Coconut Cheese

Yesterday my team and I had our first experience with the production of coconut cheese. We were shown by a local couple who sell the cheese the process of how to make it, but I am not at liberty to disclose their trade secrets. However, the end product was nothing short of amazing, as each square that came out proved to be more delicious than the next. So if you ever come across a seller of authentic Dominican coconut cheese, you better clear out your savings account and buy as much cheese as you can buy, as it will most likely be one of the greatest investments of your life!

After we made the cheese, Shirley drove us to Scott's Head, the southernmost point on the island where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean Sea. Once there, we explored the rocky shoreline and waded into the sea (taking extra care not to step on the numerous sea urchins). There are several reefs at Scotts Head that are ideal for snorkeling, but we arrived too late to have enough time in the water. So instead of snorkeling, we decided to hike up the Scott's Head hill, and then explore parts of the local town of Soulfre. In Soulfre, we entered into the second oldest church on the island. The walls were made of thick stone in order to survive the tropical storms that have attempted to level the structure over the centuries that it has stood. The insides were painted vividly, with antique paintings hanging beside the stained glass windows. Narrow spiral stone staircases lead to the upper balcony on both sides of the church, leaving no wiggle room between me and the walls. As someone who typically does not get claustrophobic, I found my self at points feeling cramped between the walls, as my mind wondered how much skinnier than me the Frenchmen who built this fortress of a church were. Once on the balcony, I wandered into the bell tower room, and admired the lovely stained glass. Eye popping oranges and yellow shadows decorated the cobblestone walls, as a lone weathered rope hung ominously from the bell overhead. We plan to go back to Soulfre to snorkel and bathe in some of the sulfer hot springs that have made the town a perfect place for relaxing.

A view of the Church

Tight Spiral Staircase, Michael For Scale

Inside The Church's Spire and Belltower

Sitting on the Hill of Scott's Head

Walking The Hill of Scott's Head

Today, we woke up bright and early and ate breakfast in a restaurant that dated back to the 1860's. The food was delicious, and we then proceeded to a press conference that was being held on our behalf. The press was interested on the work my team and I are doing with the cottage industries of coconut oil and coconut cheese. A "cottage industry" simply refers to a very small industry on the island, as much of the work is done at home in peoples cottages. We explained our goals that we wish to accomplish over the next 10 weeks, and our hope to industrialize the coconut cheese making on the island. The press expressed concerns about the diabetes problems on the island, and was curious as to why the government was helping create an industry around a coconut candy. However, much like alcohol, sugar can be consumed in moderation, and it is deemed that coconut cheese can be consumed responsibly (because we all know the "please drink responsibly" at the end of advertisements really prevents drunken mistakes). Despite this, by industrializing the process, Dominica will be able to export it's confectionery product. Therefore, the product will no longer be the islands problem, but rather the worlds, and may god have mercy on our thighs once coconut cheese hits the world market, as it is simply delectable. Our meeting with the press was featured on the nations national news station at 8:00 this evening, and we are already being asked to go on a separate talk radio show.  So it looks like I can no longer hide behind my stereotypical quiet engineer stereotype, as I will be in the eyes of the nation for the remainder of my time here. Here is a link to the island's newspaper that also featured us in their 

report! http://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/news/business/efforts-to-revive-coconut-industry-in-dominica/

US ON THE NATIONAL NEWS!!!

After the press conference, we met with a peace core officer who had lived on the island for 2.5 years. She is leaving Monday, and wanted to give us advice on how to make the most of the island during our 10 week endeavor. We ate at our current favorite restaurant in Roseau, and then proceeded to go to our office and work on some details of our coconut cheese assignment. 

One interesting thing to note on the island is how much value people can place on the little things that in America we would take for granted. My host mom has recently obtained a new kitchen pot that looks straight out of Eric Formans Mom's Kitchen. It's a stereotypical 1970's stovetop pot with flowers on the sides. While many would see it as a normal semi-antique pot, she sees it as beautiful piece of cookware that will help with cooking in a kitchen with limited utensils. She also obtained an old coffee table from one of her siblings, which she was super excited to have, as now we have a place to sit outside. It is examples like these that help solidify how important it is to be thankful for what you have, and to help give others in different scenarios access to some of the basic luxuries we as Americans take for granted on a daily basis.

