This is our 3rd day in Dominica. Today at school we had a field trip and we walked about 8 miles in the blazing hot sun! It was very tiring. School ended at 12:00!!! That was only because they are getting ready for carnival. Luckily, we got a ride home from my mom and dad and we didn’t have to walk home. We fit 9 kids in our car! 4 sat in the trunk and 5 sat in the backseat and mom and dad in the front. When we returned to the village we wanted to go swimming. So, we went to go ask the other kids parents if the kids could come to d’leau chaud, a fresh water river with a hot spring. The parents said yes and we hopped back into the car. It was about a 10 minute drive. When we got out of the car, we remembered how many ashes there were in the air because a volcano erupted in another island in the Caribbean called Montserrat. They covered the car. Here's a picture of it. 
Lots if people are also walking around wearing masks because there is so much ash in the air. we found a cool link to the volcano if you want to learn more about it. http://www.montserratvolcanoobservatory.info/After we walked a small distance, we were at the river. We swam and did cartwheels into the water. We surfed on the rocks and dared each other to touch the sand at the bottom of the river. Teachers will be glad to know that we went home to work on our homework.
Hi Alden and Willow,
ReplyDeleteYour adventure sounds very interesting, educational, and fun! I am so glad that you are able to experience Dominica by actually being part of the culture. I know I've know I've probably told you this before, but I'll be an annoying adult and tell you again.. Dominica is important to me because my parents did their peace corps training there in 1968. They lived in a village called "pe bush", with a man named Nichols Paul. My father helped him build an irrigation system. Like your parents, my parents brought me to Dominica in 2003 for vacation. We stayed in Portsmouth, Dominica. If you can believe it, a woman working at our hotel was from Pe Bush, and knew Nichols Paul. The very next day my parents were taken there to see him, and he remembered them very well. They had a great visit, and recalled what they had done together 35 years prior! Okay, I digress. I just wanted to tell you that story because I think it speaks to the Dominican culture you are experiencing, where the people are helpful, resourceful, and value others. Another time, I'll tell you what happened when my dad drove our rental car into a ditch....