Yes yes. I know. I haven't posted anything in a month.
I hope everyone had an incredible Christmas and has fun plans brewing for the New Year!
As I posted in my last blog post, I've been working with several groups of kids for the last month on various dance routines for Christmas programs at their churches. I've also added a preschool dance class to my work schedule, but alas I do not have a video of their adorable performance to Raffi singing "We wish you a Merry Christmas. I do, however, have the videos of all the other dances that I choreographed!
At the church I regularly attend, there is already a lot of dance. I was asked to help one of the regular choreographers who was choreographing a group of 10-14 year old girls. She had finished about a minute and a half of a routine to "Still the Lamb" by Mary Mary. As I listened to it with Sandra, we decided that it would be neat to incorporate sign language into the dance and Heather, another Peace Corps Volunteer, knows sign language so I asked her if she could help. Therefore, this dance was truly a collaborative effort. The first half was done by Melissa, Heather did all the sign language, and I did the choreography from the end of the first bit of signing to the end. Enjoy!
You've all already seen the first bit of the dance I was choreographing for the kids who take class at my house, but now that it's done I want you all to see the finished product!
There are actually two versions: a modified version for two girls (Saneze and her friend Danielle) and the original for all the children in the class.
I hope you all enjoy the videos! The kids did a wonderful job and I'm really excited to keep working with all of them in 2011.
I'll make sure to write a more word heavy post soon, but it's late and I need to head off to bed so I can head to the beach in the morning. (it's a rough life...the beach in December...)
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Shall we dance?
One of the most enjoyable things I've been doing here on St Vincent has been teaching dance classes for a few children between the ages of 6 and 10.
The class meets every Friday from 4-5pm at my house. The patio serves as class space and a few chairs and steps serve as ballet bars. There isn't any mirror and the girls don't wear leotards and tights but they all come eager to learn and excited to see what I'll teach them.
I know that there have been several of you who have voiced your incredulity that I'm here in the Caribbean teaching kids to dance, and if I were teaching them to club dance everyone's skepticism of my effectiveness in teaching would be warranted. Fortunately I am NOT teaching them to "whine" (Thank heavens. Look it up on youtube if you don't know what I'm talking about) and teaching children ballet here is remarkably like teaching children at home in Massachusetts.
As Christmas rapidly approaches, all the area churches are preparing for their Christmas programs. These always include singing, skits, and dancing. It's a time for church members to highlight their skills and I was asked to choreograph a dance for the kids to perform at their church.
I started teaching the kids the dance on Friday and I wanted to share it with you all! I know that it certainly isn't clean yet and it certainly isn't challenging, but these are kids who have never done ballet before, only have limited dance experience, and virtually no formal training. I've only been working with them all for about a month and I was amazed that all the kids were able to pick up as much of the choreography as they did. For two of the girls, this was actually their first class.
The best part of the video isn't the actual dance but rather the very end once the dancing stops. The joy they all exhibit isn't a show for the camera. Every time they did the dance and got to the end of the section I had taught they reacted this way. I wish I hadn't stopped the video as quickly as I did so I could have captured more of the reaction.
After dance class, Saneze, my landlady's daughter, and I wait for Sandra (her mother/my landlady) and her brother Tye to get home. She wanted me to film her dancing to Beyonce who is rather well loved by all little girls here. I have to give her credit, she did a pretty good job improvising for a 10 year old!
I'm also helping with choreography for a group at the church I've been going to here. I don't have a video of that yet, but as soon as I do I'll make sure to share it with everyone!
The class meets every Friday from 4-5pm at my house. The patio serves as class space and a few chairs and steps serve as ballet bars. There isn't any mirror and the girls don't wear leotards and tights but they all come eager to learn and excited to see what I'll teach them.
I know that there have been several of you who have voiced your incredulity that I'm here in the Caribbean teaching kids to dance, and if I were teaching them to club dance everyone's skepticism of my effectiveness in teaching would be warranted. Fortunately I am NOT teaching them to "whine" (Thank heavens. Look it up on youtube if you don't know what I'm talking about) and teaching children ballet here is remarkably like teaching children at home in Massachusetts.
As Christmas rapidly approaches, all the area churches are preparing for their Christmas programs. These always include singing, skits, and dancing. It's a time for church members to highlight their skills and I was asked to choreograph a dance for the kids to perform at their church.
I started teaching the kids the dance on Friday and I wanted to share it with you all! I know that it certainly isn't clean yet and it certainly isn't challenging, but these are kids who have never done ballet before, only have limited dance experience, and virtually no formal training. I've only been working with them all for about a month and I was amazed that all the kids were able to pick up as much of the choreography as they did. For two of the girls, this was actually their first class.
