$30,000!?! Woo-Hoo!

What a weekend! After going to bed quite early on Friday night since the kids wore me out at school, I was up early and ready for a day on the beautiful Caribbean Sea. The water is bluer than that one crayon color that starts with a ‘c’ which nobody ever knows how to pronounce. ‘Cerelean’ or something like that. Not important. The salty water was different than anything I’ve even swam in before and it made floating a lot easier! Then, after a fun-filled Sunday of hanging out in the Cherubin’s shop, eating all kinds of cultural foods and going into town for a “Taste of Desrameaux” type of affair to celebrate Jounen Kweyol, it was time to get back to work.

It’s only my second week at Monchy Primary School, but I’m already stepping in to teach. My cooperating teacher told me which general topics I should cover in Math and Reading this week and basically said I can form my lessons however I wanted to. Wow, what to do? The math one wasn’t too hard since the students are learning how to calculate the total of a number of items that each have a different price. The activities I planned for this included having the students estimate the price of each item in their school bag and then find out who carries the most expensive baggage every day. We did the same with their lunch bags, too. I also had them bring in items from home with different price tags on them so that we could simulate a small shop where the students can purchase items when given a certain amount of money. I wanted to try the activity where students bring in newspaper ads from grocery stores and build their own menu for the week, but when I asked my cooperating teacher if she had any of the ads lying around at home she had no idea what I was talking about! Oh well, adjust we must.

As for the reading lesson, all she told me for the topic was, “Teach them the skill of reading to infer.” Not giving me any passages to use as examples and not having access to a printer, I assumed this was going to be difficult. However, I worked around the topic a bit on the first day and had them define the word “infer” and brainstorm some synonyms for it. Then we talked about what we use to make inferences every day. Finally, I had them agree on a passage from their language arts book which we read together. As we went along, I had them predict what might happen in the end and continue revising their predictions as we read more and more. I guess we will see in the next few days whether or not these lessons were truly effective.

We had a special visitor from Canada on Monday morning from the Yellow Birds Foundation. He pleasantly surprised the principal with a $30,000 check to be put towards building a resource room! How awesome! These students have no access to computers or the internet at school, so the plan is to put a few computers in this new room. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to see the finished product, but I hope the students and teachers take advantage of the new resources as a way to really expand their knowledge. In a perfect world, the students here would have as much access to technology as do the students at home in the states, but this donation is a huge start.

I have to go and get back to playing with my little six-year-old friend, Jannique. He lives next door, but is over here all the time. Yesterday we had a karaoke session which consisted of belting out songs such as “Farmer in the Dell,” “Five in the Bed,” “Jesus Loves Me,” and a bunch of the other classics!

A Huge Taste of Culture

“Culture: The culture of a group of people means how they live; what language they speak; the clothes they wear; what food they eat and how they prepare it; what types of celebrations and traditions they have and even what types of games they play.” – Monchy Students

Dressed in special plaid patterned clothes made especially for today’s Creole festivities, the students flood into the schoolyard. Vibrant reds, yellows, oranges and greens are everywhere you look and happiness is in the air. The teachers and students at Monchy Primary School sure know how to celebrate every aspect of their culture and I was not about to sit around and be a spectator! From the moment I arrived at school on Friday morning, I was running around trying to experience everything. Right at 8am, I had a knife in my hand and was cutting the huge loaves of bread and cakes that numerous parents had baked for the day. The whole morning was a big “bake sale” of local foods such as coconut cake, golden apple juice, lime juice, fish cakes, coconut tablets/sugar cake, bakes/floats and pami. Of course I had to sample everything, but my favorite treat was the cocoa tea. Unlike the Swiss Miss powder I’m used to at home, this is made from locally grown, hand-grated cocoa stalks and is absolutely delicious! It was funny hearing them talk about how they love drinking it on “cool nights;” nights where we first might result to putting on a long-sleeve shirt.

Soon after that, I was given an even bigger knife and was taken out behind the kitchen to “prepare the meat.” Using the two-foot cutlass, I had to take each slice of the lamb’s neck and chop the bone in the center so that we could cut the meat into smaller pieces. It took a few tries to get my aim just right, but soon I was a pro and could hack straight through the bone with one try. Then we had to go back inside and trim the fat from each piece. This was a long and tedious process, but it was fun working in the kitchen and getting to know the other teachers.

Fortunately, while the meat was cooking, I was able to sneak out and spend some time with the students who were busy singing, dancing and playing games. I kicked off my “slippers” and played jump rope with the girls, and then they taught me a different variation called “Chinese skip” which involves jumping from rope to rope to see who can jump the highest. I sure was tired and sweaty after that, but the children were relentless. Next they taught me some hand slapping games which brought me right back to the playground in grammar school playing “Miss Mary Mack.” Of course, they had different words, but the gist was the same so I caught on quickly and I think I surprised a lot of the students. All those games we played just to fill the time at recess finally came in handy!

