School’s Out!

Term one is officially over. It also ended with a bang, the students had a Christmas party on Wednesday full of dancing and snacks…and more snacks. Seriously, it was wonderful to see these kids get some spoiling. 🙂 There was something new to eat every half hour or so. I was in the kitchen all day cooking so I didn’t get to see very much party action but from the little I saw, dang these kids can dance! Music and dancing is so integrated into the culture, I know they are all born with those talents. It’s in their blood. I helped make jello, pizza, popcorn, take home snack bags that were filled with tons of sweets and little toys, cake, bbq chicken, hotdogs and juice. My favorite treat they got that day was straight up marshmallows. They were handing out marshmallows to the kids by the handfuls. I have never really considered marshmallows a treat, only over a fire with chocolate and graham crackers! My friend later informed me that heating up a marshmallow, as she referred to the so called s’mores that Americans rave about, would be disgusting. I told her she would eat a s’more before I left! How could that be disgusting??? As the party came to an end, report books were given to parents and even though there were technically 2 more days of school, there were no student in sight after Wednesday. Teachers instead prepared for the coming term and relaxed. I won’t lie, this coming 3 week break is much needed. I feel exhausted and must rejuvenate for January!

On Saturday, I was able to celebrate 3 things. The first – my official 6 month mark in my service. Sometimes I really am shocked at how long I have been here. The second was the celebration of 25 years of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints being in the West Indies! Castries branch hosted a wonderful party full of songs, performances and food and I was so glad I was able to attend. Our branch rented a big bus so our members could attend. We also got to show some of our talents, including my primary kids. I had them share our version of “popcorn popping on the apricot tree” called “coconuts rolling in the Caribbean Sea!” It went well considering I only had 3 children there that knew the song. I was very proud of them, esp. since they are not used to singing in front of such a big crowd. We left just in time for me to get home and prepare for the third celebration of the day. I had the entire staff from my school over at my house for an end of the year Christmas party! I was so happy to have them over. From the beginning of school, the staff has included me without question and have made me feel as part of staff instead of being “the volunteer.” Just like the school party, there was lots of dancing and food. They even brought big speakers and a sound system so half of my house could be turned into a dance club. Before things got too crazy, I was able to teach them a new game, honey do you love me? They had a fun time and were very creative in getting each other to laugh. Time went fast and it was 2am when they ended up leaving my house. They all made sure to tell me that there will be more parties in the future. They do love to party.

Caribbean Thanksgiving

This past week, I was able to celebrate Thanksgiving twice! On the actually day, the wonderful Sister Missionaries came to my rescue and brought some food for a Thanksgiving dinner. Before you start thinking we were eating turkey and mashed potatoes, I was delightfully surprised with a cooked lobster, bakes (Lucian fried bread) and a pumpkin pie…yup. That happened. I had no words but quietly watched them eat the lobster. The only turkey on the island is imported and available in the North. So, in typical south fashion, we had lobster. The pie was delicious though. And it was wonderful company, as usual. They are so kind to visit and check on me. I was very sad to find out that these sisters, who came the branch the same week as me 4 months ago, are leaving this week. One is ending her mission and the other is being transferred to Barbados. I am so sad to see them go!

Friday was a special event in Vieux Fort. Our school, along with 15 other schools on the island, participated in the Rainforest of Reading program. Originating from Canada, this program was started last year in attempts to develop a culture of reading in the Caribbean. Sets of children’s books (1 copy of each book per class) are sent to each 3^rd and 4^th grade classrooms in all of St Lucia and Grenada and children complete passport books (much like book reports) answering questions on each of the books. In our school, we did a buddy reading system and rotated the books through each pair of students. Students are able to vote on their favorite book and prepare to present one of the books in a parade which took place at the event on Friday. Our group had a story about a giraffe and a bird, so I helped make masks for the kids to wear and they marched through Vieux Fort as they chanted the title of the book. I can say they were the best group when it came to enthusiasm. The best part was when all of a sudden, this tall white lady came by our group and started to walk with us. I then glanced at her name tag and found that she was the author and illustrator of the book we were portraying! The Rainforest of Reading had several authors and illustrator of the books the kids were sent there that day and it was a great experience for the kids to hear how they came up with the stories and see demonstrations of how the pictures were drawn. We got to take a picture with the author, I’m sure it was a wonderful experience for her to have – to see kids dressed as her characters and giving her autograph in their passport books. The event continued with stations where kids could do crafts, coloring, play bananagrams, and other fun activities. It was incredible to see this program in action and to expose the kids to fun, literacy activities. But I will also say, the event needed more organization and did not run smoothly. The rotation from station to station was chaotic, there were not enough tents or seating and there were 3 schools at one station at a time = crazy! The children had to stand in the sun for a long time, to the point where there were a few children (not from my school) who passed out from the heat. For those you ever believed that you will not use what you learn at girl’s camp, I can tell you – it’s false! I happened to be next to the second child who fainted. The teachers of this student did not know what to do. They kept hitting him, telling him to wake up. They tried to give him water though he was unconscious and tried to sit him up. So I stepped in. I laid him down, elevated his legs, and cleared the scene which was swarmed by curious students and other staff. I wetted his shirt and put a cold rag on his head and had his teacher fan him. He came to and he was able to drink some water and juice and soon, an ambulance came to take him to get medical help. What was shocking was to find out there was no medical staff or support on site for this event, even with the hundreds of children present. I look forward to attending Rainforest of Reading next year and to see this program grow in the Caribbean.

That night, even though I was exhausted from a crazy day, my fellow teachers at my school came over to my house for a little party! They brought food, snacks and drinks and we had a fun time camped out on my floor. I didn’t have to do anything, they are very organized when it comes to parties. After convincing all of them that they couldn’t just stay the night, I finally was able to start on baking some apple pies for my second Thanksgiving the next day. The Peace Corps always has a Thanksgiving lunch with the volunteers and staff and I decided to bake and not worry about reheating what I made when I got to party. It was a smart move since when I got to the volunteer’s house who was hosting, it was packed in the kitchen with last minute cooking and prepping. I got to work helping and soon, everything was ready. We had everything need for a perfect Thanksgiving meal! And it was delicious, esp. the turkey. One of the volunteers is a pro at cooking turkey. He smoked it and infused lots of herbs and spices. My first host mom was able to come and it was great to share our Thanksgiving traditions with her, including the share 1 thing we are grateful for tradition. There were 20 of us total and we were all stuffed by the end. The pies came out well, I was so grateful. I was worried about the crust burning. They even streamed a football game after lunch, I think we are all missing America right now. 🙂

Right now in school, we are in the middle of testing for the ending of the term. This is serious business here in the Caribbean. Each grade, starting in Kindergarten have tests in each subject, each subject having a packet of questions. Not exaggerating, the first grade Language test was over 15 pages long…I was very impressed to see the kids complete these tests and do well. I was able to help write some of the tests and add material that I have been teaching to my classes. I also conducted the tests orally to my struggling readers that I work with. One more day of testing to go and then the term is basically over. Teachers then grade and complete report books and prepare for class parties next week! My first school term is already coming to an end and my six month mark is soon approaching. It’s so hard to believe that I have 5 more terms of school left in my service (there are 3 terms per year). I hope everyone is getting into the Christmas spirit. I don’t know if I can without cold weather and snow. It still feels like August to me. 🙂