J'Ouvert 2006

Yesterday’s early morning tranquillity was interrupted with the strains of steel pan music, hi-fis and the percussive din live bands, signalling the opening of Carnival and its associated revelry

In the pre-dawn hours, the streets of Basseterre were transformed into a kaleidoscope of
colours as the J’Ouvert procession, including nine J’Ouvert troupes, began winding its way throughout the city

As humour is normally symbolic of J’Ouvert many people donned satirical outfits, painted their faces and bodies, a group of men masqueraded as women wearing brightly-coloured wigs and dresses and numerous individuals played mud mas’

One man was leading a donkey, while carrying a sign of humorous political commentary, referring to the $41 million disparity in figures of the country’s recurrent deficit which recently sparked a heated argument at the budget session on 12 Dec.

Revellers jammed for eight straight hours behind the five main bands – the Grand Masters Band, the Small Axe Band, D’Vybes Band, the Nu Vybes Band and the Collision Band.

Some enjoyed Ronnie Rascal’s hi-fi and others gravitated towards the steel pan music.

Carnival Chairman, Gus Williams, is pleased that revellers and mas’ makers pulled off a peaceful J’Ouvert. (online article from St Kitts Sun)

LOOK AT THOSE PICS, AND JUST REALIZE I WAS IN ALL THAT... SOMEWHERE!!! I AM VERY TIRED TODAY!!

The Masquerades

My site might be getting a lot more stuff on it in the next week or so. Carnival has started and the big events are next week, plus I have a christmas play that I am in and a wedding where I will be in charge of the programs and guest book! If that is not fully integrated into your community, then I don't know what is!

Everything has kind of shut down for the Christmas and Carnival season, so most pictures and videos I put up will be of all the local festivities. Hope you all enjoy!





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These are the Masqueraders entertaining us while we worked our HIV/AIDS booth at the health fair today. We gave a 10 minute educational talk and then had people get tested. Oh, and I made the local news! They interviewed me at our booth :)

World AIDS Day

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The end of our AIDS Day march on December 1st. The kids had a drum off out at Port Zante

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Traditional Caribbean dance

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This is Becky and her fire spinning at the culture exchange in St. Lucia... Becky is here on St. Kitts with me and I hope she teaches me how to do this!!

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Finally figured out how to get my videos from my myspace onto my blosite. Here is Dan and Marty at our cultural exchange in St. Lucia. This is Dan's version of the local Isasha song.

Some Island Views

Yesterday, several volunteers and I decided to do a cross country hike from Old Road on the Caribbean side over into Phillips on the Atlantic. It took us about 4 hours, and we managed to get rained on about 5 times. This is what my legs looked like after about half way through (they were much more brown at the end, but I was too tired to take another picture). Kelvin was our guide and I snapped a shot of him when we stopped to take a break in the land of the tree ferns.

























Today I joined Robin and Shelagh for a rally around the island voicing the issue of violence against women here on St. Kitts. It was a tiring day, but very motivating too, especially knowing that it is not just an issue here, but a global one. We put wreaths and flowers on graves of women who were victims of domestic abuse. These are a few pictures.

It only took 3 weeks and lots of videos and programs lost, but my computer is up and running. We had to replace Windows XP and I was only able to save pictures… I actually forgot to save my videos, but I am done mourning now. My pictures were the main thing I wanted to save. So now that I have had my computer back I am addicted to downloading music. I lost all my music (nearly 4 years worth!), but I decided instead of redownloading what I had, I am downloading new music; my theme music for this chapter of my life. Of course I had to get my Amos Lee back though! Now that buddy is up and running I advise all who are interested to download skype so we can chat. You just have to be sure you have a microphone if one is not built in to your computer. It’s completely free and I even use it to chat with other volunteers here on the island. It is such a better way to communicate than texting each other all the time. Just go to www.skype.com and follow instructions.

Got new pics up… take a look. They are from thanksgiving, World AIDS Day, and Nevis.

I'm starting to get back into sketching. On my free time I've been drawing from pictures I have taken while I've been out here, and I am starting to play with oil pastels. It's a cheap way to decorate my walls!

Oh, and here am I in my "office" last night. I was working hard at not working! No, I actually accomplished getting some things downloaded for my HIV/AIDS presentation.

