Settling In

So I'm pretty much settled in here. There haven't been any surprises. It's pretty much what I expected, so it's good that I talked to other people who've already been here. It is a poor, third world country, but there's hardly any crime, and locals are extremely nice. I have to get used to saying hello to every single person I walk by. Island life is of course really slow and laidback, and there are cows that just chill on the side of the streets. Unfortunately, they are not for consumption. They're just wild animals here. It's seriously very amusing to me to be walking next to a cow on the way to campus.

Probably the one major downfall of being here is traveling here. You usually have to spend a night in Puerto Rico on the way here, and if you don't, then you're probably going to miss your connecting flight. Also, one shouldn't be surprised if their luggage doesn't arrive at the same time as they do. My parents and I had an overnight in Puerto Rico, so we checked in at American Eagle 3 HOURS prior to the flight to make sure our luggage would arrive. Lo and behold, our luggage wasn't on our flight, possibly because they put the early luggages at the end of the line. It was kinda annoying that all 6 of our luggages didn't end up in Dominica at the same time as we did, but it ended up being on a charter flight after us, so it all arrived on campus that same evening.

So flying into Dominica is interesting. When you begin descending, it really looks like the plane landing in Jurassic Park. It's all green, and it looks like you're landing on top of trees. It's kind of bizarre because it makes you wonder where the hell you are, but it's pretty cool.

Aside from having to wait around for my luggage, Day 1 wasn't so bad. A welcome committee took us on a campus tour. It looks pretty shabby on the outside, but that's expected since this is a third world country. However, the inside of the classrooms are pretty nice. Every single chair in the lecture halls has it's own 110v plug, and there are big LCD screens hanging around the bigger halls. However, the library is really small. Do note that I'm really used to Bobst at NYU...sigh, you have no idea how much I wish I could study there.

After the campus tour, we ate at Brother's Chinese Restaurant. For whatever reason, it seems like Chinese food and Subway are the only two things to eat down here. It wasn't that bad though. I mean, it was good considering it's Chinese food in the Caribbean. It's definitely edible Chinese and seems clean to eat. Possibly cleaner than a lot of places in Chinatown. However, it's nowhere near Chinatown or Flushing.

Finally, all of our luggage came, and we were ready to get driven to my apt in the building called New Avies. It's a brand new building, which is both good and bad. The place is really well taken care of, and the landlord/lady are so helpful and nice, but my cable isn't set up yet, and the internet is inconsistent. Overall, it's pretty nice and definitely way nicer than most affordable places in NY. Electricity is pre-paid here, and it's pretty expensive, so it's a good thing that I've already been in the habit of turning off the A/C before I leave my apt and only using it when absolutely necessary.

Aside from extreme tiredness, my first day here wasn't so bad. Hopefully, I can catch up on the other things that have been happening in the last few days. I'll eventually put up pictures too!