This is Mooch, the dog who has adopted us. She'll eat everything but lentil stew.
Sam had to buy a machete, or cutlass as they call them here, because pretty much every man has one, and uses it to do every project you can imagine. Here we tried to get some coconut milk, but they weren't ripe yet. :(
The beautiful Caribbean Sea.
A big hermit crab
Me, the cutlass, and a coconut
Hey Everyone!!
I cannot believe it's already the end of November! The time has just flown by, as is obvious since the last time we wrote on here was the beginning of October! Things have been going really well for us here, and we just love living here!! Sam's been keeping busy with school, but so far it's paying off. He only has 3 weeks left until the final test for the semester, but between now and then he has a bunch of tests. So he will continue to be very busy, and is definitely ready for the break! I have been keeping busy myself. My classes are going well, although a little bit busier in this half of the semester than they were at the beginning. My theology class is really interesting, giving me a lot to think about.
In the midst of school and the everyday stuff, we have been able to get out and enjoy the island and relax a little. We've been able to go sailing several more times, mostly during the week because I babysit most weekends. One saturday Sam took off after his last mini, and we took a transport to the capital and just spent the day exploring. It was fun to just wander around the streets and see what was there. We found a place called "The Spice Man" who sells a bunch of different spices, as well as tons of flavored rums that he makes. He's a really neat guy who will give you samples constantly if you wanted them. We ended up buying 2 different rums, but will definitely be back. His shop is a really cool environment. We payed a little extra to eat at a nice restaurant, where we had a creole dish made with fried octopus, with okra on the side. It was very different, but very good. Although the capital isn't exactly glamorous, it has it's own character that is really starting to grow on me.
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Mary and i put together a trip with a bunch of the other spouses to go through the Carib Territory and take a couple of short hikes to some waterfalls. There's a bus driver that is affiliated with the school who we usually hire to take us on trips, his name is Theo. He took us on this trip, and is a wonderful guide. He knows Dominica inside out and there were several times he would stop on the road, jump out and run into the bushes, and then come back with some random branch or fruit. He brought us bay leaves, oranges, showed us a cocoa pod, and even got one of the girls an herb that he said would cure her asthma. He's a really sweet guy, and is really careful to protect us spouses whenever he takes us places. We got to see some more of the island and get to know the other spouses more, so it was a really cool trip.
Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and although they don't celebrate it here and so Sam still had class, we were able to have a nice celebration. Mary and I braved the Dominica "grocery stores" and found enough stuff to make a relatively American Thanksgiving, complete with turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries and pumpkin pie. It was a lot of work, but we had fun. It was Sam and I, Mary and James, and our friends Marc and Ericka and their son Nicholas, and then another couple joined us for desert. It was really fun, but we still missed family. But for our first holiday out of the country, it was really fun. That's about it for us! We are so excited to come home for Christmas!! T-minus 3 weeks...we're getting close. We cannot believe how fast the time has flown by here, and are very ready to see family, eat beef, go to a real grocery store and be cold!! Love you and miss you all!!
Katrina
I cannot believe it's already the end of November! The time has just flown by, as is obvious since the last time we wrote on here was the beginning of October! Things have been going really well for us here, and we just love living here!! Sam's been keeping busy with school, but so far it's paying off. He only has 3 weeks left until the final test for the semester, but between now and then he has a bunch of tests. So he will continue to be very busy, and is definitely ready for the break! I have been keeping busy myself. My classes are going well, although a little bit busier in this half of the semester than they were at the beginning. My theology class is really interesting, giving me a lot to think about.
In the midst of school and the everyday stuff, we have been able to get out and enjoy the island and relax a little. We've been able to go sailing several more times, mostly during the week because I babysit most weekends. One saturday Sam took off after his last mini, and we took a transport to the capital and just spent the day exploring. It was fun to just wander around the streets and see what was there. We found a place called "The Spice Man" who sells a bunch of different spices, as well as tons of flavored rums that he makes. He's a really neat guy who will give you samples constantly if you wanted them. We ended up buying 2 different rums, but will definitely be back. His shop is a really cool environment. We payed a little extra to eat at a nice restaurant, where we had a creole dish made with fried octopus, with okra on the side. It was very different, but very good. Although the capital isn't exactly glamorous, it has it's own character that is really starting to grow on me.
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Mary and i put together a trip with a bunch of the other spouses to go through the Carib Territory and take a couple of short hikes to some waterfalls. There's a bus driver that is affiliated with the school who we usually hire to take us on trips, his name is Theo. He took us on this trip, and is a wonderful guide. He knows Dominica inside out and there were several times he would stop on the road, jump out and run into the bushes, and then come back with some random branch or fruit. He brought us bay leaves, oranges, showed us a cocoa pod, and even got one of the girls an herb that he said would cure her asthma. He's a really sweet guy, and is really careful to protect us spouses whenever he takes us places. We got to see some more of the island and get to know the other spouses more, so it was a really cool trip.
Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and although they don't celebrate it here and so Sam still had class, we were able to have a nice celebration. Mary and I braved the Dominica "grocery stores" and found enough stuff to make a relatively American Thanksgiving, complete with turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries and pumpkin pie. It was a lot of work, but we had fun. It was Sam and I, Mary and James, and our friends Marc and Ericka and their son Nicholas, and then another couple joined us for desert. It was really fun, but we still missed family. But for our first holiday out of the country, it was really fun. That's about it for us! We are so excited to come home for Christmas!! T-minus 3 weeks...we're getting close. We cannot believe how fast the time has flown by here, and are very ready to see family, eat beef, go to a real grocery store and be cold!! Love you and miss you all!!
Katrina
