This blog topic is a bit delayed, but for those of you not aware, Hurricane Tomas hit St. Vincent on October 30th. It was a category one storm, but seemed to catch everyone off guard. The storm came fast and unexpectedly as it started in the mid-Atlantic on Friday and had made it past Barbados to St. Vincent and St. Lucia by Saturday afternoon. Furthermore, St. Vincent is below the hurricane belt and is usually spared from direct hits. My neighbor is in her 70s and this was her only experience with a direct hit from a hurricane. Friday morning many people were still in town attending to their weekend market shopping, ignoring the early warnings. However, when the Prime Minister made a stern announcement about the impending storm, people responded and got to safety. Despite, it's minimal category one status, the storm gave the island a significant beating. Much of that was due to the duration of the storm. The storm came on the island during the early afternoon hours of Saturday and did not leave until the early morning hours of Sunday. I thought the storm would only last a few hours, but once it found St. Vincent and it's neighboring island, St. Lucia, it refused to go away.

St. Lucia took the worst of the winds as well as the northern part of St. Vincent. Thankfully, there were no deaths in St. Vincent, but approximately 1000 people had to take shelter in the schools, because their galvanized roofs blew off during the high winds. Sadly, St. Lucia experienced much more building damage and loss of life.

During the start of the storm, I made the choice not to remain in my seaside home. At first, I had planned to wait it out at home, but as the storm approached, my anxiety and loneliness led me to make the wise choice of contacting my home stay family and my host dad immediately came for me. The lights and water were gone by 3 in the afternoon and it would have been a dark, lonely, and hungry night had it not been for their hospitality. I even got my old bedroom for the night!

Furthermore, during the middle of the storm, my neighbors called to report that "the breadfruit tree dropped on your house." And truly it had. I returned the next morning to find a very old, fully grown breadfruit tree, uprooted from the neighbor's lot and lying on my home. Thankfully the cement wall took much of the weight, but there was some sustained damage to the roof. Thankfully, no water damage and the home is livable, as I patiently wait for the repairs.

I must give credit to St. Vincent as the cleanup was incredibly efficient. The very next morning, men were quickly going through the community, repairing damaged roofs and cutting down trees. The government fixed most of the water and electrical lines rather quickly, my electricity was turned back on by Sunday evening. Had to wait four days for the water, but that is understandable as the damaged pipes were located deep in the mountainous terrain and the debris from the storm had to be cleared in order to access the pipes for the repairs. Unfortunately, I had only set aside four bottles of clean water before the storm, but yet again, I survived due to the generosity of Vincentians willing to share their supply with me. I suppose I had only calculated for safe drinking water, neglecting the fact that the water would be completely off and I would need water for cooking and cleaning and definitely more than four bottles for drinking. Thankfully, I have good neighbors willing to share and I took plenty of salt water baths in the sea.

Hurricane Tomas was an experience, to say the least, but I hope I don't see another one, worse yet anything greater than a category one. That was awful enough. Sadly, it is a force of nature that the Caribbean islands have to contend with on a yearly basis.

These photos are from the inside/outside of my home as well as the yard. A few changes have occurred since I took some of these photos. First, my decorating and crafting 'skills' have taken over and the place looks more like me. But most dramatically Hurricane Tomas came through and rearranged a few trees in my yard. I love my little house on the sea. It reminds me of a small lakeside cottage, my dream home. :)

There will be more pictures to come of my school and other parts of the island...

My beautiful backyard and ocean view

Kitchen

Living room

My adorable house

my nightly view of the sunset

Lately, I have not had the motivation to write anything. (Obviously, as the last post was in September. So for those of my friends and family that still check this...thank you). The trouble with writing a blog about living in a new place is that eventually the novelty wears off and everything becomes 'normal.' Therefore, it is a challenge to find anything interesting to write about. I will work on a new topic for the next post, but in place of a written blog I will do some photo blogs. The first few photos are views of my community and home, Barrouallie (Baga).

Wallilabou Falls, my running destination

Keartons, a community within Barrouallie where I lived with my host stay

View of the sea as you leave Baga heading towards Peter's Hope (another community within Baga)

Kearton's Hill

An old style board house on the sea

View of Baga from Kearton's Hill on the north end

View of Barrouallie as you drive in on the south side

I have recently returned to St. Vincent after a brief trip to the states in August. I had returned to the states unexpectedly as my grandmother passed away in July and I was afforded the opportunity to attend her funeral and say my goodbyes. She was 93 years old and thankfully had lived a long and fulfilling life. Although, it was sad to see her pass she was very reassuring about her time to leave this earth and her lack of regrets. My grandmother was an extraordinary woman. She was strong, opininated, generous and at times quite stubborn. I will always look up to her for her leadership, love for family, and of course her impeccable taste in clothes. Rest in peace grandma, I love you and miss you!

