last post!

Monday 6th July

Hey people your host for today it’s me (Matt) and Riza.

Today we had a trip to Portsmouth which is the North side of the island and we found out that it was supposed to be the capital of Dominica until Roseau was picked. We went to the Cabrits National park which is home to Fort Shirley.

Fort Shirley is a Fort used for defense during the colonization time when the English and French were fighting for the island of Dominica. We had a power point presentation shown to us about the history and culture of Dominica, both sets of students, English and Dominican, found it very interesting there were lots of questions to ask our host called Lennox Honychurch.

After, we headed down to the purple turtle beach where the sea was nice to swim in and all students had great time but it was very salty and it went in our mouths
Unfortunately there was an accident where Annie went up to do a tree swing from a palm tree into the sea and had a bad landing. She landed on her neck and did a few roly polys. After cleaning the wounds the best we could Andy took her to the hospital but luckily she was fine, just a few scratches and bruises.

She is staying at Mr Pinard’s for a while to rest up. We are all hoping she will be fine soon :]

We all got home and showered after the long day in the sea. Just waiting to have tea now that Serish and Ashley are making currently. Tomato pasta, mmmm :]

Tuesday 7th July: Emily here :D

In the morning I (Emily), Lauren and Shana went with Andy to a local youth group to join in a reading scheme to read to young children. They were so cute but were distracted easily. Overall it was great fun!

During the day today we got ready for a moonlight barbeque bonfire party on the beach. We made food and cakes to take with us as our contribution.

Some students hit the town to do some more shopping as some stalls are open on different days. Today all shops and stalls are open as there is a cruise ship in, so everything is doubled in price. We did lots of good haggling and got everything back down to original prices and Sehrish got stuff for even cheaper.

At night it was the barbeque which was great fun; food, bonfire, friends, moonlight swimming and dancing. We taught all of them the okey cokey which was great fun haha.

At the end of the night we were all exhausted and went straight to sleep :].

Wednesday 8th July: Emily here again :]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIM haha. It’s my brother’s birthday.

Today we are all doing more shopping and getting some questionnaires filled in for the travel and tourism students of Blackburn College.

We got back and made food. We had fresh tuna fish, dashin and vegetables.

Then we got all the Dominican students round for some workshops. We did some quiz’s, talked about what we love about England and Dominica, and we also talked about what the Dominican’s can do next year in England.
We discussed major problems affecting England and what they could do in order to try to help solve these problems.

Overall it was a great night and my team, containing Shana, Hank and Annika won the quiz, because we are geniuses and the best haha.

Thursday 9th July: Emily again haha :]

This morning we went to the infirmary which is the only free old people’s home on the island. They can hold 95 people and they only take people who are unable to take care of themselves.

Riza got a new wife there. They like to sing Millington and dance to random songs haha.

Today we did more of the surveys in town for the travel and tourism students as well as some poetry workshops for children attending a summer school.

At around 3pm the students went back to Screws. The natural hot sulfur springs. Emily and Sehrish stayed behind to help prepare for the final feast tonight.

The feast started at about 7pm so everyone got ready. We were told formal wear e.g. dresses for girls and shirts for boys. Instantly all girls ran to Sehrish for help.

The food was AMAZING. The Dominican students made everything themselves and even did the washing up :]

Then we went inside for dancing and music which lasted till about 12pm. I was in bed for half 11, I was tired haha

Friday 10th July: Again it’s Emily

Today we are tidying the youth centre, packing and doing last minute souvenir shopping as we fly tomorrow morning at 4am. Which is 9am English time :]

It’s a sad and happy day. We don’t want the experience to end but we all miss our families too.

So to end the final blog.

SEE YOU ALL SOOOOOON :] xxx

home stays

Saturday-Sunday Home stays


Matthew: I had the pleasure of staying with Mr. Pinard he is one of the leaders of the all operation who is helping us feel comfortable during our stay in Dominica. Mr. Pinnards wife and youngest son Kareem made me welcome with open arms. I started off with a nice meal and talking to Mrs. Pinard she was amazing to talk to. I went to a church service on the Saturday afternoon and when I arrived back I experienced a tropical thunder storm I was a little scared. The day after I went out with Mr Pinard and noticed that our residence was flooded with water but only in Girls dormitories. After went back to Mr. Pinnards had some lunch and Andy, Barbara and Annie also came to join me with the experience of eating local chicken, pork, plenty of rice I really enjoyed it. I went to a convention at night and stayed at Mr Pinard’s again and in the morning gave them a long farewell.

