A day in our life while in the jungle

Yesterday was a really great day. Christopher and I went to campus to register him for his classes. At registration it began with us filling out information on who your hurricane buddy was going to be so that in the case of a hurricane the school could get a hold of you by your cell phone or your buddies cell phone. After that we had to make sure he had turned in a bunch of paper work that had to have been done prior to coming and then it was off to the registrar. I am really not sure what they did there but they took his name and did something. After that we went on to get his Ross account set up for his school email address. Following that we went to the security building to pick up his ID. They are very peculiar about having your ID on you so that the only people on campus are the students, students families, and the faculty. I have not gotten my ID yet because we have to wait until next week. They like actually ask you when you come in the gate to see your ID so in the meantime we have had temporary ID's until they can be made for us. But I guess that is good so we know that the campus is a safe place to be. Following all of this we went to get Chris's books, dissection kits, lab coats, and well more books. It took both of us to carry his stuff back to our apartment which is like a 15 minute walk from campus.




So it was an exciting day. Christopher also was able to play volleyball all afternoon yesterday, which if anyone knows him that is like his most favorite thing to do. So I watched them play volleyball until it got dark and then we headed back home to cook some dinner.

So we have been trying to eat the food from the island but we are just having a really hard time. In order to save money you have to eat the fresh fruits and vegetables otherwise you will be spending a fortune on canned food. For a can of green beans it will cost us $2 US for one can so we have been trying to alter our style of eating. But we have found that is not working out really well because all of the food that we bought from the market on Saturday went bad. The bread had mold on it by the third day we had it, probably because we didn't put it in the refrigerator. The carrots just went bad even though they were in the fridge, we don't know why. We just feel like the fresh stuff goes bad really fast which makes it hard to only go to market one day a week. We also had a disastrous attempt with the fish that we bought. Now don't get me wrong we will probably still try and eat it but I don't know. We first cooked the blue marlin fish and what we didn't realize is that it is extremely tough. When I say tough it is more tough than a steak, so we were kind of shocked when we expected it to be like the fish we are used to where it just falls apart. So we looked it up on the internet to see if we just cooked it wrong and sure enough the blue marlin fish is just extremely tough fish. We bought the marlin because 3rd semester student here was at the market when we were and was just saying how great the marlin is and that it is rare here so if they have it you should get a lot, so he bough 10lbs. of marlin. So we thought well gosh if it is that good we should get a lot too. We are a little disappointed with that purchase. But since we also bought some salmon we are hoping that it will be a little bit better.

Now back to the fact that it is hard to eat the island food, haha. The last 3 nights we have had kraft mac and cheese with each meal. It has been our taste of home. We hope that it doesn't get old because right now it is the most delicious thing we are eating. But we are really trying to adjust to the food, it is just so different.

We don't have washers and dryers here, well when I say that, we don't have access to washers and dryers. So we have to send our laundry out to have it done. So I called Hermina (the laundry lady that our neighbors use who say she does a good job and does actually use machines to wash and dry the clothes) and she came this morning to pick up our laundry. Now when I say she came and picked it up this morning she came at 5:45 this morning. Our neighbors said to just leave it outside the night before because they come so early but I guess since they haven't picked up our laundry yet they didn't realize that that was our laundry waiting for them at our front door. So we got up at 5:45 to help them get our laundry. We hope it turns out well because we have heard horror stories about sending the laundry out. One lady washed their clothes in the river and brought their clothes back with holes in all of their clothes from scrubbing them on the rocks in the river. So we are hopeful that Hermina brings our clothes back tomorrow morning in good shape.

Now that I have kind of given you all an idea of what this island life is like I hope you have a great day and remember to be thankful for everything you have.

The HOLY Alphabet

My Aunt Toni sent me this email and I thought it was so good I just want to share it with all of you. I truly think that everyone should live by this HOLY ALPHABET.

Although things are not perfect
Because of trial or pain
Continue in thanksgiving
Do not begin to blame
Even when the times are hard
Fierce winds are bound to blow
God is forever able
Hold on to what you know
Imagine life without His love
J oy would cease to be
Keep thanking Him for all the things
Love imparts to thee
Move out of "Camp Complaining"
No weapon that is known
On earth can yield the power
Praise can do alone
Quit looking at the future
Redeem the time at hand
Start every day with worship
To "thank" is a command
Until we see Him coming
Victorious in the sky
We'll run the race with gratitude
X alting God most high
Y es, there'll be good times and yes some will be bad, but...
Z ion waits in glory...where none are ever sad!

Our Barrel Made It!!!!

