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