Riza: I stayed with one of the students called keyhan and at first I was really uncomfortable with it but thanks to Andy Mather I went ahead and did it and I found that I enjoyed it and I think they were very nice. I felt really loved but then it felt like home and I was really missing family and I was missing my girl friend a lot but yeah over all it was fab and really enjoyed it. Had some lovely meals with them and I met the wife of the first Prime Minster in 1978 so which was cool and I think it was amazing :D

Emily: I got to stay at Annika’s house and omg it’s huge! She had hot water, 2 kitchens, 2 lounges, and a gym and is currently building extra guest houses in her garden! I got lucky haha. Her mum and family are lovely and I felt very welcomed. Woke up Sunday morning at 7 and went with Annika to her scuba diving class, I got to see a turtle! :D Unfortunately I chose to sun bathe for 3 mins when the rain eased up. I ended up red raw and in pain :[. We have photos for you all to laugh at me hahaha. So all in all I loved my home stay and would have been more than happy to stay longer than one night :] Annika is ace :D

Sehrish: I stayed at Shirley’s place and I had a great time! It was a fantastic experience and I absolutely loved it. Shirley really is an amazing person! I got to analyze the daily routine of a person in another country, and that too in Dominica. I realized a lot of the things were quite common to how we live our lives back in England with our family, but the food and the way they all treat everyone is just amazing. I came across food that I had never seen in my life! Hehe. I got treated with the great respect and hospitality that anyone could ever receive, I mean these people here give up their best things and their comfort for people like us. I was amazed. I became so attached to her, reminded me of my mother. I would love to visit her again, she made me feel very welcomed x thanks Shirley, Sherri Anne and Randa x


Ashley: I stayed with Jerlyn who is a student who is coming to England next year. We went to a concert which was amazing! I really enjoyed it although I didn’t understand some of the jokes but it was a really fun experience. We went to her home afterwards because it was raining so badly! She lives with her Dad, brother, sister and niece. Her niece is the most adorable little girl, very cute I wanted to steal her. I slept well and wasn’t hot for a change as I had a fan pointing right at me! Had a great sleep in and then saw how their daily life was. It was a great experience and I’m glad that I stayed at her home. I’d just like to thank the family for letting me stay also.

Shahana: I stayed with Mr. Roach and his family. He has a daughter who is the same age as me (17), he has a son who is 14 and last but not least twin girls who are 11 years old. The family was amazing, I enjoyed staying with them. Even though we didn’t go out anywhere it was still fantastic. I preferred staying at home with them because I could get to know about them. On Sunday morning they took me to church which was a brilliant, it was a new experience for me, I have been to a church before but only had a look around so I followed what they all did. We woke up at 6:30am so we could make it to church for 7:00am, I had a little cry there when everyone was saying peace and hugging each other, and the Roach family also kissed me and gave me a hug which made me feel part of their family. It reminded me of home so I shed a little bit of tears. After that we went back home and had breakfast. When it came to dinner I helped Mrs. Roach cook!!! I made Mac and Cheese, mash potato and beans gravy. But for dinner I had more things to eat like spinach rice, fish and the things I helped make. I would like to thank them soo much for letting me stay with them for the night and for making me feel like as if I’m part of them which was really good.

Lauren: I was welcomed by Carlita and her family, Carlita being one of the students that will be coming over to Blackburn next year. Her family was lovely, she lives with her parents who are both Doctors and her brother and sister. I was a little bit nervous before going as I hadn’t spoken to her much before but they all made me feel very welcome. The first thing they took me to do was see the new house they were having built. WOW!!! It’s huge, like a house to be seen on “Cribs” we then went back and we had gorgeous food. Her family (cousins, aunts, family friends) was constantly in and out, I met sooo many people. Dr Griffin Benjamin showed me how to make fresh juice, Im expecting pineapple, mango, lime and passion fruit when im home so I can show off my skills. Then Sunday I went to church and helped make Sunday dinner. Overall I had a brilliant time and I just want to thank Carlita and her family :D

Rebecca: I stayed with Miss Popo and her family, Miss Popo works for the youth division a place that has helped the exchange students a lot throughout the trip. She has a husband and two children and daughter 18 and son 13 now, it was his birthday on the Sunday that I stayed so we all went to the park and played football and cricket. A lot of the family friends were there and I met a lot of them, they were so welcoming and nice to me. I hadn’t an amazing sleep Koyin (I think that’s how you spell it sorry) lent me his bed for the night and I was sooo comfortable, I got no mosquito bites but there was loud thunder which woke me up in the morning. Also I had a WARM shower!!!!!!!! But then I accidentally locked myself in the bathroom, trust me of all people. The Popo family was soo welcoming I loved the home visit.

latest photos

HEY!

