A Link To Old Pics

One of the things I wanted to do during my vacation was get some old pics online. Well, I started putting some online when I realized I probably already had them online. As many people know, we did have our own website: www.heatherandkeith.com. We decided not to continue it when we knew we were leaving the country because it costs money to keep it up and using google's blogspot is easy and free. Plus I can post a blog from any computer. Here is a link to the pictures I had up on our previous website:
http://littleshopofmemories.com/copper/

I will also put the link to the right side of the blog. I have gone through a few pictures and albums and deleted some. If there are any out there that anyone wants me to delete let me know and I will do that.  When you click on the link above you will see different categories of pictures.  One of them is called "Elena's Pictures"  For some of you who don't know, Elena was a German high school student who lived with us for one school year.  These are all the pictures from her camera and Alex and us are in many of them.  For example, we all went to Las Vegas for my sisters wedding and those pictures are under her name.  I will have to figure out how to switch those pictures to another group if I can.

Fun with Friends and Cousins

We've been busy the last few days.  Alex lets me know often that she does not want to go back to Dominica.  I think it is because she is getting to play with her cousins and friends almost everyday.  She also gets spoiled by the grandparents.  

The day after Christmas we headed down to Mankato to check on our house and have dinner at Jim and Becky's house.  Alex is good friends with their daughter, Beth.  She was so excited to go see her.  They made a huge mess of Jim and Becky's house.  We picked up the toys once but that didn't last long.  Alex also wanted to spend the night and was not happy to leave!  The next day we celebrated my grandfather's 91st Birthday at my sister's house.  Alex didn't want to leave that night either because she was having so much fun playing with her cousins.  Today, her cousin, Zoe, came over and I took them to Edinborough Park in Edina.  They had fun and wore me out.  Alex was a little scared of the tall and dark tunnels so I crawled through them with her.  I took a picture of the tunnels and slides.  It's quite tall and  I nearly broke out in a sweat!  

Click below for all the recent pics:

2008-12-28 fun with beth and zoe

Christmas in Minnesota

Alex had a fun time playing with all her cousins and she met her brand new cousin, Kara, just born this past Monday. Kara's mom, left the hospital on Wednesday morning and was still able to come to the family gathering on Christmas Eve at Keith's mom's house. Alex didn't get too close and seemed to be a little jealous when I held her. On Christmas Day we spent the day with my family in Apple Valley. Click below to see the pics:

Christmas 2008 in Minnesota

Alexandra's 3rd Birthday

Alex had so much fun meeting up with her friends. On Friday night, we celebrated her birthday with her cousin, Zoe, Aunt Missie, her big grandpa and grandma, and grandpa and nanna. She was so happy to be home and had fun playing with her cousin, Zoe, that she missed so much. Then on Saturday we went to Chuck E. Cheese and she met up with many more of her little friends. She had fun playing the games, but was a little scared of Chuck E. Cheese and didn't really want to have anything to do with him. We're glad all the kids had a lot of fun. But after doing this once, we will not do it again. It was way too expensive for what we got. Here are some pics from her birthday celebrations:

Alexandra's 3rd Birthday

Our Fun Trip Back to Minnesota

Our trip home yesterday was a long one! I had heard horror stories of Liat before. One girl told me the plane just simply didn't show up! Another told me of them making her purchase another ticket when she got to the ticket counter, and many countless other stories. Well, never did I realize that they are all right! Liat is the worst airline and I would never recommend them to anyone!!!

First of all we got to the airport at 5am when they opened. We all waited until the ticket counter agents showed up at 6. The airport was really unorganized. I had never seen anyone like it. Many people were getting upset and maybe didn't need to get THAT upset. Our flight had been changed from 7am to 8:30am so we were not worried. At 8:30 the plane was not there, and nobody could tell us where the plane was. Finally an hour or so later, they said the plane would be an hour late. An hour passed and it didn't show up. They still couldn't tell us where exactly the plane was. Was it in the air? Was it having mechanical problems? Finally the plane showed up around noon and we boarded and took off to Puerto Rico. Liat, the airline, is supposed to transmit the passenger list to the customs department in Puerto Rico before landing. Well, they didn't. So that also held us up. We were supposed to be on a flight on American to Dallas at 12:45 which we missed. We went to the American Airlines counter and they said that Liat should be rescheduling the flight for us. So we walked to the Liat counter, and they said they could not help us because they only deal with paper tickets and not electronic tickets. They also told us that we would be penalized and would have to pay a fee. Well, this did not make us happy because we did nothing wrong and didn't feel like we should have to pay for a mistake that wasn't ours. They basically washed their hands of us when this was totally their fault. I was almost in tears. I was worried that we wouldn't get home that night and would have to not only pay to change our flight, but also pay for a night at a hotel. So I ended up calling the travel agency we used to book the flight, Austin Travel, and they got us fixed up with another flight going to Miami at 5pm, and then onto Minneapolis. We were lucky we did not have to pay for anything or stay the night in a hotel. Others either had to pay or flew on standby and some had to stay in a hotel at their own expense.

We hope to try to fly American Eagle in the future. Even if that means booking our flight six months ahead of time. I would even take a ferry to Guadalupe or St. Lucia to avoid Liat. Unfortunately we have already booked our return flight with them for Jan. 11th, from St. Maarten then to St. Lucia for a layover, then to Dominica. Hopefully we won't have any problems.

