AMERICAN FOOD.....and Mennonites.

Yes i said it....Mennonites. They have invaded Grenada, and the citizens are not to pleased with the idea.

I went to Rick's Pizza Cafe tonight with my homestay family and was delightfully pleased. When i think pizza in the Caribbean i think of veggies and pineapple and not so pizza like. But i was pleasantly surprised to find pepperoni and ham pizza, which is my FAV! After a wonderful afternoon at the beach with my fellow volunteers it was nice to finally have some American food. For a week (tomorrow) that i have been on this island i have been trying to transition to Caribbean food, but have found myself craving my home style cooking. Food is a big part of integration, because if you are constantly trying to prepare and eat American food, what good is that for becoming a Grenadian? So after a week of "food integration" i deserved to see American pizza. THANKS host family!!!!

On to the Mennonite idea. As we were sitting at Rick's Cafe a young woman, maybe 18 years old comes thru the eating area and she is dressed in the full length skirt, hair dress and vail type thingy and was with three other girls, one of who was a native Grenadian. I knew in an instant she was Mennonite, but i found myself staring at her as if she wasn't "one of us." I began to ask my homestay family how the Mennonites got to Grenada, why the chose Grenada, etc. And my two parents were very insightful on the issue. They told me that the Mennonites migrated here from America so they could "recruit" new members. But i found something particularly interesting. She said that they will recruit Grenadians to their religion, but its against their rules to marry them. yes, i said it...against the rules to marry them because of their skin color, but they can recruit them to their strict, not so Grenada ways of life? I was pounding the questions after this finding and found that the Mennonite community isn't accepted in Grenada for a reason i found to directly relate to the Peace Corps mission. My homestay mom said the reason they aren't accepted around the island is because "they refuse to accept our culture and way of life, yet still like to force their American ways on us." BING BANG BOOM!!!!

To bring your culture into another place is ok, but to try to say its wrong? not ok! especially to very outspoken Grenada natives. This is exactly the stereotype that American Peace Corps volunteers are trying to break. We are trying to prove to Grenadians that we are open to learning new cultures, living new lifestyles, and even becoming one of them. We as volunteers are not here to force American ways on the people of Grenada. We are here to bring about change through culture understanding and integration.

So after dinner and a nice ride home i found it necessary to write this blog and explain just some things I'm noticing around Grenada. Between our American TV stations they receive (yes they get MTV, TLC, CNN, etc) and our own people trying to invade and force their ways on Grenada, its no wonder our work as volunteers seems to be never-ending. This is a challenge to you and all the rest of America, to look outside your box, and maybe for just a day, realize we aren't the only ones on this Earth.

Don't Ask....Don't Tell....

Me having some fun in the Peace Corps Office during down time.

A big part of the Peace Corps experience is getting out of your comfort zone and trying new things. Things like no running water, constant hot weather, low level of living, being poor and trying new foods. Usually when it comes to the topic of food here you don't ask what it is unless you want to know the honest truth, which usually isn't good. Its easier to just eat the food given to you and not ask what it is, so this code of conduct i have been following. My host family is VERY good about explaining all of the fruits and vegetables here, because most of them i have never heard of before. But when it comes to meat, we eat alot of chicken around here, and that's pretty easily identified, so there is no need to worry. And then they present another meat that is NOT easily identified. Do you ask what it is? Follow the code of conduct? Eat it and wish you didn't later?

All valid questions, questions that were running thru my head today as we had a meal of noodles and what looked like fajita beef strips. It looked really good, but i wasn't gonna ask if it was beef so i grabbed my helping of food and sat down with my family. We were chomping along and my youngest sister Iffy says, "daddy is this beef or goat," as i am putting the last bite in my mouth. At this point I'm thinking "you have GOT to be flippin kidding me," but no sooner my host dad says "yes Iffy, i slaughtered the goat this morning." YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THE GOAT OUT BACK THAT WAKES ME UP EVERY MORNING?!?! The same goat that the family made me pet as i arrived? Talk about traumatizing experience. Not only am i not gonna get to pet the goat every day as i walk downstairs, now I'm eating him for dinner. I felt as if i was now destined for hell after eating the so called "family pet," until i realized something.

This one goat is a delicacy to this family. My host mom and dad saved many months of salary to buy this goat, to nourish him with food so that one day, when its special enough, they can share their hard work with others. They shared that hard work with me. They knew for many months that soon enough they would get to share that hard work with someone special. So that i can then continue to save up my life skills to one day use them on something special. I'm here to do something special, to give that goat to someone special. I'm here to decide where i can help, and find people that want to be worth something. So that one day...i can help someone get their own goat.

My first public event and the amazing food...