Yeah! Yesterday our barrel came and it was Christmas for us in Dominica. We were so excited to see things like our knife, coffee maker, granola bars, spices, soaps, school supplies and cleaning supplies. Everything that is from America here is so expensive for example we went to the store the other day and it costs $10 US for a regular box of cereal or $8 US for a regular package of grated cheese and even $4 for one can of green beans. So we feel that sending our barrel was well worth it. We are so thankful for the luxuries that are available in the US because we don't have very many of them here.

Christopher and the man that went and picked our barrel up from the port had to carry our barrel up three flights of stairs because our apartment is on the third floor. The man had to pick our barrel up for us because well one we don't have a car here and also they say it is better to have a local go and pick up your barrel because they will charge them less on the tax on the barrel than they would someone like us. We also didn't want to carry our huge barrel by ourselves. But we are so glad that we have a little bit of home here in Dominica now. I think we have enough granola bars to last us the whole 16 months. Now probably not but it really feels like it.

We had a wonderful day yesterday because we got our barrel, there was a barbecue (not like an Oklahoma barbecue, but it was alright), and Christopher finally got to play some volleyball, while I got to watch the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. I am constantly in aww of the beauty that the Lord has created here. I wish everyone could experience the beauty of it. It is because of these things that allows us to keep going and enjoying every opportunity that the Lord has put before us.



Yesterday being a very exciting day, I can add that we had our first up close experience with a lizard. We have heard about the lizards here but we had yet to see one until yesterday. It was an extremely small and harmless little lizard but it was fun to finally see one.

Trip to the Carib Territory and Emerald Pool

Yesterday we went on a little tour of the island, to see some of the nature sites that are here. We first went to the Carib Territory. This territory is like the Native American territory in the US. They are different people than the dominicans and from what we learned are not particularly friendly with the dominican people. We are friends with this girl named Joanna and she is from Dominica and she told us that she has never been to the Carib territory until yesterday. The things that the Carib people did were very interesting. We had a tour guide that kind of gave us some insight into these people and she explained to us that they are the only people who eat the whole cow. They even eat what is called black pudding and it is the blood of the cow. Really gross I know. They also eat the leather of the cow, or the skin of the cow. It was very interesting to see how these people live because it is so different from us. Most of the people there do not have air conditioner or flushing toilets. Keep in mind that these are the Carib people and not the local dominican people that we live by. Here is a picture of some Carib people making bread at their local bakery. The bread is made with a particular spice that if it is not prepared properly it is poisonous. They offered us a taste of the Cassava bread but we decided that we didn't want to take our chances with the idea that they may not have prepared the bread properly. A friend of ours tried it and said it was really good but we decided not to.

While going through the Carib territory I ate my first coconut. It was very interesting. The water inside of the coconut when you first open it tastes like flavored water, but not necessarily like coconut water. It is a distinct taste but hard to describe. The inside, which you can see me eating in this picture below was a very different taste. A lot of people really liked the inside but Christopher and I didn't really care for it. Christopher is drinking fresh pineapple juice in this picture and it was awesome. Although Christopher didn't really like it because it was too sweet, I liked it a whole lot. It was delicious!

 

After we left the Carib Territory we went to the Emerald Pool. This was really the highlight of our trip. We hiked into the rainforest for about fifteen minutes. We hiked down into the mountain and came upon the Emerald Pool. It was a waterfall that was so beautiful and the water it fell into was completely clear. It was so awesome. It makes you really appreciate what our God has created. Living in the city does not give you the gratitude for the wonderful and beautiful areas God has created. It was awesome.

 

It was worth the long bus ride their to see what we saw. As we were leaving Christopher had to go to the bathroom and their was a sign that said you had to pay $1 to go to the bathroom, and sure enough there was a guy there taking money for you to go use the restroom. I never in my life knew you would have to pay to use the toilet so I thought I needed to take a picture of it because I thought it was extremely hilarious.

 

Now keep in mind $1 is equivalent to $0.30 US so really it is not that much but still it is a little weird that they charge you to go to the bathroom. 

Today we didn't do a whole lot because it has been raining on and off all day and it has been extremely cloudy. This is a blessing here because it has really cooled it off a lot and we aren't sweating everywhere we go. Although it has made it extremely humid for tonight. 

Christopher is attending his orientation classes tonight so I am excited to here how that went. I am so proud of what he has accomplished and so blessed that the Lord has allowed us this opportunity to achieve his dream of becoming a doctor. We thank him every day for the blessings he has given us. Thank you so much for all of your prayers back at home, they have truly helped because we are really adjusting well and learning our way around this island. We love you all very much! 

Trip to the Market

We woke up this morning at 5:15 a.m. to make our way to the market. The school was hosting a free trip there so we headed down to the school at about 5:30. After we all loaded the buses we headed down to the market in Portsmouth, which is about 5 minutes away. It is just a little too far to walk and besides that, after all the food we got we didn't want to walk there. We got there and headed straight to the fish, because everyone said that it goes really fast and the best fish is the first thing to go. So we headed that way. Once we got there it was like nothing we had ever seen. It was so cool it was like they caught the fish and brought it straight to the table and cut it to the amount of pounds we wanted and gave it to us. It was so fascinating.