Keith's First Semester is Finished

Keith had his final exam today.  He is so glad to be finally finished.  He says he feels like he is on vacation now.  So we decided to go for a walk when he got home from his exam.  Then we decided we would try a new restaurant in Portsmouth called "Adaj".  It is a Creole, American, and Italian restaurant.  Keith had the shrimp and I had the salmon.  It was soooo good and probably one of my best meals since I've been on the island.  Here is Alex and Keith on our way to Adaj.  Tomorrow we plan to go snorkeling while Alex is at school during the morning.  This will be Keith's first time snorkeling in Dominica and he's been here since August.

Everyday Rainbows

This past week has been really rainy. We've seen rainbows everyday. Sometimes numerous times a day. Today Alex and I went to a little pool party for a child's birthday at her school. It rained a few times but it didn't stop the kids from having fun. The weird thing about Dominica is that it can be clear skies and sunny above us and still rain. The rain must come down from the clouds you see over the mountains.

Keith did good on his third mini exam. Now he is studying for his final exam which is on Tuesday. We can't wait for thursday to come. We are leaving for the airport at 3:45 in the morning. I am a little worried about flying Liat. They overbook their flights and the flights are full on the day we leave. So many times people are left waiting for the next flight. Which wouldn't be so bad if we were staying the night in Puerto Rico like most people.

Here are some pictures from today and during the past week:

2008-12-13 playing at the park and pool

Here is a little video of Alex at the park:

Alex's School Holiday Program

Here is a video from the Alex's school Holiday program.  I wish she was in the video but she was so upset when she saw us that she didn't want to sit with her school friends.  So this is a video of some of the other children in her daycare.  The little guy playing the piano is named Coco.  She plays with him a lot in daycare.

Keith had his third mini today and has his final exam next tuesday.  A week from today we will be on a plane heading home!  We are so excited!

I'm Getting Bored of Facebook

This is such a funny video:

A New Caribbean Airline

I found out that there is a new airline flying in and out of Dominica.  This is great news because there are currently only two airlines that I know of that fly here: Liat and American Eagle.

http://gocaribbean.about.com/b/2008/12/07/dominica-gets-new-air-service.htm

Purple Turtle Beach

Today there was a little gathering at Purple Turtle Beach with some other kids and their mom's. Alex met up with her little friend, Sarah, and they had so much fun in the water. I think the little tube I bought Alex has made her enjoy the water much more. Today she wasn't afraid of the ocean water and swam around with her float. Click the picture below for more pictures.

Keith is now finished with classes and has a couple more exams. He just had an Anatomy and Histology practical and has his third mini on Wednesday. Then on the 16th he has his final exam. On Dec. 18th we come home and are so excited. Keith will be studying a lot and we will have one day on the island before we leave. I have been thinking about something we can do as a family, that Alex can participate in. I am thinking about whale watching or hanging out on the beach. After going to Purple Turtle today and seeing Cabrits National Park, I was thinking that might be a good thing to do.

I have also been thinking about everything I want to do when I go home. I miss the conveniences of home. The nice grocery stores, comfortable beds, refrigerated milk, and a car. I can't wait to relax on a comfortable couch and eat steak. I hope Keith and I can go to a movie and possibly get some skiing in if we can find our winter stuff. Alex's third birthday is Dec. 20th. We are planning to celebrate it at Chuck e Cheese at 2pm in Burnsville. Alex is so excited to see her little friends. If any of Alex's little friends out there read this and want to come let me know.

2008-12-06 purple turtle beach

Swimming with Alex

Here is a video of Alex swimming at the Ross University swimming pool.  She is getting so brave and is having fun in the water.  In the second half of the video she noticed a toy on the other side of the pool and she paddled her way over to get it.  

I just wish this youtube video was better quality.

Rainbows

We see a lot of rainbows here in Dominica. Here are a few pictures of one we saw yesterday. Alex loves looking at them.

Thanksgiving in Dominica

It is late and I am ready for bed... so I will just attach the photos that I uploaded to picasa.  I have put descriptions on the pics so you know what we did today.  Alex had a lot of fun and was out as soon as we got home from our Thanksgiving Dinner.

We are coming home in exactly three weeks from today!  We can't wait!!!

2008-11-27 Thanksgiving in Dominica

This is For Sarah

When I went snorkeling last week we saw a sea snake.  It scared me and I could only think of Sarah, who is terrified of snakes!  I was paranoid the rest of the time I was in the water!

Only 3 1/2 Weeks Left

2008-11-19 Alex in Dominica

Click on the picture above to view more recent pictures of Alex.  She spends a lot of time playing at the park and going to the pool.  She is always meeting her friends there and sometimes when nobody is there she has her teddy bear to play with.  A few pics were of a pool party we went to, to celebrate two children's birthdays.  There are also some pics from a few Saturdays ago when I babysat Landon, a friend from Alex's school.  Alex loves having friends come over.  Her and Landon had a lot of fun chasing each other around the house, jumping on the bed, and playing hide and go seek with daddy.

I have had to start putting my pictures on my picasaweb because Keith's is all out of space.  We have been blogging on google for so long that there are many pictures there.  So if anyone wants to peruse the old pics here is the link:

http://picasaweb.google.com/keith590

Before we had bratulich.blogspot.com we had heatherandkeith.com  We let that site go when I had seen other blogspots.  This way is less expensive and easier.  I can update the blog from any computer.  There were a lot of pics on heatherandkeith.com that I will have to start adding to picasaweb one of these days.  Maybe that will be a project for when I return home.