Ahhhh... home at last! It's been a busy few days, not the busiest I've ever seen, but busy enough for me lately. All day Friday I had a Monitoring and Evaluation Workshop that was a requirement for all PC-EC posts. I found it useful but very boring as well. It continued into Saturday, which for me was a killer. After the workshop the day before I helped out at Alliance Francaise for their Wine Discovery night. I like doing it since you get to meet new people and try French wine, but I didn't get home till 1 am, and I am old now, so 1 am is VERY late for me. So I was dead tired come Saturday and then bailed on Karaoke that night. I wanted to get some work done for my presentation on Tuesday at a parents meeting here in St. Peters. It will be a talk on HIV/AIDS and I really want to focus on stigma and discrimination. So I got a little rest last night and I have never been so happy to be at home on a Saturday night!

This morning was wonderful because it rained and delayed the heat, which made it much easier to sleep in a bit. Also, I found no ants!! Those guys are always playing games with me and I have gone through so many cans of BOP that I really think it should be factored into our monthly stipend. I didn't go to church this morning though, I had an invite to join an anniversary celebration at the local Baha'i center. I was excited to go because I have heard of Baha'i but didn't know much about it. In a nutshell it is a new religion that believes all religions have it right. They believe that the suffering and adversity of man is what is needed to unite us all. It's a lot like any other christian religion, they just don't believe in the infrastructure of the church. Instead, it is all about independent worship. Living a moral life upon your own free will without the persecution of damnation. They leave it up to you. It was pretty nice. (If I have it wrong, feel free to correct me, but this is just how I interpreted it)

I did end up going to evening church though. I always try to go to one of the services because I really do love the people that go there and it is a way for me to see my host family. I haven't hung out with them much now that I am getting busier. I did stop by this last Thursday, and Betty had me try tripe (again!), I had told her once before that I didn't like it, but I thought maybe it is an acquired taste. It's not! I've counted. Four times now I have tried this stuff. First in Cali when my old neighbors would cook it, and each time I gagged. Well, this time, cooked different, it still tasted like what it was... cow stomach! I made the most horrible face and Betty just laughed! I kept making the face minutes after because the taste in my mouth just wouldn't go away, even after drinking water. Seriously, that stuff is potent! She gave me a sweetie to help it go away. Ahh... this woman knows me too well.

So now here I am on a Sunday night, drinking my own green tea latte concoction (it's really not good, but I'm learning not to be picky here) and trying to catch up and get a jump ahead on the week. I need to get some info and stats for my presentation. I will work on it tomorrow with Elizabeth, a fellow volunteer. She's also the one I will be traveling with to Trinidad in December. Oh yeah, did I mention I am going to Trini?! I told Mavis (our APCD) that I feel like a grown up now, traveling on business and all :)

Yay!! I am back online after about a week of no internet. I still was able to make it into the office to check emails and all, but there is nothing like having it at home where you can work online as long as you want. I am really glad that I ended up bringing my laptop, it is priceless out here!!

The last few weeks have been moderately busy for me. I am keeping my sanity by making sure I am preoccupied with working on projects, going to meetings, or exploring my new island home. I finished teaching the Guadalupe exchange students at the end of last month, and now am just teaching during the after-school reading project here in my community of St. Peters. I love it! It took me a while, only because the last couple of weeks had been chaos, but now we finally have the children divided into smaller, more manageable groups and so far no more bats have been flying into the rooms. Now it looks like a majority of the time I will be working with the kindergarteners, and they are just angels! I will be sure to have pictures up of them before we break for Christmas.

I am also becoming involved with a local HIV/AIDS support group, and am working with another volunteer to help them get organized and start project proposals in order to receive funding from the UN. The next 2 months should be busy with this group since World AIDS Day is on the 1st of December and of course we have carnival that month as well, so there are lots of festivities island-wide in which we will try to involve some awareness campaigns. Plus, it looks like I will have an opportunity to journey to Trinidad the first week of December for a workshop on BCC (behavior change communication) and HIV/AIDS. But before all that I will get my first experience of leading a BCC session next week at a parenting meeting here in my community. I’ve been asked to “give a talk” on HIV/AIDS, so I am really excited to set that up and answer any questions these community members have. Just like all over the world, there is a huge issue of stigma and discrimination for those who are infected and affected by the disease, so I am more than willing to be a part of anything that can tear down the false perceptions of this disease.

