First of all, congratulations on being one step closer to achieving your (or your spouses) dreams of becoming a doctor. As you have probably already discovered, there is a wealth of information available to incoming Ross students, but almost none of it is specifically designed for families. I spent hours and hours scouring Value MD and e-mailing people on the island trying to figure out what to bring and what to plan on and what to not worry about in the few months we had to prepare for moving our family to Dominica. The whole time I was researching I kept thinking “It shouldn’t be this hard! Why isn’t there more information available for families?” I finally decided that I needed to stop complaining about it, and try to do something about the problem, which is why I wrote this guide based on our experiences, and the experiences of the families who are here with us. As I have been gathering and reflecting on the information I’ve been trying to collect, I think I have finally realized why there hasn’t already been a guide written specifically for families… every single suggestion I make is completely speculation. What works for one family can be a nightmare for another. Each family that comes to Ross has their own unique needs and so, in attempting to write a guide for all families, I am overwhelmed with how difficult the task is; yet “something is better than nothing” pops into my head. Please remember, all that follows are simply suggestions and best guesses, and nothing stated is guaranteed. With that said, good luck in your preparations, and remember to enjoy the journey.

Moving

Moving is difficult, let alone to a foreign country! There are basically 4 different ways of trying to make it work for your family:

1. Find a family that is leaving the island about the same time you are arriving, and make a deal.
2. Pack everything you can fit within the weight allowance and hope for the best.
3. Ship everything including your kitchen sink to Dominica at least 3 weeks before you leave the states.  This depends on where you live in the States/Canada.
4. Fly to Dominica by way of Miami or Puerto Rico and spend some time packing and shipping barrels of more than everything you could need and/or want.

Okay, so these options may sound preposterous, but they’re not far from how it works. We were a #2 family, but I know other families who have used options 1 and 3, and I’ll try to outline some of the “pros and cons” of each.