A view from our new outdoor Table

When we returned, we decided to go for a little hike around the village. Our destination was a place known as the "retreat house," which resides on an old estate that used to encompass nearly the entire village of Eggleston. However, when the estate owner died a few decades ago, he donated the some of the land and houses to the Catholic Church, and the area now serves as a garden and retreat house for people to spend the night. Our walk took us roughly an hour there and back, as we stopped to admire the beautiful and unique foliage of the island, and stop at every mango tree along the way. There is a local watering hole, where drinkable cool river water runs out of a pipe in the mountain wall. We hope to make this a daily morning walk, and I will add more photographs of it when I have them. We ended up getting back to our house right as the sun was dipping beneath the sea, and the sky was turning dark. Overall, it was a very pleasant and adventurous day.

A view of the clouds from our walk ( sea on far right of picture)

If anyone wishes to comment on my blog, you can do so as Anonymous by clicking under the post where it says "x# of comments." Doing this will bring you to the comment form. I would love to hear what you guys have to say about my travels!

Stay cool, 

(because with this sun I know I sure won't be)

Michael

Boating and Exploring

It has been an interesting couple of days on the island. I am starting to learn my way around town better, and am learning to sleep through the  rooster's daily 5:30 wake up call. Yesterday, Shirley arranged for us to go with the Dominica Forestry service birdwatching trip in honor of National Bird Week. So we woke up early, drove to some local roadside shops to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables, and then drove to Roseau to meet with the group. The expedition was not one on foot, but rather a nautical adventure promising a three hour tour of birdwatching out on the open sea. The professor in me warned me not to attend, but the Gilligan in me won my mental battle and I boarded the boat. Our vessel was christened "The Stingray II" with the captain providing little insight on the fate of "The Stingray I". Once we boarded, my group and I all migrated to the ships upper deck, however, seats were limited, and I had to stand holding onto the pole above the decks canopy. Once the ship took to the waves, my mind flashed back to the swashbuckling days of old when pirate fleets sailed the open seas. Leaning from my pole in a Captain Jack Sparrow manner, I played scenarios in my head as our ship splashed against the waves. A couple minutes into the trip, as my eyes scanned the horizon for Spanish tall ships, I caught some movement out of the corner of my eye. A wave that simply looked odd in the distance. As I kept my eye fixated on the spot where I thought I saw the peculiar wave, I saw movement there again. I lunged from my pole to my fellow groupmates sitting down and muttered the two words any buccaneer would be thrilled to hear... "Free Rum Look! Dolfins!" As soon as I pointed, another dolphin's fin peaked above the crested wave. I notified the captains, who excitedly turned the boat around and headed straight in the direction of the mammals. Once our ship approached the initial site where I first spotted the dolphins, it became apparent that it wasn't just a singular dolphin we were looking at, but rather 2 whole pods of Dolphins, each probably 20 or 30 strong! They swam right up to our boat and showed their pink belly's as they would rocket by the side of our boat like torpedos. The water was so clear we could see them beneath the waves as they would pass our ship. They would then  proceed to surface in unison, as if they were doing a majestic synchronized swimming routine. Then the captain notified us that we were about to see a phenomenon known as "wave ridding." He fired up the ships engines and started to produce a strong wake. Like a magnet, the dolphins all gravitated toword the large waves at the rear of the ship, and began jumping high into the air as they would swim through them trying to catch the ship! They would jump in pairs, and swim through the wake for as long as they could. The captain told us that theyre were two species of dolphins present, and what we saw was a rare awesome sight.

Unfortunatly, the video uploaded in poor quality, I will try again when I have better internet.

After the excitement of the dolphins wore down, we sailed around ScottsHead, the dividing point between the Carribean Sea and the Atlantic. The waves were small at first in the Caribbean Sea, but once we crossed over to the Atlantic Ocean, the waves intensified, and I was being tossed around quite a bit from my pole. It felt like I was surfing, as the boat would lurch up super high and then crash down as the waves crashed against our boat. We then proceeded along the coast to see many flocks of sea birds, as well as a few points featured in the pirates of the Caribbean movies. While we were only viewing the locations from the ocean, we saw the general area of the cannibal village, aswell as the famous rope bridge scene.

