St Lucia – Destination NOW

Good bye Team Two, plus contest answers

It has taken me a while to write this post. I guess I’m having a hard time acknowledging that the Team Two St. Lucia experience is officially over.

But on to the important stuff–the contest answers. The following statements are all true. Global Volunteers:

Serve only where they are invited.
Work under the direction of local leaders.
Help local people do what they have already decided they want done.
Send teams of volunteers to each community several times a year, serving on five continents and the Pacific area. For the St. Lucia project, the hope is that there will be a team on site every month starting in 2013.
The fee Global Volunteers pay covers food, water, lodging, local transportation, program related and administrative expenses. The volunteers also pay for their flight/transportation to the country. Yes, the volunteers pay their own way. For those that want to fund raise, Global Volunteers will provide assistance.
Anse La Raye, St. Lucia is the newest Global Volunteers site. Yes, we were only the second team to serve in St. Lucia.
The St. Lucia project is one of the largest to date, in terms of the number of volunteers on site. Yes, normally there are fewer than 20 people on site.
Although the volunteers work hard during the week, they are free on the weekends to explore the island. And we did!
Many Global Volunteers get “hooked” and serve on additional programs. Out of the 27 of us, only 4 were serving for the first time. Everyone else had been on at least one other project. Norina held the record, having working on more than 25 projects!

Drum roll, please: The contest winners are (in order): Lindy, Sue, Sandy, Lissy, Kristy, Mike and Jim. Congratulations to all!

As a farewell to team two, I’m including photos of other volunteers. With 27 volunteers working on 9 different teams over the two-week period, I wasn’t able to get to know as many of the group as I would have liked. What an interesting group it was! Coming from different areas of the USA, and from various occupations, the group had collectively traveled to all 7 continents and well over 100 countries. If you had a question about a particular country, it was quite likely that one of the other volunteers would have the answer, having been there and done just about everything!

Here we are in the bar, just before the farewell dinner: Jeanne, from New York (who I met on the plane), Norina, from Pennsylvania, Laurie from Colorado and me.

Moving over to Kid Step for week two gave me a chance to get to know Edith. I enjoyed every minute I spent with this fascinating, kind woman. I won’t reveal her age–I’ll just say that the calendar fibs–her varied interests (Tai Chi, ballroom dancing, foreign languages, travel), activity level and stamina convinced me that she is easily two decades younger than her driver’s license would indicate.

The kids made themselves comfortable. Like children everywhere, they loved physical contact. (And so did we!)

Jan, the baby of the group, is a teacher from Ct. who used the grant given by her school to come to St. Lucia during school vacation. She and Kathy, the Earth Box team, worked really hard, out in the sun all day, visiting the different sites, teaching teachers and kids about planting and watering. They never complained about the heat or humidity, and managed to keep smiling regardless of whatever challenges the day might bring.

Here are Tom and Jonah, demonstrating the partnership between local leader and Global Volunteer, as they finish repairs on the fence behind Kid Step. Jonah’s three-year old daughter, Johanna, is one of the Kid Step students.

Bonnie, an attorney from Maine, has encyclopedic knowledge about plants, animals, insects, food, nutrition. Her cabin was even higher up than mine. I got this photo of her early one misty morning, when she was out watching the birds that stopped by for breakfast.

Some people get the face they deserve. That is definitely the case with Jim–he is exactly the way he appears in this photo: kind, friendly, happy–an overall great guy, with a face to match.

Martha decided to join the “Globettes” (Jim’s name for Jeanne, Laurie and me) at JD’s restaurant on Marigot Bay. This is where Lawrence, our night watchman, performs a couple of nights a week until the late hour of 10 PM! Lindy wanted more photos of me. So here I am, in my room. The mirror encouraged multitasking. Hair combing was the ideal time to get in some squats!

St. Lucia, beyond the resorts

Most of the Global Volunteers’ work took place in Anse La Raye, which was about a 20 minute ride from our hotel in Marigot Bay.

Permit me to give you a tour of this sweet little town. First a history lesson from the town square. Sorry about the wire–I figured I’d better not mess with anything electrical!

We were in Anse La Raye during Lent, which meant that the fish fry described above was not as festive and exciting as it normally is, so none of us attended.

Here’s what the rest of the square looks like.

The first Sunday of our visit, the Volunteers were introduced to the congregation. During the service, we were asked to stand and the entire congregation applauded for us, making us feel so very welcome.

Seems no matter where you go in the world, you can always find caffeinated, sugary drinks.

Here’s Edith leaving one of the town’s two bakeries. This one has delicious rolls that you can get early in the morning, before starting work.

Then at noon time, Edgar has some wonderful creations. I particularly liked his coconut squares. And yes, that IS a NY Yankees cap that he is wearing!

Although the town lacks billboards, there is no shortage of inspirational messages.

For lack of a better name, we referred to this place as the “Bounty Rum”. It was a gathering spot where we could get coffee, water, fruit juice and snacks. We were always working, so we never got around to sampling any of the place’s name sake.

