does the interior with Amour All and washes the outside. Dominicans do like clean cars and since Lee wants my car when I leave (open-ended) he has a vested interest in keeping it pristine.

Okay, enough for now, the sea beckons.

bye

Oh, btw - is everyone tired of commenting on the obvious or have you stopped reading????

First Canadian Thanksgiving in Dominica

Well, we had fun.

We had 16 people - some Canadian and some American that we deigned to invite. We had a turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, garlic mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, etc.. and pumpkin pie with real whipped cream for dessert - just like in Canada.

We did have to endure a couple of questions from some Americans, like - what do Canadians celebrate? Duh??

The other good question was - do you celebrate pilgrims? Uh, no............

That was interesting. We explained that we celebrate the harvest.

At least we can say that we have enlightened a few. Good thing.

It was fun. I made a lovely cinnamon cake with the two kinds of banana jam - the regular and the dark chocolate one. They wanted something other than pumpkin pie that Mary made.

Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving - give thanks for what you have and the people with whom you have it.

Love to all

D.

Nothing too exciting to report

Awwwwwwwwwwwww gee, I don't have anything exciting to report this week- except it's raining - a lot!!

I do have links to pics from our snorkeling trip last week to Champagne Beach and to Scott's Head. One of the couples on the trip took these and forwarded them. I don't think I have to, or can, say anything - they speak for themselves. Enjoy!!!


Champagne: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=202319&id=654363989&l=143abe5c95


Scotts: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=202301&id=654363989&l=b3913ecd9a

Snorkeling heaven

We had a faculty trip snorkeling yesterday - what a blast!!!

We went to Scott's Head at the very southern tip of this island -which is an isthmus - the Atlantic is on one side and the Caribbean Sea is on the other. We went out just a bit from the shore and there was this huge drop off. Cool!!! BTW - I bought snorkeling equipment on Friday so I am set now. It was absolutely gorgeous - the fish, the coral, I could go on and on.

After about an hour there we went to Champagne Beach for lunch and our afternoon. It is called that because there are millions of bubbles as you are under the water and it looks like champagne bubbles. It is so amazing. You can hear it too. We saw a lot more fish there - gorgeous - big fish, huge schools of fish, squid, turtles. Wow!!!! It is also one of the premier dive sites on the island and I can see why. There are caves and another big drop off not too far off shore. It would be amazing to dive it. I am going to look into lessons and hopefully get dive certified.

According to John L. - the experienced diver - we saw Rainbow, Blue and Queen Parrot Fish, Trumpet Fish, Peacock Flounder, French Angel Fish, Squirrel Fish, Cow Fish and Sergeant Majors - not sure everyone will know what all of those look like, but interesting nonetheless, I hope. I just thought they were all pretty.

It was a great day. Boy were we tired when we got home. It was a lot of activity for the day.

We have a day trip to Les Saintes in two weeks and I can't wait for that. I will tell you all about it after. Les Saintes is a small French Island just off the coast of Guadeloupe.

We are planning a Canadian Thanksgiving too and will have the Canadian gang for dinner. We may let a few Americans join us too. We know where to get a Butterball Turkey, so we will have turkey, sweet potatoes and anything else we can make. We get pumpkin here so we may have to have a stab at pumpkin pie. Should be fun.

As for the rest of the week - it seems to have gone by in a blur again. Wow, we are busy but I am enjoying the students. They are a lot of fun to work with. We had labs again this week and it is funny to have them interview patients. Some are so nervous. We also had them do verbal reports and summaries of the interviews in class - that freaks them out a bit. We just tell them though that they need the practice before their clinical rotations.

Have I tortured you enough for this week? Oh, I almost forgot - another breathtaking sunset last night - it was so clear and the water was so calm. Gorgeous. But, it is very still and hot today.
Ah, yes.......

TTYL

New posting schedule

Okay, here it is - I am only going to post once a week from now on because I am so busy at work so PLEASE don't send me email and ask where the posts are. Too funny. At least I know people are still reading.
As I said in my last post - I think I had better stop telling everyone how gorgeous it is here - but I won't. That's half the fun of being here.

Now for my week - OMG - it was so busy but so much fun. Monday lab, Wed lecture (went very well), Thursday lab and Research Day yesterday. I don't know where the week went.
And since Allan and Mary and John all finally moved in on Thursday we had to have a little celebration last night at my place. There was the most gorgeous sunset over the sea again - beautiful pinks and blues and some puffy clouds. Ahhhhhhhhhhhh, I love it. It also seems that word has leaked out that this is THE place to live and I have had a couple of people at school ask me how to get in here. The waitlist seems to continue to grow. I am sooooooooo glad I live here.
I love my house!!!

OH, before I forget - I saw the old man yesterday as I was leaving work. He was right beside the road at the gates to the campus - just sitting there with his head up, looking around. I wish I had my camera. He is amazing. If you don't remember the old man is one of the iguanas on the campus.

Today is a quiet at-home day and boy do I need one of those. We have a birthday party picnic at the beach tomorrow so that should be lots of fun. I still have some boxes that need to be unpacked but I needed a rest from it for a bit. I will go at it again next weekend and hopefully finally be done with it. It was a big job and took a lot of time and energy. As I said, I love my house and everyday I look around and marvel at the beauty of this island.

Okay, sorry, had to say that again. Talk soon,
Love to all
D

Busy week!!!!!

