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Tales from Afar...
Hello again!
Just realised that i haven't updated this page since i've been here in Dominica. Where the hell to start?!?
Well, at the beginning i guess...its been pretty hard adapting to life on my own here on the island. I had expected/hoped that everyone i'd meet would instantly want to be my friend and i'd never have to feel lonely. Sadly this isn't how the world works and it took me a good few days to get used my new surroundings without the security of having friends around me. After a pretty harrassing first day on the island - a long , painful, but now well-forgotten experience, i really did just want to jack it all in and fly home.
A few reassuring text messages from home later, i picked myeslf up determined not to let a little bit of lonliness ruin a trip of a lifetime...So i decided to find my own fun. Over the following few days i got more aquainted with my new home. found a number of lovely little cafe's and bars that will quite hapily let me sit and read or write my journal over a few pints of their delicious fresh juices. The town of Roseau, where i am staying (well 30mins walk from where i;m staying!) is a lovely, charming little place. I usually finish at the hospital by early afternoon, and by the time i get into town for lunch it's busy and bustling and there a food vendors, music and people everywhere. The town is really pretty in a caribbean-type way. There are gorgeous little colourful fretwork buildings interposed with big industrial 70s style fortresses wth little wooden huts, in various stages of dilapidation, dotted around the place. It's gloriously colourful and i feel very much at home here...trying to be all smart and impressive but actually splashed with crazy combinations of colour and unable to look neat and tidy!I love it! I stubled across a very interesting little place on my second day. i'm convinced it is run by a witch or something. she had herb teas and rum punches to cure literally ALL ailments. I asked her how drinking tea/drinking "rhum" would help me lose weight - and she laughed. i'm guessig its the same way as the anti-constipation tea/punch! wish a could bring a few bottles of the Rhum home. i bet they'd knock your head off!
Anyway, as well as getting more familiar with my environs i thought i'd make the effort to get more familiar with some of the american students that i see around the hospital. The library seems to be THE place to meet people..as they all seems to be COMPLETE geeks. mind you they do have osce-type exams in a week or so...Went out for drinks with a couple of them on thurs and fri last week. Interesting people...hoping to meet up with Neal, from Phoenix, AZ again. he wants me to go cliff-diving with him, so i'm thinking of baraining with him and only going, if he'll come hiking or river walking or something with me first!
Also, made the decision to learn how to scuba dive whilst i'm here. Figured it was as good a way as any to meet some like-minded fun people. And my hunch was right. I went up to Portsmouth to do a "discover Scuba" course on saturday morning and stayed until monday afternoon. the guys who own and run the Cabrits Dive centre are absolutely LOVELY. and i met a bunch of divers there too who were also super nice and surprisingly wild. A few drinks after the dive on sunday morning soon transcended into a full blown rum punchand tequila-downing party. I wouldnt mind, but i was the youngest there and i was being the most conservative...!
The diving was AMAZING tho!!!! I can't even describe it. I can't believe how beautiful it is under the ocean. the colours were fanstictic. The picture is of one of my favourite fish: a blue tang. They were always either on their own or with a buddy , but they were the most fantastic shade of irridescent lilac/blue and they had what looked like a massive cheeky smile. Then when they turned front on , they all-but disappeared! I also rather enjoyed the turtles, the squid and all the fantastic corals and sponges. it's hard to believe that they are naturally that colour. I was blown away. Anyway, had such a great time that i decided to skip school on monday and stay in portsmouth to complete the course nad NOW, i'm a certified Diver. Woohooo!!!! Gonna try and do a few dives with my instructor down in the south of the island before he heads off to Barbados and he'll credit them to the advanced course for me. and might even hop on a flight to barbados for a bit of a "holiday"! ha ha!
Got back to Roseau yesterday and had the best night sleep EVER and not one single mozzie bite! Work at the hospital was slow-to-non existent so i toddled off to town and have had a lovely afternoon wandering around the botanical gardens here and chilling out. I'm meeting up with the chief medical officer for the island tomorrow to discuss doing some work over at the carib reserve. Haven't even been over to the east coast yet so hope he can help sort something out for me. Might even see if i can stay with the family of one of the Dive Masters who live just outside the reserve.
Will keep you posted...Better go. i've just realised how long this is.
Hope you are all keeping well. I miss you all.
F Xx (a.k.a "finn-ooh-lala" - they simply can't get my name over here...)
p.s. charlie, jess, dan, matt, julia, lydia, beccy, joe etc... we MUST find a date to all meet up and go out on the lash in london when we are all back. Is everyone free on sat 14th or 21st october. we all have to go out for a jolly with Liz before she jets off to Mozambique. Email me at [email protected]
Love to you all. Xx
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