tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-43231178221090857122024-03-18T20:16:01.306-07:00Black Sand and Turquoise WaterThis blog is a reflection of my views and is in no way a reflection of the views and opinions of the Peace Corps or the U.S. government.Christa61687http://www.blogger.com/profile/08717891263474462453noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323117822109085712.post-52962412478523251182011-05-01T22:54:00.001-07:002011-05-01T23:22:52.107-07:00A Brief Digression...Tonight there is only one thing on TV. Announcements and celebrations at the news of the death of Osama bin Laden. <br /><br />I've been watching all of this coverage with both fascination and sadness. Fascination with the passion that so many are exhibiting and sadness at the lack of humanity being displayed.<br /><br />When people are asked what they're celebrating, they respond that it is the death of bin Laden that has brought them out in such large numbers. Those of us with facebook accounts need only open our pages to see a newsfeed full of status updates glorifying and celebrating the taking of a human life.<br /><br />I'm not saying that bin Laden didn't do terrible things; he certainly did. He acted in ways that were atrocious and inhumane and his actions resulted in the death of thousands upon thousands of innocent people. Every one of these deaths has been a tragedy that needs to be mourned as a chair sits empty in the house of a family.<br /><br />However, through our celebration of the death of bin Laden, a man who has become demonized through his own actions around the world, we seem to have lost site of something important. <br /><br />bin Laden is a man. A human being. A life has ended, and no matter who that person is and what they did during life I feel that it's important to take a moment to recognize the passing of a spirit, a soul, an inner voice, however you personally label the little piece within all of us that makes us human. <br /><br />I may not agree with the choices that bin Laden made, what he stood for, and the way in which he chose to express himself, but I don't want to lose my own humanity to anger and hatred. Instead I choose to love. Not to love the actions taken by the man who has reigned over al-Qaeda with terror and violence, but to love this man as a member of the human race, someone else with whom I shared this brief blink of time as a human citizen of the world.<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.<br />~Martin Luther King Jr.<br /><br /><br /><br /></div>Christa61687http://www.blogger.com/profile/08717891263474462453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323117822109085712.post-56316770234368765522011-04-18T17:54:00.000-07:002011-04-18T19:15:53.354-07:00When you photograph people in colour you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in B&W, you photograph their souls! ~Ted GrantI figured it was about time for me to do some sort of picture update so all you lucky people can see just what I'm up to now that I'm on St Kitts (aside from making long swims and being bitten by centipedes that I keep, for some odd reason, referring to in conversation as scorpions...).<br /><br />I haven't taken pictures of my house yet, but I promise to include pictures of my apartment and the view from it (it's rather lovely) in my next post!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFxnTySZvoRY3JEb92UcjuNTShA9_QirgwJy8jD7Gw5uWyj1L0wtRXCn_4HLpry-SVOaSqk8XGE1-ODER44dfVfhPhxk0ATbXcRAVWTqw9YjYUfOBZ-2BX73dkBvRSLZn1IKRCSlkCvOQ/s1600/ballet+awards.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFxnTySZvoRY3JEb92UcjuNTShA9_QirgwJy8jD7Gw5uWyj1L0wtRXCn_4HLpry-SVOaSqk8XGE1-ODER44dfVfhPhxk0ATbXcRAVWTqw9YjYUfOBZ-2BX73dkBvRSLZn1IKRCSlkCvOQ/s320/ballet+awards.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597101880959824434" border="0" /></a>This is actually from St Vincent, but I realized no one had seen it! Before I left, I had to find a way to say goodbye to my ballet class. There seemed no better way than to have an awards ceremony for them! Each student received a certificate and four of them received special awards (trophies) for "Best Technique," "Most Improved," "Rising Star," and "Dedicated Dancer." I also loaded them up with candy and popsicles before sending them home to their parents. Naturally, I "accidentally" overbought both of these treats so I had some for myself as well...<br /></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XJ4RrlNYDtpwR7f57QYJV_4vtmAZmsxor1yhEmhbP0n45Hg1UyqsD_x-1bgDBhPHCO6nLKGxoqzZqaREPOJl0q9F8cPWTUSzoKqU8OPktFcSQUJQ_hKpYGMSmIm9D3xOPJU9ec0eqpw/s1600/certificates.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0XJ4RrlNYDtpwR7f57QYJV_4vtmAZmsxor1yhEmhbP0n45Hg1UyqsD_x-1bgDBhPHCO6nLKGxoqzZqaREPOJl0q9F8cPWTUSzoKqU8OPktFcSQUJQ_hKpYGMSmIm9D3xOPJU9ec0eqpw/s320/certificates.