The best part of the video isn't the actual dance but rather the very end once the dancing stops. The joy they all exhibit isn't a show for the camera. Every time they did the dance and got to the end of the section I had taught they reacted this way. I wish I hadn't stopped the video as quickly as I did so I could have captured more of the reaction.
After dance class, Saneze, my landlady's daughter, and I wait for Sandra (her mother/my landlady) and her brother Tye to get home. She wanted me to film her dancing to Beyonce who is rather well loved by all little girls here. I have to give her credit, she did a pretty good job improvising for a 10 year old!
I'm also helping with choreography for a group at the church I've been going to here. I don't have a video of that yet, but as soon as I do I'll make sure to share it with everyone!
Monday, November 8, 2010
A Beautiful Day
After being hit by Hurricane Tomas on October 30th and the subsequent canceled week of school, today marked the start of my first full work week as a Peace Corps volunteer.
After a marriage proposal, a request for a date, and having met two new friends, I finally made it to the school and was told all about the death of a litter of puppies by a little girl in grade 2 named Makenna:
Me: What's your dogs name?
Makenna: Rosie
Me: What a good name! So she's a girl?
Makenna: Yes, and she's made puppies before, but they all died.
Me: How did they die?
Makenna: Well there were four. One died of starvation, two died because of other dogs, and my brother sat on one and it exploded.
Me: It explosed!?!?!?
Makenna: Yes. He's very fat.
She tells great stories.
I spent the morning cleaning the library. It isn't secure from the elements and the hurricane caused about 15 pounds of the outdoors to blow in and coat everything with a thick layer of muck. A few grade 5 students came in to help me so the work went quickly.
After lunch I started pulling kids in grades 2 and 3 one at a time to assess where they are in relation to reading. I held up flashcards to see if they knew their letter names and sounds (many don't) and then used a diagnostic test consisting of 10 grade appropriate words that they should be able to read. I also had chosen age appropriate stories for each group and after testing the students I gave them the choice to either read the book to me or have the book read to them.
Every child chose to have the book read to them except one: Marco.
"I'd like to try to read it," he said to me.
Marco's in grade 3 and knew all of his alphabet but could only read about half of the age appropriate words. I had to help him through the whole book, but he finished it and seemed pretty happy with himself.
At the end of the day I went to talk to his teacher about how well he had done and that he had been the only child who had wanted to make the effort to read the book to me.
She smiled and said, "I know! He came back here and told me, 'I had a great time with Miss!' He told me that he read through an entire book with you and he recited the entire story to me, so I told him that he could retell it to the whole class first thing in the morning!"
She then thanked me for helping with all the kids and we all headed home.
As Peace Corps Volunteers, we're warned that we won't see results for up to a year after we begin our service and that we're almost never going to hear "thank you." It seems to me that there's no greater result than being able to see a child actually feel proud enough about having read a whole book that they can't wait to share it with their teacher and classmates.
Today definitely made me feel like being here has been, and will continue to be, worth everything that I have and will put into it.
I can't wait for tomorrow!
After a marriage proposal, a request for a date, and having met two new friends, I finally made it to the school and was told all about the death of a litter of puppies by a little girl in grade 2 named Makenna:
Me: What's your dogs name?
Makenna: Rosie
Me: What a good name! So she's a girl?
Makenna: Yes, and she's made puppies before, but they all died.
Me: How did they die?
Makenna: Well there were four. One died of starvation, two died because of other dogs, and my brother sat on one and it exploded.
Me: It explosed!?!?!?
Makenna: Yes. He's very fat.
She tells great stories.
I spent the morning cleaning the library. It isn't secure from the elements and the hurricane caused about 15 pounds of the outdoors to blow in and coat everything with a thick layer of muck. A few grade 5 students came in to help me so the work went quickly.
After lunch I started pulling kids in grades 2 and 3 one at a time to assess where they are in relation to reading. I held up flashcards to see if they knew their letter names and sounds (many don't) and then used a diagnostic test consisting of 10 grade appropriate words that they should be able to read. I also had chosen age appropriate stories for each group and after testing the students I gave them the choice to either read the book to me or have the book read to them.
Every child chose to have the book read to them except one: Marco.
"I'd like to try to read it," he said to me.
Marco's in grade 3 and knew all of his alphabet but could only read about half of the age appropriate words. I had to help him through the whole book, but he finished it and seemed pretty happy with himself.
At the end of the day I went to talk to his teacher about how well he had done and that he had been the only child who had wanted to make the effort to read the book to me.
She smiled and said, "I know! He came back here and told me, 'I had a great time with Miss!' He told me that he read through an entire book with you and he recited the entire story to me, so I told him that he could retell it to the whole class first thing in the morning!"
She then thanked me for helping with all the kids and we all headed home.
