SVG Independence

Happy 30th Birthday, SVG!

"St. Vincent Land So Beautiful"

(Verse 1)
St. Vincent land so beautiful
With joyful hearts we pledge to thee
Our loyalty and love and vow
To keep you ever free.

(Chorus)
Whate're the future brings
Our faith will keep us through.
May peace reign from shore to shore
And God bless and keep us true.

(Verse 2)
Hairoun, our fair and blessed isle
Your mountains high so clear and green
Are home to me though I may stray
A haven, calm serene.

(Verse 3)
Our little sister islands are
Those gems the lovely Grenadines
Upon their seas and golden sands
The sunshine ever beams.

*Note* The video only plays through the first verse and chorus. If you want to try singing it yourself (you know, to get the full effect), you'll have to hit play 3 times.

Cultural Activity

The Adult and Continuing Education Office hosted a Cultural Activity today, and my music students were invited to participate. Tomorrow marks St. Vincent's 30th year of Independence, so many organizations around the island are holding events like this one, with cultural songs, dramas and poetry. My students opened the event with rousing renditions of "Hot Cross Buns," "Mary Had a Little Lamb," and "Ode to Joy." I know, those are the same songs they learned this summer, but we haven't really had much time to add to their repertoire. In class they are learning "Jingle Bells," but it's not quite up to par yet and I thought October was a bit early to start with the Christmas tunes, in spite of what Macy's may lead you to believe. At the Cultural Activity, we also heard many poems and songs, including "St. Vincent, I Love You," a personal favorite of mine. Click on the link below to listen!

http://www.imeem.com/people/-t8Eq9/music/kbCJgmwa/alston-becket-cyrus-st-vincent-i-love-you/

On a side note, I ran my second 5K yesterday. This time it was on the road - no dodging cow poo! - but in a really hilly area, so it was extremely difficult. I ran with a girl from my area and another PCV from the Leeward side of the island. We are all proud to have finished, but I am definately going to have to up my training if I expect to run a 10K in December!

Books, Books, Books

A while ago, a few friends and I were talking about the books we'd read - we read a LOT, probably because there is really nothing else to do on the weekends or during holidays or after dark, plus the Peace Corps office has a really fantastic library - and we decided to set a goal of reading 100 books during our 2 years here. At the bottom right hand corner of this blog, you'll find my current booklist. The first 30 books are in no particular order, as I read them before setting the goal. As I read more, I'll add the titles to the list and (hopefully) more than double my numbers over the next year. I am open to suggestions, but I'm more or less limited by what's in the office. Happy reading!

Fun Run

To get ready for Run Barbados, we planned to run some races locally (mostly to give the kids a feel for what it will be like), and we ran our first race today! The kids ran a 2K (they were in the under 15 category), and they all finished, so we're really proud of them! Another volunteer and I ran a 6K (19+ category), and it was quite an experience!
First of all, the race was held at St. Vincent's car racetrack, which resembles an abandoned field more than anything. There is a dirt track in some places, but mostly it's overgrown, rocky and extremely muddy, so we slogged through mud and knee-high grasses for the majority of the course. Also, there are goats and cows grazing all around the field (I arrived to the race a little early only to be chased off the field by an angry bull). The goats aren't anything, but cows equal dung piles. Lots of dung piles. Which naturally were deposited right along our running path, so there we were, slogging through mud and knee-high grasses, dodging cow poo. Except, of course, for the part of the trail that included a large, rock hill that you ran up, but had to jump from rock to rock to get down. Six times we ran this course. It was an exhausting race.
One of the more interesting parts of the day was how the water got passed out. During a 5K run in the US, the organizers would pass out cups of water at set points during the race. It's a bit different here - the organizers did pass out water, but in tied plastic bags (what a goldfish might come in). As you passed the water point, you grabbed a bag, bit a hole in it and drank/poured on your head the water. Ingenious.
My friend and I had only 3 goals for the race:
1. Don't trip on the rock hill (because you will seriously injure yourself).
2. Don't step in cow poo.
3. Finish the race.
We accomplished 2 of our goals.
At the end of it, I took second place in my category! There were only four people in my category, but I'm still a little proud. I might even be in the newspaper!