1. Find a family that is leaving the island about the same time you are arriving, and make a deal. This involves spending plenty of time online and on the phone making arrangements with a complete stranger for a situation you’ve probably never been in before and for things you’ve never seen. Granted, you are likely to move into an apartment that is all ready for your family and you will not have to face nearly as many “welcome to Dominica” moments as a family from #2, but you will also feel short-changed when you arrive and see what all your preparations have bought you. Not that you were ripped off, it’s just that everything you can buy in Dominica is dollar store quality for department store prices, and I’m not exaggerating (this is why the packing lists are so extensive). Even if the family whose apartment you are filling were fantastic, clean, honest people, you are probably going to end up paying Sears’ prices for Dollar Store quality items. If it’s important to you to have a good, quality ‘whatever’ then you had better pack it. Everything becomes relative once you get to the island, and something sold to you over the phone as “good quality” could be bought in the states at your local Wal-Mart. Additionally, if the items were purchased at Wal-Mart and shipped to the island then their value is ½ again their original price. Selling it at the original Wal-Mart price is a common discount for a used item on the island. Still, this is a great option for maintaining your sanity, and may be the best option for your wallet.
2. Pack everything you can fit within the weight allowance and hope for the best. There’s a lot of advice given to incoming students to “not worry about housing until you’ve all ready arrived in Dominica.” If you follow this advice then at least you know what you are paying for because you are really here to see your new apartment. On the other hand, your new home may come with all the kitchenware you need, and it may not. Even if you make arrangements with a landlord online, or through the housing office, you’re still going to feel like you’re packing what you might need, and mostly hoping for the best. You may experience 2-3 weeks of no internet, no cable, or trying to find the right kind of transformer at a reasonable price. If you are arriving in this fashion my advice is to arrive on the island 2 or more weeks early. That means 2 weeks BEFORE new-student orientation. You can also try to get here before the ‘end of semester sale’ so that you can have your apartment basically set up at a reasonable price before classes begin (approx. 3-4 weeks before new student orientation). Taking 2 children shopping with you in Portsmouth or Roseau without the help of your spouse while praying to find the kitchen supplies you’ll need without going broke can be enough to make you want to jump on the next plane home. You can do it if you have to, but it will be hard. (Arriving too early is about as bad as arriving too late.)
3. If you have the money to move your whole household to Dominica then you probably also have enough money to rent a faculty style apartment and buy a car while you are on the island. I can only dream. If you do ship your whole household, your best option will be to ship pallets through Tropical Shipping. If you ship some of your household, shipping barrels through Tropical is the way to go. If you ship through USPS chances are you’ll get to the island and not get half of your packages until you’ve been living here for a month. Oh, and don’t forget, you’ll have to pay customs taxes (and/or pick-up fees) for the things you all ready own. (There is additional shipping information in the FAQ.)
4. Fly to Dominica by way of Miami (or Puerto Rico) and spend some time packing and shipping barrels of more than everything you could need and/or want in Miami. I like to believe that this is the best of the 4 options. Yes, it requires a good chunk of change up front, but in the long run… I’ll just say I wish we had tried this option. Remember that it will take a couple of days at least to do your shopping, and then you will still have to pack the barrels. Tropical Shipping is the way to go, and a Costco/Sam’s Club/BJ’s membership will save you so much money in the end. BJ’s seems to have the cheapest membership with the most selection. Find the money and buy a whole bunch of food to ship in the barrels too! Perhaps you’ve heard of students shipping themselves frozen steaks, etc. This is because a lot of food is either not available here, or it’s just way too expensive to justify. Barrels cost the same to ship regardless of their weight. Pack canned foods. Pack pots, pans, and Ziploc bags, pack baby diapers, pack whatever it is you’ll need to set up your home! You will be able to sell off a lot of these items at the ‘end of semester sale’ or you may be able to find a family moving here under option #1 who will buy all your stuff from you. Let me put it this way: many families find that trying to make things work just doesn’t work. They may even fly to Miami half way through their stay to buy food at Costco and ship back. Some even form co-ops where they make a huge list of items that different families would like, and then they pay for someone to go and pack the barrels for everybody. Shipping food is a massive project that will keep you and your spouse busy for several days. Prepare a comprehensive list of the items you plan on buying and how much you will need (whether for a semester, a half of a year, or longer). Tropical Shipping is only open from 8-4, but you have to get there by 3 to be done packing by 4. They are closed on the weekends. You will probably need to make multiple trips from the stores to Tropical Shipping. Consider renting a van instead of a car to maximize your time shopping and shipping. This is a great way to make sure you have the things your family will eat at a somewhat reasonable price, and is also a great way to get enough toys to the island to help you stay sane.

Packing/Airplane

The more you can bring with you the better. Use every ounce of your airlines’ weight allowances. Most incoming students fly to Dominica through American Airlines, in which case you can pack 2 pieces of checked luggage, 1 carry-on, and 1 personal item. Neither of the checked bags can weigh more than 50 pounds, and together, they cannot weigh more than 70. The carry-on item cannot weigh more than 40 pounds (nobody ever weighed our carry-on and/or personal items). There is a lot of discussion on whether or not the airline enforces these requirements or not. Most say that if you are stopping in San Juan, Puerto Rico, that the requirements will be stringently enforced. These weight limits are also posted on the American Airlines website under International Flights (the international part makes a BIG difference in how much weight you can pack). If you pack to the 100 pound domestic limit you may end up shipping stuff to yourself from the airport which costs ridiculous amounts of money. There is a good chance that you will not be able to pay the “extra luggage” or “over weight limit” fees, they just make you ship the stuff that doesn’t fit.
I found a recommendation online that if you show up at customs with a hodge-podge of suitcases bought from the local thrift store you are less likely to be taxed. I don’t believe that many students are charged customs for their luggage on arrival, but the thrift store luggage was very affordable. Pack your electronics in your luggage if you can. If you decide to ship your electronics, place them at the bottom of your barrel or else they’ll cost you a fortune in customs fees.

