So, at one point during my time here in St. Lucia I had a little problem with mice in my house. As most of you know, I gracefully took care of it. Then they came back. Once again, I was able to remedy the problem (with a little more grace, if that’s even possible). No, they have not returned to discover if the 3rd time’s a charm with respect to permanently moving into my pretty, pink little abode. A new breed of infestation, however, has decided to storm my residence. Cockroaches. The troublesome little pests have invaded with full force, and given that there are dozens of easy access entrances into my house, it has been impossible to completely exterminate them. They also seem to have built up immunity against the insecticide spray, as I still occasionally find them in my utensil drawer, even after taking out all the drawers and spraying tons of poison into the dark abyss found behind them. And now little ones have appeared. Wonderful…
One day as I opened the cabinet under my kitchen sink to grab food for Mr. Bojangles, I couldn’t help but notice that there were approximately 15-20 roaches inside the nearly full bag of dog food. Grrrrreat. What to do? Do I force myself to believe it was only a figment of my imagination and move on? Do I throw the entire bag of perfectly good dog food out? Do I take the insecticide and spray the whole cockroach clan along with the dog food? While option 1 is convenient, I’m a realist. Those are definitely real roaches. Dog food is expensive, and I’m cheap, so that eliminates option 2. Wait a second, you must be thinking. Wouldn’t spraying insecticide all over a bag of dog food imply that one would then be obligated to dispose of the poisoned food? Well, evidently not in my twisted mind. I started to contemplate about the nature and purpose of cockroach insecticide spray. Would it really prove that much of a health hazard to Bo? After all, it’s designed to kill small crawling insects, and Bo is quite a bit larger than them (though it is arguable that, left to their own devices, some of the roaches would soon be of comparable size to Bo). So yep, you guessed it. I decided to put Mr. Bojangle’s life in jeopardy to save about 45EC dollars (18US). I sprayed the insecticide inside the bag as if I were a 16 year old girl trying to get her hair to stay just right for prom, sealed the bag, and listened to the sound of scurrying cockroach feet helplessly trying to escape their death chamber. After 20 minutes of marinating, it’s dinner time for Bo! Before you all go calling PETA on me, I did ultimately decide to dispose of the top layer of dog food directly affected by the spray before feeding Bo a helping of nutritious Trail Blazer dog food. And yes, in case you were wondering, Mr. Bojangles is still alive and well. In fact, he’s stronger than ever. You know what they say…
I’ve posted a few interesting conversations I’ve had with my host mom from training. Well, here’s another classic one that happened to be over the phone.
Ben: Hello, good afternoon MaPego. How are you?
MaPego: I’m good. How are you?
Ben: Good.
MaPego: Ok, that’s good. I haven’t seen you for a few days and I noticed that you’ve had a towel out on the line all week.
Ben: (laughing to myself) Oh yeah. I had accidentally left it wet in my bag overnight and didn’t want it to smell up my house, so I decided to leave it there until I do laundry again.
MaPego: Oh, ok. You know, I just wanted to check and see that everything was ok. As long as you’re alright.
Ben: Yeah, I’m great. Thanks for checking in. I’ll drop by and see you sometime soon. Take care.
MaPego: Ok, you too. Bye.
Strangely enough, I knew that my dirty towel that had been permanently chillin’ on the line would make it way into a conversation at one point or another. lol
Funerals in St. Lucia are very different than those back in the States. I’ve been to a few since I’ve been here, but recently my Fond St. Jacques supervisor’s mother-in-law passed away and my experience at the funeral really struck me. I would describe funerals here as more of a celebration of life than a mournful time of sadness. After the funeral I rode down to the cemetery with the church choir. Along the way, we joyously sang praise songs as if on the way to a youth revival or summer camp. Many songs were also sung in a lively fashion at the grave site. Later on that night at the reception, people generously drank, ate, danced, and sang. Somehow I wondered whether I was at a funeral or I had missed the memo and a wedding had actually occurred. While it was a very surreal experience, and made me feel somewhat strange given the funeral tradition I’m used to, it was interesting to look at funerals from a different perspective that emphasizes rejoicing in life rather than mourning death.
The other aspect of funerals that differs from those in the States is that the grieving family is expected to throw a big party in honor of the deceased. This seemed strange to me, as I would think that since the family is coping with the loss and arranging so many things for the funeral itself that others would take care of bringing food and drinks for the party, if there were to be a party at all. As I sat with the choir upstairs in my supervisor’s home, I was taken aback by the fact that the only daughter of the deceased was frantically running around and stressed out, making sure everyone had enough drinks, food, etc. In my mind I was thinking that she should be seated and resting herself after having just buried her mother. In talking with my supervisor, I learned that this expectation that the family takes on the responsibility of throwing a party for the deceased is tied to traditions of times past. Back when there wasn’t the convenience of a funeral home to take care of preserving the body, providing the coffin, etc. people from the community would come together at the home of the deceased the very night of the death and work through the night to help take care of everything that needed to be done (building the coffin, arranging flowers, etc.). The family would provide food and drinks for the workers to keep them going, and jokes and stories would also be told to keep people lively and awake. Even though funeral homes now take care of most all that needs to be done, and the family of the deceased doesn’t rely on the community as much to help with the arrangements, the tradition of the family providing food and drinks for others is still upheld and expected.