Were you all breathlessly waiting for a post on Thursday??? I only got one message asking where the post was.
It has been very busy with the first week of school and several people away at a conference.
We had labs and orientation sessions and....... busy, busy, busy. I also had a lecture that I had to scramble to prepare and to deliver on Thursday. I have another two hour lecture on Wed and I have been making powerpoint for that. I haven't had to do that for awhile.

As for the "hood" - only Jen was able to move in this weekend. The others - Allan and John and Mary have to wait a few more days. They are a bit unhappy about it but it is better to let the workers finish everything rather than rush them and live in a mess. John and Carey are settling in after moving in last weekend. They are getting the hang of things. It's funny that I am the veteran here in the neighbourhood.

We had a gang dinner at my place last night even though it wasn't an official moving in dinner as it was supposed to be. It was still fun - I made a nice pasta and we did our own croutons with some left over bread. It was really good.

We also had a euchre game. What a howl that was. Allan and Mary knew how to play but John and Carey didn't, so they got a lesson and then some good practice. They did pretty well. It should be fun to have more games in the future.

It was strange for me this week to know that it was Labour Day in Canada and be at work. Also it was strange on Tuesday knowing that class started at Fanshawe and that I wasn't there to do the orientation for the program. A little bird told me that Cori did an excellent job of it.

I am trying not to torture everyone by saying how gorgeous it is here any more - you'll stop reading the blog. Allan and I went to breakfast at Le Flambeau this morning - it is a cute little place on the water and it was so peaceful - we saw lots of birds - pelicans and seabirds and Frigate birds and watched a catamaran go to pick up people from Ross for a whale watching trip today. I would have loved to go on that trip but I had to go into my office and finish my lecture powerpoint because I am really busy for the next few days at work.

I am going to be attending and presenting at a conference at the end of April in San Francisco and hope to tack on a wine tour of Napa on the end. Woo hoo. There is great potential - and money - to attend conferences and I am really happy about that. There are a lot of great opportunities for research too so once this initial rush settles a little I will be able to concentrate on that too.

Okay, enough torturing you - oh wait - the late afternoon sun is shining on the water and the view from my kitchen window is amazing and I can see little fishing boats in the bay.

Bye............... :)

Too much fun

Oh, man this is too much fun here. Friday night we had 8 or so people at Tomato - Whitney reserved tables for us - she said I am a VIP, so I teased the others that being Canadian is the thing to be. What a hoot. We had a really nice time all chatting and laughing...... I love this place.

On Friday I worked with our MD's - they are the new docs who have graduated from the program and then can work for a year or two with the students and the labs. We met with the professional patients in two groups and got things set up for the start of the labs this week. I am really going to like working with them - they are young and energetic and lots of fun, and they really like the fact that I am going to work with them. I met with them and talked about working as a team, etc. and said I would give them lots of opportunity to practice their skills. They are not technically allowed to lecture the current students - I am in charge of that, but I said I'll let them do some of it. They are thrilled.

Yesterday we went to the market in Portsmouth again and shopped for breakfast and dinner last night. We had six of us - me, Allan, John and Mary and John and Carey. John and Carey moved in yesterday so they needed to be fed. We did a big breakfast again and then Lee and I attacked my study for a good part of the day. It looks pretty good now. I had to take a little break after a week of unpacking and I was motivated to get at it again.

For dinner - we were celebrating John and Carey's move-in - Allan made an amazing watermelon and cucumber gazpacho, Mary made salad and marinade for the fish, I made a rice pilaf and plantains sauteed in rum (yummo) and we had grilled tuna - the two Johns were on bbq duty. It was great - everyone pitched in for both cooking and clean up. What a great way to do things. We also went through a few bottles of wine - no surprise there huh??.

I just love this neighbourhood and it will be even better when Allan and John and Mary move in next Saturday. We will do it again. Carey and John should be a little more settled by then and we will be in charge of dinner. It is so much fun to go to the market and buy stuff on Saturday mornings. Oh, I almost forgot - I bought a bunch of flowers - ginger lily and bird of paradise - a gorgeous bouquet for $5 EC - get that. That's about $2 Canadian. That bunch would have been at least $30 there.

If you can't tell, I am totally at home here. Keisha - our Community Clinic Coordinator in our dept. (a lovely Dominican girl) called me Dominican again on Friday and yesterday when I saw her at the market. I take that as a big compliment.

Today is going be a quiet, at home day. I need one. I'm going to do laundry and stuff and sit on the deck and read a book. Things will be crazy at work tomorrow.

Off to laundry now.

Take care everyone.

I have office furniture finally!!

Well, my office furniture has finally arrived. Yahoo. A desk came last week when I was home unpacking but Dave (my Chair) sent it back - he said it was crap (it was better than what I had).
The new stuff - and I mean new - came and was set up - a nice big desk with locking drawers, a chair and a bookshelf. Geez, little things sure mean a lot when you don't have them.
Anyway, it looks much better now - I just need to get my pictures hung and it will be done.
It feels really nice. I sit right beside the window and while I can't see the water I can see lots of green - palm trees and a mountain.

It has been a whirlwind week with orientation. I have attended a lot of the sessions so I could learn too and it has been really helpful - not to mention fun.

