Observations

Hey All!
After hearing my sister's story about the difficulty she had at the post office when trying to send me a package...I realized not many people know about St. Kitts. So I thought I'd take a min to fill you in a bit.

Lets start with the scenery. Its a little island that you can travel around in about an hour. It is shaped kind of like a chicken leg. The bottom part(where your hand would be if you were eating the chicken leg properly) is the tourist area where there are the "good" beaches, the turtle reserve, and the triathlon course. The capital, Basseterre, is at the base of where the meat starts on the chicken leg. The villages are mostly on the coast, all pretty much off the main road. Yes, it really is called the main road. It is the road that goes around the country, sort of follows the coast. Now, you might think that as a main road its busy. Well, its a relative term. Some people drive, but most people just rely on busses.
Let me take a little break and tell you about the busses. All busses have their names on the front, so they are hard to miss. The bus drivers are (mostly)courteous and if you are a regular, will wait for you if you are a min late and will drop you off without you requesting a stop. Now, there are regular bus stops mostly you need to ask locals b/c they are not marked). There are busses that go up and down the west coast and busses that go up and down he east coast. There are a few, rare, busses that go all the way around. Which can be annoying when your friend lives 2 bus stops past where the busses turn around and you have to go all the way around to get there.
Back to the scenery. There are black sand beaches on the west coast and white sand beaches on he east coast. At the ends of the island you'll find beaches that have layers of both! To note: on Antigua there is a pink beach. The beach is covered in very fine pink shells! In the inside of the island there is a North West Range and a South East Range of mountains. In the North West there is Mt. Liamuiga (Mt. Misery) and Merchild's Mountain. You need a guide to go, but the view is supposed to be spectacular. There is also a lake into he middle of Mt. Liamuiga. Pretty cool. In the plains and the mountains (any fertile soil) there is sugar cane. It will be interesting to see what happens to the sugar cane. Last year the sugar cane industry was closed. So the sugar cane grew on its own. But now that it will not be chopped, I am curious to see what the plains will look like. I asked the locals, but, as they have never known the land without sugar cane, they are just as curious. Throughout the island there are many gorgeous plants. All different colors and styles of leaves and flowers. But not as many trees with fruit as in St. Lucia. We were told that there are hill farms. AKA The villagers have fruit trees up in the hills. Once upon a time the land was owned by plantation owners. They owned all the land, even the mountain where they did not grow sugar cane. So, when the villagers harvested their fruits, they had to give part to the estate/plantation owners. The trees still grow, and the villagers use the produce for food and for profit.
The people: The people are very nice. Everyone says hi and you have a much smaller chance of getting cat calls and hissing than you did in St. Lucia. By this I mean that when a male is interested in a female, he tries to talk to her. He does not just hiss (kind of synonymous with whistling at someone in the States) Interestingly, people get offended if you do not say hi. So in the morning you say, "good morning" to everyone. In the afternoon you say, "good day," in the evening you say, "good evening" and at night you say, "good night." TO EVERYONE. You even do it when you enter a store or anywhere that you see people.
New ways to speak:
We've heard some interesting phrases, here's a little sampling:
"want to have a sweat" do you want to play (a sport)
"liming" hang out
"are you ok?" how are you
"why you at?" where are you/what are you doing
"yeah yeah" uh huh...as in "it went in one ear and out the other."
"just now" they say it to mean in a minute, but it really means, you're going to be waiting for a while

The people here speak English, but they speak very fast and with accents. So it often sounds like a foreign language. There are no language classes to learn "rapid Caribbean" so we have to just practice. A big test is to try and have a conversation with someone on the bus. Tried, and had no idea what the woman said. All I caught was hello, good day, and bye. Guess I need to practice a bit more.

Phase 2 of Training

Hi All!
Yesterday started phase 2 of training. For this phase we do some training all together and some training in our community, pretty much on our own. Yesterday we were all together in Basseterre. We went on a medical scavenger hunt and found all the necessary/possibly necessary medical resources. Also went to the hospital. Interestingly, you had to be buzzed into the Emergency room, but the rest of the hospital was open air. After a few lectures we met our host families. I have a host mom, Diane, for a week and then I'm getting an new family. This week I live in Newton Ground. It is a small village on the northwest coast of the island. It is msotly residental, with jsut a day care and school. For all other services you have to go to either St. Paul or Sandy Point, the two closest villages. St. Paul is about 3 miles continuing north and Sandy Point is about 3 miles going south. Next week I will be in Sandy Point. Sandy Point is the second largest town in the country. It was the center of tobacco trade in the 1600s still has a big tobacco warehouse from that time!