Friday, February 20, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
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! :)
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! :)
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Christmas Curtains, White Man Hair, and Grapefruits!
Host Mom: What are you doing with your curtains for Christmas?
Me: What am I doing with what for Christmas? (I thought I heard her say curtains, but since the question left me baffled, I couldn’t be sure)
Host Mom: Your curtains. Are you going to change them?
Me: Umm…I hadn’t really thought about it. Why? Is that something that’s typically done?
Host Mom: Uh huh. I have some for you. You should put them up in December.
Me: Oh…ok. Thanks. That’s nice of you. Remember I’m leaving December 11th to go home though, so can I put them up sometime soon?
Host Mom: No. You should wait until December.
Me: Oh…ok. I guess it would just be nice to be able to see them myself.
Host Mom: Nah. Put them up in December.
Me: Ok.
Host Mom: Yeah, you can put up the new ones after you take out the ones there now and wash them.
Me: Oh…yeah…perhaps I should do that (people wash curtains??)
Host Mom: Yeah, you should. It’s been over a year and they’re really dirty.
Me: (laughing) Alright. No problem.
Oh, my beloved host mother, how I come to love thee more and more with each passing day. She never ceases to crack me up...
Over the past year or so I have heard a lot of interesting comments regarding my hair, particularly from kids. Here are a few quotes from kids illustrating the different musings of “white man” hair.
- “Mommy look. He’s got hair on his arms and legs just like the dog.”
- “Your hair is nice. Real nice eh. I like to see that.”
- (after feeling the bristly touch of my goatee) “Mesye! You know what they doing with that? When you die they does come and take that and make steel wool with it.” (for those of you non-domestic types, steel wool is the shiny, metallic scrubbing device for dishes).
So eating grapefruits has become a full time job as of late. The tree outside me house is bearing grapefruits as if extinction was imminent and it was putting up its last fight to produce as many as possible. Even though I frequently climb the tree, eat about four a day, and give them to my neighbors, some are still dropping from the tree and spoiling. And, as you can imagine, watching perfectly good fruit go to waste takes quite a large toll on my emotional well being. If any of you reading this and have a cold, come down to St. Lucia and we’ll cure that in no time…
Even though I’ve been struggling with my job in the fruit department, volunteer work has been going reasonably well lately. After a bit of a hiatus, the composting project is getting back on track, thanks be to God. We’re still trying to secure all of the funding for the project, but are making some headway with different organizations. I’m pleased with the progress of a few my violin students. Some of them have improved quite a bit and can play Creole folk songs quite well now.
I’m getting excited to go home for Christmas. It will be nice to see friends and family as well as be able to celebrate Christmas as I am accustomed to. I’ve been playing my Christmas music and bought some cheap lights to get revved up for it.
Me: What am I doing with what for Christmas? (I thought I heard her say curtains, but since the question left me baffled, I couldn’t be sure)
Host Mom: Your curtains. Are you going to change them?
Me: Umm…I hadn’t really thought about it. Why? Is that something that’s typically done?
Host Mom: Uh huh. I have some for you. You should put them up in December.
Me: Oh…ok. Thanks. That’s nice of you. Remember I’m leaving December 11th to go home though, so can I put them up sometime soon?
Host Mom: No. You should wait until December.
Me: Oh…ok. I guess it would just be nice to be able to see them myself.
Host Mom: Nah. Put them up in December.
Me: Ok.
Host Mom: Yeah, you can put up the new ones after you take out the ones there now and wash them.
Me: Oh…yeah…perhaps I should do that (people wash curtains??)
Host Mom: Yeah, you should. It’s been over a year and they’re really dirty.
Me: (laughing) Alright. No problem.
Oh, my beloved host mother, how I come to love thee more and more with each passing day. She never ceases to crack me up...
Over the past year or so I have heard a lot of interesting comments regarding my hair, particularly from kids. Here are a few quotes from kids illustrating the different musings of “white man” hair.
- “Mommy look. He’s got hair on his arms and legs just like the dog.”
- “Your hair is nice. Real nice eh. I like to see that.”
- (after feeling the bristly touch of my goatee) “Mesye! You know what they doing with that? When you die they does come and take that and make steel wool with it.” (for those of you non-domestic types, steel wool is the shiny, metallic scrubbing device for dishes).
