Enjoying Family Time

Call it a Thanksgiving treat, or just plain coincidence, but Ms. Hall pleasantly surprised me on Friday afternoon by not giving me the usual list of topics to plan lessons for for the upcoming week. She argued that I had worked hard enough preparing the students for exams, and helping to prepare the exams themselves, so I deserved time to just enjoy the weekend. Since exams begin on Tuesday, I took a little time to brainstorm a few possible activities for Monday, and then did what I was told and didn’t even bring my scheme book home.

I still can’t get over the gorgeous weather I’m living in right now after hearing about the snow at home. It just doesn’t seem right to be walking around outside, even at night, without even a light jacket at the end of November. What really surprised me was when Nadia complained she was cold! We spent Friday night walking around town again and had a good time winding down after a long week.

On Saturday morning, I went for a long walk up a road I hadn’t traveled before. Climbing higher and higher allowed me to see parts of the island I hadn’t seen yet. I felt like I could have kept walking forever, but I also wanted to get back to see what kinds of exciting things were happening at home. I returned to find John working in the shop, trying hard to finish the renovations within the next week so they can stock it again for Christmas. I offered to help construct the shelves he was working on, but he politely declined the offer while expressing a concern for my safety. If only he knew about some of the projects I work on in the summer at De La Salle! But I didn’t persist and instead decided to accompany Annabelle, her daughter and her goddaughter to the marina. We packed up some juice and snacks and spent a few hours on the docks watching the boats come in and out. Within an hour, we all fell asleep under the warm afternoon sun. This really is paradise.

Around 5:30pm, we made our way back to the house so I could go along with my host father, John, to the evening mass in Gros Islet. The format was very similar to the masses at the Monchy church, but the building itself was much larger and gave me a lot to look at throughout the 90 minute service. It still amazes me how passionate they are about the worship songs they sing. Even though the church wasn’t even half full, and the windows were all open allowing the cool night breeze to circulate, the beautiful music resonated off the wooden pews and filled the air.

Every other morning when I get up before school to go for a run, I always see John walking down the road to go to work, but I never knew where he was actually going. So on Sunday, after waking me up with a glass of pure cow’s milk, he agreed to take me with him to “round up the cows.” As far as I was concerned, I hadn’t seen any farms since I got here; at least none that looked like the ones I pass on I-43 on the way to St. Norbert. Passing through a makeshift fence as we made our way along the dirt road, John welcomed me to the 600 acre estate, owned by the church, that he tends to (with only one other person!) every day. First, he took me over to the beautiful beach along the Caribbean Sea. Must be nice to have a private beach! Then, as promised, we went over by the cows quietly grazing in a small area of grass within the massive amounts of trees. John told me to stay put and before I knew it, I heard a “YAAH! YAAH!” and over a dozen cows ran right in front of me on their way to the fenced-in area where they sleep each night! John invited me to get closer to snap some good photos. “Take a picture of this one,” he said as he pointed to a big black bull, “poor thing doesn’t know I’m going to slaughter him for Christmas.” Too bad I’m going to miss THAT feast! Since we were on a bit of a time crunch, I obviously didn’t get to see all 600 acres of the estate, but now I know where John goes off to every day and why he comes home so tired.

The weekend ended with relaxing with the family and various neighbors. Since it’s nearing the end of the rainy season, it’s not as humid anymore and the mosquitoes aren’t quite as prevalent. Heading to bed early, I was ready for another week at school. I’m not exactly sure what is involved with the all-school exams, but I hope I have adequately prepared my students and am looking forward to seeing good results.