Waiti-kubuli, “Tall is her body” in Carib (the indigenous peoples of the land), was renamed Dominica when “discovered” by Columbus… surprisingly enough, on a Sunday. Luckily its geography prevented it, for the most part, from the fate of many of the other islands in the Caribbean. With an active volcano and mountainous terrain, the conditions were not conducive to slave-dependent sugar cane crops. And while this island was not completely immune to the woes of colonization, the peoples of Waiti-kubuli were fortunate enough that the rugged mountainous terrain insulated them from many of the all too common woes faced by the tribes of the islands around them. With areas of this small island averaging over 200 inches of rain a year, the landscape is peppered with tremendous waterfalls and 365 rivers winding their way across the ... read more

I once read that the Tzutujil Mayans of Guatemala believe that when you take one step outside your house, no matter where you are going or for how long; you are on your way home (Prechtel, M., Secrets of the Talking Jaguar, 1999). That belief has always rung true for me. It doesn’t matter if you are going to the store for milk or if you are leaving for, say, 4 months to travel the world. With that first step, no matter what you encounter or where you get side tracked to, you are already on your way home. I think I’ve adopted that belief because it doesn’t matter where I am, knowing that I am on my way home makes the world feel a little bit smaller and in turn I feel closer to my ... read more