Did a community walk of Sandy Point today to map out the important buidings in my future home. Met a lot of people, mostly teachers, police, and nurses. There is a temporary hospital because the old hospital has to be rebuilt. But, as with anything in the Caribbean, there is no time frame on the plans and I might be a grandma before that happens. So, really, if you have a problem you go to the temporary hospital or the health center. If it is bad you get shipped off to the hospital in Basseterre. There is a very nice day care for babies birth to 3. Then there is a government preschool for 3-5 year old children, a primary school that runs k-6, and a secondary school that goes until 12th grade. Most graduate at 16 or 17.

This afternoon we are off to a funeral for a well known doctor. Should be interesting to see. Apparently is a full country event.

St Kitts!

Hi All!
Made it to St. Kitts!
Man, the PC seems to love to have us leave the country in the middle of the night! Yes..for thsi flight we had to get up at 3am!!! Well, by 5 we were on the way to the airport. Actually, it was a beautiful drive though the country. We saw the sun rise over the water, over the plains, and over the mountains. Very cool. Also cool is the fact that at the airport the check in and the waiting room are outisde! We didn't have to go in to the building until we were called for boarding. You go in and go to customs (all flights are to another country) and then security, and then you go to the gate and board the plane. Just a bit different than from home! We flew to Antigua and had a bit of delay. well, there was only one restaurant in the airport- and since it was now noon and we'd been up since 3, we were hungry...Had a processed sandwich woithout bread...and hot sauce as a condiment. Note to all of you: while it supposedly has gorgeous resorts with all the ebst of everything, don't eat at the airport...its not very inpressive. A few bottles of water alter, we board the plane for a 25 min flight to st. Kitts...on which I was told there was not enough time to get something to drink! Thank goodness Harvey packed water bottles in his checked baggage!

Well, let me tell you. While not as fertile as St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis are beautiful!!! So green! With only a few villages on the coast. Just for a bit of reference...The high school in Sandy Point serves 1/2 the island and it is pretty much the size of Wilson School (sorry for all you no Westfielders), in other words, it is quite small. When we got there we were met by some of the current Peace Corps Volunteers. Didn't get to talk much, but they seem pretty cool. We were then wisked off to th hostel we stayed at for the weekend.

It was quite nice to spend the weekend together. We met our trainers and then went on a tour of the capital, Basseterre (pronounced Baster). We went to Warner Park where we had a tour of the stadium where the 2007 Cricket World Cup will be held. It was very cool. We even got to stand on the main field!!!Then we walked down to the police station where we met with the detectives for some more safety and security talks. Don't worry, St. Kitts is very safe! After we walked past independence square and down to the waterfront. Here you can catch a boat to Nevis or a bus to anywhere in St. Kitts. After our tour our trainers left us to sleep...Yes, it was Sat night and we'd been up since Fri am!!!

On Sunday we went on a tour of the south part of the island. We saw the area of Frigate Bay...which is the tourism center as it has hotels and resorts and really pretty beaches. We then went down the tail where we passed a turtle reserve, some ship wrecks, and the Great Salt Pond (think salt with a little water. Yes, anyone could float in it, although no one goes in!) This area, the southeast peninsula, hosts a triathalon in October. The bike route is supposedly one of the best in the world. We traveled down to the tip and went to Cockelshell Bay (the part of St. Kitts closest to Nevis)and then onto Banana Bay. At Banana Bay there is the ruins of a resort. The shells of the buildings are there, and nothing else. The beach is public. There are no squatters, and apparently no plans to rebuild. It was very cool- kids were jumping off the roof of a cabana into the water. The water was beautiful! Crysital clear all the way to Nevis! The water got dark about 200 feet out, but not rocks or reefs, jsut sea plants. Which held lots of waterfoul. So glad we brought our goggles!

We had a bbq on the beach which was really fun. We also went for a walk and got some pretty conch shells- they are everywhere! To give an idea of how hot the sun is: we gfot there at about 11:30 and the water was warm, but refreshing. After our bbq we all went back in and honestly, it felt like bath water. You had to swim "half way to Nevis" before the water was a comfortable temperature! After our trip to the beach we thought it would be fun to go out to dinner b/c there are some nice restaurants in Basseterre. But! Everything closes on Sundays! Literally, nothing but the grocery store was open. And even that closed at 7!