The Second Oldest Church on Island

Let Me Take A Selfie

Pterodactyls Attacking our Boat.

Later that night, Shirley threw us a welcome to Dominica party/going away party for a lady in the peace core. The night was fun, we played Boggle, (a word board game) and chit chatted with a few locals who stopped by to enjoy the environment. The food was excellent. We ate homemade empanada's,  spicy cheese cookies, tuna sandwiches, cheese sandwiches, and two different kinds of cake. Accompanied with the meal was the homemade tamrin and guava juice. One interesting thing to note is that typically in Dominica, you do not sit down and eat meals. Rather, the eating is done while standing up and walking around.

This morning, we went to to a local church service on the Island. It was a special celebration commemorating 165 years of Catholics on the island, and also doubled as a conformation for 175 children on the island. The service was outside in the beautiful botanical gardens of Roseua. Everybody was dressed in fancy clothes, with women wearing colorful dresses and carrying sun paracels, with the men dressed in long sleeves and pants, some wearing sport jackets. We stayed from 9:00 until 11:15, however, we were told that the service was expected to go until 3 PM! Because we couldn't sit through 6 hours of church and because the temperature was in the 90's, and we were ready to leave, so we walked through the botanical gardens and were picked up by one of Shirleys neighbors who drove us back to our home in Eggleston. Once home, we ate a fantastic lunch, and then proceeded to sit on our porch and enjoy the views for the next few hours.

The View From Our Porch

After enjoying the porch life, Shirley took us for a walk down through the village to see a neighbor who owned a fantastic garden. After walking through his garden and gathering a bag full of fresh mangos, we proceeded along the road and stopped by shirley's mother's house. We visited her mother, who was in her 80's, and sat with her for awhile and chit chatted. Her presence reminded me strongly of my great grandmother GG's, as she was a sweet, strong, elderly lady who's eyes lit up when we told her we were catholics. Her whole aura was that of happiness, and when she spoke her voice and laughter radiated that she had lived a good life. She told us stories of her youth, and of the old ways of the island. She showed us pictures of her wedding in London, as well as told us stories of throwing rocks into clearwater lake, and having steam come up and surround them in her youth. She inspected the sugar cane I was carrying, and told me that it had too many nubs, and would be hard to cut. Also, she talked of the days before bannanas became the islands cash crop, and how sugar cane used to grow wild, and as children they used to eat it as they found it. Sadly she said now sugar cane is rare on the island, as the bannana plantations destroyed much of it's natural habitat. She then had one of her daughters show us to her store, which was located right outside her house. Many locals in Dominca seem to have little shops that are next to their house. They sell everything from cigarettes to rum, and canned fish and local vegetables. She has owned her store for many MANY years, and I plan to swing by in the next few days to pick up some tooth paste and maybe some canned peanuts that have probably been on the shelf for way to long.

The Shop, Just a Tiny Bit Bigger Than Our Pantry

This is the second elderly woman who has been kind enough to invite us into her home, and talk with us for awhile. When we were going to the beach in Merro, Eardly had us stop by an old elderly woman's house for water. She was also very kind, strong, and friendly, and was just an all around happy lady. She told us of how she used to walk with her vegatables to Roseua every saturday to sell her vegatables (which was a 30 minute drive through mountains for us). She said back then there was no paved road, and she would have to wake up by 3 am if she wanted to make it to the city on time. She then gave us water, and even offered us wine or food if we wanted any (which was extremely kind coming from someone who seemed to have so little). We declined and went to the beach, but it solidified in my mind how wonderful the population of Dominica is.

Tonight for dinner we fried some plantains in coconut oil, and ate leftover sandwhiches, empanadas, mangos, and guavas. We finished the meal off with a dessert of delicious coconut cheese.

Overall, it has been a very exciting two days. Our schedule is finally starting to get a little less chaotic as we settle into our new home. The highlight of the past few days have definitely been the dolphins, the food, and chatting with the local elderly population. I look forward to keeping you posted on my future adventures!