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597102788321420066" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">This is a close-up of the certificate. I made 15 of them. It took about 6 hours and resulted in the death of a few sharpies.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Now, on to St Kitts!<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHT0c2kV4n2zMUfitI_9eQa_Hj-BaHCmbexFb80ouXMdAYTWp7XKNXbMii9cGbsSsP6d6eCo6Jp_ij0oacYAXQbV2wT5lXYG1d514bvMIuqyzStDPXwpF4VbZ6KlVirv_zQGk2VaB0wiY/s1600/sandy+point+primary.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHT0c2kV4n2zMUfitI_9eQa_Hj-BaHCmbexFb80ouXMdAYTWp7XKNXbMii9cGbsSsP6d6eCo6Jp_ij0oacYAXQbV2wT5lXYG1d514bvMIuqyzStDPXwpF4VbZ6KlVirv_zQGk2VaB0wiY/s320/sandy+point+primary.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597105423006947490" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">This is the Sandy Point Primary School where I'm assisting with the utilization of the library. It was built in a few installments, and the result is a really lovely nearly enclosed structure that provides a great deal of security and a beautiful area for the kids to wander and play during break time. It also abuts the ocean which is often a concern given that erosion is a pretty big issue.<br /></div><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdtS6JcbStL312W8j5T-jsCcKxlZdLHhOQVG2d583dc6h4Q2vRLo9aQ1Me5Gky7qDT78u0IzrgcLDGQ849z-JLJbl5_4sTowoi8gDhKZ55wxEU70Ab8rXPmvb1aW8vPzlZocFAnGBjh0o/s1600/sp+library.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdtS6JcbStL312W8j5T-jsCcKxlZdLHhOQVG2d583dc6h4Q2vRLo9aQ1Me5Gky7qDT78u0IzrgcLDGQ849z-JLJbl5_4sTowoi8gDhKZ55wxEU70Ab8rXPmvb1aW8vPzlZocFAnGBjh0o/s320/sp+library.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597105427255668466" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Voila! My library! Well, not mine. I've been very firm on the fact that I want this space to be entirely student/teacher run. I've been creating check in/out notebooks for each grade so they can easily monitor their own borrowing. <br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">There are over 5000 books and they're already cataloged and organized, but I'm going to revamp the organizational system to make it a little more child friendly.<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_VlfIec-R3AYCcowSFDWaHuJNtkQTPdbgEvHbtlAVrCK6RUbXrhWIAgBSlNBb-LlMSM-gyhQpbuEkqmDKqAd6wSpbh7UJ89yOnNw8IFiH5gWcGvT87nmyrgo0-lzXMCUKX-URtISQh8/s1600/library+girls.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_VlfIec-R3AYCcowSFDWaHuJNtkQTPdbgEvHbtlAVrCK6RUbXrhWIAgBSlNBb-LlMSM-gyhQpbuEkqmDKqAd6wSpbh7UJ89yOnNw8IFiH5gWcGvT87nmyrgo0-lzXMCUKX-URtISQh8/s320/library+girls.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597103802656991106" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">These are some of my library girls. They come in during lunch and don't want to leave. Ever. I do appreciate them, though. They're usually full of questions and want to help me clean (a chore, you all may know, that is not my favorite). We have a vacuum cleaner in the library, and all the children vie for the opportunity to vacuum the rug during the last 10 minutes of lunch when I kick the majority of the kids out to facilitate student cleaning time. <br /></div><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8R_y1I8H7jUB99E_o1ip0ZjHqhm5TGkSq88foMBdfX_Fg4kVA-KSPjsoqJP0nKxbqnifavDyon-vNEra2W_LhcoHt_u1hATFjbx43MvKALleK0I3YezeHHGmWr9VqRwJw214apMMYutc/s1600/me+in+the+library.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8R_y1I8H7jUB99E_o1ip0ZjHqhm5TGkSq88foMBdfX_Fg4kVA-KSPjsoqJP0nKxbqnifavDyon-vNEra2W_LhcoHt_u1hATFjbx43MvKALleK0I3YezeHHGmWr9VqRwJw214apMMYutc/s320/me+in+the+library.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597105417391243650" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">My camera is a popular obsession when it makes an appearance (rarely) during lunch time. The kids insisted that they be allowed to take my picture, and this was the result. I look pretty bedraggled because they had all been playing in my hair for the last half hour. I have decided to allow this once a month because they get such a kick out of it. They're also <span style="font-weight: bold;">convinced</span> that I do something special aside from washing it to make it grow so long.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzkd1wrANjEG0zCr0vabJaSfgOjFhNUROjRzDIq0V95PxeZSrrC3SbtkEPi3NUWZrgfTDafWlhOpqky3fiOZvqFg3QVzx6ICSANBlzRh9a8J9BpXE6gh3SiNsNBmbwYUdDiRwcFjsxk4/s1600/frustration.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtzkd1wrANjEG0zCr0vabJaSfgOjFhNUROjRzDIq0V95PxeZSrrC3SbtkEPi3NUWZrgfTDafWlhOpqky3fiOZvqFg3QVzx6ICSANBlzRh9a8J9BpXE6gh3SiNsNBmbwYUdDiRwcFjsxk4/s320/frustration.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597103786333180322" border="0" /></a>This is how I feel after lunch has finished on especially busy library days. It can get overwhelming. There are days I'll have over 50 kids in the small space. I need an assistant.