'Stuff'

I have always thought it an admirable quality to take life as it comes and enjoy the most of it without worrying about anything else.  Therefore, I have aspired to be a person who can 'go without' and does not depend on material items.  When I went to Ghana, for example, I could fit ALL of my belongings in a small coat closet in my parents house.  Therefore, when I was getting ready for the move to Dominica (where Ross pays to move a 20' shipping container full of 'stuff' to start the new job) I was kind of disappointed to look around and see just exactly how much 'stuff' i really have, and that i WANTED to take it with me...it was kind of like a character trait that i was trying to deminish had snuck up on me... In interest of insanity, however, i chose to focus on and worry about things that were more pertenant at the time:  thesis defense, brand new nephew, laughing as much as possible, 'seeing' whatever i was missing or going to miss, and spending LOTS of time with family and friends.  Therefore, the movers came in, packed up my belongings (before i truely had a chance to decide what to send and what to take with me on the plane...a consequence of having them come a week after the defense and just 2 days after the grad-party) and they were put into a sealed container headed for the island.  I thought 'i've done this before, i'll just show up and 'make do' until my stuff gets there.  Well...i think i did a fairly good job.  I arrived with enough suitable cloths to get me by, enough toiletries to hold me over, a few coffee mugs for fluid intake, ALMOST enough dog food to last, a few things to hold off the homesickness, and an excitement about my new job.  The last few weeks have been grand.  The pup is beginning to adjust to her new surroundings and accept the fact that i'm not going to be near her all day.  I'm trying to get 'out' as much as she'll allow me to do FUN things in addition to getting to know the new job.  All-in-all, things are good... What i didn't anticipate, however, was the feeling of RELIEF i would get when my stuff would actually arrive.  Now, it is no where near unpacked...but its HERE!  A feeling of 'this is where you are absolutely supposed to be right now and all of the pieces are going to begin to fall into place VERY soon' came over me last night as i layed down to sleep in my OWN bed, with my OWN pillows!  It is certainly not easy to move period, to move around the world, to get to know a new culture, to get to know a new job/surroundings/friends/life, to take the next step at adulthood...but at least for now it feels like i may have actually made the 'right' decision and this place is actually going to become HOME afterall...and after a night of 'excited to unpack and get everything situated' restless sleep, its a pretty good feeling to have!

The River Hike

There are 365 rumored rivers on the island of Dominica…so it is not suprising that there is one that runs right alongside the road up to my house.  Each river here goes one direction…from the mountains (which gets approximately 300 inches of rain/year) to the ocean.  This makes for a known route, an obvious direction that one can follow.  Plenty of jungle hikes can be sought out on this island, but without a guide on most of them you are almost certainly going to get lost…in the river, on the other hand, you know where you’re going…towards the ocean.  So…since I arrived on the island I have been eyeing the river for a potential fun hike.  Unfortunately last weekend brought in the winds and rain of hurricane Earl and with that extra rain in the mountains comes the dangers of hiking down a river.  You never know when the water is going to get as far down as we are, and the higher waters would have made it potentially life threatening.  Today however, we woke up to a beautiful ‘partly cloudy’ day.  So…Cocoa, my neighbor Kristjan (an Anatomy professor at Ross who lives in the upstairs of the house we live in and who has a similar sense of adventure as myself), and I set out to see what kind of a ‘river hike’ we could get ourselves into.  This particular river was suggested by an English couple who used to live in my apartment whom have 3 boxers.  She said that you can take the dogs there and let them off leash to just run ‘amuk’.  Since Cocoa has been on the leash outside of my house permanently since I arrived on the island (people here are afraid of dogs and kick them if they feel frightened…so to keep her safe from the rath of a fearful local and/or the cars/trucks/busses that go barreling down the whindy one-lane-equivalent road (without room for a walker) faster than some would go on the autobahn, I have kept her leashed and close to me), I thought it would be nice to allow her to have a little adventure as well.  It turned out to be easily the best day I have had yet in Dominica!

Pre-hike breakfast consisted of an egg and tomato (and I’ll point out here that if I’m EVER talking about fruits or vegetables in these posts that they are ALWAYS fresh) sandwich and Milo (brings me back to Ghana).  Sufficiently satisfied I dressed in my swimsuit (as I was certain to take a few routs through the river that would get me rather wet) and headed out for some fun.  We walked up our road about 50 meters and took an unbeaten path through some longer grass and we were into the river bed.  After a short discussion we decided that today we would go ‘down’ the river and another day we would go ‘up’ the river (so yes, there may be a river hike part II posting at a later date).  For the next two hours, we were emersed in a wonderous world of cool waters, beautiful tropical trees, wildlife, and adventure.  Climbing over boulders, dipping into cool 'pools', tripping over the little rocks, gazing at the amazing jungle scenery, watching out for lizards, crabs, and crawfish,and enjoying every minute of it!  We were completely enthralled with the adventure and kept saying what a great idea it was to hike down the river.  Cocoa has now proved herself as a champion hiker.   She not only will walk along trails for hours on end just waiting to see what her mom will take her upon next (see dog park photos on facebook), but she now has proven that she will find the right ‘doggie route’ through the river down to the awaiting oceans below with as much ease as a 70 lb lab can handle (enter in giggles here for each time she misjudged her footing and landed on her chin, butt, or belly...she was unhurt by the ordeal (thankfully), but it was quite adorable and funny to watch her try to judge water depth with her short little legs).

We were sad to see the hike come to an end when we reached the ocean, although quite exhausted and have learned of a few delightful swimming pools that exist for future visits and that the most enjoyable way to spend a Saturday afternoon in Dominica, may in fact be with your feet in the rushing waters of a river and your eyes looking at the beauteous wonders around you!

We have arrived

Cocoa and I have 'officially' arrived on the island.  Okay yes, we did actually arrive last Monday but we are now beginning to officially become part of this island.  Cocoa was an airplane pro and navigated airport security like it was a peanut butter filled kong.  It was great to have a little travel companion and I think she even enjoyed it a bit.  After two days of travel, we were greeted by the hot and humid sunny atmosphere that is Dominica.  A short bus ride followed by great smiles, hugs, and a few necessities and we found our way to our new 'home'.  Since then our days have been filled with meeting new friends and exploring our new surroundings.  I think we have both found at least one thing each day to smile about!  While we are not yet fully situated (our 'stuff' is still out in the ocean somewhere hopefully not getting pelted by Earl or Fiona), we are beginning to prepare to call this place 'home' and have certainly arrived!