It’s Emily and Ashley. I feel like I haven’t blogged in a while so here I am haha :]

Thursday 3rd July:

Today we woke up as per usual but there was a twist. A camera crew was outside to do an interview with us for the Dominican news. The girls were running around frantic to look good haha. We also took a photo of the mosquito bites to show our mummy’s and daddy’s how much pain we are in :[

After waiting 2 hours for a bus we went to see a local entrepreneur named Frankie. He was given funds off the government to start his own business when he was 18. Since then he has: opened a café/bar, started a business selling handmade souvenirs and has even met the queen of England haha.

We then had the lunch his mum had made us which was fried chicken, dolphin, salad, fried plantain and fresh juice. It was so delicious :D

After that we headed to a banana farm to find out how it all worked and stuff. The farm we went to supplied all their bananas to Tesco! But they get paid next to nothing which we were all shocked about.

We all got to taste a coco bean that we make chocolate from, we couldn’t eat the chocolate part but we were allowed to suck on the “sweet outside”. IT WAS VILE, SOUR AND SLIMEY! It was like sucking on a fish’s eye :[

Then we went to the Emerald pool which is a natural waterfall pool. It is the most photographed pool in Dominica and most tourists choose to visit it when they come on a cruise. It was FREEZING! Matt and Ashley were first to jump into the icy pool which clearly stated “no diving permitted” haha. Rebels :D. It was so beautiful, like a scene from a movie.

Then we all came back exhausted, had tea and went to bed after the long day.


Friday 4th July:

This morning was an early one as Riza had to visit the health centre for his infected veruca and everyone had to be up for breakfast.

We got back to the centre and everyone was ready to go so we grabbed our stuff and loaded onto the busses. Dominican students included. We were off to visit the Carib territory, the indigenous tribe of the Caribbean. We all did some weaving and made our own place mats using reeds:], we were all so proud hahaha.

Then we went to a museum sort of thing that showed how the Caribs used to live hundreds of years ago and that was pretty cool:] . We all bought some woven handmade crafts from them as souvenirs and then we headed off back to the centre.

Greeted by a party under a gazebo which was for the brownies which normally meet in the centre we are currently staying in:] .

Lauren, Barbara and Rebecca are currently cooking tea which smells delicious, tomato rice, Wedges, beans, macaroni and cheese and salad. A big selection! Haha

Right we are going to go and eat as there’s nothing else to say other than we are meeting up with the Dominican students later tonight for a social gathering and that the Home visits are tomorrow!! We will probably all give a details account of our personal home visits next time we blog but for now its bye bye :]

Personal Notes:

Emily: Mum! Haha, I’m doing well but can’t wait to get home, I even had a little cry yesterday haha, how sad is that! Bring on Saturday when I begin my flights home :] , I’ll try to ring you on Sunday/Monday. I’ll ring Tim on his birthday, how good of a sister am I? Haha ringing from Dominica :D , Love and miss you all including my specials Kerri and Co :] xxxxxx

Shana: hey everyone, I’m really starting to miss home a lot now, never been away from you guys that long at all, I always think of you guys everyday. Can’t wait to see you guys soon, love you all loads mwah xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sehrish: lolz!!! Hehe it’s been a good day today! And a busy one!!!! I’ve got a lot of bites now and they really do itch like hell!!! The days here are going so quick and we have a lot to do and see in such a short time. I am going to be giving an interview on the Dominican news tonight at 8! Hehe wuhooooooooo! ;). Im missing everyone sooo much!
I have to be going now because I have to go to a prom and do henna patterns on peeps, Annie’s coming along too..bye x take care! Love you and sweet dreams! X

Riza: Hey people it been awesome these past couple of days been nice and hot and found loads of different things about farming and how bananas are made which was good usually I don’t say a lot of things but I just want to say that I am having a ace time and I want to say that I missing my girl friend very much and my family are ringing me which is good because I know there ok and before I go I WANT TO SAY I LOVE YOU LEANNE: d cant wait to see you woooooooo :D bring on the FINALL WEEK :d private joke pufffffff cigarette I LOVE YOU XXXXX

Rebecca: Heeyyy, omg I am having so much fun, mum your e-mail on facebook made me cry again, lol im really starting to miss home, I want a warm shower :( but it is soo amazing out here, dad would love it for just taking photos. Going on my home visit tomorrow with Miss Popo she is soo nice and funny, can’t wait actually. Love you all x I hope my phone and laptop are safe lol. Cya in a week :D!!!!

