You Know You Are Dominican If You.....

 YOU KNOW YOU ARE DOMINICAN IF YOU…….

·      Arrive an hour late and greet the group with a hearty, “Good Night”

·      Know the difference between bush tea, cocoa tea and green tea

·      Play dominos on an old board balanced on your knees in dim light

·      You point with your lips

·      Say ‘just now’ meaning anything from in a minute, to soon, to tomorrow

·      You douse everything with hot sauce

·      Suck your teeth to show disgust

·      Ask someone to pass you something that is well within your reach

·      Talk way louder than necessary

·       You think plantain is a food group

BOXES

 At last, my 3 bins have arrived.  They are now at home getting unpacked.

I have to say this arm of the government works well:  DAPA  (Dominica Port Authority).  They have developed a procedure for picking up barrels, boxes, and small containers from the congested and too-small port at Fond Cole.  It is slow, there are many papers that have to get stamped, and small fees to pay but as long as you go where you are told, do as you are told, and just follow the procedure you will eventually get your boxes through customs and onto your vehicle. The various guards, security officers, officials, and customs officers were helpful and even courteous in some cases.  This is remarkable because it is completely different from past years. I have done this now 6 or 7 times and in the past, it was always a guessing game run by diffident workers.  

The port is huge, the sheds are huge, and there are hundreds of huge shipping containers stacked all over and being moved about by huge, huge equipment.  It was hot.  And I was very, very car-sick.  The ride down from Portsmouth did be in.  They don't allow anyone into the compound except the person whose cargo was to be picked up.  So McDowell had to wait outside and I did it on my own! 2 hours!

The customs man who was checking me asked me what was in the bins.  I told him honestly, I don't remember.  It left me on August 25 and it is now October 25.  He chuckled as he cut through the shrink wrap Nick had used to secure the bins.  When he opened the bins he saw books and art supplies and didn't bother to look further.  There was nothing to find anyway.  However, I did have 200 plastic shot glasses and 200 7 oz plastic glasses right on top, which he confiscated.  That type of plastic (#6) is banned.  He explained, showed me the chart, and apologized!  I didn't argue, I had bought them at the dollar store, and I was happy not to have a huge customs charge,  I only paid the basic 100ec,

So that's it until the next trip to my Canadian home.  I now have two nice new large rubber maid containers here.

iPHONE BLUES

Just before Hans died, Nick bought him an iPhone 12 because he (Nick) was out working all day, and Hans was alone.  He (Hans) could call 911 or Nick with one button if he (Hans) needed help.  But Hans couldn't manage it, so it never got used, but was registered in his (Hans) name.

 Nick gave the phone to me.  Nick got the phone UNLOCKED and cleaned up by Bell and Apple by the time I left with it.  He talked to them, they did their thing and it left Canada unlocked and good-to-go. NO.  When I went to buy a local SIM card they said it was locked. I had to get it unlocked first before they would sell me a SIM card.

There is a young man who often comes to the Bar, sits in the breeze on the patio by the ocean, drinks his rum cocktail, and smokes his little joint.  He moonlights as an IT tech.  He has done several internet things for us over the weeks.  I liked him and trusted him, so obviously I thought he could unlock this phone.  He said he could.  I gave him the phone.  After trying for several days he told me that he could only do it if he bought a  program from Virgin USA.  It would cost $149 US dollars.  I thought about it briefly and agreed.  It got charged to my MasterCard.  They said it would take 4-5 business days to download. he showed me the email, I read it. OK.  A week went by, and then he showed me another email from them saying that they couldn't do it and would refund the money, which they did.  Joed tried another company, same cost, the same notice that it would take 3-5 business days.  They also refunded the money.

Meanwhile, McDowell was getting more and more agitated about the whole thing.  Joed had the phone and as far as McD was concerned he also had my MasterCard number and my NBD account number and I was being taken and refused to acknowledge that Joel was fooling me, which I continued to insist he wasn't.  McD was very upset and angry with me for 2  weeks. I trusted Joed and  I know how long these things take in Dominica and was willing to give it time.  But Joed was not coming to the Bar every day as he had been. I agreed to call him.  No answer.  Messaged him, "Bring the iPhone back, locked or unlocked".  OK was the reply, but he didn't come. I messaged and called him every day for 4 days. Phone calls would go directly to his voicemail.  I gave it one more day. 