Throughout the day, the air was filled with cultural music which includes a lot of drums and rhythmic beating. No matter how much you try, it’s almost impossible to keep from moving along with the beat. I had so much fun watching the students dance around with each other and have a good time. They learn the dance moves as soon as they can walk, and watching the little Grade 1 students dance was so adorable! Much to the students’ amusement, I gave it a shot and was having too much fun to care about how ridiculous I looked.

Unfortunately, lunch was served later than planned, so the students did not get a chance to present the dances and skits that had prepared earlier in the week. I was looking forward to seeing them, but I’m sure I will be engrossed in the culture once again on Sunday when the real celebration begins! By time 3pm rolled around, I was extremely exhausted and worn out. It had been so much fun to see the students outside of the classroom and learn so much about them. And I probably took about one hundred pictures because the students love to be on camera!

End of Week One Already!

Rain, rain go away; come again . . . . in nine weeks! Other than my very first day here, it has rained for at least a few hours every day. I suppose it’s a good break from the intense heat they were experiencing here two weeks ago, but my tan isn’t getting any better with all of these clouds in the way! Everyone keeps telling me it will be clear again in a few days so I can finally start my sightseeing and all of the outdoor fun offered on the island, so I hope they’re right. But anyway, back to why I’m really here . . .

Teaching in the Monchy Primary School is definitely going to take some getting used to, but I know that will come with time. Working with twenty-seven 5th graders would not be easy in the U.S., but what’s worse is here I can barely understand them when they’re yelling! Half the time, the students are speaking in the native Creole, and the rest of the time they’re all talking at once. Nonetheless, when the students are behaved and orderly, it’s a lot of fun to be with them. They have so much energy and are very eager to participate in class, but sometimes it just seems like a competition about who can yell the answer (even if it’s the wrong answer) the loudest. Although I am adjusting more and more every day, I need to keep praying that I have enough patience to last the nine weeks!

This week in mathematics class, we’ve been discussing money: how to express denominations in words as well as in figures; adding values of money; and finding change. One of the questions we asked the students on Wednesday was, “How many ways can you be given 25 cents?” I quickly figured out the ten combinations and then remembered that in St. Lucia, they have a two cent piece! This brings so many more possibilities!! (41 more to be exact) The students had fun with this activity and although none of them came up with all 51 combinations, they were getting the gist of the activity and could see there were a lot.

Every Thursday, the students have an hour of P.E. time where they get to let out a lot of energy and run around. It was fun watching the students learn the proper stretches, do some team building activities and then play tag. I will have to remember my “play clothes” next week so I can join in, too!

After school on Wednesday, it was a cooler afternoon (okay, maybe 70 degrees), so I decided to go for a run up the road. Soon enough, as I climbed higher and higher, I realized I could see more and more of the beautiful landscape surrounding the Cherubin’s house. The backdrop of green coconut trees and grassy mountainside was sprinkled with the small houses and the roads curved around like ribbon on a Christmas gift. Absolutely breathtaking (or maybe that feeling came from not running for awhile!). I know I will be running this path again, so next time I will be sure to bring my camera.

I’ve become more accustomed to daily life with the Cherubin’s. It’s fun and relaxing just sitting around talking with my new “sisters” because I continue to learn more and more about the culture here. I made my first trip to the mall and supermarket in Castries (the capital of St. Lucia) and was surprised to see how similar they were to home. There aren’t any American Eagle or Nike shoe stores, but the layout is pretty much the same. The prices shocked me at first, especially when I saw a $20 sticker on a bath mat, but I had to keep reminding myself to take at least 60% off each sticker price in order to compare it to American dollars. After figuring in the 2.67 conversion rate, things are actually relatively cheap here (i.e. $1.25 for a double scoop ice cream cone!). On the way home, I even got the chance to drive! I was nervous at first since everything was opposite, but I quickly got the hang of it and we all made it home safely.

This weekend, everyone on the island will celebrate Jounen Kweyol and I’m looking forward to taking part in the festivities. From what I understand, this day celebrates the heritage of St. Lucia and the development of their culture over time. There is dancing, singing, eating a lot of cultural foods and general fun throughout the island. I’ve already helped prepare some Golden Apple juice and I even have the cuts and blisters on my hands to prove it! The people here take so much pride in their culture and the food they prepare, so I can only imagine how exciting it will be when they dedicate a special day to celebrate!

We had a “pre-celebration” on Friday at school and it was an absolute blast! I will have to save the details for another post because there is just way too much to write about. As a sneak preview, though, my day consisted of using a cutlass to break the bones in raw meat from a lamb’s neck, learning how to play “Chinese skip” and “Silence” and eating so much food I won’t have to eat until Sunday (okay, that one’s not completely true, but I did stuff myself!).

As I said before, I’m learning new words in the native language every day. The other day, I learned that “Beth” in patois means “cow!” I think from now on, I will only introduce myself as “Elizabeth” . . .

My heart goes out to the students at Freedom High School back at home. I’m so sorry to hear the sad news about the car accident. You are all in my thoughts and prayers.

I'm Really Doing This . . .

