In Dominica

Well my stay is more than half over and I have already begun to make preparations for my trip back home. I cancelled my reservation at the Mango Inn and made a reservation at the Hilton. It was a good rate $130.00 a night. It will be worth it to stay there. I need a comfortable place to sleep. I did not get any rest at all at the Mango in. Hopefully this time I will have more time to capture some pictures of San Juan. So what are my thoughts on Dominica?
Dominica is a nice place. I will visit here as long as John is here, and I am starting to get used to it now. I think that my diet would consist mostly of pizza if I lived here, it is the only food that I have found that I like. Nothing taste American and the chicken always has gristle in it. I always find myself having to spit pieces out.
I think it best if write down a brief list of my activities since I arrived at the airport. Well, just before we arrived.
The approach is one of the scariest I've been on in a long time. We come in through the mountains and at times we are so close to the mountain sides that it looks like we will touch them. It was a scary landing. Our pilot was skilled and did a good job getting us on the ground safely. Once we landed we filed off the plane and into the smallest airport I've ever been in. Smaller than Clover Field in Pearland. This place was tiney. The Customs office consisted of two make shift desks where two men sat and stamped Passports. I was asked questions and quickly learned that the Dominican people speak very quietly and very very very fast. I instantly wanted to be an American and tell him that he was speaking to softly but I thought "wait, I need to remember I'm a guest here" so told him "I'm American and I'm sure you know we're all very hard of hearing cause we spend so much time yelling at each other, could you help me and speak louder, I do apologize."
The Customs officer smiled at me and spoke up and spoke slowly. Then I had to go through the same thing with the gentleman that was checking my bags. Yes, all my bags were searched. He wanted to know if I was bringing anything as a gift. Chuckle, I knew this routine I said nothing was a gift, although I was bringing some personal items for a student at Ross University. Once I finished that I walked out and found John waiting for me. We headed to the transport that was waiting for us. There were a total of 9 of us in the transport. The ride reminded of me a dear camp. It took one hour and was a bumpy, twisty, turning ride through the jungle. Often with shear cliffs directly to the off side of the road. We got to his hotel and settled with the driver and made arrangements for a trip on Saturday for a tour of the island. We walked to John's hotel room and I put all my stuff down. We had time together and then went and toured his school. It is a small place. Smaller than ACC, well smaller than any school campus I think I've ever been on. The campus just doesn't look like a professional school. When you step into the interiors you see what it is like. It is very nice on the inside. We then went to the Seaside restaurant (the on campus eatery) and had some lunch. The sun was so direct it was sweltering. We walked under an umbrella and I enjoyed seeing the campus. After that we went back home and got ready for dinner. We joined Mihn and Tom at Brother's Chinese food. I didn't like the dish a got. A strange thing about the soft drinks here. They don't have diet anything and they are all in large glass bottles. Interesting. After dinner we went to James Store where I found out that I know James, met him on the plane. We went home and slept. Saturday was filled with sight seeing on the island. Back to Melville Hall (the airport) and on to the Emerald Pool where we swam in crystal clear water. Then to Roseau where we had Americanized food and the Garaway Hotel on the dock where cruise ships come in. We then went and saw the President's house (no larger than my parent's home which is large for Dominica) we then went to the state park and back home where I was ready to be. John and I rested, went for pizza (which we ate on a peer). The waves here are strange. In Galveston the waves are a continuous roar. Here they are very staccato. A quick brake, and then a small ripple and seconds pass before you hear the next one.
Today was filled with laziness, I didn't leave the house until I went for dinner. I'm starting to feel comfortable with traveling on my own. I think if John's brother were to visit I would take him so that he wouldn't have trouble. Tomorrow I make my arrangements to get back to the airport on Tuesday. Part of me is ready to get back to Houston. Back home. Back to my place. I must remember to ask the Ramada when I arrive in Puerto Rico about my ring. If not I will buy another one.