TTFN
TaTa For Now

-Michael Stewart

A Day At The Beach

Today was yet another busy day on the Nature Island. We woke up at 7:00 again and jumped in Shirley's car and drove down to the School building to finish putting up the decorations for the Children's Choral Contest, a singing contest where the different school's sing songs to bring awareness to preserving bird habitats. Phil, the UD communications major in our group, was selected to be the celebrity judge of the contest. However, we had a meeting with the vice president of the Manufacturers Association and the cottage industry coconut cheese producers we are working with, and were late to the show. The meeting ran long (probably because it was in a cool air conditioned room, so people were hesitant to leave) and we missed the first half of the children's performance. When we finally arrived, we watched the remaining kids preform their songs, which were accompanied with surprisingly good interpretive dances. However, since the organizers were disappointed that we missed the first half of the performance, they made all the acts we missed re-preform their songs. Upon hearing this news, the children all made disgruntled faces, as our presence delayed the post competition snack time by another 30 minutes... I guess I won't be making any friends among the young children for the next couple days...

After the choral contest, we wandered the city and sampled different coconut cheeses from local street vendors. It is amazing the amount of variety there can be for the same confectionery good, with each cheese being as unique as it is delicious. We then met up with Eardly, where we sat and watched the hustling traffic of the town from his balcony at work. He then took us on a bus to the beach.  The bus was a large van, packed like sardines with people of all ages. The drive itself was very hectic, as Dominica has many blind sharp turns and not many road laws. But we made it to the black sand beach in one piece.

Once at the beach, we dove in the water, skipped stones, and belly surfed the waves until our tongue's were riddled with salt water and our skins cooked a merry shade of pink. We then proceeded to chit chat (and avoid being sold overpriced souvenirs) with the locals and some of Eardly's relatives on the beach. We sat beneath a Tropical Almond tree, and ate from the nuts that fell to the ground, which were surprisingly good, however difficult to eat, as they were encased in a strong otter shell. Several stray dogs and chickens joined us for our chat, and looked to us for any spare food or affection we 

had to offer them. 

One Beach on the Rocks

 Exploring the Beach

Dogs and a Chicken

PUPPY

Overall I am beginning to learn the ropes of Dominica more and more. I am slowly learning to navigate the town, circumvent spurratic traffic, and smile and nod whenever I cannot understand someones accent. Tomorrow we are waking up early to go on a birdwatching expedition, and I will update when after I spot some of my aviary friends. 

Goodnight from Dominica!

-Michael Stewart

First Full Day

Our first full day started at 8:00 when I was awoken to my Mario brothers theme alarm tone. After figuring out how to use the shower, I ate  a quick breakfast with my groupmates at our cute three person table. Shirley, our house mother, then drove us down the long winding road to Roseau, where we were told to wander the streets for an hour and half to learn the lay of the land and kill time before our first meeting. We went to exchange our money at the local bank, and after realizing I forgot my wallet in the house, I walked out empty handed and realized I was going to need to be a mooch for my first day. We then proceeded to wander the streets and get a better grip on the small town of Roseau. The streets are narrow with many cars and people walking chaotically between small shops and residences. Since not all the streets are parallel, it is important to use the Caribbean Sea as a reference point to know where you are. People are very friendly, and will say hello as they pass by, or give you a fist bump greeting (which apparently is way more commonplace than a handshake) after exchanging a few words with them. Overall, it is a pleasant bustling city.

A view from our front porch this morning

We then met with Sevrin, our contact and boss who lives in Dominica. He told us about what he hoped we will be able to accomplish during out 10 weeks, which is create a sell-able product of Coconut Cheese. Coconut cheese is not a typical cheese, but instead is more like a fudge or candy. It is very sweet, has a coconut aftertaste, and melts in your mouth as soon as you eat it. It's absolutely delicious.

Afterwards, we met up with Eardly (A man in his late 20's who has been helping us since we arrived in the country), and Paolo and Saehan, our team members on the other side of the island. He escorted us to a restaurant where we had a lovely fish plate with vegetables, lentil beans, and rice. From there, we wandered around town until our second meeting with the Minister of Tourism and several other board members of the Manufacturers Association. We further discussed our project in greater detail and began to make plans for the rest of the week.