As Peace Corps Volunteers, we're warned that we won't see results for up to a year after we begin our service and that we're almost never going to hear "thank you." It seems to me that there's no greater result than being able to see a child actually feel proud enough about having read a whole book that they can't wait to share it with their teacher and classmates.
Today definitely made me feel like being here has been, and will continue to be, worth everything that I have and will put into it.
I can't wait for tomorrow!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Vincy Independance!!
Tomorrow is the 31st anniversary of Vincentian Independence. I, personally, am going to be spending it Mustique, one of the Grenadine islands. Others will be attending the national parade held every year in Kingstown.
Because there isn't any school tomorrow, schools across the country held their Independence day celebrations today, and I figured I'd share a few videos with you all!
The choir performed and I wish that the video conveyed how amazing they really were. I was entirely impressed (especially by the fact that they all have perfect rhythm!). Mr Dover, the choir director, asked me if I might want to play guitar for some of their performances come Christmas so I may be accompanying them at some point!
I'll also include in this post the kindergarten, not because they were especially impressive, but they were just so darn cute. Fifth and Sixth graders here are just as they are in the states, ooh-ing and ah-ing over the smallness and endearing nature of five year olds.
And while I'm posting things based on cute, check out how adorable the preschoolers were in their Vincy outfits! I have not idea what they were supposed to be singing, but I don't think that matters when kids are small enough for it to be cute that their pampers are sticking out 4 inches above their pants.
Sixth grade did a really nice job with their performance. They even had a little choreography (which they appeared to think was pretty funny as they covered their faces when they had to wiggle around a bit). Below is another of the sixth grade in which they were doing some sort of rap-type performance. I don't know what it was about exactly, but it sounded cool!
And what Caribbean celebration would be complete without a little steel drum? He also played the national anthem at the beginning of the ceremony, but I didn't get that on video.
Lastly, I'll leave you with a video of everyone singing together. It gives a good idea of both the kids and the building in which I work. On a typical day, that room houses grade 1, two grade 2 classes, and grade 3. Each grade is separated by the chalkboards that you can see here lining the walls. Grade 1 has class up on the stage. It's very noisy, but it certainly does convert nicely into an assembly space!
On a final note, you may have noticed that I'm typing...which means one of 2 things. I'm either using the Peace Corps computer or I've somehow gotten my hands on a working keyboard. I'm happy to report that it's the latter, which means I'll be making more frequent blog updates! Expect pictures at some point of my trip tomorrow!
I hope everyone is well at home!
Monday, October 18, 2010
It's almost official...
My first point of business here today is to once again apologize for not having posted anything in over a month. I'm currently contending with a broken computer keyboard which makes updating my blog a rather impossible process even though I now have wireless internet at my house. Fortunately for me, Chris has wonderfully offered to bring me some sort of computer down when he visits, so that problem will have been remedied in the next couple months. In the meantime, I have to come into town to type with any satisfactory speed on the computer in the Peace Corps Volunteer Lounge. I can, however, Skype all I want so if I don't have your Skype name, let me know what it is! Mine is christa.elliott.
There are only two days left until my group, EC-82 swears in as official Peace Corps Volunteers. The last 2 months have flown by and it makes me wonder if the next two years are going to follow suit. I have a feeling that they very well may given the accounts of current volunteers and the reality of constant summer. I don't know about everyone at home, but I know for me warm weather months always seem to go much more quickly than do their frigid counterparts, and without the cold weather to slow everything down, what's to stop the cosmic gas pedal from being perpetually pushed to the floor?
I think that everyone in my group is very excited to be embarking on what will be our projects for the next 2 years. I know that I'm thrilled to escape Pre-Service Training and actually have the time to focus on the library and literacy work that will be my primary projects. We were given a day long training in remedial literacy work, and it was certainly helpful. Prior Pre-Service Trainings have not included this component, and through the complaints and suggestions of previous groups, we were the first guinea pigs, for which I'm very glad. It would have been very hard to start from scratch without any materials or instruction and the small amount we have received will serve as a platform from which to jump.
The weather continues to be incredibly hot, but I also continue to acclimate. I've been trying out various strategies to keep my house cool during the day, and the most effective attempt has been the tried and true method of keeping the windows open and the curtains closed.
And this brings me to the next big news in my life in the Peace Corps: I now live in my own apartment!
It's a two bedroom apartment with a bathroom between the bedrooms and a large room that serves as a living room/kitchen. My house came fully furnished including a television and cablebox. My landlady, Sandra, is absolutely wonderful. She lives in the upstairs of the house with her two children Synez (age 10) and Ty (almost 8). They've essentially welcomed me into their family in much the same way that Ms Davis did as my homestay mother and they bring me with them when they go various places.