Aside from “work”, I’ve been doing a little more socially and starting to get out of my house on the weekends. I participated in my first Hash activities a couple of weeks ago. The Hash is an event that usually happens about once a month, where a trail/maze is created through cane fields, forests, hillsides, creek beds, etc. The trail is marked with flagging or flour depending on whether or not you are running or walking it. Then at the end you enjoy beer and hotdogs and hamburgers. Some of you might have heard of it before. It’s something they do all over the world, I remember first hearing about it over on Guam, and I think it’s an event that started over in Malaysia. A lot of expats participate and it is a great way to meet people, as well as being a lot of fun. I walked it last time because I heard the last trail had been brutal and I didn’t know if I was up for running up hills and through creeks, but it didn’t seem too bad. I actually met a returned PC volunteer who had just left the island back in March. Come to find out she is also from Columbia, Missouri!! So we had a lot to talk about, especially since our home state has been in the news a lot.

On Friday nights there is a wine and dine event that I go to and as of last week actually helped serve. It is another great opportunity to meet people that can be of great help for any work that I would want to do here in the island. I actually met a woman who is working on the Human/Environment conflict as her research out of the Ross Vet school we have here on St. Kitts. I am very interested in helping her with doing some public outreach campaigns on this matter.

Now, as far as pets, my landlord nixed any dreams I may have had of getting a cat or dog. I have recently found out though, that I have a pair of Mourning Doves that are roosting on my window only 4 feet from my bed, so I count these as pets. I've decided to call them James and Vivi, they just looked like that's what they would be called. They are now my new alarm clock, since I can't hear the rooster crowing in the distance over their cooing at 5:30 am!! They really get on my nerves sometimes, but I still like them!

Ok, and this is absolutely it.... I also tried conch for the first time, and I ate it raw. Another volunteer and I were getting a ride around town to check out some community centers, when all of a sudden our driver stopped in the middle of the road (blocking traffic as well) and backed up to talk to this guy selling fresh conch near the bay. They were all in a bucket, recently out of their shells and still squirming. The man then offered us pieces of raw conch, and you all know that I am always down for something new! I enthusiastically ate about 3 or 4 pieces. It tasted great! It had a not so slimey texture and tasted like coconut water and not seafood. I then got a free conch to take home and cook. Now I just need to get my host mom to show me how to cook it!

Here's a map of the Caribbean, I stole it from a fellow volunteer's site, actually, I like to think that we share. Anyways, a little idea of where I am compared to the other islands. Peace Corps is located in not only St. Kitts and Nevis, but in St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, and in Grenada. That's the Eastern Caribbean, but we are also in Jamaica and the Dominican Republic.

This is the road that I walk up from the bus terminal to get to my bus stop in Bassaterre. It becomes a temporary river during hard rain. check out my other pics

First off: GO CARDINALS!!!! You better believe I will be watching every game of the World Series with my boys playing! I think I will get my host dad into it as well. He had me watching cricket while I lived there, so now I will return the favor with the American version. Ok, now on to what I wrote today while I was stuck at home....

Ahhh… another rainy day. So here I sit, forced to be creative to pass the time. Actually it’s not too bad; there is still the tv, though some of the channels go out when there is rain. Plus I have buddy, my computer, to keep me occupied.

I’m pretty lucky though that all the heavy rain days seem to fall when I don’t have obligations that require me to leave the house. Getting around in the rain is quite a chore. The main road that takes me into town from here in St. Peters is called College Street, or The Gut. It is the runoff gut for all the rain that falls up in the mountains above Bassaterre. I happened to be in town when we had a good rain a couple of days ago, and getting back to St. Peters was exciting. I couldn’t cross over the gut to get to the bus so it came over to get me. Once I was on, it had to power back over the flooded street to get up the road. Water was coming in through the door and I was the only one that thought that was great! I think next time I will try to have my camera ready, but I think I will get made fun of if I act like a tourist on the bus.

As far as work, I have been kept occupied, not really busy, but occupied. I am still teaching that English class to the French-speaking exchange students. I will be finished with that after next week, and we will have a certification ceremony for them on the 31st. Another volunteer and I thought it would be great if they could do a performance and they all decided to sing, not surprisingly. Everyone in the Caribbean loves to sing, even if it is not well, so I am definitely in my element here. My class chose to sing Killing Me Softly by the Fugees, but only after we had a vote between that and James Blunt’s Goodbye My Lover! I was impressed they knew all those, and they looked at me like I was an idiot when I asked if they listened to American music back on Guadalupe. Of course they did! Seems like the whole world does, except N. Korea. Anyways, I am now working with them on the song.

