Dominica Study Abroad - Day 1

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After an exhausting two days of travel, we finally made to our final destination: Dominica, W.I. We left the U.S. from Dallas on May 24th and arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico, the same day. All of us went out for dinner as a group upon arrival in San Juan, where we waited for two hours for our dinners to be served. Though the restaurant had a gorgeous view of the Caribbean Sea, the service was definitely lacking. We tried aranitas, which are fried plantains, as well as mofongo, mashed plantains.
The flight to Dominica was the prettiest, yet most turbulent, flight I have ever been on. Because the plane was only about 16000 ft above air, we were able to see multiple islands in the Lesser Antilles. Unfortunately, that also resulted in a very shaky plane ride and bouts of motion sickness. The small plane had propellers and weight distribution was so important that a few of us had to be moved around to balance our collective weight.
After going through customs and immigration, we were greeted by our driver, Clem James. All of us, except for Dr. Lacher and Dr. Heyman, went with Clem and received a guided tour for our drive to the Archbold Tropical Research and Education Center (ATREC). During the one and a half hour drive, Clem told us about the variety of fruits and roots present in Dominica, such as cocoa, papaya, mango, star-fruit, yams, and taro. He also explained that the question mark we saw throughout the Imperial Highway were signs from the party in opposition to the current government. Most of us were shocked by the excessive honking we encountered, though Clem later explained that in order to prevent car wrecks, drivers must honk as they approach a curve with poor visibility of the other side.
Once we arrived at ATREC, we were taken to our rooms. I ended up in a room with three other girls, Kinnie, Britney, and Loni. Luckily, our room did not have bunk beds and most of the mosquito nets were in good shape. Sandra, the cook, showed us how to turn on the electric shower. She also gave us a small tour of the center. Most of us in the group walked to the Check Hall River, though we did not swim in it. We went back to the field station, where we enjoyed a lunch of cheese and mayonnaise sandwiches and Suriname cherry juice. The juice was made from a nearby Suriname cherry tree; we were allowed to collect some cherries, though they were too sour for my taste.
After lunch, we went back to the river and all of us swam there for a while. A few in the group went exploring up the river, though I stayed behind in the cool water. One of the trees that stands above the river is called a Sloanea castanea and it drops these spiny pods into the river and the surrounding areas. We tried to pick up as many as we could, since it is painful to step on these pods. Several green-throated hummingbirds were present there as well.
For dinner, we had pumpkin soup, garlic toast, rice, beans, and chicken. For dessert, we had chocolate cake. Nancy Osler, the current director at ATREC, spoke to us about the rules and regulations at the center. Another study abroad group, from Clemson University, was staying at ATREC as well.

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Photos

First Glimpse of Dominica!
Most of the pictures I took from the plane required almost no zoom, showing how terrifyingly close our airplane got to the island.

Mother Nature's Bathtub
This gorgeous freshwater pool was within a small distance from our field station. We were allowed to bathe in it as long as we used biodegradable shampoo.

TAMU Study Abroad Group 2010
Our first of many group pictures