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Thursday 7 February 2013

In Transition: Getting Used to my Tightly Fitted Jacket

Well, my dream has  manifested. So many times over. Regardless of the envy and begrudging attitudes of some folk ( from some sectors of my family), I am here, in the land of plenty, beautiful scenery, fresh fruit literally at my fingertips, a steady stream of sunshine, and most importantly, with my darling husband. I will always be blessed, regardless of the obstacles that some folk want to continuously  place on our positive paths!

They call Dominica the 'Nature Island', and truly, the scenic views of the landscape are amazingly awesome and breathtaking - I will touch on this in another blog post. Where we live we have the wonderful image of the Caribbean Sea just within our eyesights. Can you imagine, as I open the wooden blinds of our bedroom, gently rub my weary eyes,  stretch and rise in the early, quiet, warm morning of my newly adopted country, I can see the dazzling deep blue shimmer of the Caribbean Sea. Can you imagine the blessings that I ultimately feel living in this small island of paradise?

 



I've been in Dominica for the past month, and I was saying to my husband the other day, that  sometimes I feel that I am wearing a  tightly fitted jacket; trying to get used to its size to make sure it fits me perfectly and I am comfortable wearing it. I see this analogy as how I am adapting to this beautiful country. Sometimes there is discomfort, sometimes there's a tightness, and sometimes there's a restricted comfortableness! This is because I am still adapting to my surreal (in a sense) surroundings. I have to get used to the chilled attitudes of folk here. Eliminate my notions of efficiency, and definitely get rid of my British stiff upper lip. I mean, I was born in the UK, and as much as I have never consciously embraced my 'britishness', its still imbued deeply within me. I can't escape it. But I can eliminate the attitude and embrace my buried deep new one, my 'Caribbeaness' as such - even if my people are not from here originally.




So, over the next few months I know that my tightly fitted jacket will become much looser and will fit me so much better. Thus making  my comfort in living here relaxed, as I get used to my new surroundings. In the interim, I will be drinking in all of Dominica, like a baby being breastfed for the first time.  Still writing and being creative. Still working on my novel. Still daydreaming. Still loving. Still being positive and optimistic. Still blogging on my new experiences of living in Waitukubuli - pronounced Wa-it-tuku-buli (tall is her body) the original Kalingo name for Dominica.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, once I have settled over here I will be migrating my blog onto my own domain. I am still trying to come up with an inventive and memorable name. Any suggestions?

Watch out for my carnival tinged post soon. Carnival season is alive over here and I am excited to be a part of it as an appreciated spectator.