FYI: wheels are so nice running through the airport, but they take up to 8 pounds of your weight. I felt like the best piece of luggage we packed was a huge duffel bag because I knew it wasn’t going to break and it didn’t take away from how much I was able to pack.   Costco and other stores sell hard cover luggage that are basically feather weight.  It has wheels and handles but weighs much less than the traditional luggage.  Having dufflebag are great but remember that if you have children, you and your spouse will be responsible for carrying all of them.  Vacuum style packing bags will help you take advantage of every inch of space, but the weight will remain the same. (This is a great way to pack your pillows. Bring your own pillows, you will hate the ones here.) It’s possible that your luggage will be delayed in arriving on the island, so make sure to have some necessities in at least one of your carry-ons (see Ralna’s Recommended Carry-On Items). Your carry-on is also a great place for heavy items like batteries, books, etc. since it’s more difficult to use all 40 pounds in such a severely restricted amount of space.
If you are flying in on Liat you are going to have an even harder time figuring out how to pack everything. Their weight allotments are less and they are more strictly enforced. Take advantage of your child(ren)’s tickets too – you paid for their ticket and you can pack as much for them as you can for an adult, it’s the same weight allowance! Also, if you are bringing a stroller (see the FAQ for stroller recommendations) you can check it at the gate and it doesn’t even count as one of your allowable items (verify with your airline before you leave – most require that the stroller folds down within 3 pieces or less).

I downloaded every packing list I could find on Value MD, compiling a huge list of every possible suggestion and tried to pack the items that would be necessities versus the ones that would be “nice” to have. Don’t bring valuables to the island. Caskie’s Packing List is the most helpful list for families, and while it may not be super specific, it gets you to think about what your individual family’s needs are going to be. It took weeks of shopping for all the items and I still couldn’t get it all to fit, or even find everything I was looking for! We packed and repacked about 12 different times, weighing and reweighing until we knew we were at or over the weight limit (not counting our personal items we were just under, counting our personal items with the weight of our carry-on allowance we were over). We took 3 flights to the island, 2 on one day and the flight from San Juan the next. After taking 8 bags and 2 children through security I have some advice to offer – bring your stroller. Having a stroller is like having a ticket straight to the front of security lines (in general). Have everyone wearing shoes that are easy to remove and put on. Pack your Ziploc bags of liquids all in one place so you can pull them out quickly (4 people = 4 bags, I put them in our separate carry-ons and had to keep pulling them out and putting them back until I finally realized they didn’t care if I stuck them all in one suitcase). We had a 2 hour layover the first day, and due to a misunderstanding we had to go through security twice. We made it to the gate as they were boarding – no time to buy snacks or anything. I wish I had packed better snacks for the flights. Make sure to get customs forms for each member of your family and just do your best filling them out. Actual touchdown on the island is…entertaining. If you do not fly well you may do best to keep your eyes shut. I personally thought it was exhilarating. It is common for people to clap upon arrival on international flights, and you may join in out of sheer relief! If you haven’t all ready taken motion sickness medicine, take it when you get off the plane. Bring water bottles in your luggage, or keep the empty ones you used in the airport for use the next day.

Ralna’s Carry-on Suggestions

It’s a good idea to have the following included in at least one of your carry-on items:

Flashlight
Sunscreen
Mosquito Repellant
Water Bottles
Can Opener
Matches/Lighter
First-Aid Kit
Motion Sickness Medication
Change of clothing
Baby Wipes
Change of shoes
Granola Bars (or protein or whatever)
Oatmeal
Beef Jerky/Vienna Sausage
Peanut Butter
Crackers
Vitamins
Pop-Tarts
Activities for the children/Toys
Travel roll of Toilet Paper
Enough food for about 2 days (if you come on a weekend or holiday everything will be closed)