 By this time McD had already gone to the police and spoken to the Inspector to tell him what was going on. what he suspected and asked his advice.  The Inspector said we were doing the right thing.  McD was no longer even speaking to me. He was 'blue vexed' as they say.  I decided to give it one more day, another phone call, several messages.  No response.  

Finally, I had enough and I was upset by this time.  I took myself to McDowell at the Bar and said OK I am ready to go to the police.  He took my hand, told Clarence to mind the Bar and we went directly to the police station, which happens to be steps away.  They didn't know him, (Joed Hector) but began the process of looking him up in their records, came up with nothing and said they would go find him.  The police were mad at me, McD was satisfied, I was sad.

6 AM the very next morning, Joed was at the Bar door with my iPhone in his hand.  McDowell wouldn't let him in, or wake me or accept the phone.  He told Joed to return it to the police and they both marched down to the station and Joed gave it to them.  I picked it up from them at 9 AM. They handed it to me with a look of disgust. 

Someone in the police station tipped Joed off, called him and told him that the police were coming.

So today I went, where I should have gone in the first place, and was told that APPLE always relocks their phone when it comes here and it cannot be unlocked from here.  I would have to call them and request that they unlock it for here, Dominica.  I am not going to do that.  There is no Apple outlet in the Caribbean.

I am so fed up with the thing. It will now languish in my bottom drawer.  I can't even mail it back to Nick as Dominica has no postal service.  It is a useless piece of electronic junk.  Takes excellent pictures though, but so what.  The next person that goes to Canada can take it and mail it to Nick.  Maybe I can sell it and buy a Samsung here.

I feel sad that I cannot explain to Joed that I did trust him and that I fully expected him to figure out a way to unlock the phone.  All he had to do was respond to one of my texts, to come. to bring the phone back. It is because he didn't respond at all that I am left with a niggling suspicion.  I could text him, I guess, but I wouldn't do that to McDowell.

December 2023 - I have heard via the jungle drums that Joed has been in court lately on several charges.   Apparently, he has not p[produced the various phones he was supposed to be fixing!   

PHILLIPE

 Tropical Storm Phillipe struck us last night (October 2, 2023) along with Guadeloupe and Martinique, our near neighbours. After a weeks-long drought and hell-like heat we finally had  RAIN, RAIN, RAIN, causing much destruction.   Not to us, we were snug and dry, but today Salisbury is underwater, the cliff at Tarrish Pit is crumbling, and the road from Trafalgar to Woten Waven is awash and not passable. Probably the road from Calibishi, over the bridge is also impassable. The usually calm and patient Caribbean Sea was very high, and noisy and brought a lot of detritus and debris, and the bloated body of a rather large drowned dog.  EBoy and Darius waded in and got it but couldn't bury it because there was just too much water and heaps of beach shit.  The Sea is still rolling and the several local rivers that flow into it are running hard and fast.  Today it is raining off and on and it is dark. 28 degrees C, so it is not cold at all.  Damp.  Nothing is drying.  There are barges, cargo ships, and tugs moored way out.

McDowell is worried about what happened in the heavy rain at Destinee.  The pomme cythere trees were loaded.  Is the fruit now all on the ground?  Lemons?  Plantain?  He will try to go up there tomorrow.

                             Pomme Cythere - makes good juice.  Said to lower blood pressure

Is this the last storm of the season?  The hurricane season does not close until the first of November.

Wednesday, October 4, 2023 - 35 degrees C, sunny, west breeze.  Nice.  Cleaning up.  The beach stinks.  The sea is filthy, but calmer.  The tap water is orange!

McDowell went up to the farm early this morning. No real damage but a lot of fruit on the ground.  He came back with 20 coconuts, several bushels of pomme cythere, guavas, lemons, and lime. He took the puppies; they romped around and went for a walk up the Waitakubuli Trail (segemtn13, a difficult hiking section of the system) which was never properly opened up after Maria. He saw his 8 Valencia orange trees just beginning to bear. The puppies are asleep, knocked out from their morning in the bush.

