St. Vincent - Week 2

9/8 Had corn flakes with strawberry soy milk for breakfast. Made 2 avocado
sandwiches to take for lunch. Kim dropped me off in town, I then walked to Adult
Educ. Unit. The Institutional/NGO group met with Andrew Simmons to discuss St.
Vincent's Politics, Economics, Social, Technological, and Enviromental issues, then
a SWOT analysis. Had my sandwich javascript:void(0)and some homemade local cherry juice. We presented our community maps and learned about interviewing community members. Took Vera's van back up to GH. Stopped at Todd's to discuss the upcoming International Coastal Cleanup day, and our plan to head to Chateaubelair for a weekend. Walked home, did my homework, and read some of the EC Lonely Planet. Helped prepare dinner. Had a stew of local sweet potato, pasta shells, and chunks. It was delicious.
9/9 After meditation and exercise, had corn flakes, crackers (biscuits) with butter
or peanut butter plus some avocado. Internship at Liberty Lodge. Spoke to Mr. Akers.
Observed Mrs. Ralph talk to the kids about using the bathrooms and not destroying
electrical outlets. Talked to Mr. Joseph at the woodshop. Talked to Mr. Browne. Had
avocado sandwich for lunch. Went to computer lab, where Alex and Iona were. Worked
on updating the software on the computers. Talked to Mrs. Brown-Arrindell, the
counselor for the kids and parents. Met the volunteer from Hungary. Then walked over
to the GHSCC Library, but Todd wasnt there. Went to Keith's shop to buy some snacks.
Saw Keon and Chesley at the GHSCC. Went back to the house. Helped Kerene w/her
homework. We walked down to Todd's and the shop, but couldn't find Todd. Saw Chesley after he had played futball. Zoe was there too. Walked back, and had leftover sweet potato, chunks, and shells. Read guide to playing harmonica and practiced a little
bit.
9/10 Class in town. Had training on lecture vs. group discussion styles of teaching.
1st Aid training and Mental Health/Stress Reduction training. Went to Keith's Shop
with Kerene to buy stuff for Lovie's bday.
9/11 House of Hope. Rose Hall Primary School - Gave presentation to 4th + 5th
Graders in the Town Hall about HIV/AIDS prevention. Took bus to Chateaubelair, and
then back to Peace Corps Office.
For Lovies Birthday, we went to her dad's house in Largo Heights. I cut open a
coconut with a cutlass. They made a vodka and coconut water drink. We had a "lime"
on the porch for most of the evening, Lovie's dad talked about how he has kids with
12 different women. Renica, Lovie, Kerene, Kim, Kim's dad + girlfriend. Dinner took
a long time, but was good (breadfruit and chunks.) Benjamin came by to help Kim
w/the car due to a dead battery.
9/12 Class in town. We learned more Vincy Dialect. "Par ay yo go?" which means,
"Where are you going?" Went to Heritage Sq. for some lunch w/the other volunteers.
The cart that sells double wasn't there, so we got veggie roti from the Spicy Roti
truck. We saw Mrs. Olivier, and she showed us good places for roti and doubles.
After class, Leigh, Shawn, Stephanie, and I walked to the bus terminal in the rain.
We went to Questelles to go to Mollie's bday party. The bus conductor pointed us in
the wrong direction. We finally got to Mollie's place. We played flip cup with
jungle juice. There were chips, guacamole, and chex mix. We went down to the beach
for a moonlight swim. Some of the group swam out to a moored boat. Todd just swam
off. Back at Mollie's house, I played my 1st game of beer pong (using jungle juice).
Mollie made fresh quesadillas, while Molly made fresh guacamole. I Walked down to
the beach to tell Todd that there was food at the house. As the group started
playing dominoes, I walked to the main road through Camden Park to catch one of the
last buses. The bus terminal in town was closed for the night, so I started walking
up to Green Hill. After 10 minutes, the last van of the night brought me home. Got
home at about 10:30 PM. Fell asleep around 11:30. At 4AM, Lovie knocked on my door
to see if I was home. She had called Todd earlier wondering where I was (when I was
home all along).
9/13 Bread w/grapefruit marmalade for breakfast. Helped Kim replace the battery
terminals in his car. Exercised, helped Kerene with her homework. Shaved. Lentils,
chunks, potatoes, and dumplings for lunch. Nap. Kim drove me to town. Took a van
towards Arnos Vale Sports Field, but got off at Joshua airport by accident. Had to
walk around to get to the field. Saw Leigh, Stephanie, Gary and Molly there. Molly
looked at me as if she had just seen a ghost. She told me the story of how everyone
thought I was lost the night before.
We did an aerobics demonstration out on the field during the Wellness Revolution. We
walked around the info booths, and got a variety of samples of local breads. I tried
5-finger (star fruit) and lime juice. I saw Kim, who later played the national
anthem before the speeches started. Before the speeches, they had demonstrations for
Tae Kwon Do, Soccer, Tennis, Rugby, and boxing. Tried the ginger "beer," and had
some plum rose, banana/cinnamon sort of cake. I saw the 3 European volunteers from
Liberty Lodge Training Center. Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves gave a speech about
health in St. Vincent. Mr. Akers was there, and he gave me a ride back to Green
Hill.
Went to Todd's to use the internet. Tried Lovie's homemade Ginger "beer". Watched
Kung Fu with Lovie.
9/14 Did Laundry. Went by Todd's in the afternoon. Watched them play a dodge game
with an American football.