The Subway Line

"WE'RE OUT OF SPICY ITALIAN... AND A BUNCH OF OTHER STUFF TOO."

My friend Rubie, who's up in New York, asked me a great question,

"What exactly do you eat down [in Dominica]?"

As a medical student in Dominica, the options are limited. Let's start with things most Americans should know. We have 1 (soon to be 2) KFC and 2 Subways. Now, at ross we have the Dominican analog to a food court typically found in college... it's called The Shacks, and they look exactly like the name calls them out to be. In terms of cultural food, we have 3 Chinese places, appropriately called (Bob's, Brother's and Hong Kong), Italian (aka Perky's Pizza), and Canadian (okay, they serve American food...). You go a bit further from campus, and you literally can fine dine! For instance for $95 EC, approximately $35 US, we can get all you can eat lobster at a restaurant called "Sunset." Not to mention, classic Caribbean food is nearby, at local joints such as Big Papa's, Blue Bay, and my favorite, the Purple Turtle.

With my current health crunch, Subway is one of my favorite places to hit. It's literally just like the ones back home, with the selection of sandwiches, pizza and soup (pizza and soup finally made their debut this semester).

HOWEVER... there's a caveat to this: there are times I'll head into Subway, then I'll look down and... as a sense of shock flows through my body, half the meats are missing (sometimes the bread, and yes even sometimes the chips when I want a full meal). The Subways in Dominica are supplied by shipments from the Americas... therefore, when a huge hurricane stands in the way of one of the routes, it might be a while before my clamoring for my Spicy Italian on Honey Oat bread is satisfied.

I could have complained, but that really didn't affect the way I looked upon my experience at Subway: I've learned to find enough different combinations of "favorite" sandwiches to take care of my palate. The best part of every visit is enjoying the rapport I have with the Dominicans who work behind the counter at the Portsmouth, Dominica Subway. A typical walk up to the "order counter" goes like this:

"How you doin' man?" - NOTE: A strong Dominican-Caribbean accent is present. -

"Oh, I'm alright, a busy day at the hospital. How about you, sir?" - NOTE: A strong Chicago accent is present. -

"I'm good. I'm good man. Good to hear that you're good." - Said as the guy/girl is nodding his/her head behind the counter, while smiling or laughing. -

And... just to see that the people behind the desk want to know how I'm doing always makes a stop at the Subway a way to top off my day. By the way they interact behind the table, I can tell they're enjoying life - even if demanding med students are out there to ruin it. I just instead separate myself from the idea of stressful med school, and for those 15 minutes in line, immerse myself in the way they're enjoying themselves. When I get my sandwich, I snap right back into reality, and its right into the books. However, I feel much more refreshed, even though I ended up with a Tuna because they were out of Spicy Italian once again. :P

The point is: you can't always get what you want, but you can always enjoy life in the way it presents itself.

Pictures: Subway Dominica, Roseau