Living Dominica

Why I won't be returning to Dominica

2011-12-23T22:48:00.003-04:00

1. The government never paid us for the land they undermined and caused to collapse in a major landslide. They caused a major financial loss for us which they have refused to settle.

2. There does not seem to be anything that is fair or equitable on the island. The court system simply does not work. An outsider can get no justice.

3. I was not able to obtain a Dominican nursing license, so I am back in the states to practice.

4. Dominica has become a distant but mostly bad dream. Lot of pain is associated with the island.

'nuf said.

Greetings from Living Dominica in Exile

2008-12-29T00:31:00.005-04:00

I have heard from several readers, and I wanted to post a brief update. Mr. Wizard, Chester and I are all well and happy. We made the transition back to U.S. life and are busy like all folks here seem to be.

I am working as a psychiatric nurse which I am enjoying immensely. Psychiatric staff are a funny group and I seem to have found a niche. I particularly like talking with psychotic patients. One night I was chatting with a nice fellow who hears voices, and I asked him what the voices were saying. He thought for a minute, then reported that the voices told him "she's a nice lady." Well, who could need higher praise than that?

Mr. Wizard is involved in some spurious endeavour involving zero's and one's in various sequences and combinations. That is the best I can do to explain that magic.

Chester is aging and sleeps a great deal, but he managed the trip back from Dominica to the US as if it were no problem.

We had purchased a small condo when we returned to the US, and it has become cramped. I usually refer to our home as The World's Smallest Condo. We are now buying a house that is probably too big for our needs. But, I think we have always done things to the extreme, this is no different.

I have to admit that sometimes a memory of the island comes wafting like a scent and I feel an ache for the beauty and all the other gifts of my island life. But that happens less often, and all and all, we are liking our post-Dominica life. Life is so much easier here.

livingdominicainexile: Happy Holidays to all!

Farewell, Dominica...

2008-02-29T08:19:00.003-04:00

There are really no secrets on Dominica, or for that matter, amongst those of us who love Dominica where ever we live. So, I will share publicly that I am returning for now to the frozen gray wasteland of my birth.

There is no one reason for my decision, and it may not be permanent. But for right now, it is the easiest way for me to once again have my own home. You see, I have been longing to have my own home again for the two and a half years we have lived on Dominica. We have had difficulties here that few encounter, like a major landslide which rendered our land unbuildable. Anyway, we bought a tiny alternate plot and were poised to build when we did some reevaluation and decided to wait. Here is why:

Our finances are diminished and we are reluctant to invest more money before the government pays us for the purchase of our land which they are excavating to keep the road open to Laudat. We have been assured by all in government that they will pay us, since they must have the whole property for the stabilization of the hillside. But they have yet to make an offer of payment for the land. Meanwhile we wait and watch ourselves getting older and sadder. Mr. Wizard is going to stay on the island a while to try to nudge some resolution along. Once our palm is crossed with silver, we will be better positioned to proceed with building.
As you may recall, Dominica declined to give me a license to practice as a nurse here. I miss my profession of over 25 years, and I look forward to working a while longer. Already several US hospitals have written me about openings, which is gratifying.
I am tired. Perhaps we both are. We know that building a house here will not be easy, and my ability to fight is depleted.
Property is so damn cheap in the US, I can go back, buy a small house and have the immediate gratification of painting my own walls without having to go through the fight of building. Maybe eventually we will summer in the US and spend winters here. Who knows.
I am concerned about some of the choices currently being made here. Nuff said. Clearly, it is for Dominicans to decide the future of this island jewel.

I feel ambivalent about this decision. I love Dominica. I know I will crave the shades of green, the unique smell of this blooming island, the sight of the sea outside my door. And I love the friends we have here, who have been wonderful. But I am tired of the struggle all the way to my bones.

I do look forward to seeing forsythia, dogwood, redbud, and that peculiar shade of pale newborn green you only see in springtime. Until then, picture me wrapped in an electric blanket set to high, only wandering as far as the next outlet...

livingdominica: Thank you for your kindness and support, Gentle Readers.

My Friend Francis is gone

2008-02-28T12:45:00.006-04:00

I heard yesterday from Kendra at Island Med Student blog that Francis died on Tuesday. I know many of you have followed Mr. Rasta's plight and have contributed to his care. I am so grateful to each of you who helped to ease the difficult life of this special man.

Francis touched my heart in a way few people have done. He was so reluctant to ask for help, so at peace with himself and accepting of the terrible challenges he faced. I learned so much from him in the short time I knew him. He was able to rise above his circumstances in a way I am not. I never knew him to whine and wallow (as I am prone to do).

He was a gift in my life. A living example of grace with a touch of Caribbean/Rastafari sweetness.

The last time I spoke with him, he told me he would always hold me in his heart. I spoke the same words to him. And I believe that we do still hold a special place in our hearts for one another. I will never forget him.

His funeral is today at the Catholic Church in St. Joseph if you are on the island and wish to attend.

My life with humidity

2008-02-02T13:45:00.001-04:00

Mold spore
I thought St. Louis, our home town, was the most humid place on earth, but I had never before lived near rain forest. Up North, however, no matter how nasty the humidity is outside, the inside is always nicely climate controlled. (Of course one reason I wanted to move here was to get out of my climate controlled box.)

Here is far different. Here I clean mold off my furniture. Did your mother teach you how to manage mold on your furniture? Mine did not. My leather shoes begin to grow fuzz. And today I took out a couple of pillows to find the cases covered in mildew. Ugh :(

We have some friends who bag up their most precious things with silica gel. Mr. Wizard is thinking about having lights burn in the closets of Lilliput to lower humidity. (But only after we are off the Domlec .47 USD per kWh electric grid.) Many hours are spent around dinner tables swapping ideas about managing humidity, mold and mildew. I have had people tell me of opening their DVD or VCR players to find them full of mold. The tropics are tough on electronics.

Who knows, maybe the next line of antibiotic is lurking within the the mold of someone's VCR on Dominica. Where, Oh, where might Jonas Salk be?

Of course we all know what mold can do to people's health, and it is so prevalent here it is worrisome. Mr. Wizard is highly mold sensitive and has to take antihistamines before entering some buildings which trigger his allergies.

Keeping house here is far more work intensive than up North. Having open doors and windows are wonderful in keeping the psyche connected to nature, but it also means the house has all manner of things blow through. (I recently found a tiny frog on my kitchen counter who had to be repatriated to the great outdoors.) And because of the humidity everything needs to be hauled into the sun frequently for airing. Having household help is not a luxury here. It is necessary if you do not want everything you own to be destroyed by the tropics, and if you need to perform any other function in the world other than house drudge.

So, today I am bleaching pillows, trying to catch up the masses of laundry, and muttering.

livingdominica: who is afraid to take out her posh red leather jacket an see what the tropics have done to it.

The Dominica Ebook

2008-01-28T08:24:00.000-04:00

January has been a record month for book sales at Living Dominica. It is gratifying when lots of people find their way to our web page and choose to purchase our book. I suppose when the weather up north is cold and miserable, the book is even more appealing. Thank you to all you book buyers!

It is interesting to me the number of emails we get from people looking at a move to Dominica based on my eBook. We have even heard from people prepared to invest in property sight unseen! I always discourage this and tell them to come down, and get a feel for the island. I think that renting here for a while, allowing Dominica to seep into your pores before buying, is an excellent idea. You have to be comfortable with the differences to make a go of it here.

For instance, one time I was encouraging our daughter to join us in living on Dominica. "But what do I do when it is 3AM and I am dying for a cheeseburger?" she replied. Suggesting that she consider making her own was not appealing. Clearly, she is not ready to live here even though she finds the island dazzling.

If you are not ready to leave behind easy access to cheeseburgers, you are not ready for Dominica.

Dominica is a land of such promise. The natural beauty is amazing, and the people are warm and welcoming. It is an easy place with which to fall in love. But it also will serve up its share of frustrations and difficulty. I recently heard the following from a person who owns a home here:

"I've experienced some of the most beautiful as well as most horrifying times on this unique island which seems to be constantly calling for drama. I still love Dominica and consider her my home, although I am presently living on another Caribbean island. Whenever I visit, which is at least 3 - 4 times a year, and watch from the plane as Dominica's tall green body appears mystically through the clouds, I know I am coming home.

Dominica can give you everything, but also take everything."

I guess that says it all, doesn't it?

livingdominica: you probably know that Dominica's indigenous name is Waitikubuli, meaning Tall is Her Body. Isn't that lovely...

2008-01-25T09:50:00.000-04:00

"Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees." Revelations 7:3

Mr. Wizard and the Wall Street Journal

2008-01-25T07:46:00.000-04:00

Mr. Wizard had a chat with a writer for the Wall Street Journal. You can read the article here.

Kendra does PMH

2008-01-25T06:35:00.001-04:00

Be sure to visit Kendra at Island Med Student as she writes about Princess Margaret Hospital
and her clinical rotations.

2008-01-24T04:48:00.002-04:00

Dominica can give you everything, but also take everything.

Dear Readers

2008-01-22T12:03:00.001-04:00

I may in the near future start another book and incorporate some of the writing from this blog into that work. I have therefore removed some of my blog posts from the public domain.

Here is my current working title: "How I Moved to the West Indies and Lived to Tell the Tale"

2008-01-22T09:26:00.001-04:00

We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. --Joseph Campbell

We visit a village health center

2008-01-18T06:55:00.001-04:00

Mr. Wizard and I visited a village health center with our friend Mr. Rasta. He goes there every day, including weekends, to have his dressing changed, since his tumor is now too massive for him to manage on his own. (Life Goes On is facilitating transportation for his dressing changes, and continue to do laundry for him each week.) I got to meet some of his nurses, see the clinic, and watch them change his dressing.

I was impressed.

The clinic was spacious with a large waiting room with educational materials on the walls and a TV. The exam room was well equipped. Everything was neat and very clean. And the nurses did an excellent job changing the dressing. (I have to admit they did a better job than I do, as they are not as messy I am)

I had the very pleasant task if delivering dressings to the clinic. Some kind readers of this blog, and nurses at the hospital where I worked, sent large boxes of dressing supplies for my friend. It was such a pleasure to get to give the nurses these supplies and Mr. R was very pleased also.

I am, of course, very concerned about the continuing growth of Mr. R's tumor and the noticeable weight loss we are seeing. His appetite is falling off and he is becoming weaker.

Mr. R. is Rastafari and has a deep love of all things of nature. We printed off the Hubble pictures of deep space for him and he marveled at discovering yet another source of nature's innate beauty, beyond the stars. These images spoke to his gentle soul the way they do to me, I think.

livingdominica: Thank you to those of you who went to the expense and trouble of sending supplies down to Mr. Rasta.

Tennessee Williams and Me

2008-01-17T10:22:00.000-04:00

"Don't look forward to the day you stop suffering, because when it comes you'll know you're dead. " --Tennessee Williams

I fell in love with the work of Tennessee Williams as a young adolescent, and this love affair never died. I love the passionate, seedy Southern life he portrays. Perhaps because my roots are in the seedy South. I love the way he crafts words and paints pictures, making magic with vowels and consonants. For years as a young woman I talked of going to New Orleans, or Key West (wherever he was living at the time) and filling his mailbox with roses. Isn't that a pretty idea?

Unfortunately, this was all the hot air and posturing of youth. I never made it to that mailbox. I never bought those roses.

Tennessee Williams was from my home town of St. Louis, Missouri. He loathed St Louis. He never said a good word about it. Just watch The Glass Menagerie and you'll see why. It was where he ran from. So of course when he died, his brother brought him there to bury him. Yep, the lawyer brother decided to plant him in exactly the last place on earth he would want to be.

"The most dangerous word in any human tongue is the word for brother. It's inflammatory." --Tennessee Williams

This travesty did allow me to finally see my hero face to face. He was dead of course. But still, maybe he was around somewhere nearby watching.

One advantage of looking like I do is that I appear sweet and harmless. I went to the funeral home before the public events started, and charmed the funeral guy with my best harmless wiles. He let me sit alone with Tennessee, marveling at the overpainted face and mahogany monstrosity they placed him in.

No, I did not buy him roses. He was dead, after all. Roses are meant for the living. And definitely not for brothers who bury you in the last place you want to be. Williams' body was interred in the Calvary Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri, despite his stated desire to be buried at sea at approximately the same place as the poet Hart Crane, whom he considered one of his most significant influences.

livingdominica: if anyone on the island would like to do a production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, I think I would be a perfect Big Mama.

Curiouser and Curiouser

2008-01-16T15:57:00.000-04:00

Today I changed Mr. Rasta's dressing. (By the way, it sounds like he will soon be heading down to Barbados! Hooray!) Anyway, I bagged up the dirty dressing and took it to the hospital incinerator dumpster as directed by the hospital infection control nurse. Much to my surprise, there was a naked man in the dumpster.

Not only a naked man, but a carambola eating naked man who had painted himself with mud. Sitting there, amidst the bags of hospital waste. Hmm.

Did I mention he was naked, painted in mud, and eating carambola in the hospital dumpster? Oh, I guess I did.

"Say there, friend, that is probably the worst place you could possible choose to sit and eat carambola." I remarked.

"Yes, ma'am." he replied. (Nice manners, this loon)

"You really should get out of there", I insisted, "There is all kinds of stuff in there which can hurt you!" I was a little sharper now.

Even more meekly the waste bin's occupant replied, "Yes, ma'am".

But he didn't move.

So I was forced to hunt down security and get him in trouble. I suspect he will be indoors soon being scrubbed down by some nursing student doing her psychiatric rotation.

livingdominica: life is just full of surprises. And some of them are naked, painted with mud, and eat carambola in a dumpster.

Burning tires in paradise

2008-01-13T11:07:00.003-04:00

We spent our weekend working downwind of a neighbor's burning. Here the common practice is to throw a tire in the mix of burning brush to support combustion. So house, laundry and our lungs were filled with burning tire smoke for two solid days. I had a two day sinus headache. And that doesn't even compare to the environmental impact of this practice. Who cares about global warming and air pollution? Throw another tire on! Never mind that 85 % of a tire is carbon--making them another source of greenhouse gas emissions. Never mind that burning tires emits serious levels of carcinogens and mutagenic material into the air. According the EPA, our neighborhood should have been evacuated or we should all have worn respirators this weekend.

Mr. Wizard has fought this battle more than once. He has argued vehemently with hired workers that they are never to burn tires on our land, and he has met consistent incredulity. "But that is what we do here..." He has to repeat the mantra frequently: no tire burning, no tire burning, no tire burning...

Here on the Nature Island, not only do we have the inevitable pollution of a refinery imminent, but we have the ongoing and time honored practices of tire burning, noise pollution, and general littering to cope with. There is a disconnect here between the goal of preserving the island and all things natural, and the reality of entitled destruction. Sometimes it seems to me that the island is honored only as long as an eco tourist with dollars is listening.

Please, Dominica, don't just pour your energy into developing a tourist "product". Pour your energy into education and environmental protection. Into changing the prevalent destructive practices. Into saving this green jewel before it is too late.

And stop the refinery. There is no such thing as a non-polluting refinery, Friends. A frequent argument for the refinery is that it will bring jobs. But it will also cause jobs to be lost! When the resident whale pod moves on because of polluted waters, whale watching will die here. When the reefs are destroyed, the dive industry will die. When the air is full of refinery belched emissions, the entire tourist industry may die. When the first environmental "accident" occurs and there is a spill, the fishing industry will be seriously impacted.

livingdominica: who is so hoping that the neighbor is done burning. cough, cough, wheeze...

The Mustard Seed

2008-01-10T15:30:00.000-04:00

"I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." --Jesus

When I was 2 my Dad died in a car wreck, leaving my Mother lost as to how to cope with 3 kids. During the trials, (literal and figurative) which followed his death my Mother wore a necklace like the one pictured here. It contains a tiny mustard seed. She used to tell me it reminded her that she only needed to have a little bit of belief for things to work out. I still have that necklace and I have been wearing it recently, hoping it will provide the same reminder to me.

As an adult I discovered this Buddhist story about the mustard seed. Isn't it interesting that both teachers used a mustard seed in their parable?

A woman was grief stricken with the death of her beloved child. Distraught, she came to the Buddha begging him to restore life to her precious baby. The Buddha agreed to help her only if she could bring him a mustard seed from a home that had never suffered death and grief. The woman searched franticly, asking everyone, but was never able to find a home untouched by the sadness of loss. Slowly, she came to see that her loss was not special or unique. All souls suffer. All are touched by death and loss. Her grief was healed when she found compassion for others through her own grief.

That story kind of kills off the "poor Me", doesn't it? And why is it that the best and most powerful lessons in life are also the most painful? Probably to open our hearts to the pain of others. When I was a hospice nurse, I noticed the very best hospice nurses had cared for their own dying relatives.

livingdominica: I am a very lucky woman. May I never forget that.