This Thursday is Thanksgiving.  Alex's school is having a Thanksgiving lunch which we are thankful for.  They will have turkey and everyone is bringing a dish to share.  It is nice they are doing this for us since Thanksgiving is not a holiday here.  Tomato's is also having a Thanksgiving feast at their restaurant.  We might have to stop there to check that out for dinner.  We will miss being home for this holiday.  Only three and half more weeks left until we come home!

I Hate Brown Water!

My Friday didn't start out the best.  As you all know the water turns brown after it rains!

On Thursday night, it rained all night and it kept me awake.  Well, in the morning I totally forgot that the water would of been brown.  So I brushed my teeth and then put some water in my mouth from the sink.  Then I looked down and saw the brown water!  I, of course, spit the water out.  I was so disgusted I thought I was going to puke.  I used mouth wash right away, but I gagged and ended up swallowing the mouthwash!  I was worried I would get sick the whole day! 

Fortunately, I didn't.

Here is Alex and I in Roseau, Dominica, on Friday afternoon.  This was the first time that I had seen a cruise ship.  It is officially cruise ship season!  It was busy with tourists, and beggars.  

Beach Bum Alex

Here's Alex at the Ross University Pool.  She has been having a lot of fun there lately.  A few weekends ago we were there the whole day.  Last weekend we went back for a "Kids day at the pool" gathering.  Today after lunch Alex and I went back.  We were there for about three hours.  Alex is getting more comfortable with the water and is jumping to me from the side and she is letting me carry her around the pool.  Today we played "Ring Around the Rosie" about a million times. 

She is also becoming a bilingual little girl.  Well, she has always been learning a second language different exchange students we have had living with us.  She used to say "Wan An"- Chinese for- "Good Night".  Unfortunately, she has already forgotten that.  I still say it to her but not often enough for her to remember.  Now, everyday on our way to daycare she stops to say hello, or "bon jour" to the women that work at the shacks near our house.  We stop there after daycare, on our way home for lunch, and she says good-bye, or "Au Revoir".  She is saying it all the time now.  

Keith has been spending all of his time studying!  I have been snorkeling about once a week and go to the gym as much as I can.  I have gone the gym everyday this week and plan to go snorkeling tomorrow.  I always tease Keith and tell him how stressed out I am living here!  

We can't wait to come home!  December 18th at 7am our flight leaves Dominica.  We arrive in Minneapolis around 10pm that night.  I'm so glad we can get home in one day.

Primary Pulmonary Hypertension

Today is the first Primary Pulmonary Hypertension Awareness Blogging Day! Tuesday, November 18th. So I decided to put a link in my blog today for Evelyn's Caringbridge website:
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/evelynkeltgen

At about six weeks old she was diagnosed with PPH (primary pulmonary hypertension). And has been undergoing many tests and procedures throughout her life. She is currently seeing doctors at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, MN and in Denver, Co.At the time I had no idea what PPH was. I don't think I can explain it either so here are a few websites that explain it:

http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4752
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulmonary_hypertension
http://www.phassociation.org/

The last link is the Primary Hypertension Awareness website.

Unfortunately, Alex hasn't had a chance to play with Evelyn a lot because they need to keep her away from other children for the first few years of her life. It is much harder on her if she gets sick. So she does not go to daycare and they have to have a home nurse come in. Hopefully, Alex will get a chance to play with her in the future.

This is What our Water Looks Like After it Rains!

Ok, how gross is this!  We moved here during the rainy season so this is not new to us.  This is what our water looks like coming out of the tap and shower after it rains.  Wouldn't you love to take a shower in this??? 

Just before I finished making lunch the water got turned off, so even if we wanted to take a shower in this disgusting water, we couldn't.  I do have a stock pile of water in the cupboard, but I have been using it to wash my hands, for cooking, and cleaning the counter tops.

Emerald Pool and Carib Territory

,Today Alex and I went to the Carib Territory and Emerald Pool. We started out our morning on a lengthy bus ride to the Carib Territory. The Caribs were Dominica's first people. The Carib name was originally used by the Europeans to describe them. The word, Kalinago, is the word to describe these people. There are now about 3000 of them left and they live in a territory that is now set aside for them. There are eight different villages and the one we went to today was near the Crayfish River Village. There is a cultural village set up so they can share their history and traditions with us. Unfortunately, we didn't see the "real" village. They had different things set up for us to see as we walked along a path in a "typical village". The tour guide was a Carib. So we did learn a lot from her. All the villages are near each other and they had a sign at the entrance of each village indicating which village it was. Here is the Kalinago Cultural Village website:

http://www.kalinagobaranaaute.com/

On the way out of the village we wanted to stop and buy some Cassava bread but unfortunately they didn't have any available. It is interesting to see how they make this bread. I took many pictures so you will have to click on the link below to see them.

