Helpful hints

Here is a pic of our broken broom and deformed mop. I am also attaching pics of our refrigerator (thanks for the photo magnets Julie!) and our bedroom. I can't send pics of the guest room yet because that is the room Ryan studies in and there are books and papers everywhere. I am not sending pics of the furniture in the living room yet because my mom is shipping some fabric for me to use as slip covers to give the furniture a cleaner feeling and a more attractive look. Here are a few helpful pointers if you ever plan to visit Dominica:

1. Don't bother bringing lotion. Your skin is constantly moist. Rubbing lotion on your legs is as useful as rubbing it on a tile floor. You could rub all day long and it's not sinking in.

2. After a big storm the water is muddy. I was not warned about this. We had a major storm a couple of nights ago. The next morning I walked in the bathroom and noticed that the toilet water was dark brown. No matter how many times I flushed, it kept being brown. I wish I had a picture of this. I'm sure I'll have another opportunity to get one.

3. There is a store called Best Buy. Do not be confused - this is not the Best Buy you are used to.

4. There is really no such thing as "buying in bulk", unless you buy a lot of individually packaged items. For example, toilet paper comes one roll at a time. We are not familiar with any of the brands they have here. The kind we are currently trying is called "Big Boy".

5. There is a coffee shop called Stabox. I thought this was the local pronunciation of Starbucks. I should have known. There is no Starbucks here.

They say the best time to buy fresh fish and fresh fruit is at the market on Saturday mornings at 6:00 AM. I wouldn't know because I've only been here one Saturday and was not awake to see 6:00 AM. There is a road with small open-air restaurants on campus called "The Shacks". You can get all kinds of stuff there... grilled chicken, sandwiches, fresh fruit, spaghetti, wraps, fruit juices, etc. Slowly but surely we are getting adjusted to life on the island.