Thoughts on Money

2008-01-07T07:07:00.001-04:00

Someone sent me a link to a site called Get Rich Slowly. It is an interesting site about frugality and voluntary simplicity. I believe these to be valuable goals as long as my frugality and simplicity is not supported by borrowing from others. "Never a borrower or a lender be" is the wise Yankee motto. Perhaps it is the fiercely independent American in me, but I am not comfortable borrowing from others. And lending can also be very uncomfortable when I have to ask for items to be returned. This has been a cultural adjustment for me, since sometimes it seems here that everyone wants something from me. So, I support the goal of frugality and simplicity as long as it is not paid for by others. Only saints should have their simple lifestyles supported by others.
Here is a quote by Ann Rynd:

"Poverty is not a mortgage on the labor of others, misfortune is not a mortgage on achievement, failure is not a mortgage on success, suffering is not a claim check, and its relief is not the goal of existence. Man is not a sacrificial animal on anyone's altar nor for anyone's cause. Life is not one huge hospital."
- Ayn Rand, "The Voice of Reason"

Of course, compassion has to figure into the equation somewhere. I get a weekly thought from the Dalai Lama, and this week his words were also about money:

"In the frenzy of modern life we lose sight of the real value of humanity. People become the sum total of what they produce. Human beings act like machines whose function is to make money. This is absolutely wrong. The purpose of making money is the happiness of humankind, not the other way around. Humans are not for money, money is for humans. We need enough to live, so money is necessary, but we also need to realize that if there is too much attachment to wealth, it does not help at all. As the saints of India and Tibet tell us, the wealthier one becomes, the more suffering one endures.
...Eating, working, and making money are meaningless in themselves. However, even a small act of compassion grants meaning and purpose to our lives."
--from How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life by the Dalai Lama, translated and edited by Jeffrey Hopkins

You can subscribe to the Dalai Lama's email list here.

I am not sure how to reconcile Ann Rynd with the Dalai Lama, yet both speak truth to me. Perhaps balance is the key.

Morning Meditation

2008-01-03T06:13:00.000-04:00

Mr. Wizard and I have a very inconsistent meditation practice. But we do continue to try to incorporate meditation and prayer into our daily lives. One of the things we had hoped to find on Dominica was the time and space to expand these practices of spiritual unfolding. Unfortunately, our ability to be "too busy" and our procrastination followed us to the island like all the other character flaws we developed into full flower while living up North.

But this morning we did sit in meditation on the back veranda. I had a lot of difficult getting quiet, but I was able be present in the moment as we sat. Each breath was moist as soft rain fell making a dull pitapat on the leaves in the garden next to me. Birds sang their morning celebration song. The pug snored softly in his meditation.When I opened my eyes, a mist was rising from the verdant green hills before me and the living presence of this island was immanent. Of course humanity is immanent also, and a car screeched down the road, its driver probably late for work.

These are the moments which make me glad I am exactly where I am. The idea of listening to the furnace or A/C hum instead of hearing the birds and rainfall seems unfathomable. The image of hiding from the elements in a box, rather than being connected daily, seems an impossibility. All of the easy comforts of the Big World cannot make up for the prison life of house and job we once knew.

livingdominica: and glad she is here, today anyway.

Spiritual Tourism

2007-12-30T08:54:00.001-04:00

"My religion consists of a humble admiration of the illimitable superior spirit who reveals himself in the slight details we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble mind." -- Albert Einstein

If you have looked at my blogger profile, you will see I list my profession as Spiritual Tourist. I have always found worthwhile bits and pieces from a myriad of spiritual traditions. Even things I might find a bit silly have a place in my sacred toolbox. At one time I had a positively glorious collection of trashy religious art. I loved it. I think I still have a flocked picture of Our Lady of Guadeloupe somewhere. I admire the kind of devotion which puts a statue of Mary in an upright bathtub in Saint Louis, or in more exotic locations, builds roadside shrines. And I love prayer flags!

I also believe spiritual things, and life in general, must be approached with humor. Nothing is sacreligious to me. If God made pugs, He/She must have a sense of humor. So, I have to laugh at Mr. Deity.

In Saint Louis there is a custom that when selling your house, you bury a statue of Saint Joseph upside down in the front yard. I can' t remember if he is supposed to face the house or the curb. All of the Catholic supply stores sell small statues for this purpose, with instructions on how to do it properly. You think I am kidding? Our house sold in less than a week at higher than the listing price. I dunno why these things work, but they seem to. And I am not Catholic. At least not recently.

There is an order of nuns in Saint Louis, commonly known as the Pink Sisters, who have remarkable success with the power of their prayer. They are a contemplative order who wear hot pink habits, and live smack in the middle of a very tough gang neighborhood where I once did hospice nursing. I used to go sit in their chapel during my lunch break. Maybe that is why I never had any harm come to me.

Anyway, a number of years ago, Pope John Paul II was coming to Saint Louis in January. That month is notorious for awful weather and people were worried, so they set the Pink Sisters to work on it. We had the best weather ever for that visit. (Hmmm. Maybe those Pink Sisters need to be praying for us as we build a house in Dominica.)

So of course I love Saint Expedite. Saint Expedite is the patron of those who hope for rapid solutions to problems, who wish to avoid or put an end to delays. And I certainly need his help right now.

There is a humorous tale about the arrival of Saint Expedite in New Orleans: The story goes that in outfitting the Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the priests sent off for a statue of the Virgin. Many months later, they received TWO crates instead of one. They opened the first and it contained the statue of Mary, which they had commissioned. They turned to the unexpected second crate, which said EXPEDITE on the outside. There they found the statue of a Roman centurion, and mistook the shipping instructions -- EXPEDITE, meaning, "expedite this shipment" -- to be the name of a saint.

Expedite may be my favorite saint. I used to have a stack of his prayer cards, but I passed them out to friends who needed something expedited. I would love someone to send me some more.

livingdominica: I also honor the solar wheel, have participated in sweat lodges, and meditated with the Buddhists. I am totally nondiscriminatory when it comes to the spiritual life, and therefore probably offend everyone. Sorry.

My least favorite present was from DOWASCO

2007-12-29T11:19:00.001-04:00

DOWASCO is our water company. And yet again, we have no water service.

The sound of the jackhammer is filling the air, but the workers say they have not figured out the problem yet. We are in our second? third? day without water. It seems like a lifetime, since we are also feeling unwell at Chez Miller. And additionally, we have a new, leaky puppy who requires lots of attention and mopping up.

That means lots of water hauling. And the laundry is piling high.

Oddly enough, I heard the Minister over the utilities pontificate last night on TV about how DOWASCO is poised to provide service to the entire island. How will that happen if we do not have consistent water to the areas already served? Oh well, it was a lovely speech. But they all are, these speeches extolling the grandeur yet to come.

I think I'll go back to bed. My misery index is up. I am sure the power will go out next just to complete this picture of tropical bliss.

livingdominica: I should have written Santa asking for consistent utility service.

One of my favorite presents was from a reader

2007-12-26T12:30:00.000-04:00

blueright wrote:

Merry Christmas Jen & Mr.Whiz,

One of the gifts I bought for my Love is a mustard seed pendant, like the one you wrote about on Tuesday, September 25, 2007. I have printed your post and wrapped it with the pendant. Thanks for the meaningful gift idea.

God Bless

Thank you, blueright, for sharing this with my family and I.

It Ain't Easy Here

2007-12-18T07:24:00.002-04:00

Gentle Readers,
In case you missed this reoccurring theme, let me once again mention that life is tough on Dominica. Tough enough to make people flee, leaving behind everything they own.

Let me explain.

I got a call this morning shortly after 6 AM (!) from an expat woman I have never met, who was having a panic attack. She sold her house in the US, bought land in Dominica, ordered a car from Japan, and brought down a shipping container of her belongings. She has lived here just 2 months, and is ready to walk away from everything in order to return to the states. She hates it here. It is not at all like an island vacation.

I have read that 40% of people expatriating to any country will return home within the first 2 years. I believe this number is probably larger on Dominica since most everything here is a trial fraught with difficulties, delays, and shortages. (Good friends of ours have had their construction project halted due to there being no cement on the island!)

This panicy woman phoning at the crack of dawn is not the first person I have met walking away from their Dominican dream in despair. So let me state again for those of you dazzled by the dream of island living:

Do not invest more than you can walk away from.
Rent first to make sure Dominica is for you.
Try an experimental mini-move if you can, without dismantling your life completely.
Proceed with caution in all matters, using an attorney for all transactions.
Build a support systems of other expats, so you have people with similar experiences with whom to problem solve. Your Dominican friends just will not understand the Culture Shock you will inevitably experience.
Do not move here anticipating that you will easily generate income to support yourself.
Please call me only during regular Living Dominica office hours of 1:00 PM to 1:15 PM. (Someone else called us recently at 11:30 PM because they were experiencing their first Swarm)

Most likely I would have run back to the states already if Mr. Wizard did not have the tenacity (read stubbornness) born of his Germanic heritage. I would probably be up there shoveling snow and wishing I were down island again. Nowhere is perfect, but the grass does always appear greener where ever I am not located. So I perfectly understand the impulse to run away from island life.

livingdominica: I recently had business cards printed which gives all my various contact information and clearly states in bold:

You have to be a little crazy.

Thoughts on the Volcanoes

2007-12-18T07:08:00.000-04:00

Dominica is home to one of the highest concentrations of volcanoes on the planet. Some experts say 8, some list 9, but all agree on one point: we are overdue for an eruption here. And of course the area of densest population around Roseau (where we live) is where some of the worst volcanic risk exists. We have heard that the merchants of the island have bought up property in Portsmouth just in case it should become again the capitol city. Even for a Queen of Denial like myself, it is enough to give pause.

Mount Pele today.
In 1902 Mount Pele erupted just next door in Martinique, killing 30,000 denial prone people like myself in the "Paris of the West Indies", Saint Pierre. The mountain had been rumbling for quite a while, spewing ash, and the streets were awash with panicked snakes, centipedes, ants and the like. Still the people stayed at the foot of Pele, until May 8, 1902 when a pyroclastic cloud with temperatures to 1000 degrees C descended, covering the town and harbor.

Blessing of the dead in Saint Pierre.

The Wiz and I visited the Mount Pele museum last year and stood slack-jawed staring at the artifacts fused and warped by the intense heat. Looking at old pictures of the streetcars and the opera house in Saint Pierre it is a bit understandable how this sophisticated European community felt it could never happen to them.

Dominica is just 30 miles from Mount Pele, so the eruption had a great impact on this island also, including this observation by our most famous daughter, Jean Rhys:

At her home at the corner of Cork Street and Granby Street, now Independence Street, the 11-year-old Gwen Rees-Williams, later in life to be known as Jean Rhys, was taken to a window by her mother and was shown the glow to the south and the falling ash:
'My mother woke me and without saying anything led me to the window. There was a huge black cloud over Martinique. I couldn’t ever describe that cloud, so huge and black it was, but I have never forgotten it. There was no moon, no stars, but the edges of the cloud were flame-coloured and in the middle what looked to me like lightening flickered, never stopping. My mother said: ‘You will never see anything like this in your life again.’ from Mount Pele and Dominica

So, here we are looking at property at the foot of Morne Anglais. Hmmm.

livingdominica: I just may change my name to Cleopatra since I am the Queen of Denial...

We live at the end of the rainbow

2007-12-14T07:07:00.000-04:00

I took this from our veranda this morning
Here is a link to some other gorgeous pictures of Dominica. Enjoy!

"Help Yo Brother"

2007-12-12T13:14:00.001-04:00

Most of the taxis and minibuses here on Dominica have names at the top of the windshield. Some of the names are funny, like "Flash de Bobs", some are rather sweet like "Humble African". But I saw a new one today: "Help Yo Brother".

And that is exactly what we need to do right now.

Please, if you are on the island and are able to give blood, go to Princess Margaret and donate a pint for my friend Mr. Rasta. He has been having increased bleeding from his tumor and has already had two units, but he needs more. If you call Life Goes On (449-8593) they will give you his proper name so that you can tell the blood bank who you are donating to help. PMH accepts donations in the early am hours.

Mr. Rasta would be very grateful for your help, and I am sure he would like to meet you if you donate for him. We discussed today me asking you to come donate for him, and he was glad to have anyone know he is in the hospital who is willing to help.

I am sprung from sturdy peasant stock, so I gave my pint yesterday with no difficulty. Mr. Wizard, however, has some lurking aristocracy in his background and was flatly refused. He has a wee little thing with his heart that people fuss over. Humpf. Sounds like an excuse, doesn't it?

It is the tradition here for family to provide food and linens for hospitalized patients, as well as all of the little things a Big World hospital automatically provides. The Wiz and I are trying to fill the gap since our buddy doesn't have much help.

So I have been cooking vegetarian food of questionable quality, doing laundry for our friend, etc. Here, more than anywhere I have ever lived, the village really cares for a person. When those social supports are lost the effect is devastating. This is a much more interdependent world than where I lived in up North. Even my marginal vegetarian cuisine is appreciated.

I do hope some of you will give a very special gift this holiday, and go give blood for Mr. Rasta.

livingdominica: One Love. One People.
or "Whatsoever you do to the least of my brothers..."
whatever truth speaks to you.

No Car, No Water, No Joy Redux

2007-12-12T07:11:00.002-04:00

Good Morning!

We have no water. You might recall we have been here before. Last night we had a substantial storm with enough rain for our local water utility to turn off the water. We have been told they do this to avoid sucking muddy water into the pipes. The next time someone tells you it is fine to drink the pipe water here, please recall this and the fact that Mr. Wizard and I experienced incapacitating diarrhea back when we believed everything we were told.

We have a whole house filtration system now, but of course that doesn't work to filter water hauled in buckets. So our table top Berkie comes into play at these times. These filters have been in use since the 1800s and have an interesting history. (You will note that we use a similar filtration system to the one Queen Victoria used. I do hope you are suitably impressed.) Of course the Berkie only makes about 6 liters of potable water at a time by slooow drip method.

So life just became much more labor intensive with having to carry water for everything. It also means heating water on the stove for bucket baths. For the uninitiated, a bucket bath is performed by wetting down the body, scrubbing with soap, then rinsing off. My mother called this a "spit bath", since although it will remove dirt and odors, it does not produce the lovely clean feeling of a real shower.

And as we haul water for our flushes and baths, we are also in automotive limbo. Mr. Wizard's ancient Beast of a vehicle is yet again broken. I am daily supplicating him to buy another vehicle, but I believe he will never get rid of the Beast. He firmly believes having the most disreputable looking vehicle on the island communicates immediately that we are not rich.

But I am fully prepared to own a smaller, nicer vehicle. If you are on the island and have a very reliable small 4X4 for sale, please contact me quietly and I will work on the Beast's owner.

livingdominica: just another day in paradise.

Arecibo Observatory

2007-12-11T12:27:00.001-04:00

"The human mind is not capable of grasping the Universe. We are like a little child entering a huge library. The walls are covered to the ceilings with books in many different tongues. The child knows that someone must have written these books. It does not know who or how. It does not understand the languages in which they are written. But the child notes a definite plan in the arrangement of the books - a mysterious order which it does not comprehend, but only dimly suspects." - Albert Einstein

I confess. We did not shop and eat all of the time when we were in San Juan. We did go to visit the world's largest radio telescope at Arecibo. I had to reward my resident geek somehow for all of the shopping he endured.

It was awesome to see this immense dish, covering 20 acres, which was built in a sink hole in the rural Puerto Rican countryside. When we were there, we were told there was some excitement about a meteor they had spotted. I did not learn more about it than this, because the employee I spoke with was at lunch and very intent on flirting with the lovely girl at the hot dog concession. I can appreciate that he had his priorities straight.

There is a very nice visitor's center at Arecibo with a lot of interactive exhibits. But I found the noise of the competing film clips and sounds produced at the various stations maddening. I am just not used to Big World noise anymore. Why are these learning things so LOUD? Are we unable to learn quietly these days? (I do sound old and crotchety don't I? No,don't answer that.) I did have to leave the museum part fairly quickly, so I did not get to fully explore all the areas Arecibo searches,like weather conditions, and atmospheric changes. But I did have to hunt down the well hidden silent display about the SETI project.

If you saw Jodie Foster's movie Contact, based on a book by Carl Sagan, you know a little about SETI and Arecibo. For me, lucky enough to be married to Mr. Wizard, I have learned a little more. But here is the upshot as found on the SETI website:

"The mission of the SETI Institute is to explore, understand and explain the origin, nature and prevalence of life in the universe."
"We believe we are conducting the most profound search in human history — to know our beginnings and our place among the stars."

So, we sat and looked at this enormous device and contemplated. At least some of the time, Arecibo is patiently listening for the sounds of others who might live in our universe.

livingdominca: I miss Carl Sagan, don't you?

Our favorite place in San Juan

2007-12-10T22:18:00.000-04:00

Andalusia Guest House, San Juan

Whenever we travel to San Juan we always try to stay with Esteban and Emeo at Andalusia Guest House. We also tell friends traveling to Dominica that this is the place to overnight, since most travelers cannot make the journey in one day. Located in Ocean Park just a block or two from the beach, this sweet little refuge is just the place to relax from travel, or shopping, or touring. They are currently expanding, and will eventually have 11 rooms, but it is best to reserve early. Several of our friends have found them full when trying to book, but we were lucky enough to stay with them the entire 6 nights.

Staying with Emeo and Esteban is really like being with friends. They work incredibly hard at helping guests make the most of their time in San Juan. I met a fellow guest, a Parisian who lives in Tortola, who loves this guest house as much as I do: "I never tell people about Andalusia. I try to keep it a secret for myself!" I, however, have to share the secret with my friends.

The guest house is just steps from the wonderful Kasalta Bakery and Deli. It is a dream come true with espresso, croissants, pastrami and Napoleon pastry. All of the things we cannot have when home on Dominica were throughly indulged, Si?

A bit further, but still walkable, is the local Puerto Rican restaurant called Bebo's. This is a great place to try a PR favorite dish called Mofongo (mashed green plantain) with a side of beans and rice. Oh yes. Most excellent food.

I am afraid I spent a lot of time while away wiping the crumbs from my mouth.

Another treat for us was that the TV in our room offered the History Channel. So, after shopping until our feet were bloody stubs, we would lie on the bed rubbing each other's feet, and watch a little history. I do miss having the History Channel and Sundance and Bravo. (We do not have these on Dominica, but we have 4 religious channels instead.) Esteban reads a lot of history and is a very interesting person to talk with.