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Special Education School<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;">In addition to working at the Sandy Point Primary School, I'm working in the Special Education School with the classroom of Autistic students. They range in age from 9-15, so it can be quite a challenge.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdOQeKJcsUZcXSBZpPGIveWJBakbM24QSEFwP-UF18Z97w9X5_vNC3OOrSkXHZ7CYdIuN6sYPwFXk5b-c8vx3W5ZNfkuUBOqOxw1CWIU0pWb42b7GNl5v9SUSGh5-pG1d09YJUsFjFjBc/s1600/khadel.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdOQeKJcsUZcXSBZpPGIveWJBakbM24QSEFwP-UF18Z97w9X5_vNC3OOrSkXHZ7CYdIuN6sYPwFXk5b-c8vx3W5ZNfkuUBOqOxw1CWIU0pWb42b7GNl5v9SUSGh5-pG1d09YJUsFjFjBc/s320/khadel.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597103790448710754" border="0" /></a>This is Khadel. He's nine. I'm going to be working with him more than the others because he simply needs more one on one time than the others and there is only one teacher, Miss Audaine, and one aide for the classroom of five boys. Coming from a program where there were more adults than children in the class, this is a novel experience.<br /></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWW9bImmdwkB00Ds1Hk2oJme8Zi6WdEUJq7yoVM6a1zx-AEgZ7AgmtLweIwWIWTHpyFLo9E_P7kLV1RmKWUMUMLSEphiPt8we2mTnt624IEhCB3zqjBWPATwUSxdwZBP7Dzeqiuxw-fOQ/s1600/khadel+roar.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWW9bImmdwkB00Ds1Hk2oJme8Zi6WdEUJq7yoVM6a1zx-AEgZ7AgmtLweIwWIWTHpyFLo9E_P7kLV1RmKWUMUMLSEphiPt8we2mTnt624IEhCB3zqjBWPATwUSxdwZBP7Dzeqiuxw-fOQ/s320/khadel+roar.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597103796334984994" border="0" /></a>And this is how we play!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">My New Nephew!<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;">Now, don't worry. Neither Rachael or Craig have done anything silly. My new nephew isn't even human. His name is Beau and he's the puppy of my friend Natalie (another PCV). He's basically my pride and joy and I would like nothing better than to steal him from her but she has made it very clear that she will be quite displeased if I do this.<br /><br /><br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuz3WBRo1iF_n3Nm_ielBVSlmP5CNqxZyJx6ZRSZBdgl5knQyxfz9GZkLO9ru6hmSlWfrKEAbkdYinxtxKkatlQIhLhpKgGycn6NxXSfWTxm_6sq1HN1wtAloqLRknT6pxO884XxVZOuo/s1600/DSC04260.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuz3WBRo1iF_n3Nm_ielBVSlmP5CNqxZyJx6ZRSZBdgl5knQyxfz9GZkLO9ru6hmSlWfrKEAbkdYinxtxKkatlQIhLhpKgGycn6NxXSfWTxm_6sq1HN1wtAloqLRknT6pxO884XxVZOuo/s320/DSC04260.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597102790185171906" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Beau's first bath at just 4 weeks old! He wasn't much of a fan.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgPWz7sXzzyweNReuglkYZkbV61KZe533PfUgBQwZzNe4ikIlEVSIWa_N9zdoYlLaBgvkMrmHWdzaea00DZRhjPRciFuynilOurKMMHJShyyhyphenhyphen1nmWX8lz_ALLrx5rjLj-7BOi5_hlQGE/s1600/nat+and+beau.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgPWz7sXzzyweNReuglkYZkbV61KZe533PfUgBQwZzNe4ikIlEVSIWa_N9zdoYlLaBgvkMrmHWdzaea00DZRhjPRciFuynilOurKMMHJShyyhyphenhyphen1nmWX8lz_ALLrx5rjLj-7BOi5_hlQGE/s320/nat+and+beau.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597105421541568178" border="0" /></a>After the bath...all wrapped up in a towel. Isn't she such a good momma!<br /><br /><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikjpx1f_5z-PuUnMyunr-vvCyCb3uqYrBDIK0v1BS-cLOtGTSee-_olDD-DZ0vm76IaECddWIJnz8W0CYh416usws8693yk0Sp7l_4kefbwCoaRbb6YaorZMI4_JEUuefMTwq8WQySfcc/s1600/beau+on+the+ferry.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikjpx1f_5z-PuUnMyunr-vvCyCb3uqYrBDIK0v1BS-cLOtGTSee-_olDD-DZ0vm76IaECddWIJnz8W0CYh416usws8693yk0Sp7l_4kefbwCoaRbb6YaorZMI4_JEUuefMTwq8WQySfcc/s320/beau+on+the+ferry.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597102777247756002" border="0" /></a>Beau's first ferry ride to Nevis. He rides the vans, takes the ferry, and would probably come to the movies too if he were allowed. I'm sure you'll all be getting frequent picture updates of his growth! Sigh...I'm in love...<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">FOOD!!<br /><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixqdAQn6xygo_JfPzG-ilFQAm8XRQclPBEbecEU0U52spXSilosY5SiaXIAoe_sSia-WP5Zr4w6_yulTVUVcZebXBma_jtNMiDic8c0DhHem5VAZpiOZUX2Iho_9NFzwpbv1KGv55T1KE/s1600/DSC04291.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixqdAQn6xygo_JfPzG-ilFQAm8XRQclPBEbecEU0U52spXSilosY5SiaXIAoe_sSia-WP5Zr4w6_yulTVUVcZebXBma_jtNMiDic8c0DhHem5VAZpiOZUX2Iho_9NFzwpbv1KGv55T1KE/s320/DSC04291.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597102795989073522" border="0" /></a>I made this pizza. You should all be incredibly jealous. If you ask me really nicely and help provide some of the ingredients I might be good enough to make you one sometime, too. But only if you ask really nicely.