Being back in the states was not as strange as I thought it might be. And returning to St. Vincent also felt very normal. I think that is the advantage of the Peace Corps' two year commitment. Your country assignment becomes your home. Consequently, going back and forth between what was your everyday home and what is your home does not seem odd. However, I thought it would be a nice opportunity to reflect on some of the noticeable differences between my two homes. The first observation I noticed when I got off the plane in America, was all the available toilets and amenities. It is incredible. In the airport bathroom there were approximately 20 toilets to choose from, all which had toilet paper, and soap in the dispensers! Bathrooms are a bit more of a challenge to come by in St. Vincent. And when you do find one they are often limited in space and supplies. But you make do and it helps that I am a rather resourceful gal.

The weather, of course, was noticeable as well. I had previously been known to say that the summer heat in the states was, at times, suffocating and unbearable with all the blacktop and large buildings trapping the heat. And as a result, at times, it could possibly feel even hotter in the US than in the southern tip of the West Indies. I was wrong. It is much hotter in St. Vincent! The suffocating feeling I had always noticed back home was due to walking in and out of air conditioning. Here, you are always hot and just get used to it. Instead of air conditioning you simply seek shaded areas. Now, this assessment is based solely on my trip through Kentucky and Michigan. Not necessarily the hottest states around; consequently, some of my friends in warmer areas may disagree with my opinon on the matter. However, when I was in the states I heard many complaints about the unbearable high heat and humidity. I, on the other hand, felt a sense of relief. I could wear my hair down and hardly broke a sweat. In SVG, I sweat while lying perfectly still and reading...in front of a fan. You just get used to the sweat though. It rarely bothers me anymore. And it's nothing a quick shower or jump in the sea can't cure.

I have also noticed that in SVG, there are signifcantly less rules and regulations than in the US. Laws are limited and not strictly enforced, unless they become a real problem. Most of the 'rules' come from social stigmas that people either choose to acknowledge and respect or choose to ignore and do what they want. In St. Vincent you are responsible for yourself. No one is going to display numerous signs to warn you about falling off the cliff or the dangers of swimming in certain areas. If you choose to make those mistakes you have to deal with the consequences. Plus you can walk around carrying cutlasses (similar to a machete) without being considered armed and dangerous. (Although, don't think that I wasn't a little alarmed when I first saw a custlass wielding individual walking down the Leeward Highway). Finally, with the laid back sense of rules, you don't have to ask permission all the time. I really enjoy this about St. Vincent.

I definitely enjoyed my time at home in the states. I enjoyed driving a car again. Running on flat ground. Eating at McDonalds. Not having to take three showers a day. Spending time at my forever home. Unlimited merchandise selection and affordable prices at the stores. Access to a washing machine. And of course seeing all my friends and family who I miss dearly and think about everyday that I am gone. But it also felt good to return to St. Vincent. I loved the familiar Vincy smell I noticed coming off the plane. And returning to my Vincy home with a friendly wave, smile, and a welcome home from my neighbors. Particularly the welcome gesture that came in the form of a plate of fried breadfruit. If there is one thing I hope to learn during my time in St. Vincent, it is the friendly regards towards neighbors. When I am cleaning my yard, neighbors come with their cutlasses to help. When I am cooking food, they come to partake. People constantly ask me if I am lonely and want company. (Although, with this request, one must be careful. If a child asks, they just want to come over and play. If an adult male asks this same question, they usually have an ulterior motive about the type of company they hope to provide). Returning to St. Vincent was wonderful, because just as when I returned to the states, it felt as though I had never left.

It is time to write about Vincy Mas! As previously noted, Vincy Mas take months of preparations as well as weeks of regular events and a four day holiday weekend of intense carnival celebration. It is not for the weary.