So, there you have it. One of my best secrets is now yours to share the next time you travel through San Juan.

livingdominica: as always, your full service blog for travel tidbits and trivia.

Coming Home

2007-12-09T08:58:00.001-04:00

Plaza las Americas, San Juan Puerto Rico

This morning I woke again to the sounds of birds and rain falling. With my morning coffee I enjoyed a rainbow over the Caribbean. Ah, Home.

We did have a good time in San Juan, but it is all too much. Too much noise, congestion, traffic, and consumption. Too much competitive undertow. Just like the world we ran away from, screaming.

The world I live in does not require makeup, high heels (also known as high hells by anyone who has worn them) and smart outfits. Of course there are some who dress to impress here, but more commonly we are barefaced and comfortable in sandals. I am certainly not up to San Juan standards any longer. Maybe I never was.

Imagine what it is like to our ears, grown accustomed to the background sounds of nature, to enter a store at Christmas time. First we are bombarded by the banks of huge TVs all blaring away, and behind them, the stereo systems hip-hop. Then we meet the animated Santa's shouting Ho!Ho!Ho! I want to cover my ears.

Masses of cleverly displayed goods designed to entice and create desire for more are piled everywhere, the abundance overwhelming. Too many choices, too many new and exciting things to try. The eyes are dazzled and strained. No gifts of natural materials are to be found anywhere. No handcrafts, no artistry. Everything is a product of manufacturing and packaging. Merchandising is King.

When I look at clothing I wonder where all the natural fabrics have gone. No cotton, no linen is in the stores I visited. Have these become specialty items? Everything is synthetic, either in black or a retro print from the 60's. Everything I touch has the slick feel of petrochemicals. I spent a whole morning searching for a simple cotton shirt.

Each item we purchased was encased in masses of packaging, often several times larger than the item itself. Masses of waste pile high as we remove packaging in order to pack our purchases for the trip home. How much additional cost, both economic and ecologic, does all of this packaging embody?

I have become a 3rd world girl. I want less. Less is more. These days, the mercantile emporiums induce abhorrence in my unaccustomed mind. It is all too much. It is all a great reminder of why we love Dominica.

As I packed to return home to Dominica, I listened to a BBC program about happiness. According to the experts, money and possessions do not make us happier. (Imagine. Mr. Wizard and I were able to figure that out without experts.) Here is a link to the BBC Program, where you might enjoy the clip about the recipe for happiness. I was impressed with the graph showing that more money does not make us more happy. Of course, any farmer on Dominica could have told us that.

livingdominica: give me the simple life.

"Deeply Strange, Impossibly Beautiful"

2007-12-08T08:12:00.000-04:00

Astronomers Select Top Ten Most Amazing Pictures Taken by Hubble Space Telescope in Last 16 Years .

After correcting an initial problem with the lens, when the Hubble Space
Telescope was first launched in 1990, the floating astro-observatory began to relay back to Earth, incredible snapshots of the "final frontier" it was perusing.

Recently, astronauts voted on the top photographs taken by Hubble, in its 16-year journey so far. Remarking in the article from the Daily Mail, reporter Michael Hanlon says the photos "illustrate that our universe is not only deeply strange, but also almost impossibly beautiful."

Hubble telescope's top ten greatest space photographs:
(From #1 to #10)

The Sombrero Galaxy - 28 million light years from Earth - was voted best picture taken by the Hubble telescope. The dimensions of the galaxy, officially called M104, are as spectacular as its appearance. It has 800 billion suns and is 50,000 light years across.

The Ant Nebula, a cloud of dust and gas whose technical name is Mz3, resembles an ant when observed using ground-based telescopes. The nebula lies within our galaxy between 3,000 and 6,000 light years from Earth.

In third place is Nebula NGC 2392, called Eskimo because it looks like a face
surrounded by a furry hood. The hood is, in fact, a ring of comet -shaped
objects flying away from a dying star. Eskimo is 5,000 light years from Earth.

At four is the Cat's Eye Nebula

The Hourglass Nebula, 8,000 light years away, has a pinched-in-the-middle
look because the winds that shape it are weaker at the centre.

In sixth place is the Cone Nebula. The part pictured here is 2.5 light years in
length (the equivalent of 23 million return trips to the Moon).

The Perfect Storm, a small region in the Swan Nebula, 5,500 light years away,
described as 'a bubbly ocean of hydrogen and small amounts of oxygen, sulphur
and other elements'.

Starry Night, so named because it reminded astronomers of the Van Gogh painting. It is a halo of light around a star in the Milky Way.

The glowering eyes from 114 million light years away are the swirling cores of two merging galaxies called NGC 2207 and IC 2163 in the distant Canis Major constellation.

The Trifid Nebula. A 'stellar nursery', 9,000 light years from here, it is
where new stars are being born.

Mr. Rasta

2007-11-27T15:06:00.002-04:00

I am heartsick today because I am seeing a dramatic increase in the size of Mr. Rasta's tumor in the last 10 days. I have been haunted by how much it grew from Thursday to Monday.

The good news is that a North American organization is planning to underwrite hospital care for him in Barbados. But another possibility appeared yesterday with a Parisian ENT visiting the island saying he might be able to provide the necessary intervention here. This would allow us to care for Mr. R here during his convalescence, rather than have him go through this on his own off island. I am hoping this works out. But either way, help is on the horizon.

Mr. R is gentle person who rarely asks for anything, but he does more than anything want and need his tumor removed. The enormity of this tumor is mind boggling. It reaches from his chin to the nape of his neck, and extends from his ear to his shoulder. The smell of it keeps him isolated in his little shack. And I see that it is bigger each time I change the dressing. (By the way, someone donated dressings, so yesterday we had proper supplies for the dressing change. Thank you!)

livingdominica: Yesterday Mr. R touched his heart and said, "Thank you for everything you do for me." He meant that for you, too.

Cold is a relative term

2007-11-27T08:38:00.001-04:00

This morning, the thermometer read 73, but there must be a wind chill down to at least 70, because I had to get out a thick robe and wool socks. Yes, it is true. I have now become so adjusted to life in the tropics that low 70's are chilly for me.

Lisette blogged about being cold in Dominica on Storm Carib. It makes me feel better that I am not the only one bundling up at temperatures which used to feel warm to me. Isn't it interesting how our bodies adjust to living in a different climate?

I remember our first visit to Dominica some years ago, during January. We blissfully shed our coats and sweaters and donned shorts, even though the proprietors of Crescent Moon, our lodging, were dressed in jeans and jackets. It is all what our bodies are accustomed to, I guess.

I was horrified the other day when the Wiz told me our hometown in the US had a current temp of 28F. I cannot imagine how that would feel to me these days!

Of course this climate effect on personal comfort works the other way also. In fact, we have had to establish a strict "No Whining" rule for Northern dwellers who choose to come for a visit during the hottest part of the year. We issue a sweat towel and a water bottle upon arrival and curtly inform guests we do not want to hear about their misery. After all, we warn people not to come for the hottest weather since all of our friends are A/C wimps. We do not have A/C and cope with upper 90s and humidity with aplomb.

livingdominica: NOT dreaming of a white Christmas...

Dominica's Stockfarm Prison

2007-11-25T18:30:00.001-04:00

We learned recently that not only is there overcrowding up at the prison here on Dominica, but they also have no books. Now, I cannot imagine anything worse than being in prison without a distraction like reading. The days must be endless. The boredom must be killing. Not at all like the prisons in the US with Cable TV and classes to take.

Anyway, as you might remember, Mr. Wizard and I moved to Dominica with 29 boxes of books. So, we have decided to donate about half of our library to Dominica's prison. We have been going through the books and quibbling. While the Wiz likes to hang on to positively everything, I am the opposite, so the scene goes something like this:

Wiz: "Aw, I can't let that go, that is the Illustrated Bob Dylan, and I've had it longer than I've had you!"

Me: "You are going to deprive some poor prisoner of the Illustrated Bob Dylan? You need it more than some guy in Stockfarm?"

Of course, the prisoners in Dominica may not even know Bob Dylan, which leads to another thought. Our library reflects our tastes, so up to Stockfarm goes not only novels, but also books on Zen, Organic Farming, and Metaphysics. These will probably be of no interest to the prisoners, but oh well. Anything to read has got to be better than nothing. At least that is what we have been told.

One might ask why someone who paid to haul all those books to Dominica would be willing to part so easily with half of them, even if the cause is good. Well, here is the secret. I have an aging brain. I read a book, and very quickly all the details are lost. It may seems vaguely familiar when I pick it up again, but I can still enjoy it completely and not have the surprise ending spoiled. I figure at this stage in my life, I really only need 5-10 books in order to be endlessly entertained in perpetuity.

We also found some games to donate, and I suspect they may be a bigger hit than the books. Dominicans play Dominoes a lot. Drive through any village and you will probably see men hunched over a table feverishly slamming dem bones. Domino play can be very dramatic and for some reason women do not seem to play. I have always speculated that this is because the women are working while the men play.

I found a set of Dominoes buried in a chest and I was so glad. Maybe it will help some of the non readers to pass the time.

I also think comic books might be a good thing. So if you have a pile you don't want, send them on down and we'll get them to Stockfarm.

livingdominica: and now I won't have to dust so many books...

Pay It Forward

2007-11-23T13:20:00.000-04:00

I always read Zooms' blog called Free Spirit, and I really admire her art. So when I found out I could possibly have one of her painting simply by paying it forward, I jumped at the chance. (I guess being greedy is really not in the spirit of this, but I have to admit it was Zooms' art which motivated me to join.)

I do not claim to be an artist, but I do like to dabble with paint and fabric, and I make baskets also. So, I will create something for you. Here is the offer:

"I will send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange. I don’t know what that gift will be yet and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week, but you will receive it within 365 days, that is my promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog. "

How inspiring. Please visit Free Spirit to see Zooms' work and to read more about other artists who are participating in this excellent idea.

Assorted cannibals and restaurants

2007-11-21T03:19:00.000-04:00

Nice hat, Alferd.

Today is the birth date of Alferd Packer. (He preferred that spelling based on a poorly done tattoo.) Mr. Packer, born this date in 1842, is the only American to be convicted of cannibalism. You can read the whole snowbound story at Wilson's Almanac.

In addition to this tasty morsel, you might be amused to know that the US Department of Agriculture named their cafeteria after him in 1977, and even erected a plaque dedicated to Alfred Packer, who "exemplifies the spirit and fare that this agriculture department cafeteria will provide."

Several months later the General Services Administration took down the plaque, called it "bad taste", and renamed the cafeteria. Some people have no sense of humor.

You will be pleased to note, however, that the cafeteria at the University of Colorado, Boulder campus is still called the Alfred G. Packer Grill with the slogan "Have a friend for lunch!".

Do not miss the video of the Alferd Packer Memorial String Band. (You must visit the website if you are reading via email.)

All of this cannibal talk brought to mind a fond memory from the past. For years when Mr. Wizard and I would go out to dinner we would give our name as "Donner". It always made me laugh to hear them call out, "Donner party, your table is ready". I do recall the one time that a beleaguered hostess recognized the joke and joined in laughing. Unfortunately, my prank was cut short by the advent of those obnoxious buzzing boxes they now hand you which sound an alarm when your turn to be herded in has arrived. No more did the shrill call of "Donner Party" make the endless restaurant waits worthwhile.

Throughly miffed that my fun was spoiled, I decided then and there to pack up and move out of the country in a state of pique. Humpf.

livingdominica: now you know the whole story...

Cost of Living

2007-11-20T11:08:00.003-04:00

Apparently we not only pay the highest electric rate in the world, but the commodity price here is the highest in the Caribbean. Everyone has been noting a huge increase in everyday items like flour, rice etc.

"The latest available data from the ECCB clearly reveals that the price of a sample commodity consumer basket (a basket of similar goods), range from $282.74 in St. Vincent, to a high of $482.76 in Dominica. The price of that same food basket in Grenada is $368.13. The average price for this shopping basket in the OECS is $386.92 which means that in Grenada, the consumer basket is $18.79 below the OECS average; therefore it is not correct to that Grenada has the highest prices in the region,’ he added."

No, Grenada doesn't have the highest prices in the Caribbean, Dominica does. WHY?

You can read the rest of the article here.

The Minister of Agriculture has a really good response, I think, in encouraging us to eat more locally. Read the story here.

Blues

2007-11-16T07:38:00.000-04:00

Long ago and far away, Mr. Wizard and I used to be fairly avid blues fans. St. Louis (our hometown) has a rich blues heritage, but few venues remain to hear blues. So we would make an occasional romantic pilgrimage to Chicago, where blues is more widely played. In fact, Mr. Wizard hauled his collection of scratchy blues LPs to Dominica with us.

Anyway, today we are celebrating the birthday in 1873 of W.C. Handy, the father of the blues. Of course, one of his best known songs is St. Louis Blues, a song not about the town, but rather about a woman from St. Louis. Handy lived to a ripe old age as part of the Harlem renaissance having forever changed the musical landscape.

Bessie Smith did a nice version of Handy's song and I found a video on You Tube. (If you read the blog via email, you will have to go to the webpage to view the video.) Bessie is a favorite of mine, and the story of her tragic death is haunting, but may be untrue. The legend goes that Bessie was involved in an auto accident in Jim Crow Mississippi, had to pass the closer white hospital and died after reaching the nearest Negro hospital. Some claim this story is true, others say it was created by a promoter. It is true, however, that her grave remained unmarked until Janis Joplin placed a stone in 1970.

Saint Louis Blues by Bessie Smith:

livingdominica: "I hate to see that evening sun go down..."

Betty Fingal's Oil Refinery Discussion

2007-11-15T14:06:00.000-04:00

Will Dominica gain more than it loses from the installation of an oil refinery?
A Discussion of the Facts

1. What is an oil refinery?

Fact: An oil refinery is typically a large scale plant that processes a hundred thousand to several hundred thousand barrels of crude oil per day. Because of the high capacity, many units are operated continuously at steady state or approximately steady state for long periods of time (months or years). (Wikipedia)
Note: The Minister has indicated that the proposed refinery will process ten thousand barrels of oil a day.

Fact: The major products of an oil refinery are: asphalt, diesel fuel, naphtha, fuel oil, gasoline, kerosene, jet aircraft fuel, liquid petroleum gas, lubricating oils, paraffin wax and tar. (Wikipedia)

Fact: The typical oil refinery includes the following process units: desalter, atmospheric distillation, vacuum distillation, naphtha hydrotreater, catalytic reformer, distillate hydrotreater, fluid catalytic cracking, hydrocracker, merox treater, coking, alkylation, dimerization, isomerization, steam reforming, storage units, amine gas treater, claus, cooling towers, waste water collector and treatment systems, boiler plants. (Wikipedia)

Fact: Oil refineries need large amounts of electricity and water to operate. Typically, they use thousands of gallons of water daily (20 gallons per barrel of oil).

Fact: Oil refinery operations require storage of huge amounts of oil and oil products. Because of its need to operate constantly, an oil refinery must have a large volume of oil on hand. The industry standard is 3 month’s supply. Once the oil is processed, the products must also be stored until they are sold.

Fact: According to the Minister of Housing, Lands, Telecommunications, Energy and Ports, the Honourable Reginald Austrie, the proposed oil refinery will occupy 25 acres of land.

2. Where will the oil refinery be located?

Assumption: Because of the need to transfer oil and the refinery products to and from ships, the refinery would have to be located on the coast. The west coast is likely the only suitable location for such transfers to occur given the roughness of the sea to the east.

3. What are the terms of investment?

Not revealed by Government to date.

Fact: President Chavez has pledged at least US$47 billion in aid and agreements to a variety of countries. Economists predict that the country’s resources will not be adequate to honour all of these commitments.

4. What commitment will be expected from Dominica?

Not revealed by Government to date.

5. Who will own the refinery? If it is a company, who owns the company?

Not revealed by Government to date.

6. Who will manage the refinery?

Assumption: There are no Dominicans with the expertise to manage an oil refinery. The expertise will have to come from overseas.

7. Who will maintain the refinery?

Assumption: Expertise to perform maintenance does not exist locally and will have to come from overseas

8. Who will oversee the refinery’s operations to ensure it is controlling pollution?

Fact: Dominica’s Government does not have the capacity to regulate this operation.

9. Who will buy the oil, sell the processed products and earn whatever profits are made?

Not revealed by Government to date.

10. To what extent and how will the profits benefit the people of Dominica?

Not revealed by Government to date.

11. To what extent can Venezuela guarantee that oil will be available to the refinery over a period of time on advantageous terms?

Fact: Dominica has no oil of its own and will have to buy oil to refine, if any is available

Fact: Venezuela is bound by its OPEC membership to charge the OPEC price.

Fact: The world’s oil supply is quickly reaching peak production. Experts predict that within fifteen years, the world’s extra oil supply is likely to come from expensive and environmentally damaging unconventional sources, such as Venezuela’s Orinoco tar belt. (Financial Times, February 18, 2007)

Fact: Venezuela is making similar deals with other countries, including some large Latin American countries, countries with larger populations and more industry and who share Venezuela’s cultural and linguistic heritage. (Washington Post, February 23, 2007)

Fact: The demand for oil from fast-growing and very large economies, such as those of China and India, is going to keep the cost high for the foreseeable future.

12. How would Dominica enforce promises given by Venezuela’s present government should power there change hands?

Fact: Inflation is said to be skyrocketing in Venezuela - so much so that President Chavez has recently threatened to nationalize grocery stores if the owners did not limit their price increases. (Washington Post, February 23, 2007)

Assumption: President Chavez may not remain in office if the conditions in Venezuela deteriorate significantly. His successor may not feel bound by promises he has made.