So eating grapefruits has become a full time job as of late. The tree outside me house is bearing grapefruits as if extinction was imminent and it was putting up its last fight to produce as many as possible. Even though I frequently climb the tree, eat about four a day, and give them to my neighbors, some are still dropping from the tree and spoiling. And, as you can imagine, watching perfectly good fruit go to waste takes quite a large toll on my emotional well being. If any of you reading this and have a cold, come down to St. Lucia and we’ll cure that in no time…
Even though I’ve been struggling with my job in the fruit department, volunteer work has been going reasonably well lately. After a bit of a hiatus, the composting project is getting back on track, thanks be to God. We’re still trying to secure all of the funding for the project, but are making some headway with different organizations. I’m pleased with the progress of a few my violin students. Some of them have improved quite a bit and can play Creole folk songs quite well now.
I’m getting excited to go home for Christmas. It will be nice to see friends and family as well as be able to celebrate Christmas as I am accustomed to. I’ve been playing my Christmas music and bought some cheap lights to get revved up for it.
Monday, November 3, 2008
US Elections, Jounen Creole, etc.
US ELECTIONS
It has been very interesting following the US election from abroad. It can be quite the topic of conversation, and some people seem to follow it more closely than their own local elections. Even though I obviously knew that events in the USA have an impact on other countries, since living down here I have become much more aware of that influence and of perceptions others hold toward the US political system. Even though I’m an American and follow the election coverage via US cable TV, I feel as though I have been viewing it through a different lens. In seeing that certain people from other countries follow it just as closely as people in the States (if not closer), it not only puts the election on a grander scale but also conveys the reality that it truly is a global matter. In turn, I sense that my perspective has been broadened which has caused me to more seriously consider the voice of the wider world when casting my vote. I obviously didn’t cast my vote for a particular candidate merely because the world wanted that person in office, but at the same time I did consider the important role that our next president plays in working with other world leaders to progress forward collectively.
Everyone I have talked to down here supports Obama. I’m sure that some support him for his stance on political issues, but I definitely have heard, and I quote, “we need a black brother in that white house,” as well as other equally amusing comments. Some even have t-shirts, hats, and other paraphernalia to show their support for Obama. At times I wonder whether I missed a memo that St. Lucians somehow attained the right to vote in the US election.
I’ve been writing this post over the last couple of days and last night was the election. I enjoyed celebrating the historic victory while eating homemade cocoa tea (10x better than hot chocolate) and bakes (fried deliciousness) with a good St. Lucian friend. It seems as though most everyone stayed up until 2 or 3 to follow the election through to its finish. The principal of the school and a few staff members came this morning celebrating and wearing their Obama t-shirts. I am glad to have been able to have had the chance to follow the election from the outside looking in.
JOUNEN KWEYOL
St. Lucia recently celebrated its annual Jounen Kweyol (Creole Day), which is a day specifically set aside to uphold traditional Creole customs and practices of past. The event is held in 4 communities around St. Lucia, where traditional Creole food is sold, folk songs are sung, and traditional dances performed. Even though the event is aimed at celebrating the past, unfortunately in some instances people focus on its financial benefits, and thus certain aspects can be compromised to capitalize on this opportunity. Many of my St. Lucian friends and I noticed that largely Soca and Zoug (more contemporary music) was being played instead of the traditional folk songs, as it’s more popular and keeps the crowd engaged. In addition, in one of the communities pizza was being sold along with lots of little cheap plastic toys for kids. It was disheartening to see such compromises being made, but at least such things didn’t go unnoticed.
The Fond St. Jacques Primary School had a Soiree (night activity) the day after Jounen Creole to raise money for the school. Even though the government provides funds, schools largely have to round up their own resources. The event was really successful. The kids put on different skits, sang songs, jumped rope, etc. Domino tables were set up to engage the older men, I played a few folk songs on my violin, and lots of drinks and food were sold.
SEVERE WEATHER
So a couple weeks ago it rained…a lot. I think it rained every day for about a week and a half. We had a few landslides in my community that completely blocked parts of the road. As a result of Hurricane Omar passing just north of us, the sea was really rough, and the waves caused flooding in Soufriere (closest town to me). Fortunately, however, we haven’t been directly hit by any major storm system so far this hurricane season.
MY SPIRITUAL LIFE IN ST. LUCIA
One of the challenging aspects of service down here has been difficulty in finding a group of Christians to fellowship with. While I enjoy playing my violin with the worship team at the Catholic church, I don’t find it to really be a place of real spiritual nourishment for me. I think this is partly because I’m not Catholic, but also because of the language barrier. Even though I am feeling more and more confident about my ability to dabble a bit in speaking Creole, it’s still challenging for me to pick up everything that is spoken, especially when the person isn’t speaking directly to me. I’ll understand bits and pieces of what the priest says, but not quite enough to put together some kind of cohesive message. I also feel that for some here being Catholic is somewhat cultural, and doesn’t always inform lifestyle. Because of these things, and having just come from college, where I was fortunate to be in the company of a very supportive and spiritually encouraging fellowship, I have felt a bit isolated in my faith here. I think experiencing this has strengthened my faith in that it has forced me to rely on God and not people. On the other hand, being able to share in fellowship with others of the same faith certainly is important and encouraging. Fortunately, a St. Lucian friend of mine and I have started a bible study together a few nights a week. I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to discuss different topics with him and regain fellowship, however small it may be.