Camp and the beach

Hi All!
So for the last two days we volunteers have been running a summer camp for the children of Micoud. There were supposed to be only 60 kids, but we picked up more as the day went on. So by the end of each day we had about 80-100 children aged 3ish-13. It was a lot of fun but a lot of work. We thought we had planned well, but we underestimated the kids! They know nothing other than the heat, so it doesn't tire them like it does us. Also, we were prepared for American children. Who knew the children here react and respond to things very differently. For example, we thought everyone would want to play futbol b/c it is so popular here. But no, the majority of girls at camp and a few boys did not want to play! Also, many came dressed nicely. As if to make a good impression. Others came in flip flops; clothing not conducive to field games. But! They are resilient! They were not fazed by the footware or dress obstacles. They just kicked off their shoes and played soccer and kickball in their bare feet!. Also, when hit by a ball, literally, the kids just shook it off. We were expecting the tantrums you would see in the US...yes, we were very happy that was not the case! Another interesting thing was how clearly you could tell the difference bwteween the children who were brought up with rules and discipline and those who were not. For some children it appeared "no" had no meaning. Others addressed you as Miss or Mister and would stop in their tracks with just a look. As Ryan said in debriefing, this was the best hands on experience of our training.

After each day of running around in the sun we ran over to the beach! So nice to have a beach in walking distance. Let me tell you how wonderful the water is. First of all, for all you Jersye Shore-ians... this is not your Atlantic! Think aqua blue water with just the right combination of rolling waves and ones for body surfing. And it was good bodysurfing- 3-5 foot waves! woo hoo! And there is no sharp drop off. Just walk on in until you're in as far as you want to go. And its soft sand! There is also an outcropping of rocks about 1/4 mile out. We were up to the challenge and swam out there today. Wow! It was awesome! We were able to fish from the top and catch 6-12 inch tuna. There were two people up there when we arrived and they showed us hopw. No need for fishing gear. They causght 1/2 a dozen with fishing wire rapped around an off can. They used the seasnails that were on the rock as bait. It is very humbling to realize how little you need to survive. Was a nice reality check.

Off to the last social outing as a group! Group potluck dinner and karaoke!

Weekend fun

Hi All!
Sorry the blogs have been out of order lately. I've been typing when I have the chance. But this last week has been very busy, plus we are all trying to hang out as much as possible since it is our last week all together!

So back to this weekend.
FRIDAY NIGHT: We went over to the village of Mon Repos and went crab hunting with the PC Volunteers there. It was really fun. At about 7pm we went down to Praslin beach. We took our flashlights and bug spray (the sandflies are nasty!) and headed towards the holes in the ground. See, we were hunting sand crabs. Now, in the US sand crabs (at least the ones I've seen) are tiny. Here, they are the size of king crabs. They come out at night to go to the water to "wash," as a local told me. The crabs can feel the vibrations in the sand so it is best to walk individually or in small groups, very quietly. So we silently (or as silently as 15 eager people out on an adventure could be) walked down the beach waving our flashlights over the sand. It is best to catch the crab when it is far from its hole, because they scurry quite quickly and you have a better chance of catching them if they are far from their holes. If you are lucky enough to see one on the beach, the catch is relatively easy. You run faster than the crab and step on it. Just a little b/c you don't want to squish it. But you need to step on it so that you are able to grab it in the back (away from the pinchers). Then we threw them in a bag. Often, you would see a crab pop its head out of its hole. Then you knew it was inside. In these situations you had to stick your hand (and usually your arm b/c the holes are quite long) in and grab it. This is pretty tricky as 1) the holes are quite long 2) the holes often connect 3) you can be bitten! There were a few sacrificed fingers (just pinches, no lost fingers) but the night was definitly a success. We caught maybe 5-6 dozen. We then built a fire on the beach and cooked them up.

SATURDAY: On Saturday I did not have to go to the 7 Day Adventist all day church services. Instead I hung out with my friends!!!! First we went to "Keif's" farm. "Kief," really his anme is Keith but he's missing teeth so he introduces himself as Kief, hence the nickname. He is my friend James' host uncle. He has an amazing farm on the side of the river. I say it is amazing because he grows a huge array of frutis and he literally uses everything he grows. He gave us a tour and we saw mangos, bananas, cocoa, avocado, and coconuts. Two interesting things- did you know the banana bunch starts out as a deep purple flowery thing? Pretty cool. Also, the banana tree only gives off one bunch!

After the farm we went to the river. It was very fun and refreshing on a hot day. We drove across the river to a clearing where we made camp. We started a fire (palm leaves are great fire starters) to roast our chestnuts and breadfruit. Its kind of funny, I don't like nuts at home, but I like them here. I like the ones straight off the tree and into the fire. Obviously they are very fresh! I don't know if I've told you about breadfruit. Its a fruit that looks a bit like a lime greenish dodgeball. Well, it is pretty bland if it is boiled. But! if you roast it in the fire its very moist and yummy! So we roasted it. Very easy. You just stick the whole thing in the fire for like 15 min. then yout ake ot out and scrape off the now charred peel. Hard work! But ti seasier if you do it under running water (aka in the river). But it def tastes good. Kind of like a baked potato soaked in butter.

