International Coastal Cleanup

The International Coastal Cleanup was this past Saturday (September 27th). Actually, it was supposed to be the Saturday before (September 20th), but it was raining and if you know one thing about St. Vincent's culture, know that Vincentians run toward fire but run away from rain. So obviously, the event was cancelled and moved to the next Saturday. Which was 3 days ago. There was supposed to be a river clean-up in Mespo (Mespo is a part of Marriaqua, which means "married rivers," so we have a lot of them), but since we didn't have enough people (just me and 2 Ministry employees, who planned the event and HAD to show up), we drove to the coast and cleaned up the mouth of the Yambou River, which REALLY needed it! We spent 3 hours cleaning up the equivalent of about 1/8 mile of beach front. We had to record everything we picked up for the ICC records, so I worked with 1 other man and together we filled 5 garbage bags (industrial size). Which was quite a lot. In the end, we collected over 150 plastic bottles, hundreds of food containers, thousands of little plastic pieces and 2 tires. A nice effort. We also found a surprising number of boat parts, which either stopped working and got tossed overboard OR (my favorite hypothesis) were shattered into a thousand little pieces by a Jaws-ish shark. Duh-dun, duh-dun, duh-dun.
Anyway, the beach cleanup was pretty successful, even though only 8 people showed up: 6 Ministry employees, 1 child of a Ministry employee and me. We managed to collect about 20 bags FULL of garbage, which made a big dent in our small beach site. I know that next week, the beach will probably be filled again with garbage, but I hope that the people who watched us spend our Saturday picking up other people's trash will think twice the next time they go to toss their soda bottle on the ground.
In other news, we are officially more than halfway through our service! We have less than three weeks to go, and we are all excited about starting our projects and a little anxious about being on our own. We had our Mid-Training-Interviews on Friday and everyone is doing well so far. We're pretty excited that our group is still intact at this point! No one has left on any of the Eastern Caribbean islands, which is virtually unheard of at this point. Either we are really a spectacular group or just a little slow to react...I'm pulling for the former. We've reached the point in our training where each of us must implement a program-specific project (i.e. a youth development project or an NGO project). Mine is in the works, and I'll tell you all about it later on. I'm really excited about it, though - I hope everything falls (or rather, is pushed really, really hard) into place.

Trip to Georgetown

Right now, there is a tropical wave affecting many of the lower Caribbean islands, including SVG. What this means is, it has been raining non-stop for 4 days. Now, I know that "raining non-stop" is usually an exaggeration meant to emphasize the degree of fed-up-ness one feels about the weather, but here in SVG that's a literal statement. It literally has not stopped raining for 4 days. The first day was nice, because of the drop in temperature. The second day was bearable and surprisingly cool. The third day was pretty bad for reasons I'll explain later on, and as we move into the middle of the 4th straight day of rain, I'm pretty much ready to challenge the rain gods to a fight. After 5 days spent pent-up in training, schools, and buses, I'm pretty bitter about a weekend spent confined in a house.
Yesterday, we went on a field trip to Georgetown, which is northeast of my community, and that was the day we really got to see the devestation of such a large quantity of rain. The Peace Corps chartered a bus to take us to Georgetown, a fabulous change from my normal bus experience, which usually doesn't include personal space. About half of us met the bus in Kingstown and the rest we picked up on the way to Georgetown. And of course, it was pouring down rain. We were supposed to leave the Peace Corps office by 9 am, but due to rain delays, we actually left at 9:45. This was fine, for those of us in the dry, warm Peace Corps office, but those we were picking up on the way were informed to wait by the main road for the bus to pick them up and to be there between 9:15 and 9:30. Due to ever increasing rain delays, we picked up the first person, soaking wet, at 10:45.
There were so many delays because all the rain we've gotten has caused massive flooding and landslides across the island. St. Vincent is a really hilly island, and while the hills are completely clear, the valleys often have several inches of standing water and are sometimes un-passable. Our trip to Georgetown, which would usually take less than an hour, took us more than two, due to all of the side-roads we had to navigate when the main road was flooded or covered in fallen boulders and trees. The main roads in St. Vincent are carved into the sides of hills and mountains, and when they get really wet, mudslides occur and bring trees and large rocks down too. It was really an experience driving through all this, knowing how unstable the mountainside is and hoping that our bus wouldn't fall victim to a landslide. Actually, most buses won't even run in this kind of weather, which is nice as far as safety goes, but frustrating, I imagine, when you have to get to town.
Once we got to Georgetown, however, we had a nice (though short and wet) day. We went to a place called Marion House, which teaches technical skills to out-of-school youth. We also went to a home for mentally handicapped children, who are often abandoned or abused, and got to play with them and meet the PCV who currently works there. For lunch, we drove to a beach called Black's Point, which was one of the film sites for Pirate's of the Caribbean, and ate at picnic tables (covered, of course). It's actually really beautiful here when it rains, although this is easy to forget if you're trapped inside all day. Here's hoping that this tropical wave goes on its merry way!