Lauren: well well well… im typing this now just before we’re about to go partaaayyyy on the bay front :D seriously how cool and chilled out can it get lolz. This past week has gone so damn quick I want it to slow down a bit haha. If I could bottle all these experiences I would so I could share them with all you guys at home. Mum I miss you loads beautiful, I need a big hug and from Maya tooo. And abbiiieee, need a good gossip :P, like I keep telling all im bringing you out here soon as so you can see it all for yourselves. Just want to say hi to ed centre at rovers tooo, hope you’re reading :D But apart from that having THEE MOST AWESOME TIME!!!!!!!! Love muchly, hugs and kisses x x x x x x

Matt: Hay guys it’s been another great day, been to the Carib tribe village, amazing people, place and views going out tonight to chill out with my friends and missing u loads love u xxxxx

Ashley: Heyheyy, these mosi’s need to die! Good talking to you last night mum, my time ran out that’s why I went sorry. I hope everyone is okay and having fun in good old England, 1 week left till im back! Love&Miss you all. <3

1st July entry

Tuesday 30th June

Hey, Ashley and Shana here!

Today we had a really busy day, painting the Youth Quake building. We started painting the kitchen and office. The heat was a bit too much for some people… SHANA. Who fell asleep! It was fun to play with the kids; Sehrish had a little boy called Junior following her. We managed to paint most of the outside building but the lads needed to get up the ladders to paint the top. Annie bravely climbed up them in her Lara Croft shorts lol.

We had a game of basketball… Lauren is tooo good at shooting and needs to let other people win! After a long hard day painting we went to ‘Screw’s’ which is a sulphur spring spa which was AMAZING! 4 different pools of water each a different temperature. Could just bathe and relax in the pools, Barbara seemed to enjoy herself! Ashley, Barbara and Matt bought some mud which they put on their faces; Emily bought volcanic sand scrub. It made our skin feel sooo gooood! Riza couldn’t get in the pools due to his foot. When he finally got in he just kept his foot stuck out which was a very funny sight. We had Halal chicken for a change thanks to Andy. So Rebecca, Emily and Ashley made cheesy mash with chicken and salad for dinner which went down quite well if I may say so myself! (Ashley) However, Rebecca was too busy sleeping to help make it!! We had dinner at about 10pm as we’d had a long tiring day so it was good to sit down and eat a good meal. Shana washed up… I have to mention this apparently. If Shana’s mum is reading… make her wash up when she gets home & also make her grate cheese. Everyone was too tired to do anything else after the long day so it was time for a well deserved sleep after all the painting, well done everyone!


Wednesday 1st July

Barbara and Shana here!

Yet more painting! Shana, Annie, Matt, Rebecca and Althia went to the Alpha Centre to finish stenciling and everyone else went to the Youth Quake to finish off the outside. It was a shame that they already had some paint – Mushroom and Grey, we would have preferred bright colours like the rest of the buildings in Dominica. Thanks to Lennox and the staff at Youth Quake for the delicious food and the tropical fresh drinks. We gave some football shirts that we collected, assortment of books, games etc. Great day though and was a great achievement to paint an entire building in just over a day :D

update 30th June

Hey it’s Lauren and Shana writing the blog for today. We’ve had a good past two days!!! Yesterday was our first rest day and also Rebecca’s birthday, so Happy Birthday Rebecca : D everyone had a lie in which we were all most appreciative of haha. Matt and Riza went off with Mr. Pinard on a lil drive exploring the other side of the island called Delice. When they eventually came back we all went to St. Aimee’s for a lovely lunch. Some of us tried goat for the first time. After it was off to the botanical gardens for games of rounders and cricket. It was fun to just relax in the sunshine. Emily and Matt came back earlier however and made a lemon and chocolate cake for Rebecca. Once dinner had finally gone down some of us decided to take a walk to the internet café again but, when we arrived it was closed so instead we continued along the bay front to a ‘Fish Festival’. It was a weird experience for all of us because there were just so many people crowded in the small streets. But everyone was having a good time so we eventually just went with the flow. So quite a quiet day but was good just to kick back and relax.

