Week 0

Hey hey friends and neighbors!

I’m writing to you from John Paul II dormitory on St. Lucia. There’s a large photo of Jesus watching over me; I find this reassuring as I’m giving up mortal sins for lent this year.

Thus far the Peace Corps is pretty great. This weekend we had vaccinations (I got Hep A, Hep B, Typhoid and Flu which seem fairly innocuous) and medical exams but the rest of the weekend free. On Saturday I took my first bus (which are vans that you hail on the side of the road), ate some meat that was called turkey but looked decidedly more like beef, and hung out on the beach with old white people.

Also, I did what true Buffalonians do best; lose (enthusiastically) at competitive sports. We played beach volleyball on a resort court (all the beaches are public here!) and I lost handedly (8-25); but cheered for my team relentlessly. It’s unclear whether the other team thought this was quite as fun as I did…

There are 45 people training in St. Lucia right now and we will be dispersed between St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada, and Dominica. 10 of us are heading to Dominica on Saturday. (I’ll arrive just in time for the final week at the Bills Bar of the season!)

Some of the people are hilarious; some of the people are trying to party like it’s early 2004 (at the tiny garage bar down the street from the retreat center we are living at, also one of them puked in the sink of the communal bathroom last night. Don’t worry, I’ve been conducting investigations all day); some of the people take volleyball quite seriously; some of the people are competitively “talking to the locals”; and some of the people I haven’t yet judged.

the view from my room!

Week -1

Hey friends,

There's no one at the Buffalo Bills bar in Dominica today- not even me. I think we're all aware that 2010 was a building year and we're saving our enthusiasm for Chan's 16- 0 team in 2011. Although everyone at the Bills bar in Dominica loves the Steeler's song "Here We Go". (My dad just informed me that the Steeler's stole the melody from the "Erie Canal Song", what punks.)

Seriously though, I've been debating about a blog name for weeks. (Especially as I've threatened to make very many blogs; I feel like I should make this one really good.) Last night I dreamed that through some amazing error in the NFL we found out that the Bills were actually in the AFC championship today. I've already been in Buffalo for too long.

Last week I spoke to my island director who is a native Dominican (yes, they are also Dominicans). I was trying to inquire about whether I should expect to have access to the interwebs and a refrigerator without sounding like a jerk. Patrick told me that in addition to a flushing toilet, the interwebs and perhaps a refrigerator I will also be able to watch the NFL. (He watched the Jets/Patriots game last week and asked if I was a Giants or Jets fan but I saved my tirade about Buffalo not being near NYC or part of the Northeast for my arrival.) From that conversation I give you my blog. Also dahm-in-EE-kuh is the proper pronunciation for the island. My apologies to all the people I said it to incorrectly.

I fly to Miami on Thursday (1/27) and from Miami to St. Lucia on Friday where I will have a week of training before I depart for Dominica. Hopefully I'll get to talk to most of you before I leave, but if not I'll miss each and every one of you a lot.

For the people I haven't seen or talked to since I was reassigned: I was reassigned to Dominica. Dominica is home to a boiling lake, active volcanoes, frequent hurricanes, an abnormally high percentage of centenarians, and the Caribs featured in Pirates of the Caribbean 2. (I love sequels.) Robbie Sozanski has been describing it as the island in Jurassic Park, hopefully that helps with your image of the island. Doesn't that description make me sound tough?

Here's a pretty picture of Dominica that I didn't take:

Next week in the Caribbean!

Erin