After we ate lunch we hiked to the waterfall. There are parts of the river where there is white water and waterfalls. We hiked up about a mile to the part where the rocks make a little cove, where multiple people can sit. Also, there is an area of rapids where, if youg et in the right position, the water will push you through about 200 feet of rapids. It is like a natural waterslide! So we spent the afternoon playing in the water.

SUNDAY: Sunday started early. We were on the bus headed to the Gros Piton (the big one) at 6:15. After about 45 minutes of rolling hills and bumps, we all groggily got off the bus and headed to check in. We were at the base of the 2461 foot peak. If you remember, there are two Pitons. We (PC volunteers) are alowed to hike the Gros Piton. There is a well maintained trail and there are guides. We are not allowed to climb the Petit Piton. Although it is the smaller of the two, it si steeper and more tretcherous. so we were ont he Gros Piton. There were 15 of us (another adventure where Nick and I joined volunteers from another village, this time Ti Rocher) and three guides. It took about 2 hours to get up and about 3 hours to get down. It took longer to get down because you had to be more caerful of your footing. It is easier to fall going down. Well, I have to tell you, we defintily saw all levels of vegetation. Really, it was the only way we could tell we were getting higher. We were surrounded by trees so we couldn't look out to see where we were. The hike started off pretty flat and then got to where you weren't sure if it would be easier to just climb a ladder up. But it was def worth it. we got to the top and it was breathtaking. Honestly, you could see pretty much the whole island. It was amazing. AND! For the first time in since arriving in the caribbean, we were a bit chilly! Yes! It was cold at the top!

After the climb we came home and went to a national soccer game. Almost got called off by the rain. Glad it didn't. Our team played a team from Englnd. Yes, we won!

Big news

Hi All!
Yesterday was the big day! We got our assignments! On Saturday I'll be leaving St. Lucia and traveling north to St. Kitts. I wll be going there with 12 other people. There will be 10 on my island, and 3 on Nevis. (The island nation is made up of St. Kitts and Nevis.)St. Kits is an hour away from Puerto Rico. there are many connecting flights one can get from pats of th US to Puerto Rico and then to St. Kitts. also, there are some direct flights from the major US hubs.

Here's a little info on the country. St. Kitts, short for St. Christopher, is 23 miles long and 6.5 miles wide. It has a population of 35,500 people. Most are of African decent. The language is English. St. Kitts economy used to be dominated by sugarcane production. Sugarcane is still a big export for the Kititians, but tourism is also pretty big.

The weather is nice, warm and only about 70% humidity. It is one of the more arid islands. Geographically we have a big volcano and lots of rainforesty areas. There are also nice, white sand beaches, althouhg they are apparently not the best in the caribbean. There is alos an area at the bottom tip that is a bit deserty, so we have it all. The water is fine to drink and crime is quite low.

I will be working for the Ministry of Education, Youth, Community Development & Gender Affairs. I will also be doing speech pathology at a nearby hospital. There are currently 2 volunteers in my town and 2 volunteers in towns that are within walking distance. I am very excited. We will find out more specifics today. But feel free to look up the islands and please, think about coming to visit!

Culture Day

On Friday we had a special guest at training- Dr. Honeychrch. He is a Caribbean hisotrian from Dominica. Every year at training he comes to give the cultural history of St. Lucia and the other islands. Usually he does it in a big lecture hall. This year we took a cultural field trip around the island..in air conditioned busses!!!! Another fun fact about Dr. Honeychurch is that he is an extra in Pirates of the Caribbean 3.

We started our field trip it Latille Gardens & Falls. This is a Heritage Tourism site quite close to Micoud. Here we saw many beautiful fruit trees, a gorgeous waterfall, and lots of oher flora and fauna. There are 6 levels of vegetation on the island. It starts with the mangroves at sea level and goes all the way up to the rainforests/elphin at the hihest peaks. The waterfall appeared to be surrounded by rainforest-esque vegetation (shows how beautiful the country is) but no- we were actually at midlevel. This is the level of the banana farms. In St. Lucian terms this area is the dryer part of the land. Fun fact: in St. Lucia this level of vegetation is found on the east coast. On most other islands it is found on the west coast. Interestingly, bamboo, sugarcane, and calabash are the only native plants. Most vegetation- mangos, bananas, papayas, flowers- were inroduced after colonization or became beached on the islands after flooding in South America.