We have also been out to dinner almost every night this week because of new faculty coming in and welcoming them. It will be nice to cook at home tomorrow night after going to the market again tomorrow morning (bright and early). We are out at Tomato tonight because they just reopened after closing for two weeks. Whitney and Rob (the owners) are Canadian ( I have talked about them before) and they needed a holiday.

I have also been busy preparing a lecture that I have to do next week for a faculty member in our dept who is ill and off island - yee haaaaa.... Not a problem - I just made a few changes to her lecture. I have also inherited the Life Cycle lectures for week two - which will be mine permanently. As well, there is a new conflict of interest policy in force so academic faculty can't counsel any more - I will now be assigned a lot of the Behavioral Lab work and some work in the community clinics to replace the counseling piece. It should be fun - I think I will like the labs - we teach them how to conduct interviews with patients - the patients are from the community and have been trained to have different chief complaints, etc.... Also, the community clinics are real clinics with local people where the students are supervised in working with the patients.
I am looking forward to this, although I do like the counseling piece too. Oh well, best to go with the flow.

Speaking of going, better get moving, I have a meeting.
Please comment or email - I am not hearing much from people.
Later,

Emerald Pool and Carib Territory

We had another trip today - this one had students too. There were several buses. It is orientation week starting tomorrow and all this past week there were trips around the island to acquaint the students with the beauty of Dominica. I was busy all week so this is the first one I went on. I have to say, I liked the faculty trip two weeks ago a lot better. Oh my they were noisy and boisterous. They are obviously excited to be here - wait till they get the work slapped on them. Poor buggers won't know what hit them.

Anyway, it was a pretty good trip but it was raining pretty hard on the way back and it is thunderstorming tonight. In case you are worrying, we are not supposed to be in the path of Hurricane Earl. Hey, did you see Hurricane Danielle??? Gotta love that one eh?

Anyway, the Caribs are one of the few remaining indigenous tribes in the Caribbean that weren't massacred - check it out in the history of Dominica . We also went to the Emerald Pool - in a grotto - very pretty - water falls, streams and pools. This island sure is beautiful.

Yesterday we went to the Portsmouth market at 6;30. Yes, 6:30. I met Mary and Allan there - they came on a bus from Ross (because they are still in temporary housing at the campus waiting for their places up here to be finished) - well about 4 buses actually - the trip was on the itinerary for the students. So, I agreed to meet them then. We shopped and then came back here, called John (Mary's husband) and he came up here and we made a great breakfast of fresh bread, bacon and omelette. Yummmmo. We bought fresh tuna too - it cost $7 EC for a pound - divide that by 2.67 and you'll get the cost. OMG!!! It was so cheap and so good grilled for supper. The guy blows the conch shell to signal fresh fish. I can also get it daily on my route home from work. Tough life here. Anyway, the three of them are up here a lot to check on their places and to hang out on my deck. We were watching the hole for the pool being dug yesterday - the infinity pool that will look out over the water down the hill a bit - gee that will be tough too.

Okay, I've tortured you enough for tonight. See ya.....

Girls' Spa Day

Oh did we ever have fun today!! We had a girls' spa day at my house. We had a hairdresser and a massage therapist/esthetician come and we had a potluck lunch and of course lots of good stuff to drink.
I have been home unpacking this week and we decided that we all needed some pampering - so.......

The hairdresser, Nicole, was trained at Vidal Sassoon in London, England and is she ever good. She did several colours of highlights in my hair and cut a lot off the back - curly and longer on top. Very nice. As well, we had some of us having massages - she brought her table and put it upstairs on the balcony off the bedrooms, so they had privacy. She also did manicures and pedicures. We were here all day with the two of them doing the services. There were 8 of us in total.

We had a potluck too - some great food and we made drinks with coconut rum, passion fruit juice, and guava pineapple juice - yummmmm.......................

What a nice way to cap off a very busy week for me of unpacking. My house looks like a home now. I've still got stuff to do but I got a lot done and I'm pleased.

That's about all for now - later......

Oh my.....

There is a lot of stuff to unpack!! It's okay though because now that I am putting my own stuff around in the house it looks a lot more like me. It is going to be so nice when it is finished. I was hoping that the unpacking fairy would come to visit overnight but she didn't. Guess I'll have to do it myself. I also realize that there will be some stuff that I brought that I won't want or need so I'll give it away. There are a lot of people here who can use stuff - like those curtains I went to so much trouble to get. First, they are too short and Renneth did put nicer custom-made ones up since I was here in March, so I didn't need them. I gave them to Lee and Kate (his wife) was really happy to get them. It's the least I can do since he is so helpful to me. He came to help me unpack yesterday and was very good about going to get one of the construction guys when one of the shelves in a cupboard almost collapsed under the weight of my good china. It hadn't been reinforced along the back. Luckily nothing broke. Renneth came right over too and said if anything was broken that he would replace it. Very nice.

I have been distracted by too many fun people the past couple of days. The new Canadian couple - John and Mary - who will be living next door to me popped in yesterday and Allan, Jen and Brad also came by to check on their places so it ended up being an impromptu gathering on my deck. Lots of fun, which stretched into a very nice dinner at Blue Bay - a cut little (and very rustic) place on the water. You sit right near the shore looking out at the boats anchored in the bay and watch the sunset - well, almost, it was a bit behind Cabrits.

So, was anybody looking for the Thursday post??? This week has gone by in a blur it seems with wrapping up the term for students and trying to sort through so much stuff here. It hasn't got in the way of my fun though.