Shana and Matt got married and divorced today. Lauren and Miguel however are still going strong haha

Bite updates- Lauren and Annie are still in the lead with over 40+ bites and still getting bitten L BUT… we have so new front runners also!!! Shana, Andy, Emily, Sehrish and Ashley are all now getting some good bites too :D

Lots of people are also now starting to tan WOOP!!! Ashley is still quite burnt though and currently looking like Rudolph.


Monday 29th June – today we were welcomed by the President of Dominica State College Mr. Charles and the senior management team. We were then shown around the College campus – their common room is a gazebo overlooking the sea! After that it was off to Youth Quake to start painting the outside of the building. Unfortunately, we’ve painted it the same colour as before so you can’t always tell which bits we’ve missed. However, we are back there tomorrow so Andy can do a quality control check. It was very HOT and SWEATY work!

Personal notes

Shana: hey everyone I hope you all fine, I’m having the time of my life here, it’s brilliant but I do miss home, I wish you guys were here with me. I miss the babies a lot so I can’t wait to see you. Love you all xxx mwah xxx

Ashley: Hey everyone, been a fun weekend cept for the massive big hike… me and shana found it tooooo easy of course… Been bitten loads now and burnt, otherwise its all gurd. Hope everyone is okay, and tell Nana I hope she had a great holiday when she’s back. Love you all, xxx

Lauren: hey hey peeps. ‘Tis me once again. Well what can I say really, actually having the time of my life it’s been a truly amazing experience so far and still got 2 weeks left haha. Just want to say a massive well done to Maya and all of yr 1 for winning the J Factor woop woop. Im giving her a great big huggle :D missing you all loads and loads and loads :D speak soon. Love muchly x x x x

Emily : Hey I keep coming on facebook as we seem to be going to the bar at night which has internet access :] , Ill keep in touch , missing home and cant wait to get back , Lovr you xxxxx

Rebecca: Heyy, missing you all so much, I had a well good birthday everyone wrote on a big banner for me and made me a birthday cake, cried a few times though, just typical of me. Tanning only a little bit getting annoyed now though lol. Love you all talk soon xxxx

Riza
Hey people today was hard for me because I had a bit of infect in my foot and had to go hospital but thank god am ok now which is good woops and I just want to say it is really getting to me now because I really miss my family so much and my girl friend who I love so much and I miss her so much and am so happy that am keeping in touch and just want to say that ITS GOD DAM HOT and the flies keep ringing in my ear when am sleeping which is not good but o well and want to say that iam loving the food.
I LOVE YOU LEANNE MISS YOU BABE XXXXXXX



Sehrish: Peekaboooooo!!!!! Hehe oh my days, was a really hot day today and worked well painting at the youth quake. I have got a million bites now, and I’m missing you mum because you would always chase me with some medicine, but here there’s no one to chase me here lol hope you and dad had a great birthday, and my gorgeous brother and sisters hope your all good and having a great time too. You have no idea how much I miss you all. Was a long day yesterday because we all went on a hike, and I’m so proud of myself because I was the first one to make it there!!!!! dad you would love the scenery and the beautiful nature here…x
Can’t wait to b
e back! Love you all my gorgeous people!!!!!!!! X x X

Hay guys I’ve started good to the second week been painting today at a youth centre been really hot and still loving it out here. Missing u loads and ill facebook u soon love Mat xxxx

Latest update Mon 29th June

Hey!!

Just an update on the past two days June 25th & 26th. It’s Rebecca, Riza, Ashley & Emily writing this today everyone else is either showering or cooking tea!

June 25th

Started off the day with showers and breakfast, the usual bread and cereal. Then later in the morning the youth club was doing cooking lessons and arts and crafts so we all joined in. Rebecca and Shana helped Mrs Williams make traditional Caribbean food… yes Shana actually cooked! Everyone else spent time making beaded necklaces and bracelets, Riza was getting annoyed because he couldn’t thread the beads lol.

