Pictures!

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to upload some pictures for you all to see. 

This first set of pictures is from the Discovery Cruise I took to get to Freeport from Ft. Lauderdale. I didn't really take many pictures of the ship itself. You'll mostly see pictures of the port as we departed.

   

   

  

  
  

This second set of pictures contains pictures of my apartment. I absolutely LOVE my apartment. The rent is high ($950.00 per month) but it's the same rent I was paying in Dominica and I personally think it's worth every penny. Plus, I paid the security deposit and the entire rent for the whole semester in advance so I was given a discount. With the discount added in, I actually paid $900.00 per month for this apartment. As far as the apartment goes, here are my ammenities:

• My apartment is located in a gated apartment building. Every tenant is given a remote control to open and close the gate at their discretion.
  
• The apartment complex is located right on a canal. So, I have a really pretty view of the water from my balcony.
  
• I have a balcony! :)
  
• There is also a pool, bar-b-que pit, and tennis court in the apartment complex.
  
• My apartment comes with an AC unit in the bedroom AND the living room! This is extremely rare in Dominica. Most apartments in Dominica are only equipped with an AC unit in the bedroom(s). The only apartment building in Dominica (that I personally know of) that has AC units in the living rooms is Fortune's Apartments.
  
• I have a king-sized bed! I don't even think there are any king-sized beds in Dominica. Most apartments in Dominica are furnished with "full" sized beds. Plus, the couch in my apartment has a pull out bed as well!
  
• I have a large TV (27 inches) in my living room. Our TV in Dominica was smaller - I believe it was a 20 inch TV?
  
• My apartment complex comes with washers and dryers! Again, another rarity in Dominica. So, I no longer have to worry about putting my laundry outside my door for pick-up and wondering when it'll return and if I all items return at that. It's nice to just pop in some clothes or towels or whatever into a washer and dryer whenever I need/want to. And if you're wondering, it costs $1.25 to wash the clothes and $1.25 to dry the clothes. The machines here work like those found in laundry mats. You just put the quarters in the machines and the machines do the rest. :)
• I have an electric stove! No more gas stoves for me. So, now I don't have to worry about whether or not my tank has gas in it. Although, if the power goes out in the Bahamas, my stove won't work. When the power goes out in Dominica, the stove is still functional since it operates on gas and not electricity.
  
• I automatically get hot water in the shower. No more switches and water heating tanks to worry about.
  
• Overall, my apartment here is just like any apartment you'd find in the States. It's nicely furnished and it has a lot of closet space and storage space.
  

So, below you can see pictures of my apartment. If you're considering moving to the Bahamas, I highly recommend the Swann Apartments. I'm pretty sure this whole building is comprised of Ross students - which is nice. And the lady that runs the building is very, very sweet. Swann Apartments gets my seal of approval. :)

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

This third set of pictures was taken on Mother's Day when my mom and I went to the beach. The beach here is very beautiful with its white powdery sand and its clear waters. And the best part is that the beach is usually completely deserted. As you can see in the pictures, there was barely a soul in sight. I mean, it was Sunday and a Mother's Day on top of that and I only saw 20 people TOPS at the beach that day. It's as if you have your own private beach. :)

PS: There were quite a few of these fluid-filled vacuoles all over the beach. (See picture below.) Does anyone know what they are?? Just curious...

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

These last few pictures were taken at dinner at Zorba's. Zorba's is a restaurant located in the Port Lucaya Marketplace and it has awesome Greek food. Two thumbs up for Zorba's.

  

  

Oh! And here are some pictures of the grocery store that is literally a few feet from Ross' campus. Ross and City Market (the grocery store) are located in the same shopping center. As you can see, it's a real grocery store!! They have Diet Coke! And they have real milk - none of that shelf milk or powdered garbage. I think I've talked about the grocery store situation in Dominica in previous posts so I won't go over that again but ... grocery store in Freeport >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> "grocery stores" in Dominica!

    

    

   

Hope you enjoyed the pictures! I'll be sure to take some pictures of the shopping center Ross is located in and of the "campus" itself. Ross' facilities here are actually very, very nice. I'll make sure to take pictures of the computer lab, the copy center, the ICM rooms and more. So, check back soon for those! :)