From D1 to DR: Dominica Travel Tips..and oh yeah...we made it!

Well folks! We have landed! It was an adventure and a half that's for sure!

Travel: Toronto--> St. Martin/Saint Maarten--> Stayed the night--> Dominica

The tiniest plane will take you from St. Martin to Dominica and let me tell you....it is scary at first ...then when it finally takes off...it is okay. Just breathe. If Steve who is 6'5" and me who is 6'4" find it okay...I bet you will too. It really isn't that bad.

When we landed, we had to go through immigration. A tiny Ross University sign in desk is visible before you present your acceptance letter, immigration letter and your passport. It is hectic, but manageable as all you want to do is get to the other side to claim your luggage. A bus will take most students to Ross, which is another 45 min (windy) ride to campus, which I never knew about so I am letting you know now it is absolutely stunning. When we were in the bus, there was a light mist coming down, and over the palm trees with cows grazing amongst the intense green....I could only smile. It truly is beautiful.

As soon as we got to campus, we had to do a fast-paced check-in. Thankfully we stayed over in St. Martin the night before because it would have been an extremely long day. HIGHLY advise breaking up your flight and NOT FLYING through Puerto Rico booked by ProTravel <-- the travel agency Ross highly recommends...in my opinion..I am doing the same searches as them..and we found some cheap, direct flights. Some unfortunate students got stuck in PR due to wind and could not fly out until the next day. St. Martin is your best bet. Also, make sure to get here a couple days before your official start day of orientation...whether it be Jan, May, or September. You need those extra days to adjust, attend the campus tour, IT mandatory session, buying electricity, (which is not included in your lease), buying a phone and SIM with the local LIME service, buy groceries, and take a deep breath before the 8:30am-4:30pm orientation days that last all week. (highly recommend)

The wonderful people at Ross will contact your landlord to let them know you are here and that is such a relief as it was dark, and we had no idea which way to go. It was about 8:30pm by the time we got to our apartment and our flight landed at 4:05pm in Dominica. Our apartment is the cutest. A BIG change from a basement apartment in North York...it has SUNLIGHT yayyyyy. How studying will change with a bit of life in me lol That dark apartment was getting so depressing, and to even help the situation here, our apartment is bright yellow! I just love it.

Using our backpacks and running shoes, we got our "hike" mindset on and walked to the nearest IGA to get some food, which is about a 12 min walk from our apartment...and a 6 minute walk to the campus North Gates..so I absolutely love our location on Banana Trail..yes...Banana Trail. Just let that sink in for a second.

$200 later...we are packed up and ready for the week. The food is very pricey so make sure to pack your favs in a barrel...I would personally avoid food in your checked bag...you will be asked numerous times to declare food and that may hold you up if you have tight connection times.

Dominica is gorgeous and I can't wait to explore the island before Semester 1 starts on May 11th. There is a tour tomorrow that Steve and I have signed up for. A tour to see the Kalinago Territory and Emerald pool...you can google that now...yup..pretty awesome. We are going to jump in even though they say it is super cold...but seeing that we are from The True White North..I think we can handle it :)

Well fellow followers it is 10:10pm right now and we have to be at the gates at 8:45am for the shuttle for our tour. Want to get a good nights rest as it is a full day ahead. One week of orientation. May 11th first day. May 12th parents. May 15th White Coat...it's actually happening. I am going to be a Dr. Cronk!

P.s As I logged onto my computer after finally getting internet...D1toDR has hit 5,000 views! THANK YOU THANK YOU!

Bye for now,

-E xo

Dominica from today! Didn't have much time between pre-orientation events!