Then later on in the day we went on a boat called the floating classroom, to be educated on the marine life and how it’s affected by pollution. We got to see a fleet of dolphins and a sperm whale which was amazing. Barbara wasn’t sick on a boat for once (neither was Becky to everyone’s surprise after the plane incident). The boat crew was so nice to let us on as guests and even gave us some food at the end.

Later on that night was relaxed but everyone’s getting bored of playing go fish (renamed go whale with Matts amazing finger actions) Riza’s game is too complicated for us lol.

The weather is still hot but it rained (hallelujah!)

Never thought 11 brits would be so happy to see rain.

No tans but still lots of sunburn (minus Becky still grrrr)

Lauren vs. Annie Is still on going for bug bites, Annie counted 40 bites this morning, still no update on Lauren. Everyone else is still getting tiny midge bites.

June 26th

This morning woke up did normal routine then headed off into Roseau town to buy paints for the Alpha Centre. Then we walked up a big fat hill in the HOT HOT weather until we reached the Alpha Centre. We split into teams half of us painted the centre and half worked with the kids. Riza met up with his friend Tyrone again and taught him how to chat up a girl!! Everyone later on stood up and started dancing, we love Caribbean music it’s funky.

Serish was drawing henna on the kitchen cupboard doors and Emily left with more paint on her than the walls. Then we headed down to a local café and had bakes, fried chicken, chips and MASSIVE cold drinks.

Later on we caught a bus (16 seater mini van) to Champagne beach. A full pebbled beach is not good on your feet just wanted some good old sand (made us miss Blackpool, who would have ever thought). Some of us tried snorkeling and found it amazing - so many different types of fish just swimming around us.

Came back and now we are writing this blog. Has been a long day and can’t wait for food.

Riza tanned and everyone else burned! With Ashley coming off worst with factor 50.

Update on Lauren vs. Annie, Annie has 40+ bites with some she cannot count, and Lauren is hitting the 30 mark. Still got 2 more weeks though.




June 27th: Emily here.

Woke up at 7am to get ready for a hike, had breakfast and showered. Some students (Emily, Serish, Matt) went into town before the hike to do some shopping.

We got a bus to a national park then hiked to the Boeri Lake with the students from Dominica College. It was a 45 min walk up steep hills through dense jungle. Some people slipped but only a few falls. The lake was beautiful and Matt, Riza and Annie jumped into the lake and had a swim. Riza said the water was 0 degrees. I doubt it haha, not in the Caribbean.

After walking back (tired and wet from the rain) via the Freshwater Lake we went to a spa to check out the natural boiling springs in the ground. Planning a trip there for treatments soon :] .

Got back and had food, Rebecca and Ashley and myself can cook great pasta :D !

Hoping to have a good night with the students, but we have to find a way of getting Riza to shut up about Leanne, Leanne this, Leanne that, we all have headaches hahaha.

Nothing much else to report so yeah.

The bites are totaling for everyone and they’re super itchy. Annie and Lauren have over 100+ when added together.

Everyone has burned or tanned now so lets hope all us pasty people can change colour!

I think that’s all so speak to you soon :]


Personal Notes

Rebecca: miss you all, I burnt for the first time today with factor 50 lol. Going to buy another phone card tomorrow so I will ring you on Sunday. Love you xxxx

Lauren: hey hey people!!! It’s meeee. Sorry can’t get on facebook or owt but just having too much of a fun time :D haha. Nah seriously I’m missing you all espesh you mum, morning routine is out of the window lolz and abbie woop I’m getting a tan nah nah!!! Having an AMAZING time though much love x x x

Riza: Hey I just want to say that I miss my family so much and I love you guys I also want to say a little speech to my beautiful girl friend who am missing so much and I don’t get to see her on our 5 month anniversary because I am here and I love her so much and I miss you as soon as I get time babe, I will Phone you or email you I LOVE YOU SO MUCH AND HAPPY ANNIVERSARY XXXXX I LOVE YOU

Emily: Hey hey just a quick hello as I’ve been emailing all the special ones :] hope your all doing well, I got to see a whale so I’m super super happy :] Can’t wait to get back, Love and miss you all xxxxx

Ashley: Having a good time, seeing things here is amazing. Got sunburn which isn’t good but missing everyone at home. I hope my room isn’t spotless &occupied! Seeya all soon, xxx love&miss you all.