Actual Arrival on the Island

So, after you’ve had a whirlwind trip to the island, and immediately following your exit from the plane, you will be sent in to the customs office. It’s quite small for the number of people who can come on one flight. They have all the Ross students stand in one line, and all the “others” stand in another. My husband was done with his customs forms and declarations long before the girls and I were. Also, after spending all morning at the terminal and then on the airplane we got to the customs office and (naturally) had to make like our 5th potty break. No big deal, right? You’re not on the airplane anymore…. but it was a nightmare! The toilet didn’t flush right, the bathroom was out of toilet paper, and no one would help me because they were taking care of all the new students. I finally went into the men’s restroom to bring toilet paper to my daughter. The girls and I by that point were the very last ones through customs. The Ross representative in Puerto Rico had assured us that Shane was the only one who needed a customs form, but no, every single person does. So I sat there filling out the same form 3 times while trying to keep the girls from wandering off and Shane was waiting on the other side of the “line” and I’m dealing with a customs officer who wouldn’t even smile or anything and I could barely understand him because of the accent and it was just a lot to handle. I recommend trying to convince the Ross and Customs people that it would be better for everybody if the student could at least help their spouse with their children through the line. (Get your spouse and children through the customs process and by then you should have undivided and immediate attention on getting yourself through.) Then the customs guys wanted to collect our stuff so we could do the luggage thing. There were people there to help who wouldn’t have let us even try to manage our luggage on our own, but they just throw your stuff around. At least they have dollies. Anyway, they kept saying things like “All this stuff is yours???” You will hear that a lot through the airports. Just ignore them! And if anyone even tries to say something, tell them you’re moving. That seems to at least make them think for a moment.

Anyway, the actual customs inspectors were a little… grumpy. I assume because we were at the end, or maybe it’s a (world-wide) job qualification. They asked why we needed so much luggage. They asked what was in the luggage. We told them our whole family was moving to support Shane in school. We gave them a list I prepared before we left the States of everything I had packed, in alphabetical order. The guy read through the first 1/2 a page. No, seriously, he made this whole line by line reading, and even asked a question about a thing or two. Then he glanced at the other 4 or 5 pages and said “Okay.” They didn’t even try to tax us a single penny. Then the luggage guys haul all the bags out the door and put the boxes right in the mud puddle. And then they waited around staring at us. Yes, they wanted a tip. Not that they would have let me handle my own stuff anyway. I tip the guy like $5 and he’s like “That’s all?” Now, seriously, on our way through the airports, we would hire a sky-cab and they’d help us with all of the luggage and we’d tip them like $20, but these guys seriously moved our luggage 20 whole feet. So, it’s just something to be prepared for, and right before he asked for the tip the Ross Representative had just told me that Ross pays them, and that you don’t need to tip them. I didn’t see them ask for any tips from the single students, just us, the family.

I haven’t been too susceptible to motion sickness since I was a child, and couldn’t find where I’d put the medicine, so we just hopped on the transport and enjoyed the ride. Yes, the school will have several transports (busses) at the airport to pick everyone up. No worries, even if for some really odd reason there wasn’t enough room on the transports, they’d just invite you in for some Capri-suns, water bottles, and maybe even some little snacks, or at least that’s what they had available when we were there. Then they would call another transport, and you’d just sit and wait for awhile until they finally do pick you up, but again, it’s more likely that they’ll have all the transportation there and ready. They’re surprisingly good at that. We did okay on the bus ride. The driver will be more than happy to answer questions you have about the island during the trip. Make sure they point out where the grocery stores are as you pass them, so that you can find them in the morning. Then you will arrive at Ross University Housing, or they will take you to your pre-arranged apartment. Ross will put you up for one night free at RUH, which we were expecting, but when they saw that we were a family they oogled. We were, again, last to be helped, and they said “Oh, wow, four of you? Well, our biggest room has two double beds… it is available, unless you’d like to find your own accommodations?” We, of course, said two double beds will be fine, but I can’t imagine what they would do for a larger family.