Here are a few more interesting websites about the Kalinago:

http://www.kalinagopeople.com/

http://www.avirtualdominica.com/caribs.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassava

http://www.lennoxhonychurch.com/article.cfm?id=389

Afterwards we drove to the Morne Trois Pitons National Park to see the Emerald Pool. We hiked for about 15 minutes in the rainforest to get there. It was a beautiful hike and very easy! Which was good, especially since I had Alex. Luckily there weren't a lot of people there either. When the cruise ships come to Dominica this is a popular destination for the tourists.

http://www.everywheremag.com/photos/15329

http://www.friendsofworldheritage.org/wh-sites/morne-trois-pitons-dominica.html

Here are the pics I took from our trip today:

2008-11-11 Carib Territory and Emerald Pool

Roseau Weekend

Keith had his second big exam this last week. He was very happy with his scores. He was only a few points away from getting an A in Biochemistry! So we celebrated by spending the weekend in Roseau, at the Fort Young Hotel. We were in heaven!

http://www.fortyounghotel.com/index2.cfm

We left Saturday morning on the free bus ride that the school provides on Saturday morning.
We didn't think our room would be ready yet so we stopped in for coffee and tea at Rituals Coffee. This is basically the closest thing Dominica has to Starbucks.

http://www.ritualscoffeehouse.com/

After walking around a bit we decided to check in with the hotel. Luckily the room was ready!

We were so happy as soon as we walked into the room. It was so clean and comfortable. The bed was like the beds back home (with a box spring and a full mattress) and it was air conditioned. The view was spectacular.

After checking out our room we decided to walk to Dominica's Botanical Gardens. It was only a short walk from the Hotel which wasn't bad with Alex. They had a lot of different trees and shrubbery. Alex was only concerned about one thing though. Seeing the parrots. Dominica has two parrots that are indigenous to the area, the Sisserou and Jaco parrots. The Botanical Gardens has an aviary that houses the parrots. Unfortunately they were hard to see.

http://www.rarespecies.org/dom.html

Then we saw a sign that said "Jack's Walk". So we decided to hike up the steps and into the rainforest. It was about a 15 minute hike, all uphill. It was hard with Alex so unfortunately, Alex and I didn't make it all the way up. Keith did, and he took a ton of pics. There was a beautiful view of Roseau and the Caribbean sea and there were also big statues of crosses up there too.

Here are some pics from the weekend:

2008-11-09 Roseau Weekend

It seems there is a virus going around in Alex's School. The hands feet and mouth virus. A few of the kids have it. Alex hasn't gotten it yet and I hope she doesn't. This week Alex and I are planning to take a trip to the Carib Territory and Emerald Pool.

Election Day in Dominica

Keith has been studying so much for his second exam.  So Alex and I spent most of the weekend at the pool at the University.  As you can see from the picture of Alex painting, she has red cheeks.  She did get a lot of sun.  Her skin is so fair that I always have to make sure to put enough sunscreen on her.  I guess I didn't get enough on her cheeks.  She loves the pool and especially loves it when there are other little kids there to play with.  She is still scared of the ocean though.  We still have a lot to work on there.  

After the mini, we went to PBH for dinner.  They were having a big Election Day Bash!  We got to watch the news while we were eating.  Unfortunately, everything we wanted to order on the menu was not available.  There was no lobster, crab, chicken, and who knows what else they didn't have.  So we ordered the nachos and a black bean soup for Alex.  She surprisingly liked it.  We didn't stay long because we wanted to watch the election coverage in the comfort of our own home.  The locals here are so happy!  They love Obama!  

Today, Keith is back to studying.   He is going back to what they covered before the first exam so he can be prepared for the final exam.  The next major exam is about a week before the final exam.  

This weekend, I decided to book us a hotel stay in Roseau.  I chose Fort Young Hotel because I know others that have been there.  It is air conditioned and it has American beds.  I am so excited!!!  We can relax and hopefully get a good nights sleep.  Here is the link to this site:

http://www.fortyounghotel.com/index2.cfm

While I'm in Roseau for the weekend I will need to find some makeup.  I didn't bring any extra with me.  And just a hint for anybody that reads this that is coming to the island.  Bring extra!  I have tried to find powder or concealer and they do not carry it for my skin color!  Now if you have a darker skin color you will not have a problem!  

I think I am ready to buy a stroller now too.  I didn't bring one and I am crazy for it!  I can't stand it any longer!  I sweat like crazy carrying Alex around.  Let's see, today I went through two outfits, and I took a shower three times!  My life would be so much easier with a stroller.  I am looking into buying one from anyone who is leaving the island.

Independence Day in Dominica

Today is National Independence Day in Dominica. So Keith didn't have class today. Although he did study all day long because he has his second mini exam tomorrow. Alex and I spent the whole day at the pool on campus. Alex had so much fun and loves being in the water. Although only the pool water, not the ocean water. She is still terrified of the ocean. Hopefully she will get over it. I did watch a little bit of the Independence Day celebrations on TV. Here is a link to some Dominica news in regards to today:
http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-11894--31-31--.html

I also have a new video to show everyone. Keith is trying to teach Alex to say Bill O'reilly's opening line in The Factor. He wants her to be good at it for when we go home so she can say it to Grandpa. I will have to record her again when she can say the whole line on her own.

Only 46 days before we come home! We are so excited and are counting down the days!

