3 Weeks Until D-Day

Hello everyone!

I apologize for the long delay between posts. I plan on typically posting more frequently with lots of PICTURES! but the past number of weeks have been mostly filled with more preparations, which means not many fun pictures to post.

Continuing from where I left off last post, I'm going to run down my list of things to do and think about prior to enrolling at Ross in the beginning of May.

I'm going to start with my:

Student Visa

What a pain in the butt! If getting a student visa into the U.S. is as difficult as it is for Dominica, I feel bad for all my international friends at Notre Dame. I went through a very thorough health physical prior to testing out the ROTC waters, but this one was even more comprehensive, not to mention very EXPENSIVE.

A visa is required by anyone planning on staying for more than 30 days in Dominica.

Here's what I had to do:

- Get up-to-date hepatitis A and B shots
- Tetanus booster
- Typhoid vaccine (this was optional, but in my opinion worth it)
- HIV test
- Tuberculosis test
- Chest x-ray
- Physician physical exam

The visa application also requires a valid passport, a $50 money order, a police background check, and travel itinerary indicating a purchased return flight to the US.

Gathering all this was very time and money exhaustive, and it was very satisfying to receive confirmation of its approval.


Plane Ticket

Considering I will be traveling over 2,300 miles to a country just a few times bigger than Washington D.C., flying to Dominica is actually not that difficult. Two airlines operate out of Dominica: American Airlines and Liat Air, a Caribbean-based airline. Because Dominica's largest airport/runway can only accommodate small propeller-driven aircraft, a direct flight from the U.S. is not possible. Most trips stop-over in San Juan, Puerto Rico, where you go through Dominican Customs before boarding a small plane to travel the final 350 miles of the trip.

There are two airports in Dominica (more accurately called airfields or airstrips), although only one has lights. The airport used by the airlines is called Melville Hall and is located near the northeast coast. The airport is so small that there is only a single terminal. Only a few commercial flights land at the airport each day.

Melville Hall Airfield. The pink building behind the plane is the one and only terminal.

A front view of the pink Melville Hall Airport terminal

I purchased my plane tickets a few months ago, and was able to secure a direct flight from Chicago to San Juan, set for April 3oth. After a layover of about 21 hrs (a long layover in beautiful Puerto Rico? I don't mind!), I'll fly to Dominica and arrive around 2 PM on May 1st. At the airport, I will be met by a Ross driver who will help load my luggage into a van then drive me across Dominica's rugged, mountainous interior to my apartment. Although only 12 miles separate the airport and the Ross campus, it is about an hour drive along a winding, dizzying road that snakes its way through the mountains to Portsmouth.

My flight path: Chicago to San Juan to Dominica

Note: Liat Air allows only one check-in bag. Just fyi for anyone wanting to visit :)



Communication

As anyone who has traveled abroad understands, communicating with friends and family back home can be tricky and expensive. Dominica is definitely no different. I have spent a lot of time researching the options and have developed a communication plan that will be as convenient and inexpensive as possible.

Cell Phone:

Dominica does have a cellular network in place, although no major U.S. carrier provides standard coverage in the country. That means even if my Verizon phone did work (which it won't), if I called home I would incur international roaming charges that would be more than $2.50 a minute!! Instead, I have purchased a prepaid SIM card, which is Dominica-specific. It gives me a local number, and I can use the local cellular network with much lower per-minute fees. The SIM card is prepaid, so I just continue adding $ to it by buying "top-up" coupons. This is nice because I won't have to sign up for a service, and I'll always know exactly how much I'm spending.

Another major problem with cell phones in Dominica is that the local cellular network uses different frequencies than those used in the United States. Therefore, it's important to have a compatible cell phone. Also, in order for the phone to use the new SIM card, it must not be locked into a certain network provider, like AT&T, etc.

My solution was to purchase an unlocked, quad-band cell phone. There are many of these that can be bought online, so after looking at my options I decided on a Sciphone i68+, which is a iPhone rip-off made in China.

Sciphone i68+: iPhone Clone

The i68+ looks almost exactly like an iPhone, and acts like an iPhone in many ways. But I've found that it most certainly is NOT an iPhone. Some of the functions are clunky, slow, or difficult to use, but for a fraction of the price (unlocked iPhones run about $650!!!!) this phone is really cool. I can also use it back home because it will work with the American cellular frequencies.

I will only use my phone sparingly when away from my computer because most of my communication will be done via Skype.

Skype

This amazing program will save me hundreds of dollars by allowing me to call home for free from my computer. Not only can I call other people who have Skype, but I can call people's cell phones and land lines back in the States.

I also have signed up for a Skype number which is (574) 914-0031. This number has an Indiana 574 area code but is used to call my Skype internet account. Therefore, people who want to talk to me can call my number and their phone company will only charge the cost of a call to a 574 area code number. When I by my computer, I can just talk to you using my microphone. What is really cool is that if I'm away from my computer, the call can be forwarded, via the internet and Skype, to my cell phone. The call will be a local for you and a local call for me in Dominica. This will save both me and the people calling me from insane international rates, but allow both of us to use our cell phones.

Skype seriously is amazing, and a life saver for students studying abroad.

Once again my Skype number/the number to reach me at after April 3oth:

(574) 914-0031

If you have Skype, my username is:

ndsnare2008


Thanks for reading! More to come soon.

- Jim