 I'll be making guava juice this afternoon.  I don't make the pomme cythere juice as it is too much work 

A New Chapter

 After a not-so-bad trip back to Dominica, 4 weeks ago, here I am again.  The relentless heat, the power outages, the internet gone for 3 days, and the mighty thunderstorms are all too familiar, and now September 2023 is coming to an end.  Dominica is broke.  Some people have not been paid since August. The ATM rarely works or even has money in it.   The infrastructure is rotting, and petty crimes abound.  The fruits and vegetables in the market wilt under the grinding heat...and so do the vendors! The last threatening storm of this hurricane season has passed. I was heartily welcomed home. Dominicans are champion survivors and truly resilient.  The tourist season is coming.  

McDowell has rescued 2 (two) puppies.  They are fat and happy now as they wrestle with each other, churning up my garden, 'stealing' our shoes, and eating.  They are outside dogs, we don't let them in the house.  They will sit at the door, cocked heads, bewildered at the refusal to let them in, so cute!  But no.

While I was away the garden became a jungle.  McDoo did his best, and Tracy and Mait came from time to time to cut some of it back and pinch some heads!

What has changed is me.  I sorely miss my children and few friends. This feeling of longing for them is new to me. I missed them before, but this is different. I filled out a form the other day and checked off 'widow' under marital status.  Hans and I haven't lived together for nearly 20 years, but we were good friends and knew each other well.  Now he is gone, celebrated, and hopefully has found the peace he so longed for.

Stay Tuned  

July-August '23

I have been here in Brooke Valley for almost 8 weeks.  I have one more week.  It did take all this time to do what had to be done after Hans's death.  I am satisfied that the proverbial ducks are in a row, however rickety that row may be, and I renewed friendships with the few that matter to me.  The house is in good enough shape and in good hands.  Anthony, Nick, and Samantha are making their way. 

I won’t go into the nightmare of sorting, packing, and deciding what to give away and what to throw away. So many things I have collected and loved over the years; some from my mother’s house that I have grown up with, some from her mother’s house, and some my children have grown up with.  I know them all, each piece, miniature, book, picture, dish, nick-knack.  I have had enough nostalgia to last the rest of my life.

I have dealt with all Hans's things: humped around thousands of books, filing cabinets full of his notes and papers.

I have made my Will.  Not an easy thing. Hard decisions.  Much thought. I hope that the beneficiaries find it reasonable.  

I have learned a lot, and much that I only had a hunch about has been confirmed;  trust in the process, one is on one’s own in the end, don’t panic (as McDowell says), keep moving, you only know you are doing the right thing and making the right choices if it feels right.  Honour the past, but keep in mind that it is the past and you dwell in the present and somewhat in the future.  Don’t spin your wheels.  Know what you are grateful for and nourish it, abandon the rest

NOTES

•    It has been an unusually cold summer.
•    I will run out of BP meds this weekend.    
•  Great food. Ontario peaches, sweet corn, cherries, blueberries, cheese, bread. maple syrup.
•  What they say about Canadians is all true:  polite, clean, honest, friendly, quiet, and good drivers (no road rage, no honking).
•   I will miss the washing machine, the quiet, the cleanliness, and the friendly nods and chats with strangers. 
•  I got used to this house and the routine.    I will miss Savvy, the little fluffy white doggie who followed me around and was glad to see me whenever I came home and slept beside my bed every night.
•    I will miss Anthony, Nick, and Samantha.     
•    I am glad I was here for Peter's annual family gathering and saw all the nieces and nephews.
•    I am leaving Ottawa at 6 a.m. Thursday, September 7 and I am not looking forward to the trip,  although the end will be worth it.  💖🌴🏖

 

wi

 

BROOKE VALLEY

 On June 28, my husband, Hans, passed away. It was not unexpected, he was 94 and was fading this last year.  