It was all ready 5:00 pm when we got to RUH, but after procuring our “hotel” room, the “Ross Welcoming Committee” was there to take the new students on a tour of campus. You may want to arrange for your own private tour so that you can reassure the committee members that you will take care of that when it is convenient for you and your family. It was just a lot for us to go through all in a row and we were all starving. Hopefully in the future every family will have an arranged sponsor who will provide a nice dinner for your first night on the island, but if that doesn’t work out I recommend going to Subway. Subway is located on campus. Campus is a short walk from RUH. You are also far more likely to eat the food without unwelcome side effects of foreign food. If your family enjoys Chinese food that may be worth trying, but remember that almost anywhere you order food on the island it will take a lot more time than it would in the States/Canada. Subway is at least expedient. My motion sickness finally kicked in as I was eating. I think it was the combination of 2 days of practically non-stop travel with little to eat. I was so ready to go to bed, but of course, the girls were completely awake and hyper since they hadn’t been able to really move all day.

Housing

The Ross Housing website has a great list of questions and amenities that you will want to take into consideration as you make arrangements for your housing. There are some additional family oriented questions you may want to ask about a potential apartment, such as: Are children allowed? Many landlords do not allow children, especially in the apartments closest to campus. Is there a banister on the stairs? You don’t want to rent on the 3rd floor if there’s no banister to keep your 2 year-old safe. What kind of breeze comes through the apartment? (Is it on a hill or in a valley?) A good breeze can really help you save on the electricity and keep you cooler than being in stagnant air in the middle of a valley. Of course, if the apartment is situated like a ‘basement’ then the underground factor will help the place stay cool also. Is it hurricane safe? Many apartments are not, and while you will more than likely have a friend whose house you can crash at and Ross does open a classroom for this purpose during a hurricane, you really will be most comfortable as a family if you can stay in your own home. What size beds are included? A two bedroom apartment can be great for a four person family until you discover that there’s only a twin bed in each room. What are the dimensions of the refrigerator? Some are much smaller than others. How do we pay for electricity? If the apartment doesn’t have the option of using a pre-paid meter many students report paying much higher rates for their electricity directly through their landlord. Does it include a microwave (toaster, etc.)? If you have someone on the island that can check out the apartment for you make sure to find out if the location is particularly noisy at night, and whether or not the apartment is sealed pretty well (against bugs and A/C air loss).

Don’t be afraid to hunt around for your house yourself. The housing tour is specifically designed for students, not for families, and will most likely be a total waste of your time. If you find a place you are interested in ask the taxi or transport driver if they know anything about the landlord or apartment. Talking to people you encounter on your way can be very useful too. Using a Ross lease is a good thing, but some landlords have their own. Use your discretion, knowing that the housing office will not be able to help you if you sign a non-Ross lease.

The First Full Day

Fill up your water bottles and use them everywhere you go so that you do not get dehydrated. Subway is open for breakfast in the morning and while you can get a free “continental” breakfast before the housing tour you may want something a little more substantial than a container of cold cereal with shelf milk and coffee. Hopefully you have all ready been able to make some form of housing arrangements, but if not you should still be able to locate somewhere to live. The later you arrive the slimmer the pickings. The people who arrange the housing tour will be able to recommend a location or two that may be suitable for families, but they don’t really specialize in helping families locate, they are there to help students. Just because you can find a 2 or 3 bedroom apartment doesn’t mean the Landlord allows children. There are also many options for family living that are quite a distance from campus which means you pay a lot less for renting a private home than for the 2 bedroom little place across from campus. The trade-off is basically close to campus and small, or far away and large. Know in advance if you are willing to purchase a car on the island, and if you are the distance may be worth the increased comfort. If the day is a miserable experience you should be able to pay for an additional night in RUH, which would be preferable to taking an apartment that you hate just to have it done.

