Advice on moving to Dominica

And last, but not least, I asked them to give me some advice as I move to Dominica. Some were wise beyond their years, some just made me laugh. There were a PLETHORA (wink, wink) of letters advising me about not eating strange food and wearing a hat. Must be important. Here are the highlights of everything else:

Ninth Graders:

· Thank God every day for bringing you out of it all. What all? The school? Their class? Some days I do think it was a miracle that I ever made it.

· Have fun and don't drown

· Loosen up and have more fun

· Watch your stuff at all times. There are a lot of thieves in those parts, so be careful.

· Make sure you have papers or something so you can come back to the United States

· Enjoy your life and chill

· Be nicer to your students (says a student who caused me almost daily grief)

· Don't catch any diseases or get hurt

· Wear a hat, watch out for things that can hurt you (like big snakes), and have fun

· Don't eat the food if it smells funny, looks funny, or is still walking

· Buy a submarine for the hurricane season. Buy rockets for the submarine so it doesn't get attacked by pirates.

· Don't wonder outside alone, you might get kidnapped

· Have a firearm in your house so if anyone tries to break in your house and hurt you, shoot them.

· Don't walk off the island

· If a stranger offers you an exotic monkey, don't take it!

· Always wear a bullet-proof vest, just to be safe :)

· Stay off those coconuts

· Watch out for sharks

· Go to the beach a lot

· Study other people's language so you understand them

· Stay the same way you are now

· Don't like the children over there more than us

· Don't let a volcano kill you

· Don't trust anybody because in the horror movies when they take and kill anybody, it's mainly tourists.

· Don't drink and dance

· Be safe and keep up with your great attitude

· Don't drink the water

· Stay away from the male nude beaches

· Be careful with lizards, they are ugly and have long tongues

Tenth graders:

· Have fun, go to the beach, teach in a school, and have kids

· Tape yourself right now, and then again when you've been there a couple months, and so on to see how much you've changed (gotten their accent)

· Always be happy with what you have

· Don't wear that headband that cuts off your circulation to your head

· If the ocean starts to recede, RUN!!!

· After you get off the plane, take off your shoes and walk around on the carpet

· Avoid hurricanes as best you can and enjoy the sweet life on the beach!

· Don't party too much

· Don't say anything like, "You're going to hell," though. You might scare them.

· It's kinda pointless for a teen giving advice to a grown woman

· Don't get lost

· Don't drink and swim - I don't want anything dangerous to be around you 'cause you're too innocent.

· Follow your heart

· Take a boat with you because of the floodings over there

· Take something for the mosquitoes

· Don't step on spiders

· Don't get eaten by any sharks

· Have lots and lots of fun

· Shorts, sandals, short sleeves

· Wear sunscreen

· Don't join any gangs, it will not be good for you

· Don't get locked up abroad

· Show your wild side and stop playing so shy. Heh. If they only knew.

· Don't ever forget that you were a real inspiration to the future greatest drummer there will ever be - ME! Sigh. And yet I couldn't inspire him to pass.