Last night we all went to a harvest celebration at their church. The first couple hours involved members of the church performing in various capacities and afterward everyone was able to purchase food ranging from fruits to cakes as a fund-raiser for the church. I bought oranges (which are green here) and passionfruit juice which came in a lovely glass bottle that I have plans to reuse for something, although that something has yet to be determined. Afterward, we all went to the Mespo area where Sandra needed to pick up a couple of large pots from her mother's house. We limed (hung out on the street) for awhile before heading back home.
As I try to get settled in my new home/life here, there are costantly things that I realize that I took for granted back at home but have to start from scratch purchasing here: casserole dishes, cookie sheets, bread pans, spices, etc. Today is one of those days that I'm going to spend buying many of those things. I also need to buy a basin in which I'll be handwashing all my clothing. This is something I'm really not looking forward to but is, alas, a necessity. Ah well.
On a more positive consumer note, I'm going to purchase a hammock! I have a lovely patio space where I'm going to conduct dance classes for some of the children here which can also double as hammock space. It'll be wonderful to lie out there during the day and evenings! I haven't even priced hammocks, and I imagine that they're a bit expensive, but I figure that one household splurge won't completely break the bank!
I hope everyone at home is well as the cold-weather continues to approach and that everyone is avoiding colds and such (I have not been so fortunate here and have been suffering from the flu/colds for the last month). I'm starting to get letters into the mail, and I expect everyone to write back! :)
There are only two days left until my group, EC-82 swears in as official Peace Corps Volunteers. The last 2 months have flown by and it makes me wonder if the next two years are going to follow suit. I have a feeling that they very well may given the accounts of current volunteers and the reality of constant summer. I don't know about everyone at home, but I know for me warm weather months always seem to go much more quickly than do their frigid counterparts, and without the cold weather to slow everything down, what's to stop the cosmic gas pedal from being perpetually pushed to the floor?
I think that everyone in my group is very excited to be embarking on what will be our projects for the next 2 years. I know that I'm thrilled to escape Pre-Service Training and actually have the time to focus on the library and literacy work that will be my primary projects. We were given a day long training in remedial literacy work, and it was certainly helpful. Prior Pre-Service Trainings have not included this component, and through the complaints and suggestions of previous groups, we were the first guinea pigs, for which I'm very glad. It would have been very hard to start from scratch without any materials or instruction and the small amount we have received will serve as a platform from which to jump.
The weather continues to be incredibly hot, but I also continue to acclimate. I've been trying out various strategies to keep my house cool during the day, and the most effective attempt has been the tried and true method of keeping the windows open and the curtains closed.
And this brings me to the next big news in my life in the Peace Corps: I now live in my own apartment!
It's a two bedroom apartment with a bathroom between the bedrooms and a large room that serves as a living room/kitchen. My house came fully furnished including a television and cablebox. My landlady, Sandra, is absolutely wonderful. She lives in the upstairs of the house with her two children Synez (age 10) and Ty (almost 8). They've essentially welcomed me into their family in much the same way that Ms Davis did as my homestay mother and they bring me with them when they go various places.
Last night we all went to a harvest celebration at their church. The first couple hours involved members of the church performing in various capacities and afterward everyone was able to purchase food ranging from fruits to cakes as a fund-raiser for the church. I bought oranges (which are green here) and passionfruit juice which came in a lovely glass bottle that I have plans to reuse for something, although that something has yet to be determined. Afterward, we all went to the Mespo area where Sandra needed to pick up a couple of large pots from her mother's house. We limed (hung out on the street) for awhile before heading back home.
As I try to get settled in my new home/life here, there are costantly things that I realize that I took for granted back at home but have to start from scratch purchasing here: casserole dishes, cookie sheets, bread pans, spices, etc. Today is one of those days that I'm going to spend buying many of those things. I also need to buy a basin in which I'll be handwashing all my clothing. This is something I'm really not looking forward to but is, alas, a necessity. Ah well.
On a more positive consumer note, I'm going to purchase a hammock! I have a lovely patio space where I'm going to conduct dance classes for some of the children here which can also double as hammock space. It'll be wonderful to lie out there during the day and evenings! I haven't even priced hammocks, and I imagine that they're a bit expensive, but I figure that one household splurge won't completely break the bank!
I hope everyone at home is well as the cold-weather continues to approach and that everyone is avoiding colds and such (I have not been so fortunate here and have been suffering from the flu/colds for the last month). I'm starting to get letters into the mail, and I expect everyone to write back! :)
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Pictures and address!
Hello everyone! Apologies for the shoddy looking picture post. I didn't format the pictures properly before loading them and I don't have an adequate connection to re-load them nor the time in which to do it. Below is a list of captions for the pictures from Left to Right.
- My bedroom at the Davis' house in Lower Questelles! It's beautiful and airy!
- The view from the roof of the Peace Corps office in New Montrose
- A wasp found on the 4-H walk that apparently doesn't sting. I'm not sure if this is because it truly lacks the equipment or if the child who was holding it had ripped its backside off. It later met an untimely demise in the form of a violent squashing.
