Quick Update (For Visual Learners)

le fleur

Baby goats on the way to the beach

Castries, the St. Lucian capital

Building next to the Derek Walcott Square, named after a St. Lucian Nobel Prize Laureate for Literature

Le bibliotheque de Castries

Valentine's Day Scribblings

Modern Day Peace Corps: Laptops and Internet

But still roughing it...yes, those are presumably from mosquitoes!

St. Lucia and Training

We made it! After a 3.5 hour flight from Miami and a 1 hour (air-conditioned!!) bus ride, we have made it to our initial training facility.

The view from our rooms

Day 1 of Pre-Service Training

I still can't believe it's only been 1 day since arriving at St. Lucia, so much has happened since then and there is a lot to take in. Today was our first day of pre-service training (PTS). We discussed hopes and anxieties again, failed miserably at trying to place the islands of the Eastern Caribbean (EC) in order geographically, played a cross-cultural card game (with a twist), and discussed the expectations and general program components. The Associate Peace Corps Director (APCD) for Grenada used to be the Minister of Education and has a deep interest in developing Special Ed programs so Grenada is currently the only country that the PC has a specific Special Ed program. Lucky us! During our in-country training, we will learn technical skills as related to our field, universal technical skills (like HIV/AIDS prevention), health precautions, safety and security tips, cross-cultural skills, and language skills. Unfortunately, Grenada does not have a language requirement, meaning that we will only learn a limited amount of French Patois as opposed to volunteers in St. Lucia and Dominica. I have heard, however, that I can take language classes offered on the island, like Spanish, so a few of us trainees are going to look into that.

After the end of training today, many of us headed to the beach for the first time. Incredible. We met a funny and friendly man who worked at a small resort on the beach and extended an invitation to a bon fire on Friday complete with a BBQ. We left not quite sure if he was serious or not.

The Caribbean

We have some reading homework about policies and what to expect during our in-country training. I must say that this has been a fantastic transition, from staging in Miami to a retreat for a week in St. Lucia, before meeting our host families in Grenada for the remaining 7 weeks.

Vegetarianism

Good news: a RPCV (returned Peace Corps volunteer) who served in Grenada told the veggies in the group that people eat a largely vegetarian diet due to the abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables. There is also a Rastafarian presence on the island, so vegetarianism is not a foreign concept. I have been able to be vegan since arriving on the island, eating fresh fruit and salad, soups and cooked rice and vegetables. We were, needless to say, beyond thrilled.

One dinner: rice and beans, cabbage/carrots/onions, and sweet plantains

Arrival

After deplaning and soaking in the sun and heat, we met some PC staff who took our picture. After a smooth transition through customs, we picked up our bags. We walked a short distance to a mini-bus that had folding seats in the aisles. The bus was also air-conditioned, much to our delight. A group of current St. Lucian Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) met us there with a homemade welcome sign, water, and granola bars. We were told that it takes a lot of time and effort to get to that part of the island on a Sunday, so thanks!

Current St. Lucian volunteers with their welcome sign

90+ pounds of luggage

The sinuous road along with the mountainous terrain made my motion sickness kick in. Fortunately for me (and the people sitting in front of me), we made it to the retreat center right when I felt I was reaching my limit. I stay in a room in a seminary on top of a steep hill. The view makes it worth the hike. We spotted some lizard, geckos, and toads, but no flying cockroaches :)

Our St. Lucian prince in front of the rooms. He has a gecko friend inside.

Notes

1. The EC $1 is a coin, like the Euro.
2. You need to turn a light switch DOWN to turn a light on.
3. The Eastern Caribbean outlets are the same as Great Britain, NOT the "Caribbean" ones.
4. People drive on the opposite side of the road.
5. Roosters don't only crow in the morning, or just once a day for that matter.

Flowers left on our bed post

Staging

So, after weeks of preparation, I have arrived at the Peace Corps Staging event, which is basically an orientation where we submit paperwork, take care of student loan deferments, learn about more PC expectations for us, and reflect on our motivation, aspirations, and anxieties concerning our decision to join the PC. There are only 24 other volunteers at the staging event, which makes it easy to get to know people and create a sense of community. All of us are working in Special Education or Youth and Community Development. We also learned of our newly promoted status as PC trainees, meaning we are no longer mere invitees. Our cohort is called EC81, meaning we are the 81st group to be assigned to the Eastern Caribbean, which is composed of St. Lucia, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent. It's 55 degrees here in Miami, still balmy considering where I came from.

Union Square, NYC 2/10/10

I miss many things already, like the 67th St. library, extensive public transportation, small cafes, Central Park, etc. However, I'm excited about finally going to St. Lucia and meeting the EC PC staff and volunteers :) I'll update as soon as I can. Until then, take care.

Last Supper in the US with some EC81 volunteers

Waiting for check-in for our flight to St. Lucia at 6:00am with a half ton of luggage...priceless

Countdown: 17 Days Until Pre-Service Training

Should I be worried about my lack of anxiety? I’ve joined the Peace Corps (PC) as a Special Education Teacher in St. Lucia and Grenada for the next two years. I can’t help but to be excited about meeting new friends, learning new life lessons and skills, hiking on the islands, and having frogs jump out of my sink as I wash dishes. Ironically, I’ve decided to take up knitting during my pre-PC transition time, something I hear won’t be necessary in the West Indies. Unless, of course, I figure out how to knit an air conditioner or a mosquito net.

Many people have been asking what I’ll be doing in the Spice Island and the official answer is: it depends. Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) have a primary job, but also establish secondary projects based on their community’s needs. My primary duty is “to assist in the development of special education programs through teacher training, assisting students, and providing technical support for policy makers.” PC then writes a loooooong list of possible components for the job, such as:

· Assisting in the development and implementation of special education programs in primary and secondary schools

· Facilitating the establishment and implementation of extracurricular programs for special needs students

· Supporting policy makers to define policy in relation to special education

· Aiding community organizations to develop programs that are inclusive of people with special needs and that advocate for the rights of persons with disabilities

· Furthering the technical skills of special education teachers, who may not have specialized training in the field…by introducing new information, methods and ideas, and modeling appropriate techniques in classroom and remedial/resource room settings

· Improving the identification of special needs with diagnostic tests

· Helping staff learn to identify and access resources (financial, human, and informational) to meet programming needs

· Assisting in developing and implementing community outreach programs to train parents of special needs children

The secondary projects in the Eastern Caribbean (EC) are usually associated with HIV/AIDS prevention, youth and female empowerment, environmental sustainability, health and nutrition, or life skills. In essence, as one returned PCV recently told me, my job will be to, “plant trees under whose shade I would not sit” since us PCVs are “not here to move mountains...we're here to get behind the people that are already trying to move them and help them push.” So, in short, I won’t know exactly what I’ll be doing until I get there :)

Preparing for the Peace Corps is starting to feel like a full time job! From shopping to wrapping up projects to visiting people, I am swamped busy. I just returned from California last week to visit my siblings, father's side of the family, and grandmother where Sean and I ate a record amount of tamales, cactus salad, and guacamole (muchas gracias tias y dad). Fortunately, there are avocados in St. Lucia and Grenada (whew!). ¡No tengan miedo, todo el mundo!

My going away gift: 33 tamales from the family