Visitor to the Spice Isle

I have been needing a break from the routines of life here in Grenada, so when I got news back in March that my best friend Tressa was visiting, I got excited. Real excited. Like jumping around my house alone excited. I couldn't help it. She will be here Wednesday night, all the way from Kansas City, Kansas.

Tressa is the true definition of a best friend. Her willingness to go above and beyond for anyone she cares about really inspires me to be a good person. We met at a softball tournament my sister was playing in almost 5 years ago. My sister's team had combined teams with another local team for a tournament and so I got to meet some new faces. For there on out, we have been the tag team of best friends. She is such a best friend that I haven't gone a single month without a care package full of the necessities: cold brew ice tea, oreo cakesters and cheez its. She makes sure to slip some fun things in there for the kids like silly bands and play dough too. I am forever grateful for her little pieces of home and can't wait to show her my temporary home.

What I love about visitors is the chance to share my experience with them, a chance to give a different perspective on our inherited American ideologies. When the immediate culture shock wears off I can see true compassion and appreciation in their eyes. They want to take pictures of the beach, the adorable children and the market women. When explaining the realities of those three things, they get it and appreciate it. Personally, I think cross cultural understanding is one of the best character traits you can have as a person and if I have the ability to help a friend see that, I'm all for it.

So, while Tressa is here, if there is one thing I hope to give her its the ability to appreciate American life, understand the beauty in diversity, and walk away from Grenada with a sense of compassion and understanding of the Caribbean.Oh, and hopefully a sun tan!

Because Kids Are Cute!

There isn't much to update the blogland on here in Grenada, so I figured I couldn't go wrong with a picture post of the kids that hold my heart in their hands. They are so wonderful!!!

They are cute, even when they are mad at me.

A student took this picture.

I mean, Life is a party!

I'm sending this one to Scholastic.

They are so adorable when they learn.

And even when they are avoiding learning.

Those eyes say it all.

Where Would You Go???

Dominica, The Nature Isle

With my mind boggled down with thoughts of devastation back home, I have forgotten to write about my mini vacation after Mid-Service Training last week. Forgive me, as its a story worth telling and hopefully a nice break for my readers who obsessively scan every news source all day for anything related to the tornado (or is that just me?).

Mid-Service training came to completion on Friday, May 20th in St. Lucia. Myself and three other volunteers decided months ago to continue our time away from Grenada by traveling on to Dominica, where some of our best volunteer friends live. Thankfully they live a few islands away because we would never get any work done if we were all on the same island, use your imagination if necessary.

:)

After the lovely TERRIBLE service from LIAT airlines, we finally made it to our destination a mere 4 hours late. Dominica is much larger and mountainous than Grenada, so we were in for a treat while taking a bus from the airport to the capital. By this time in the day we were tired, starving and delusional, so our ride consisted of Samieh and Amirh singing Rhianna in the back row, Alex and Crystal sleeping in the second row and Errin and I trying to sight see in the pitch black night. Adventure people!

View from Ft. Young

The first night we rented a hotel room at Fort Young in the capital city of Roseau, which is much more developed than Grenada's capital of St. George's. Coincidentally, the hotel had a happy hour/dj dance hour(s) which we took advantage of quickly. Karaoke and Dominican beer made for an interesting evening.

Thunderstorm by the pool...beautiful.

The next couple days we spent hopping from village to village, crashing at volunteers houses along the way. The second day we ventured to Amirh's house in the southern part of the island, a village named Soufriere. We dropped our stuff and took a quick hike up to Scottshead, a beautiful little point that is separated by the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. So interesting to see the waves crashing on shore from the Atlantic side while the Caribbean Sea relaxes in beauty. While hiking the point we came up with the great idea to have an Amazing Race adventure. It was partially because my fat ass didn't want to hike the massive mountain that was planned for the group, but that's beside the point. Three of us were required to hitch to Alex's village while the other three had to hike over the mountain and meet us. Many competitions along the way made the challenge hilarious, but our hitching group came our victorious.

Scottshead overlooking the Atlantic (right) and Caribbean (left)

:)

Party Foul!!!!

We also made it to Alex's apartment in Grand Bay, where I was crushed by the news from home about the tornado. I wish I remembered more from that night, but my mind was shattered with thoughts of destruction back home. The next day we traveled/hitched to Samieh's village of Dublanc where we ate some AMAZING pizza and drank pitchers of TAP beer. Tap beer is unheard of on the islands, so this was a rare opportunity that lead to many many pitchers.

Soufriere

The following day included hitching with 50 pounds of luggage each to Rashawna's village of Marigot, where we climbed a wicked hill called Monkey Hill, ate delicious veggie burgers, drank Red Stripe beer and played hours of catch phrase. Life is good in Dominica!

Classic hitching picture. Amazing Race Champs!!!

Pit stop during Amazing Race.

I can't wait to host the Dominicans in Grenada during August Carnival time. They are in for a real treat in the Isle of Spice. Dominca is now checked off the bucket list successfully!

