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We set up shop on the third floor of the campus center and took time to explore the campus. Later that afternoon, we had a mandatory check-in at St. James Center (a building which is part of our campus, but not behind the security gates.) While on our way, I held Ethan in his carrier and K walked beside me. We stepped gingerly across downed power lines and branches, while keeping on eye on the groups of people making their way down the street. The check-in was "organized" in the best possible way, considering that we had no one from official leadership present. We signed in on pieces of 8x11 paper, including our name and the names of our family members present with us.
The biggest thing that stands out to me from this meeting is when one of the professors stood up and told us that the school couldn't have planned for an occasion like this because, "this is unprecedented." This statement made my blood boil then and still irritates me now as I hear her saying these words in my head. While it's true that Dominica hasn't experienced a major hurricane since David in 1979, Dominica is a hurricane-prone location. There is no excuse for the lack of preparation/planning which we, as paying students, expected our school to have in place.
We stayed a total of three nights in our little campus-center shelter. Thankfully, families were given priority to leave the island and we were told on Thursday that we needed to be ready at 6:00 AM to leave the next morning. Initially, we were told that we would be unable to bring our stroller (a BOB, which we love!) This broke my heart, especially as I knew we had a few more days en route. Friday morning, things miraculously changed and we were able to bring it along. It turned out to be a fantastic blessing as we navigated through airports and hotels.
Friday morning, we lined up along with the other families and waited for our names to be called. After about 1.5 hours, it was our turn and we piled in school vans to be transported to a pier in Portsmouth. We were a little worried about our security, as people were still in the immediate throes of desperation, but there was security waiting for us at the pier. God bless Dr. Parker, who walked up and down the line encouraging us to take Draminine, which she had on hand. I took one and encouraged K to do the same. As we walked towards the boats, we saw a catamaran on the right side of the pier and what can only be described a 1800s pirate ship on the left side. I pushed K towards the right side, but while we were preparing to be helped onto the catamaran, we were told to head towards the pirate ship. Incredulous, K and I stared at each other and the other families who had been herded towards the pirate ship. We were told to board and then once everyone was on board, we would pass out chairs. Turns out, people grabbed chairs upon boarding (we couldn't fault them, everything was very chaotic.) Luckily, K procured one for E and I and we settled in under one of the shaded areas.
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| The Black Magic, the actually boat on which we evacuated from Dominica. |
We had been told the night before that this journey would take four to four and a half hours. Around hour five, I asked when we might arrive. The crew member/pirate told us it was a twelve hour journey. Twelve hours. My heart sank and I cried onto K's shoulder. E had been doing so well. He was just getting to where he liked to get down, but we couldn't let him because the boat was rocking and because the floor was painted with sand into it to prevent slippage. He was a real trooper. The crew provided us with water, but didn't have any food available. About seven or eight hours in, they did bring by some bread with tuna and other fish on it. (I'm told that this was the crew's own food, which they graciously shared with us, but I'm unable to verify this.) We had packed plenty of snacks for E and a few for ourselves, so we were able to share with those who were hungry around us. It was at this point that I saw the gentleman who had directed us away from the catamaran and onto the Black Magic, saying, "You'll be more comfortable here." I was certain he was wrong, but after arriving at the hotel, we learned that the families on the catamaran, which had left Dominica first, had still not arrived. We later heard that water had splashed over the sides of their boat, causing them to lift their suitcases overhead for much of the journey. If I ever meet that man again, I will thank him profusely.
A few hours in, people began getting seasick. One girl was vomiting over the side when we hit a wave and she would have gone over had it not been for a few students reaching up and grasping her legs and shirt. She laid under the shaded areas, still sick, for the remainder of the trip.
Around hour eleven, E had had it. He began wailing and could not be consoled. I think he was verbally expressing what everyone felt, but couldn't say. We docked in St. Lucia around 10 or 11 PM and were ferried to a hotel after going through customs. We arrived hungry and tired; after I checked into our room, K took E to the room to get settled and I went to the buffet to bring up food for the both of us. We ate and crashed into a deep slumber. The next morning, we had a wonderfully relaxing breakfast with our dear friends S & L, and their little girl, as well as P & S, and their little boy, C. We were told to be ready to head to the airport at noon, so we got everything together and waited in the lobby until the shuttle arrived. One hour, and some nauseating turns later, we arrived at Hewanorra International Airport.
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| Three gates, don't get lost! |
We checked in with the individuals facilitating the charter flight and bought food with our remaining $20 EC. We were later told that they had overestimated the number of people that the aircraft would hold, so that only the first so many in line would be on the first flight. By the grace of God, we were in line for the first flight. While our flight was scheduled to depart at 5:00 PM, it didn't end up leaving until 8:00 PM. The students/faculty/families were all restless and upset. Dr. Kraybill, one of our behavioral health faculty, addressed the students and did a fantastic job calming the crowds and providing insight into the situation.
We boarded a Virgin Airlines flight and settled into aisle 30. The flight attendants passed our sandwich boxes and I can't describe how quiet the plane was as 80 hungry people ravenously chowed down those meals. I was still starving and went to the back to ask if they had any extra. The flight attendant smiled at me and handed me three extra boxes. I kept two for K and myself and handed out the other after telling people that more were available in the back. (I'm pretty certain there wasn't a crumb left to be eaten after we deplaned.)
After arriving to Miami, K and I wept tears of joy. There were "Welcome Home RUSM students!" signs everywhere. One of our friends took this photo of us and other families in the baggage claim area.
We took a bus to the hotel where we ate and filled out forms for our flights home the next morning. We were told that they would book our travel, then call our rooms with our flight info. "If you don't answer, we'll come pound on your door." At 6:18 AM, I woke up and asked K if we had gotten a phone call which I hadn't heard. He hadn't heard the phone, nor had he spoken to anyone at our door. I asked him to run downstairs to double check and he got dressed and headed down. A few minutes later, he came bursting in the door, "OUR FLIGHT IS AT 7:15!" We rushed to pack and ran downstairs. There were other students waiting for Ubers and taxis. We quickly explained our predicament, and they kindly allowed us to take the next Uber. K was packing our suitcases and stroller in the trunk, while I got into the back seat with E in the carrier. The driver turned around and asked where his carseat was. I responded that we didn't have one and hadn't had one in Dominica for the last nine months. He told me that he wouldn't take us without one, and after pleading for a few minutes, we got out of the Uber and into the personal car of a Ross employee who drove us to the airport.
We checked K's bag outside, but couldn't check the stroller under my name, so the airline employee told us to go inside. Long story short, it turns out that tickets had been booked and purchase for K & E, but not for me. We could only laugh, because if we hadn't, we would have wept. We paid for a last-minute ticket from Miami home and ran through security, making onto our plane as they were in the final stages of boarding. Praise God, we were going home!