Week 2 of PST

Way de man say? For all you non-dialect speakers out there, that's Vincy-talk for "what's up?" The appropriate response is, of course, "level."
I visited my worksite for the third time today, and the kids are already starting to grow on me (two site-visits ago, I would never have believed that!). They're still LOUD and very behind the curriculum, but many of them seem genuinely interested in what is being taught and many of them try really hard to do their work and answer the teacher's questions. I can't wait to work with them on a more individual level, though, because all the enthusiasm in the world can't help a kid with 39 other classmates and no classroom door. Each time I go to Emmanuel, I have a little bit more responsibility. The first day, I just met the teachers and talked lesson plans; the second-time, I just did classroom observation and helped individual students; this last time, I helped teach a little and I watched the class for 5 minutes while the teacher was gone (quite an accomplishment!). I'm glad that we get to ease into this...especially because I think they still expect me to teach after training, no matter how often I assure them I am not qualified.
I also spoke more to the head of the Adult Education Center. He wants me to run a basic literacy course for out-of-school adults (ages 15+), which I am actually pretty excited about. He also wants to work with me to conduct a formal survey of the needs in this community. I think we are going to have a week-long open-house, where community members can walk in and find out exactly what the AEC has to offer. I think this is going to be my project this fall, so let's hope it is a success.
Today, I hand-washed my clothes for the first time! It took me two hours to wash 5 shirts, 1 pair of pjs, 6 bras and 13 pairs of underwear. The end product was a little soapy and I just couldn't get a pesky stain out of one shirt, but as I laid the clothes on the roof to dry, I couldn't help but feel proud of my efforts. This kind of pride that only comes from a laundry room full of soapy water and some raw knuckles. If you've never hand-washed (and I'm not talking about "hand-wash only" stuff, I'm talking "you could throw me in the washing-machine, but opted for the hand-washing experience" stuff), let me recommend it. It's quite character building.

Job-Site Visit

First thing's first. Riding the bus is SCARY! Each bus has a name, and though I learned early on to avoid the buses with names like "Slidin' off a cliff" and "Runs into your house," it's the more subtle ones like "SlimShady" that can sometimes throw you off. In any instance, "SlimShady" is not an experience I want to re-live; thus is the value of a 'street' education.
Today, I visited the high school that I will be working at for the next two years. Everyone I met on staff seems really nice and helpful. The teacher that I will actually be working with (my IPP...I don't remember what that stands for, but I think by now, you must all be noticing the trend. Peace Corps loves to abbreviate terms.) was extremely helpful today. She explained how the school system works and some of the major issues that they are having problems with. She also seems really eager to hear my suggestions. I think that the Peace Corps told our sites that we would be experienced and insightful. I hope I can live up to that praise.
My IPP brought me into her classrooms for a short while today. She teaches remedial literacy, and that is what I will be helping her with for the next 2 years. The children were nice, though loud (there are 40 kids in each class!), and they were confused about the spelling of my last name, so they call me Miss Kim. I will probably be working one-on-one or in small groups with the kids, which I think will really facilitate a better learning experience. Hopefully I will pick up on some teaching methods during my once-weekly internship at Emmanuel. I won't officially start working there until October.
I also spoke with the director of the adult education center in Mespo. He seems really excited to work with me - I think the previous volunteer worked with him. We are supposed to meet next week to discuss project ideas. I really want to target a program to out-of-school youth between the ages of 15 and 20. Early drop-out is an issue in SVG, so I really want to make this one of my primary issues.
It is still hot Hot HOT, but I think the peak of the rainy season is soon, so hopefully we get some relief (plus, I could finally don my bright yellow rainboots). I've also heard gossip (or, in dialect, comess) that in the winter, the temperature sometimes drops into the 60s, so I'm really looking forward to that.

Homestay

We arrived in St. Vincent on Saturday afternoon and I met my homestay family for the first time! My family consists of my homestay mom, her husband and their two children, 10 and 15. They are all really nice and have done everything to make me feel at home! They also have a really nice house with a microwave, internet and a washing maching, which will be very nice during my homestay period, but which I think will not prepare me for the small, technology-less house I will most likely inhabit for the next two years. When we told our Associate Peace Corps Director (APCD) about how nice our homestay homes were, he laughed and warned us not to hope for these things during our 2 year stay...
Even with a microwave, it is still HOT. This time, at least, I have my own fan AND it points directly at me AND it is not hung 8 feet in the air! I also have a bed-side table/lamp, but so far, I've only discovered 1 outlet in the room, so I have had to choose between fan or good lighting. I think you can all guess which one I've chosen.
Mesopotamia (Mespo for short) is in a valley, which is really nice view-wise, because we look up at some AMAZING landscapes. It also rains a lot more here than in higher up or more coastal towns (twice a day since I've been here), which cools it off a bit. We also have tons of these horrible little biting bugs called sand-flies, which are literally the size of a pin-prick and thus, unsmushable. They're KILLING me, but my host mom tells me I will get used to them.
On Saturday afternoon, we attended something called "Pan Against Crime." Local kids (including my youngest host sister) took classes at the Kingstown police station all summer, and Saturday night was their final concert/graduation. They played all sorts of instruments, including guitar, clarinet, trumpet, drums and pan (steel pan...like a steel drum). The concert was fantastic! It was amazing to see how well the kids play after only 6 weeks of training! And it was nice to see that this event was so successful in its initial run. The police chief couldn't have been more pleased and went on and on about how playing an instrument and being part of a group keeps kids off the street and out of trouble. I completely agree!
Another good thing that happened at "Pan Against Crime" was I met the 2nd in command to the police chief, told him I played the flute and was asked to play with the band! He said that other Peace Corps volunteers before me had played with them and it was a good experience for all involved. Plus, I think they can even provide a flute for me! I hope this works out, because what a neat way to integrate into a country!
Yesterday was our first day of PST and I think it went well, though we have a LOT of homework already! Before next week, we have to make a map of our community, cook a local meal, give explicit driving directions to/from our site, ask our host family about local laws/traffic AND learn a little of the local dialect. I've already worked on this last one - last night, my older host-sister invited her cousins over and they spoke to me in dialect. Then, we went to their house, where their mom (who spoke better dialect) taught me a ton of phrases, including "come ya" and "me lov comess." Translation: "come here" and "I love gossip." Plus, the oldest cousin is close in age to me and we are going to go limin' on Saturday (hanging out around the town). So, yesterday was a pretty good day!
Today we are going to open our bank accounts and I have to take the bus for the first time...I'll let you know how that goes!!