- After walking for 2.5 hours, all the kids wanted to play with my camera. They wanted to take pictures of everything. Including me.
- My host brother, Joshua, and I in my room. We were playing guitar and chess. He can now play a mean Jingle Bells!
- All the Leeward PCTs from EC-82! We were participating in a consolidation meeting before heading to the beach!
- Some of the kids on the 4-H walk taking a rest at the very beginning of the walk. Joshua is at the very bottom and the wasp squisher is in the red shirt.
- The final two pictures were views from the walk. In both you can see the closest of the Grenadine islands, Bequia. It's also visible from my house in Questelles.
There will be more pictures and post soon! For now, let me leave you with my address for all those who might want to send me letters!
Christa Elliott
c/o Peace Corps
PO Box 884
Kingstown
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
West Indies
Saturday, September 11, 2010
"I saw the new volunteer and she's SO white!"
The above statement was made to my host mother by an undisclosed community member. I got a pretty good laugh out of it.
My sincerest apologies to everyone for not updating this in over a week. I promise to try to do better.
Life on St Vincent (heretofore referred to as SVG) is really everything I could possibly ask for in a Peace Corps experience. The weather is warm (sometimes a little too warm, but it is, after all, the hottest time of year) and there’s seldom rain even though it’s the rainy season. The rain that we do experience comes in short torrential bursts. This suits me perfectly as that’s my favorite variety. When there is a day of perpetual gloom and drizzle, the schools tend to close down and people are always late for everything. I believe that this is due to a fear of landslides, but I’m not entirely sure.
Training is, as always, a necessary evil, but overall the Peace Corps does a very good job of keeping us all engaged for hours on end. We’re receiving training on the Vincentian culture, safety and security measures, PACA, youth culture, the school system, and medical needs including a rather graphic demonstration of condom use. They also busied themselves with scaring us by showing videos of past Peace Corps Volunteers who returned from service HIV positive. As I have no intention of local romances (Chris, breathe a sigh of relief… not that you were worried) I feel quite secure in the knowledge that I don’t have to be mortified by the video, but the scare tactics certainly are powerful.
In addition to the training, we’ve begun going to the schools that we’ll be working at for the next two years twice a week. I’m working at the Clare Valley Primary School.
When I first arrived at the school, I couldn’t believe how few resources existed. Grades 1-3 are all in one large room with their classes separated by free-standing chalkboards. Aside from grades K and 6, there aren’t decorations on the walls and Grade 6 students are the only ones with individual desks. The classroom in which I will be teaching is the library. It hasn’t been used or cleaned in about a year and needs some major work.
After the initial, shock of it all, I began to get to know the teachers and was pleasantly surprised to be very impressed with all of them. The principle had told me that they’re very proud to have a staff that is 100% certified, and they really are all doing the very best they can with the resources at hand. Everyone was thrilled to have me there and for the potential help that I’ll be able to give, so I felt immediately welcomed and wanted. Even the library is proving to be a positive place. I’ve ripped out the destroyed carpet, swept about 5 pounds of sand and dirt off the floor, and started to organize the books. The little library actually has an incredible selection of children’s books with many books that have multiple copies. I am, however, having to weed out 30+ adult romance novels that somehow made their way into the room. I’m not sure what I’ll do with them all yet, but they certainly won’t be on the shelves when the kids start using the library.
One of the things that the Peace Corps emphasizes is making sure that your projects are sustainable so they can continue once you leave. Therefore, every project done has to have a counterpart within the organization. I am working with one of the grade 6 teachers and he’s fabulous. He’s incredibly supportive and very excited about the library. He has NO intention of letting the project go once it’s up and running. He also does the school choir and he’s asked me to help him with that and accompany the kids on guitar which will be a lot of fun. They participate in a Christmas competition of sorts with local schools to see who will perform at a larger celebration.
Today, I went with Joshua to his 4-H group meeting. Today’s activity was a walk. If any of you know the terrain of St Vincent you know there’s no such thing as a “walk.” Everything is a hike. We “walked” for about 2 hours and ended at the Park where people play football. The kids all played together and then my camera became the focus of activity for awhile. A lot of them go to school at Clare Valley, so it was good to see them all in another context.
The kids on SVG are all wonderful. They’re friendly and personable and immediately make sure to make you feel welcome. They all want to work with me, and when the 4-H director asked if I might want to occasionally help out with programs after I got settled and figured out if I might have the time, they were all beyond thrilled.
As I walk through the community every day, every child I pass greets me, “Miss, Miss! Hello!” It’s pretty adorable.
For all those dying to see pictures of my new home, many have been taken. I'm having to wait until I have a better internet connection to load them on here.