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />That's all for now! I hope you enjoy!<br /><br /><br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><br /></div></div></div>Christa61687http://www.blogger.com/profile/08717891263474462453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323117822109085712.post-58612307122409881622011-03-27T17:20:00.000-07:002011-03-27T18:13:59.707-07:00There's Nothing Like An Early Morning SwimEvery year at the end of March for the last nine years there has been a race taking place in St Kitts and Nevis. It's called the StarMile 2.5 and involves swimming from Nevis across the 2.5 mile channel to Cockleshell beach on St Kitts.<br /><br />I first heard about this race when I arrived on island and was reading a magazine. It sounded like a lot of fun, but as often happens with things like this I talked to a couple people about it and promptly forgot until last week when I suddenly realized that the end of March was upon us and that meant the race was coming up!<br /><br />Natalie, one of the PCVs, had agreed to sign up with me and I soon found out that another volunteer, Maggie, would be swimming as well. Everything was going without a hitch until this morning when Natalie and I had to figure out how we were going to get to Cockleshell.<br /><br />Let me tell you a little about St Kitts...<br /><br />The island looks like a cricket bat with the thicker body of the island and a peninsula. The main area is where most native Kittitians live. It's very easy to get around with bus services running anywhere you would want to go. The peninsula is primarily made up of ex-pats and vacation areas. The buses don't go there, making it very hard for those of us who either don't have cars or, per Peace Corps policy, are not allowed to drive. Cockleshell Beach is essentially at the tip of the peninsula.<br /><br />In order to get over to Nevis where the race began, we had to get to the ferry at Cockleshell at 6:30am. I'll give you a play by play of how the morning went:<br /><br />4am: My alarm goes off. I'm very confused as to why there is a jarring noise in my bedroom. I finally figure out why I'm awake in the dark and pull myself out of bed.<br /><br />4:10am: I sit down on my couch to check my e-mail to see if anyone who I e-mailed had gotten back to me about lifts to the beach. They hadn't.<br /><br />4:15am: There is a horrible pain in my hip. I look down and see a centipede biting me and jump screaming from the couch. Centipedes are horrible and look like aliens. See below-<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsj5iq8zG-Ld0QGZPmMjgX3HefyjTZITV5_Fli1iOuTBc5d99qZd0p466Ai-0SHmwpz5QfHrpPOX7lU83eyX7fm2j55dJI_wjDi6_dPBAPdO2x1wbZ9BdHsA6cOfwn_X-aiS5uFowlfGw/s1600/scolopendraalternans1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsj5iq8zG-Ld0QGZPmMjgX3HefyjTZITV5_Fli1iOuTBc5d99qZd0p466Ai-0SHmwpz5QfHrpPOX7lU83eyX7fm2j55dJI_wjDi6_dPBAPdO2x1wbZ9BdHsA6cOfwn_X-aiS5uFowlfGw/s320/scolopendraalternans1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5588924002953819442" border="0" /></a><br />4:16am: The centipede has disappeared. I cannot find it. I begin walking everywhere with a heavy shoe.<br /><br />4:20am: I walk into the living room and see the centipede squirming along the floor. I smash it with a sneaker. It seems to be in the process of succumbing to its injuries, so I leave it and continue going about my business.<br /><br />4:25am: I walk back into the living room to see that the centipede has recovered and is wandering about. I smash it 7 more times to make sure it's dead. I don't want to touch it. I leave it for the ants.<br /><br />4:30am: I call Natalie and tell her that I'm going to head over to her house so we can come up with our game plan.<br /><br />4:45am: I get a lift to Natalie's house when Adams, a police officer who does the Peace Corps police presentations during training, sees me waiting for the bus.<br /><br />5:15am: Natalie and I start walking and hoping for a bus. There are none in sight.<br /><br />5:45am: We have walked all the way to Ross University. There are still no buses. I start to panic. We stop to ask the security guard at the entrance if he might be able to call us a taxi. Before he can, luck finally finds us and we catch a bus.<br /><br />5:55am: The bus drops us off in town. We start searching for taxis. Naturally, we can't find one because we need one. If we hadn't, 15 of them would have passed by already.<br /><br />6:05am: I'm about to cry. I want to race and there doesn't seem any way we're going to get there.<br /><br />6:07am: FINALLY! A TAXI! It's going the wrong way, however. I flag it down and he says he'll come back for us after he drops his passengers off.