The Long Awaited Update

Carson and Joy at Iguana Cafe

Hi Everyone! I know it has been almost a year since the last update, and I am sorry for my lack of dedication to our blog. I hope to do better this semester. We are starting our final semester in Dominica. Carson is beginning his fourth semester and will complete his core science classes in mid August. We can barely believe how quickly the time has passed. We are eagerly awaiting the end of fourth semester so we can head back home. Although we can't wait to get back to the US, we will miss this island that we have called home for 16 months. As you will see from our pictures below, Dominica is a beautiful place to live. So let's catch up!

The Kaesers

In September 2008, I began teaching 3rd through 8th grade at Ross University Preparatory School. It has been my most difficult, yet rewarding teaching experience. I have learned to be very creative and flexible in this teaching position. But I have loved having a job and a purpose while Carson is so busy studying. Here are a few picture of my school, students, and colleagues.

Mrs. Crystal Gillikin and me painting table runners for the Thanksgiving Lunch

My classroom

RUPS students and teachers

Back row - Jessica, me, Katie, and Mrs. Gillikin

Front Row - Erika, Mavrick, Ethan, Rylan, and Alienor

Neishel, Rylan, and Mavrick at Tina's, a local grocery store,

doing a comparative shopping project.

Neishel, Jessica, Erika, and Ethan with Ms. Tina

Being a spouse in Dominica can often be a difficult experience. Many of the "spouses", as we are referred to by the students, feel every day is filled with the monotony of shopping, cooking, washing dishes, cleaning, and doing laundry. It is wonderful to have such amazing ladies to share this experience with. I would be lost without my special girls, Susan, Keeley, and Jackie.

Here are a few pictures of the ladies.

Jackie, Keeley, me, Susan, and Steph

Triple Trouble

Susan, Keeley, and me at Sunset Bay

Let me walk you through my normal week. Monday through Friday, I am at school from 7:45 to 4:00. My Monday nights are free and I try to go to yoga that is held on a deck on the beach. It is so relaxing to finish your day doing yoga while watching a Caribbean sunset. On Tuesday nights, I go to Bible study. Last semester, we read The Shack. I recommend the book for anyone. This semester, we are reading Redeeming Love. On Wednesday afternoons, Crystal (my amazing teaching partner) and I stay at school and plan for the following week. This is more difficult than it sounds, as I am planning for 4 grade levels. That comes out to 20 science lessons, 20 math lessons, a computer lesson, and a music or art lesson per week. Whoa! On Wednesday nights, I get together with Susan and Keeley for wine and catching up. School takes up so much of my time that I rarely get to spend quality time with my favorite gals. Thursday and Friday evenings are normally reserved as "Joy" time. This could involve TV, Facebook, reading, or a night out with the girls. Every Saturday is consumed with cleaning, straightening the apartment, laundry, rest, and maybe a cocktail with the ladies. Every Sunday, Carson and I sleep in, eat breakfast, and hang out. This is the only quality time I have with Carson, other than lunch and dinner. Once Carson heads to school to study on Sunday, I try to go to the Catholic service and then head to school to prepare for the next week.

Carson 's normal week is as follows. Sleep, wake up, eat, attend lecture, eat, study, study, study, eat, study, study, walk home, and sleep. It is amazing to think that Carson devotes 13 to 14 hours a day to his studies. But all his hard work is paying off. He continues to do very well in all his classes. His favorite area of study is Pathology and his least favorite is Pharmacology. In his last semester, he will be taking Pharmacology II, Pathology II, Microbiology II, and Introduction to Clinical Medicine (ICM). This semester, he will travel to Princess Margaret Hospital in Roseau to begin practicing clinical medicine. He is looking forward to interaction with "real" patients.

Study Buddies

Stefani, Luke, and Carson studying in a PBL room on Ross Campus

Carson heading to his ICM clinic trip in Salisbury

Carson taking blood sugar and cholesterol at AMSA Health Fair in Portsmouth, Dominica.

Carson and his study buddies after Semester 2 Final

Stef, Ben, Carson, Luke, and Tim

I will be heading home on July 19 and Carson leaves on August 22. After Dominica, we will be heading to either Saginaw, Michigan or Miami, Florida to begin rotations. We are hoping to go to Saginaw, Michigan. We will know where we are heading at the end of July. That gives us a month to get back to the US, visit, find a new place to live, pack up, and drive to our next destination. Although this will be stressful, we are looking forward to beginning the next stage of Carson's medical school experience.

