We confused the staff a bit last night at dinner; they were under the impression that we were leaving Thursday. However, we got a better deal on airline tickets to leave today, Wednesday.
Roger left for an earlier flight at about 6:30 this morning. Our flight wasn't going to leave until 2:20 pm, so we had plenty of time. We packed up fairly quickly; Kala and I already did most of our packing last night. Then we cleaned up the lab and set our last batch of snails free in a slow-moving pool of the stream next to the station. They were all painted with pink "snail polish". It will be interesting to see how they disperse the next time Dr. Hains returns.
We said our goodbyes and then headed down to Canefield to fill up gas in the rental car. On the way, we saw Tiffany's and just had to go in after getting gas. I can officially say I've been to Tiffany's in Dominica, and bought something! Tiffany's is a restaurant, bar, art gallery, and gift shop. She had stacks of soaps of many different local scents and walls covered in local artwork. One wall was a dedicated showcase to a young artist with a very different style. It was dark, gory, and reminded me of a biological sci-fi horror. But there is a reason for these odd paintings and sculptures; the dark backgrounds emphasize the 3-D fingers and toes emerging from the paintings with startlingly accurate nails and creases. Small sculptures show immense patience in moulding the medium (they dare not reveal its contents) to the shape of a brain and adding a pair of sunglasses to it. While most of the Dominicans worry about the boy's mental health, Tiffany sees talent and passion and gives him tips to perfect his work. I see his dark theme as a way of showcasing his creativity in moulding and smooth painting.
Then we went up the hill past the station to Miranda's for fresh fishcakes (large hushpuppies with some hardly-noticeable fish meat in them). They were much better hot and fresh than the first time we had them at the end of the day. She also gave us some baked mac & cheese (except instead of macaroni she used some other kind of noodles).
We went on to the airport where we ran into another group from the US. We debated over whether they were missionaries or a university group. My money was on missionaries. We talked to one guy and found out that they were from Macon University in Georgia. Some of the students were researching sea turtles and some of their work included teaching science classes in a primary school. I was randomly selected for special screening, as was one of the girls from Macon. They made us be the last ones to board the plane, but we got a chance to talk. She said some of their stay also included missionary work; they stayed for 20 days. The screening was a very easy process. The lady gently patted major concern areas (side of waist and ankles, just places that one would typically conceal a weapon). She opened my laptop bag and I helped her move things around, telling her where things were so we didn't have to waste time. I didn't feel so bad boarding the plane, people were still in line to get seated so time wasn't an issue.
Once we got to San Juan, we went through customs and immigration, which didn't really take that long, we just had to have our passports and boarding passes out constantly. We got Kala to her terminal and waited until she left, then Diane and I looked around at a duty-free shop and sampled perfume and lotion. We joined Dr. Hains at Air Margaritaville for one of the best burgers I have ever had. I got the Mexicali burger with several different types of cheeses, jalepeno peppers, and tomato salsa.
I didn't sleep on any plane rides until the one from Miami to Atlanta. Somehow Dr. Hains expected me to help him stay awake on the drive from Atlanta to Clemson. I hope he took a caffeine pill because I didn't have much to talk about so I continually dozed off. I did, however, wake up once every minute the entire ride to Clemson to try my best to keep a look out. Unfortunately every time I blinked I took a 45-second nap. We met my parents and boyfriend at Waffle House right off the interstate in Clemson. The first thing I wanted to do was brush my teeth, then Jared and I got a snack for the road and I stayed wide awake that whole ride telling them about the awesome food and different things I experienced. We arrived at home at 4:30 in the morning; I didn't wind down and go to sleep again until six.
Roger left for an earlier flight at about 6:30 this morning. Our flight wasn't going to leave until 2:20 pm, so we had plenty of time. We packed up fairly quickly; Kala and I already did most of our packing last night. Then we cleaned up the lab and set our last batch of snails free in a slow-moving pool of the stream next to the station. They were all painted with pink "snail polish". It will be interesting to see how they disperse the next time Dr. Hains returns.
We said our goodbyes and then headed down to Canefield to fill up gas in the rental car. On the way, we saw Tiffany's and just had to go in after getting gas. I can officially say I've been to Tiffany's in Dominica, and bought something! Tiffany's is a restaurant, bar, art gallery, and gift shop. She had stacks of soaps of many different local scents and walls covered in local artwork. One wall was a dedicated showcase to a young artist with a very different style. It was dark, gory, and reminded me of a biological sci-fi horror. But there is a reason for these odd paintings and sculptures; the dark backgrounds emphasize the 3-D fingers and toes emerging from the paintings with startlingly accurate nails and creases. Small sculptures show immense patience in moulding the medium (they dare not reveal its contents) to the shape of a brain and adding a pair of sunglasses to it. While most of the Dominicans worry about the boy's mental health, Tiffany sees talent and passion and gives him tips to perfect his work. I see his dark theme as a way of showcasing his creativity in moulding and smooth painting.
Then we went up the hill past the station to Miranda's for fresh fishcakes (large hushpuppies with some hardly-noticeable fish meat in them). They were much better hot and fresh than the first time we had them at the end of the day. She also gave us some baked mac & cheese (except instead of macaroni she used some other kind of noodles).
We went on to the airport where we ran into another group from the US. We debated over whether they were missionaries or a university group. My money was on missionaries. We talked to one guy and found out that they were from Macon University in Georgia. Some of the students were researching sea turtles and some of their work included teaching science classes in a primary school. I was randomly selected for special screening, as was one of the girls from Macon. They made us be the last ones to board the plane, but we got a chance to talk. She said some of their stay also included missionary work; they stayed for 20 days. The screening was a very easy process. The lady gently patted major concern areas (side of waist and ankles, just places that one would typically conceal a weapon). She opened my laptop bag and I helped her move things around, telling her where things were so we didn't have to waste time. I didn't feel so bad boarding the plane, people were still in line to get seated so time wasn't an issue.
Once we got to San Juan, we went through customs and immigration, which didn't really take that long, we just had to have our passports and boarding passes out constantly. We got Kala to her terminal and waited until she left, then Diane and I looked around at a duty-free shop and sampled perfume and lotion. We joined Dr. Hains at Air Margaritaville for one of the best burgers I have ever had. I got the Mexicali burger with several different types of cheeses, jalepeno peppers, and tomato salsa.
I didn't sleep on any plane rides until the one from Miami to Atlanta. Somehow Dr. Hains expected me to help him stay awake on the drive from Atlanta to Clemson. I hope he took a caffeine pill because I didn't have much to talk about so I continually dozed off. I did, however, wake up once every minute the entire ride to Clemson to try my best to keep a look out. Unfortunately every time I blinked I took a 45-second nap. We met my parents and boyfriend at Waffle House right off the interstate in Clemson. The first thing I wanted to do was brush my teeth, then Jared and I got a snack for the road and I stayed wide awake that whole ride telling them about the awesome food and different things I experienced. We arrived at home at 4:30 in the morning; I didn't wind down and go to sleep again until six.
RSS Feed