The beginning of the end of fun on the island

There has been a big SDA revival meeting that's being put on by the crusadors here in Dominica so I got to go to a huge service this Saturday out in the field. I was a visitor so i sat all the way in the front, the back probably spanned about 3 times what u see up front and about twice the size on both sides. The music was sooo beautiful and inspiring. The praise singers were professional quality and the sermon was superb. There is an advent student group on campus so after school starts I will probably attend service there but it was fun to attend this huge revival meeting, will attend again next Saturday.

The reason i came to this island, oh yeah...school! Above is a picture of the school's main entrance.

So, while I have the chance I am getting in as much fun as possible since when school starts it will be full speed ahead with little time to do anything but study. I got a chance to do some scuba diving, socializing and exploring of the island. School orientation starts this evening and will go on for the rest of the week. Before the first welcome i got a chance to take a dip and discover the whole new world of coral reefs, it's another world which filled me with wonderment and awe, if only I could share the pictures of the reef with you! My ears are still adjusting to the pressure on land. Here are some pictures of the fun from this past week.

A picture of my instructor Chris and me before heading out into the ocean for a dive. That weight belt and that tank weighs a ton, it's such a relief to go into the water to take the weight off.

This is the way we get around and get our scuba gear to our destiation.

This is the entry way to my new place, to the direct right is our living room and to the direct left is our kitchen. My bedroom is a little further down the hall to the right.

Our living room.

Kitchen.

A view of the ocean from our front door balcony (can u see it? ;)).

Just liked this pic. The landlord picked some jelly coconuts for us to drink from our backyard.

This is my bedroom.

A view from the other side.

This was taken along one of the stops on the way to Emerald pool.

This is how the native indians make casava bread. The root is poisonous so they have to soak it for a while to get the toxins out. The mixture is made up of casava root, coconut shreds and sugar. It has a chewy and sticky kind of texture, very tasty.

Some brave male students dancing with the local indians. You got to hand it to these guys, they sure are good sports.

Finally, our destination. Yes, i got out there swam in the pool and even sat under the waterfall, it was a very nice cool, hard water massage. Ahhh, refreshing.

After our trip my room-mate's mother cooked up a delicious persian meal.

Some of the guys in our group enjoying the good eats.

So, as u can see having fun before all the stress starts. School starts next Monday, but starting tomorrow we will be having orientation that pretty much takes up all day! Please write every so often if you have time, would love for you to send me your love.