13. What are the kinds of catastrophic accidents that can occur at oil refineries?

Fact: Fires and explosions are not uncommon incidents at oil refineries. These incidents may threaten the lives of persons living in the vicinity as well as persons working in the refinery. For example, on Saturday, February 17, 2007, the Associated Press reported that an explosion rocked a west Texas refinery the day before injuring at least nineteen and sparking a blaze that sent a huge black cloud billowing into the sky.

Fact: Refineries are also a source of large chemical releases during fires, explosions, upsets and spills. During these accidents, many thousands pounds of dangerous chemicals can be released in a short period of time. These dangerous spills often dump chemicals into the communities around refineries causing health problems. For example, on February, 23, 2007, the Associated Press reported that BP had settled several lawsuits from an explosion in their Texas plant in 2005. In that explosion, 15 people were killed and 170 were injured, a thousand claims were filed and 500 lawsuits remain outstanding. Two-thirds of the lawsuits were for personal and property damage that occurred outside the refinery.

Fact: Most refinery air pollution is from product leaks in equipment not smokestacks. (Refinery Reform Movement)

14. To what extent has the Government considered the possibility of hurricane or earthquake damage to the refinery resulting either in making the refinery inoperable of causing pollution?

Fact: Dominica is vulnerable to earthquakes, hurricanes and volcanic eruptions.

15. To what extent has the Government looked at the need to develop the necessary emergency response services should any kind of accident, explosion, fire, oil spill or chemical leak occur at the refinery?

Fact: Dominica presently has no capacity to deal with the kind of catastrophic event that occurs from time to time at oil refineries.

16. Has the Office of Disaster Preparedness been consulted about the potential hazards that an oil refinery may pose?

Not revealed by Government to date.

17. Exactly how will the oil refinery result in the reduced cost of electricity?

Not revealed by Government or by DOMLEC to date.

18. What other options to reduce the cost of electricity that pose less threat to the environment have been considered or pursued?

Fact: Dominica is blessed with an abundance of potential alternative renewable energy sources, including wind, solar, tide, biomass and geothermal.

Fact: Wind and solar energy produce no pollution.

Fact: Wind and sunlight are free and in abundant supply in Dominica.

Fact: It only takes three to eight months for a wind energy farm to recoup the investment in building and installation (National Resources Defense Council)

Fact: Venezuela, Cuba and China are investing in wind and solar power as means to reduce oil usage.

19. What is Dominica’s energy policy?

Fact: As recently as April, 2006, the Government said at an Alternative Energy Symposium that its strategy was to develop clean energy.

Fact: Dominica has no formally adopted policy on energy. The public has not been informed about the Government’s position with respect to the OECS energy policy discussions or the status of any clean energy initiatives.

Fact: Dominica has been a participant in CARICOM’s Caribbean Renewal Energy Development project since 1998.

Fact: Dominica is part of a project being carried out by the Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency partnership (REEEP) entitled Accelerated Use of Sustainable Energy in the East Caribbean, which is designed to develop 10MW of clean energy for the country.

Fact: Dominica is eligible to participate in the OAS initiative, Renewable Energy in the Americas, which provides a variety of assistance for developing geothermal as well as solar and wind energy.

Fact: The public is not informed about the status of these projects, how Dominica is taking advantage of them or what is needed to move them forward.

20. Has the Government thought through what is Venezuela’s reason for wanting to establish an oil refinery on the Nature Island?

Fact: President Chavez has made no secret of his intention to replace the influence of the United States in the Caribbean and Latin America. Building oil refineries in the region takes business away form the U. S. and the multinational companies.

Fact: No new oil refineries have been built in the United States since 1976 because of concerns related to the pollution they produce and the environmental hazards they present to neighbouring communities. (Wikipedia)

Fact: Venezuela is struggling to reduce its very significant problems with air pollution and would not want to aggravate the problem by building more refineries there.

21. Has Government considered the potentially negative impact of this arrangement on its relations with the United States?

Assumption: While there may be benefits to be gained by Dominica from participating in this effort, there are very likely to be repercussions as well, and Dominicans need to be aware of what those may be.

22. What is the technology proposed to be used in the oil refinery?

Not revealed by Government to date.

23. What kind of pollution will the oil refinery produce when operating properly?

Fact: The refining process releases numerous different chemicals into the atmosphere, consequently there are substantial air pollution emissions, and a notable odor normally accompanies the presence of a refinery. Aside from air pollution impacts, there are also waste water concerns, upset risks of fire and explosion, and both occupational noise and environmental noise health effects. (Wikipedia)

Fact: According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, oil refineries produce the following air pollutants: particulate, sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, aldehydes and ammonia.

Fact: Refineries also generate a lot of toxic waste in solid form that must be disposed of. The average refinery generates 10,000 gallons a day of waste that contains toxic chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects and other serious health effects. (Communities for a Better Environment)

Complied by Betty Perry-Fingal – as a work in progress, open to corrections and additions

March 14, 2007

Here is the "Life Goes On" Washing Machine

2007-11-12T16:38:00.002-04:00

Here is the washing machine some very generous readers of this blog bought for the Life Goes On house. Brand new and ready to make life easier for some ill people and their caregivers. Thank you so much for reaching out to the people suffering with HIV/AIDS on this island. A lot of people will benefit from your generosity. Bless you!

This is where Life Goes On is housed. It is a drop in center for the Life Goes On community, the office is housed here, and sometimes the staff stay here also. Unfortunately, a person who had loaned beds to the house has come to claim them. So the staff are sleeping on the floor. If you have beds to loan or donate, (or you know how to make them!) please call 767-449-8593.

The Life Goes On house is a little haven for people living with HIV and their caregivers who may be shunned in their own communities. It is a place of support and acceptance where both body and spirit are nourished. I can only imagine what it must feel like to have this welcoming spot full of caring people when isolation and fear are ever present. And now laundry can be brought here, too!

Today when I visited Mr. Rasta at the house, another member of Life Goes On was getting a haircut by a volunteer. He looked so improved after the haircut, I told Mr. Wizard he should get in the queue...

Mr. Rasta was feeling good today because he took a shower at the house. He does not have running water at home, so he was delighted to get to shower. Normally, he keeps himself very clean, but with sponge baths. He said the shower felt wonderful. The plan is for him to use the shower whenever he visits the house, and for me to change his dressing afterward. For this gentle person who is ostracized in his community, it felt wonderful to him, just being invited to do a simple things like have a shower. I took a picture of him today, with his permission. He even smiled. So often I see him with tears in his eyes, to see him smile was a real gift to me.

livingdominica: Thank you again for the support you readers are providing to this very necessary project.

Another Real Estate Saga

2007-11-10T08:36:00.001-04:00

This is another real estate story, so you can skip it if you are tired of listening to the endless moaning. I would certainly skip it if I could.

We had located a small piece of land up high, barely wide enough to support a cottage. We figured we might be able to afford it and a banana shack to live in. But hey, we thought, at least we would have something in case the issues with the government grind on endlessly. (We have noticed more and more lately that we are not getting younger.) We arranged to have a survey done of the land, because every inch of width mattered on such a narrow lot. Plus, the land had not been surveyed since the 1980s.

We figured we had solved our problems, and we began planning a modest little cottage to build on the land. Meanwhile, the survey was begun. I even had the audacity to begin to feel a little happy again. Foolish me. The gods are not done with us yet.

A little note about surveys on Dominica: points of survey on this island are frequently marked with beer bottles placed upside down in the earth, sticks, and trees. Yes, gentle readers, my future home was hanging on the possibility of finding a beer bottle. After two weeks of trying to find any point of the prior survey, the poor survey guy threw up his hands in despair. All the beer bottles were missing, and the trees were indicated in Kweyol names, which none of the five or six native Dominicans consulted could figure out. (Kweyol is the local linguistic amalgamation of French, English, African and Carib.)

In addition to the missing beer bottles and unknown trees, the neighbor to the South insisted the line was definitely further North. The Northern neighbor claims, "No, No, the line is further South." The narrow lot was shrinking before our eyes. The strong smell of endless boundary disputes began to hang in the air. I hope by now you have tears streaming down your face, I certainly did. I crawled back into bed, under the covers for a few days.

Did I mention that the Realtor on the island who showed us this property does not return our calls?

So, we are back to square one. Actually, it feels like the reset point is into the negative numbers. We have to crawl up in order to reach zero. The only glimmer of hope I see in this, is that one day I can write a book. I am thinking, "The Definitive Guide to Dominica Real Estate Nightmares".

livingdominica: I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried...

A Plague of Stupid Birds

2007-11-10T08:33:00.000-04:00

Our rental house has been invaded by a hoard of Stupid Birds. But I am sure hoard is not the right word. So I went looking. About.com has this extensive list for groups of birds:

Birds in general - A flock of birds, a dissimulation of birds, volery of birds
Bitterns - A siege of bitterns, a sedge of bitterns
Chickens - A peep of chickens
Choughs - A chattering of choughs
Coots - A cover of coots, a raft of coots
Cormorants - A flight of cormorants
Cranes - A sedge of cranes
Crows - A congress of crows, a murder of crows
Curlews - A herd of curlews
Doves - A dule of doves, a flight of doves, a dole of doves, a cote of coves, a piteousness of doves
Ducks - A paddling of ducks, a raft of ducks, a team of ducks, a dopping of ducks
Dunlin - A fling of dunlin
Eagles - A convocation of eagles
Eggs - A clutch of eggs
Falcons - A cast of falcons
Finches - A charm of finches, a trembling of finches
Flamingos - A flamboyance of flamingos
Geese - A gaggle of geese, a skein of geese
Goldfinches - A charm of goldfinches
Goshawks - A flight of goshawks
Grouse - A brace of grouse, a covey of grouse
Guillemots - A bazaar of guillemots
Gulls - A colony of gulls
Hawks - A cast of hawks, a kettle of hawks, a cast of hawks
Hens (chickens) - A brood of hens
Herons - A siege of herons
Hummingbirds - A charm of hummingbirds, a troubling of hummingbirds, a hover of hummingbird
Jays - A band of jays, party of jays
Kingfishers - A concentration of kingfishers
Lapwings - A deceit of lapwings
Larks - An exaltation of larks
Loons - A raft of loons
Magpies - A tiding of magpies
Mallards - A sord of mallards, a flush of mallards, a puddling of mallards
Nightingales - A watch of nightingales
Owls - A parliament of owls, a wisdom of owls
Parrots - A company of parrots
Partridges - A covey of partridges
Peacocks - An ostentation of peacocks, a muster of peacocks
Penguins - A colony of penguins, huddles of penguins, a pride of penguins
Pheasants - A bouquet of pheasants, a covey of pheasants, a nye of pheasants, a nide of pheasants, a nest of pheasants
Quail - A bevy of quail, a covey of quail
Pelicans - A squadron of pelicans
Plovers - A congregation of plovers, a wing of plovers, a leash of plovers
Ravens - A conspiracy of ravens, an unkindness of ravens, a constable of ravens
Rooks - A building of rooks, a parliament of rooks
Snipe - A walk of snipe, a wisp of snipe
Sparrows - A host of sparrows, a quarrel of sparrows
Starlings - A murmuration of starlings
Storks - A mustering of storks
Swallows - A flight of swallows
Swans - A ballet of swans, a bevy of swans, a herd of swans, a whiteness of swans
Teal - A spring of teal
Turtledoves - A pitying of turtledoves
Turkeys - A rafter of turkeys, a muster of turkeys
Waterfowl - A plump of waterfowl
Woodcock - A fall of Woodcock
Woodpeckers - A descent of woodpeckers

You'll notice Stupid Birds are not enumerated. But I could call them a Murder of Stupid Birds, since that is what I would like to do to them.

Our Stupid Birds cannot nest. They flap around, creating mess and nesting debris everywhere, but they never manage to put together a nest in which to deposit an egg. I enjoy watching birds nest, and last year when Doves (a Piteous of Doves) nested in my flowerpot, I was so pleased to watch the babies hatch and then take flight.

But these Stupid Non-nesting Birds perform their pointless maneuvers right above my hanging laundry. This has caused many loads of rewashing. Grrrr.

We continually marvel that there are so many of these flapping fiends, since you would think they would die out after one generation. But somehow they must procreate somewhere, because here they are. Unless, of course, they are a cloning experiment gone hideously wrong.

Now, I could look up the species of these tormentors in my Guide to West Indian Birds, but I will not honor them by calling them by a proper bird name.

Stupid Birds.

We could use some more help, if you can...

2007-11-06T19:38:00.001-04:00

If you are coming to the island and can bring some dressing supplies, I would be so grateful, and so would Mr. Rasta. I am bummed out. I cannot find large guaze pads like ABDs on the island. And dressing supplies are incredibly expensive here. I paid $62 dollars for a box of 4X4s today. We have tried all sorts of alternative dressings to cover his huge tumor: pampers, large incontinent pads. It is not working well. His tumor's area is about 8X14. Large gauze pads, 4X4s, surgical tape and Kerlix wraps are particularly needed. If you have other ideas for a make do dressing of this size, let me know. I am out of ideas.

Sometimes the clinic nurses are able to give him dressings, sometimes they just don't have them to give. We are trying to help fill the gap.

I made a horrible mess today trying to change his dressing using makeshift materials. Now, I am a messy nurse anyway, so if a big mess is possible, I am just the old nurse who will create it. You should see some of the floods I created with a dialysis machine... But never mind. I felt bad for both of us today.

I have been thinking about making reusable dressings from thick quilted cloth diapers. We could wash them now, since you generous, kind blog readers have made the washing machine happen at the Life Goes On house. I saw it today! Brand new and shiny. I am so thrilled.

In addition to the dressing materials needed down here at the Life Goes On house, we could also use linens. Used linens will really help. If you can help, contact me for an address where you can send some supplies. Or if you are coming to the island, please bring some down if you have access. Or if you have friends who can help...

I remember all the incredible waste in the hospitals I worked in. We would throw out dressings just because they had already been in a patients room and the patient was transfered! Operating Rooms and Cardiac Cath Labs throw out stacks of dressings left over from a case. Please, if you are in a position to scavenge some dressings send them on down. Or if you can bring them down when you visit, I can offer you a cup of coffee and a warm welcome.

livingdominica: I hope some other old nurses out there will email me with creative dressing ideas.

The Misery and the Miracle

2007-11-05T07:08:00.001-04:00

Remember me? I am the woman plagued by Real Estate Misery, also known as: R.E.M.

We are no closer today to having our own home than we were in 2005 when we moved to the island. Plus, a large portion of our housing funds has slid down a hill. And the prospect of comparable replacement land seems discouraging. (We looked long and hard to find Wit's End, in all her glory. We have not seen anything that even comes close to having the same amenities. Plus, Real Estate seems to be rapidly escalating in price here.)

Poor Mr. Wizard, he has been looking at a miserable face recently.

So he has been experiencing R.E.M. also, but his is an opportunistic infection he obtained from me. Anytime I begin to discuss a return to the US, The Wiz grows pale, begins panting and breaks out in hives. (These are the hallmark signs that R.E.M. has been transmitted.)

My R.E.M. has recently been complicated by having our ancient vehicle, endlessly in the repair shop. The Wiz loves his relic from an earlier transportation era, but it does breakdown. I, however, have really been missing the posh and reliable vehicles from our life up North. Not reliably having transportation recently has been a nuisance. And since we are amidst a holiday, I fully expected not to see The Beast until mid week.

Hence, my misery index increased dramatically. Then a remarkable thing occurred Sunday morning. A call from the repair guy!

He had worked on our vehicle all day Saturday (which was a holiday!). It was fixed, and because of the delays with getting it repaired, he charged us next to nothing for the repair.

The repair he spent a holiday to complete.

On a Saturday.

(Stunned silence)

Now, if you have never lived in the US, maybe you don't appreciate what a miracle has occurred here. Let me explain.

In my former home:

The repair would never have been done on a Saturday. Or on a holiday. Period.
But let's say that, against all odds, work was done for you beyond regular hours. You would pay triple time. No question.
And your car would certainly not be returned to your home on a Sunday morning. Yes, friends, The Beast was brought to our door. On a Sunday morning!
And the repair guy apologized profusely for not getting it done earlier.

I gave him a great big kiss. I probably would have given him more if the Wiz weren't standing there.

I am thinking that maybe our car repair dude should be canonized. I may have to talk with the local Bishop about him. He has performed a miracle which is beyond my American comprehension, a miracle of holiday weekend car repair at low prices. I wonder if he can perform other miracles? I am thinking about instant weight loss and age reduction. Or even better, healing of the Wit's End landslide. That would be the greatest miracle of all. Our R.E.M. would be immediately cured!

livingdominica: I sure hope the car starts this morning...

Dengue continues to sweep through the Caribbean

2007-10-29T17:18:00.001-04:00

Two men have died of Dengue Hemmorhagic Fever in next door Martinique, and the mosquito borne illness is now found in St Maarten's and St Bart's as it spreds through the islands. Malarial risk is also up in the Caribbean.

Dominica has Dengue on the island, but I have not heard of Malaria here yet.

Eliminate pooling water, wear your DEET, and read our Environmental Health Officer's blog at The Woodshed Environment to keep informed of what is happening with these issues. There is a wealth of information on his site.

Take a moment to view the Dengue Poster that Martinique is handing out to departing visitors. Scary.

livingdominica: once you have seen someone ill with Dengue, you know to avoid it at all costs.

Rumors, Pilgrims, and Saints

2007-10-28T05:53:00.000-04:00

We heard a rumor yesterday, and it was about us. Dominica is a gossipy little place, like a small town, so I would like to clarify something for the record. We have not received money from the government for Wit's End, nor have we requested any monetary compensation. We have requested to have our land replaced with a piece of similar size and amenities. So if you hear how "the government is going to give them a lot of money", please correct the rumor. We don't even want money. We just want to have a place to put a house and have an organic farm like we intended up at Byack. Besides, nothing could compensate for the heartache this situation has caused. We just want to get on with life.

