Christmas, NYC, etc.

So I’ve been pretty delinquent as of late about updating my blog. This is me attempting to get back on track though. I had an amazing time back in the States for Christmas. It was great to see friends and family, eat lots of delicious food, put on a sweater, see some snow, and be home for the holidays. Nothing beats being home for Christmas.

I had somehow forgotten how many different types of food there are in the States. Walking into the grocery store I was nearly shocked to see all the wonderful food. I was also pretty stoked that now at grocery stores in Topeka, Kansas, they have so many free samples everywhere (including half-sized sandwiches), that you can eat lunch for free! If you don’t have such luxury, all-inclusive grocery stores where you’re at, just another reason to head to the heartland.

Besides reveling in the joy of rediscovering the greatness of food options in the States, I didn’t really experience much “culture shock” per se during my trip, although I did have an interesting first few days in New York City seeing college friends. St. Lucia and NYC couldn’t be more different from one another, so I often found myself grinning or at times even laughing out loud when seeing how completely opposite the two places are. For example, dogs in St. Lucia are not exalted to such a favorable, posh position as in the US, so seeing New Yorkers walk around their bundled up Chihuahuas and pulling a stoop to scoop the poop was quite a comical site to behold. In addition to watching people obviously rush about, much unlike St. Lucia, it was also funny that my friends insisted on having a “plan” laid out for what we would be doing. What is this thing called a plan? And why would someone call when he or she is 10 minutes late? What’s 10 minutes? It felt a bit peculiar to in “Lucian” mode amidst such a different environment. I didn’t think that my time in St. Lucia had really changed my mentality concerning communication, planning, etc. but apparently at least a little something has rubbed off a bit on me.

I also really enjoyed a couple of unexpected encounters with Caribbean people while in NYC. Even though NYC obviously has the whole “melting pot” thing going for it and is just a tad bit more diverse than St. Lucia, or Kansas for that matter, somehow I didn’t really anticipate running into people from the Caribbean. Interestingly enough, however, one of my first encounters in NYC just so happened to be with a guy from Haiti. My shuttle driver from the airport to my friend’s apartment busted out some Creole after another driver (also Haitian) parked him in. I was stoked that I could actually understand the most of what he was saying (something like why are you stopping there…I can’t pass), and pleasantly surprised that learning Creole had come in handy someplace other than St. Lucia. I also heard another Haitian lady in the airport asking her grandmother “es ou vle chez ou” (do you want your wheelchair) on my way back to St. Lucia. I also caught myself inadvertently speaking Creole as well, as I instinctively told a guy on the street “no mesi” (no thanks) after he tried to offer me a flier. I’m so used to saying that when I’m in Castries (St. Lucia’s capital) or at the airport, where taxi drivers are on the prowl for tourists. While I didn’t expect to run into anyone from the Caribbean, let alone hear anyone speaking Creole, strangely enough I did expect to randomly see people I know on the streets of New York. In St. Lucia it’s almost inevitable that you’ll run into a least one person you know almost anywhere on the island, so the whole time in NYC I was walking around eagerly anticipating that I was going to bump into someone I knew that day. And then I’d realize oh right, NYC has just a few more people than St. Lucia. Shucks.

Now that I’m back I have just over 7 months left before my time with the Peace Corps is up. I’m sure that the time will fly by, given how quickly the past year and a half has gone. So, get in that island vacation you’ve always dreamed of before time runs out and the economy goes south! :)