We then reunited with Shirley, and went to a local school to decorate for a presentation that is to be held there tomorrow. Hanging up different lengths and colors of cloth, Shirley was able to help us arrange them into a nice looking stage.

We will return tomorrow to add the finishing touches to the fabrics and listen to the speech. We then bought some fresh bread from a local vendor, and went to the grocery store to buy food for our dinner. Tonight we enjoyed spaghetti, but tomorrow evening we will be eating fresh chicken and eggs accompanied with mango's and coconut cheese! I can't wait!

Tomorrow we have another meeting, but then are hoping to go to the beach and enjoy the sands Caribbean style! Hopefully a quick trip to the bank will also slip into the itinerary. I will update with more pictures soon. I am still learning how to work my gopro, and several pictures I thought would turn out did not today. Luckily  I have 10 more weeks in this Jungle Paradise so hopefully i'll be able to get a good shot in soon! 

Adventure is out there!

-Michael

First Arrival

I have officially arrived at my new home in Dominica! I have met with my housemother Shirley, who is very kind and has jumped through hundreds of hoops to ensure our stay with her is as pleasant as possible. The house is vibrantly colored with bright blues, yellows, and greens. I will upload more pictures tomorrow when the sun is up to ensure they do the beauty it's full justice.

My travels to Dominica were successful (minus one of my peanut butter jars being seized by the TSA) , as I left my house at 3:AM and arrived to Dominica at 4:00 PM. The time in the middle was intermixed with disrupted airline-sleeping and idle chit chat among my fellow group mates. One unanticipated mistake I made during travel was to fill up my Nalgene water bottle in the Miami airport and carry it through to the St. Maartin security checkpoint. I was promptly stopped by security, and told that I had could not bring any liquids on the plane. Unfortunately, their checkpoint lacked a sink to dispose of liquids, and I was running late to catch my flight, and I knew there was only one way for me to make my flight. So, with a scared grin and an empty bladder, I swallowed my pride and then proceeded to swallow the  32 ounces of water I had in my bottle in one massive full chug. I then was whisked through security, and placed on a bus that shuttled everyone on my flight across the tarmac to the plane. We were then instructed to walk onto the double propeller plane, however due to an uneven distribution of weight, we were told by the stewardess to disregard our assigned seating, and were then placed at strategic points in the front and back of the plane to ensure an even distribution of weight. Lucky for us, the stewardess's game of balance was correct, and we then arrived at Dominica without problems or crashing.

Once through customs, we were picked up by a representative of the Dominica Manufacturers Association, who drove us through the most beautiful hour long drive of my life through the mountains. Once we reached Roseu, our driver took us to the local grocery store, (which was much like an american grocery store, except with less products, less light, and less advertising.) After showing us the store, he took us across the street to the local market, where a group of men with a machete and a truck full of coconuts were selling "jelly." Jelly is basically a non ripe coconut, which the butcher will strike powerfully several times with the machete to cut the coconut into a shape that allows the user to drink the sweet water within it. After the buyer drinks the water, the coconut is then struck with the machete several more times, and is returned to the buyer to scoop out the sweet white meat of the coconut with a chipped "spoon" made of coconut shell the the machete master skillfully removes with his machete. The coconuts were absolutely delicious, and I hope to add a picture of the process in the future.

After the coconuts, we returned to the cab, and drove up the winding mountain roads to Eggleton, where we met with Shirley, our house mother. She showed us around her lovely house, and were shown to our rooms. After eating a peanut butter jelly sandwich and the freshest mango I have ever eaten ,we all then retired to our rooms and family room to reflect on the day, and prepare for bed.

I am told that the sun will rise around 5:30 tomorrow morning, and that if the sun's blinding rays do not wake me, the cockadoodeldooing roosters certainly will. Tomorrow we will have our first full day on the nature island, and I can not wait to rest up and seize the day.

Adventure is out there!

-Michael Stewart

16 Hours to Take Off