By the way. My phone number here is (784)533-2811
My sincerest apologies to everyone for not updating this in over a week. I promise to try to do better.
Life on St Vincent (heretofore referred to as SVG) is really everything I could possibly ask for in a Peace Corps experience. The weather is warm (sometimes a little too warm, but it is, after all, the hottest time of year) and there’s seldom rain even though it’s the rainy season. The rain that we do experience comes in short torrential bursts. This suits me perfectly as that’s my favorite variety. When there is a day of perpetual gloom and drizzle, the schools tend to close down and people are always late for everything. I believe that this is due to a fear of landslides, but I’m not entirely sure.
Training is, as always, a necessary evil, but overall the Peace Corps does a very good job of keeping us all engaged for hours on end. We’re receiving training on the Vincentian culture, safety and security measures, PACA, youth culture, the school system, and medical needs including a rather graphic demonstration of condom use. They also busied themselves with scaring us by showing videos of past Peace Corps Volunteers who returned from service HIV positive. As I have no intention of local romances (Chris, breathe a sigh of relief… not that you were worried) I feel quite secure in the knowledge that I don’t have to be mortified by the video, but the scare tactics certainly are powerful.
In addition to the training, we’ve begun going to the schools that we’ll be working at for the next two years twice a week. I’m working at the Clare Valley Primary School.
When I first arrived at the school, I couldn’t believe how few resources existed. Grades 1-3 are all in one large room with their classes separated by free-standing chalkboards. Aside from grades K and 6, there aren’t decorations on the walls and Grade 6 students are the only ones with individual desks. The classroom in which I will be teaching is the library. It hasn’t been used or cleaned in about a year and needs some major work.
After the initial, shock of it all, I began to get to know the teachers and was pleasantly surprised to be very impressed with all of them. The principle had told me that they’re very proud to have a staff that is 100% certified, and they really are all doing the very best they can with the resources at hand. Everyone was thrilled to have me there and for the potential help that I’ll be able to give, so I felt immediately welcomed and wanted. Even the library is proving to be a positive place. I’ve ripped out the destroyed carpet, swept about 5 pounds of sand and dirt off the floor, and started to organize the books. The little library actually has an incredible selection of children’s books with many books that have multiple copies. I am, however, having to weed out 30+ adult romance novels that somehow made their way into the room. I’m not sure what I’ll do with them all yet, but they certainly won’t be on the shelves when the kids start using the library.
One of the things that the Peace Corps emphasizes is making sure that your projects are sustainable so they can continue once you leave. Therefore, every project done has to have a counterpart within the organization. I am working with one of the grade 6 teachers and he’s fabulous. He’s incredibly supportive and very excited about the library. He has NO intention of letting the project go once it’s up and running. He also does the school choir and he’s asked me to help him with that and accompany the kids on guitar which will be a lot of fun. They participate in a Christmas competition of sorts with local schools to see who will perform at a larger celebration.
Today, I went with Joshua to his 4-H group meeting. Today’s activity was a walk. If any of you know the terrain of St Vincent you know there’s no such thing as a “walk.” Everything is a hike. We “walked” for about 2 hours and ended at the Park where people play football. The kids all played together and then my camera became the focus of activity for awhile. A lot of them go to school at Clare Valley, so it was good to see them all in another context.
The kids on SVG are all wonderful. They’re friendly and personable and immediately make sure to make you feel welcome. They all want to work with me, and when the 4-H director asked if I might want to occasionally help out with programs after I got settled and figured out if I might have the time, they were all beyond thrilled.
As I walk through the community every day, every child I pass greets me, “Miss, Miss! Hello!” It’s pretty adorable.
For all those dying to see pictures of my new home, many have been taken. I'm having to wait until I have a better internet connection to load them on here.
By the way. My phone number here is (784)533-2811
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
On the Island...
I have now arrived on St Vincent and have successfully moved in with my host family, the Davis'!
They're wonderfully nice and helpful. Mrs. Davis is insisting on doing all my laundry, although I did at first protest a bit. We were told that this might be the case, but that we should be prepared to do our own. The Peace Corps agreement with the host families states that the host family must provide a room with doors and windows capable of locking, a bed, and a bathroom with bathing facilities. Additionally, three meals a day are provided, including a prepared lunch.
When I came out of my room this morning, Mrs. Davis had already made me breakfast and packed me a lunch, both of which were sitting on the table. (Don't worry, mom, I thanked her profusely). She had been up since 3am. Mr Davis sells drinks, sandwiches, breadfruit, and codfish in Kingstown so she gets up at the crack of dawn to prepare the food. He used to work on a cruise ship, but was laid off a couple years ago. I guess that he got another job recently that he starts next week, so they both seem very excited about that.