Alex's Fun Halloween

Alex had a fun week of lots of candy and friends.  She got a lot of use out of her Snow White Ballerina outfit.  Last Sunday night she went to a Halloween party at someone's house.  She got to search for candy around the house and eat it.  They also had some games for the kids to play.  Alex was too scared to hit the pinata with a baseball bat, but she had a lot of fun playing with her friends.  Here are some pics from that party:

2008-10-26 Halloween Party

Then on Thursday the kids got to participate in a trick or treating parade around campus.  They did it on Thursday because Friday was Creole Day for the Dominicans.  The parade was at 1 o'clock and Alex was a little tired.  Here are some pics from that event:

Halloween Parade and Party at Ross University in Dominica

On Friday she wore her Creole Dress to school.  I had been working on her to say "Bon Jour" to the Dominicans.  She needed a little prodding to say it.  She knows the word from a Fancy Nancy book she has.  Then in the evening she went to a Halloween Party on campus.  She had so much fun.  She got to fish for candy and play a musical game with numbers.   She played and played the games until she didn't even want the cupcakes or candy anymore when she would win.   She didn't want to go home either.  Here are some pics from that party:

 

Halloween Parade and Party at Ross University

Keith has his next major exam on Tuesday.  He has been studying a lot so we hope he does well.  We'll let you know.  He feels pretty confident about it.  Monday is Dominica's Independence Day so everything will be closed.  There are a lot of parties going on this weekend for the Dominicans.  This is also the weekend of the World Creole Festival!  This is a huge festival and people fly here from all over the world to see it.  The national holiday on Monday means that everything will be closed.  Keith told me to get money out of the machine after the Halloween party.  I went to one, and it was out of money.  Thankfully I found some at another machine.  Apparantly it is common for the credit card machines to stop working so we needed to have cash.  Today our internet didn't work and our water was turned off.  Maybe this has to do with the holiday weekend, I'm not sure.

Trafalgar Falls and Screws Spa

On Tuesday, Alex and I went to Trafalgar Falls and Screws Sulphur Spa. The hike to reach Trafalgar Falls was only about ten minutes which was easy to do with Alex. It was also her first time seeing waterfalls (except for Minneopa Falls in Mankato but I doubt she remembers that, she was just a baby). When we got to the deck to view the falls we took some pictures then climbed down to the bottom. Alex was too scared of the water and didn't want to go in. The water to me felt like a hot bath. I was surprised at how warm it was. When Alex first put her foot in she thought it was hot and wanted nothing to do with it. She hasn't experienced a hot bath in a while and I'm sure she has forgotten what it feels like. Afterwards we headed to Screws Spa. On the way we passed an Obama billboard. Everyone here loves Obama and they are all glued to the election coverage on the TV. I was surprised to find a billboard here in Dominica so we stopped the bus to take a picture!

Screws Spa was awesome! I loved it! They had different pools of water ranging in temperature from cold to hot. I think Alex loved it too and is getting a little more comfortable around water. She even let me hold her in the water. A local who was there told me the sulphur would heel my mosquito bites, so I made sure to soak my legs in the water. Well, it's been a few days and they still aren't gone!

On to my computer, they say the motherboard needs to be replaced... I don't think I will be fixing it and will just wait to come home and take care of it. It just bites to not have skype during the day and I have to wait till Keith comes home from studying in the evenings to use the computer.

We have also had some interesting insects in our house lately. Centipedes! I hate them! They are gross! They are also predatory and bite! I have found quite a few! This has also made it hard for me to sleep at night! After finding a somewhat bigger one one night I called our landlord the next day to tell him we were moving out! There was no way I was going to live with centipedes! But today, after looking at two different places to live I found out that there is nothing I can do and that this is the environment. So today I called the landlord back and said we wouldn't be moving. He must think I'm crazy!

Here are some new pics:

Trafalgar Falls and Screws Sulphur Spa

Alex in her Creole Dress

Here is Alex in her Creole dress before heading to school on Friday.  She will wear it again next Friday, as it is Creole Day.  These clothes are so cute.  I got this dress from a street vendor in Roseau for only 35EC.  I am going back to Roseau on Monday and I am thinking of getting another one.  

Next Friday is also Halloween, but the school is celebrating it on Thursday with a parade.  Alex will go dressed as Snow White.  Hopefully she will not be too tired to participate in the parade. 

Tomorrow there is a Halloween bash that Alex and I will go to and she will dress up in her Snow White Ballerina outfit then too.  Hopefully it won't rain.  For some reason it doesn't seem to be raining as much anymore.   Maybe the rainy season is coming to an end.

We have had a bad luck week with animals.  The baby kitten we found has also passed away.  It was weird because it was eating just fine.  Both Keith and I fed it during the night and I could of swore I heard him meow in the middle of the night.  But when I got up the next morning he had passed.  The stray dog that Alex and I were feeding also passed away.  A neighbor, who works with PAWS, and an animal lover called a vet and the vet came and took the dog home to sleep on their porch because it was clearly not healthy.  The dog died the next morning.  Unfortunately the dog was poisoned.  Alex has been asking about them.  I don't think she would understand so I told her they went to see their mommy's.  She now thinks we have a dog and cat though.  At least their are plenty around for her to call her own.

Alex and Her New Animal Friends

A few days ago we noticed this sad dog roaming around our neighborhood. He is so skinny and looks so hungary. So after lunch we brought out our leftovers for him. He drank about three bowls of water right away too. This isn't the first dog we've fed. There are many stray dogs around Dominica. Later that day we saw him panting really hard by the apartments across the street. A girl who volunteers with PAWS called a vet to come look at him. Apparantly he had been poisoned and needed some vitamin K. I found out that this is not uncommon. The locals will feed the dogs rat poison when they are annoyed with them. I hope this dog gets better. I don't think they do anybody any harm and are just looking for food. Alex loves feeding the animals and gets excited whenever she comes across any animal.

I am now using Keith's computer to update this blog. Which will be hard to update since he is using it all the time to study and uses it in class. My computer has issues. Now it won't turn on. I am so bummed because I used that computer all the time to keep in touch with everyone back home. Alex used it too to watch some of her video's. If we can't get it fixed here we may have to wait until we come home in December.

