Current Rock of Residence:
Dominican Republic
Island Girl Since:
Born to island parents since birth, official island girl since 2011
Originally Hails From:
Jersey (fist pumping not included. Not recommended either.)
Jen, an expert in The Art of Lunacy, decided three years ago she wanted to get married, have a baby, and move abroad. She discovered she was pregnant in February, got married in July, and moved to the Dominican Republic in August. In October, they had their first baby (yes, that is all in the same year!) and then had another baby 18 months later. Did she also mention she has two rescue poodles? She has a particularly strong dislike for insects of the flying nature and has what her husband calls “an irrational fear” of bugs trying to crawl into her hoo-ha… and also zombies… and natural disasters… basically many scary things. She loves being a mom, but blames much of her drinking on raising two small children in such a bloody hot climate. For this reason, she drinks a lot of Presidentes (the official beer of her rock), and visits many colmados since, well, that’s where they sell Presidentes. You can find her Drinking the Whole Bottle on her blog of the same name. Her stories are real. The shamrock tattoo is magic marker.
Explore posts by this writer:
The Island Where My Heart Waits
It's been 4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, and 4 hours since we left our island. 146 days. For those of you who have lived and loved an island, you know you never quite walk away. Your body leaves but your heart stays buried somewhere in the sand. I know we'll be back. I...
What the Holy Trinity of Cuban Drinks says about Cubans
Every island has an indigenous drink, a drink that is original to that place. The Dominican Republic's native drink is Mamajuana. Mexico's drink is the margarita. The Bahama Mama comes to us by way of Jamaica - I kid - from the Bahamas. And Cuba is no exception. I...
The Home Rock Advantage
Living on this rock, it's very rare that I'm able to point to something and say, This here thing is definitely easier than it would be if we were living in the States. On the contrary, lots of everyday life things here are generally harder. Hot showers are harder;...
A Cautionary Tale: That Time I Made a Duct Tape Bra
Part Uno: I found this blouse at Nordstrom. It isn't often that I spend $30+ on a single item, especially one with so little material (I'm more of a buy a lot of stuff for my money kind of gal, which is why I shop at Forever 21 even though I'm Forever 34), but I...
On-Island for the Holidays: Thanksgiving Olympics
As expat rock dwellers, we have to pick and choose the holidays we go home for - we can't have 'em all. Christmas is mine. I won't miss it. Maybe someday when we live farther away I might have to, but not while we're on a rock where a 4-hour flight is the only thing...
Returning to the Rock: It’s Good To Be Back
Let me be very clear: I was pee-my-pants excited to be in the States for some of the autumn season. This was the first time in 3 years that I got to experience the awesomeness that is autumn and I soaked in as much pumpkin flavor, dried leaves, and fall clothing as I...
