Where did August go?

Probably the fastest of my 14 months so far on St Lucia, August began with a visit from my friends Rachel and Christine. We were able to squeeze in the best of St Lucia in 5 days (though they got an unexpected extension at a resort for two days with a cancelled flight. Heaven knows they didn’t get the resort experience staying at my house). We saw Castries, Pigeon Island, the volcano, snorkeled with baby jellyfish – unintentionally- and with our rented car, defied gravity on very steep and treacherous roads as we explored the island. They didn’t panic when I didn’t have running water and happily took bucket baths. They were great sports!

The rest of the month was full of visits to my host mom in the north who is recovering from surgery, sleep and relaxing, and helping at training sessions with the newest literacy volunteers on island. I really enjoyed getting to know the 8 new volunteers (EC87 – the 87^th group of volunteers in the Eastern Caribbean) and to see their “spirited” nature. They are very fresh and excited, I can’t help but feel old and a little tired around them. But they helped me feel more enthusiastic and energized for the new school year that is approaching fast. Just this past Tuesday, EC87 swore in as official volunteers and to celebrate, we all hit the beach after and enjoyed the “hardships” of serving in the Caribbean. There are quite a few new volunteers now in the south of the island which will be a new experience when I see them out and about more often.

Other exciting news: the Summer Library program every Wednesday that I had at my school finished yesterday. It was such a great success. I had over 50 participants over the summer come and use the library and over half of those kids were coming every week, without fail. They were very dedicated and enthusiastic. There was always a mob of kids waiting for me, all excited to check out new books. The Star Reader challenge was also successful in motivating the kids to read. Many got prizes and there were 8 students who were awarded as Star Readers (checked out books each week and completed reading response questions for 10 books or more). I took pictures of the kids with their favorite book and will have a board in the library to showcase them. Yesterday, we ended the program with a little party and had a raffle and cake. They all when home with gobs of prizes and hands covered in cake. Mission accomplished. I am so grateful for how this turned out, I can’t wait to report next week when I have to return to school for planning week. School here starts on Sept 7^th. So my days of freedom are limited.

My last tale to report on is a story of true bravery and heroism. My poor ruby, one morning as I slept safely in my bed, risked her life in defending me from a centipede (while I didn’t witness this, I could tell from the evidence of her face that that was exactly what happened!). Don’t worry, I included a picture below. Her left ear and whole right side of her face was swollen. The worst part was I remember hearing her barking in the other room but didn’t bother to get out of bed to see what was wrong. I felt pretty bad about that. But she is perfectly fine, luckily it wasn’t a very big centipede. I know this because she is still alive. Those things are very poisonous. Ruby is always watching all the windows and surveying the area around my house. The other day she found a hornet on the balcony and just like Lassie, came barking at me to follow her. With panic in her eyes, she showed me the hornet and tried to dispose of it herself. I saved her the trouble and bopped it. She has always been protective, I am told that is the mongrel blood in her. She is a great Peace Corps dog.

  

Summer Break!

Summer break has finally started and I love having some time off. To start my vacation, my friend Jaclynn came to visit. For a special treat, we stayed at a resort for 5 days on the west coast of the island called TiKaye. It wasn’t like Sandals (which I was so glad) and the rooms were amazing cottages/bungalows with great views, a hammock, AC, an outdoor shower, and a private plunge pool. It had a great tropical jungle feel and was instantly relaxing. We were very spoiled. We went to the beach every day, the water was warm, the sand burned our feet (black sand beach so it held the sun’s heat well) and the weather was so great, it only rained our last day and it was very little. They had kayaks available as well as snorkel gear so we spend lots of time exploring the reefs along the coast. The food was amazing, though dinner was pretty expensive. So we ate lots of “free” breakfast that came with the room, we loved lunch which was on the beach front and had generous and more affordable portions, and for dinner, we ate light. Our servers were not very happy with us when we didn’t order wine or 3 course meals. But we enjoyed ourselves and made some friends with the staff when the realized we were not the average tourists they were used to. I was so sad to leave, this was my first “vacation” I have had here in St Lucia. I actually had to request vacation time from service and it was so worth it!

The summer reading program that I have each Wednesday at the school is going so well! Kids are returning each week to exchange books. When students answer reading comprehension questions that I have prepared for the books they check out, they earn points that will win them prizes. They are very excited about that, I hope to not disappoint them. Even the teachers have been coming to help and support. Overall, it has been very successful and each week, the numbers are growing.

I have been to so many funerals here in St Lucia. But last Saturday, I was able to attend my first Lucian wedding!! My 2^nd Grade co-teacher at my school got married and it was so nice. It was a catholic wedding so there was a lot of singing and communion. But my favorite part was the bridal party. Marching down the aisle, there were 3 flower girls, a ring bearer, mini bridesmaids, bridesmaids and groomsmen, Maid of Honour and Best man, and then a mini bride and mini groom! They were two children dress just like the bride and groom and went down the aisle before the bride. They were so sweet. I have never seen or heard of that before. It was also fun to get dressed up, I ordered a cute polka dress so I could have something nice to wear. My clothes are getting old and I am sick of them already. 🙂