Our flight leaves Dominica on Dec. 18th. We are excited to come home to cold weather and a comfortable bed. I also can't wait to give my legs some time to heel from all the mosquito bites.

Here is a video of Alex singing a few of her favorite songs:

Creole Day

Today I went shopping in Roseau with a couple other spouses. We took a bus which wasn't that bad. It was only 9ec each way. I love Roseau! It is so nice to be in a bigger city where they have real grocery stores! I wanted to get Alex a creole outfit to wear to school on Friday's and buy some chips (chips are hard to come by here). At Alex's school, the teachers dress in their traditional colorful creole clothes on Friday and they also have some island fruit set out on a colorful tablecloth. I have been looking for an outfit for Alex and knew I wanted to go to Roseau to find something. I think things a little less expensive there. Here is Dominica's Calendar of events for their Creole Day and Independence Day:

http://www.avirtualdominica.com/independence.cfm#sched

Their Independence Day is November 3rd. On Nov. 3rd, 1978, Dominica gained it's independence from Great Britain. So there won't be any class on Nov. 3rd. Also, the last weekend in October is the World Creole Music Festival. I was hoping we could go but Keith has his next exam on Nov. 4th. That's a bummer. This is a big festival and people fly to Dominica from all of the world.

http://www.wcmfdominica.com/

Today, I also tried to find some shoes for Alex as she is growing out of her sandals. But they don't have the sizes I'm used to and I don't know the conversion so I will have to bring her along with me next time. We also stopped at a cute little place that sells spices, spicy salsas, and rum punches. I took a pic inside before I realized there were no pictures aloud. It seems like a great place for gift buying so I will have to stop there again before I head home for Christmas. I did get a papaya salsa that I tried when I got home and it is extremely spicy! I have also been looking all over the island for Karo syrup or corn syrup. Apparantly they don't have that here and nobody seems to know what it is. I had not been to KFC yet so I had to stop in there and grab some chicken before coming home. I thought it would be a nice treat and it sure is!

Click below for new pictures. I have a picture I took of some diapers at a grocery store in Roseau. Now you will know what I mean when I say things are expensive! This pack of diapers was 74 EC. Can you believe it? I will post again when Alex wears her new outfit!

2008-10-21 Swimming and Roseau

A New Kitty

The other day we heard a kitten meowing from on top of this abandoned semi trailer by our house. The kitten was so small it had to of been one or two weeks old. We left it there because we figured the mother would come back to feed it. Well a day and a half later some other students had stopped by our house because they heard the meowing. We got him down off the trailer and took him in for the night. Alex was so excited! The kitten was so hungry but we didn't have a dropper or any other way to feed him. He wouldn't eat on his own and wanted his mommy. The next morning we went out and got a dropper and fed him. After his feeding he took a long nap. Everytime I would tell Alex that the kitten needed his mommy, she would say "the kitty doesn't need his mommy, he wants to live with us". She is so excited about having a kitten in our house. She wants to help feed him and take care of him. I'm not sure if I want to keep him. It is too hard to get attached to a cat and then give him up when we leave the island. We will give it a week before we decide.

There are many stray animals on the island. There are about four dogs that hang out in the area where we live. Keith has started to feed one every once in a while so now he always comes back. Now everytime we see that dog Alex calls it her dog. It is so cute.

Here is another video we took from the storm:

Here are few interesting website about Dominica:

http://lennoxhonychurch.com/home.cfm

http://www.liquidguru.com/dominicaHtm/domDivingindex.htm

A Tropical Storm in Dominica

Pics of the dock at Portsmouth Beach Hotel Beach.

Last night we didn't get much sleep, usually it is because the bugs or the heat but this time it stormed all night long. So I was glad to take Alex to daycare in the morning. I figured I would be able to go back home and catch up on some sleep. But about an hour later Keith comes home from class with Alex. Apparantly they had cancelled classes today because of a tropical storm. Hurricane Omar went to the north of us, but we did get some strong weather from it. We also lost our electricity for a few hours and didn't have internet at all today until around 2pm (This morning I checked my email on campus though and they did have internet). While Alex and Keith took a nap together I decided to go outside and see what this storm was all about. It didn't really seem that bad from our house. But as I got closer to the ocean the weather was worse. It was more windy and the waves from the ocean were huge. I walked to Portsmouth Beach Hotel Beach where many of the students seemed to be enjoying their time off of class and watching the waves and drinking beer. The dock that used to be there is not safe to use anymore. The water was up to the restaurant and the waves were very strong. I haven't seen anything like it before. I took some pics and video of it then decided to walk to Picard Grocery for some water (since our water is dark brown and absolutely disgusting).

Here is a video of the storm:

Here are some more recent video's.

Babysitting with Alex:

Alex calling her friends and inviting them to her birthday:

Middleham Falls and Titou Gorge

Today I went on a trip with some of the other med student spouses to Middleham Falls and Titou Gorge. It was so beautiful! I am again thankful for my keen shoes that I brought. We first hiked to Middleham Falls. It was about a 45 minute hike one way through the rainforest. There was lots of walking up hill, up steps, and sometimes climbing. It was worth it though. When we finally made it to the falls it started to rain, but that didn't stop us from taking a dip in the water. It was freezing! The waterfall was also very powerful. When I went down into the water I could hardly see a thing from all the spray. I wish I would of brought along a waterproof camera with me. Some of the other girls with waterproof cameras are going to post the pics on Facebook. This waterfall is supposedly the tallest waterfall on the island and is located in the Morne Trois Pitons National Park. After the hike back to the bus we went to Ti Tou Gorge. Again, some of the Pirates of the Caribbean 2 was filmed here. The water was freezing but refreshing. I couldn't bring my camera because you have to swim inside the gorge to the waterfalls. It was so neat and beautiful. I can't wait to go back! I am sure I will be sore tomorrow. My legs were still shaking by the time I got home.