<br /><br />6:13am: The taxi's back. We explain what we're doing and where we're going and that we have to be there in 17 minutes. I tell him to drive as fast as possible. He essentially tells me he'll drive as fast as is safe. Who ever heard of responsible driving? psh.<br /><br />6:30am: We arrived at the beach! Right on time! Success! There is, however, no sign of the boat. Plenty of other people are waiting.<br /><br />7:00am: The boat finally shows up to take us all across.<br /><br />8:00am: RACE TIME!!<br /><br />So yes. That was the morning leading up to the goal. The race started a little late, 8:20 or so, and we barreled into the Caribbean Sea with over 100 other swimmers all in yellow or orange swim caps (a good way to keep track of everyone). I wore yellow, which means I was registered as an open, or unassisted, swimmer. Orange meant assisted swimmers, aka those using fins.<br /><br />The current was incredibly strong. It pulled us all far to the right and added a significant distance to the swim.<br /><br />The swim itself was fairly uneventful. There were some white caps in the center of the channel, but nothing that was insurmountable. The kayakers did a great job watching out for everyone and providing assistance and water to those who wanted it, and it was pretty easy to follow other swimmers so as not to get lost.<br /><br />When I was within about 45 minutes of the shore, I started to see some interesting things on the bottom. there were brightly colored fish, starfish, coral, and, most exciting, a 3 foot ray!<br /><br />The hardest part of the entire swim was the end. I could clearly see the beach and everyone on it about half an hour before I was there. The current was so strong that it was very hard to make any headway against it, and you had to fight not to be pulled backward.<br /><br />When my feet finally hit the ground, I almost couldn't stand up. I couldn't quite seem to remember how to walk, but I had to make it to the arch that signified the end to check in my time. Unfortunately for my legs, as soon as everyone got to the arch, cameras and a microphone were shoved in your face and you had to tell everyone your name and such. I was not excited, but then a smiling 10 year old put a medal over my head, so I decided that it was alright.<br /><br />We were given t-shirts, fed, and then there was a "beach bash" where the winners were announced. Natalie and I didn't stay for the entire thing opting, instead, to catch a lift with a group of 3 Ross students who had been kayaking. After the morning's fiasco, we certainly couldn't pass up a driver's generosity!<br /><br />So, I survived a 2.5 mile ocean swim, a centipede attack, and am only minimally physically exhausted at this point.<br /><br />I can't wait to do it all again next year!<br /><br /><br />PS. Easter is coming up. If anyone wants to send me Easter candy, I would love you forever. Specifically I would like Peeps. and chocolate. <br /><br />My new address is to the left of the post!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-xE0FWxII3nDK9pDNY2ZNd5rXugPF-uY_jN-FUhInS_tzMb_Nvq3cusqOien_CUA4hgJu4rg9rBF8QJCv7uaVqSIjWS2bK8za2DQhwh9vRIcItf3UEuc7sydNv_ExwF2mzF_V9Z9j3T8/s1600/scolopendraalternans1.jpg"><br /></a>Christa61687http://www.blogger.com/profile/08717891263474462453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323117822109085712.post-19293597153891066372011-03-16T06:08:00.001-07:002011-03-16T06:53:11.374-07:00The Adventure Continues with a Change in VenueHello to you all!<br /><br />I know it's been an inexcusable length of time since I last wrote here but, to be perfectly honest, I was having to work through a lot of things that simply permeated my mind and I didn't think they were appropriate to write about for the whole internet to see.<br /><br />Many of you already know about what's been going on in relation to my Peace Corps experience, but I know many of you don't, so before I explain where I am and why I'm where I am now, I figure I should at least give a brief explanation.<br /><br />At the end of December, I had a pretty terrible safety incident in my apartment on St Vincent. I won't go into detail here, but please feel free to e-mail me or whatnot if you want to know specifics.<br /><br />Due to the traumatic nature of the event, I simply no longer felt safe on the island that I have called home for the last six months and a couple weeks ago, I finally made the decision that I needed to move to another country for my own peace of mind and in the interest of preserving my mental health.<br /><br />That's the very short story of how I've now ended up on the island of St Kitts. The full name of the country is St Christopher and Nevis, but it's rare to see "Christopher" written out as "Kitts" has become the standard abbreviation. It's a country made up of two islands, and they look remarkably like a baseball and bat.