I know this is a long entry, but if you can get through it, you'll have experienced just a tiny snapshot of what I've been doing here in only three short days . . .

“Make us proud, Sweets,” was the last thing my dad said to me as I left the car and headed to the airport desk to begin my nine week adventure. Mom helped me check in and send away my bags (both weighing exactly 50 pounds each) and then she, too, left me to do this on my own. After a day of waiting in lines, airport terminals and having to transfer planes, I finally made it to St Lucia only five hours later than planned. This is it, I’m really doing this.

The drive to the Cherbine’s house with Sr. Marie Therese was just the beginning, but already I knew I was going to have to make some big adjustments. Not only is the steering wheel on the opposite side of the car and they drive on the opposite side of the road, but apparently the 30 mph speed limits don’t really apply. We were flying around the sharp, dark turns and, had I been sitting in the front seat, would have been sick for sure. Arriving at the Cherbine’s home, I was greeted by so many people who would soon become my family. They brought my bags inside and offered me some soup. Hungry from the long day, I gladly accepted the offer only to find a “chicken soup” with a few indistinguishable ingredients. This would definitely take some getting used to.

After a very warm sleep and being awaken by a rooster, I accompanied the family to the two hour morning church service. The structure was very similar to home except for the length and the fact that the people here really belt out every song and sing with so much passion. It was absolutely wonderful and I tried to sing along. At the end of the service, the entire congregation acknowledged and sang Happy Birthday to anyone celebrating a birthday. Then, the priest looked right at me and introduced me to the whole crowd! He said my name, where I was from and why I am here and then everyone sang “Welcome, welcome . . . we love you, we love you.” It was such an awesome feeling to have so many people I have never met before be so welcoming and loving. It’s like one big family here and I’ll soon be a part.

After mass, Nadia (one of my “sisters”) arranged for a friend of hers to drive us around the northern part of the island to give me a taste of what to expect for the next nine weeks. After a short drive, we ended up in Pigeon Island Park at the shore of the Caribbean Sea. Absolutely gorgeous and a place I could spend the entire day at, I had to settle for a few pictures and simply stepping in the warm water. Walking across the parking lot and down a small hill, we ran right into the Atlantic Ocean! Yes, I definitely want to come back to this park. It’s only $5EC ($2US) to get in for the day!

Even if I’m still a little skeptical about the food my family serves (I’m trying everything though) I know I will not starve because they have the best ice cream I’ve ever tasted! I had some mint chocolate chip ice cream and was extremely satisfied. They also have these things called “icicles” which are basically freeze-pops, only more delicious! They sell them at school for only $0.25EC so I’m sure that will be a daily treat for me. I also told my family about how I love fruits so much so they are determined to have me try every fruit on the island. I’ve already had your typical apples, oranges and limes, but I’m also tried breadfruit, coconut water (drank right out of the coconut!) five fingered fruit, grenadine seeds, and golden apple.

My first day at the Monchy Primary School brought many more surprises and experiences. After morning assembly, the principal brought me around and introduced me to every class individually. After that, I settled in with the Grade 5 class I will be working with for the remainder of the term. Again, a rowdy bunch, but American 5th graders would be the same way. Ms. Hall often had to stop class in order to discipline certain students, but she was generally able to get them back on track. I noticed they do a lot of memorization and recitation of definitions and examples. She often asks them to recite, as a class, things that are written on the board. If the students don’t seem to understand the first time, she has them say it over and over again. One thing I was definitely not prepared for was for Ms. Hall to leave school at 1:30pm. . . school isn’t dismissed until 3:00! I had to take over the class and keep them busy for the last 90 minutes. The students finished the social studies assignment they were working on, then I asked them to work on the math problems Ms. Hall had assigned earlier and then we finished with a couple games of hangman. The hardest part was getting the students to settle down and stay focused when I couldn’t even call them by name. What a way to start!

The second day was much better. The students now know who I am and are grateful to have me there. It’s so cute when the younger students come up to me just to hold my hand and say “hi.” In class we had the students practice writing formal letters with the appropriate components. For the body, the students had to write two paragraphs each telling me about themselves. I guess I’ve already made an impression because some of the letters tell me that I am their favorite teacher! These kids really appreciate having someone new in the classroom and are just as interested to learn about me as I am to learn about them. At the end of the day, Ms. Hall finished with having the students count in French. I could have easily done this in Spanish, but it looks like I’ve got some more learning to do! Between learning French and Creole while I’m down here, I hope to greatly expand my vocabulary!

All in all, it has been a wonderful experience so far. I am blessed to be living with such an accommodating family. They are doing everything they can to make me feel at home and I hope I am expressing enough gratitude. On a final note, I wasn’t kidding when I told my mom that I don’t know how often they shower. My family and I do wash ourselves every day, however, without running water, a “shower” consists of standing in the shower stall with a bucket of water and a pitcher to pour the water over your head. I suppose you do get clean enough, but I will never again take for granted a shower at home, even in the Burke community bathrooms!

Until next time . . . “Afternoon, you okay?”