I'd better get moving now and unpack - I am being tempted today with an offer of snorkeling - which sounds like a lot more fun than unpacking - but this stuff won't unpack itself.

See ya.

Check out pics

Check out the great pics of Dominica in the photo gallery of Ann Vanderhoof's website - http://www.spicenecklace.com/

For those of you who don't know she is the woman from Toronto who had the two great adventures on a sailboat in the Caribbean and wrote the two books I really like - An Embarrassment of Mangoes and The Spice Necklace.

Great reads!!

Sunday post on Monday,and..................

Okay, the "and" first - my container has arrived and it will be delivered to my house tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday, Aug. 17 - two months after it left London on June 17) - yea...................

Now, to our Sunday adventure- what a blast. We had a Ross trip to Trafalgar Falls, a tour of and lunch at Papillote Wilderness Gardens and Retreat and finally Screw's Springs. Wow, was it fun.
Trafalgar is one of the beautiful waterfalls on the island and then we went to Papillote - they have these amazing tours of the gardens on marked trails - the most gorgeous flowers, plants and trees you'll ever see - right in the rain forest. We had a great lunch there and boy does their rum punch pack a punch. After two of those you're not seeing straight. Good thing we went to Screw's after that.

Screw's is a series of springs - both hot and cold with amazing plants and stone walls around. There are amazing pools and boy is the hot, hot. The cool feels so good after that - all natural.
It is truly amazing - and so beautiful. Imagine being right in a pool in the rain forest - wow. It was so much fun. What a great day and Ross paid for most of it - the bus, and the tours. We just had to buy our own lunch - not a big deal. We were all so tired when we got home. I was ready for bed about 8:00 last night. So now you know why there was no post last night - too tired.

I also made connections with other Bahamas people yesterday who are here for awhile until some stuff gets straightened out at that campus - long story - one you don't want to hear. They will be moving into the neighbourhood too and I think we will have a lot of fun.

We have decided to start having the roving dinner parties - you know, you have one course at one house and then move on to the next for the next course. Should be fun because Allan is said to be a great cook. Can't wait.

This is the last week that students are around - most of them will be gone by the end of the week for two weeks and it will be really quiet - good for me to take some time off to unpack. This really worked out for the best because I got to develop good relationships with the students with whom I am working and now we all have a break. Dave said go ahead and take some time off now to make up for the three weeks I worked. Couldn't have planned it better if I tried.

I am still tired tonight so it will be early to bed. You can all imagine me unpacking tomorrow and for awhile now, just like Christmas.

See ya......

Clothes and stuff - almost

My container has arrived on the island and it will take a few days to process through customs but it is finally here. Oh, the thought of towels and clothes and shoes....... I can hardly stand it.
Actually, it hasn't been that hard - but I am happy to get my stuff. It will be like Christmas opening everything.

Okay so the other cool news is that I have done yoga classes twice this week in the late afteroon on the seaside deck overlooking the water. It was so nice to hear the waves gently lapping on the shore during the class. Wow, what a treat.

We have had a lot of workshops this week so I haven't seen as many students but they are writing minis this week and finals next week and then they will be on a two week break. Good thing because they are pretty stressed right now. It is tough on them with the accelerated curriculum.

Oh well I guess that's it for today -short and sweet tonight.

I will have lots to tell on Sunday because there is a faculty tip to Trafalgar Falls, with a stop in Screw's Springs - hot and cold springs. Can't wait.

Ciao.

Dominican dental floss

That's the name for stringy mangoes here - Dominican dental floss. Isn't that cute?
I have had some amazing mangoes this week - it's the end of the season and there are a lot of them that sellers are trying to get rid of - imagine that. They are so sweet and so good. There are apparently many different varieties here - I can't tell the difference yet. Something else for me to learn about.

After a big hard rain this morning - the misty one where I can't see across Douglas Bay to Cabrits - the sun is out now and I was just standing out on my patio (standing because I have no patio furniture to put there yet) watching sailboats and Frigate birds - gorgeous!! I will be so happy when my stuff is here and I can sit on those patios - any of the 4 that I have in this house. Ah,,, coffee on the patio watching nature on a Sunday morning - can't beat that.

Another trip to Roseau yesterday and we stopped on the way back at this little restaurant - a lot like a shack - that's the name they use here for little places to eat - that and snackettes (also snacket) - I had amazing jerk pork. They have this huge bbq going and you can smell it before you arrive. It's a place with lots of locals, so you know it's good.

Today I am making chicken - haven't decided yet if I am doing a plantain-crusted or a coconut tomato sauce - hmmmmm, big decisions.

I am in heaven right now too because I am listening to classical music on my computer. I finally got the sound fixed after my problem just before I left. It is so nice to have music again - it has been pretty quiet in this house.

Oh, Lee brought his little boy by Friday night - he's about 20 months old and is he ever cute. I'm not sure how many white people he has seen but he really stared at me and at my house. I think it is much bigger than theirs so he was wandering around looking at everything and staring at the ceiling fan in the living room. It was really cute.

Oh yeah, one last thing - anyone who comes to visit MUST bring scented candles. I should not have followed the customs instructions for my container and left all my candles behind because they are horrendously expensive here. I could have wrapped them really well and hoped for the best but I followed instructions. I'll know better next time. So that's the house rule - bring candles or you won't be let in the door!!!