<br /><br />The trip here wasn't without some delay and drama in and of itself. Liat (it's jokingly said that the letters stand for "Leave Island Any time") is notorious for having things go wrong and is, unfortunately, a necessary evil when traveling in the Eastern Caribbean.<br /><br />My journey began on Monday, the 7 of March, with a 5am taxi ride to the airport. I boarded my plane on time at 7am and, according to my itinerary, should have landed on St Kitts at 10:45am after stopovers in St Lucia and Antigua (you also can never get a direct flight within the Caribbean).<br /><br />After landing on St Lucia, we were forced to go through security again, but fortunately most of my plane from St Vincent was slated to travel together on the same plane to continue on to their destinations so, although this caused a slight delay, the flight was held for us.<br /><br />Once everyone was through security, we were told we could go out to prepare to board the plane. We were all standing waiting outside, when we were told that we would have to go back into the waiting area due to "technical difficulties." We weren't told what these were, just that they existed, so with a lot of grumbling, we all headed back into the lounge. Within 20 minutes, we were told that things had been taken care of and we were once again outside waiting to board the prop plane that would take us to our various destinations.<br /><br />We boarded without a hitch. I stuffed my large carry on items into the overhead compartments and sat with my "single serving friend" who was on his way to Puerto Rico to board the cruise ship that he works on. The plane began to taxi to the runway and the engines were being revved for takeoff when the flight attendant suddenly went running up the aisle to talk to the pilot. The right engine was leaking copious amounts of fuel and had somehow gone undetected until people looked out the window...<br /><br />Needless to say, they didn't take off and kill us but instead we were sent back, once again, to the lounge. By this time it was obvious that we were all missing our connections in Antigua and would have to be rerouted and rescheduled. I ended up not getting to Antigua until after 1pm and there wasn't a flight to St Kitts from there until 7:45 pm...so my 3.5 hour day of travel was increased by 10 hours and I missed my own welcome party that the volunteers had planned.<br /><br />On the plus side, I have an utterly wonderful apartment here. I even have amenities such as hot water, a microwave, a blender, cable, internet, water, and electricity included in the rent, and a/c (although I don't use it because I'd have to pay extra if I wanted to). I have a spare bedroom as well, so if you're thinking about visiting the Caribbean...<br /><br />And I suppose that you're all wondering what I'll be doing in relation to work. Or maybe you aren't in which case you can just stop reading now. I'll be working in at least two locations. One will be the Sandy Point Primary School where I'll be in charge of the library and the other is the Special Education School where I'll be working with the classroom of autistic students! I'm especially exited about the latter.<br /><br />I haven't yet visited the Special Education School, but I've been to Sandy Point a few times now and it's really a nice school. They have a wonderful faculty who all seem very knowledgeable and they even have a full time reading specialist on staff who works with students one on one who are falling behind in reading. The library has a/c and the school also has a computer room (although the computers aren't all set up). The school day is longer here: 8:30-3:30 as opposed to 9-3 on St Vincent. I'll make sure to take some pictures in the next couple days to show you all!<br /><br />Anyway...That's where I am and what I'm up to. I'm feeling safe and secure here and will hopefully be able to finish out the next year and a half of my Peace Corps service without a hitch.<br />I hope you're all well at home as Spring approaches!Christa61687http://www.blogger.com/profile/08717891263474462453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323117822109085712.post-53021555749339013482010-12-26T15:53:00.000-08:002010-12-26T22:42:15.388-08:00Vincy Christmas!Yes yes. I know. I haven't posted anything in a month.<br /><br />I hope everyone had an incredible Christmas and has fun plans brewing for the New Year!<br /><br />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!<br /><br />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!<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx6RSDH9lJRW7sV3XsWYKUKLWr0mE6NjMeg10-d4KX9jicm7jOH_cDol0490uo-u9rYcd64pJcl3ZjUv_XJew' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br />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!<br /><br />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.