It has been very interesting following the US election from abroad. It can be quite the topic of conversation, and some people seem to follow it more closely than their own local elections. Even though I obviously knew that events in the USA have an impact on other countries, since living down here I have become much more aware of that influence and of perceptions others hold toward the US political system. Even though I’m an American and follow the election coverage via US cable TV, I feel as though I have been viewing it through a different lens. In seeing that certain people from other countries follow it just as closely as people in the States (if not closer), it not only puts the election on a grander scale but also conveys the reality that it truly is a global matter. In turn, I sense that my perspective has been broadened which has caused me to more seriously consider the voice of the wider world when casting my vote. I obviously didn’t cast my vote for a particular candidate merely because the world wanted that person in office, but at the same time I did consider the important role that our next president plays in working with other world leaders to progress forward collectively.
Everyone I have talked to down here supports Obama. I’m sure that some support him for his stance on political issues, but I definitely have heard, and I quote, “we need a black brother in that white house,” as well as other equally amusing comments. Some even have t-shirts, hats, and other paraphernalia to show their support for Obama. At times I wonder whether I missed a memo that St. Lucians somehow attained the right to vote in the US election.
I’ve been writing this post over the last couple of days and last night was the election. I enjoyed celebrating the historic victory while eating homemade cocoa tea (10x better than hot chocolate) and bakes (fried deliciousness) with a good St. Lucian friend. It seems as though most everyone stayed up until 2 or 3 to follow the election through to its finish. The principal of the school and a few staff members came this morning celebrating and wearing their Obama t-shirts. I am glad to have been able to have had the chance to follow the election from the outside looking in.
JOUNEN KWEYOL
St. Lucia recently celebrated its annual Jounen Kweyol (Creole Day), which is a day specifically set aside to uphold traditional Creole customs and practices of past. The event is held in 4 communities around St. Lucia, where traditional Creole food is sold, folk songs are sung, and traditional dances performed. Even though the event is aimed at celebrating the past, unfortunately in some instances people focus on its financial benefits, and thus certain aspects can be compromised to capitalize on this opportunity. Many of my St. Lucian friends and I noticed that largely Soca and Zoug (more contemporary music) was being played instead of the traditional folk songs, as it’s more popular and keeps the crowd engaged. In addition, in one of the communities pizza was being sold along with lots of little cheap plastic toys for kids. It was disheartening to see such compromises being made, but at least such things didn’t go unnoticed.
The Fond St. Jacques Primary School had a Soiree (night activity) the day after Jounen Creole to raise money for the school. Even though the government provides funds, schools largely have to round up their own resources. The event was really successful. The kids put on different skits, sang songs, jumped rope, etc. Domino tables were set up to engage the older men, I played a few folk songs on my violin, and lots of drinks and food were sold.
SEVERE WEATHER
So a couple weeks ago it rained…a lot. I think it rained every day for about a week and a half. We had a few landslides in my community that completely blocked parts of the road. As a result of Hurricane Omar passing just north of us, the sea was really rough, and the waves caused flooding in Soufriere (closest town to me). Fortunately, however, we haven’t been directly hit by any major storm system so far this hurricane season.
MY SPIRITUAL LIFE IN ST. LUCIA
One of the challenging aspects of service down here has been difficulty in finding a group of Christians to fellowship with. While I enjoy playing my violin with the worship team at the Catholic church, I don’t find it to really be a place of real spiritual nourishment for me. I think this is partly because I’m not Catholic, but also because of the language barrier. Even though I am feeling more and more confident about my ability to dabble a bit in speaking Creole, it’s still challenging for me to pick up everything that is spoken, especially when the person isn’t speaking directly to me. I’ll understand bits and pieces of what the priest says, but not quite enough to put together some kind of cohesive message. I also feel that for some here being Catholic is somewhat cultural, and doesn’t always inform lifestyle. Because of these things, and having just come from college, where I was fortunate to be in the company of a very supportive and spiritually encouraging fellowship, I have felt a bit isolated in my faith here. I think experiencing this has strengthened my faith in that it has forced me to rely on God and not people. On the other hand, being able to share in fellowship with others of the same faith certainly is important and encouraging. Fortunately, a St. Lucian friend of mine and I have started a bible study together a few nights a week. I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to discuss different topics with him and regain fellowship, however small it may be.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
St. Lucia Top Ten Lists
In the style of David Letterman and Andrew Haile, a college friend and fellow Peace Corps Volunteer in Guinea, I decided to do a couple of “top ten” lists relating to different St. Lucia topics. So here goes…
Top Ten Indicators That You Live in a Slightly Humid Climate
10) Cornflakes lose their crispness within one week of being opened.