There are two boys who live here as well. The oldest is Antonio who is 15 and the son of Mr and Mrs Davis. Joshua is their nephew and somewhere between 8 and 10. He was telling me that he wishes he didn't have to go back to school next week.
The house that I'm living in is beautiful. There are tile floors throughout the house and the entire front is lined by windows which look down over the hill ending at the black sand beach below with a view of the Grenadines. The house that I'll be moving into is two houses over, so I'll be retaining my view! :)
There's a little market right at the bottom of the hill which is also where the bus drops me off, so I don't have to worry about walking too far by myself. For the next 6 weeks, I'll be heading into Kingstown most days for training, but after that I'll be able to almost exclusively walk to work. It's just a little too far to walk to Kingstown, but the bus only costs $1.50EC, so it isn't any particular hardship. I typically will only have to pay this one way as Mr Davis is able to drive me in on his way to work most days.
Tomorrow we open our bank accounts. I currently have about $550EC floating around in my purse, so it will be nice to have a place for all that to go...
Tomorrow is also the day that we get our cell phones! We have to put down a $200 deposit which we'll get back at the end of the 2 years. I should be paying about $50EC/month for my phone plan, which isn't horrible. The best part of it is that incoming calls are free for me, so if anyone wants to use skype or the new gmail phone to call me on my cell here, you're more than able to! I'll make sure to post my new number.
Living down here is making me incredibly thankful for the genetic anomoly that has made me immune to bug bites. Most people are covered with swollen bites even while using repellant. I'm getting bitten, I suppose, but the bites don't itch or look like anything in particular. I am, however, continuing to sweat up a storm, so I suppose it's a tradeoff in some way.
They're wonderfully nice and helpful. Mrs. Davis is insisting on doing all my laundry, although I did at first protest a bit. We were told that this might be the case, but that we should be prepared to do our own. The Peace Corps agreement with the host families states that the host family must provide a room with doors and windows capable of locking, a bed, and a bathroom with bathing facilities. Additionally, three meals a day are provided, including a prepared lunch.
When I came out of my room this morning, Mrs. Davis had already made me breakfast and packed me a lunch, both of which were sitting on the table. (Don't worry, mom, I thanked her profusely). She had been up since 3am. Mr Davis sells drinks, sandwiches, breadfruit, and codfish in Kingstown so she gets up at the crack of dawn to prepare the food. He used to work on a cruise ship, but was laid off a couple years ago. I guess that he got another job recently that he starts next week, so they both seem very excited about that.
There are two boys who live here as well. The oldest is Antonio who is 15 and the son of Mr and Mrs Davis. Joshua is their nephew and somewhere between 8 and 10. He was telling me that he wishes he didn't have to go back to school next week.
The house that I'm living in is beautiful. There are tile floors throughout the house and the entire front is lined by windows which look down over the hill ending at the black sand beach below with a view of the Grenadines. The house that I'll be moving into is two houses over, so I'll be retaining my view! :)
There's a little market right at the bottom of the hill which is also where the bus drops me off, so I don't have to worry about walking too far by myself. For the next 6 weeks, I'll be heading into Kingstown most days for training, but after that I'll be able to almost exclusively walk to work. It's just a little too far to walk to Kingstown, but the bus only costs $1.50EC, so it isn't any particular hardship. I typically will only have to pay this one way as Mr Davis is able to drive me in on his way to work most days.
Tomorrow we open our bank accounts. I currently have about $550EC floating around in my purse, so it will be nice to have a place for all that to go...
Tomorrow is also the day that we get our cell phones! We have to put down a $200 deposit which we'll get back at the end of the 2 years. I should be paying about $50EC/month for my phone plan, which isn't horrible. The best part of it is that incoming calls are free for me, so if anyone wants to use skype or the new gmail phone to call me on my cell here, you're more than able to! I'll make sure to post my new number.
Living down here is making me incredibly thankful for the genetic anomoly that has made me immune to bug bites. Most people are covered with swollen bites even while using repellant. I'm getting bitten, I suppose, but the bites don't itch or look like anything in particular. I am, however, continuing to sweat up a storm, so I suppose it's a tradeoff in some way.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
The beginning...PST
Hello everyone! I hope you're all well and keeping cool in the late-August weather of the US. Being here this week has made me appreciate that sentiment more than I ever have before as the humidity level of the Caribbean is greater than anything I have ever experienced.
I want to make sure to keep everyone up to date on everything I'm doing, and it would be wonderful to be in constant communication with everyone, so if you'd like to know something about this whole experience that I don't touch on, I'd love it if you'd leave comments in the form of questions (or just comments in general) at the bottom of the post.
That being said, I've now been on St Lucia for five days, and it's wonderful. We're all staying in the botel Bel Jou in Castries. It's a British owned all inclusive hotel which explains why all the sockets are British (something almost no one was expecting). We've all been borrowing the few British adapters that people brought along with them to keep our laptops charged.