Matthew: Hay guys sorry haven’t spoke to you for ages I’ve been having a hell of time and miss you all very much. I feel this trip has helped me in so many ways due to I feel like my old self. The reason being I have changed into my old self but also feel that this experience is going to have a positive effect in the future and thanks mum for great birthday also send my love to all family also wish Georgia the best for her leavers assembly xx.
Miss you guys and see you soon xxxxxx

Barbara: Message to all PE staff. RR is still in one piece …. Just :)

Shana: hey everyone, I’m ok don’t worry about me I’m having an amazing time here but missing you all at the same time, I can’t wait to see you guys at home especially my babies!!! Oh and dad lol, love you all mwah xxx

Sehrish: had a fantastic day working with children and at the beach! Was fantastic, missing home though, missing you all just sooo much, can’t wait to see everyone when I’m back! Yep I know...Missing you all already lol...Hehe...Bye x tc x love you allllllll looooadddzz!!!!!! X x X

1st blog

Hey!

First blog, sorry it’s late we have been rather busy haha. I guess we should start from the beginning and tell you of the goings on here as you don’t know anything.

Flight to Barbados: 21st June
The flight was LONG. We didn’t mind too much we had on flight entertainment with the TV’s and magazines. We even managed to play fish while sitting on 2 rows of seats haha. Seats were a bit squished so hardly anyone had chance to sleep. Landing was amazing, feeling the wheels hit the ground in a foreign country really made it realistic that we were no longer in England.

On the plane we got a shout out. “Welcome Blackburn College students who are heading to Barbados then on to Dominica to do youth work” which made us feel important and we all cheered.

We got off the plane, MAJOR HEAT. It was really sunny but after 10 minutes of Checking in the sun had gone and it was pitch black. Only one set back in the airport and that was that Matt lost his bag haha. Someone picked it up thinking it was theirs but when we got to the hotel the guy had arrived and Matt was relieved to get his stuff back. What are the chances eh?

Hotel was gorgeous! Sea came up to the hotel doors near enough and the pool was great. We got to the hotel at 9pm after eating some local pizza. All of us headed for the pool in clothes and just loved the cold in contrast to the humid heat.

We were all up for 6am due to our body clocks running on 11am English time. Didn’t want to leave Barbados but so glad we did. The breakfast was good and stayed in the pool till the flight.

Flight to Dominica 22nd June: Pronounced Dom-in-eek-ah, we have been saying it wrong for month’s haha.

The plane was tiny! Expected something bigger but it was great. Riza was our savior as one of the over head panels was rattling and he fixed it with a piece of paper haha. When we saw Dominica it was jaw-dropping with its mountainous land and greenery. Having to land, we couldn’t head straight for the runway as we approached it at the wrong angle so the plane had to go to the other side of the island and fly back through the mountains really low to the ground, it was amazing. Only one mishap on the plane - lets just say Rebecca no longer has white pumps which are sick free, haha.

We were met at the airport by the students and Annie (Manchester Metropolitan University Student). They were very welcoming and even had food and drinks prepared. Then we took a 1:30 hour car journey to Roseau which was shocking. The roads are very uneven and we looked like rag dolls in the car haha. The roads are very narrow and have very steep drops at the side of them so we were very scared about falling off the edge. The mountains were rising up around us and they were so tall they hit the clouds. The sights were astounding and we took so many photos on the drive down.

Got to the youth centre, picked beds and designated roles for the night. Some people went for Chinese as we had no food currently and some went to the shop for bottled water. The accommodation is better than expected. We each have a bunk bed to ourselves so have chosen to sleep on top and use the bottom for storage of clothes.

Showers are FREEZING. No hot water at all. So you wake up in the morning (7AM) and are hit by ice water which I (Emily) LOVE but I (Ashley) don’t like so much.

The students here are so friendly and welcoming as are the people in the community. Everyone says hello and wants to know why we are here. We stand out quite a lot and we are loving the attention we are getting. They say “saka fete” and the response is “mwen la” which means how are you? and I’m good.

23rd June

All got up and got ready. Had bread and jams/marmalades for breakfast (Grapefruit marmalade is amazing). Plans for the day were to go food shopping, Get money converted, Sign up to the library, Put stuff in bank e.g. passports and to get a feel for the town of Roseau.

The library is small but convenient and it is where we are uploading this blog. We are all happy as they have internet access and it isn’t far from where we are staying. In Roseau we were amazed at the colourful houses and scenery.

