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.