On Friday, the weekend started with Soca Monarch. A musical concert / competition to determine the song that will represent the year's festivities. All of the artists are from St. Vincent and their songs are played continuously on the radio leading up to carnival. This year's winner was Skinny Fabulous with Charge Up http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=078o1ynon00 . I was personally hoping for Madzart with King Road http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHTb8jPgNHY . You have to listen to how and when 'king' is repeated in the song to catch the vulgar nature of the song. I found it to be rather creative. Plus an excellent song to 'jump up' to when dancing in the street.

Sunday night / Monday morning was J'Ouvert. This I initially thought would be my favorite. However, it was not . For J'Ouvert you arrive in town between 12 and 2 am. proceed to be covered in paint and then drink lots of alcohol and 'jump up' to soca music throughout the morning hours. (As you will notice, the basic, ongoing 'jump up' theme of carnival is large trucks with large speakers driving around the town's main 5 block radius, over and over again. Everyone follows the trucks drinking heavily and dancing, particularly a Caribbean style of dancing referred to as whining). J'Ouvert lasts until about 9 in the morning. However, no mattered how hard I tried, I could not get excited enough to party and dance in the middle of the night. I preferred sleep. Although, I did enjoy my view from the sidelines with a drink in one hand and some friends next to me watching the debauchery take place.

After J'Ouvert you go home, sleep for about 3 hours, bathe, and then prepare for the street dance party. The street party is host to the t-shirt bands. Basically, local companies sponsor a soca artist as well as a large truck with large speakers for music. You select and purchase the t-shirt, according to the band you plan to party with, prior to the day's event. You then proceed to spend the night dancing and whining behind a large truck with large speakers. I really enjoyed myself during this jump-up. The mood and energy was unbeatable and despite feeling exhausted you still somehow feel compelled to dance and join in on the excitement. It helped that the event started at about 5 in the evening and went until late at night. Again, in my mind, this is a much more appropriate time to party.

On Tuesday, Mardi Gras took place. I loved Mardi Gras! There are numerous Mardi Gras bands with different themes that determine their costume designs. The bands spend a large part of the year designing and creating these elaborate costumes. They are incredible. This year, my favorite was a Michel Jackson tribute. Each of the 10 costumes were designed based on a Micheal Jackson song. Each of the Mardi Gras bands have many participants and they parade around town, following a large truck with large speakers, from early morning to night fall. How the participants manage to maintain their energy, I will never know, but I do believe the St. Vincent Strong Rum has something to do with it.

Carnival was a lot of fun, but by the end of the weekend I was tired and exhausted. Furthermore, Barrouallie's rural carnival took place the following weekend and I was entirely too burnt out to attend. However, that did not stop the Barrouallie J'Ouvert music truck from crawling by my house for an hour at 5:30 in the morning. And amazingly enough there was a huge crowd with the truck! The Vincentians never cease to amaze me with the little amount of sleep they can go on and their ability to outlast any party.

An important thing to remember when living on a Caribbean island is that nothing, and I mean nothing will be open on Sundays. There are very few public vans providing transportation, and if you have to get somewhere important, such as the hospital you will probably have to wait a couple hours. So this time table requires some preparation and planning ahead. Something I am not always great at. First and foremost, though you must ensure that you have all the necessities, as the stores will be closed and the owners will most likely be at church for most of the day. These necessities include such things as food, alcohol, and toilet paper. Today, I made a mistake. I forgot toilet paper. Forget that the supply was running low and that I needed to purchase some yesterday (Saturday) when the stores were open. Furthermore, I attended a wharf party last night and spent my only remaining $15 on beer. There are no ATMs available to me, no credit/debit card machines. When one is out of money, you must get to town in order to get more money. Getting to town costs $4. I hope to dig out $4 in change from around the house. Not so confident I can find any more money for the toilet paper. Such is life in SVG.

One of the reasons I was looking forward to my Caribbean placement was the festive culture that exists throughout the Caribbean. Prior to Peace Corps, I had never been to the Caribbean, but I had always heard that the people of the Caribbean know how to enjoy life and how to celebrate it. My assumption was correct.

There are a lot of regular festivities and holidays that take place and are celebrated in and throughout St. Vincent. It is often said that 'Vincentians love their holidays.' For instance, during a recent referendum election, the Prime Minister even offered to grant an additional public holiday if the referendum was successful. To the disappointment of many, it was not successful; however, there were plenty more holidays to look forward to. Holidays are a wonderful time to go to the beach and relax. I must admit though that as a fast-paced American it took me a minute to learn to appreciate them. During a designated holiday public transportation is non-existent and no businesses are open. In the states I only had to worry about this predicament on Christmas and Thanksgiving. And even then you could find something open, especially come afternoon hours. That is not the case here. In SVG, when it is a holiday, you better learn to do nothing and enjoy yourself. I am happy to report that I have learned to love the quiet of the town and the joy of relaxing with truly nothing to do during a holiday.