Later,
D

Still no clothes

Aw, man.... it is going to be two more weeks until my container arrives. It seems it has been held up somewhere - not sure if it is because of weather or what but it is not scheduled to arrive until the 16th and be processed by customs on the 18th. It would be nice to have the rest of my stuff but I guess I have to make do with what I've got - I really have no choice. I'm actually getting used to not having much stuff.

Well, I am not the newbie anymore - two new faculty in our department started this week so now I am considered to be one of the people who have been here awhile. Dave said that at our meeting today - he said "she hit the pavement running weeks ago and it seems like she has been around for quite awhile" - even though there is still a lot of stuff I am still learning. Everyone has been great though and I am doing really well. It is getting a bit quieter with students writing exams now and then they will be done shortly until the next term so it is a good time to get things done.

I may be seeing more students with ADD/HD, and LD, etc.... since the person who was doing it may be changing jobs and has acknowledged that I have expertise that is needed. So that may be part of my role in the future as well as some of the stuff he has been teaching. That is fine as the rest of my role is counselling/consulting. It will be a full load but still quite different than what I was doing in my previous life at Fanshawe.

It has been a busy week so far - I have been recruited to the Admissions Committee and I attended my first but the last of the term yesterday. It was quite interesting and I will like that committee. We are expected to be on at least one committee and to do some kind of community work as well. I think I have already mentioned that I will consult to the school here on campus and to the partner primary school near my house. That will be plenty to keep me occupied.

It has actually been sunny the last two days - no rain - what a difference. It has been raining a lot and hard!! As I said, there have been wicked thunderstorms and there is some talk of a system around the Virgin Islands that may wind itself up. Nobody is too worried here though.

Claudia has left the island now so that is a bit weird and I have inherited her cell phone - so my number is 767-275-2733 if anyone is overwhelmed with a desire to call me. My work number is 767-255-6511. Otherwise you can email me at the yahoo address that I posted - it is drdrenaud@yahoo.ca in case you are too lazy to go back in posts :)

Okay, time to go outside for a walk around the campus to warm up - my office is quite cool - cold I guess - and I go out periodically to warm up. I wear a sweater in the office and my toes get cold. I am not complaining though because it is quite warm on the other side of the building - where my temporary office was. This is better. I can open my window and get warm air in.

Until Sunday............

love to all,
D

Salsa and Cha-Cha

Woo hoo -what a blast!! Friday night I let Harold talk me into dancing - it wasn't the dancing at DeChamps, it was a class with a young Latino student teaching. Boy is he good - and cute too. There were only about 8 people there and he taught us Cha-Cha as well as some Salsa. Did we ever have fun. Harold really wants a dance partner so he is pushing me a bit - but not too much. We did some really neat-looking stuff. He is a good dancer - he lived in Curacao for five years before coming here and he learned it there.

It probably didn't hurt that I had had two glasses of wine earlier - it loosened me up a bit. At 5:00 there was a journal club meeting at Riverside and Ross paid for drinks and food during the talk. It was great - one prof presented a journal article on the merit of lecture vs small group learning as a teaching methodology in medical schools - a study done at McGill. There was a lot of spirited discussion - no pun intended. Lots of varying opinions and a really nice opportunity to socialize a bit after. They are going to hold these a couple of times a semester so I am looking forward to them. And then we danced.

Yesterday I went into Roseau again with Harold and wandered around shops while he played squash. I found some neat little stores - they are kind of hidden and you have to go in to see what they have. I really enjoy these Saturday excursions. I tried two new fruits this week - both of which I have never seen before and I quite like them both - hard to describe though. One is kaneep - little green balls with the fruit inside, as well as a seed. The other, looks like an artichoke but you open it and eat the fruit - it also has seeds. I don't remember the name of that one - I'll have to ask at the market next week. Both are very good and I will be buying them again.

We had another absolutely wicked thunderstorm the other night - wow did it howl - hurricane season is here so we have to watch, although we don't usually get too much happening here. Ross does send out hurricane preparedness information on email though - just in case. Very helpful.

I still don't have my stuff - it was supposed to arrive in Roseau on Wednesday but I haven't heard yet - maybe tomorrow

Okay, time to go -laundry is waiting.

All about Lee

Okay, so I have been admonished by Lee for not mentioning him in my blog. He popped in just as I was finishing it and commented on the fact that he is not even though he is in one post. So, Lee, you get your own post all to yourself.

Lee is the guy who gets anything and does everything. He has a taxi - and is the guy we all call when we need a ride somewhere - so when any of you come it will be Lee with me at the airport to pick you up. He also works in Roseau so he will pick up anything you need at a store there and deliver it to you. He is the guy who got me the water cooler and was so surprised when I hauled it in off of the porch and set it up. He didn't believe me that I did it myself. He said "Doc, it's too heavy for you to pick up". It took him awhile to believe that I did it. That was the post where I mentioned him.

Lee is also a great help for any work you need done and will be very handy. He is a real sweetie and has a lovely wife and two young children - 1 and 3.

Am I redeemed?

Cha-ching!!

