New Haircut Rocks the Caribbean

At 1:30 pm today I was getting my hair cut. At 2:00 pm my hair was cut and the coloring process begun... at 2:45 pm we walked to school to pick up our children. Promptly at 3:00 the entire Eastern Caribbean started shaking. Yes, that is how great my new 'do is. Good enough to trigger an earthquake!

Ha! In reality I'm not surprised to have experienced an earthquake during our stay on Dominica. After all, the island is volcanically active, with vents under the sea. It is this geological force which provides the island with so many hot springs, including the second largest boiling lake in the world. Dominica is one of the few islands that is 'growing' rather than eroding. You can read a news report on the earthquake by clicking on this link: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071129/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/caribbean_earthquake.

I've never been in an earthquake before, and this one will make a good story. 7.3 on the Richter Scale, but no one got hurt. I found the experience to be exciting, but many of my friends were quite frightened by it. It was strong enough to be felt by all, and to trigger feelings of nausea, but not quite strong enough to knock things off shelves. My husband hardly noticed it at all, his comment was "I was walking and I thought there was something wrong with the building I was entering."

In other news, I had my haircut A-line style, a 'do I have been wanting ever since Junior High. I love my new cut, and can't wait to grow the front longer, increasing the angle that gives the hairstyle it's descriptive name. According to several sources, it's taken 10 years off of me. Wait a minute, does that mean I used to look REALLY old?

Spani Falls

Spani Falls in one of the less frequently visited waterfalls on Dominica, but so far, it has been my favorite. First we hiked up a rocky path that seemed very much like a cement road that was laid over unprepared ground. Then we got into the rain forest where the plant life ranges from the miniscule to the extra-large. Eventually we came to a narrow trail which featured occassional wooden railing. The poles/logs that made up the railing were completely covered in moss and looked like they could be very deteriorated. Then we got to this cliff(?) that was covered in vines and it was like the entire thing was a waterfall. It was literally dripping from the top down and it was almost like rain! (I wish the picture would have turned out better.) Spani Waterfall has great height, and the water was colder than I would have cared to swim in. I loved the solitude of the natural beauty, and secluded feeling the area offered. I also loved seeing that raining wall. I've seen lots of waterfalls, but never an entire cliff side that just rains!

Halloween on the Rock

Halloween was so much fun! My only regret is that I didn't dress up as Wonder Woman. When I was a little girl I always wanted to be Wonder Woman, and my parents always got me to pick something else because it was too cold (I'm sure it had as much to do with modesty). It was definitely warm enough here to dress up as skimpily as you could wish to, remembering that you normally get hit on while wearing army boots on the island.

The spouses organization threw a carnival the Saturday before Halloween. I've been attending Halloween carnivals since before I can remember. I've seen more than my fair share, and this was THE BEST ONE EVER. Combine amazing refreshments with adorable children who are happy to be there with lots of supportive help from spouses without children and students who wanted to pitch in, not to mention a variety of great children's activities and plenty of candy to go around... you get the picture! Then the kids got to trick-or-treat through campus, attending most of the classrooms and administrative offices during the last part of school Halloween day. Our church held a little get together Halloween evening that was also very well done, and it was fun to see the reactions of the local children who do not celebrate the holiday.

Overall I would say Halloween week was the best one on the island yet!