Submitted by Sara Dooley on the 2019 winter session program in Dominica sponsored by the Department of Geography…
Dominica so far has been absolutely breathtaking. We all arrived safely and exhausted, but not so much so that we forgot to notice the views. On our hour and a half drive from the airport to the hotel, we noticed how mountainous the island actually is and how beautiful and bright the stars in the night sky are here. The island is truly gorgeous and deserves the name “The Nature Island”.
Within the amount of time that we have been here, we really feel as though we have been accepted by the locals and are treated as we are ones. We have learned our way around the city of Roseau, where our hotel is, by walking the streets and exploring. We have found many food places. Our favorite spot so far is a little French place called La Petite Paris. Many restaurants in Dominica close around 4:00/5:00 in the afternoon, but La Petite Paris closes later which works for our American dinner time mentality. The restaurant also makes some of the best food I personally have ever tasted (sorry, Mom)! The restaurant workers and locals know and recognize us whenever we see them now. Other friendly locals who may not know us will come up to us and ask us questions. We also have started to feel comfortable enough here to go up to some locals and ask what their favorite things to do/see are or to ask for suggestions on where we should go or what we should eat, they are very helpful.
We have done many fun things since we have been here. Just within this short time, we have had dinner with some of the dignitaries here, visited the Carib Territory (the indigenous people of Dominica), had 3 guest lectures, toured the Indian River (Calypso’s home from Pirates of the Caribbean movie), volunteered our time at the Alpha School (for children with disabilities), toured the botanical gardens and Emerald Pool. My favorite thing we have done so far is visit the Alpha School and work with the children. I spent the day walking around to multiple different aged group classes and observing how they learn. I also was able to sit with some of the younger children and do some crafts that the teacher had assigned them. Spending time with the children and seeing how much they enjoy the school really made me happy because many children here with disabilities are hidden away and kept from schooling. We enjoyed our time there so much that we plan on going back before the program is over to volunteer more of our time!
Being here has been kind of a culture shock for all of us. We didn’t expect the people to be so outgoing and friendly and it was slightly off putting at first. The food has been mostly chicken, rice, fruit and salad. They drive on the other side of the roads here, the roads are very winding and go up and down the mountains and the drivers beep at each other for so many different reasons (even just to say hi). One thing that we found odd at first is that children would see us and come up to hug us. We found out later that since Dominica is very mono-ethnic, children are not used to seeing people who look like us and they get very excited when they do. We are growing so accustomed to these things that when we get back home it will be hard going back to our old ways. One thing is for sure, I am enjoying the 80 degree weather and the sunny beaches and am in no way ready to go home just yet!