Here's a link to give you more info about the area:

http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/morne.html

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/caribb/dm.htm

Later on in the week I plan to go snorkeling. I hope it doesn't rain!

Here are some pics from the hike:

2008-10-14 Middleham Falls and Ti tou Gorge

Shopping Trip to Roseau

This past Friday, Alex and I, took a bus trip to Roseau the capital with some other spouses. It was a nice air conditioned bus for the hour long bus ride! Alex had fun because there was another little girl there she got to play with. We went to three different grocery stores and they were all much bigger than any grocery store you can find around Picard or Portsmouth. My favorite was IGA because it is air conditioned and it is the first time I had seen refrigerated Milk and produce. I was in heaven! If only I had brought my cooler along to buy more stuff. They also had a lot of items you can get in the United States, of course they are more expensive. But who cares! I bought some bacon from Florida, Prego spaghetti sauce, some tostitos, a few cans of soup, cheddar cheese, and grapes. They had grapes! That was a nice treat and they were gone as soon as we got home.

Before heading out to the third grocery store we had lunch at a coffee shop called, Rituals Coffee. The inside was just like a starbucks and they served food. Alex had a strawberry cooler and I had an iced mocha and tuna sandwich. It felt like home and I can't wait to come back and do some more shopping on my own. The last grocery store was a warehouse type store called Breezy's. There was a little park outside that Alex and the other little girl, Sarah, played in. Alex was so excited when she saw the park from the bus, she could hardly get off the bus fast enough.

Keith had his first exam on Monday. He has done nothing but study so I hope he did well. I think he will find out later this week on his score. He said the test wasn't has hard as he though it would be. Maybe that's because he studies so much. We pretty much only see him during lunch and dinner time. There was a lot of festivities the night after the exam. Of course nobody had to study. So there was a big beach bash. We got a few free t-shirts from there then we went out to dinner at Tomato's. Alex was happy to have some fun with daddy.

Click below for some more new pics:

2008-10-08 Trip to Roseau

Our Life so Far in Dominica

I have been in Dominica for three weeks now. I am getting used to the heat. At first I drank water like crazy just to keep myself hydrated. Now I don't drink as much water. My body must be getting acclimated to the heat. I remember my bus ride to Portsmouth. I didn't realize they drive on the wrong side (or should I say the right side) of the street. Also, most vehicles have the steering wheel on the right side. We also really have to keep an eye on Alex because cars don't yield to people, people yield to cars.

At our home we pre-pay for our electricity. Electricity is very expensive, therefore we don't use air conditioning. At first it was unbearable, but not so much anymore. Thankfully I brought a fan with and the place we live in has a fan as well. We have a wall unit that tells us how many units we have left. When it gets down to 30 units it beeps at us to tell us it is getting low and to go get more. I would say in a months time our electricity usage has cost us about 250 EC. We really try to watch our electricity usage. We even turn off the outlet to the microwave when we aren't using it. Some people have complained about their electricity going out often. For us, it has only gone out a few times which isn't bad. At least we brought along some candles and a solar powered flashlight.

Our oven uses propane gas. I have used the range quite a few times and tonight I used the oven for the first time to make some bacon cheddar muffins for dinner. I had no idea where the pilot light was to turn on the oven. Thankfully the landlord was nearby and he showed me. Our propane tank sits under our sink and we have to have someone pick us up a new one when it runs out as we don't have a car.

Seeing as how we don't have a car and we knew we would not be getting a car before coming here we decided to get good shoes to walk in. Both Keith and I bought Keen's. They are the best! We both love them! I would recommend to anyone coming here to get them! They are waterproof, which is a plus because it rains here everyday, and they are also like sandals. The public transportation is very easy to use. To go from Picard (where Ross University is) to Portsmouth is only 1.50EC each way. The buses are like vans and you can just tell them to stop anywhere you want along the way.

We also don't have hot water in the kitchen. Sometimes if I feel like being clean I heat up water on the stove to make it hot. But mostly I just use the cold water with some occasional bleach. In the bathroom we do have hot water. There is a swich outside the bathroom to turn it on. Sometimes it is not always hot. But that is ok since it is so hot here. Taking a cool shower feels nice.

The locals are very nice. And they are also very helpful when you ask them a question about food and where to go for certain things. One thing I have learned to do is ask the price of something before picking it out.

I've added a couple new video's from the past few weeks on youtube. Here is the link to them:

Batibou Beach/Hampstead Bay

Today (tuesday), there was an outing to Batibou Beach, also known as Hampstead Bay. It's a white sand beach on the atlantic side of Dominica. It was so beautiful. Especially when you see it from above. Apparantly a scene from Pirates of the Caribbean was filmed at this location. I don't even remember the movie but now I would like to see it again. On our walk down we saw some bay leaves that we picked and as a snack we had a coconut. It is so amazing that we had this whole beach to ourselves. It is so beautiful and so nice that there aren't any big resorts lining the coast of this island. As we were winding down the day it started to rain then it poured! I guess it is inevitable. It rains here everyday! I can't wait until the rainy season ends in November. Here is a link to a website that shows the location of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie in Dominica:

http://www.dominica.dm/site/maps/pirates.cfm

When you move the curser over the blue dots it gives you information what scene in the movie is shot there.