9) Shirts can be wrung out as if soaked in water after having gone for a jog.
8) Paper from the printer comes out curled up like a scroll.
7) It proves to be rocket science to get something to permanently stick to the wall
6) Mold grows…on just about anything
5) You wake up at 2am sweaty and hot, even though you happen to be sleeping nearly naked and coverless.
4) The handy hot water switch on the shower is never used out of fear that once getting out of the shower you’ll somehow start ironically getting wet with sweat while drying off.
3) The motor of a brand new, flashy Japanese-made fan goes out within months because of overuse.
2) In an attempt to expedite the process of going to sleep, prior to going to bed you open the freezer and put your arms, back, etc. on frozen chicken to cool off.
1) Envelopes magically become sealed by themselves and must therefore be unstuck and glued shut when sending mail.
It’s not always as bad as I make it out to be. August and September just happen to be the worst months. This week it’s been really rainy and thus quite a bit cooler. Just now in a couple months it’ll be “cold.” Still come and visit me. :)
Top Ten St. Lucian Phrases/Mannerisms
10) Eh eh (used in surprise, disgust, and many other situations)
9) Wi Papa or Ma-ma! (like the surprise form of “eh eh”)
8) Awa! (emphatic no)
7) We Me`sye! (way-mess-yay; like the surprise form of “eh eh”)
6) Sucking teeth/Lip smack (usually followed by an “eh eh” in the form of disgust)
5) Popicho! (pop-ee-show; nonsense!)
4) Ci Bon Dye Vle (God willing)
3) Irie (eye-ree; positive or safe)
2) Sa ou di a (sow-dee-ah; translates to “what do you say there” but means how are you).
1) He…he…he…he Salop! (used when someone makes a big mistake, falls down, etc.; last word used in isolation is taken as a curse)
A couple of posts ago I mentioned that we had started up a table tennis/games afternoon in the parish center on Sunday afternoons. It’s been going well and fortunately a considerable number of youth has been consistently coming. We were also able to get access to a few more games (scrabble, chess, connect 4) from an after school program that has since stopped. We’re hoping to open up the parish center a couple of days during the week as well and are in the process of getting permission from the parish council.
Oh, one last thing. The mice are back. Good thing I’ve already established the most effective, humane way of dealing with them, eh?
Top Ten Indicators That You Live in a Slightly Humid Climate
10) Cornflakes lose their crispness within one week of being opened.
9) Shirts can be wrung out as if soaked in water after having gone for a jog.
8) Paper from the printer comes out curled up like a scroll.
7) It proves to be rocket science to get something to permanently stick to the wall
6) Mold grows…on just about anything
5) You wake up at 2am sweaty and hot, even though you happen to be sleeping nearly naked and coverless.
4) The handy hot water switch on the shower is never used out of fear that once getting out of the shower you’ll somehow start ironically getting wet with sweat while drying off.
3) The motor of a brand new, flashy Japanese-made fan goes out within months because of overuse.
2) In an attempt to expedite the process of going to sleep, prior to going to bed you open the freezer and put your arms, back, etc. on frozen chicken to cool off.
1) Envelopes magically become sealed by themselves and must therefore be unstuck and glued shut when sending mail.
It’s not always as bad as I make it out to be. August and September just happen to be the worst months. This week it’s been really rainy and thus quite a bit cooler. Just now in a couple months it’ll be “cold.” Still come and visit me. :)
Top Ten St. Lucian Phrases/Mannerisms
10) Eh eh (used in surprise, disgust, and many other situations)
9) Wi Papa or Ma-ma! (like the surprise form of “eh eh”)
8) Awa! (emphatic no)
7) We Me`sye! (way-mess-yay; like the surprise form of “eh eh”)
6) Sucking teeth/Lip smack (usually followed by an “eh eh” in the form of disgust)
5) Popicho! (pop-ee-show; nonsense!)
4) Ci Bon Dye Vle (God willing)
3) Irie (eye-ree; positive or safe)
2) Sa ou di a (sow-dee-ah; translates to “what do you say there” but means how are you).
1) He…he…he…he Salop! (used when someone makes a big mistake, falls down, etc.; last word used in isolation is taken as a curse)
A couple of posts ago I mentioned that we had started up a table tennis/games afternoon in the parish center on Sunday afternoons. It’s been going well and fortunately a considerable number of youth has been consistently coming. We were also able to get access to a few more games (scrabble, chess, connect 4) from an after school program that has since stopped. We’re hoping to open up the parish center a couple of days during the week as well and are in the process of getting permission from the parish council.
Oh, one last thing. The mice are back. Good thing I’ve already established the most effective, humane way of dealing with them, eh?
