Catching the bus from Loubiere to Roseau is the total opposite than my daily commute from Brooklyn to Manhattan. The only labeled bus stops that are in Dominica are in town, not like what I am used to back in the States. Usually you can just ask someone where the bus stop is or you can use your judgement to realize that if you see a group of people standing around a collection of mini-vans, that’s your queue.

What I like about these buses is that they are frequent, unlike the ghost trains in NYC. Waiting underground is not fun in an empty station where you are only accompanied by the echo of your voice or the company of small critters such as mice. In Roseau there wasn’t any underground, it was busy and active and, as far as I could see, no mice.

It had been raining off an on for a few hours and, even though I had my umbrella, my pants were too long and I was wearing sandals so I was pretty soaked. I hopped on the bus to find my place on the already loaded bus of passengers who were also trying to escape the rain after a hard days work. I started to wonder why everyone was staring at me, then I remembered; I did not say ‘good afternoon’. I had been told to always say greetings when getting on and off the bus but it takes some getting used to. In NYC the subway commuters are notorious for plugging in iPods, reading books and becoming recluse. In an effort to not be considered rude, every time the driver stopped and a new passenger got in the van, I would belt out ‘good afternoon’ as to appeal to the masses and convince them that I was polite! Continue reading "An American Girl in the Caribbean – Catching the Bus!"