The farmer who owns the area spoke to us about sustainable agriculture. Pre 1970's the idea was that bananas were "green gold." On the islands bananas made a lot of money and the thought was that the more land they could use to grow bananas, the more money they could make. It was the idea of land exploitation/materialism. In the 1907's there was a big environmental movement (tied to th rastafarian movement). There was a push for a "back to the land" outlook on the environment. This trend has continued to today. Currently, 20% of all imports is in energy. So the people are looking for/starting to use sustainable energy sources. For example, the farmer pumps water from the waterfall to irrigate his plants. In the village many hot water heaters are solar powered.

Back on the bus. Had a suprisingly tasty treat. My friend Jenni gave me a piece of tablet. It is coconut, cut into thin strips. It is then topped with sugar and roasted. Tastes a bit like peanut brittle.

Next stop was the southern-most point on the island. I'd been there before on the way to Soufriere. Its called Moule A Chique. There is a lighthouse with a light you can see for 50 miles. There is lighthouse in Barbados that also has a light that can be seen for 50 miles. So the whole 100 mile trip from here to there is lit! While we were up here Dr. Honeychurch told us about the formation of the islands. Most of the islands in the island chain are volcanic. They lie on the edge of the Caribbean and the Atlantic tectonic plates. The old part of St. Lucia-the east coast- is 50 million years old. The west coast is only 25 million years old. I say its only 25 million years old b/c the surface that we see was formed by a volcanic eruption 25 million years ago- and left a line of volcanic cones across the horizon. The valleys in the middle of the island, where the banana farms are, are volcanic cones that collapsed. B/c the west coast is newer the beaches are still black sand beaches (volcanic ash/rock). The east coast has white sand beaches due to the coral. Interestingly, Barbados, 100 miles to the east, is not volcanic. It is all coral; made from the debris of the other islands.

Next we went to Il Pirata. It is a gorgeous, secluded beach outside of Vieux Fort. Ate lunch and saw the coast guard. Pop Quiz: The sand was white. Which side of the island were we on?

After lunch we went to a seaside village called Chousil. About village/city names- in St. Lucia the vllages/cities are named after famous frenchmen. The rest of the islands in the chain were colonized by the British, so the villages/cities are all named after Catholic saints.

Chousil was labeled by Dr. Honeychurch as a "typical costal village." It is made up of farmers who have farms in the hills and fishermen. As the plantations took over more and more of the inside of the country the Caribs (native Caribbean people) moved to the rugged coasts. In St. Lucia and Dominica Roman Catholicism is the reigning religion. For years life in the villages was tied to the church (and to some extent it still is). So the church and the church square are at the center of the village. In chousil there are lots of crafts. Pottery, basket weaving, and knowledge of medicinal properties of plants are prevalent becuase the Carib culture is still very much alive. This area of the country is the craft center. In a typical village, like Chousil, there are lots of wooden houses with windows with slats to let in the breeze and keep out the sun. Sadly though, this also lets the bugs in! There are also lots of shops on the first floor/front room of the houses. If a shop sells alcohol the shopkeepers have to go to the magistrate every year to get a permit. Interestingly, while rum shops are center of socialization for men, there are absolutely no environments/forums (except for church groups) for women to interact with each other!

Onto the fishing! The basic operation is that men get into the open boats in the am and come back in the evening with their catch. They fish by net, hook and line, and fish pots. Fish pots are wooden frames with chicken wire. They are attached to ropes and boueys on the surface of the water. They are kept in the water for 1-2 days. Most ports have sheds where fishermen store their equipment. There are two types of boats; fiberglass boats and "gomiers." Gomiers are based on the Carib canoe, made from the gomier tree. For these boats the base is dug out and ribs are added to the inside. They still use the same plan as the original Caribs! hey, if it works, it works! Another interesting fact is that any modifications in the villages- schools, fisheries- are created by/with foreign aid. Giver perspective as to how much the EC countries rely on foreign countries -not only for $ but also for direction in how to improve. Hence the PC is needed to help make the countries self sufficient.