Oooh… there goes the power! Hmm, no more tv now. Geez, is this really what I signed up for?!

Anyways, the after school reading program that I will be helping with got postponed for the week since the PTA meeting was postponed as well. We ended up having the PTA meeting this last Monday and we (myself and some members of the Kiwanis) presented the program to the parents. By the way, PTA meetings out here are so fun! Not only filled with arguing parents, but icing on the cake was when a bat flew into the room and couldn’t make it back out. It just kept circling and swooping overhead while parents ducked and squealed. Next time I will take popcorn! Anyways, the program will be after school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, but before that we will have training this next Monday on dyslexic readers and how to spot them.

The reading program is basically the only permanent thing I have planned for now. I am still trying to figure out what will take up the bulk of my time and effort here on the island. I still want to do more for my primary school here, and am going to see if I might be able to help with funding for some of their projects they want to start. That requires me to be able to write grant proposals, so I guess that will be something new to learn!

Another volunteer and I are very interested in doing Behavior Change Communication with HIV and AIDS. Our director said it would be a full time effort, so I am trying to figure out if I want to devote a lot of my time to that or continue with researching and getting ideas to implement an environmental program across the island. I think it would be better if I did the HIV/AIDS work since I believe there is a greater need for that. Not that the environment out here is not in need, but with some free time I will still work on researching what I can do to create a more environmentally friendly and environmentally aware island, especially since they are really working on more development for tourism.

That’s it in a nutshell. As far as recreation and free time I just try and pass time by traveling around the island and hanging out with some of the other volunteers and seeing what they are up to. Last week I hung around Old Road with Becky and went to the Caribelle Batik. I think next time I go I will buy some things there. I also went to a 1st birthday party. That’s when I had the goat water. It was delicious! It’s just basically soup made with goat meat.

I think I’ll take some time out to explain a little bit of the Caribbean, in particular, the food. My friend Pete asked very good questions and I realized that so far I’ve been explaining what is going on with me rather than what this island is really like. So for my first account I will tell you about the local food, even though I do have the choice of available American brands.

Local foods are a cheaper, and mostly a much healthier, alternative to the over processed American brands. Every Saturday there is a market where you can go and buy local produce, or buy produce usually grown over on Dominica. The common things you’ll see are plantains, bananas, star fruit, mangos, papaya, all types of citrus, dasheen, tanya, breadfruit, christophene, squash, and pumpkin. All are very good and plantain and breadfruit are my favorite. Plantains are like bananas, but a little bigger, and breadfruit is what I would call an alternative to potatoes. Everything can be served up steamed, but some are also good when fried. Meats will include chicken, pork, and salt fish. Beef is available, but in my experience these 3 meats are the most common dishes around here. Also, there are a lot of conch dishes too, but I have yet to try conch. Here is a short list of some interesting dishes I have tried: turkey neck soup, blood pudding, pig snout and rice, liver and lung (for breakfast, yum!), and goat water, a local favorite. Let’s just say nothing goes to waste out here!

The most common local drinks are basically any kind of fruit juices, coconut water, and mauby. Mauby is a fermented drink made from boiling the twigs or bark of a tree, I think? Anyhow, it is really good and I like to drink it at night to help me sleep. I’d have to say that my host mom probably makes the best mauby on the island! And yes of course there is the local rum that is sold at the stores, but then there are the little rum shops that brew their own concoctions as well. Since I am a Peace Corps volunteer 24/7, we are strictly forbidden to go to those. They are also usually the liming spots for guys to play dominoes and smoke weed.

Now as for desserts, they are not as big into that as we are in the states, but local treats can include sugar cakes (made from coconut), guava jelly, and bread pudding. I plan on making some chocolate chip cookies for my host family so they can see why Americans have such a sweet tooth. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone make any out here. You can of course just buy the prepackaged kind at the store, but they don’t add up to the homemade kind.

So this would be my top pick for a meal: Salt fish, coconut dumplings, rice and lentils, steamed or boiled pumpkin and breadfruit, with mauby to wash it all down. Then for a sweet treat, just a sugar cake will do for me!!

The view from my balcony. I live in an apartment built above my landlord’s house.