Now that you are caught up, we want to tell you about our fabulous break. For the last two weeks, Carson and I have been on a semester break. We have relaxed and enjoyed experiencing the amazing sights and tastes Dominica has to offer. We will let our pictures tell you about our fantastic break!

Carson's new favorite hobby - Spear Fishing

Carson and Luke spent most of their break spear fishing.

Luke and Carson showing off their bounty after a successful spear fishing afternoon.

They caught 7 squid. We made the best calamari that night for dinner.

While snorkeling in Toucari Bay, Susan spotted a lobster. Carson, the expert spear fisherman that he is, made sure we ate him for dinner. It was delicious!

We started our break with an evening at Red Rocks. Red Rocks is a small

resort on the north part of the island. It is one of our new, favorite spots.

The Kaesers at Red Rocks

Susan and Joy enjoying margaritas at Red Rock

The boys smoking cigars and drinking Kubuli at Red Rocks.

Brent, Luke, Ben, and Carson

Local drink of choice - Kubuli

Midlos and Kaesers Lounging at Sunset Bay

Joy, Susan, Luke, and Carson

Dominican Scorpion

We thought centipedes were all we had to worry about in Dominica, that is until

our latest trip to Sunset Bay. My friend, Susan, found this in her shower.

Scott's Head

Scott's Head is located at southern most point of Dominica. Here, the Atlantic Ocean

and the Caribbean Sea meet with only a thin strip of land between them.

The Caribbean Sea is to the left and the Atlantic Ocean is to the right.

150 feet from the beach, the ledge drops off to 800 feet deep. This is our favorite place to snorkel. We saw flounder, crab, baracuda, needle fish, yellow tail snapper, and Bar Jack.

Joy and Carson at Scott's Head

The Midlos and Kaesers at Scott's Head

Carson, Joy, Luke, and Susan

My GanGan would be so proud

Check out the homemade peach pies I made for a dessert party at Keeley's. I think my GanGan would be proud.

"Hello. I live here."

The title of this blog is a quote from Carrie Bradshaw in the movie Sex and the City. I love to use this quote as I experience life here in Dominica. Sometimes I use this quote to express how amazed I am at the natural beauty of our new island home. As you can tell from the pictures, we are living in somewhat of a paradise. "Hello! I live here!" But I sometimes use these words when I witness something here that is absolutely hilarious or ridiculous. For example, a grown, naked woman bathing (and dancing) in a river next to a very busy shopping area or a cow blocking my path on my walk home. "Hello. I live here." It is truly comical some of the things that happen on this island, or maybe I should say don't happen. There is no rhyme or reason for anything here.

One of the many cows that interfere with my walk home. Sorry I didn't get a picture of the naked lady dancing.

It has been exactly a month since the last post. Carson and I have been very busy. Carson has been studying tirelessly over the last month. He is in class or studying 16 hours a day! But all his hard work was rewarded when he received his scores on Mini 2. He did wonderfully! I am so proud of him!
I, on the other hand, am busy in a different way. I am trying to fully experience Dominica. In a little over a month, I will begin teaching and I will no longer have loads of free time. So I am trying to squeeze all I can in this next month.

Here are a few pictures of our experiences here in Dominica.


I went on a trip with Ross Spouses Organization to Aba Wavine. I heard that it was a hard and steep climb in and out, but the beach was worth the difficulty. All I have to say is that I am glad I had some experience climbing. I had to descend about 500 feet straight down to the beach. I climbed down using tree roots and ropes that looked like they had been there for many years. Having a slight fear of heights did not make this descent any easier. But I made it and the view was beautiful. This black sand beach is on the Atlantic side of Dominica. While hiking in, our guide showed us a local fruit of Dominica. This fruit is one of the worst things I have ever smelled. My friend Colby named it the Stink Ass fruit. I am sure it has a real name. Our guide said that scientists were studying this fruit hoping it could aid in the cure of cancer.

Aba Wavine waterfall and the beautiful black sand beach

Aba Wavine waterfall


Stink Ass fruit

Colby "eating" Stink Ass fruit

Carson and I took an afternoon trip to Roseau. Roseau is the southern most town in Dominica. It is about 25 miles away, but takes about 45 minutes to get there due to the poor quality of the roads. We borrowed our friend Jim's car and headed to Roseau.

I think Carson would agree that this trip to Roseau was the scariest ride we have ever had. We had to deal with bad roads, a crappy stick shift car, driving on the left side of the road, crazy drivers, and livestock on the side of the road. And we ran over a baby goat!! It was quite a traumatic experience.