Next stop was the Fond Deux Nature Plantation Resort. This is a working plantation outside of Soufrieres. Any town/village/city whose name starts with 'Soufrie' has to do with sulfur. (Soufrieres has sulfur springs...which makes the ground fertile). Back to the nature plantation. First we went on a tour of the grounds. They grow a lot of beautiful plants and flowers on the plantation. So what follows are soem fun facts about the flora we saw.
-Bamboo grows 1 inch a day
-The wax rose is a beautiful, sensative pink flower. It will die if you touch it b/c the oils on your hands are poison!
-Nutmeg. Ok, this is not liek the nutmeg you have in the little bottle on the spice rack. On the tree it is a plum sized light brown nut. You crack it and inside is a dark brown grape sized nut that is covered in a bright red, smooth, web of fiber. This part is used as a perfume and in beverages. The scent is strong, kind of like apple pie spice with marichino cherry sweetbness. Inside the nut is the nutmeg we know. Another use for it: if you aheva headache, grind it up and put it on your head.
-Hibiscus leaves can beused as shampoo. Put the leaves in water. When a paste forms, put it on your head.
-The morktel tree is called the flame of the forest b/c of the bright yellow flowwers on it from February to April.
-Coconut husks are good for decoration and fertilizer. It is very common for gardens to be lined with coconuts because they are so plentiful here.

Next we saw the cocoa production. At the plantation the working part is the cocoa. My camera batteries died at this point, so go to Jordan's link to see the pics! 95% of the cocoa produced goes to Hershey Park in Pennsylvania. 5% stays in country for prduction of chocolate ice cream.

Next we went to the Sulfur Springs in Soufrieres. Did the same tour as my first trip, minus the dip in the hot springs! Oh well, it was late and time for our snack. We went to a "scenic outlook" where we were able to look out from the side of the mountain and see the Pitons behind us and the town of Soufrieres in front of us. Magnnificent way to end a fun day!

Rainy Day

Hi All.
So this is the rainy season! We've been pretty lucky with the weather- lots of Caribbean sun. Today we had a taste of rain. Here's how the rain works here. If its going to be a short storm you'll see like one grey cloud. It will be sunny, then as the cloud gets closer it will drizzle. When the cloud is overhead it will poor. As the cloud moves away it will drizzle, then back to the sun. It takes about 3-5 minutes. And, all the areas not under the cloud stay sunny and dry. But if its going to be a long storm (we had both today) The wind will really pick up...think the tornado in The Wizard of Oz. Then the whole sky will fill with grey clouds, and it will rain for a min and then poor. Could be for 1/2 an hour, could be for hours. And when it stops it takes a while for the sun to come back out. But either way its beautiful. And all the tropical plants and flowers love it! This weather is also very good for growing rice. In case you wanted to come to the Caribbean and have a rice farm...only in the rainy season though.

So yesterday we had a session on economics. 15 nations of the Caribbean joined together to form CARICOM. It is an organization kind of like the European Union, in that it speaks with one voice in the global market. CARICOM is a single market economy (CSME). This means that there is one currency (the EC dollar; conversion 1 US=2.7EC). There are also no tariffs between CARICOM countries. There is a free movement of labor, the right to have companies in any CARICOM country, and common external tariff on all gooods entering and CARICOM countries. It means that what one country has, all the others have. There are positives and negatives to this, but the goal is better leverage in the international market. Because the countries of the Caribbean are so small, by banding together they are better able to compete with the world powers.

Also had a medical session. The highlights are that we get the bird flu medicine in our first aid kits...to be taken only when told. We also can be sent home if we refuse to get any shots. And if you are gong to Grenada you must get the Rabies vaccine. Ouch! Currently there are no known incidences of rabies in Grenada, but there were a few cases in the past, and therefore we must be cautious.

We also had our interviews yesterday. Placement interviews, so it was big. Lots of regular interview q's. Although I don't know why...we've filled out so much paperwork, it seems they already have every bit of info on us! They also asked PC specific q's like, what's your ideal placement? Are you ok with living in a rural village? How well do you speak Patua? How are you dealing with the heat? Are you ok with walking to work? Mine took a little over 1/2 an hour and no, I have no idea where I'm going. We find out Monday.

After our riveting day of training we went to go play soccer with the Women's Futbol(Soccer) team, the Amazons. Well, as I said, it was a rainy day. So, even though it stopped they did not come. As one local said, "we Lucians...when it rains we run for cover until the grass is dry." Must have a few village members not from St. Lucia, b/c we stayed and played. At first it was just us. I don't know...maybe someone saw us and let it slip that the Americans were playing futbol, but after about 10 min guys just came out of the woodwork and we had a good game of 9 on 9 going for like 1.5 hours!One of the players is the Women's Futbol coach. He was giving me pointers and told me to come back to play today and he'd work with me on my skills. He said I have potential. We'll see if he was just being polite! But it was really fun. We all got super muddy and had some laughs over the antics that associate playing sports in the mud.