We kind of got last pick because the locals always got first dibs on the what they wanted, but even that we got some awesome fish. We were able to get 5lbs of salmon and 6lbs of blue marlin. We are going to freeze most of it so we can keep it for later. But we had a really great time at the market. 

We got fresh fruit such as bananas and mangos. We also got a lot of other stuff like carrots vegetables, green onion, potatos, onions, lettuce, and bread.  All of the food is sold straight from the farms so we don't have any processed foods here. It is really crazy here. We take it for granted in the states of how our food gets there and here we are able to visually see the farms and everything and we get to see how hard these people work to get the food grown.

We thank the Lord here everyday for providing for us in every way. Everything is so different here, that it is taking some time to get acquainted with our surroundings, but I feel like we are doing very well adjusting to this new and different world. But we are also so very thankful for what is provided for us in the US.

Things to be thankful for:

• Hot water: we have a switch for the hot water in the shower and we only have hot water in the shower. Which 9 out of 10 times only makes the water tolerable. And the other time the water is boiling hot. We have not hot water to wash our dishes with. 


• Groceries are super expensive. They are overpriced groceries even for a third world country.


• Pre-paid electricity - it is really depressing to see the power meter drop rapidly.


• No Car- As sad as it is, we are so dependent on our vehicles. It would be so handy having a vehicle but really it is not necessary. It forces us to walk everywhere which is great for losing weight.

We hope you have a great day! We miss you all like crazy!

Trip to Roseau

Today we took a 50 minute bus ride into the town of Roseau. Roseau is the capital of dominica and this town is much more like a tourist area. We had our first experience with the Roseau market and we ate some of the best mango we have ever had in our entire lives. 

We were also able to shop at an IGA grocery store. It is small but it has things that you can get in the states which we can't find located near where we live. So we bought a few things but we mostly walked around the town and just enjoyed our time in the city. Another exciting thing about this place is that it had a place called Rituals which is a coffee shop that is very very similar to a starbucks. But we had a great day today and we are going to be going to the Market in Portsmouth tomorrow to get some fruits, vegetables, and fish. We have to leave at 6 a.m. in order to get the fresh produce. It actually opens at 5 a.m. We are really excited about it and hope that we get some really great stuff. 

If you want to look at more pictures click on the link at the top right of this blog. There are pictures of our trip to Roseau and just some pictures of our apartment and the school and some other random pictures. We hope you enjoy them.We love you all and miss you very much. 

Welcome to the Jungle

We finally made it to Dominica. After an hour on the runway in Oklahoma City, to a "home alone" sprint through the Chicago airport to find out we missed our flight (we could see the plane pulling out), to a three hour night sleep in Miami with Givens, and a 4 hour layover in San Juan Puerto Rico, we made it to the beautiful island of Dominica.
The fly into Dominica was one of the most crazy flights I have ever had. After we arrived we took a 50 minute drive to the town of Picard where the school is located. We arrived at the school and they immediately took us to drop our stuff off at our new apartment. We are very pleased with our apartment. We secured a place before we came down here so we are glad that what we did was really great with out being able to see it prior to arrival. That is our apartment in the background. We live on Moo Cow Trail, and there are literally cows on trail to our apartment. And there is Christopher getting kind of close to the bull that lives next to our apartment.




After we went to the apartment we went back to the school for a school tour. It is pretty amazing. They have a lot of study decks where you are just over the ocean. You can hear the waves crash up against it. It is really neat.

Dinner was not exactly the highlight of our day. We went to a place called Bob's Chinese food and all I can say is that it was a struggle to get it down.

The next day was really fun. We got up and walked to campus and had a banana for lunch. They have banana farms here so if that tells you anything about how good the banana was. It was very sweet. Absolutely delicious. We then took care of some stuff for Christopher's school. And after going to the bank we decided we would eat at Subway, yes we have a subway! It was awesome. I think because we really hadn't eaten much but it was just like at home.

We went to the beach that afternoon and it was so beautiful. The beaches are black volcanic sand. It is really cool.




We are doing great and we can not believe we actually live here. We decided that our new theme song is going to be "Welcome to the Jungle" by Guns and Roses because we truly feel like we are in the jungle. It is really weird that we have to walk everywhere and that the grocery stores are way less than a dollar general. It is truly amazing what God has created here. It is a completely different lifestyle here so we are learning to adjust to the island life. We miss everyone back at home very much and can't wait for you all to come visit so we can show you how amazing this island actually is. Please keep us in your prayers as we learn to adjust to this new lifestyle.