I’ve nearly spent a week now in my new home and I love it! It was built just for me. It’s a one bedroom apartment and very tiny. My living room/dining area are smaller than my bedroom, which is pretty big. My kitchen consists of one counter, a little gas stove and a dorm fridge. The other volunteers thought that was too bad about the fridge but then I reminded them that I eat very little so in reality it is ideal, and helps save on the electricity. I have a little “utility” room with a wash basin and a washing machine. My bedroom, like I said, is bigger than my living room with the bathroom being attached. I just got my cable and internet connected yesterday. So now I am all set!! I figured I will indulge myself this month and allow myself to be as comfortable as I want taking long showers and staying up late watching tv, pretty much being my American self again. Once I get my bills and see how outrageous they are then I will have to cut back. I really want to try and save some money and travel around the islands.

Living all by my lonesome isn’t too bad. I do get bored but I am being creative. I have gotten back into my sketching after a very long break. I found a sketchpad and drawing pencils (cheaper alternative to charcoal) and am working on drawing some local scenes and hope to decorate my walls with them. I’ll create my own little exhibit! I am also doing a lot of reading. It’s now my night time ritual in order to help me sleep. I am finishing my 5th book.

Now, as far as when I am not at home, I am busy running errands in Bassaterre and getting set up with some projects here in St. Peters. I observed the diabetic clinic at the health centre on Monday and then went next door to the school. I found that the primary school here was lacking a reading teacher. The literacy rate among most adolescents here on the island is very low, and when children who are in 4th, 5th, and even 6th grade can barely read at a second grade level then it is just a snowball effect with the rest of their academics. I told the head mistress that I would be interested in helping with any type of reading program. Well, the ball got rolling then and seems that there is a Kiwanis club (are they everywhere?) here on island, and a woman in our community is starting an after school program on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So now I will be creating invitations for the program to hand out at the next PTA meeting this week. I’ve also agreed to help teach English to a group of French-speaking Guadalupe exchange students visiting for this month.

I also am taking Spanish classes once a week. They are free and I thought that will come in handy when I go back to the States, and here as well actually. There is a cluster of Spanish speakers here on island; mainly people from the Dominican Republic and others from South America or Cuba. So I guess I am keeping pretty busy, but the days sure go by slowly!!

Woo-hoo!! It's official! I am a Peace Corps Volunteer!! We took our oath of service yesterday, in front of the country director and other local government people. I no longer have to correct myself and say that I am a "trainee". This is me with my host parents holding up my certificate. I was like a proud little kid who just won the science fair or something, holding up my little certificate. Now, we get to relax for a little bit and try to get settled in. We all move into our apartments on the first of October. I guess I will use next week to start buying things I will need for the place. It is really nice. Only a one bedroom, but it has a bathtub and a killer balcony with a view!! I am excited.

As for the last week or so that I have been silent, I had been kept busy. For a couple of days I went to the primary school out here and sat in on some classes. I really like the Kindergarten teacher, and I think she will be my link to the school and services I can do there. They kept asking me if I would be teaching. I told them I would be more comfortable doing tutoring, after the whole camp experience I find that it is a gift to get the attention of over 5 children at a time. We also had meetings with representatives of the different government ministries, and I had my own little community meeting where I met a few of the active members here in St. Peters.

So, as far as what I will be doing here... once again, I am not too sure. I am very interested in HIV/AIDS projects, and actually am in touch with a woman who has organized a local support group for those infected or affected by the disease. I told her I would love to be of service in any projects they do for awareness and education here on the island. Also, I have planned on being at the health centre for the first week of October during their diabetes and children's clinics. I am becoming very interested in the health field again!! Not that I am turning my back on the environment, but there isn't much going on out here except for a sea turtle project. I will be in contact with them as well, just to see what I could do there. But so far, I am finding the area of public health very interesting, especially in epidemiology!! So, we'll see what I settle on after 2 years out here!!

Real bored. It's 3 o' clock and I finished my day at noon. I got up at 5 am for my power walk with Rushi, then went to the health center at 8 am for the toddler and infant clinic. I just observed while the health workers weighed the kids and gave immunizations. Every now and then I played wrangler for some of the escapees from the immunizations room. Oh, I have a new boyfriend by the way. His name is Lu-Quan, he is shorter than me, and only just turned a year, but it was love at first sight between us!! Ha Ha! He was fun. Anyways, I have no idea what to do with myself right now. I've tried to take a nap but even with my fan on high and pointed directly at me, I still can't sleep! So now I decided to play on the computer. I really wish I didn't have interent access, it would allow me become a little more creative, but I am sure I will get bored of getting on here as well.