<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dykKoSqo3hEE9Lj-sce_4WyrDGylyB99skfcjZkUPfha-hpQwBCW0RUjAWfxoFXhZqOsHdEFxTWEn0JBqcmZQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dynnLmyEi4DiFf3OIoYynsE9tFveVD4LPc1Ly4c9Q952Yph4PlBmIHklxJ_QRnTS4qIldu92JI82fTC-AMiAA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />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.<br /><br />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...)Christa61687http://www.blogger.com/profile/08717891263474462453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323117822109085712.post-75847037319064882232010-11-28T18:19:00.000-08:002010-11-29T14:04:45.072-08:00Shall we dance?<div>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxiCfiZQvrdsV1_Hq8-KVZuqSQOnRRNGziRREzBN_6jZMpU_OMdWiWqQjaXYvS0FiDiB1nz1dD8aRVkgGeGhg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />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!<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxxlGEYXVNSkWJ-hHB1JB3GJfLdf4aDPsX1dsApKttMPcKxPbAzuNrj4q8dB5tCwz_scJqST70sJLzo1KsXzw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />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!<br /><br /><br /></div>Christa61687http://www.blogger.com/profile/08717891263474462453noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323117822109085712.post-62806184920684693912010-11-08T13:58:00.000-08:002010-11-08T14:26:13.380-08:00A Beautiful DayAfter 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.<br /><br />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:<br /><br />Me: What's your dogs name?<br />Makenna: Rosie<br />Me: What a good name! So she's a girl?<br />Makenna: Yes, and she's made puppies before, but they all died.<br />Me: How did they die?<br />Makenna: Well there were four. One died of starvation, two died because of other dogs, and my brother sat on one and it exploded.<br />Me: It explosed!?!?!?<br />Makenna: Yes. He's very fat.<br /><br />She tells great stories.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Every child chose to have the book read to them except one: Marco. <br /><br />"I'd like to try to read it," he said to me.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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!"<br /><br />She then thanked me for helping with all the kids and we all headed home.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />I can't wait for tomorrow!Christa61687http://www.blogger.com/profile/08717891263474462453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323117822109085712.post-85277273145414814922010-10-26T14:30:00.000-07:002010-10-26T20:30:35.417-07:00Vincy Independance!!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeO2eiC1gX7YRutiwuYsT2FXIFwEsixa0-0iJHol9rYw7QBGIne1WunC67MkKC3Zzp2WBawjCZ_FAcMhEXVhEx2YRwto6REmn0uxnxVDxfQXgrbLWWnIir_T9W69k7E7lP-zPrsx4rrIY/s1600/St_+Vincent+Flag.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeO2eiC1gX7YRutiwuYsT2FXIFwEsixa0-0iJHol9rYw7QBGIne1WunC67MkKC3Zzp2WBawjCZ_FAcMhEXVhEx2YRwto6REmn0uxnxVDxfQXgrbLWWnIir_T9W69k7E7lP-zPrsx4rrIY/s320/St_+Vincent+Flag.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5532471844689748546" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br />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.<br /><br />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!<br /><br />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!<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dznGiNIKZRKEAd8uHyeWNCZePc8OzI_5Clq3K2IqLmEpYHlGIjzU8g5d5dRDQVTNEPKLAl3gNKq_1C6xZhw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyjGmZRmmiPeROc6vX3g3v8xc99G7smeYO0D8WZOszOFjVzLPj5B07z6UNoIE8-DEhVQWY2HW3pz5Fz3Y9C1g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br />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.<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzftrL3kfFfkjRceeKF987wWccpclL10dp7-QDEWGb8IfxKlsnjordCiPk5_iW9XQgiVvfXTNgQfXN0Jnu_NA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />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!<br /><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyQnLXdvDr63mq0CnhF9_UdN5Xar1VzqpN6qceH16ML6PoOfWad1Eay8P5BxiUFNXIXo8-LX05tcU2KqY5kLA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyLBph7L_zBLM1i2uD62lDtZSdp8mPB6LwTiU9pp_BadL9abrCONQZzaP0Z4-mMxpIsd-6ep7tWy7IS625I' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />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.<br /> <br /> <br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyksWsXNA7smOlB46OzUA8AvRMw6qPRTfnkdOyZkllrFUojmTuKI8bXoyjAu3PaEFpOVuHZyYORql6GRdRceQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />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!<br /> <br /> <br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzQBl_NxvkSrMHZR6pXzYD0ib-1Bybr9_aoQTSyBMi-iZTeuD6jpzW-G7jc_oxw1Q7UXvxcw75AlM5kLhCRkA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />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!