Unfortunately there happened to be a cruise ship there that day so we were hassled quite a lot for money and to go on tours. We went for our first Caribbean lunch which everyone loved and worked out at 3 pounds a head which for the amount we got was amazing. At teatime we made homemade pizzas and had a dance with the students. This was just a great chance to get to know everyone. We also got to meet a woman named Noreen who was hilarious; she also taught us some Creole words (mix of French, English and local lingo) such as “Mwen Fenn” which means I’m hungry.

Some of us also went and played football and Ashley dived for the ball to everyone’s amusement. We also played time bomb and Lauren cannot play this game, she loses all limbs before we even begin haha.

Riza is doing many Borat impressions and keeping us all in high spirits. Many insect bites going around with Lauren and Annie being the main targets and Emily being bite free haha.

No tans to report as of yet.

24th June

Today we got up and were met by the students at 9am. We went down to the fresh market for lots of vegetables and things for lunch/tea. Riza is getting to know the community and says hello to everyone with his favorite phrase being “wah go wan” which is “what’s going on”.

We then headed to local shops to buy seasonings and herbs.
We got back to the centre and Serish was giving everyone Henna tattoo’s which look great on us all. She even gave it to some of the students which had never seen it before.

For dinner the students made traditional Caribbean food named Bakes which are fried dumplings, which were really delicious when stuffed with tuna and cheese. We then headed out to Youth Quake, the home for children with problems at home/school. The kids were amazing and got a great insight for what we our first task would entail. Really got us motivated to help and loved being around the kids’ energy.

Riza was great with the kids and was teaching them how to be a gangster haha.

Shana got a bit spooked with all of the animals (chickens, rabbits and dogs) but was fine after some water and a sit down.

Went to a local river and we were all really keen to jump in. Serish was the first to jump in, just like in the pool in Barbados. Then we all followed suit and loved being in the cold water. Unfortunately we had to walk back as we couldn’t get in the car wet.

We saw a massive banyan tree with roots standing tall making the trunk. This means we were able to climb inside the tree and take photos.

We also saw a preserved bus that was crushed by a tree in the worst hurricane to hit Dominica (Hurricane David – 1979).

Got back to the centre again and now we are writing this blog. Was just Emily and Ashley but we have been joined by Lauren, Shana and Rebecca. We are all loving being here but are all a little home sick.

Even though it’s only day 2 being here in Dominica we have done so much. We are so happy to have been given the opportunity and are trying to do as much as we can while we are here, wanting to make the most of everything possible. It really is an amazing experience and can’t help but look forward for each day.

A Rota has been drawn up so we all have designated jobs for each day. This way it’s always clean and we always have food ready at the correct times.

We are all getting used to the heat but love when it rains as it’s cool and refreshing. Today was the sunniest day and it was lovely and warm.

Lots of Sunburn today but still no tans to report :[

Bugs are still eating Annie and Lauren. Emily and Ashley still have no major bites to report, WINNER!

Most students bought phone cards to ring home, so keep near your phones haha.

PERSONAL NOTES

Emily: Missing you all but loving being here. Thanks mum for making it possible, LOVE YOUUU xxx

Lauren: Been an amazing experience so far, wish you were all here to share it, Miss you and love you lots xxx

Ashley: Having a great time and missing you all, back soon chickadee x

Rebecca: miss you all, sorry I haven’t rang properly yet will do soon. Love you all xxx

Matt: Missing you lots but having great experience and I look at photos of you sometimes xxx

Riza: I love you so much but I also love Dominica and I also miss all of you very much. I’m very happy so don’t worry, glad to see you soon xxx (I miss you Leanne xxxxxx)

Shana: Missing you all lots, don’t worry about me I’m having fun and I love you so so much xxx

Serish: Heya everyone, I’m missing you all sooo much, having a great time, a new experience, Love you all spesh my fam, and my special ppl, you know who you are xxx


Andy is behaving himself haha. We all just want to say a massive thanks to Barbara, Andy, The Commonwealth Youth Exchange Council, Blackburn College and everyone who helped to make this project possible. It really will change us all for the better and open our eyes to what other people in the world live like :]

Monday 15th June

We set off on sunday , and we are all rather excited. Packing way too far in advance and counting down the hours.

Most of us havn't been abroad before so are panicing and wondering if we will forget something crucial , like a passport hahaha.

Well yeah , this is the blog set up , check back here as from next monday and we will document our goings on for you haha.

No more worried parents wondering if their kids are ok :]