Simple Moments

I walked in to my Grade 1 classroom at St. Paul's Govt Primary yesterday for the first time in what seems like years. I had been in St. Lucia and Dominica since the last time I saw them and needed their laughter. Their sweet moments of innocence, their hugs, their smiles. I had just been on the news the night before talking about my hometown being leveled by a tornado. I'm sure they had all seen it, so I was prepared for an emotional day. But what I really needed was to see their happiness, simply going on with their day with no care in the world.

What I was welcomed by was something I couldn't prepare for, letters. After a mauling of hugs by adorable short people they were eager to show me their letters, letters they had written to their friends in Joplin, Missouri. I have done countless lessons with them on where I am from, why my skin is white, what America is, how I came to Grenada, etc. But on this day I wasn't prepared to see genuine concern from 6 year olds, just wanting to hug me and tell me its going to be ok. "Miss, was your home hurt?", "Miss, we missed you so much!", "Miss, can you tell your friends we love them?"

Their letters brought tears to my eyes, so much that I needed to step out of the room. "Miss, its ok to cry, we know you love America". First graders, with hearts of gold who just want people to be happy, who want people who let them be children whenever they want to be. But then, out of the blue, they surprise us with moments of adulthood that even adults can't seem to muster. And on this day, I simply learned its ok to miss home, its ok to cry when you are sad, and its true when they say something we just need to listen to children.

One of my students letter to her friend in Joplin:

Dear Joplin,

My teacher told me a tornado hit your village. What is a tornado? We have hurricanes in Grenada. Do you know what a hurricane is? Is your mommy and daddy ok? I don't know where Missouri is, but I am thinking of you. I am from Grenada, not Missouri. I hope God bless your town and help your people pick up the mess. Is it mess there? Ms. Garst said tornado make things break. Are your toys break? I will send you some if your toys break. God Bless!

Your Friend,

Shamika

Last Week and This Week

Last week I was worried about which mountain we were gonna hike.


This week I'm worried if my hometown will ever recover from this F-5 tornado.

Last week I couldn't decide which outfit to wear to a party.

This week I'm telling my mom to send all my clothes to the emergency shelter.

Last week I was annoyed that my sister was getting to spend time at home.


This week my heart aches that I can't be home with my family and friends.

Last week I was worried I couldn't afford to grocery shop.

This week I am worried about the hundreds of people now left homeless. 

Last week I was arguing with a friend about the importance of service.

This week I see her out volunteering day and night. 

Last week I thought Webb City was the best place to live.

This week I proudly call Joplin my hometown.

Last week I was frustrated at my friends not keeping in touch.

This week I scrambled to find their phone numbers to ensure their safety. 

Last week I watched as neighboring communities slander each others towns.

This week I watched thousands of neighbors pull together in times of need. 

Last week I decided to take a break from Facebook.

This week I frantically search every newsfeed post for updates on the recovery.

Last week I complained about Peace Corps medical checks.


This week I see pictures of our town without a main hospital.

Last week I was enjoying a vacation in Dominica.

This week I feel guilty I can't be home.

Last week I worried about tomorrow.

This week I'm thankful for today.

Mid-Service Training

The old theory of signing up for the Peace Corps, getting accepted and then being dropped off in some remote land where the people don't speak your language and the bugs are constant isn't quite as true anymore. In the new age Peace Corps, the bosses don't let you out of their sight and make sure you are exactly where you should be. Hints....Mid-Service Training!!!

Palm Haven Hotel

MST is a week long training held about a year into your service. The point of the week long imprisonment is to reconnect with each other, reflect on your accomplishment and chart the way forward for the coming year. What really happens is we sit in a classroom (with a/c), hungover from the all night partying the previous day and listen to people lecture us about grant writing and business management. Ok, Ok, maybe I'm being a little harsh but it went something like that.

Our Country Director Kevin Carley and his wife Ellen

One highlight of the week was hearing the projects other volunteers are working on. St. Lucia, Dominica and Grenada were the islands represented, all of which have vastly different work cultures, so hearing another perspective on the "Peace Corps Experience" was really nice. Peace Corps has enough goals and objectives to stretch the radius of the world, often times causing volunteers to focus more on quantity rather than quality. MST let us refocus and see that sometimes our secondary projects have more of an impact than our primary work sites. It was reassuring to hear that building relationships and letting your own talents shine through makes for a just as successful service as number crunching and mountain moving.

Don't worry, they aren't taking notes, just doodling.

It was awesome to be able to reconnect with volunteers from the other island and see just how much everyone has changed. The biggest topic of conversation was who looked different and who had lost the most weight. I thought I would be in the race for most weight lost, but some older volunteers in St. Lucia put me to shame. Oh well. The evening times consisted of finding some form of good food other than macaroni pie and stew fish, which turned out successful when we found Thai food. YUM! We were also lucky enough to be situated right on the marina where we made friends with the owner of a super nice bar called H2O. After many rounds of Kings Cup, pool and shots, I think my liver hates me. Thank God for good coffee and air conditioning.

Thai food, YUM!!!!

MST turned out to be productive in the end and I feel refreshed and motivated for the coming year. Although sitting in a classroom all day proved to be painful, the nights with good friends and cheap beer chalked up the week as successful!

St. Lucia beer!