After futbol the PC Volunteers (all 71 of us) put on a Cultural Night/ talent show for our host families and friends. There were some performances by local groups (dancers and a STEEL DRUM BAND!) and performances by the Volunteers. Tops of the night were original songs written and sung by volunteers, the steel drum band, and a girl who danced with lit poi balls. (Think Olympic gymnast dancers.) Basically she got on stage with lit balls at the the end of ropes, one in each hand. She danced and swung them around her in a professional grade dance. The whole room was sitting slack jawed. Really, she was fantastic.

Today was not as exciting. Had a bunch of sessions on disaster preparedness AKA in case of an emergency...) a lot was common sense or stuff we had gone over before. But safety and health are the two biggest priorities of the PC. We also had a session on safety- how to protect yourself from an assailant. Actually got more new information than I had anticipated. Learned a new term, "scratchy palms." This is something that a possible assailant might do. The action is that a person goes to shake your hand. During the handshake the person scratches your palm with 2 fingers. It means, "I want to sleep with you." Very good to know.

Played soccer again. Now that I'm learning a few skills (and believe me its slow learning) I'm rally starting to enjoy the game! Who knows, maybe I'll come back a soccer pro! Tomorrow I'm learning how to take shots on goal.

Tonight we had our presentation/ meeting with the soccer team. We had a good turn out and the meeting went well. We had to present to them a session on their areas of concern. Ours was easy b/c they laid it out for us on Monday. Hope they take something from it.

Banana Days

Hi All!

Why don't you plan a community meeting on Monday or Tuesday? Because Mondays and Tuesdays are banana days and the men of the village are out on the banana farms.

Yesterday we went on a field trip. 1/2 of the group went to Laborie and 1/2 the group went to Praslin to see a Community Development project in the works, to find out the process, and to learn from those involved. I went to Praslin. We hopped in our AIR CONDITIONED busses and headed south. When we got there no one wanted to disembark, but the Community Developers were waiting, so we got out and went to the community center. Inside we were met by three Community Leaders/Developers. All represented different areas of interest/concern for the village. There was one man who spoke to us about the economic impacts, one man who spoke about the environmental impacts, and a woman who spoke about the human impacts. Praslin is a village of fishermen and banana farmers...so sadly, we did not get to hear the opinions/perspectives of the villagers. But the presentations were interesting and thought provoking none the less.

By the way- realize I never mentioned the project. Here's the short story. The majority of the land in the village is privately owned. A big corporation bought the land to make a resort (Praslin is on the water). The community learned about the project right before groundbreaking b/c the government would not approve the permit unless the corporation did social and environmental surveys. So that's how the community found out. Now these leaders are working with the corporation to make sure that the community, its people, its lifestyle and livelihoods, etc are not destroyed by the introduction of the resort and all that that means to the community. Also, they are working so that the community benefits from the resort being there. Very interesting and I hope the community is not steamrolled by the corporation.

It was a great learning exercise to think outside the western world frame of mind and try to think like the villagers. There process is much slower and does not follow the same protocol as ours. While you might have just read the story and thought, hire a lawyer to protect your rights!, The community believes that if you give your word, it is the same as a contract. Very different. But, as volunteers trying to help the process we can't just say...hmmm..I see this problem and this is how to fix it! We're working for sustainability. So our role is to facilitate. We also have to be culturally sensitive. So we are learning how to put aside our ideas as to what development should look like...to merger them with the ideas of the community so hopefully some progress may be made.

We also got to visit the site of the resort to see what they re doing and the plans for what it will look like when it is finished. Well...all I can say is this: in 2008 book a room...cottage...whatever at this place b/c regardless of what the rooms are like (although looking at the plans they look pretty fantastic), the natural landscape is beautiful. It is Paradise Resort in St. Lucia if you want to google it.

Yesterday our second adventure in community development as that we all had to attend meetings with local organizations. The goal was to get to know the group, their goals and priorities, and to identify (us and them together) areas they want to improve/change. I was part of the group that met with the Women's Soccer Team. While soccer is a national pastime, it does not have the organization, funding, or support it has in the US. It was very interesting to hear about their program, esp. The areas where it differed from what we are used to at home. Here are a few examples:
1. There is no reserving fields. You go early and stake a claim and hope no one comes along and pushes you off.
2. While there is a National Board that organizes 2 national championships a year, the majority of the games are organized by the teams (only 9 in the country)...kind of like impromptu scrimmages every now and then.
3. In our village, and most others, there is no board of directors or anything to regulate/organize, so games, transport, discipline, funding, etc. All done by the team. Plus they have no manager and only one coach!

The team was very vocal about their goals and things they'd like tow ork on. This made today's session on planning for our meeting with them on Thursday quite easy. Yes, on Thursday we have to present information to them on the areas they want to work on. Other groups had a harder time today based on their meetings last night. Seems a minimal (3) people attended both the Catholic Youth Group's meeting and the Mother and Father's Club meeting. Three members is not really a good contingency to give feedback and to get to know the whole group by...but again it was a learning experience. It is quite possible that the same thing will happen in our villages.