The many local festivals are also enjoyable. Here in my community, there are quite a few regular festivals/parties. About once a month, the local beer company comes in and sponsor a wharf party with a tent for beer and loud, very loud music for dancing. Vendors station themselves with food and plenty alcohol for sale. I have yet to determine how and when these wharf events are scheduled as people here seem to always just know. I.myself, usually find out when I hear the music.

There is also a popular Black Fish Festival. As I have mentioned Barrouallie is a fishing village, primarily engaged in the hunting of of porpoise and pilot whale, known locally as Black Fish. The fish festival used to be a regular occurrence and would attract people from throughout the country as well as tourists. Unfortunately due to the recent economic troubles the festival had not occurred for almost a year. Thankfully, however, a few weekends back the fish fest made a comeback. And it was wonderful, as it seemed everyone from Barrouallie was there eating fish, drinking beer, and dancing at the bay side. And I tried the black fish for the first time (when in Rome.) I do not like porpoise, but I must admit, I did enjoy the black fish.

During the Christmas season there is plenty food and celebration to be had. Christmas is very meaningful to most Vincentians as the country has an incredibly high percentage of Christian believers. Presents are given, but not nearly to the extent as in the US. Primarily, people seem to just love the holiday. Furthermore, St. Vincent boasts of the 9 mornings festivals, which are isolated to St. Vincent alone. During the 9 mornings before Christmas eve, (and by morning, I am talking about 3:00 to 4:00 AM), people start gathering in the center of the local communities to celebrate. There is some drinking that occurs, but primarily people dance and sing to celebrate the upcoming Christmas holiday. I made it to one this year. I was on school holiday during all 9 mornings, but was only able to drag myself out of be at 3:00 in the morning one time. The rest of the 8 mornings I slept peacefully, regrettably ignoring the alarm.

The biggest festival of all is the St. Vincent Carnival known as Vincy Mas. This takes place in early August. It previously took place during the Easter season, to celebrate the harvest, but the dates were changed due to the time competing with Trinidad's Carnival. Reportedly St. Vincent's Carnival is second only to Trinidad (although, I think all the Eastern Caribbean nations may feel that way). I have yet to attend Carnival as this July will be my first, and I am confident that you can expect a blog and pictures at that time. Furthermore, the preparations and excitement have already begun. This includes not only costume preparations, but also additional festivities. The launch took place at the capital along with a party truck driving around the island the day prior and the day of the launch. The party truck is large with even larger speakers attached, slowly driving around the island and attracting revelers along the way. People were walking, dancing and drinking with the truck as it crawled down the highway, holding up any vans or cars along the way. Furthermore, all the local communities have smaller Carnival activities as they prepare for the big day in July. All of this means I will be broke and hungover by the end of my Caribbean summer.

Yesterday was a disappointing day. I discovered that my grade 5 students would not be returning to primary school next year, in order to complete grade 6. Instead they will be immediately placed into secondary school, due to their age. I work with 16 boys in grade 5, 11 are now 13 years old and are considered too old to return to primary school.

Now, mind you, they want to remain at the primary level. They want to learn and complete grade 6 before entering secondary school. They do not feel prepared and they are nervous about being able to function at the secondary level. It is necessary and wonderful for government to provide every student an opportunity to attend secondary school, but where is the preparation to ensure success? These challenges are what leads students to dropping out of school.

I wish I had known about this academic plan earlier in the school year. I have grown attached to these children and had based my curriculum on the thought that I had two years to work with them and teach them the skills they need. And, I enjoy working with these children, when I go to work, I look forward to seeing them.

I had to start with the basics in my curriculum for the grade 5 students and now I worry that I haven't rushed them enough. For instance, yesterday the students had to take an oral exam as part of their achievement test for secondary school placement. I had not practiced this type of passage reading/comprehension testing with them, because I did not know they would have to complete it so soon. The last few weeks I have been working with grade 6 and having them read passages for me in order to prepare them for their exams, but I was not aware that grade 5 was going to require this same preparation.