Wow, did I spend a lot of money today - or so it seems when you pay in EC - Eastern Caribbean which is 2.67 to the US dollar. So, since my banking was straightened out - it seems that the money I had transferred from Canada to my new bank account here was considered a "large sum" and needed verification that I am not laundering money - yeah right. Well, the end result is that it is all straightened out, as I said and today I wrote cheques for my car and for insurance. Today was a very busy day - went into Roseau again (was there on Tuesday too to get my permanent license) and had to get the car appraised, transfer ownership, get insurance, etc..... It took most of the day but it's all done now. Lots of paperwork.

So, as I said, wow, did I spend a lot of money. Getting the permanent license was interesting too because we are technically not eligible for permanent licenses until we have been here for some time but since it is Ross and Carol coordinates it, we get special treatment from the police dept. in terms of expediting the process - thank you. It is much appreciated and so is Carol - she is worth her weight in gold.

Okay, so what else do I need to share - oh yeah, I cooked again on Sunday - with some difficulty I might add. I made a really good curry chicken with rice and a salad of avocado, cucumber and watercress. I think I mentioned it on my Sunday post - had Claudia over. And the peanut ice cream - to die for - really easy. All recipes in The Spice Necklace.

Tuesday's salsa class was HOT and a blast. Harold is pushing us more now and is it ever fun. He wants to go to the salsa dancing at De Champs on Friday night but I don't know if I'm ready for that. We'll see.

I am in my permanent office now - with very little furniture. It seems it has been held up - common problem. It was painted last week and they put a new blind on the window today -yes, I have a window - woo hoo!! It will be nice when I get my stuff. I was told to pinch stuff I see lying around in the meantime.

I am being introduced at our dept meeting tomorrow morning - no biggie - not as big as the faculty meeting that I had to talk about myself at - the one with all of the faculty. Everyone is great and I am feeling really settled in. Now it would just be nice to get my stuff. It was supposed to arrive yesterday but I have not heard anything yet. I will get a little more pushy about it tomorrow, but I am hoping to get a message that it is on its way to my house. I have gotten used to not having much stuff but it will be really nice to get the rest of it.

Okay, my brain is fried now, so I'll sign off until Sunday. I'm sure you are all getting the pattern - Thursday and Sunday posts.

As I said previously - I am glad to know that people are reading this.

Take care everyone.

Crabs with Attitude

Hi everyone - good to hear that you are enjoying reading these posts. I am enjoying writing them and I have lots to tell today.

Friday night the "7 Wonders of the World" as we were called in the invitation to Claudia's going away dinner went to Pagua Bay for dinner. It is on the other side of the island - near the airport - about an hour drive each way. We hired a van to drive us. These 7 were the people Claudia wanted to share her dinner with - kind of like my lunch at Katana. I felt honoured to be included in the group.
We had a blast and a great dinner. This is a very nice restaurant - we started with sauteed calamari and seared Ahi tuna and then had lovely tenderloins (I am told best you'll get on the island), caesar salad and cheesecake for dessert. Very full!! We laughed and told stories about Claudia, said what we would miss most about her and then she made us all cry by talking about what wonderful women and friends we were. Another reminder that you need your girlfriends.
It was great fun. On the way home there were lots of crabs on the road - big ones - and as you approach they rear up and brandish their claws at the car to scare you. It is really funny to see them - like we're going to be scared. We just howled. They don't even move sometimes- they just challenge you. Others scurry away and you have to try not to run them over. It's not crab season right now so it is illegal to hunt them - as tempting as they are to just pick up. That is a skill too because they are pretty aggressive and pinch pretty hard. The locals know how to get them and I have met a lady up the hill who will get them for me when it is the season.

Also on Friday night I was invited to play poker - it seems the usual boy's game was going to allow women because they were bringing food -figures!! Carol and I decided that we will get
euchre going as well as an alternative to poker. That will be a blast. I told Harold and Francisco
that I will teach them how to play but they will have to swear in French. They thought that was good. I am looking forward to some pretty wild games happening.

I went in to Roseau again yesterday with Harold - he plays squash every Saturday and dropped me off to shop again. It's really great to be able to go in with him as he is very comfortable driving. I went to the big market this time and boy did I have fun. I checked everything out and chatted with a lot of the ladies at the stalls. I bought stuff to cook again - I invited Claudia for dinner since she gave me grief about cooking last Sunday and not inviting her. I told her I needed to see how it would turn out before subjecting somebody else to it - she didn't care. Today I am going to make a chicken dish with tomato and coconut curry sauce, an avocado and watercress salad and lentils with pumpkin as a side - all recipes in The Spice Necklace (the book I have talked about) - oh and peanut ice cream - yummmmm!!!! It's in the freezer now - really easy to make. I can't wait. Geez, just think what I'll be doing when I actually have my stuff. It is a challenge to cook with not much stuff.

I am doing laundry again this morning (how exciting huh?) - as I am out hanging stuff on the back deck clothesline I strung I am watching sailboats and a ferry on the water - it is so pretty.
It is HOT but there is a gorgeous breeze today - it is sunny too - a nice change from all the rain we've been having lately.

Well, I guess that's it for now -

stay tuned and love to all

I drove in the dark

Well, I have had another new experience - I drove home in the dark on Tuesday night after salsa dancing. There were a few more people there than last week and the group decided to stay for dinner. I was a bit leery about driving home in the dark since it was raining but Harold said he would escort me home - he drove in front of me. It helped. So, now I have done that too. And I have only been here two weeks. It seems like longer. I just really would like my stuff to arrive now and everything will be great - better than it is.