This was Carson's first trip to Roseau, so we toured around the city for a bit. We then went and ate at KFC. It was absolutely delicious! We then went to my favorite place in Roseau, Rituals. Rituals is the Dominican version of Starbucks. After a quick coffee, we headed back to Picard. The ride back was a little less scary.

street vendors in Roseau

me walking in Roseau

Carson driving the right hand drive Escudo

My Dominican Starbucks


KFC and market

Sundays, for the locals of Dominica, are reserved for church, village parties, and a weekly bath(in the river or ocean). One Sunday morning, my landlord, Jx, invited me and a few of my "spouse" friends to go with him to a party on the beach. After gathering the troops, we jumped into his fishing boat and headed to the Secret Beach. This beach is only accessible by boat and has amazing reefs where you can snorkel.

We had an eye opening day at Secret Beach. We learned how to catch and cook snails, octopus, and crab. We learned that seaweed and bat stew work as well as Viagra. We got this information from the locals. I also was told that my husband has a girlfriend on the side, because that is every male's nature to be with more than one woman. Needless to say, it was a very interesting afternoon. ( Carson wants everyone to know that he doesn't have a girlfriend on the side.)

The boat that we road to Secret Beach. There were no seats.


Rob Madison with an iguana

Lunch: fresh from the ocean

Rob heading into the underwater cave. The only way in was through this little opening. It was a tight squeeze!

Brave girls in the cave
Keeley, me, and Jo

Our most recent outing was a couple's trip to Bense Falls. The students took a break last Sunday morning to experience my favorite spot here in Dominica. Bense Falls is a small water fall that pours into a crystal, clear pool in the jungle. This pool has rocks on each side that are perfect for jumping and you can slide down the falls on the smooth rocks. We had a wonderful time. It was a needed and well deserved outing for us all.

The hike to Bense Falls

hiking through the jungle

Luke Midlo trekking in the jungle



our transport driver, Victor, doing a flip off the rocks at Bense Falls

Although we are having wonderful adventures and making amazing new friends, we terribly miss home and you all. We will be home for 10 days in August. We can't wait! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers. See you all soon!

Food, Friends, and Fun

Carson took his first Mini in medical school and did incredibly! I am so amazed at all the information he is absorbing in such a short amount of time. I am so proud of all his hard work and rejoice in his success. Thanks to everyone for all your thoughts, prayers, and emails.

Tuesday night after the first mini of medical school, we loaded into a bus with our wonderful group of friends and headed to dinner at Sunset Bay.

The Married Crew

We had a incredible evening visiting and eating the most delicious lobster. I had all the lobster I could eat for $30 US. It was so nice to have a relaxing night with Carson and all our friends. It has been the best meal I have eaten on the island so far. We can't wait to go back to Sunset Bay for our next celebration.

Me and Carson at Sunset Bay

Kaesers and Faheys
(Carson, me, Jackie, and Tim)

Keeley and Ben Mahdi

Midlos and Mahdis
(Luke, Susan, Keeley, and Ben)

Sunset at Sunset Bay

Colby and Marissa

Guys: Luke, Ian, Tim, Carson, Colby, Ben
Gals: Susan, Jo, Jackie, Joy, Marissa, Keeley


Lobster Feast

The Girls
(Keeley, Jackie, Marissa, and Susan)

Our 1st Anniversary!

Enjoying the evening on our balcony

Carson and I celebrated our 1st anniversary yesterday! We cannot believe it has already been a year! How time does fly! Carson had a study day and stayed in the Annex until 8pm. He is such a hard working student! I went to work out in the student activity center, met Carson for lunch, went to the beach with a few of the other wives, and then went shopping for dinner.

I planned to make salmon croquettes, but I wasn't sure I could find all the ingredients here. But luckily I found pretty much what I needed. We had salmon croquettes with dill sauce, rice, salad, wine, and chocolate cake. We both thought it was delicious!

Our delicious dinner

Carson then surprised me with a beautiful amethyst ring! What a sweet husband! I had already given Carson his anniversary gift when I arrived last week. He got a new Timbuktu backpack filled with his favorite candy bars. The bag is perfect for carrying his laptop and all his books.

We spent the rest of the evening relaxing, watching TV, and just spending time together. It was nice actually having Carson home for awhile. We had a wonderful and very memorable first anniversary in Dominica!

Joy finally arrives in Dominica!

