Nana and Papa Fisher come to visit!!!!

Yay! The last week of August my husband's parents came to visit. They brought my fixed laptop back, my new camera, new toys and swimsuits and clothes for the girls, and even if they hadn't brought a single thing with them, their visit alone would have pulled me out of my depression! We were so excited to have them come and see our little corner of paradise, and so were they. Since we couldn't afford to go home the whole time we were on the island, we hadn't seen either of our parents in over a year. It was wonderful to see them again.

I drove to pick them up at the airport (one of the more difficult drives on the island) and just was so excited the whole way there. Then I pulled up and saw Mom standing on the curb and instead of being overjoyed I started crying because it suddenly hit me just how long it has been since we had seen them.
I had mapped out a whole variety of activities both adventurous and relaxing for us to do with our company in town, and boy, was it a lot of fun.

We started off with a party for all of my sweetie's study partners. We planned the dinner party for 5:00, and as I reflected on this plan during the week I realized my schedule would be really hectic that afternoon - I wouldn't return from picking up my in-laws at the airport until 4:30! So, I decided on a meal I could prepare, but not cook until the last minute. Something a little different, you know, interesting, and with a little bit for everyone to enjoy. Why not pizza? I started buying the ingredients I would need a week in advance. Then my wonderful girlfriends decided they would go on a SCUBA diving trip, something we've been talking about doing for over a semester, and finally we were actually doing it but--- the big event was the morning my in-laws were arriving. I decided that if I could have the house totally clean and the pizzas all ready to throw together and pop in the oven I could just make the schedule work and enjoy the Cabrits sponsored dive. I am so glad I had the opportunity to go on that trip, and will remember my diving girls forever! (Love you sweeties!)

I ended up making 6 different pizzas - 1/2 cheese 1/2 pepporoni for the kids, pampered chef fresh garden style, hawaiian, supreme, meat lovers, and barbecue chicken. Making 6 crusts the day before worked perfectly along with all of my advanced preparation, and I think the party was a hit. The boys finished it off by heading down to the beach for a 'packet burning' - all the notes they didn't want to keep, which they somehow managed to burn despite all the rain.

The next day we were off to Roseau. We decided to rent a car since our sedan is kind of low to the ground and you really need some clearance for some of the sites we were going to. We started with Champagne Bay, did some souvenir shopping, and then checked in to the Fort Young Hotel. I did end up getting my waterproof digital camera (an Olympus Stylus 1030 SW), which Nana and Papa brought to the island for me, and so I had a lot of fun trying it out while we snorkeled, all though I quickly realized that the charge the battery came with was not sufficient (duh, I all ready knew that!) and worse that my spare battery and charger had been left at home! We saw the biggest school of squid I've seen to date, and my oldest daughter had a blast showing off for Nana and Papa as she independently explored the sea-life, never-ending bubbles, etc.






We ate lunch at the Cornerhouse Cafe, located down the road from Astaphan's and up the road from Jolly's Pharmacy. The Cafe is on the 2nd floor of the building, you have to take the stairs on the side in the alley to enter the restaurant. Caribbean dishes with a few familiar items make this restaurant a favorite lunch spot for Ross Spouses Organization shopping trips.

The Fort Young Hotel may have been an expensive indulgence, but it really made us feel like we were on vacation too. We reserved ocean-view deluxe rooms and thoroughly enjoyed the deck, furnishings, and especially the bath tub. It was big enough for the girls to have water up to their necks! We don't have bath tubs, only showers, so this was a really nice feature. I had really wanted to go swimming in their infinity pool (the only one on the island) but the rain interrupted. We ate at the hotel's restaurant that night. I don't recall much of the dinner, but it reminded me somewhat of our trip to the all-inclusive resort in St. Lucia. The service was slower, but enjoying it with family more than made up for that.







At this point I decided to run home first thing in the morning to retrieve my battery and charger for my new awesome camera - which I never would have bought if I hadn't been planning on using it for the days activities! I left the hotel at 5 and was back by 7, just in time for breakfast.

We kind of split up and ate breakfast at Rituals (our favorite American like 'restaurant' (it's really a coffee shop)) and CocoRico's (a little French Cafe right next door to Rituals that has nice crepes). Then we were off for our busiest day of the vacation.



The first stop was Trafalgar Falls, one of the most visited sites on the island. The twin falls can be viewed from an overlook that is about a 10 - 15 minute hike.







