"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