My mom, Anita, and I finally arrived in Dominica last Monday. Carson came to pick us up from the airport and we took an "exciting" bus ride to Picard. I say "exciting" because the bus driver, Bryson, drives with no fear of anything. So I guess I better word to describe the ride would be scary. In Dominica, there are no real rules about how to drive like there are in the States. The drivers drive on the left side, abide by no speed limit, and pass other cars, pedestrians, and structures with only inches to spare.

After our bus ride, we arrived at our apartment to drop off our luggage. It is a cute, little place and will be perfect for our 16 months here. But, since we choose not to the run the air conditioner, it is very hot and humid. During the day it is in the upper 80s in our apartment.

We then walked Mom to her cottage. She stayed in the Picard Beach Cottages that sit about 30 feet from the ocean. The cottage was very rustic, but Mom was a real trooper. The view from the cottage was beautiful and the ocean waves could literally lull you to sleep. During the filming of the Pirates of the Caribbean, many of the producers and directors stayed in the cottages. Pretty cool, huh?!

We then walked to a popular bar/restaurant that the students call PBH. We had the Dominican version of vegetarian nachos that consisted of chips, cheese, and VEG-ALL. It was actually really tasty.

Carson left the next morning for class at 7:00am and I got ready and walked to meet Mom. We walked around the town, went to the school where I will be teaching 4th, 5th, and 6th grade next fall, and met Carson at the "Shacks" for lunch. The "Shacks" are a row of stalls at the north end of campus where many of the students eat lunch and buy fresh produce. We then went to James' grocery store and decided what we would have for dinner. We had black eyed peas, macaroni and cheese, slaw, fresh tomatoes, and cornbread. It was a delicious Southern meal.

The Shacks

The next afternoon, Mom and I went to Roseau, the capital of Dominica. We had yet another "exciting" bus ride. Mom had the ride with her eyes closed the majority of the way. I think I screamed once or twice. Roseau is much bigger than Picard and we were a bit overwhelmed. We looked around and found a store that sold "touristy" things and bought a Dominican flag, a magnet, and a t-shirt for my cousin Destiny. While walking we saw a beautiful church that was built in 1854. I decided I wanted to take a picture and discovered I hadn't brought my camera. We then decided that it was time to head back, after only being there for about an hour. So we jumped in another bus and rode back to Picard. This ride has proven to be the scariest one yet. I wasn't sure we would make it home.

Carson studied all day, but took a break to meet us for dinner at Perky's Pizza. The veggie pizza was delicious! Then Carson headed back to school and Mom and I went to her cottage to relax.

Mom and I had breakfast the next morning. We had toast with a yummy passion fruit jam. It is very similar to the pear and pineapple jam my GanGan used to make. We went to a grocery and found some to take back to Dad.

We met Carson and had lunch at Subway. Mom and I then rushed back to her cottage to meet the taxi, hoping this would be a smoother and safer ride. The driver was 20 minutes late and we were worried we would not make it to the airport in time. But our driver, Jerome, was a much better driver and Mom didn't have to close her eyes once. We arrived at the airport just in time and Mom literally had to rush to get on the plane. It made our goodbye fast. It was hard to see her go.

Thank you, Mom, for taking me to Dominica. I miss you so very much!

We miss everyone and can't wait to see everyone in December. Thanks for all your thoughts, emails, and prayers. We love you!

So everyone else need to go ahead and schedule your trip, because you haven't really lived until you take a bus ride in Dominica!

White Coat Ceremony

Carson began classes on Monday in Dominica. He has told me that the classes are already ridiculously difficult, but he is really enjoying all that he is learning. Here is a picture of Carson in class. Pretty much all his classes are held in a giant lecture hall. And being such a conscientious and dedicated student, Carson sits on the front row.

Carson's White Coat Ceremony was held on Friday. This ceremony symbolizes the beginning of their walk as physicians. The faculty at Ross, as well as the Prime Minister of Dominica, put each student's white coat on and welcomed them to the profession. Dr. Crump, a doctor who went to med school at Vanderbilt, was the speaker at the ceremony and Carson said the speech was incredible.

Carson and two of his friends, Luke and Vineet

Carson and Chris

We want to thank everyone for your constant thoughts and prayers. Preparing and moving to Dominica has been similar to putting together a difficult puzzle. But slowly and just perfectly, the pieces have come together. Carson found a wonderful apartment, I was offered a job at the University's day school, and our barrels arrived completely intact. You are right Mom, everything works out just like it should! Not always when we want it to, but always like it should! God always has a plan.

We love and miss y'all!