May 8, 2007, Postcards from Dominica

Welcome to my welcome to Dominica!

First things first, I don't seem to be able to send many pictures
through this list service, so to see my pictures from the island tour,
browse here: http://picasaweb.google.com/jjsolomon/IntroTourPics

Many of you have not heard many things from me regarding getting in to
Ross University in Dominica, much less anything since I have come
here. So, here is the first big e-mail about my recent lifestyle
changes.

This past March, my application to UNMC was turned down, and thanks to
a blogger that I had recently started reading, I found out about Ross
University. I did some checking on Ross's accreditation and
reputation. When I found out that it seemed legit (if a bit large,
there are 430 in my semester) I decided to apply.

I interviewed in Detroit on April 2, and on April 19 found out that I
was accepted to Ross starting on May 1. I spoke to their recommended
travel agency, and left Lincoln on April 29, overnighted in Miami, and
made it to Dominica on April 30.

From the airport, Melville Hall, it is about a 30 mile, 90 minute ride
through terrain that made El Salvador seem inhabited and gentle. But
soon we were at the Ross University Housing for my first overnight in
Dominica. That first night, I sweated like a dog until I figured out
how to turn on the air conditioner. Once I got that done, I was
pretty comfortable.

The next day, I got up to a free breakfast of finger sandwiches and
coffee, and went off to a pep talk before the apartment tour. There,
I went through with several people until we came to the apartment that
Becky and I had agreed on, about 1.5 miles from the school. I think I
am the farthest out of all of the new semester of students, but I have
several neighbors in the new semester who live in the same apartment
building, so I am in good company.

From there, we started the orientation pretty much straight away. The
main things I found out at orientation is that the eating places
around the campus cater pretty well to the students, and the Chinese
restaurants around campus are some of the worst I have ever eaten at.
That moved through fairly quickly. I met some other people from
Nebraska, and some very interesting classmates. I am making new
friends and new study partners, which is always a helpful thing to
have to fall back on.

Then, this past Saturday, Ross organized a tour to introduce us to
some of Dominica. The tour went to one of the lakes that is in a
nature reserve. It is called Fresh Water Lake. I think it is at
about 3000 feet elevation. I included a picture of it that really
doesn't do it justice. The jungle around it is astounding, and the
ruggedness of the mountains it is in rival the ruggedness of the back
country of the Rockies--only with a tropical rain forest on it.

After that, we moved to Trafalgar Falls--a place much lower which is a
double falls. But, the double falls also have a set of hot springs
feeding the falls pools too. The whole spectacle of it really defied
explanation. It is so large that no camera can give you a real feel
of the size and scope of it. The smaller of the falls is the picture
I attached.

Following that, we went to an old sugar refinery that was originally
run by a water wheel and then a steam engine, the ruins of which I
also included a picture of. I don't think that there is a metal
foundry on the island, otherwise this many tons of steel would have
been recycled long ago. I was amazed at how good of condition it was
in after lying dormant all of these years.

Finally, we went to Scott's Head. This is the point on the south side
of Dominica where the Atlantic plate meets the Caribbean plate, and as
such, is the delineation between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic
Ocean. No good pictures from there. It was really cool to know that
there is a place that you can stand with a foot in each here.

Sunday I did some laundry and bummed around a little, taking a run on
the beach and a swim in the Caribbean--which is about 5 blocks from my
new apartment.

Today we finally started classes. I've already studied some gross
anatomy and some biochemistry. But, today is May Day, so nothing is
open. I really need to buy some groceries! But, I have a few
grapefruit and bananas left, so I can make it another day.

I hope you enjoy the pictures!

-j