When I expressed my surprise, everyone thought I already knew or that someone else had told me this would occur. To the students and teachers, it is common knowledge that if a child is held back too many times, the child will eventually be expected to skip grades. It makes no sense to me and I am so upset for my children. These are not lazy children, who don't care about school, as so often they get represented. They care, they want to learn, and they want to be successful.

I have only two more months with them in the classroom. Consequently, I will also be providing evening/summer lessons for them to further prepare them. And as a demonstration of their dedication, when I told the children about offering evening lessons, every single one stated that that they would and wanted to attend. Not one of them grumbled about having to spend extra time in school, they want to learn. I just hope that despite my minimal skills, I will be able to help them learn.

*As you probably noticed the academic system is different here than in the states. It is much more similar to the UK version. The children initially attend primary school, which is K-6th grade. Then they take the CSEC, which is the examination for secondary placement. Secondary school consists of forms 1 thru 4, which is 7th thru 10th grade in America. St. Vincent's secondary school program was previously not available to all students. They had to receive a certain score on the achievement test and then there were a great deal of costs associated with attending the public secondary school, which many could not afford. Now, due to the 'education revolution' every child is given an opportunity to attend secondary school. However, not all children (as noted above) have been prepared for the secondary school environment. Previously, (when secondary school was not mandated for all students) they offered grades 7 thru 8th to help children that had not been academically successful in primary school. At the end of 8th grade they were able to re-take the CSEC to attempt secondary placement.

After form four, the children attend community college for two years (aka 11th and 12th grade). Only the students that have met past academic success attend the community college. And the costs increase significantly, including transportation as there is only one community college on the entire island. I am happy to see the steps that have been taken to increase educational opportunities and availability to all Vincentian children. Furthermore, I look forward to seeing this increase as well as the concerns expressed by the students and teachers addressed.

Tonight has not been a good night. I am plagued with an earache that is incredibly painful. And as a result, I have only been able to sleep a total of 15 minutes, the entire night. It's hard to lay down as the pressure in my ear hurts worse in that position. Consequently, I have overdosed on pain killers as well as numerous cups of hot tea and rum to sooth the pain, all while attempting to put myself to sleep. However, all attempts have been unsuccessful. So instead I started thinking, and in an attempt to avoid the thoughts that were truly plaguing me, I listened. Listened to all the sounds around me and thought of all the sounds I hear regularly in my new home.

There are so many sounds to familiarize myself with in my new community and country. The first and most lovely are the sounds of the ocean shore. I live on the Leeward side of the island; consequently, I have the gentle Caribbean Sea to swim in, admire, and listen to. On the Windward side exists the raging Atlantic Ocean. Beautiful to see and hear, incredibly dangerous to swim in. But for me, every night as I drift off to sleep, I listen to the soft waves as they repeatedly come ashore. It's peaceful, tranquil, and lovely.

Then there is the chorus of chickens, dogs, and cats every night, all night. The roosters don't crow just during the morning hours, as this city girl once thought. No, they crow all day and night and there are plenty wondering by my home. There are also plenty street dogs roaming day and night. And they are not afraid to wake the entire neighborhood when an unsuspecting person or dog happens to wonder close to their territory. And I don't even want to mention the howling and hissing that takes place when any of these domestic species are in heat

Next to my house is an empty plot of land being utilized as a sort of a community garden space. Included in this space is a breadfruit tree. When the breadfruit drops, it sounds similar to a pumpkin falling from a tree. (Or if it falls late at night, my imagination can go in all sorts of directions as to what that noise could possibly be. Somehow, the noise always sounds unfamiliar at 2 am.) A breadfruit is a staple in SVG. It can be roasted or fried and is most often served with fish. The fruit is very starchy and actually does resemble bread in many ways. At first I was not a fan. However, recently my neighbor fried some breadfruit and served it with tuna. Now, I think I love breadfruit!

Horns honk continuously here. The roads are windy and narrow. Consequently, cars, trucks, and vans need to communicate their whereabouts. Furthermore, it makes up a complex communication system, which I have yet to determine. While walking I often have to ponder, was that honk a warning that if I don't get out of the road, the vehicle will run me over? Was that honk a warm and simple hello? Or was that honk meant for someone else entirely? I am usually unclear as to the exact message the horn intended to send.