I am pretty comfortable with daytime driving now - I'm getting a good sense of where all the big potholes are. There is a huge new one at the top of the hill just before you turn into my laneway - one of my neighbours suggested we plant flowers in it and make it like a turning circle. Good idea. It may be awhile before it gets filled in. It happened the other day after a torrential rain - there were rushing rivers flowing down the mountain and the asphalt just washed away. It really has been raining a lot - and hard - and thunder!!!! Wow, it really thunders here when it storms.

Yesterday, (Wed.) Carol talked me into joining the spouse group for the day. She said that I need to have some fun before I officially start work and that I have been working too much. We were supposed to go to the beach but it was raining so we went and had a long lunch at Tomato. Tomato is right up the hill from the main gates of the university and is owned by a Canadian. She gave me a great welcome back (I met her when I was here in March) and a round of Tomato Sunrises on her. Yummmm..... The food there is great and we hung out there for quite awhile. This group originally started as spouse activities but a few local women have joined it too. Two of them live just up the hill from me - one is a Swedish artist and she invited us back up to her place for the afternoon. We drank wine and ate ice cream and she showed us her work. She has some gorgeous paintings. I think I may buy one. She is very talented. What a nice group of women. Very diverse and fun - we laughed a lot. It was a really enjoyable day and I look forward to more of them. We talked about having the roving parties in the neighbourhood where you do one course at one house then move on the next for the next course. They thought it was a great idea and since all of my street is Ross faculty and the others just live right up the hill. We'll have to see how it works out. We have enough people to do it several times before repeating. Should be fun.

I also chatted with Mary Grogan - the Canadian principal of the school here on campus. I told her I would consult to the school for kids with learning and behavioral (note the American spelling I am now using) challenges and since they are partnered with the Savanne Paille primary school (just up the hill from my house ) I will also consult there. That will be my community work - which Ross expects faculty to do. I am also expected to sit on a committee here so I will choose to join the Faculty Development committee. I think that makes the most sense for me - I can contribute to faculty development with regard to teaching strategies. As would be expected some of the MD's don't really know all that much about good teaching practice and use far too many powerpoint slides in a lecture. Ah, well, there's time for that.

Okay, better go now, I've got a student coming in this morning.

Later,

First trip to Roseau

I went into Roseau yesterday - I did not drive - not ready for that becuause the road is very windy (looks like Pacific 1 in California). It is BUSY, BUSY, BUSY in the city and the traffic is wild. The streets are very narrow and people park in very strange places - not always off to the side. It is like dodgem cars on an obstacle course.

I went shopping in a couple of large grocery stores - very different than the little shops in Portsmouth or Picard (right near the university campus). I wandered around for quite awhile while my ride played squash. It was great to see all the stuff that is available - pretty much everything. I did a lot of price comparison and now I know who has the best prices. Once our IGA is open right next to the campus it will be a lot easier - we won't have to go into Roseau as much, although it is not an issue since Lee will pick up anything I need. A full-size grocery store in our community is big excitement here you know.

I am doing laundry today - breaking in my new washer and dryer. Doesn't that sound exciting?
I am actually going to try to cook something today too. I didn't have enough stuff previously, but I do now. I bought a lot yesterday so I am better stocked, although I still only have one knife. I'll have to wash it a lot. Ah well, it is all part of the adventure. I am going to make a chicken dish with some tomato, white beans and spinach on pasta - yummmm. I have been having a lot of fun trying food at the different shacks - it is really good, but I want to cook too.

Well, the good news is that the swelling in my feet and ankles has finally gone down. I looked like a 90 year-old woman with fat ankles. It was the adjustment to the heat and humidity - I have to drink a lot of water to keep hydrated because I sweat so much. I am not complaining - it's all great.

Oh, time for another load - see ya.

I have finally seen one of the iguanas on campus

Yea,,,, I finally saw one of the iguanas on campus - he scurried across the road the other day as I was driving out. Boy can he move fast on those little legs. I don't think he's the "Old man" - I don't think he was big enough.

Speaking of scurrying - I heard all this barking outside my house the other night and Dexter and Nica were barking like crazy at a big crab on the road. What a hoot. They were hot-footing it when the thing moved. Renneth told me that Nica was pinched on the nose when she was younger and is now very careful. Boy are they big here. I might have to catch some and make one of the lovely sounding recipes in The Spice Necklace. The same recipe is on the coconut milk that I bought so I guess that will have to be one of the first dishes I make when my stuff arrives.

I am now up to 5 students - they are sure keeping me busy - making sure I don't get bored while waiting for my stuff to arrive. I told them that this will be on the tab for later. It's okay, it helps me to meet students - they are all stressed out now since we are getting close to finals for this term and it's make or break time for the 4th semester.

Yesterday there was a charity fundraiser at lunch - soft tacos and a contest for one of 4 profs to kiss a pig. Paul Abney won and he was a really good sport about it. Better than the pig - she wasn't too impressed. It was a hoot.

There is so much going on here - there is a 5k charity run/walk this weekend that I may join and yoga is actually almost everyday. I haven't done it yet, but I will soon. Next week Carol is taking the spouses group (she plans outings for them) to Toucarie beach on Wed and I am tagging along. I am also going to do a tour of the Indian River (the one in Pirates where they go up river to see the voodoo priestess) soon.

