10 Days in Dominica, Day Three

Before getting on the with blogging challenge, I have a very special announcement:

When I started this blog last June in preparation for moving to Dominica I never imagined that blogging would become such a big part of my daily life.  Thank you to all those who have been faithful followers of my Priceless Adventure for your encouraging words and comments along the way.  I couldn't have done it with you!  

Now, without further ado, I present Day Three of

Day Three- How does the weather affect you?

The weather affects every last thing about my life here in Dominica.  When it's hot, it's boiling.  When it's raining, it's pouring.  For the first few months I was here people would say that it would cool down in the winter but I refused to believe them.  The heat made me grumpy.  I hated leaving the house because it meant walking through the heat or rain down a dirty muddy road.

And then we came back from Christmas break.  It turned out everyone was right!  For the months of January, February, and March the island is significantly cooler.  You can walk to campus without sweating your make-up off.  You can sleep through the night without waking up in a sweat.  It was a huge revelation, and changed my opinion of this place.

Something else I've learned is that even if the temperatures are highly predictable "rain" is its own independent variable.  Here on the island "rain" does not equate with "cool."  Sometimes, all the rain does is make it even hotter because the humidity skyrockets through the roof.  And you never know when it's going to downpour.  There need not be clouds in the sky for rain to fall.  It's no use checking the daily weather forecasts because there is almost always at least a 20% chance of rain. You learn to always, always carry an umbrella or else risk being caught in a downpour.

The weather here is just another part of life on a tropical island.  Some days I love it, some days I hate it.  But in the end I'm glad to be here.