I did hear a funny story from our neighbor up by Wit's End. Some tourists came up and asked for him by name after reading the blog. After hearing this, I wonder if I should promote Wit's End as a pilgrimage spot? We could build a little shrine and ask for donations. Or turn my shack into the shrine! (I would be more likely to get rich from this than from asking the government for money, I think.) There must be a patron saint for landslides...

By the way, a saintly person has responded to the request for a washing machine for Life Goes On and has offered to make a generous donation toward the purchase. I am so touched and excited by this gift. Not only will this gift help Mr. Rasta, but many others in the future will benefit also. Illness always means a lot of laundry, in my experience.

livingdominica: just hoping for some land so we can build our house and garden...

No Car. No Water. No Joy?

2007-10-27T09:28:00.002-04:00

We are well into our second day without water following a storm which blew through bringing wind, masses of rain, and eroding the road surfaces. Mr. Wizard was told by the water company that they turn off the water to avoid sucking mud into the pipes. I don't know about the sucking of mud, but I do know that not having running water sucks.

Fortunately, with friends' help, we can get through these things. Here is a picture of my friend Chrissy who came over and we laughed and caught water to use for flushing toilets and mopping floors from a broken gutter. Because we also have no car, my friend Nora took me to the grocery store to provision for the weekend so that we can at least eat something other than from the tins in the cupboard. Other buddies, Quinten and Chris are fetching us for supper tonight. With friends, life is good!

The same storm that robbed us of water also tore up the roof on our rental house, so the workers are up there banging away to keep us dry. But we are hearing that a new roof might be coming! Great news! It has been disconcerting to watch the shingles whizzing by during every little storm since Hurricane Dean.

We also have no transportation since our car is being repaired, and life as we know it on the island has stopped to celebrate Creole. Three Nights of Pulsating Rhythms means no car for us since all the rentals cars on the island have been engaged by the festival people. I hate the idea of once again owning 2 vehicles, but it may come to that. Things do seem to happen all at once, don't they? But even if we had the vehicle, the road between us and town is nearly impassable from erosion. The torrential rain has dug beneath the tarmac in areas up to 12 inches deep. The forces of nature are mind boggling sometimes.

The Wiz and I were discussing this morning how much more able to cope we are here than we ever were in the US. Here we always have water stored, batteries charged, and a cupboard full of tins of food. In the US we were so lulled into complacency by the consistency of services that if we had 2 days of interrupted water, we would have been desperate for something to drink, not to mention all the other things in life which require water. I like the feeling that we are ok when systems break down (with a little help from our friends, of course) But it does make me wonder why we were ever so willing to bet things would continue to work in the US? I like the feeling that we are fine when things do not consistently work.

livingdominica: off to joyfully wash my hair in a bucket.

Creole is Here!

2007-10-22T07:36:00.000-04:00

Here is my Madras for Creole Days.

This post is updated from an earlier entry, if it seems familiar...

This month is Creole time here on Dominica, which is my very favorite celebration. This time of year is a festival honoring all things Dominican. Everyone gets into the spirit of things in the days leading up to Independence Day (Nov. 3) and the World Creole Music Festival (Oct. 26-28).

Here are some of the things I love about this time of year: Creole in the Park is a family celebration of food, music, crafts and fun held in the Botanic Garden. This year Creole in the Park starts on October 22 for four days. I can already taste the Crab Backs, my favorite Creole dish.

On the Friday before Independence everyone, I mean , everyone will be decked out in Creole dress. Women in madras dresses and head ties, men in the traditional dark trousers with white shirt and red sash. Sometimes the guys have a madras vest or tie, too. From toddlers to grannies, everyone wears some version of traditional dress, even immigrants. (My madras outfit is pictured above)

Community Day of Service (Nov 4) is a day when everyone works together to improve the country. Much cleaning, painting and trimming is done this day in a spirit of pride. It is a work party and you can see a real difference everywhere you look after this day of work, trash all gone and everything tidy.

Market Day with a Difference: The markets of the island are wonderful every Saturday, but on the Saturday before Independence, the stalls and vendors are awash with madras. It is the best!

Miss and Madam Wob Dwiyet competitions: Wob Dwiyet is the traditional island costume and women of all ages compete in several areas in order to win the title. Miss Wob Dwiyet is for the younger set, Madam Wob for the mature women. But the most important skill they demonstrate is the ability to wear this costume with the grace and dignity it deserves.

During this season, every village seems to develop Creole fever and strives to show it's neighbors how well it is preserving heritage and traditions. The pride and love for this island is truly palpable this time of year when areas around the island compete in dance competitions and village festivals are held.

Local TV has a lot of historic and cultural programing which includes Dr. Honychurch's history and archeology films, demonstrations of how to properly tie a West Indian head dress, and lots of traditional dancing and music. I love the Bele and the Jing Ping bands most of all. It is wonderful to see the children learning these traditional art forms. Thank goodness Dominicans are passionate about keeping their history and culture alive.

livingdominica: I am a little bit Creole in my soul...

Land Deal Gone Wrong Hell

2007-10-21T06:03:00.002-04:00

A friend of mine wrote me an email asking about our current land situation. Here was my reply:

"We are slogging away at the land issues, but I think this last year is something out of Dante's Inferno. We are stuck in some Dominican land-deal-gone-wrong hell."

Forget the beggars on the streets asking for bread money, forget your recent terminal diagnosis. I am the one you should really pity. I continue to feel bereft and homeless. I bumped into a friend on the street in Roseau who commented that our landslide (which he can see from his house) keeps getting bigger. I should have a snappy response to that, but I don't. If you can suggest one I would be so pleased.

I could try this: "Oh really? And we thought it would start getting smaller!" or maybe "We thought the situation sucked so badly the whole thing would disappear into a black hole." Or maybe I will just act American and beat up anyone who mentions our plight. Of course Mr. Wizard is ever so much more evolved than I, so he would not participate in street violence. I'm kinda on my own with that plan. If you are up for a fight, come give me a hand. Maybe we'll start a street gang. You figure out the hand signs, I'll buy the spray paint.

I am indulging my blatant self pity re: the Dominican land-deal-gone-wrong level of hell, but you get the idea. Our current L.D.G.W.H. involves endless waiting, attorneys who do not return phone calls or keep appointments, and a depleting bank account as we pay rent on a house with a leaky roof and termites. Lucy definitely had a hand in this.

I can find one slight glimmer of hope. I think the Wiz and I are burning off a mountain of accumulated Karma, and will eventually emerge shining and pristine from beneath the pyre to live in splendor. Or we will end in utter madness. Depending on how long this all takes. (Wiz will probably get the splendor, as I descend into madness...)

livingdominica: ever striving to be the tragic figure from some maudlin old story. Can't you just hear the sobbing violins?

Thoughts on Suffering

2007-10-16T06:18:00.002-04:00

I met with Mr. Rasta again yesterday, and things are getting worse for this poor man. He is very frustrated because his tumor is growing much bigger and the doctors here have said they cannot surgically intervene because of bleeding risks. As his tumor grows, he is becoming more isolated in his community. "People are afraid." Tears flow as he tells me about sitting alone in his poverty, hoping that a solution will appear.

I listen to him and try to communicate the acceptance and caring he needs as much as he needs food and medical attention. I give him a few things and agree to meet him next week at the Life Goes On house. Not much help. I feel pretty lame.

The Life Goes On house is a little haven for people living with HIV and their caregivers who may be shunned in their own communities. It is a place of support and acceptance where both body and spirit are nourished. I can only imagine what it must feel like to have this welcoming spot full of caring people when isolation and fear are ever present.

Of course funding is always an issue for Life Goes On. The bus needs fuel and insurance. The house always needs food to share with the community. Sometimes the needs here on Dominica seem like a bottomless hole where my little help is mostly futile. Just a drop in the bucket.

But, of course, if my drop is added to your drop and all the other drops, soon the bucket begins to fill.

Looking into the face of suffering is so difficult. It is easier to turn away, of course. We all have plenty of personal suffering (and it is much easier to focus on my own pain, rather than embrace the suffering of someone like Mr. Rasta). Helping can be like walking the razor's edge between the care of the self and care of others. At one time, during my hospice years, I allowed the suffering of others to swallow me whole. I am older now, and less likely to completely throw myself on that razor. But nontheless, living in a world of suffering does call to me to do something when I can. No matter how inadequate and lame it may be.

livingdominica: maybe it is time to read Ram Dass's How Can I Help again...

Minutes of the First Meeting of the Book Club

2007-10-12T22:02:00.001-04:00

At 4 PM on October 12, 2007 the first meeting of the Book Club was held in the bar of the Fort Young Hotel. Attending this meeting were Jen Miller and Chris Lawrence (who really doesn't like to read much but came because I asked her and she is my friend). The meeting began promptly at 4 PM and Officers were elected. Chris Lawrence was nominated to the esteemed position of Lofty Matron of Unread Books (LMUB) Jen Miller was nominated to a temporary position of Recording Secretary and Honorable Matron of the Slippery Land (HMSL).

Refreshments were served.

New Business: It was decided that should anyone be interested in a Book Club other than the LMUB and the HMSL, they should step up and arrange the next meeting. This motion was passed by acclaim.

Refreshments continued.

Old Business: None.

Admiration for the plantings in the bar were expressed by one member, and another member offered that she had occasionally pinched a start off the plants here.

Refreshment concluded.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:45 PM by unanimous vote.

Meeting notes respectfully submitted by Jen Miller, HMSL and Temporary Recording Secretary.

Dengue Alert

2007-10-12T21:33:00.000-04:00

An interesting post about our Dengue situation in Dominica is found at The Woodshed Environment.

This is not a Disney World Island

2007-10-05T20:02:00.001-04:00

A friend of mind calls those other islands the "Disney World Islands". (you know, the ones which have turned themselves into plastic versions of a Caribbean island)

Wit's End Update

2007-10-01T05:03:00.000-04:00

More slides, no stabilization started. We hear that the Cubans are now to look at it. I believe this will be the fourth group of foreign engineers to visit the landslide; including Canadian, French, Chinese, and now Cuban. It is a veritable United Nations up at our land. Are you familiar with the crass American anacronym SNAFU?

livingdominica: here is the more civilized version for our genteel Brit friends. Situation Normal All Fouled Up.

Learning to Dance in the Rain

2007-09-30T05:50:00.000-04:00

There once was a woman who woke up one morning,
looked in the mirror,
and noticed she had only three hairs on her head.

Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today?"
So she did
and
she
had
a
wonderful
day.

The next day she woke up,
looked in the mirror
and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.

"H-M-M," she said,
"I think I'll part my hair down the middle today?"
So she did
and
she
had
a
grand
day.

The next day she woke up,
looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head.

"Well," she said,
"today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail."
So she did
and
she
had
a
fun,
fun
day.

The next day she woke up,
looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head.

"YEA!" she exclaimed,
"I don't have to fix my hair today!"

Attitude is everything.

Be kinder than necessary,

for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

Live simply,

Love generously,

Care deeply,

Speak kindly.......

Leave the rest to whoever you call God

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass...
It's about learning to dance in the rain.

livingdominica: someone sent this to me in an email. I really liked it, but I had to cut off the part saying you must forward it to this many people. Why do people put that dictatorial stuff at the end of otherwise nice messages? grrrrr

If Haiti had oil, would we care more?

2007-09-29T11:38:00.000-04:00

I have been reading about Theo's work for a while. I found him by way of his blog, because they built the cool earth bag house at his project on Haiti. I watch his sites regularly now, and admire the incredible amount of good he is doing in caring for these street children.

I did not know about Restaveks, the child slaves of Haiti, even though in 1998 the United Nations estimated there were 300,000 such children. Restavek is a Creole word meaning "stay with", but it has come to mean slavery and abuse of the most horrible kind even for the smallest little children.

We have a lot of Haitians who have come to Dominica looking for work and opportunity. They are incredibly industrious, hardworking people desperate to send a few dollars back to the families left behind. We once had a Haitian housekeeper who told us her first job on Dominica was doing ironing all day long for a hotel, earning EC $25 (US $9.26). She had three children left behind in Haiti. How do you feed yourself and send money back to feed your children on $9 dollars?

Here is a video about Theo's Work on Haiti:

You can watch another video about Aaron Jackson's work in Haiti on CNN.

Tonight, from our veranda

2007-09-27T18:10:00.001-04:00

Cross Cultural Living

2007-09-27T15:59:00.000-04:00

Dancing the Hokey Pokey

We have some very close friends who live here on the island who are from Switzerland, but we share a mutual friend who sometimes sends us jokes from America. We all got this joke by email:

"Larry LaPrise, the man who wrote "The Hokey Pokey," died peacefully at the age of 83. The most traumatic part for his family was getting him into the coffin.
They put his left leg in. And then the trouble began..."

At dinner the other night our Swiss friends commented, "We got this joke and didn't understand it..." Hmmmm. How to explain the Hokey Pokey to someone from another culture? Only one way to do it. So there I was, with my Zaftig self, singing and dancing the Hoky Poky. Oh my. The things we do to bridge the cultural gaps and pave the way for international harmony.

Video of the Hokey Pokey:

livingdominica: I obviously care more about world peace and understanding than Mr. Wizard who was adamant in his refusal to "put his left leg in..."

I love the street musicians in Roseau

2007-09-25T18:39:00.000-04:00

I wish there were street musicians every day, but this mostly happens when the cruise boats are in. Most of us who can, avoid Roseau on boat days.

A Visit to Wit's End

2007-09-25T11:53:00.000-04:00

We owned a farm high in the mountains of Dominica where we planned an organic farming venture. Unfortunately, a massive landslide occurred after the hill beneath our land was undercut just prior to Hurricane Dean. One life has already been lost to this feat of engineering. What is left of our property is now unstable, unbuildable, and unfarmable.

When we bought this property it had many trees that have now also been lost to the slide. You could dig down over two feet and still find the richest topsoil imaginable, perfect for organic farming. And we had a local farmer enthusiastic to start work on our chemical free farm.

But that dream may be lost.

We finally went up again to view the damage at Wit's End. The views remain breathtaking, some of the best on the island.

But landslides continue on a nearly daily basis according to our neighbor, David. His ears are sharply attuned to the sounds of crashing slides, since he will probably lose his brand new house.

David's situation is additionally sad since he acts as foster father to a couple of Dominican children. These kids had just begun to settle into the security of a stable home, but now have to listen for the sounds of the hill falling away beneath their house. It makes your heart ache to see these youngsters who have already gone through so much only to face this.

This is the cliff left after the slide was cleared. This entire area used to be underneath our farm. I have heard this road may actually be opened to the public without the hill being stabilized. I hope that is not true.

The slide has now advanced up to where the build line for our house was located.

We have been out avidly looking for land, only to find that we will probably never again find the special combination of attributes that made Wit's End.

livingdominica: When we die, I hope we will finally go live on our farm at Wit's End and call it Paradise.

The Swedish Guy Who Built the Airplane

2007-09-22T20:07:00.000-04:00

We have been looking for land up around the village of Cochran. That is where the "Swedish Guy Who Built the Airplane" lives. We have been hearing about him since our very first visit to the island.

We first heard the story when we were sitting drinking an icy glass of juice in the small east coast village of Petite Soufriere. This pretty little village clings to a hillside at the end of a winding road. We felt quite happy finding this spot to sit in the shade and drink juice with the locals, watching the sea. One guy smiled and said to me, "I work up in Cochran. There are lots of white people up there. You know, that is where the Swedish Guy Who Built the Airplane lives." (FYI, In Dominica, "lots of white people" means more than one.)

That was our introduction, but over the years we have repeatedly heard about S.G.W.B.A. Now I do not know the truth of the story, but I will share what we have heard. Apparently, this fellow built an ultra light aircraft in the mountain village of Cochran (elevation 1650 feet) hauled it down the winding narrow roads of Dominica (!), attached the wings, and flew off. The story I heard was that he flew to the States. Of course that may have been embellishment, artistic license. But it is a great story, and I have enjoyed it each time I have heard it.

There was, in fact, a Swedish community up in Cochran founded by some intrepid Swede who divided land into lots and sold them for vacation homes back in the 60's. These original owners have mostly retreated back to Sweden in their elder years. But the S.G.W.B.A. still owns a house there. We heard he might sell, so we went tramping around to have a look. Hmm. Mighty close to that steep edge... But still. We later got his email address to send an inquiry.

I got a nice email back. S.G.W.B.A. is not sure he wants to sell.

It might have been fun to live in the house of a local legend. I mean, how many Swedes build aircraft on small tropical islands and fly away? And we would always have an interesting story with which to greet visitors. I can just see Mr. Wizard with his chest puffed out, "This house was once owned by the Swedish Guy Who Built the Airplane. Let me tell you the story..."

Update: there has been a documentary made about S.G.W.B.A. called Celebration of Flight.

livingdominica: and have I told you the story about the American woman who lost her mind when her farm slid down the hill?

Earthrise

2007-09-21T19:41:00.000-04:00

"Suddenly, from behind the rim of the moon, in long, slow-motion moments of immense majesty, there emerges a sparkling blue and white jewel, a light, delicate, sky-blue sphere laced with slowly swirling veils of white, rising gradually like a small pearl in a thick sea of black mystery. It takes more than a moment to fully realize this is Earth…home. My view of our planet was a glimpse of divinity."

- Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 astronaut and founder, Institute of Noetic Science

Women's Sex Tourism

2007-09-20T19:39:00.000-04:00

I am bordering on being an old lady (feel free to argue that with me), and I have been faithfully married for over 30 years, but hey! I had never even heard of sex tourism for women until I read the article inEscape Artist.

Of course I have heard of men going to Thailand for sex, but I didn't realize that the Caribbean is a Mecca for women seeking, what this article calls: "the big bamboo". We have all seen the frumpy white woman with the buff black guy, but who knew? I guess I was naive enough to think the buff young black guys might find us attractive without payment. Hmmm. Wake up and smell the coffee, huh? I guess they are really the new pirates of the Caribbean.

For others with similarly lurid tastes as mine, try googling sex tourism for women. Interesting.

livingdominica: there is no depth to which I will not sink when I need a blog topic and I am sick to death of writing about land. And no, Mr. Wizard, I am not planning a vacation.

Happy Acres

2007-09-15T08:42:00.000-04:00

Gee, I hope our next land doesn't look like this.

I have a good friend who always talks about she and I ending up in Happy Acres (a fictional institution for the mentally ill who can no longer cope). So maybe our next land should be Happy Acres. I have come up with some other names, but none have the sweet ring of Wit's End. I really loved that name. Bill Wilson, who founded Alcoholics Anonymous, called his office Wit's End. I stole the name from ol' Bill.

So, Clever Readers, here is your big chance to name our next shrewd land deal. But please. No Sliding Acres or Volcano Ridge. Here are some thoughts I had:

In Stead Of
It's About Time
Last Laugh
Long Wait
Y Worry
Retread Acres
Plan B
Dirt and a Roof

And here are the Exciting Prizes!

I will send the person who submits the winning name a gift from Dominica. Or, if you are on the island, I will buy you lunch.

livingdominica: so, what have you got to lose? Enter our contest today and win exciting prizes or a Creole lunch. This contest is not available to employees of livingdominica or their subsidiaries. (That means you, Wiz.) All decisions are final, and clever names not chosen still become the property of livingdominica. I mean, who knows how many names we will need before we finally get this right....

Instead Of

2007-09-14T20:13:00.000-04:00

Apparently the government has officially declared Wit's End dead. No usable land is left from the original acreage. Maybe we should have a funeral for this dream spot. We could all sign the side of the shack that, amazingly, is still standing as the land slips away. We could play "Taps", or "Amazing Grace" on bagpipes. Or round up a Jing Ping band! If you would like to deliver the eulogy, let me know. In lieu of flowers, send school supplies to the Ministry of Education.

So we are once again looking for a property that might fit our needs. Maybe we will call a new piece of land "Instead Of". I am not sure "Wit's End II" would be prudent. We did see a couple of nice pieces today, but it is very hard for me to operate out of an adult, rational problem solving mindset at this time. Things have been too emotional, too difficult since Dean blew through. I am just sooo ready to have this drama behind us. Just gimme some dirt with a roof over it.

Of course there are lots of people who are in worse shape than we are. Up next to Wit's End, David and his Rasta neighbor are about to watch their houses go down the hill. I wish someone from the government could arrange to move those houses to safety. But the government is pedaling as fast as they can. There are so many needs to try to meet on this island right now.

livingdominica: ok, everyone join in the responsorial: "Dirt and a roof, dirt and a roof. All we need is dirt and a roof..."

More Wit's End Landslides

2007-09-11T09:45:00.000-04:00

I imagine the engineers trying to stabilize the Byack landslide now have a full appreciation of the name we gave our land. And I suspect they are ready to kill the guy who thought making that first cut in the hill without building supports was a good idea.

Since the hurricane slide, the crew had once again removed the earth from the road with heavy equipment. More sliding occurred before they could do the protective terracing. Same song, different verse. Word from engineers on the project is that our neighbor David will probably lose his brand new house, and our entire property will be used to "bench" back from the road in order to have things open for tourist season. So Wit's End will be no more. A loss of nearly 5 acres.

There are major tourist attractions up the road from Wit's End which desperately need this project done before the season starts. The livelihood of this neighborhood hinges on tourist dollars. A combination of loss of crops to the hurricane and the loss of tourist income would devastate the mountain villages around the Arial Tram, Titou Gorge, and Freshwater Lake.

Another landslide has blocked the water inlet in our area, so we have been without water also. Fortunately, we have some water stored from our preparation for the hurricane. But this has been a good reminder to always have plenty of stored water.

livingdominica: What can I say? It is never dull here....

Please Move Your Goat

2007-09-10T13:56:00.001-04:00

I just listened to the public services announcements on radio, and was appalled to hear that goats grazing the property of Princess Margaret Hospital in Roseau will be shot if owners do not remove them. Would all persons who read this blog and have parked their goats at PMH please remove them? I do not want any of our goats shot. Be so advised.

livingdominica: As always, providing important community information. The management regrets any inconvenience this may cause. Better go move my goats.

I meet Mr. Rasta

2007-09-08T06:04:00.001-04:00

Tina and Harry Alexander

I got a call from Tina Alexander yesterday. She is a key person with Lifeline Ministries and also runs Island Guests Realty. She helped us find the lovely Sherbet Cottage which was our rental until until the arrival of our container made it too small. Tina's house is always open and is a hub of many activities, including helping newcomers moving to Dominica find their way. In fact, I got to meet some very nice people who have recently moved to Dominica when I visited there yesterday.

Tina needed a hand with checking on a guy whose brother had called her. This young guy has a very large tumor on his neck which at times smells bad, so we went off to see if we could help. And I got to haul out all my nursing gear, which I enjoyed.

This Rasta guy lives in a very poor house with a spongy floor. It reminded me of my days as a hospice nurse in the poorest sections of my home town. I always worry when I visit folks with shaky houses that I will go through, since I am "a woman of substance" (ok, fat). But luckily I stayed on the sturdy bits and did not fall through. Mr. Rasta did indeed have a very large tumor about half the size of his head, which I dressed for him. He had recently changed the dressing, so the smell was not too bad, but he said he had missed his doctor's appointments because the bus drivers will not let him ride on the buses due to the odor.

This is where Tina's crew can really help. They run a bus through Life Goes On, the HIV/AIDS support organization which can take Mr. Rasta to his appointments. It is available to any person on the island who has difficulty with transportation due to a medical condition. Unfortunately, funding has become an issue for this project.

This fellow is really doing a pretty good job of caring for himself otherwise. But he does not have a lot of family or community support to assist him. Again, Tina's group has a great outreach and support network providing a safety net for those in need, plus a place to rest and be welcomed when they have to go town to see the doctor.

It felt kind of good to go do something a bit nursey after a couple of years of mostly sitting at a computer. And I was struck, once again, that Dominican poverty is much the same as US poverty, just with less "stuff". There are fewer discards and cast offs here. Poor is poor all over but there are fewer resources here, making Life Goes On a critically needed service.

livingdominica: if everyone who reads this blog would send Life Goes On a few dollars, euros or pounds, many people would be helped.

2007-09-04T09:49:00.001-04:00

"When the solution is simple, God is answering." Albert Einstein

Landslide at Wit's End

2007-09-02T18:55:00.001-04:00

Our friend took this distant shot from his home in Posh Giraudel.

Here is the sad closeup. All of the land above the slides was ours. At least half of our 5 acres is gone. The slide at the left is below where our house was to be built. Notice the red roof? David has been in his house about a month and may lose it if the land is not quickly stabilized. His house may give you some idea of the massive size of the landslide. Notice there are also homes below. Each time it rains we fear more will slide and that these people will lose their homes.

Fortunately, the government here seems committed to doing the right thing. Bless them.

Wit's End Landslide Update

2007-08-29T08:42:00.000-04:00

News Flash from up by Wit's End...The Prime Minister visited!

(For those of you arriving late to this party, my beloved husband, Mr. Wizard, and I bought almost five acres of magnificent mountaintop on Dominica, which we aptly named Wit's End. About half of our land has already been lost in landslides following road excavation below our land coupled with Hurricane Dean. Proper stabilization has still not been started, although one life has already been lost and homes are threatened.)

Our nearest neighbor at Wit's End, David, is an elderly gentleman from Britain who is now living with suitcases packed in case his house begins to slide. He has lived in his brand new home less than a month, and the landslide has now progressed to just beneath his house. He reported today that the Prime Minister, Minister of Tourism, and Minister of Agriculture all visited up by us. He mentioned to the officials, the lovely American couple who bought next door (That would be the Wizard and I) and the P.M. said he was aware of us.

We have an appointment for Friday with the Minister of Public Works.

livingdominica: My shack is still standing, though.

To Wit's End, In Memorium

2007-08-26T08:52:00.000-04:00

This was the view from Wit's End prior to the massive landslide.

I have long enjoyed the poetry of E.E.Cummings, in fact I read one of his poems to Mr. Wizard at our wedding some thirty years ago.

Here is an offering that reflects my feeling about the expanse of air that was once our farm:

nobody loses all the time
i had an uncle named
Sol who was a born
failure and
nearly everybody said he should have gone
into vaudeville
perhaps because my Uncle Sol could
sing McCann He Was A Diver on Xmas Eve
like Hell Itself which
may or may not account for the fact that my
Uncle
Sol indulged in that possibly most inexcusable
of all to use a
highfalootin phrase
luxuries that is or to
wit farming and be
it
needlessly
added
my Uncle Sol's farm
failed because the chickens
ate
the vegetables so
my Uncle Sol had a
chicken farm till the
skunks ate
the chickens when
my Uncle Sol
had a skunk farm but
the skunks caught
cold and
died and so
my Uncle Sol imitated the
skunks in a subtle
manner
or by drowning himself in the watertank
but somebody who'd given my
Uncle Sol a Victor
Victrola and records while he lived presented to
him
upon the auspicious occasion of his decease a
scruptious not to mention
splendiferous funeral with
tall boys in black gloves and flowers and
everything and
i remember we all cried like the Missouri
when my Uncle
Sol's coffin lurched because
somebody pressed a button
(and down
went
my Uncle
Sol
and started a worm farm)
-- E. E.
Cummings

livingdominica: 'wonder if it is too late for a career in vaudeville...

The Aftermath, part II

2007-08-21T07:17:00.000-04:00

Firstly, I would like to apologize for the self absorbed post I wrote yesterday as I blubbered. I realize that some of you are interested in the experience of the hurricane in more detail, so here is a bit more about it.

I don't think we got a direct hit with sustained hurricane winds. It looked like tropical storm to me, with hurricane gusts. But this is totally subjective based on my past hurricane experience. This island was very lucky. Most of the damage I have observed is to crops and trees, and of course the landslides. The only deaths were from landslide, not wind or water. Even a lot of rickety buildings made it through. Our shack is still standing up at Wit's End, that expanse of air which was once our farm!

An American couple visiting on the island as they plan their move to Dominica stayed with us during the storm. It was helpful having a little house party during the blow, particularly since they are doting dog lovers. Chester got so much attention he never required a dose of doggie downers. They were a great help with the initial clearing away after the storm, too. And this hurricane has not changed their minds about Dominica, they still plan to move here.

Everyone is hard at work trying to set things right. We picked up a guy who works for the power company and gave him a ride. He told us he had worked 3 days straight during and after the storm. A fellow who works for the roads department was also near exhaustion when we spoke with him. I suspect these workers are the people hardest hit by the storm, as they try to restore services.

I certainly prefer life with electricity and running water, but we are old camping people who can cope without amenities. We had lots of water stored and we have a solar recharger for batteries, so we have water and light. I suspect our power will come and go for some time yet, but water has stayed on since it was restored.

I spoke with Nick, the one armed beggar yesterday. He and his comrades made it through the storm without difficulty in someone's cellar. He mentioned the Peace Corp people had brought them food. However, he was still hungry and could really use a little something...

A wonderful thing happened yesterday. Several of our closest friends dropped what they were doing with their own storm cleanup and came to give us support. It was an incredible gift, this rallying around the miserable. And that is one of the key difference between here and the real world: people take the time to care for one another, to support one another here. Even Eeyore me has to find a glimmer of hope in that.

livingdominica: may the people of the Yucatan be safe and protected.

The Aftermath

2007-08-20T06:38:00.000-04:00

Electric was restored during the night and I wanted to let you know that Roger, Chester and I are ok. Our preparations paid off and we were snug behind boarded windows during the blow. Trees are broken down around us and the roof now leaks in the rental, but we were not injured.

We have, however, experienced a couple of very unfortunate events, including our building land suffering a major landslide. Homes surrounding our land are threatened, our land appears unstable as a building site and we are simply stunned, unsure of what we will do. This land was a major investment for us, since we are not wealthy people. The land collapsed because the road works department did not stabilize a cliff they cut, so we are hoping that the government will help us. We definitely need help, so Roger is going to the ministries seeking assistance this morning.

The other blow was of a more personal nature and involved our off island friends and relatives, so I cannot detail that disappointment. Suffice it to say that we are both very saddened.

Anyway, we are regrouping and licking our wounds. I suspect this blog may grow silent at least for a while. At least until after the tears dry up.

I do want to thank each of you who sent caring and supportive messages. You have no idea how much your encouragement meant to us. Roger and I both thank you for reaching out to us in such a loving way.

Warm regards to each of you,

Jen, Rog, and Chester

I am really, really scared

2007-08-16T05:05:00.000-04:00

Most tropical storms go north of Dominica. We like that about living here. We are much less vulnerable to frequent pounding here than the Greater Antilles or the US coast. But it does happen, and now is one of those times. Hurricane Dean is coming to call tomorrow.

Ok, I admit it. I am frightened by the storm coming. I remember too clearly being huddled under a mattress in Corpus Christi during hurricane Celia thinking I was going to die at any moment as the glass from the windows whizzed by. I know we will be ok. I know if we experience losses it will just be our stuff is damaged. But knowing that doesn't change the visceral reaction I have every time I look at the map of Dean heading for us. I guess having gone through a bad blow makes you react differently.

We keep watching the maps, hoping Dean will take a sharp turn north and head away from the islands, but that does not even seem to be a possibility. The Wiz is doing everything he can to reassure me, but I am pretty stuck in this vat of fear. Such an ugly feeling, one of my least favorite.

We are doing everything possible to prepare. Storing food and water, boarding up the windows, securing the gas cylinders. This does not reassure me at all. I know that I am going to have to sit through hours of howling hurricane winds tomorrow, and the thought brings tears to my eyes. I feel like a small child abandoned and unprotected at the thought of this storm.

The good news is we may only see a Cat 1, if current projections are correct. But I am not sure whether the roof on this rental will go through even a category one hurricane.

We cannot really leave the island because of Chester and looting. I could not go off and leave Chester, and after a storm one needs to be present to discourage the "help your self" folks. This is a sad fact following storms everywhere.

Chester, the wonder pug, senses something. He never leaves my side. If he can't see me he starts looking for me, panicked. I have some doggie downers somewhere left from when we flew him to the island, I may give him some for the storm. I wonder if doggie downers work for people? hmm.

It reminds me of the early Carib's ability to predict a hurricane coming. You can read about it in Warnings of Hurricanes and Volcanoes.

livingdominica: please send all your spare courage to me. I will post whenever I can.

Dominica in the Cross Hairs of Tropical Storm Dean

2007-08-14T10:56:00.002-04:00

Will Pigs Fly at Wits End?

2007-08-14T08:22:00.000-04:00

I believe a flying pig is the perfect logo for our farm, Wits End. If you have followed the saga of our land acquisition, you already understand. Pigs may well have to fly before we have a house. No expedient path for us! We always seem to choose the road less traveled...

So I found this cool weather vane to mount on a cupola. What do you think? That would count as "pigs flying", wouldn't it? And thus hurry our project along? If so, I am ordering the weather vane right now!!!

livingdominica: local pigs are not sprouting wings yet, but I am watching...

Possible storm coming

2007-08-13T16:55:00.000-04:00

Thank you to all of you who have written to warn us of the storm approaching Dominica. We are well provisioned already and the plywood to board the windows will be delivered in the morning. Hopefully all the preparation will be unnecessary.

But it does make me very happy that you care enough to let us know what you see on the weather maps!

Very Fresh Pictures of Boiling Lake Hike

2007-08-10T16:45:00.001-04:00

livingdominica: I think the guys are very proud to have made this tough hike.

The Boiling Lake

2007-08-10T11:13:00.000-04:00

You know that Dominica has a Boiling Lake, right? I mean a REAL Boiling Lake. Sometimes tourists ask if you can swim in it, so I am stressing the boiling part to save you embarrassment. It is not just called Boiling Lake, it actually boils. (People used to carry eggs to boil in the lake, but I'm not sure they want you to do this since it is risky to get too close to the edge.)

Anyway, the fit and the mighty always make this 7 1/2 hour (round trip) trek which lands you in a moonscape setting called the Valley of Desolation and the Boiling Lake.

Here is a nice video to give you a taste of the experience:

Kendra over at Island Med Student Blog has posted her own cool video from her recent hike up the hill. Our young house guests are making the trip today.

I, however, have never been. I donated my knees to pounding the concrete hospital floors of the US. I don't think I could make the climb. I have trouble just scrambling around our farm, Wit's End! So I listen in awe as others describe what it is like to visit this amazing anomaly.

livingdominica: it truly is a living island.

View from the veranda this morning

2007-07-30T09:12:00.000-04:00

2007-07-11T11:15:00.000-04:00

"Everyone is different but it's always a strange person who would give up a life in one society to start afresh in another."

The Puerto Vallarta Scene discussing Expat Culture Shock.

livingdominica: still strange as always.

Remembering Frida Khalo on Her 100th Birthday

2007-07-06T10:17:00.000-04:00

Islands Magazine

2007-06-23T17:23:00.000-04:00

Islands Magazine interviewed Roger and I in their June 2007 issue. Check out the article "Best Islands to Live On"!