Plug in your fridge before you leave the premises so that it will be cool by the time you return with groceries. Obviously you’ll need to figure out something to do for lunch. Depending on when you arrive the shacks may or may not be open, but at the least you should be able to buy enough at one of the stores (James’ or Tina’s etc.) to get you through (i.e. PB & J). You will also want to buy electricity for your new home immediately after signing the contract (unless your electricity is through your landlord). A family will go through approximately 15-30 units per day, so if you move in with 60 available you can put it off for a day or two, but if you move in with 18 buy some immediately. You can purchase electricity at RUH, or in the little office above Tina’s, or over the phone by credit card. You will need your meter number (or EMU number) to buy electricity. Don’t be afraid to make them explain the process of entering the numbers multiple times. Make sure you understand which numbers you will type into your keypad! Many places around campus will accept US dollars until you can make it to the bank – just ask as you walk into the store. It may be easier in the beginning to just open a bank account in the student’s name. They will need their letter from Ross, their ID card, etc. which will seem like a piece of cake compared to opening a joint account. To open a joint account will require both party’s presence, various forms of ID, and a marriage certificate (depending on who helps you). There is also a fee for getting a debit card for the spouse.

Purchase a cell phone as soon as you can. They are very affordable, both in terms of cost and minutes. Make sure to use the same company as your spouse. If you can accomplish all of these things in your first full-day you are off to a great start. It is not unusual for your head to still be spinning, but at least with somewhere to sleep, something to eat, money in your pocket, and a way to communicate with the world, you should be confident in your ability to adjust to island life.

Plugging Things In

There is a general tendency to exchange the words used to describe electrical apparatuses without consideration for how different their functions are. Allow me to clear up some confusion by defining and describing the following electrical items: Adapter, Converter, and Transformer.
Adapters are the things you plug into the outlet that has the right number and sizes of prongs to plug it in, with totally different sizes and/or numbers of holes on the other side (where you can plug in your electrical gadget). Adapters do nothing to the electrical current coming through the outlet. If you use a travel system style adapter or buy one at James’ Store and plug it in to a 220 volt outlet you will get 220 volts out of it. These are widely available at Wal-Mart, travel stores, Radio-Shack etc. and are easily and cheaply obtained on the island. You may want to come with one universal adapter, but buying more than one will probably just be a waste of your money.

Converters are things that have only one option for prongs, you have to know in advance what shape/type of outlet you will be plugging it into to buy the correct style or else you will have to use an adapter to plug in the converter. Converters work okay for items that only use electricity to heat something up, i.e. curling irons, hair dryers, etc. Most students do not bother with converters because they are almost a complete waste of time and money to figure out how to use them and have the right type. They are not widely available on the island.

Transformers are large boxes that actually change the electrical current. They can either ‘step down’ a 220 volt current to a 110 volt, or ‘step up’ the 110 volt to 220. (Many apartments near campus are wired for both currents, usually with a transformer mounted on the wall.) They are extremely heavy and are best purchased after your arrival to the island, especially if you can get a used one. They come in a variety of sizes based on how many electrical watts you need to transform. If you will be plugging in multiple items to the same transformer at the same time you will want to add all of the watts of those items together to figure out how large of a transformer you will need. If you will be using the items in different rooms on a consistent basis you would do better (savings wise) to buy several smaller ones that will cover the watts of your individual appliances. It is also a large waste of electricity to plug in a gadget that can accept a 220 volt current into a transformer that only spits out 110 volts. Some transformers come with fuses that will blow before you exceed their wattage rating, while you can fry others by exceeding the wattage.

To determine whether you will need to plug your item into a transformer simply read the electrical rating. This rating will appear either on the ‘box’ that you plug into the wall, or near the model number. If it says: “Input 100-240V” or “Input 110-260V” you should be able to plug it straight into the wall or straight into an adapter. If it says “Input 120 V” or Input 110 V” you will need to plug it in to a transformer. ALWAYS READ THE ITEM’S RATING. Do not go by the shape of the plug. We plug our laptops, iPod, and cell phones into an adapter. We plug the wireless router, blender, slow-cooker, etc. into the transformer. Yes, your apartment may be “wired” for both currents, but what this actually means is that somewhere there is a transformer in your building which transforms the electricity leading to the American style outlets in your walls. You can buy strip style surge protectors in the States and plug them into a transformer, but most surge protectors you can by in the States are rated for 110-120 volts. We purchased a Chinese style surge protector from James’ store that is rated for up to 240 volts. We plug it into an adapter which is plugged into the wall. Another important reason to use surge protectors on the Island is that the current here varies a lot more than in the States. The voltage can get up to 260 here.