I am settling in my house nicely now, even though I don't have my stuff yet. I will be really glad to get the rest of my clothes.

We had the most wicked thunderstorm the other night. The lightning over Douglas Bay out my front windows was incredible. Too bad my camera is packed in the container.

I got the nicest compliment from one of our office staff yesterday. She said "Dr. Renaud it seems like you have been here a year not a week because you seem so at home." Everyone is amazed that I bought a car after two days and that I am driving it. It makes me feel a lot more independent. I hated being stuck and dependent on someone else to drive me around or to call Lee (a taxi driver). Lee is a doll - he's like a son to Claudia and I am going to inherit him. He will do anything for you. He got me a water cooler in Roseau the other day (I didn't like the colour of the water after the big rain and I don't want to spend a fortune on small bottles of water). He put it on the porch and when I got home I brought it in and set it up. I called him to come get the money and he said "Doc, I'll be right there to set it up for you". He didn't believe me when I said that I had already done it. He just shook his head and said "Man, you are something else". Claudia gets him to do just about everything for her and he expected me to be the same. He kept shaking his head and chuckling. I said, "I am an independent girl Lee".

Renneth said the same thing. He said he couldn't believe that I got a car after two days here and that I am driving like a local. That is a pretty big compliment. I guess I just have to drive like a bat out of hell like everyone else since there are no speed limits. I am getting pretty good and I am more comfortable in the really narrow roads in Portsmouth where you have to squeeze to the left for another car to pass but not go into the gutters - they are open and you will get stuck. Luckily the locals will all pitch in to push you out. Everyone says that it will happen at some point and it's not a big deal.

Okay, off to some new adventure now. I may have to go talk to the puppies on campus. There are some young ones and are they ever cute. There is a group that tries to find homes for them so that is good. They come and stand beside you when you are sitting at a table eating. They don't intrude, they just stand there. When you give them something they take it ever so gently - it is amazing - right out of your fingers. Dave and Deb you'll have to tell Tess that.

Hope everyone is enjoying reading this - please comment or email me.

Again, my personal email is drdrenaud@yahoo.ca

Bye for now.

Love to all
D

Where do I begin?

Wow, so much has happened - I hope I can remember it all to type it here. It seems like I have been here a lot longer than 5 days. Claudia said that at lunch today - she said "You've been here forever".

First - I bought a car!! Carol called her connection - the guy who does this and many other things for Ross faculty and who owns the taxi company on the island - and drives the only Jag here. I talked with him Friday night (my second day) and he delivered it Saturday with only a deposit. I got a 2003 Subaru Forester - very nice and great on the roads. It is not too big nor too small on these roads and I wanted 4-wheel drive. I figured just do it. It is in great shape and was a good price.
I drove into Portsmouth with Alexis (he wanted to see how I handled the car and the road), got my temporary licence and I was off. I drove back and forth into Portsmouth 4 times and the car is great. It takes both hills and potholes really well - and there are a lot of both here. He told me I am a really good driver and that I did better than most people at first. He will be a great connection for many things - he is that kind of guy - you know, one who makes things happen.

Oh, before I forget - it is HOT here. I know it is hot there too but ..... oh and since it is rainy season it just pours in the blink of an eye and then stops. Yesterday there was torrential rain in the morning - wow. Everyone is so happy with the rain after dry season. Yesterday was funny with the rain and mangoes rolling down the hill in front of my house. There is a huge mango tree across the street - I can pick them up off the road and they are soooo sweet - nothing like the yucky ones there.

I have already started seeing two students as a consultant. I can't use the term counsellor because in the US you need a professional licence, so I am a consultant -same term I used in Canada in my private practice. I will be getting a cell phone paid for by Ross for this. I will post my number when I get it. Right now I have a loaner - the number is 767-275-5360. Claudia said I may be able to keep this number. We'll see. I should also have my home internet today - I'll see later when I get home. It is really strange for me not to have internet at home - that' why I keep coming into school but everyone thinks I am working already.

Salsa dancing lessons tomorrow - woo hoo!! Yoga is Tuesday and Saturday. I am going to do that too - especially now that I have a car.

Dexter and Nica come to visit every day and hope for food. I heard they make the rounds of the houses - especially if you are bbq'ing. They are so sweet. Nica just comes in and lays down and wags her tail when you talk to her. It is helping me not to miss Jimmie and Tess too much.

The food here is awesome. I haven't got any fresh fish yet, but I will. The owner of Tina's Grocery - Tina - already knows who I am and calls me honey. She is a very sweet woman. The shacks by campus are great - amazing food. I certainly won't go hungry.

The people here are amazing and as soon as you are introduced as Ross faculty they can't help you enough. It is really nice.

I got some Dominican coffee in my welcome basket and I was drinking it yesterday morning sitting on one of my porches at the front. It is really good - a little spicy - it must be all the wild herbs and bay, which are very plentiful. Speaking of bay, I got some Bay Rum - a tonic used to calm skin irritations. I put it on mosquito bites and it really helps.

Work will be interesting with Claudia leaving. There seems to have been a bit of a shake-up recently as the Dean has also left and there is a new one here now. I will meet him soon. Apparently there was some stuff going on but it is settled now, although the counselling center will need a new director. Every place has it's stuff but it doesn't seem as bad as Fanshawe - especially with what has happened recently there. Wow, I am glad I am gone.

Okay, off to ........... whatever, talk soon

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