I hope everyone has enjoyed some of the pics I have put up. They really don't do this place any justice. You have to be here to experience it!! The smells, the sounds, the heat, the bus rides, the language, the feeling of this place. You all have 2 years to utilize me as a tour guide for your caribbean adventure. Ok, well... now to go see if Florence will pay us a visit or not. I would love for a little storm action out here.

To answer that question, no they can't open beers, but they do drink them and any other alcoholic beverages. Found this picture online. I have yet to capture one on my camera, but I see them often. Actually, I see one often. The rasta goat/sheep herder down the road has one as a pet, so I see it on his shoulder each time he walks by. I've decided against having one as a pet though. Everyonetells me I would have to have diapers for it, and I am not ready for a child yet... dog yes, but nothing that requires pampers.

Camp ended well last week. By Friday I nearly had all their names down, I tried hard since they all knew mine after a day or two. I really ended up missing them when they weren't around and so far this week I have no idea what to do with myself since our training isn't as time consuming. No more camps till next summer, and though I might be in the minorityby saying this, I would really like to do it again! They drove me crazy on Monday, but by Tuesday I was over it and just laughed at everything. If they know they get to you, then they will milk that power. It ended up being a lot of fun. There is a picture of me that a volunteer has of the kids doing my hair. I will be sure to post it once I can get a copy of it.

The weekend was nice and relaxing. Finally got a new battery in my watch; was only $10 EC, not very much. I also learned that "black pudding" is NOT chocolate pudding. Completely far from pudding as a matter of fact. It is also known as "blood pudding" which I did not hear when I agreed to have some!! It is cow or goat intestine, in my case cow, and the intestines are stuffed with rice and spices and I have no idea what else and don't want to know. But I tried it anyways because I told my host family that I will try everything at least once, that's suppose to be part of the experience, right? Well, it really wasn't that bad. I might have even enjoyed it more and asked for a full portion if they had blind folded me first and I didn't see the coil of blood darkened intestine on the plate. So, note taken.

Church rounded off my weekend on Sunday. It's the second Sunday I have gone with the family to church, and it is much like any Southern Baptisit style congregation in the states. They call it a brethren church though. The services last 2 hours, twice a day. Plus Sunday school. Yep, you guessed it! That means I am in church pretty much all day Sunday!! It's not too bad. I get to meet people in the community and it helps me get closer to the fam. Next Sunday I am going with my host aunt to a different church though. I'm not sure what discipline, but she said there is a lot of singing, and I told her that I am aware of that! It really is fun though, to walk in and have people call you by name and ask you about your day. Church is very good for socializing!

Nothing else too exciting. I should be hearing any day now whether or not they have an apartment lined up for me. I want to know because the one they are looking at is on my walking route in mornings and I keep checking things out around it and figuring out what kind of view I will have and where I can run and where the store is. So, if that is not where I will be living then I can stop torturing myself!

Two days down. Only three to go. We started this week helping out with a local day camp. We go from 8:30 till around 4:30 pm. I have never known such exhaustion without a strenuous workout! There are appromximately 70 of them and they are CRAZY!! Well, they are like any other kids, but these guys have an endless amount of energy. I really have a deeper appreciation for teachers and what they have to go through to occupy a child's attention. I have learned in a very short amount of time that sometimes just winging it with the kids is the best way to go. You will never stick to your lesson plan entirely.

Even though the whole day seemed like chaos and I was about ready to write all these kids off as hopeless, there is always that one moment that snaps you back to the simple truth: they're just kids. One kid in particular has for the last two days really worn on the whole lot of us, and no matter how many times we had scolded him, it didn't seem to affect his manner at all. But today we were all shown a different light. We had a traditional drum teacher come and visit the camp to show the kids some beats on the djembe and conga drums. When he called on the one kid in particular, I thought "oh no, this'll be interesting". I was pleasantly surprised though when he got on there and beat out a rhythm that made us all tap along. For the rest of the session he paid close attention to the intructor and volunteered to go up and demonstrate once more. He felt proud in his new skill and for a moment you could tell he was the envy of all the other kids. It made my heart smile!