A plug-in alarm clock bought in the States will not keep correct time even if it is plugged into a transformer. Clocks use the amps in the electrical current to keep track of time. In the States there are 60 amps per minute in our electrical current – 1 per second. In Dominica (and many other places in the world) there are only 50 amps per minute in the electrical current causing the clock to lose about 10 seconds every minute. Amps are not affected by the transformer. If the alarm clock runs off of batteries this will not be a problem.

Groceries

You will probably make your first shopping trip at either James’ or Tina’s Store (actually Tina’s sign says G&A Enterprises, just everyone calls it Tina’s). Many items are only carried by one store or the other, James’ has a large variety of non-grocery items, while Tina’s has good freezers. James’ Store has an electronics department which is separated from the main store. You will find that you do not recognize a lot of the name brands available on the island, but don’t let that bother you. GOYA is considered a reputable brand, and you can buy many of their products in the States. You may want to buy a couple of different kinds of milk in the beginning so that you can figure out what milk works the best for your family. Many people prefer the shelf milk, specifically the Bridel and Lily brands. Children seem to develop a palate for powdered milk quite easily, and it’s a lot more affordable. (You can add sugar and vanilla to the powdered milk to make it taste better.) Don’t be afraid of the eggs. If you find food in a cooler and the coolers temperature is hardly lower than the room temperature don’t buy food from it. Additionally, after you’ve had a little time to get settled, one of the first things you will want to do is go to Roseau for groceries. The school offers a free trip Saturday mornings, you can catch a transport from the bus stop in Portsmouth, or you can go with the Spouses Organization (See the FAQ). Astaphan’s is a large store in Roseau where you can order groceries and have them delivered to your front door. Simply make a list of the items you would like and their prices and drop your list off at the customer service desk (located on the main floor behind the stairs) or you can take your list home and spend some time figuring out what you want, and then you can fax your list to Astaphan’s using the fax machine in the Student Government Association’s office. Prices tend to be lower in Roseau, and there is a greater variety.

Other Items of Business

Hopefully your place will come with internet, but if you have to set it up yourself it will cost you a substantial deposit and take about 2 weeks. They will need to set up the line and get your modem in, which you will have to check on yourself (they won’t call when it arrives). Make sure to ask for the user id and password when you pick up your modem. Just because you bought your cell phone/modem here doesn’t mean you can plug it in to 220V. Read the electrical rating. Courts and Best Buy in Portsmouth carry a variety of appliances and electrical items.

During the first several days it can be very helpful to watch for other families, and do not hesitate to introduce yourselves. Families can be a tremendous source of help, information, and compassion. They may even be newer than you are to the island, and you might have information they could use.
See the FAQ for all sorts of additional information.

The only thing you can control 100% is your attitude.

After you have arrived, found somewhere to live, know where to buy your groceries and electricity and how to plug things in you will still face challenges. There is a common attitude on the island that goes something like “it will happen when it happens” and that is also IF it happens. “No worries” is also a prevailing outlook on life. Patience will be the best thing you bring with you - you will need it in spades. It is not uncommon to feel homesick, lost, angry or frustrated to tears in the first month, and sometimes those feelings will all hit on the same day. Don’t be afraid to vent to another spouse on the island, or to ask for assistance! We’ve all been through the transition and can empathize! Don’t complain or vent to locals. It’s a small island, and word travels fast. I’m not saying you shouldn’t be assertive or stick up for yourself, but be courteous and respectful. If you are rude, impatient, or angry your business will take at least double the amount of time, and will likely be complicated by other matters and may even affect your entire stay. Remember that this is their home, and you are a guest.
Is it worth it? Do people like living here? Of course! But, that is highly dependent on your attitude. Give yourself ample time to adjust to moving compounded by living in a foreign country. Many families miss the island after they leave and wish their stay could have been longer. Again, congratulations, and welcome to Ross!