I flew up immediately and I will stay until everything is done: lawyer, accountant, bank, et al.  Cleaning, packing, sorting, organizing, and giving away is tedious and hard physical work, not to mention mental work.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

BWA PATATE

Bwa Patate is the Patois for gossip 

"fall down" is what they say when someone faints

McDowell just came in and told me that someone told him that Bumper, his cousin, had 'fallen down" on the street.  Then someone else told him that Cuthbert, Rosemary's husband, fell down, was taken to the hospital and died. None of these have been fact-checked.  So.....we are left with several options - either 2 men fell down, or 2 men fell and one died, or no one fell down! Your choice. Stay tuned

June 25 -  Cuthbert did die.  Bumper did not fall down.

HOMELESS

 Here is the story.

On May 18 the bailiff came and served papers to McDowell stating that a claim is being made on this property and he has 14 days to answer the claim.

To make a long story short - the Kelsick family is claiming this compound (house, bar/restaurant building, and land) on the basis that since it didn't belong to Gwendolyn Peter, who left it to McDowell, they are claiming the property, as it was left to them by Marion in her will.  Miss Marion died in 1988. They have not been heard from since Miss Gweny's death in 2012, and then only briefly and unpleasantly.

This is a prime piece of real estate in the heart of Portsmouth, 80 feet of beach front on the western side (sea side) and fronting on Bay Street, the main street, in Portsmouth, at a main intersection. Portsmouth is the size of Perth and the second "city", after Roseau, the capital. The  bar/restaurant with its large patio faces the Caribbean Sea,  the house and garden are part of this treed compound. 

Marion Peter, Gwendolyn's aunt, owned the house, the title is in Marion's name.  Marion left the compound, the property, including the house, to her family, naming the Kelsicks, among other heirs.  These are the people who are making the claim.  Marion's Will also gave Kitsia, her sister, and Gwendolyn, her niece,(who was Marion's caretaker, and who was brought up by Marion and taken under her wing when she was 5 years old), Life Interest, or Life Tenancy only.  That is, Gweny could live here for her life then it would fall to the named heirs..  Gwendolyn apparently was unaware of Marion's Will and was under the impression that Marion had left the property to her.  In turn, therefore, Gwendolyn left the property to McDowell in her Will. However,  IT WAS NOT HERS TO GIVE., She only had Life Tenancy.  Now the Kelsick family, and some other relatives, 2nd and 3rd generations, want this property and are basing their claim on Marion's Will.  We have a very short time to answer this.  We do not have the resources to hire a lawyer.  We are waiting to hear from Legal Aid. 

This is McDowell's life we are talking about. 33 years.  By extension, mine. McDowell/s business is an established one here, he did errands and polishing the floors and sweeping the yard for the 3 ladies as a school boy,  He lived here when he returned from his sea faring days and looked after Miss Gweny for  many years especially when she became blind. 

JUNE 9 - still here feeling homeless, helpless, and almost hopeless. The Legal Aid lawyer, Peter Allen, is filing our answer to the claimant.  We would like to go to mediation.  Will the other side agree to mediation?  We are seeking time and compensation.

Meanwhile, I am house hunting in Portsmouth, Picard, and Lagoon.  Nothing.  There are a  few prospects, and we are slowly plugging away at it.

JUNE 28 - no news.  Some pluses.1. We like the Legal Aid Lawyer, Peter Allyne.  He is well experienced in this sort of confusion and is well-known in the community.  2. The Kelsicks have not responded to the request for mediation. 3. Marion's will states that Gweny should get a quarter of the proceeds from any lease or sale of the property. Gweny is dead and has no heirs,  her intention to leave something to her 'caregiver' is clear.   4. Compensation and time are what we want from mediation. We have put a lot of money into repairing the house upgrading the bar/restaurant building and restoring the grounds after Hurricane Maria. 5. It will take a very long time to come to any conclusion.  There are six families involved and knowing families and Dominicans they will not come to an agreement quickly.  So we are carrying on as though all is well with the Sword of Damocles hanging over our heads. 

We are assuming that they want the real estate which is probably worth a million US$.  It is not uncommon for the children and grandchildren of Dominicans who immigrated, years ago, to the US, UK, and Canada and are solid citizens of wherever they living, to suddenly wake up and claim land that their ancestors abandoned on an exotic Caribbean island,  thinking they could get rich quickly. They then get embroiled in awful family disputes with cousins, siblings, various aunts and uncles, each wanting their little piece.  This case is headed by a nurse in Texas.