Buena Vista Social Club

2007-06-21T05:57:00.000-04:00

Planning to build in the Caribbean? Read this first...

2007-06-20T07:12:00.000-04:00

Caribpro Magazine has a great article all expat house builders should commit to memory.
Better Building : Stop the Construction Carnival by James Post tells it like it is. I have heard enough construction nightmare stories to write another book. And do not discount the warning from Mr. Post about contractors who disappear with funds counting on the ineffectual legal system to prevent them suffering real consequences. This happened to a friend of ours.

Another friend found that the inflow to her septic tank ran uphill! Not a pretty picture, is it?

No wonder we want to build our own house.

livingdominica: yep, there are sharks in the construction waters who smell expat blood...

My Biggest Disappointment in Dominica

2007-06-17T04:26:00.000-04:00

I am going to share something here that has caused me a huge amount of pain. In fact, I cannot think about this issue without tears coming to my eyes. Truly. I have cried many hours about this.

Dominica will not let me be a nurse here.

I have over 26 years of nursing experience in the U.S. I am licensed in 2 states. My most recent experience was working in intensive care, cardiac catheterization, and hemodialysis. In the U.S. these are skills in high demand. In fact, earlier this year I toyed with the idea of going back to the U.S. to work some and we had to quit answering the telephone. We screened calls with the answering machine because the number of hospitals calling in response to my emails of inquiry became burdensome. I never dreamed when I moved here that Dominica would not want me.

Nursing has been a big part of my life. It is who I am. It is how I see myself. I suppose that is understandable since I have spent a majority of my life as a nurse. In fact, I find myself with a bit of a midlife identity crisis now. Who am I, if I am not a nurse? I know I wrote the ebook about our move to the island, but I have not devoted my life to writing the way I did to nursing. Writing is not my self esteem. It is not my identity. It is not my love the way nursing has been.

So, the reality is that if I want to do the work I love, I must leave my home on this island. I must leave my spouse, (and after being married over 30 years, I don't think I can manage without Mr. Wizard at my side). I would also have to leave the place of my residency and where I plan to be a citizen. I would have to leave my home. It is a terrible choice and I don't think I can do this.

So my career is over. My hands are empty. I will never again know the satisfaction of nursing the ill, or helping to save a life. I will never again be a participant in the miracle of modern medicine. I am grieving. And the skills I worked so very hard to master are fading away, unwanted and unused.

Dominica, you ask too much of me. You have taken too much from me. There is an emptiness in my heart that even the beauty of this island cannot fill. I used to know who I am. I don't know any longer.

livingdominica: I wrote the above in a fit of angst. I think the grief I have felt over this issue embodies the necessary grief all expats experience. Moving to a new country is HARD, and all of the difficulty gets tied up in the grieving of my career. I will get over this. I HAVE to get over it since Mr. Wizard proclaims he will never leave this island. But no, I do not want to hear you preening about your lovely successes working here....at least right now.

Expats and Their Expets : Expatriating to the Caribbean with Your Pet

2007-06-15T05:45:00.000-04:00

Chester aka "Not Worth Much"
Want to escape to the Caribbean AND take your beloved dog, cat or turtle?

This usually can be done, but nothing is easy when you are dealing with island life. Be prepared for a challenge!

Unfortunately, there is no uniformity of pet policies between the island nations of the Caribbean. Some allow pets in as long as they have documentation of shots. Others, like Jamaica, only accept animals born and raised in the U.K. Even guide dogs on Jamaica must be U.K. dogs!

EACH ISLAND HAS ITS OWN RULES AND REQUIREMENTS

Each island has its own rules and requirements, some more stringent than others.

It is important to check directly with the government of the country you plan to enter before taking a pet with you. Policies can change- an unpleasant surprise might await if you fail to do the necessary homework! Proper documentation of your pet’s health history and vaccination record must be on the forms that country requires. Island bureaucrats really like their forms.

That being said, it is not always the island government that messes with your buddy’s immigration plans.

When I planned to move to Dominica with my husband and Chester the Pug, I assumed we should be able to take a dog with us when we fly, right?

After all, my brother had flown his Poodle all over the world with him. But no, not a Puggie in the tropics.

No airline would take our “free” rescued dog from Puerto Rico to Dominica. They have rules about snub nose dogs and ambient temperatures. Some Caribbean airlines do not carry animals at all, no matter the temperature.

This policy is probably a sound one since most airlines do not air condition their cargo holds. Animals are thrown in with luggage and handled by baggage handlers on most airlines.

They can be left sweltering on the tarmac when delays occur: Not pet friendly environments. And Pug dogs are known to be easily stressed by heat.

CONTINENTAL AIRLINES HAS CARVED OUT A NICHE CATERING TO PET LOVERS.

Continental Airlines has carved out a niche catering to pet lovers. Hiring designated handlers for their living cargo, the animals are not left unattended. Plus, they have special areas that are climate controlled! So, we had no concern flying Continental with our pooch as far as Puerto Rico. But Continental didn’t fly into Dominica.

For a free dog, “Chesta” (as he is called by island folk) cost us a lot when we had to charter a plane to get him to the island. Of course, it wasn’t a fancy plane; in fact it was a relic from some earlier aviation era. Still, chartering a plane seemed mighty fancy to our Midwestern sensibilities.

We discussed leaving our boy behind but realized that amid such life upheaval we really needed the comfort of having our pet with us. Also, because he looks very different from island dogs, our furry friend has made it easy for us to meet and chat with people everywhere we go.

Children often recognize him as Frank from the movie “Men in Black”. One child shyly approached us, “Can he talk like the dog in the movie?” We still chuckle about this, and these experiences make us glad we brought Mr. Pug.

One advantage of using a charter was that it allowed us to bring a lot of extra luggage to the island, which was handy since we were making a permanent move.

When we landed on Dominica, the customs man looked at “Chesta” and remarked, “He’s not worth much”.

We did not have to pay duty on our expensive free dog. This may not be the case for you, if your beastie looks more valuable than ours.

Dominica requires pets entering to have complete health and vaccination documentation prior to entry. Our vet at home coordinated with the veterinarians on the island to make sure Chester's "papers" for entry were in order. We felt lucky that Dominica does not require immigrant critters with proper documentation to be quarantined. Some Caribbean nations will place your companion in a tropical Ellis Island for up to six months (at your expense). I am very grateful I never had to visit my best friend in doggie jail.

SADLY PET IMMIGRATION DOESN'T ALWAYS WORK OUT

I have an expat friend from Switzerland who wanted to move her turtle with her to Dominica. She was given her pet as a small child and when, in her fifties, she planned to retire in Dominica she wanted her turtle to retire with her.

Checking with all the airlines, none would accept such an exotic pet and she had to leave her life-long friend behind in Switzerland. There is still grief when she speaks of her old buddy.

Be aware that the usual pet products you buy at home may not be available on your island.
Pet emigration and pet immigration

We brought a years supply of heartworm and flea and tick prevention, and have ordered replacements from up North as it runs out. Fleas, ticks and mosquitoes abound in the tropics, so be sure to bring prevention for your pets.

After struggling to find a commercial food Chesta would eat, he now eats a homemade diet, which is probably better for him than store bought products anyway. I know he likes it better. And it is less expensive to feed him lovely chicken, or fresh tuna, and rice than to ship in Science Diet.

SO BE PREPARED TO RESEARCH IN DEPTH

So, be prepared to research in depth about your island’s animal import policies (you can start with our handy links).

But also check carefully the rules of the carrier you plan to use to move your pet. We found different airline employees have different answers to the same question. Finding the “final answer” may take considerable time, so start early in your planning to move with your pets.

In spite of all the hassles, I am very glad we brought our beast with us. He is a link to our old life, and a joy in our new Caribbean Life! Expat life would not be the same without our Expet.

Chester and I hope to see you “down island” with us soon.

In order to help you in your research I have set out below some references that may help you with your research.

IMMIGRATION of pets BARBADOS
Embassy of Barbados
(202) 939-9200
2144 Wyoming Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20008
The following guidelines must be followed when importing any animal into Barbados:
• An import permit must be obtained from the Chief Veterinary Officer before the importation of all animals, reptiles and birds.
• A Veterinary Officer must examine the animal before it is allowed to leave the customs area.
• Dogs and cats must be free of any communicable disease. These animals may be imported by permit directly from the UK, Ireland, Jamaica, St.Kitts - Nevis, Antigua, St.Lucia and St.Vincent.
• Cats and dogs originating from all other countries must undergo 6 months quarantine in Britain after which time an import permit can be secured.
• For further inquiries, contact Veterinary Services at

Tel: (246) 427-5073 or Fax: (246) 420-8444 .

Immigration of pets BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS
Embassy of BVI
3100 Massachusetts Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 588-6500
Fax: (202) 588-7870

Pets entering the BVI are subject to the same restrictions and applicable six-month quarantine period as those pets entering the U.K.
Pets will not be admitted without prior clearance. For regulations on pets entering the Territory, write well in advance to the Chief Agricultural Officer, Road Town, Tortola, B.V.I., tel: (284) 495-2451 or call the Humane Society of the B.V.I, tel: (284) 494-2284.

Immigration of pets CAYMAN ISLANDS
Domestic pets entering Cuba must have a full set of vaccinations as defined by your veterinarian. The rabies vaccine is especially recommended, as are shots for distemper and hepatitis. All pets entering Cuba must have a certificate of good health signed by a veterinarian and dated within 10 days of the animal’s arrival in Cuba. It is not necessary that a State official sign the certificate. Your veterinarian’s signature is sufficient. Upon arrival in Cuba, a Cuban veterinarian at the airport will certify that your pet has received the proper vaccinations and that you have a health certificate. Cuba imposes a 15-day at-home quarantine on all arriving pets. Please notify USINT well in advance of any pets that you plan to bring so that proper clearances can be arranged.

Immigration of pets CURACAO
Embassy of Curacao
4200 Linnean Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 244-5300
Fax: (202) 362-3430
Pets will need just a current Veterinarian Health Certificate to gain entrance.

Immigration of pets DOMINICA

Animals may enter the country if accompanied by a valid Veterinary Health Certificate plus an importation permit

Livestock Development Unit
Botanic Gardens
Roseau
Commonwealth of Dominica,
West Indies

Telephone: 767- 266- 3827/3824
Fax: 767- 448- 7999
Email: agrivet4@hotmail.com/forestvet@gmail.com

Immigration of pets DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Embassy of The Dominican Republic
1715 - 22nd Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008
(202) 332-6280
Fax: (202) 265-8057
Pets must have a health certificate issued and signed by a licensed veterinarian. The certificate shall contain the name and address of the owner, and complete identification of the animal (name, breed, sex, and age). The pet must also have been examined within 30 days prior to departure and found to be free of any infectious diseases. The pet must also have been vaccinated against rabies. The rabies vaccination certificate (which should have been given between 1 month and 12 months prior to entry) should include the date of vaccination, product name and serial number.

Immigration of pets GUADELOPE
Cats and dogs over three months old are admitted temporarily with certificates of origin and good health (or anti-rabies inoculation), issued by a licensed veterinarian from the country of shipment.

Immigration of pets GRENADA
The procedure for the importation of animals in general (dogs and cats in particular) is as follows:
• A Veterinary officer or an officer of the Pest Management Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture must inspect the animals prior to entry.
• Any person intending to import or take these animals from their vessels, whether permanent or temporary, must make an application sufficiently in advance to any of the above agencies.
• Such an application must be accompanied by a copy of a certificate from the last place of residence certifying that the animal has been vaccinated against diseases and is free from illnesses and infections.
Cats and dogs that are imported permanently from outside of the CARICOM region attract a 40% CET (Common External Tariff) and 5% CSC.
Embassy of Grenada
(202) 265-2561
1701 New Hampshire Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20009

Importation of animals is prohibited without an Import Permit. Proper Veterinary Health documents must be produced and the Government Veterinary Officer must be notified of the port of entry and the expected time of arrival.

Immigration of pets JAMAICA
Embassy of Jamaica
(202) 452-0660
Fax: (202) 452-0081
1520 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 452-0660
Fax: (202) 452-0081
E-mail: emjam@sysnet.net
No dog or cat shall be imported into Jamaica except such an animal was born and breed in Great Britain, Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland. This applies to Guide Dogs also. Dogs and Cats vaccinated against rabies are not allowed entry into Jamaica .

Immigration of pets MARTINIQUE
Cats and dogs over three months old are admitted temporarily with certificates of origin and good health (or anti-rabies inoculation), issued by a licensed veterinarian from the country of shipment.

Immigration of pets MONTSERRAT
Montserrat Tourism

Pets must have Veterinary Health certificates and inoculations records and will be quarantined between three to six months.

Immigration of pets NEVIS AND ST. KITTS
Click her for more information
about bringing your pet to Nevis and St.Kitts

Immigration of pets PUERTO RICO
The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is a United States territory and requires that pets come with a current Veterinary Health Certificate (with a list of inoculations).

Immigration of pets ST. BARTS
Cats and dogs over three months old are admitted temporarily with certificates of origin and good health (or anti-rabies inoculation), issued by a licensed veterinarian from the country of shipment.

Immigration of pets ST. LUCIA
Embassy of St. Lucia
3216 New Mexico Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20016
(202) 364-6792
Fax: (202) 364-6723

Pets must have a Veterinary Import Permit before they may enter St. Lucia. This may be arranged for by contacting the Ministry of Agriculture’s Veterinary Department. They must also adhere to the following requirements:
• The cat/dog must be electronically identifiable by having had an acceptable type of microchip implanted. Microchips must conform to ISO standard 11784.
• The cat/dog must be vaccinated against rabies at or over three months of age using inactivated and adjuvant vaccine approved by the veterinary authority of the exporting country.
• A blood test must be carried out not less than 30 days after the date the vaccination was done.
• The blood sample must be sent to an approved laboratory facility. The veterinary authority of the exporting country must accredit the laboratory. In order to qualify for permission, the blood test must show rabies and antibody trait equal or more than 0.5 IU/ml.
• Once permission has been granted, the cat/dog would be able to travel into St Lucia, 180 days (6 months) after the date the blood sample was taken.
• The cat/dog must be treated no more than 48 hours before entry into St Lucia with a preparation for the treatment of ticks and fleas and with an anthelmintic preparation.

Immigration of pets ST.MARTIN
Import Regulations: Pets are admitted if they have the following documentation:

1. A current health certificate (this needs to be dated less than 10 days prior to departure)
2. The pet must have a rabies vaccination certificate that has been issued between 1 month and 12 months before entering St. Martin.

Immigration of pets ST. VINCENT
Summary of Requirements
The following protocols for exporting animals to St. Vincent are available through the International Regulations Retrieval System (IRRS):
Direct shipment of pets, dogs and cats, from the US to St. Vincent and the Grenadines is not permitted. Dogs and cats from the US first have to enter legally into the U.K. Once in the U.K. the owner of the pet has to request entrance into St. Vincent.

Embassy of St. Vincent and the Grenadines
3216 New Mexico Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20016
(202) 364-6730
Fax: (202) 364-6736

Pets from the UK, New Zealand and Australia are allowed into St. Vincent and The Grenadines on presentation of a health certificate to the government veterinary office. Pets from all other countries require a six-month quarantine. Pets can enter Vincentian waters on yachts, but must remain onboard at all times unless the above requirements are met.

Immigration of pets TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Click on these links for further information about bringing your pet into these countries, Trinidad and Tobago

Immigration of pets U.S VIRGIN ISLANDS
The US. Virgin Islands require a current Veterinary Health Certificate for your pet.

A Visitor's View of Dominica's Roads

2007-06-14T06:00:00.000-04:00

OK. This picture is Bolivia, not Dominica. Our roads are not this bad. They just feel this bad.

We have had visitors who saw little of the island, as they focused only on the sheer drop outside the car window. Driving here is not for the faint of heart! The first time I drove across the Belles road on my own I felt like someone should throw me a party or give me a medal!

I loved this first impression of our roads:

"The one down side are the roads. My Lawd Gawd!!!!! Okay, I live in the U.S. which has large roads for large American cars. Even in Nigeria and the Ivory Coast (where I spent some years are nice paved (or potholed) roads that can take 2 cars going in either direction. Now, Dominica? That is a different matters. The roads look like they are for one car. We were speeding down twisting, winding roads when all of a sudden, a big pick up truck/lorry was coming towards us. My people, I screamed for Jesus! Can you believe that both vehicles managed to get by? I have never seen anything like this. I have told my husband that I would not mind retiring here. But the roads are enough to give me high blood pressure! Now Husband shouts 'Holy ghost fire' to mock me whenever a car is coming. Silly man.... LOL"

from IT WAS SO MUCH EASIER WHEN I ONLY HAD ONE

livingdominica: Here is my confession-- Mr. Wizard does most of the driving...

Dominica's Volcanoes

2007-06-06T07:20:00.000-04:00

Dominica's Boiling Lake

The Dominican.net has a great article about our volcanoes. Read it here.

Earth and Stone Call to Me

2007-06-01T19:19:00.000-04:00

For years I have been fascinated with alternative green building techniques. I'll bet I own the only set of video tapes on straw bale construction on the island of Dominica! When we lived in the states I had really wanted to build with straw bales, but alas, no straw is baled on this tropical island. So what is a woman craving green building to do? Stone and Earth.

I have been reading a series of interesting books about stone work and earth architecture. According to the various authors, even someone with limited building skills like the Wiz and I should be able to manage some sort of rudimentary structure. It helps a great deal that this climate does not require the complex attributes of a North American building. No insulation, no heat or central A/C. It is a simple place and buildings can be simple here also.