And while we are on the subject of food, this is the local ice cream store, where you can get a cone for $1 EC, or about $0.40 US.

Remember how clean the children are? That is not something easily accomplished. As we strolled through town we would often see uniforms hanging out to dry. Recognize the little red skirt? That’s the bottom half of the Kid Step uniform.

These ladies are working in the local open air laundry, right by the ocean. Talk about putting things into perspective–when I do laundry, I just press buttons!

This woman doesn’t need to go to the gym. She got those muscles in her arms by scrubbing clothes. Notice the wonderful smiles on these very gracious ladies.

Right next to the laundry is the market for souvenirs.

The lady on the right told me if I bought something from her, she’d give me a very BIG smile. This was not a problem, because I was trying to buy a little something at each stall anyway.

After chatting with them, I learned that they are sisters, and that I had been working with their little girls during my week at Kiddie Homey Day care.

Here are their daughters, Starr and Gladice.

Not every vendor can afford a store or a booth, so they spread their wares on a blanket on the street.

Below is the public shower and toilet for town residents that don’t have indoor plumbing. It is right across the street from Kid Step Day Care. The facility lacks a bathroom for adults, having only a toilet for the children, so the staff suggested that the volunteers go next door to use the bathroom at Kiddies Homey Day Care. The staff, however, used the public toilet.

The town also had its share of beautifully decorated, well maintained homes.

I’ll end this post with the Primary School’s Motto, which tells you a lot about the spirit of the people with whom we came in contact.

The Contest Finale– Global Volunteers Questions

Learn more about Global Volunteers by determining whether the nine statements below are true or false. (And being the visual person that I am, I had to throw in photos for your — and my — entertainment.)

Global Volunteers:

Serve only where they are invited.
Work under the direction of local leaders.
Help local people do what they have already decided they want done.
Send teams of volunteers to each community several times a year, serving on five continents and the Pacific area.
The fee Global Volunteers pay covers food, water, lodging, local transportation, program related and administrative expenses. They also pay for their flight/transportation to the country.

Waiting for our “end of day” meeting to start. Every week day the 9 teams on the St. Lucia project share their thoughts and the day’s accomplishments.

From the left:

Steve, Elmer, Ruth, Sue and Brenda

6. Anse La Raye, St. Lucia is the newest Global Volunteers site.

7. The St. Lucia project is one of the largest to date, in terms of the number of volunteers on site.

Front row: Norina, Bonnie, Edith, Steve, Jane, Ruth. Second row: Gabi, me, Jeanne, Sally, Martha, Brenda, Sue, Marianne, Dotty and Elmer. Last row: Jim, Kathie, Tom, Laurie, Marsha, Tom, Warren, Kathy, Jan and Ron. (Warren and Ron were the team leaders).

8. Although the volunteers work hard during the week, they are free on the weekends to explore the island .

The beach near Rodney Bay, the north part of the island.

Kid Step Preschool Kiddies Homey Day Care Center

9. Many Global Volunteers get “hooked” and serve on additional programs.

And that, my friends (sisters and cousins to be exact) is the end of the contest questions!

Part 2 of the Contest

Well, gang, you did much better with these questions!

I’m sure Grammy is smiling down on her granddaughters, pleased to know that we still remember the many things she taught us. (Some things right, some–well, less accurate…but she still was a good ol’ gal)

Question 4: The cruise ships dock at which St. Lucian city?
The correct answer is Castries (also the answer to question 9), But the names of the ports works too.

The Celebrity ship is bigger than the office building across the street. Yikes!

Here’s a view of the port from one of the scenic overlooks we visited with Jeffrey and Ashley on our Sunday off. That Celebrity ship is on the right in the photo below. if you look carefully, you can make out the office building. See what I mean? Sorry for the blurry photos. I was using my iPhone for these. Didn’t want to be weighed down with my regular camera.

Question 5: Which two countries spent 150 years fighting over St. Lucia?
Yes, the French and the British were duking it out and yes, the last country standing was Great Britain. Hail Britannia! Notice the flag on the sailboat in Marigot Bay, the nearest town–the one with the bank that wouldn’t accept my ATM or credit card.

Question 6: In what year did St. Lucia become independent?
Yep, It was 1979. Sorry, no visuals for that question–other than the mental picture that Lissy provided.

Question 7: What St. Lucian poet received the Nobel prize for Literature in 1992?

Sorry ladies, but spelling DOES count, so Lindy and Sue get extra credit for getting it right. Kristy gets a point for creativity and for making me laugh.

The Square named for Derek Walcott is right across the street from the Basilica. I wonder if that is why the cherub (facing the Basilica) has a leaf growing in a strategic place?

The Basilica is quite beautiful. I was fascinated by the ceiling! I also stopped in at the Pentecostal service down the street. The service took place in a small auditorium, with a stage, and white plastic chairs. The congregation was standing, swaying and singing–and were most kind and welcoming. I stayed to sing one song with them, but had to get back to my traveling buddies. But I digress. Back to the contest.

Question 8: St. Lucia makes a unique kind of ketchup. What is unusual about it? (and do you think it might be one of the prizes?)