We normally go further, since there is a little natural hot spring you can soak in just beyond the overlook, but our next stop was Screw's Sulphur Spa which features like 7 hot springs, so I battled the rest of my family to hold off on the soak until we got to Screw's (named after the owner people). That was probably our only little bit of dissension through the whole vacation, and Nana and Papa seemed to be ok with my agenda, even if my husband and daughters were slightly miffed with me. That only lasted about half an hour though, since as soon as we were all comfortably soaking in the multiple springs at Screw's all was forgiven. We had a blast playing in the hot-tub temperature mineral-rich water.







Lunch was served at Papillote, a quaint little rainforest bed and breakfast which all though I had passed on the way to the waterfalls, I somehow missed twice as we drove around the other side of the valley. While Papillote is one of my favorite restaurants, the picky eaters among us had to make do with what we could get. The girls ended up with pancakes from the breakfast menu (I considered it lucky they would make a breakfast item for lunch!). The tropical gardens are a great source of pleasure to me, and I took a few pictures of some of the flora.






Our next stop was TiTou Gorge. Now I know that I blogged about this site a mere two entries ago, but this time I had a digital waterproof camera with me! The gorge was a little too scary for claustrophobic Nana, but the rest of us climbed in, adjusted to the cold, and started up the gorge. When we got to the alcove - the resting spot at the end - my youngest daughter saw a crab... and totally FREAKED OUT! We see crabs all the time, and have even caught a few. I still don't get why it scared her so bad. She was absolutely hysterical, so I had no choice but to abandon my husband and Papa and get her out in the open so she could calm down. She was so freaked out that she kept standing on top of me while I was swimming with her, and she was totally like a leach around my neck. Even with her life jacket, she was pushing me under as I was desperately trying to get out. I think maybe if I hadn't had so little sleep and been so all ready sleep deprived from the mad days of preparation that I would have had more strength, but as it was, I barely made it. I was very grateful that the boys had my camera and got some great shots on their way out.







From the gorge I decided that we could barely make it to Emerald Pool before sun-down, which we barely did. The ranger and almost all of the tourists had all ready left when we pulled into the parking area, and though we were tired we trekked the 15-20 minutes through the rainforest just in time to get a few shots in the remaining sunlight. The girls jumped in, but since it had been intermittenly raining all day the adults were all chilled enough to pass on the cool dip in the waterfall's pool.




We ate dinner at the Sunset Bay restaurant (which is also a quaint little dive hotel). Sunset's is a Ross student favorite even if it is a 25 minute drive from campus, and they offer one of the best variety of menu selections around. We've never been disappointed in our food, and this night was no exception, all though it was the worst service I've ever had from them. I wonder if the waitress was just having a bad night since we've had her before and not had such problems. The chocolate mousse was divine!

Our next several days were spent relaxing, going to church, going to the swimming pool, etc. We also made a trip to the historic Fort Shirley where I discovered the panorama feature on my new camera...




And then a special horse-back riding lesson for Nana and my oldest, and a special dive for Papa and me. Daddy stayed home to study for the nasty comp exam that is coming up so soon.... and he generously kept the little one home to allow everyone else to participate in their respective adventures. We had so much fun! I learned a lot about my diving expert father-in-law and Nana was flattered with a compliment on her natural balance on a horse.



Before we knew it, their trip was coming to a close, and it seemed like it had hardly even started. It all ready seems like a wonderful, splendid dream, and I look forward to our next grand adventure which will occur in November when my parents come... and then the girls and I will go home with them.


We (the students and their spouses) have a tendency to complain about so many aspects of life on Dominica, but truthfully, the island is a beautiful place, filled with kind and beautiful people. The longer I reside here, the more I believe that our perspective is seriously hampered by the abundant stresses of medical school. Yes, there are drawbacks that are typical of life on any island, and yes there are drawbacks of the 'developing nation' nature, but the lessons we have learned, the adventures we have gone on, the challenges overcome, the natural beauty, the opportunity for increased understanding and personal growth, far outweigh those oh-so-frustrating drawbacks.

And that doesn't even take into account the people!!! I love the Dominicans, and love it when they tell me my daughters are truly Dominican now, and that I am by heart. Their culture is so rich I still have many aspects that I will not fully understand or even grasp before we leave, and their generosity and kindness and spirit will change my personal perspective for the rest of my life.




Add to that the precious opportunity to be surrounded by people (the students and their families and the professors) who are so similar to us in their interests and goals and motivations, to be in the same torturous, life-changing situation with those people (med-school in a foreign country), and maybe you can glimpse how very wonderful, unique, and truly special this island is.