I have found my new favorite website:
http://www.supercook.com/
At supercook.com you can type in the ingredients you have in your kitchen and it will find recipes that use the ingredients. So a few nights ago I made corn soup. Something that Alex now likes is warm tortillas with peanut butter and slices of bananas. She had two of those yesterday. This website is especially nice for living on this island as it is hard to find a lot of ingredients.

Keith has been studying a lot. He has his first exam on Monday. They call it a "mini" and it covers every subject.

Click below for some new pictures:

2008-09-30 Batibou Beach

Secret Beach

This week I decided I would be brave and try some food from a shack on the side of the road. So I ordered some fish (dolphin fish) for myself and chicken for Keith. It was only 20EC for both of us which is really cheap. The place is called Magda's Cuisine and it wasn't all bad. They didn't take any of the bones out of the fish which was ok. And I didn't get sick which was a bonus. I will have to be more brave and try some other street vendors.

On Friday, it rained, liked always, so Alex and I went to this restaurant, Sweet Refuge, near campus and had some ice cream and cake and played in their game room. They had a giant jenga set and a big connect 4 set and it kept Alex occupied for an hour. It was a nice place to go on a rainy day.

Today Alex and I went on a trip with some other spouses to Secret Beach. A small beach that is secluded and you can only get to it by boat. Alex really liked the boat ride and talked about the boat ride for the rest of the day. She was still scared to get in the water so she played with the sand most of the time and watched all of the crabs walking around. Later that afternoon, Alex, Keith, and I decided to go back and have dinner at the restaurant that is near the Portsmouth Beach. It was really delicious and may be my new favorite restaurant. Alex and I shared fish sticks and french fries and pumpkin soup and Keith had some chicken quesadillas. The view was so beautiful. Click below for new pictures:

2008-09-27 Secret Beach

Cows Cows and More Cows

Alex has been enamored with the cows she sees all around. We have even seen them run through our yard. It must be like going to the zoo for her.. she gets to see cats, dogs, goats, and cows. We got a care package from my parents that included a little cot/bed for Alex. She is taking a nap on it right now. She also uses it to put her bears and other dolls/stuffed animals to bed. It is so cute.

Today after lunch Alex and I walked down to the school to pick up our new cell phone. She wanted to take her care bear in his own stroller. It was so cute. Well, as soon as we entered the gates to the school we saw a bunch of cows. She showed her care bear to the cows. It was so cute that I had to record it.


Here are some new pics:

2008-09-24 cows cows and more cows

Some New Videos

The first one is at a beach near us. Alex is so scared to go in the water but we are working on it.. At least she is getting close now. The second one is a walk up the hill from our house. We always see lots of cows, dogs, and yesterday we saw sheep.

Portsmouth Market

The last few days has been pretty uneventful. It has been raining a lot.. all day long. I was supposed to go to some waterfalls with a group of people but the trip was cancelled because of the rain. Yesterday (friday), I finally got my Ross ID so I can go on campus and use all the services like the gym. I can't wait to start using it while Alex is at daycare. There was a free cookout at the school last night too.. which we went to, but the line was a 'mile long for the food so we ended up going to Brother's for some chinese. I had marlin stir fry which was good.. This morning we went to the market in Portsmouth. I got some plantains, green beans, carrots, oranges, and some peppers. While we were waiting for the bus some girls drove by that I had met at a gathering for the spouses.. they were so nice and picked us up.. They took us to another grocery store that I hadn't been to before where I found some chicken breasts, butter, and cheese... (this was the first time I had seen butter and cheese). At least it's not raining today. I might take Alex down to the beach.

Click here for new pictures:

Eating Guavas with Alex

I bought some more fruit and today we tried a Guava. Alex didn't like it much because there are too many seeds. It was good, but I didn't like the seeds either. You can eat it like an apple, including the rine or outer layer. I have been looking up recipes with some of the fruits I have tried but some of the items seem hard to find like whipping cream and butter. I have yet to see butter. Here are some links about Guavas:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guava
http://www.twowests.co.uk/weblog/archives/2006/10/guava_fruit.html
http://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/guava.html

Today after dropping Alex off at daycare I cleaned a bit, went to a new grocery store, and came upon a coffee shop. I ordered myself an iced mocha. It was so delicious. They also had a menu that included waffles and I know Alex loves waffles.

When Keith got done with class we went to see about getting me an i.d. so I can use the gym. Since I wasn't here for the orientation I didn't get one. And I really want to use the time Alex is in daycare to go to the gym. It looks like we will have to get it tomorrow but at least we found the right place to go after trying to figure it out the last few days. While on campus we walked by the anatomy (cadaver) room.. It is so disgusting. This time class was in session and the students were dissecting the cadavers. The curtains were open so I got to see everything. Keith's cadaver is a 72 year old man.

Afterwards we went back to Sugars coffee house. I had a vegetable pita that was absolutely delicious. It is the best meal I've had on the island so far. Alex had pancakes, and Keith had french toast with eggs and bacon. We also ordered ourselves an iced double chocolate coffee drink. It was sooo good and Alex liked it too.

Click here for new pics