Stone, cob, earth bag. I learned today that over 1/3 of the earth's population live in earthen homes. Some very old multistory earth houses are still in use after centuries in Britain. Why, then, do we more commonly build soulless houses of plastic and toxic materials? Home building has been taken away from the owners of homes and given to professionals who tell us what we should want: an enormous house on land stripped of trees, quickly erected of material designed for making a series of boxes. Not lovely to my eyes.

I love the curves and hollows of organic material. Nothing pleases me more than the curve of a finely wrought stone wall. This is a sharp contrast to the concrete box houses more commonly built. I wonder why people build with concrete blocks when there is so much available stone. And people can build amazing houses with earth, like the cob house above. Within reach of the poorest land owner is a home which should last centuries and be beautiful as well.

There is a green architectural movement afoot empowering the poor to build sturdy, sustainable homes of low or no cost materials. I dream that perhaps Dominica may pick up the banner of sustainable architecture and lead the way in the green building revolution. I can imagine the people here all living in charming houses built of the Nature Island herself, at very little cost, instead of waiting until they can buy a few more blocks and bags of cement.

livingdominica: envisioning a day when all will have the home they desire.

Expat Culture Shock

2007-06-01T07:39:00.000-04:00

Here is the article on culture shock I wrote for Escape Artist:

When my husband I and I began to plan our move from the Midwestern U.S. to Dominica in the West Indies, I read a couple of books on the topic of culture shock. I had experienced a mild case of this malady as a young American folksinger (remember folk music?) in Canada during the 70s. Back then Canadians were, very sensibly, suspicious of Americans. And Canada was just different enough from the U.S. that I was acutely aware of feeling like an outsider. I eventually began to feign a Canadian accent, and told people I was from Toronto. From that experience, I knew there would be adjustments and discomfort with a cross-cultural move. I suspected my earlier Canadian culture shock would pale compared to a move to Dominica. Yep, was I right!

The Honeymoon Phase
The experts on culture shock, who are hired by multinational corporations to help their workers with this issue, will tell you to expect a honeymoon phase. This was definitely true for Roger, my spouse, and me. We fell in love with Dominica like a pubescent boy falls in love with his buxom young teacher. All we could do was fantasize about her and do everything possible to spend every moment with her. Even when we moved here the pink cloud bliss continued for many months. All we saw was paradise through our rose colored glasses. “Ah,” I secretly thought to myself, “Dominica is so perfect for us we won’t have to deal with culture shock”. Those of us who move abroad often harbor a secret belief that life will be better when we move, and our initial elation only reinforces that belief.

Disintegration or the Irritability/Hostility Stage
And then it hit. The stage I dreaded arrived with a Thump! This, following a rapid fire series of unfortunate events, made me realize just how different this culture was from my expectations. Suddenly, I was in a spiral of uncertainty and negativity. I began to see everything through negative and pessimistic prisms, where once my rose colored glasses had been.

Caribbean Property & Lifestyles Magazine
See the NEW online version of our Caribbean Property & Lifestyles Magazine - All about Living, Working & Investing in the Caribbean! Subscribe now - FREE! - Our Magazine provides features and articles on how to "up-sticks" and move on down to the blue water tropics and relax under a palm tree. Information on retirement possibilities, buying property, Caribbean lifestyles, job opportunities, investing, Caribbean culture, classifieds and the Caribbean Marketplace. Our stories of successes and failures are told by those who have made that lifestyle change and moved to the Caribbean themselves. Live the Dream!
I went to the Post Office one day to find a large pool of blood in the lobby from a stabbing during the night. The staff ignored it, opened the mailbox area in the morning and the public was required to walk through, or tiptoe around, this biohazard to check their mail. Events like these, coupled with some petty theft, and disappointments with individuals, marked my entry into the hostility stage.

I must add a caveat here: I am a person who experiences things very intensely, both good and bad. My hostility became a real difficulty. I could not utter a good word about my new home. I heard myself saying the same jaded expat phrases I had sworn I would never say. I began to speak cynically of my beloved island. I began to wonder if I had made a mistake in moving here. I bored my husband and friends to unconsciousness with my litanies of Dominica’s flaws. I looked for every opportunity to find something negative to add to my “Isn’t that awful” list.

It is difficult to reframe things more positively and find constructive solutions rather than wallowing in negativity. The smugly superior attitude of many worldwide expats became suddenly understandable to me. And many of us choose to stay in this stage. Does this lead to substance abuse found in expat communities internationally? I don’t know, but I see how easy it would be to stay stuck in these destructive attitudes.

Maybe this hostility is a result of leaving a place where negative aspects are oh so familiar, and therefore more easily dismissed. Suddenly, we are in a situation where it is hard to ignore negative things, because they are new and different. Our new culture is possibly no better or worse than the old one, but because it is new, the flaws are glaring. For instance, it is harder for me to ignore a Dominican picking her nose as she speaks to me, than it is to ignore the many American distasteful habits.

We grow up knowing how to manage problems in our own culture by watching others. It is second nature, learned at our mothers’ knees, like language. We know where we are safe and unsafe, what behaviors give offense, what behaviors are admired. We know what is expected of us, and what to expect of others. As a fledgling expat, I felt like I was attempting a “some assembly required” project with no instruction sheet. How do the pieces fit together here?

I have learned to say no to things which I never encountered at home. Some expat friends bought a house on Dominica, but the transaction was completed while they were in Europe. We took possession for them, and found a filthy mess left by the prior owner. I was helping to clean the house with another friend, when a local woman came into the house, uninvited, with her daughter. She had a look around, and sat down to watch me work. I said as kindly as possible, “If this were my house you would be welcome to stay, but as it is not my house, I cannot invite you.” They remained as I stood, confused about the right thing to do. I was about to say baldly, “You must leave”, when they left of their own accord.

Similarly, the 2 ½ year old from next door toddled over in his diaper, walked into the house and began to look about and play amid the clutter. After 30 minutes or so, the child’s mother appeared and walked in to address the child, “I didn’t know where you were, be sure to come home when you are done.” Mom turned, expecting to leave the child behind. One of us took the child by the hand, returning him to his mother. A necessary boundary was set about visiting.

These two events would never have occurred in the US, at least in my experience. No one walks into a house uninvited or sits down uninvited. No one lets their toddler wander unless they want to be charged with negligence by child protective agencies. When things like this occur I typically go blank and cannot figure out how to respond. I am gradually trying to become more assertive, but this is not easy for me. The first time I saw someone stand in my home talking with me and openly pick her nose, I was not able to say “would you mind doing that in the bathroom?” I am gradually learning to respect my own needs as well as others.

Roger gave offence to a Dominican when he responded on the telephone with “hello” rather than “good morning”. It seems one must strictly adhere to “good morning”, “good afternoon”, or “good evening” as a greeting. Sometimes it is very confusing to be a stranger in a strange land.

The culture shock issues are not only with the culture of Dominica, but also with expats from other cultures. Roger and I are very private people who value our alone time. We have expat friends who have very different needs and expectations. Dropping in without calling is acceptable to some expats we know, whereas we would rarely call on anyone without telephoning first. One expat friend walked into our house without calling out or honking his horn and caught me in my “knickers”. We now keep a lock on our gate so that we are not surprised.

My heritage is Southern U.S. where hospitality is a key virtue. Everyone who entered my mother’s door was pressed to stay for a meal. It is very uncomfortable for me to set boundaries with others when it comes to hospitality issues. As a result, I have found myself cooking for others when I wanted to do something else, and entertaining when I would rather be alone. Unfortunately, Roger is delighted to have me entertain rather single handedly on occasion. I am learning not to have such an open house.

We have learned that everything must be securely locked to avoid theft and everything must be spelled out to avoid misunderstanding. We left a Dominican friend to housesit for us while we visited Martinique. Although we locked our bedroom door before we left, we returned to find the door unlocked and evidence that our belongings had been explored. Nothing was missing, but our privacy was invaded. Locked doors don’t mean the same thing to everyone.

Adjustment Stage: Humor Returns with Sense of Balance
My sense of humor finally began to slowly ooze back into my life. I began once again to enjoy the surprises of Dominica: the stoned Rastafari who kisses me each time we meet, or the offers of marriage in the market. Having our auto mechanic shout out a greeting as his car passes us on the street makes me smile.

Living on such an amazingly beautiful island also soothes my negativity. I still have moments of frustration with island life and become unglued. Recently, I became miserable, cranky and ready to learn Spanish for the move to Costa Rica. But, we went up the hill and looked at the view we will one day enjoy from our own veranda. Mist covered mountains, sea, and a green, green valley. I became quiet. Ok. I'll stay on Dominica. This island is unbelievably gorgeous! It is enough to sap the evil out of me. Even me, on a bad day. It seems sometimes this island I love helps me to laugh at myself.

Adaptation Stage with a Sense of Belonging
Adaptation is an ongoing process, and as nature teaches us, we must adapt to survive! Integration and comfort with a different culture takes a long time and probably never completely occurs. Dominicans will always call us “strangers” and we will never be seen as Dominican. Recently, we went for a mineral bath at a place known as Screw’s. Screw had a good laugh when we called ourselves “locals” and asked for the local rate. He gave us the lower rate, but it is clear we will never really be locals.

A similar, but much more serious example of permanent outsider status is the situation of an expat doctor. He and his wife have lived here more than 25 years as citizens. They raised their children here. Still, he remains enough of an outsider that he was passed over for positions in favor of native born Dominicans.

So I never expect to fully integrate. But slowly, as I steep in the culture of my new home, I take on its flavor and learn to savor those flavors. As I understand Dominica’s peculiarities, I begin, in some indefinable way, to become more Dominican and less American. But, as I said, this is a slow, slow process.

Re-entry shock
Many expats do not survive the hostility phase, and hastily repatriate home. There, further difficulty awaits. Unbeknownst, home does change while we are abroad, and now adjustments to these changes must occur. The returning expat does not find the cozy, warm return to the familiar he longs for. Things are different. Not only is home different, but he is different. All of those negative parts of home, which were easily ignored when they were familiar, are now acutely obvious and grating to the returnee. So the poor expat finds himself once again struggling to adjust. Repatriation culture shock often occurs. The grass is really not greener back home.
When discussing a move abroad any intrepid expat will tell you, “It ain’t easy”. Many will say, “Don’t do it!” If you are reluctant to learn a new way of living, I would agree. Don’t do it. Living abroad is very different from vacationing in that same place. But I would be quick to add: “Try it, if...” If you can live without the familiar comforts of home. If you bring your best friend with you who wants the move as much as you do. If you think you might feel less of an outsider in a foreign land than in your own. If you are prepared to cope with the culture shock that is probably inevitable.

But remember when deciding, the world you leave behind will change and you will too. Thomas Wolfe was right. You can’t go home again.

Living Past One Hundred on Dominica

2007-06-01T07:26:00.000-04:00

Portrait of Ma Pampo by Powys Dewhurst

"It’s no secret.
You take fresh foods, clean water, pure air and lots of exercise. You add low stress, a loving family and strong belief in God. For Dominica’s centenarians, it all adds up to a longer and healthier Life." Or so says the Pan American Health Organization in their article about long lived Dominicans.

I am not sure what accounts for the longevity observed on Dominica, but this island is known for long years and good health into old age. Ma Pampo was 128 when she died!

Could it be because Dominica herself is alive? Beneath her fertile soil burns the largest concentration of volcanoes anywhere on earth. She is home to a lake which boils and hot spring mineral baths. Gases from a volcano bubbling at the ocean's edge creates the "Champagne", which attracts both tropical fish and snorkelers.

The living fertility of this island provides foods rich in nourishment, unlike tired factory farmed produce fertilized with three chemicals. Locals on Dominica eat food fresh from the garden, not picked green and shipped for days to consumers. Picking oranges or grapefruit in the garden warm from the sun, and squeezing fresh juice, I can taste the rich, living island in each mouthful.

Dominica's air is also amazing. A rainforested island, her winds are scrubbed clean by the Atlantic, then oxygenated by the dense foliage. I imagine being healed of the years of living in St. Louis during Ozone Warnings when, "People with respiratory problems should stay indoors".
I mean, don't we ALL have a respiratory problem if the air outdoors warrants warnings?

(I must admit Roseau can give me a headache, probably from concentrated pollution. But I avoid Roseau whenever possible.)

Do I expect to live as long as Ma Pampo? No, I don't. I do know I feel better here than anywhere else on earth. I feel truly alive here on this enchanting island.

Here is a directory of the Centenarians on Dominica.

livingdominica: I do so love that picture of Ma Pampo...

Why my husband is called Mr. Wizard

2007-05-24T08:43:00.000-04:00

Don Herbert, the original Mr. Wizard

Our daughter and I have called the man of the house Mr. Wizard for years. In fact, the name may even predate our 29 year old child, I can't be certain since my synapses do not fire like they once did. Old Americans, like myself, may remember that the original Mr. Wizard had a children's TV show in the 50's teaching science concepts.

But I do remember that the name for my husband started at a campfire on a starry night.

The Wiz has always been interested in physics, theories about the formation of the cosmos, and other gee-whiz stuff. My background at that time was more arts and literature, so I found this utterly fascinating. I recall sitting drinking wine at a campfire staring up at a sky thick with stars. "Tell me about the Universe, Mr. Wizard" I asked. And so he seduced me with big bang theory (apropos, eh?), the idea of an ever expanding galaxy, and of our minute spot in the magnificence of space and time. I was dazzled. (But I always was easy when it came to guys with big brains.)

The name stuck, and thirty some years later he is still Mr. Wizard. But only on the days when I like him. When I am pissed off, I don't call him much that is worth repeating. You probably guessed that, since 30 years is a very long time. But I do still like him most days.

As I recall this, I am reminded of something Cynthia Jones of Diana's Grove wrote:

"I will sing the song that the Universe sang on the day that the Earth was newly born and She held it in Her starry arms."

livingdominica: I wonder what that girl at the campfire would think if she could see me today, living on this wayside tropical island.

Kick ’em Jenny, My Namesake

2007-05-12T08:10:00.000-04:00

Image of Kick 'em Jenny by NOAA

I love the name "Kick 'em Jenny". As a person sometimes called Jenny, I take pride that the newest island in the neighborhood, rising from the Caribbean, is called Jenny. They say this underwater volcano was named after the rough surrounding seas, but that makes as much sense as it being named after my evil temper, doesn't it? So, I am claiming she was named for me. I always wanted a namesake volcano. And Roger says I deserve it.

Of course we won't be buying beach front property any time soon. It would take a year of steady eruption or thousands of years with intermittent activity to reach the surface. Still, she is active enough to have her rumblings recorded way up north on Martinique, and shipping lanes carefully avoid her. After all, she is the most active volcano in the Antilles chain.

Jenny lies off the coast of Grenada and made her presence known in 1939 with an eruption creating a 900 foot plume above the ocean surface. That event also produced a wave large enough to wash over the west coast road in Barbados, although at the time it was not recognized as a tsunami. She has erupted at least twelve times since 1939, the last major event occurring in 2001.

Scientists just installed underwater seismographic devices to keep a closer eye on Jenny's activity. Read about it at Scientists to Monitor Submarine Volcano in SE Caribbean Sea.

livingdominica AKA Kick 'em Jenny

Dominica Yacht Club Enters Bequia Regatta!

2007-05-04T20:36:00.001-04:00

Read about it here: Bajan Reporter - http://

Dominica considers wiretapping

2007-04-19T22:06:00.000-04:00

From BBC Caribbean 02 April 2007

Prime Minister Skerrit promises consultation
The Dominica government has sought to give assurances that an act for the interception of communications won't be abused by the authorities.
The bill is currently in its first reading in parliament.

Some concern has been expressed by the main opposition United Workers Party and other groups that phone tapping allowed under the proposed legislation could target legitimate political activity.

But Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has indicated that the parliamentary process will allow for debate on the matter, and that his administration intends to engage in a consultative exercise on the new law.

PM Skerrit defends bill

"The allegations that the government of Dominica wants to tap private telephones or computers is false and misleading" the Prime Minister said.

He said the aim was to tackle criminal activity, and explained that there would be checks and balances put in place.

"The interception of telephone communication requires an authorised officer to request the Director of Public Prosecution to seek an order from a judge".

Prime Minister Skerrit said such requests could not be made arbitrarily:

"There must be sufficient grounds of suspicion and evidence to support the request" he said.

UWP rejects assurances

Those assurances have not convinced the opposition leader, Edison James.

UWP's Edison James not convinced

He conceded that fighting serious crime including terrorism would be facilitated by the proposed legislation, but argued that other less desirable action could also result.

"Another part of it is to give the government authority to be able to eavesdrop on people's communications in situations where people are simply involved in organising legitimate political activity in this country" James alleged.

Are you yearning for Dominica?

2007-03-08T08:44:00.000-04:00

Before I lived here, I used to crave Dominica like chocolate. Any picture I could find of the island would be savored. I know from emails I get that some of you are feeling this craving, so here is a Dominica feast for you.

Some delightful people visited the island recently and have put a slide show on the web of our beautiful island. And the images are set to music of the Kings of Cadence.

You can get your Dominica fix at: Photodex. There is a plug in you may need to download. Ken Bosma is the photographer, and he took this lovely picture of the ginger lily in my garden.

Medical Miracle on Dominica

2005-10-12T09:20:00.001-04:00

Roger and I went to see a doctor today who came highly recommended to be our primary M.D. He chatted with us for over an hour as we swapped family stories in addition to the medical nuts and bolts issues. At the end he wrote our prescriptions and declined to accept any payment. "Next time you pay, this was a WELCOME visit". Very charming and personable.

As we left Rog said, "wake me up, I must be dreaming!"

And this doctor makes house calls!

I'm sitting here amazed...