I have never realized until this experience just how terrible Americans eat. No wonder we have diebetes and obesity destroying our people. I have been introduced to more fruits and vegetables in these two days then i have in my whole life, not exaggerating either. Im talking right from the garden vegetables that actually have a taste to them. My host family goes to their garden everyday and gets the stuff we need for the day. How refreshing and beautiful is that? It amazes me that Americans have such the resources and potential to do the same thing, yet we prefer to make it "easy" by hitting up Walmart (which i will NEVER buy produce from again), or just going the drive thru route. Why? These vegetables are beautiful, taste filled and HEALTHY, grown right in the back yard. WAKE UP PEOPLE!

Ok enough with my rant, on to something more positive. I have a host sister (4 siblings actually) that is 7. Her name is Iffyoma (pronounced if-e-oh-ma) and she is the most adorable little girl, but is having trouble warming up to me. Her mom said they have tried to warn her for weeks that a guest is coming, but she is just reluctant to speak to me. Yesterday at her bday party i barely got a hello, so it was my mission today to at least get her to semi speak to me, rather then getting the "why is this white woman talking to me face." We were sitting around the kitchen table (as we spend alot of our time), waiting for lunch to be prepared and she comes around the corner with this box she got for her bday. Its a "quick assembly ballerina doll" kit, and she comes and sits next to me. She is struggling to get the box open,so i asked if i could help. She quickly mumbled yes please, and the rest is history. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED....

On another note, i forgot to tell everyone that there is a serious water shortage on the island, so we have to conserve everything we can. There is only running water in my house from 6am-9am everyday. So that means that my host dad gets up at 6am to do the dishes and fill bottles of water so we can have water to do daily tasks. This means i get up early in the morning to shower, or i would go without. Its an eye opening experience to just how often we use water in our day to day lives.

So as the bug bites continue, and the learning process continues i find myself realizing just how much the little things in life matter. Ive taken so much for granted over the years, and this is my chance to change that mindset.

Marching thru the streets of St.George.

My host sister Iffy on the right.

Arrived in Grenada

I have reached my final destination!!!! We arrived in St.George, Grenada around 12:40 this afternoon to cheering current Peace Corps Volunteers. They were so genuinely excited to see us that it really made the transition easier. They escorted us thru the town in a van (with Katherine MC-ing the event) while showing us the necessary points. We made it to the Peace Corps Office in St.George's and had lunch with the other volunteers while getting to know them. We had a brief discussion about the history of Grenada and all of a sudden the door bell rings. I knew my heart wasn't the only one that dropped, as we knew it was one of our host families. It wasn't mine just yet, but it was awesome to see the family so excited to pick up their new family member.

But the NEXT ring at the door was for me, as my new host sister was there to pick me up. Her name is Sharmon and she is 25 and an attorney in town. We got in the car and she informed me that we were headed to my host sisters 7th birthday party. Now we are in the Caribbean, and I wasn't so sure what exactly Caribbean and birthday party meant, I mean for pete's sake my house keys had a bottle opener on them. We arrived at the house and were greeted by around 100 children and parents in the community. Now if that isn't overwhelming I'm not so sure what is! They were very accommodating and welcoming, so it made the transition easier. After a round of musical chairs, meeting a new friend whose name is Adiah and is 2 years old, and then eating some wonderful bbq, it was time to call it a night.

So after today I feel like I am prepared to take on the task at hand, and I cant wait to start getting to know my family, which will begin at tea time at 6am tomorrow. I'm loving this place, and I'm so lucky to be with this family. They have opened their home and arms to me, and I cant wait to become an official member.


The first sight of my new home.

On to Grenada

Tomorrow embarks another day of adventure as we make our way to Grenada, our semi final destination. We have been here in St.Lucia for a week now and it seems like so much longer. I have already begun my journey of self discovery (while realizing im slightly controlling) and it feels really good.

One thing that has started to give me anxiety is the fact that its culture to be late to just about everything. Coming from an American culture that works off being on time and ending on time, I've found it especially frustrating to know that being late is excepted, rather then frowned upon. We had a presenter yesterday that showed up 30 minutes late, and it didn't even phase him. Its going to be a huge adjustment for me.

Last night we needed to de-stress from a long day of training so we decided to go to a lil hole in the wall bar down the road from our compound called the "stress off bar." It was great getting to use our money for the first time because they use Eastern Caribbean Dollar here, which is alot different. We danced the evening away and got some great info from the PCRV's (Peace Corps Response Volunteer).

Today was really boring training wise. We had the safety and security officer from the office come and talk to us today about unwanted attention and intimacy thresholds in our new culture. It was interesting to hear the way they view certain common tasks, such as if a woman dances three songs or more with the same man it typically means you're going to sleep with him tonight, or that if a woman is alone at a bar it means she is a prostitute. Things in American culture that we just take superficially and don't even think twice about are completely different here, and its very intriguing.