I've been making many friends, and the end of the week is going to be incredibly bittersweet. I'm very excited to make my way to St Vincent to see where I'll be living for the next 2 years, but I'll certainly miss the people who I've become good friends with who will be heading to St Kits and Nevis and Antigua.
Insofar as our training is concerned, I'm going to be in PST (pre-service training) until October when we'll all be sworn in as official Peace Corps volunteers. Our training thus far has been very comprehensive to say the least, and it's wonderful to have the wealth of information that the Peace Corps provides to us all in relation to cross-cultural integration. We've had sessions on health, safety and security, IT, meet and greets with other PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers), local food and it's preparations, what to expect in the community, drug and alcohol policies, and many others. Our trainers have been wonderfully honest about the risks that we may face. They aren't trying to sugarcoat the potential dangers and are making sure that we're all very aware of what we need to be on the lookout for socially.
Although none of us are going to be staying on St Lucia, the Peace Corps wanted us to be acquainted with Castries, so yesterday we were sent on a scavenger hunt throughout the city. The highlight was, of course, the little ice cream shop that we had to locate. There wasn't a single person who turned down the opportunity to have something cool to eat.
In addition to training, I've been eating very well. Every meal is full, diverse, delicious, and includes multiple desserts. Although obviously well out of the ordinary in relation to what the rest of the Peace Corps experience will entail, it's been really nice to experience the local foods prepared in this lavish setting. The only thing I haven't been a fan of was the okra, but Norma Jean, one of my fellow PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees) assured me that it was just because it had been boiled and was therefore slimey.
Aside from strictly Peace Corps activities, I have found people to play guitar with, which has been wonderful. I'm the only one who brought a guitar, but both Andrew and Camille play, so we've been happily pulling out the guitar in the evenings and playing away. Camille also happens to be a yoga instructor, so she's been holding yoga classes which have been wonderful. She taught us all an incredible back stretch: a derivation of child's pose. My entire back felt like it unzipped, and I think that I grew about 3 inches.
There is, as always, more to tell, but it's time that I began heading toward my delicious dinner buffet!
I want to make sure to keep everyone up to date on everything I'm doing, and it would be wonderful to be in constant communication with everyone, so if you'd like to know something about this whole experience that I don't touch on, I'd love it if you'd leave comments in the form of questions (or just comments in general) at the bottom of the post.
That being said, I've now been on St Lucia for five days, and it's wonderful. We're all staying in the botel Bel Jou in Castries. It's a British owned all inclusive hotel which explains why all the sockets are British (something almost no one was expecting). We've all been borrowing the few British adapters that people brought along with them to keep our laptops charged.
I've been making many friends, and the end of the week is going to be incredibly bittersweet. I'm very excited to make my way to St Vincent to see where I'll be living for the next 2 years, but I'll certainly miss the people who I've become good friends with who will be heading to St Kits and Nevis and Antigua.
Insofar as our training is concerned, I'm going to be in PST (pre-service training) until October when we'll all be sworn in as official Peace Corps volunteers. Our training thus far has been very comprehensive to say the least, and it's wonderful to have the wealth of information that the Peace Corps provides to us all in relation to cross-cultural integration. We've had sessions on health, safety and security, IT, meet and greets with other PCVs (Peace Corps Volunteers), local food and it's preparations, what to expect in the community, drug and alcohol policies, and many others. Our trainers have been wonderfully honest about the risks that we may face. They aren't trying to sugarcoat the potential dangers and are making sure that we're all very aware of what we need to be on the lookout for socially.
Although none of us are going to be staying on St Lucia, the Peace Corps wanted us to be acquainted with Castries, so yesterday we were sent on a scavenger hunt throughout the city. The highlight was, of course, the little ice cream shop that we had to locate. There wasn't a single person who turned down the opportunity to have something cool to eat.
In addition to training, I've been eating very well. Every meal is full, diverse, delicious, and includes multiple desserts. Although obviously well out of the ordinary in relation to what the rest of the Peace Corps experience will entail, it's been really nice to experience the local foods prepared in this lavish setting. The only thing I haven't been a fan of was the okra, but Norma Jean, one of my fellow PCTs (Peace Corps Trainees) assured me that it was just because it had been boiled and was therefore slimey.
Aside from strictly Peace Corps activities, I have found people to play guitar with, which has been wonderful. I'm the only one who brought a guitar, but both Andrew and Camille play, so we've been happily pulling out the guitar in the evenings and playing away. Camille also happens to be a yoga instructor, so she's been holding yoga classes which have been wonderful. She taught us all an incredible back stretch: a derivation of child's pose. My entire back felt like it unzipped, and I think that I grew about 3 inches.
There is, as always, more to tell, but it's time that I began heading toward my delicious dinner buffet!
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