Well, I have a recap of the activities on St. Lucia on my computer, but looks like I won't post them until I either go to a wireless hub somewhere, or when I get my own place. But I can post it later to fill you all in, plus I will then be able to post pictures and then you'll get a whole bag of surprises. Anyways, I've been having a good time on St. Kitts. We stayed 2 nights at a guesthouse, all 14 of us. It was a good time to get to know eachother since not all of us were in the same hub groups in St. Lucia. We got to relax and go to the beach on Sunday, then we met our host families on Monday.

I'm staying with Uriah and Sylvia, but they are known as Betty and Charles. Yep, everyone here has an alias, and rarely is there just one. They are great though. Sylvia has been showing how to cook local foods. Using ingredients like coconut, plantain, various types of fish, and ground provisions. Tonight she made sugar cake with coconut. They're kinda like macaroons, but without chocolate.

Unlike St. Lucia, I get to shower, no bucket baths, and everyone seems to have internet. I get quite a lot more freedom here. I guess it's because this is my home now and the Peace Corps realizes we need to do things on our own. In St. Lucia I was constantly chaperoned, even during the day and even if I was with other volunteers. I know they were doing it to keep us "safe", but it got very frustrating.

St. Kitts is gorgeous, and maybe some of you will have the chance to come and visit me out here. We have monkeys!!! We also have mongoose, mongeese, -gooses... I don't know, but we have more than just one mongoose on the island. There are also some very brightly colored lizards, and I need to figure out what they are. There are no snakes, the mongoose got them. Umm... apparently there are some small deer here, and also some ferel pigs. As far as domesticated animals, lots of goats, pigs, cows, sheep, chickens/roosters, and the occasional pet monkey. Who knows what I'll end up having once I get my own place. A volunteer out here has a goat that she will pass on to a colleague in my group, so now I am thinking that I will want a goat. Definitely a dog, but all of these critters could get pricey, and I am living on government stipend. So we'll see.

Aside from the beauty and unfamiliar wildlife, St. Kitts has a lot to offer socially and recreationally. There are places to go in Bassatterre at night, which will be good for unwinding at the end of stressfull weeks. We've also been told that free spanish classes are offered at the Venezuela Institute here on the island. There are also french classes offered out here, but you have to pay for them. I hope to get a refresher course in diving and up my certification to advanced if I have the funds, and already we have heard of different running/walking groups to join, and also sports clubs like cricket, net ball, and basketball. I REALLY want to join a cricket club. I need to learn all the rules though.

Well, that's been about it. I will put pictures up when I can get my computer online, so I will be sure to let you know when that changes. Keep checking on me though!!

Well, 3 weeks have come and gone and now I am saying bye to my sweet St. Lucia. It has been a whirl wind trip, and I'm sure I've learned lots, but I am so ready to settle in somewhere and have a place to call home. My flight leaves for St. Kitts in about an hour, it shoud only take 2 hours total to get there. We'll stay in a guest house till Monday, when we meet our new homestay families. I'm still not sure what I will be doing there, but I am excited. I am thinking I will be teaching, but we'll see. I still have lots to talk about, but not a lot of time. I have many pics to put up as well, so just be patient with me, and I will fill you all in on my adventures soon enough. Just know that I am ok, a little over fed, but doing well nonetheless. Oh yeah, it is really hot here!!

Hey everybody!! I made it safely, it was a long, and arduous process to get out here, but I am in one piece. we arrived in St. Lucia yesterday, after a short and delightful layover in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I am an hour away from meeting my host family, so here I sit sending a short blurb out before I leave in about 5 min. I'm not sure what my situation will be once I am in Micoud (my new community), as far as internet and phones. Anyways, love all of you and will give you more info when I have time!!!

So I have now reached the point of no sleep. I am so anxious and nervous about what lies ahead for me that I work myself up into a ball of nerves. So here I am typing at 1 am, in the dark, waiting to pass out. My nervousness and anxiety mainly comes from me finding it hard to let go of friends and family for the next 2 years. I can't understand why this feels different than when I moved to Guam. Even my family seems more apprehensive. I feel like this should be easier, after all, I am not 18 and the Caribbean is far closer than Guam. I feel like I have proven a point to myself and my family through all my travels that I should be able to handle this, but still I am reluctantly excited. Maybe most of it is because I still am not exactly sure of what my job is. They have only given me a vague idea of what I "might" be doing. Maybe, I guess, I am most nervous about when I am done out there. I am anxious to see the change that this will have on me, and I am curious as to which direction I will go. I wonder if I will feel like this everday for the next two years...