Then there is the music. Music which is all around and most often played very loudly. Most of the music played here is either Soca (fast) or Reggae (slow). Here is a selection of some of my favorites:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeILEAFnMlM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmZ9y97uRFE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMvKxmei6K0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJZscYzc6uc

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhT_e6D3DeA

My work here in St. Vincent is primarily based at a local primary school (grades K-6). There are actually two primary schools in my community and I have been assigned to the Anglican Primary School (aka Top school, because it is located at the top of the hill). But I also spend time at the Government Primary School (Bottom school/New school, because it is located at the bottom of the hill). All of the school names are interchangeable. And both are public schools, despite what the name may allude to. Anyway, my focus at these schools is literacy.

I think it is important at this point, to address the fact that I know nothing about literacy, except that I know how to read and at one point in my life I was taught how to read. But part of the Peace Corps experience is being flexible and I am really good at faking something until I figure it out.

Literacy education is desperately needed here in St. Vincent. I am working with some children who are unable to recognize the letters of the alphabet, nonetheless the sounds of the letters. I have other children who are incredibly bright in other areas, but continue to lack educational success, because they are unable to read. There are a lot of road blocks for the children on their road to reading in the Caribbean. Primarily, the significant difference between spoken dialect and written, standard English. It is as though they are learning to read a second language. I completely understand their struggles as I still experience difficulty when someone is speaking dialect. I usually only gather a few words from the speech. I can not imagine speaking/understanding dialect and then entering school and being expected to learn to read/decipher works I have never previously heard nor spoken.

I have been spending a significant amount of time with grade 5. For some reason this particular class of students are significantly behind the other students in the school. There are a total of 16 children assigned to me from this class and I work with them in small groups on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays. On Monday I work with the lowest achieving students to re-teach basic literacy skills from Kindergarten and first grade. I enjoy this small group, because it is so satisfactory to witness them learn a new skill or letter. They are accustomed to being made fun of for not being able to read and they get so excited about being able to grasp the knowledge. Most of my students appear to struggle with undiagnosed learning disabilities and my main goal has been to teach them that they are not "dumb" or "lazy" as they have sometimes been told. But rather to teach them that they are capable of learning. Consequently, I try to utilize alternative teaching methods that will help them succeed. Some days I chose successful teaching methods and some days my methods fail miserably. The other days my lesson plans are partnered with the children's primary teacher. I teach the same reading skills, but in small groups and using alternate teaching methods.

I also work with grade 6 to help prepare the children for their upcoming Common Entrance Exam, which will determine their secondary school assignment. I do a lot of passage reading and reading comprehension to further advance their skills. When I am not with a classroom, I spend most of my time in the library. A relatively new library, but incredibly small library. A book donation is very much needed and something I will probably be contacting some more of you about in the near future. (Thanks to Sarah, Steph, Gen, and Staci who have already started on this project).

I volunteer additional time at the Bottom school as well, where I am assigned to grade 1 and 2. This is exhausting work as they are small, hyper children, but much easier to plan an prepare for as they are not as far behind from their counterparts. I particularly enjoy this assignment as I get to work with my host mom, Mrs. Fraser, who teaches grade 1.

I am co-facilitating a literacy club at the Top School with children from grade 1 and 2. I love this club. It is usually chaotic, but the children are always so excited to attend. Although, they appear a bit confused about the club as they often ask me when we are having the next 'Bible Club.' We don't read from the Bible or discuss church topics, but I guess to them there are a lot of similarities.

After school time is often an interesting time period for me to manage. First, I am a person who loves 'me' time and quiet time. And I don't like it being interrupted. I love coming home, relaxing with a book, or a DVD television episode, while having a cup of tea (or let's be honest, a cocktail) and just be by myself. However, the children in my neighborhood seem to think this is a terrible idea and like to disrupt me at all possible moments. Sometimes I smile, most time I grumble about this. Consequently, I have been making attempt to structure this time of day. I try to invite all of the regular children on certain days of the week to tutor and let them play in the backyard and kindly tell them to leave me alone on the other days. It is slowly working. And if all else fails, I close the window shades, lock the doors, and hide.

Recently, I have been involved with some other temporary programs. I coached the spellers at the Zone spelling bee. (This was ironic as I am an awful speller, but the kids did great and came in second place!) I judged the public speaking competition at the Government school and assisted with the top school's Reading Extravaganza. Usually its referred to as Hats off to Reading and the children make decorative hats, but the Literacy Teacher wanted to try something new so I suggested the students and teachers decorate their classrooms according to a children's book theme. It ended up being a great success and the creativity of the staff and students was astounding!