Monday, September 1, 2008
Trip to Dominica, Nicknames, & Rastafarian Culture
I mentioned in my last post that I was going on a short trip to a nearby island to the north called Dominica with some teachers from a school in Soufriere. I got back from the trip about a week ago and really enjoyed my time there. Dominica is known as the “nature island” of the Caribbean, so it was right up my alley. One of the highlights from the trip was hiking to an amazingly humungous waterfall and bathing in the pool at the bottom. The water in the pool was really rough—almost to the point of forming waves—because of the strength of the water falling into the pool. I tried to go down and touch the bottom of the pool a couple of times, but each time I kept going down and down and eventually thought to myself maybe I should start going back up now. Since I recently got scuba certified in St. Lucia I figured I should probably make use of it and see what the coral/fish are like in Dominica. One of my Peace Corps friends in Dominica is also certified and hooked me up with a good price at a dive shop where she was certified. My scuba diving experience was great and I saw a lot more underwater life than I expected to see. The coral was some of the brightest I’ve seen and I saw a turtle, a couple of eels, lobsters, and of course a bunch of tropical fish. At the aptly named “Champagne” dive site, there was a spot where warm bubbles were coming up from the ocean floor due to volcanic activity on the island. That was pretty cool. I also had a good time hanging out with the teachers and joking around with them in Creole. Once they were aware that I’ve been making an effort to learn Creole they were intentional about speaking it to me, so I got a lot of good practice in.
Since coming to Fond St. Jacques I’ve developed quite a few nicknames, some which make sense and others which leave me confused. The most popular is “Ben Ten.” Apparently there’s a cartoon on TV with a character named Ben Ten who has a special watch that gives him 10 crazy powers or something. I’ve tried to find it on TV so I can discover who I really am, but alas I haven’t had any luck yet. I like the idea of having special powers though. Another nickname is “Dr. Ben.” Despite my lack of a medical degree, my neighbor insists I have an honorary degree and likes to call me that. If it’s not Dr. Ben, it’s Ben Hur. I’ve got no complaints. If people want to attribute special powers, a marked increase in intellect, or superhuman strength to me, they can go right ahead.
I’ve been meaning to write a little something about the presence of the Rastafarian culture in St. Lucia, specifically in Fond St. Jacques. I think I have hesitated to this point because I don’t have a complete understanding of the religion/phiolosophy myself. Well, here’s a bit of what I do know. Rastafarians believe that Haile Selassie, a former Ethiopian leader and descendant of King Solomon, was the returned Messiah Jesus Christ. They follow the dietary restrictions of the Old Testament and therefore are almost exclusively vegetarian. Most grow dreadlocks in accordance with verses of the Old Testament (Leviticus 21:5). Cannabis (marijuana) is seen as a sacrament and is smoked to clean the body and soul and bring one to a higher level of consciousness and closer to Jah (God). The movement has been popularized by reggae music, particularly that of Bob Marley. Most Rastafarians I know farm for a living, and since Fond St. Jacques is largely a farming community, I know quite a few. A couple of the guys at the Farmers’ Cooperative that I work with on the composting project are Rastafarian.
I’m excited to be going home to Kansas this Christmas to see family and friends. I’m going to stop in NYC for a few days to see some college friends before heading home. Ticket prices were just about the same traveling straight home to Kansas as it was flying to NYC and then to Kansas, so I figured I would take the opportunity to catch up with some people I haven’t seen in awhile. If anyone is going to be NYC from the 11th to the 15th or on New Year’s Eve, let me know.
Since coming to Fond St. Jacques I’ve developed quite a few nicknames, some which make sense and others which leave me confused. The most popular is “Ben Ten.” Apparently there’s a cartoon on TV with a character named Ben Ten who has a special watch that gives him 10 crazy powers or something. I’ve tried to find it on TV so I can discover who I really am, but alas I haven’t had any luck yet. I like the idea of having special powers though. Another nickname is “Dr. Ben.” Despite my lack of a medical degree, my neighbor insists I have an honorary degree and likes to call me that. If it’s not Dr. Ben, it’s Ben Hur. I’ve got no complaints. If people want to attribute special powers, a marked increase in intellect, or superhuman strength to me, they can go right ahead.
I’ve been meaning to write a little something about the presence of the Rastafarian culture in St. Lucia, specifically in Fond St. Jacques. I think I have hesitated to this point because I don’t have a complete understanding of the religion/phiolosophy myself. Well, here’s a bit of what I do know. Rastafarians believe that Haile Selassie, a former Ethiopian leader and descendant of King Solomon, was the returned Messiah Jesus Christ. They follow the dietary restrictions of the Old Testament and therefore are almost exclusively vegetarian. Most grow dreadlocks in accordance with verses of the Old Testament (Leviticus 21:5). Cannabis (marijuana) is seen as a sacrament and is smoked to clean the body and soul and bring one to a higher level of consciousness and closer to Jah (God). The movement has been popularized by reggae music, particularly that of Bob Marley. Most Rastafarians I know farm for a living, and since Fond St. Jacques is largely a farming community, I know quite a few. A couple of the guys at the Farmers’ Cooperative that I work with on the composting project are Rastafarian.