October 4, 2023  Even after much nagging the lawyer, dropping in on him, and phone calls there is no news, no response from the other side.  Does anyone really care?  Do 'they' have a deadline for responding?  We can't get an answer on this from the lawyer.  However, I have heard from a reliable source that there are 44 family members involved in this action.  This is encouraging as now I am positive they will never come to an agreement among themselves. However, I don't believe it will just fade away into some weird Dominican oblivion, so meantime we carry on without going forward.  

                                                                

                                                                              
     

PROMOTION

 I think I have been promoted. 

Today EBoy introduced me as the Lady of the Yard.  Yard means manor, therefore,  Lady of the Manor. I've been called many things here in Dominica, but this is a first and worth noting. 

I've been called Miss Marian, Mama, Ma McDoo, McDowell's Woman, de white lady, and I'm sure much else that I am unaware of.

THE MANOR

 

 

Stay at Home

 I am starting a Stay at Home Club.  A bit boring, but much better than the alternative.

  Everyone welcome

Anthony and Savanne

 

May 5, 2023 the Stay At Home Club has been doing well.  I managed to stay at home 4 days out of the 7 this week. 

 

 

Pomegranate

Three pomegranates fell from heaven.  One for the story teller, one for the listener and one for the world. 

LONI, LENE and FLU

So here it is April 6 already

Lene and Loni have come and gone.  It was a wonderful 6-day visit. They enjoyed their time here and I think they were able to do, see, and meet everything and everyone they wanted to. I enjoyed them.  The whole thing was a pleasure. The Sunday luncheon was a success.  McDowell prepared a delicious salmon.

Then I was brought down with the flu.  I felt it coming on all through lunch on Sunday.  I went to bed that evening, coughing, sneezing, stuffed up, sore throat, aching bones, exhausted, but no fever. I wasn't able to raise my head until Wednesday. Ibruprophen, Ferrol cough medicine, sleep, and water were the remedies.  I am still coughing, and not yet fully recovered although this is the first day I actually felt like I might recover.  

Now McDowell has it and is sick.  Luckily it is the long Easter weekend so he can rest and not feel he has to open the Bar. Poor man.  I don't think he has ever had the flu.  He is completely baffled by how awful he is feeling.  He'll sleep his way through it.

For an explanation of who Loni and Lene are see blog entry April 20, 2017

APRIL 12 Saw the Doctor yesterday.  BRONCHITIS!  Amoxycillin, Prednisone.  I am already feeling better.  Definitely on the mend.  McDowell has recovered and is back in the restaurant at work.

 

UPDATES TO THE UPDATE: MARCH 2023

Can that be true?  No posts since 2020? Well, there have been many developments and events since. I won’t be able to report on them all.  I trust that most readers will know anyway and if not you can ask.

Covid restrictions were dropped a while ago.  It hovers, of course, but is under control.  People do keep their distance and sanitize, but otherwise, life has returned to what they call normal.  No one even mentions it.  Financially though, it is still felt hard.

We are cozy in the old house.  We had to move quickly because the building we were living in was sold.  We have been here for 2 years and it is home.  It is still a work in progress, of course, and will be for a long time yet. Painting, refurbishing, mending, repairing, but functioning.  The roof doesn’t leak, for which I am grateful.  Some of the windows do, depending on how the wind blows and how heavy the rain is, but not a real problem.  The garden grows.  The sea wall is strong and doing its job. 

People are travelling and we are having a good tourist season.  This year we seem to have young families sailing with their young children.  The Bar and Restaurant are busy enough.  I have been selling some paintings from time to time.  McDowell makes a wonderful coconut sauce.

My only complaint is the noise.  We are in the center of town and beside the bus terminal.  It is never completely quiet.  There is always someone on the street singing or ranting, or shouting, loud music, traffic, and dogs barking.  Whatever noise ordinance there may be is not enforced.  Sometimes it is in the background but mostly it is just plain too loud with no letup.   Right now the sea is surging and so it has its own loud rolling sound. 

Life is good.  We are both in reasonable health.  The speed with which time passes astonishes me.

Plus  ca change, plus c’est la meme chose,  So I will be writing Portsmouth vignettes…

………

 dates