Submitted by Evan Driscoll on the 2018 winter session program in Dominica sponsored by the Department of Geography and Department of Applied Economics and Statistics…
I’m writing this from my second of three flights that will take me back to Boston. Our first flight out of Dominica was delayed a few hours–it was meant to leave at 1:45 PM, but it ended up being around 4:00 PM when we took off. When we arrived in San Juan, unfortunately, some had already missed their connecting flights and have been forced to stay the night in Puerto Rico. I was lucky enough to make my flight to Fort Lauderdale by the skin of my teeth. I ran through the airport as quickly as I could and reached my flight as it was beginning to board.
Naturally, I’m sad to be leaving Dominica. It was such an amazing experience that taught me a great deal about what I want to do later on in my life. After seeing such a vibrant country with a culture completely different from that of the United States, I know that I can’t stop traveling and learning. I want to see so much more of the world. Of course, it isn’t that simple, but I can start to think about career decisions that would take me abroad.
This reckoning was especially brought on from a guest lecture by Chris Turton, an Australian man who is working on behalf of UNICEF to provide humanitarian aid in the wake of Hurricane Maria. He coordinates with local groups to reduce unemployment across Dominica, and he has also been stationed in places like Jordan and Sri Lanka. Based out of Roseau, Chris supplies families in need with cash aid which helps them feed their children and provide them with school supplies It was only this month that schools opened up again. Learning about what he does was inspiring to me; I want to be able to help people in different parts of the world. I already knew that I’d like to work for an NGO, but now I have a better picture of what I specifically want to do .
During our last full day, I was looking out the window in my room to the ocean when it occurred to me that I had never actually seen a sunset over the ocean. I’ve been on the east coast for essentially my entire life, so I had never had the opportunity to see the sun go down over a body of water as big as the ocean. A little before 6:00 PM, I went up to the roof of the hotel and sat down. The sun was descending slowly over the Caribbean, making the clouds glow in shades of orange and gold. It was a clear evening so I had an excellent vie as only a few clouds were visible across the horizon. I watched as the sun finally sank beneath the waters, and kept my gaze fixed until the last drops of color in the clouds had been absorbed by the sea. After that, I took a moment to take in the setting. This was likely the last time in my life that I would see Dominica. I looked at the colorful roofs, the mountains with peaks surrounded by fog and the calm sea with freight ships in the distance and just took it all in.
Later that night, we went to JR’s–a place across the street from the hotel. We’ve gone every Wednesday, when they do Karaoke night. Locals generally receive us warmly, despite our collectively questionable singing abilities. I myself performed Hey Ya! by Outkast, which most of the bar knew well enough. A standout was Diana’s rendition of I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor, which had the bar clapping along, though nothing could compare to Aileen. Picture this: a 5’2” white girl rapping Lose Yourself by Eminem, a rapper with a music style that is considered notoriously aggressive. She killed her performance and everyone was on their feet. It was really something.
We’ve had so much fun here, it’s going to be hard to go back home especially to the sub-freezing temperatures. Dominica is an incredible place with incredible people and I was lucky enough to experience that. I made new friends and learned so many new things and I’m glad to have something to look back upon so fondly.