I’m excited to be going home to Kansas this Christmas to see family and friends. I’m going to stop in NYC for a few days to see some college friends before heading home. Ticket prices were just about the same traveling straight home to Kansas as it was flying to NYC and then to Kansas, so I figured I would take the opportunity to catch up with some people I haven’t seen in awhile. If anyone is going to be NYC from the 11th to the 15th or on New Year’s Eve, let me know.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Karaoke Craziness, Tennis Camp, & Youth Stuff
Recently karaoke was brought to Fond St. Jacques, spicing up the usually quiet night-life. Although it always proves to be an interesting time, to date nothing has quite topped my first experience there roughly a month ago. It was not only an amusing evening of singing, but also of obligatory dancing and awkward moments brought about by peculiar song choices. Although the thought did cross my mind to break the mold and introduce karaoke whistling, I decided that people were most likely already thinking “Gade nomn blan fou chante la!” (Look at the crazy white man singing there!), and that whistling might just be a bit more than they could handle. ☺
The night started getting really interesting when Milena, a hilarious petite 50 some year old woman, otherwise self-named as “Sugar Top Celebrity on the Road to Jerusalem” showed up. Without having met her personally, there’s no way that you can fully understand or appreciate the true essence of Sugar Top, but you should be able to at least grasp from the name that she’s quite a character. Anyway, during one of the songs she literally grabbed me and started dancing. Since I know her reasonably well from teaching her neighbors the violin, I played along and danced with her despite the fact that nobody else in the entire place was dancing. Now most of you guys probably know that I’m not the biggest dancer in the world, and am usually more up for dancing in large camouflaging groups rather than one on one with large groups of people blatantly staring as if it were a spectacle, so after one dance I had personally more than satisfied my dancing quota for the evening. Unfortunately Sugar Top was just getting warmed up. No matter what escape tactic I used, she aggressively insisted on dancing song after song, and not wanting to be insulting or rude I reluctantly continued, half-heartedly yet obediently following her ever constant twirling commands like a dog having just been commanded to go to his kennel. After awhile, however, I managed to get away citing dance fatigue.
While the dancing did fortunately come to a stop, the evening festivities were long from over. Late in the night someone chose to sing a Caribbean song with a very unusual premise. In brief, the song was about two white girls who travel to the bush of Africa, stumble upon a cannibalistic tribe, and are eaten. The chorus composed of barbaric chanting of the words “you never taste a white meat yet!” As the lone white person present, I felt just a tad bit awkward, but decided that the only thing to do was resort to laughing at the absurdity of the song. I started really laughing, however, when the guy singing the song changed the words to “Ben never taste a black meat yet!” I should have taken the microphone from him and retorted, “Eh eh? Es ou asiwe? Mwen te manje i deja, ek i ni bon gou” (are you sure? I ate it already and it has good taste), but I didn’t think of that until later. Next time…
I brought my tennis racquet to St. Lucia on a whim, hoping that at some point over my two years here I would have the chance to hit a tennis ball. Well, God granted my wish as I’ve not only had the chance to hit a ball or two, but have had the opportunity to coach a tennis camp for kids with another Peace Corps Volunteer these past three weeks on the southern part of the island. At times it was a bit hectic, given that we had roughly thirty kids and only 1 court and a back mini-court to coach on, but all in all I enjoyed it. The kids were very enthusiastic about playing tennis, so that made up for their occasionally troublesome behaviors. I was glad when it finished though, as I felt slightly bad about not being quite as present in my own community and grew tired of all the traveling.
Not only have I had the chance to play tennis lately, but I’ve also been playing a lot of the next best thing – table tennis. After talking with the parish council and the Church Youth Group, I helped initiate a games afternoon every Sunday at the parish center. Table tennis used to be a very popular activity in Fond St. Jacques, but it died out when the school temporarily moved into the area it had been taking place during its renovations. Now that the school has long been renovated, and the parish center hasn’t been used for hardly anything, why not do something with it? We painted the table tennis board and built a semi-sturdy leg structure for it. It has been fun playing it along with dominoes and cards, and quite a few youth turn out for it. I hope that after we prove to the church that the kids won’t wreck the place, we can move to having it on a more regular basis and expand to have some other types of games and activities.
The recently formed Fond St. Jacques Youth and Sports Club had its grand launching yesterday. In the morning we had a relay marathon. Teams of 8 designated individual runners for different legs of the race around the Soufriere district. Although teams from other communities didn’t have a good showing, quite a few people from Fond St. Jacques came and we had a pretty competitive race. In the afternoon we had a small goals football competition, and later on in the evening a dance. All in all it was a good way to kick things off and I hope that we can build off of the momentum.