So today we discussed strategies to ensure/try to ensure that our target audience will show up. We also discussed ways to get them excited about development. One thing we learned is that it is easier to get them re-excited about projects in the works than it is to get them excited about new projects. Going back to planning for Thursday's meeting...we already know our group is excited about soccer and they told us what they want to work on- teambuilding and conflict management. The challenge in planning way to figure out ways to present the information in a way so they don't feel we're telling them what to do. We are really supposed to use what they said and make suggestions. The PC is about working together. We are not experts, just people with different viewpoints and a desire to help. Which is quite contrary to the "I=know-a-solution-this-is-what-needs-to-be-done-lets-do-it" attitude most of us are accustomed to. Definitely learning a lot.

Learned some AIDS/HIV education training today. The PC looks at these areas in terms of BSS, Behavior Change Communication. The goal is to increase awareness to decrease the incidence. AIDS education is pretty different here. The topic is taboo and people only really talk about it in joking ways. But the truth is (mom don't read this) the Easter Caribbean has the second highest incidences, second to subsaharan Africa. The people at risk are the same as the people at risk in the US, but HIV and AIDS are on the rise the most in young girls. They are something like 16 time more likely to get it than all other groups... but don;'t quite me on that one. There are many reasons for this (ask me if you want to know). Plus, homosexuality is illegal in the EC, which opens another can of worms. So we have to tread lightly when presenting information. As one of the staff members put it, The US is over 200. We are 25. We are not where you are. So, another lesson in changing/taking on another perspective. So much to think about.

On a less school-y note, we had a big pizza party tonight! It was lots of fun and we got to plan our summer camp! Next week we are giving the kids of the village summer camp. Sports, arts and crafts and music and dance! For two days! Who's excited!

Beach Day

Hi All!

Today was a lot of fun! I learned how to make goldenapple juice this morning. Goldenapples are not like apples here. They are small, oval fruits that are a bit tart. I cut up the fruit, threw it in the blender with water and blended it to a pulp. Then I strained the juice from the pulp. Added brown sugar (they don't use white sugar here)to taste. Violla, juice! And that's the process for most juices here. Tomorrow I hope to make guava or passionfruit, they are my favorites.

After the juice lesson we left for the Peace Corps beach party. This was an event for Peace Corps Volunteers in all of the villages to get together with their families and with the Peace Corps staff for the Eastern Caribbean. It was at a private beach in Laborie, which is in the south west of the country, on the Caribbean Sea. The beach itself was lovely and the water even nicer. We were at Rudy John Beach. This is a secluded beach, lined with palm trees, and complete with coral reefs. To get there you have to go down a VERY steep hill.

Thank goodness I brought my goggles! There was so much to see under the water. Someone did get stung by a sea egg while norkeling, but the PCMOs were there and the situation was ok. We went snorkeling, played soccer, cricket, and frisbee. We also ate some yummy EC foodand drank some delicious juices. My new food of the day was fig salad. There are no figs in the salad, just a fig banana, which is very similar to a potato in texture and taste, but it looks like a banana. Tastes pretty good, reminded me a bit of hash browns. It did rain a few times and we saw a rainbow! There were also two current PC Volunteers in attendance. It was nice to be able to pick their brains and hear their stories. At the end of the afternoon we also had the added amusement/fascinating site of cars, trucks, and busses (it is common to hire a bus if you have a big party going somewhere and no transports/cars) trying to get up the hill!

Learned about cocoa farming today. A freind's "uncle" has cocoa plants on his farm. He explained the whole farming process and we are going to go see it/ help out with it some time this week. Cocoa grows on trees. The cocoa "fruit" looks a bit like a mango- same oval shape and same colors-green when unripe, yellow when ripe. The stem of the "fruit" attaches right to the bark of the plant. You take the ripe fruit down off the tree and cut the top off. Then you take out this membrane-like sac. Inside are the big cocoa beans. You rip the beans out of the sac and lay them out to dry. In St. Lucia they make cocoa sticks and sell them in the markets. You shave pieces off the stick to add to drinks or food. Or to just make chocolate milk. To make the cocoa stick you then roast the dry beans so that the smaller cocoa bean comes out. Then you grind up this smaller bean (the flavorfull part) and add wter. You let it sit until it makes a paste. Some people add sugar at this point, but you don't have to. Then you roll the pastey stuff into a stick and let it dry. At least this is what I was told. Can't wait to go to the farm and see for myself!