So that summarizes my work days. The hours are much better than when I was working 10-12 hour work days at the O. The days are also productive with plenty of down time. It's just perfect! And although it is incredibly tiresome to teach students, they are starting to grow on me. I have also been getting involved with some of the local organizations and will update as those opportunities as they progress.

Oh and happy belated St. Patty's day! Was so sad to miss all of the festivities.

Where to start? I intended to begin this months ago. There were so many opportunities to do so; When I applied for Peace Corps, when I was accepted to PC, as I prepared to leave for the PC, or when I finally arrived in the Caribbean. Yet, it never happened. Instead, I procrastinated. Hard to imagine from me, right?

So now here I am, six months into my 26 month service. Living in St. Vincent and the Grenadines (a small Eastern Caribbean island nation, just north of Grenada) and I am finally initiating my blog, secretively at this time. I will tell the others later.

Plenty has happened in a short six months. There has been much to see and experience. Too much to write about, but would like to at least attempt to document some of it. Enough of it, at least, so that in a few years, I will still have the memories and my friends and family can get an account of my life here. (that is when I finally decide to share this).

I arrived in the Caribbean in late August. Landed in St. Lucia and spent a week at a small, adorable Catholic resort. Had to learn to live without cigarettes and alcohol for an entire week! Well not exactly, I was eventually able to score some matches and wine from the nuns. Consequently, it was a lovely time and not entirely like rehab.

I then flew to St. Vincent, my new home. Got off the plane feeling nervous and scared. I loved the island immediately. But wasn't sure what my experience would be. I was introduced to the volunteers already here, told a little about what to expect, and was then left waiting for my host family to appear and whisk me away.

My host family was nice and their home was beautiful. They welcomed me into their home immediately. However, that first night I simply unpacked my bags, closed my bedroom door, and proceeded to cry. And cry. What had I done? Had I made the right choice? Could I really live in this new, unknown place for the next TWO years? Be away from my family, friends, and everything I knew? That night I decided to just sleep and figure out the answer to these questions later.

I spent the next week learning to ride the vans (very scary) and how to find my way home. The first night of training, I stayed out drinking beers with my new friends, rode the van home later than anticipated, and had to beg the driver for help finding my new home. (the driver is still a good friend of mine so this event was not totally in vain). My friends had even harder times finding their new homes. The dark nights come early in St. Vincent and navigation in the dark, on a new island can be challenging.

However, during that following week, with the support of my new/old friends and my determination, I decided that I could live here. I would live here. I would figure out how to make this work. And I would have fun in the process.

Fast forward six months and here I am. Much more comfortable in my surroundings. No longer living with a host family. (As nice as they are, it is a challenge being a 29 year old child. I acted like I was 16 again, lying about where I was going. Making excuses for staying out late. And chewing gum before I got home from drinking too many St. Vincent Strong Rum and cokes.) But I was able within those two months at my host stay to quit smoking. A habit that I usually enjoyed when under stress or as an added social prop. Good timing as well, because I need all my lung capacity as possible to manage these hills, either walking to work or jogging in the mornings. Actually too early in the morning. 5:30 AM has not and will never be an hour that I look forward to. However, any time after that is too hot. Not to mention too many people around. People sometimes just stare and watch the crazy white girl running down the road, it is uncomfortable. I feel the same when people ask to take their picture with me or yell out their sexual plans for me. I have decided to pretend that I am a minor celebrity and embrace the staring, the comments, and taking pictures with strangers!

I am now living in a tiny house on the Caribbean Sea in the town of Barrouallie. A two bedroom cottage, my vacation house, as I like to refer to it. I have a gorgeous garden and a gate directly to the ocean. Barrouallie is nestled in the valley. A fishing village that specializes in Black Fish, (aka pilot whales) and dolphins, (and not dolphin fish, but actual porpoise). The smell is....well potent. It's obvious when a whale has been caught, chopped, and smoked. It has a familiar smell of...burning animal feces. Best description I can come up with, and I think you get the idea.

Everyday I recognize my luck and blessings to be here. I watch the sail ships go by. People paying lots of money to be here. And here I am, at home. My new home. Children at the school often ask me if the people on the yachts are my family. (the yachters are usually white as well so, it all makes sense that they could be my family, I suppose). However, I know that the riches I am gaining from St. Vincent and my experiences here far exceed any riches on the yachts.