Hello Dominica!

Hi everyone! I am finally sweating away on the island of Dominica. No joke. You really do sweat a lot here. I will tell the story about my very interesting journey from Vancouver and will try not to write a super long essay on that ;)

I kissed Vancouver goodbye on Apr 30 when I hopped onto the GreyHound bus with Dad. It was a beautiful day. Super sunny and hot - which was desired because Vancouver had been cool for quite some time. We didn't have any trouble going across the boarder, but I must say that I think people who work there should smile more. The fellow who checked me did not smile till he returned my passport to me and made a joke. Even though the joke was not all that funny but the smile was very nice.

We then got back on the bus and onto the highway in Seattle, heading towards the main bus depot. Then suddenly we heard the loudest 'kong kong kong' sound while a section of us bounced on our seats a little. The smell of burning rubber came next. GREAT!!! JUST WHAT I WANTED!! FLAT TIRES AND IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE :D After some struggling, the driver found out that the company can send someone to fix the tires and it will take 1.5 hrs to get to where we are. And the fixing process would be about 30 mins... I panicked a little, but not so much because the weather was too nice - and it was hard to get frustrated in nice weather. Long story short, the driver ended up waving down a tour bus to take me and some others straight to Seattle Tacoma International Airport! We got there earlier than planned...

We bought a muffin and yogurt from a Starbucks at the Seattle airport and they were SO SUGARY. And that reminded of the movie Supersize Me and the stats involved! ;) But I ate the food anyway. Then I hopped onto the plane and my Dad headed back to Vancouver. The flight from Seattle to LA was alright. It took about 3 hours. But for the first time I sat in the very very back row and really hated it - I couldn't put my seat back at all! How would you like sitting at 90 degrees for 3 hours? Then I transfered again from LA to San Juan and this was the brutal flight. I couldn't make myself comfortable in these seats and I swear I could almost feel the blood clotting in my lower body. The flight from San Juan to Dominica was in a very small plane. As we landed, the turbulence was so great that I thought we were gonna drop! But we landed safely. Guess what? Lots of staff at the Immigration Office were wearing masks! Of course, we all had some kind of swine flu :p

So how do I like the island so far? I LOVE it! About the beauty of it, I don't think I need to say much - I have picked a few pictures to put up here so you can judge. There is a photo of me on my day of arrival right outside my apartment. How do I like the heat? I am enjoying it but I have to say the humidity makes the air quite heavy that I am still adjusting to breathing it. You could really feeling your lungs working hard! Let alone the fact that this place is full of hills (which I love)! Dominica is indeed a nature island. Coming from Vancouver I was always living a city life but I am enjoying this change - despite the fact that I was pretty much starving for the first 2 days hahaha! Oh that thought makes me laugh... In fact I still haven't gotten any groceries because the stores are so scattered and the big market is a bit far from here. I need to do that soon!

There are banana plantations EVERYWHERE! Yet I still haven't had a single banana since I got on the island! Sigh... There are also so many mangos and coconuts! Man! I am so lucky to be living with my favourite fruits! :D I went out with a couple of friends I met here to the beach today and they convinced me to go snorkeling! I might just do that tomorrow and find some sea urchins and corals!

Lastly I would like to point out that right now it is around 4 30am here and I can't sleep. Maybe it is because of the party tonite? Or maybe it's the adjustment I still need to make? Anyhow, but that gives me a chance to update everyone :) Enjoy the pictures.