A little list of some things I have learned here

Well I have been gone from home for three month and I have been an official PCV for one month, so I thought it would be a good time for me to reflect on some of the things I have learned here on Dominica:

-Even if a bus driver tells you he is leaving now, he will never leave unless the bus is full to its max
-Yeah Ok its a perfectly legit response to Hello
-Goodnight doesnt mean like goodnight Im going to bed, it means Goodnight like Good morning, Good afternoon. And therefore when trying to end a conversation because your tired, do not use Goodnight cause it means you want to stay and chat not sleep
-God has blessed my life more then words can say
-Loud harsh words dont mean someone is angry
-It is perfectly normal to walk around with a cutlass
-Bug net = Best Friend
-I am proud to tell people I am a Peace Corps Volunteer because of the positive responses I get
-Dont question the food, just eat it
-Ants, while they are annoying are perfectly harmless housemates
-Everyone knows everyone else in Dominica, and people will talk no matter what you do, gossip is alive and thriving on this Island
-When a band says they are performing at 10:00 that really means 2:00, and if you start dancing at 10:00 you will never make it to the actual performance
-Dominicans are some of the kindest people you will ever meet
-The most surefire way to be rude is not to say good afternoon back to someone, this rule applies on the bus as well, when someone gets on and says good morning all 17 others on the bus say it back
-A trip to town means, Im gonna spend a lot more money then I should today
-Rain can fall from a cloudless sky, dont ask me how just always have an umbrella
-My family means more to me than anything else on this Earth and without them I would not be where/who I am today
-Oreos can make my week, and Chips/Salsa can make my month
-My friends will always be there for me, and I for them even if there are 3,000 miles between
-The food here is a million times fresher and therefore lasts a lot longer
-Seeing mail in my mailbox makes me smile for the rest of the day, and packages actually make me jump for joy
-I share a special bond with my fellow PCV that could never be broken
-Dominican time is a very special thing indeed  still learning how to be patient with this one
-And as this one Rasta said to us the other night, We are all one blood and while we all might look different on the outside, have different beliefs, and different cultures, we are all the same on the inside. We all share the same draw to be kind to others and the less fortunate, the same insecurities about ourselves and about our lives, and we all share a link that makes us all from one blood.

So there you have a little list of some things I have learned here on Dominica, I challenge you next time you step onto a bus or enter a room say Good Afternoon and see what kind of response you get, you might be surprised!