So as of about a week ago I have been on St. Lucia for 1 year. It’s crazy to think how quickly my time here has gone by so far. Every time I check myself another month has flown by. I find myself ambivalent with respect to what I think about this quick passing of time. In a week we have a 3 day mid-service training here on St. Lucia with all the volunteers from the different Eastern Caribbean islands. It’ll be nice to catch up with everyone that I met a year ago, swap stories, eat a well-balanced meal, etc. ☺
After mid-service training I’m going on a week long vacation with a group of teachers from Soufriere to Dominica, a nearby island to the north. From what I’ve heard Dominica is gorgeous with rugged mountains for hiking and as many rivers as there are days of the year. I’m really looking forward to a bit of time off island before school starts back up in early September.
The night started getting really interesting when Milena, a hilarious petite 50 some year old woman, otherwise self-named as “Sugar Top Celebrity on the Road to Jerusalem” showed up. Without having met her personally, there’s no way that you can fully understand or appreciate the true essence of Sugar Top, but you should be able to at least grasp from the name that she’s quite a character. Anyway, during one of the songs she literally grabbed me and started dancing. Since I know her reasonably well from teaching her neighbors the violin, I played along and danced with her despite the fact that nobody else in the entire place was dancing. Now most of you guys probably know that I’m not the biggest dancer in the world, and am usually more up for dancing in large camouflaging groups rather than one on one with large groups of people blatantly staring as if it were a spectacle, so after one dance I had personally more than satisfied my dancing quota for the evening. Unfortunately Sugar Top was just getting warmed up. No matter what escape tactic I used, she aggressively insisted on dancing song after song, and not wanting to be insulting or rude I reluctantly continued, half-heartedly yet obediently following her ever constant twirling commands like a dog having just been commanded to go to his kennel. After awhile, however, I managed to get away citing dance fatigue.
While the dancing did fortunately come to a stop, the evening festivities were long from over. Late in the night someone chose to sing a Caribbean song with a very unusual premise. In brief, the song was about two white girls who travel to the bush of Africa, stumble upon a cannibalistic tribe, and are eaten. The chorus composed of barbaric chanting of the words “you never taste a white meat yet!” As the lone white person present, I felt just a tad bit awkward, but decided that the only thing to do was resort to laughing at the absurdity of the song. I started really laughing, however, when the guy singing the song changed the words to “Ben never taste a black meat yet!” I should have taken the microphone from him and retorted, “Eh eh? Es ou asiwe? Mwen te manje i deja, ek i ni bon gou” (are you sure? I ate it already and it has good taste), but I didn’t think of that until later. Next time…
I brought my tennis racquet to St. Lucia on a whim, hoping that at some point over my two years here I would have the chance to hit a tennis ball. Well, God granted my wish as I’ve not only had the chance to hit a ball or two, but have had the opportunity to coach a tennis camp for kids with another Peace Corps Volunteer these past three weeks on the southern part of the island. At times it was a bit hectic, given that we had roughly thirty kids and only 1 court and a back mini-court to coach on, but all in all I enjoyed it. The kids were very enthusiastic about playing tennis, so that made up for their occasionally troublesome behaviors. I was glad when it finished though, as I felt slightly bad about not being quite as present in my own community and grew tired of all the traveling.
Not only have I had the chance to play tennis lately, but I’ve also been playing a lot of the next best thing – table tennis. After talking with the parish council and the Church Youth Group, I helped initiate a games afternoon every Sunday at the parish center. Table tennis used to be a very popular activity in Fond St. Jacques, but it died out when the school temporarily moved into the area it had been taking place during its renovations. Now that the school has long been renovated, and the parish center hasn’t been used for hardly anything, why not do something with it? We painted the table tennis board and built a semi-sturdy leg structure for it. It has been fun playing it along with dominoes and cards, and quite a few youth turn out for it. I hope that after we prove to the church that the kids won’t wreck the place, we can move to having it on a more regular basis and expand to have some other types of games and activities.
The recently formed Fond St. Jacques Youth and Sports Club had its grand launching yesterday. In the morning we had a relay marathon. Teams of 8 designated individual runners for different legs of the race around the Soufriere district. Although teams from other communities didn’t have a good showing, quite a few people from Fond St. Jacques came and we had a pretty competitive race. In the afternoon we had a small goals football competition, and later on in the evening a dance. All in all it was a good way to kick things off and I hope that we can build off of the momentum.
So as of about a week ago I have been on St. Lucia for 1 year. It’s crazy to think how quickly my time here has gone by so far. Every time I check myself another month has flown by. I find myself ambivalent with respect to what I think about this quick passing of time. In a week we have a 3 day mid-service training here on St. Lucia with all the volunteers from the different Eastern Caribbean islands. It’ll be nice to catch up with everyone that I met a year ago, swap stories, eat a well-balanced meal, etc. ☺
After mid-service training I’m going on a week long vacation with a group of teachers from Soufriere to Dominica, a nearby island to the north. From what I’ve heard Dominica is gorgeous with rugged mountains for hiking and as many rivers as there are days of the year. I’m really looking forward to a bit of time off island before school starts back up in early September.
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