So tomorrow we are headed off to Grenada to another new environment, but one that will be more stable (at least for the next 7 weeks). I'm excited to meet my new host family and hope that the experience will be everything i can imagine.

Here is to the challenge...





These are the group pictures we took today. One is with just the PCV's (Peace Corps Volunteers) and then one with the PCV's and PCRV's (Peace Corps Response Volunteers).

Great News!!!!!

We woke up today not so excited about training today. We havent got the chance to catch up on sleep quite yet, and im not sure we ever will. But we got word that we would be finding out our homestay families today, so we were living off adrenaline.

Today at training we got to learn about all the diseases we could get, and literally got sex ed training like we were in 7th grade all over again. It was quite humorous to hear the lady say "hanky panky".

But the great news i have been dying to tell you all is that we found out our homestay families at the end of training session today. It was GREAT news to hear after a longggg day of training. I will be in the capital of St.George's for the next 7 weeks staying with a family. Then i will move on to St.Paul and will be working at the YWCA, the same thing as the YMCA in the states. I will be starting an after school program and working with kids to establish team sports teams. IM ESTATIC!!!!!!!

I can not wait to start this journey and share it with all of you, but for now its chow time. AKA...rice and beans!!! haha

Always serving,
Mackenzie Garst

Staging and St.Lucia

HELLO ALL BACK HOME!!!!!! I have successfully arrived in St.Lucia for training and Im having the time of my life! Its been a completly hectic week, and im not sure how im going to put it all in words, but i will give it my best shot.

Saturday I arrived in Miami, Florida around 2pm where staging was being held. I got in the cab leaving the airport and said it was hot as hell to the driver, he laughed and said it was cold that day. I knew i was in for a treat from then on. We held staging from 1-7pm at the hotel, which consisted of icebreakers, paperwork, more paperwork, more icebreakers and then FINALLY time for bed. I had some jet lag, but was more exhausted from being so stressed out that entire day. After a great dinner and a terribly sad goodbye to my friend Tia, i was off to bed. But not for long....

We were up and checked out of our hotel Sunday morning but 4am, headed to the airport with 25 other volunteers bound for St.Lucia. Now let me just give you a little insight to traveling with 25 Peace Corps volunteers. Not a single one of us had a bag under 50 pounds, and ALL of us had at least 2 bags. OHHHHH....and we were traveling with an 81 year old PC volunteer from Indianapolis, which just let me tell you...bless her heart, but we were all a little frustrated. We successfully made it thru security and we were on our way to St.Lucia. On the plane i was wide awake (maybe after my 5 hr energy drink,thanks sis), but to say the least there was no hope for any of us sleeping, we were FAR to excited. It really hit me on the plane that this is for real and there was no turning back now. My stomach was churning, but it was a good churn...promise.

After a 3 and a half hour flight we were on the ground in beautiful sunny St.Lucia. Let me set up a disclaimer first. ALL of the volunteers except for me are from the east and west coast, which mainly have had excellent weather this winter. Ok back to the story...we stepped of the plane and immediatly sweat was dripping down my face and my pits were disgusting. Yes, i was sweating in the middle of February. We were greeted by some amazing currect volunteers of St.Lucia and were on our way.



Following a scary scary van ride thru winding roads and wrong side driving we arrived at the Pastoral Retreat center and settled in for the night. We were in for the time of our lives the next day.

We started training today. Its been interesting, overwhelming, exciting and frustrating all at the same time. We've been talking alot about the intrapersonal struggles we are about to face,and how the ultimate goal of Pre-service training is becoming integrated into the culture of these natives. You think you are ready to take this challenge on, but you soon realize some traits about urself you thought were strong, were actually some core weakness' on this journey. Ive learned in just these last few days that i thought i was completly open to this idea, but i have been holding on to the "known", hoping that i wouldnt have to totally bust out of my comfort zone. Well i was wrong. Im constantly being challenged by fellow volunteers, the living situation, the food, the sun, long days, cold showers, bugs and even cows on leashes.

The food here is different. It seems very bland, not much taste to anything. We eat fruits and toast in the morning; rice/beans, some pork (that u dont eat), fresh veggies, bananas (which are in season and DELICIOUS), and some tuna. Its not that the food is bad here, but its been a big adjustment, and id be lying if i said i havent been to bed hungry yet. I miss Mcdonalds. haha.

So as i leave this blog for your pleasure (or so i hope), I want to thank everyone in my life that has given me this chance. The chance to truly make a difference and learn so much about myself in the process. Im so eager to get to Grenada on Saturday and meet my homestay family, but until then i will grasp on the my fellow volunteers knowing we are each others main support system right now.

Always serving,

Mackenzie