Back to the Jungle

Perhaps the most enjoyable break I've experienced in all of my academic life is slowly grinding to a halt - I'm back in Dominica. Some folks would say they're back on the "rock", but I believe a more fitting epithet would be "back to the jungle" - because, you see, Dominica doesn't have anything else. I've come to realize that it's a third-world country among third-world countries - the Ghetto of the Caribbean, as I like to call it. I've not been to all of the Caribbean nations (just Dominica, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Barbados, Antigua, the Bahamas), but they're all WAY more developed than this little island jungle. It may be the presence of tourism money - where those other islands are known for their resorts and their beaches, the only tourists Dominica gets are either just stepping off their cruise ship to stretch their legs or tree-hugging eco-tourists, and the beaches we have are narrow ribbons of charcoal black sand between the Caribbean sea and the imposing jungle. Perhaps the mountainous terrain we have here makes any land development nigh impossible - whatever the case, my nicknames stand.

I left home on Thursday, and spent some time with family in Miami - I'm fortunate that I still get to see nearly everyone, even as far away as I am. I enjoyed more home-cooking, shared hunting and travel stories, and put a serious dent in my book Shadow and Claw. My uncle and I picked up Nicole on Friday, and she and I stayed at the Red Roof Inn, close to the airport (because of finicky temperament of certain airline companies, FLL changed to MIA, and we scrambled to adapt). The next day, we flew to Barbados. You see, Barbados is beyond Dominica - but, due to the way things work out with our flights, we had to take a day layover. So we stayed at the Silver Point resort - a wind-surfer's paradise, with a beach that put St. Lucia's to shame. Looking back, we've stayed at some luxury hotels - granted, Sallie Mae own my soul, so I'll be paying all of that back with interest, but it's luxury nonetheless. That being the case, we only take luxury that comes with amazing bargains - hotels.com has been incredibly good to me.

As I said above, the beach was breathtaking - it was perhaps the most pleasant sand to walk on I've ever experienced. The sea was a bit choppy - it may not be the best place for families with little kids, but it's a haven for water sports. This hotel is located at the southernmost point on Barbados, but I'm sure the beaches elsewhere are just fantastic as well. Why couldn't Ross have been here? I think it has something to do with the fact that Dominica is desperate for American dollars, and everywhere else gets tourism dollars. I tend to like to get away from my medical school colleagues; they tend to be straight out of undergrad, and still fond of partying and being loud. Much to my chagrin, a few of them followed Nicole and me to Silver Point, but instead of joining them and getting sloshed, we walked around taking pictures.

As we were driving from the airport to our hotel, the taxi took us through a residential area - the squat, colorful Caribbean houses you see everywhere in the Caribbean. I felt, though, that it was a little exposed - if I walking through, I would have felt very exposed. I didn't understand why until we were back in Dominica - every other island has cut their jungle down. While it's great to preserve the island's natural beauty, those tourism dollars lead to better health-care and better schools - although, I'm not sure if that extra money makes the indigenous lives any better; the Dominicans have more centenarians than just about anywhere else. I think it has something to do with (1) all the mangoes and (2) the fundamental lack of stress here on the island. That devil-may-care attitude drives me insane around test time, but it' probably keeping people alive.

Classes start tomorrow, and then vacation will be over. It's been a great break; I got in some serious relaxation, but I suppose it's time to get back to work. One more (maybe two) semester to go! It's a little daunting to realize that, in a year's time, I will have taken the United States Medical Licensing Examination: Step 1, and set up a schedule for my clinical years. Looking back over the past year, I've been very fortunate to be able to have a great time while doing what I feel I was meant to do.