<br /> <br /> I hope everyone is well at home!Christa61687http://www.blogger.com/profile/08717891263474462453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323117822109085712.post-111746704658616732010-10-18T08:40:00.000-07:002010-10-18T09:15:25.578-07:00It'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.<br /><br />There are only two days left until my group, EC-82 swears in as <strong>official Peace Corps Volunteers</strong>. 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?<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />And this brings me to the next big news in my life in the Peace Corps: I now live in my own apartment!<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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! <br /><br />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! :)Christa61687http://www.blogger.com/profile/08717891263474462453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323117822109085712.post-43000289125501625022010-09-15T09:28:00.000-07:002010-09-20T17:24:41.325-07:00Pictures and address!<p align="center"><br /><br /><br />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. </p><p align="center"> </p><ol><li><div align="left">My bedroom at the Davis' house in Lower Questelles! It's beautiful and airy!</div></li><li><div align="left">The view from the roof of the Peace Corps office in New Montrose </div></li><li><div align="left">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.</div></li><li><div align="left">After walking for 2.5 hours, all the kids wanted to play with my camera. They wanted to take pictures of everything. Including me.</div></li><li><div align="left">My host brother, Joshua, and I in my room. We were playing guitar and chess. He can now play a mean Jingle Bells!</div></li><li><div align="left">All the Leeward PCTs from EC-82! We were participating in a consolidation meeting before heading to the beach!</div></li><li><div align="left">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.</div></li><li><div align="left">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.</div></li></ol><p align="left"> </p><p align="left">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!</p><p align="left"> </p><p align="center">Christa Elliott</p><p align="center">c/o Peace Corps</p><p align="center">PO Box 884</p><p align="center">Kingstown</p><p align="center">Saint Vincent and the Grenadines</p><p align="center">West Indies<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ8tnGw0dl9yfudW3M0aNRIOLi6CSy2XrHnTtr6ITxFYsVhE2_lzTzd0mYnDLrahCYLKdZQTpfezrjRRyYcZcoIx8ZkM1nxNr9VeB0gzVeNaTFMezfNxMpg5KdXDRugwNTbrFLiYvrk0Y/s1600/DSC02880.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 240px; FLOAT: left; HEIGHT: 320px; CURSOR: pointer" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5517185220379097346" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ8tnGw0dl9yfudW3M0aNRIOLi6CSy2XrHnTtr6ITxFYsVhE2_lzTzd0mYnDLrahCYLKdZQTpfezrjRRyYcZcoIx8ZkM1nxNr9VeB0gzVeNaTFMezfNxMpg5KdXDRugwNTbrFLiYvrk0Y/s320/DSC02880.JPG" /></a></p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr0olHYW89IGzjuEocK13F36omR1LEzaPKEqhmFgY1cDC1pm7oa42c4CJw6RLPQRJmo1m33myB1EDlG3j8Nx8-BqE9LNnzWpjp8vTrrRSgsU17nF-QRynWy4Pf3gGJWWzF2EZOAG5bG9E/s1600/DSC02935.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; 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I got a pretty good laugh out of it.<br /><br />My sincerest apologies to everyone for not updating this in over a week. I promise to try to do better.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />As I walk through the community every day, every child I pass greets me, “Miss, Miss! Hello!” It’s pretty adorable.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />By the way. My phone number here is (784)533-2811Christa61687http://www.blogger.com/profile/08717891263474462453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323117822109085712.post-1438257328708092622010-08-31T14:32:00.000-07:002010-08-31T14:55:48.606-07:00On the Island...I have now arrived on St Vincent and have successfully moved in with my host family, the Davis'!<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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! :)<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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...<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.Christa61687http://www.blogger.com/profile/08717891263474462453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4323117822109085712.post-10223039074889349152010-08-28T15:23:00.000-07:002010-08-28T15:54:28.421-07:00The beginning...PSTHello 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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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. <br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />There is, as always, more to tell, but it's time that I began heading toward my delicious dinner buffet!Christa61687http://www.blogger.com/profile/08717891263474462453noreply@blogger.com2