Yes indeed–it IS banana ketchup.

So, the score to date is: Lindy 8 points, Lis and Sue tied with 7 points, Sandy 5, Kristy 3, Jim 0 – and Mike has already received his prize, so he is out of the competition.

One more set of questions–this one will be about Global Volunteers–and then the contest closes. Prizes to be awarded the first weekend in May.

The Anse La Raye Marathon

Running with the bulls in Spain would probably feel tame after running the “marathon” with the Kid Step Preschool students.

Like all marathoners, the kids “trained” for the big event. Here are the “Rising Fives” (the oldest children) with Teacher Henry, two days before the event. The kids are wearing the name tags that I made for them. Hey, at my age, I need all the help I can get remembering names!

Don’t you just love the ribbons in the little girls’ hair?

Time for an action shot. The photographer has figured out that while she is taking pictures, she is exempt from running!

The marathon commenced at 10 AM, however we began getting the kids ready to walk the three blocks to the starting point at 9:15. Boy, did we need every single minute!

My wonderful volunteer partner, Edith, is in the white hat, leading the way, carrying one of the younger children.

The children were divided into three teams, which is the reason for the yellow, green and blue tee shirts.

Look at the little girl on the the right. At the time, I didn’t notice Nyla lifting Sapphire’s skirt. I love the look on Nyla’s face.

Was this a big event? Well, most of the town turned out to watch. Fortunately, some of the parents and older siblings joined the race, holding the runner’s hand. That was a great relief, because the streets of Anse La Raye are not the smoothest. I had been worried about scraped knees and elbows, but luckily no one fell.

FINALLY, everyone was at the starting point. Notice the white truck in the photo above? We even had police protection, ready to divert any traffic that might appear.

And We’re OFF!!

When we turned the corner, we saw the entire student population from the “Infant” school (our K through 2nd grade equivalent), and the 4 Global Volunteers from that site lined up on the street, cheering wildly. Had I not been running, that too would have been captured by my camera.

Not to worry, though. I had another chance, when they followed us back to Kid Step Preschool, and milled about outside. This made for an exciting and chaotic day for the preschoolers!

It took a while, but finally the crowd dispersed.

How to get the kiddies settled, after all that excitement? Art! Who knew that a little paper, water and paint could calm everybody down? (I tried hard not to have favorites, but little Jaydin, below, sure made it hard. They were all cute, sweet and precious, but I couldn’t resist those big, beautiful eyes!)

What a wonderful day! How great that most of the community participated. Hard to tell who had the most fun–the kids or me. I’m calling it a tie.

Tomorrow, contest answers and the last set of questions!

“Isn’t it nice to be home again”

It has taken me a few days to unpack, do laundry, pay bills, dig through mail, upload photos. I think part of me (in addition to all of the skin that peeled off my back) is still in St. Lucia, because I awaken thinking about the children…then breakfast. I can almost smell the bacon that Andrew cooked up for us every morning!

During breakfast, one volunteer would read her/his journal entry for the prior day. Fool that I am, I signed up to do it the very last day, thinking that by then, I would have gotten the hang of journal writing a la Global Volunteers. What I DIDN’T consider was all the other things I needed to do before leaving: packing, working on the team report, doing an evaluation, attending the final dinner, having one last “fling” with my new friends. I plan on going on many more Global Volunteer experiences, but for sure I WON’T be doing the last day’s journal. I did get it done in time, so what the heck, I’ll share it with my Blog Buddies. You, however, get a bonus that my team mates missed–visuals (and the captions that go with the visuals were not part of the journal).

Friday, March 23rd

The cricket match between the West Indies and Australia takes place today. This is a very big day for Anse La Raye, because the captain of the West Indies team is from their little village. To give you an idea of how big this is–the infant, primary and secondary schools are all closed today. Not so for Kid Step and Kiddie Homey Day Care, although we noticed that attendance was way down at both schools.

Today is also sports day at Kid Step, which means that the kiddies wear their different colored shirts identifying them as members of the blue, green or yellow teams. Edith and I expected to guide the children to the field in front of the medical center around 10 AM, however Ruth Fredericks stopped by to ask that we come to Kiddie Homey at 10.

Edith and I arrived to find the children assembled in the big room. (Normally there are twice as many kids)

Marcia had taught the children a song about Charlie the fish, which they enthusiastically sang while the staff prepared for the farewell ceremony.

Brenda (one of the volunteers) is on the left; Ruth Frederick, the school administrator and teacher is on the right.

The four of us were seated together in front of the class, who proceeded to serenade us with songs about how special we were and how they loved us.This was followed by a solo about St Lucia performed by a very confident young girl with a beautiful voice. Miss Fredericks introduced her as a recent graduate of Kiddie Homey.

Each member of the staff had written a special individual tribute to each volunteer, which they read. They presented us with handmade cards, a beautiful framed photo of the children, and a huge glass full of the best vanilla and strawberry ice cream ever!

(I was so very touched by this gift. I am quite aware of how difficult it must have been for them to create these personalized photos. It cost them considerable resources that are in very short supply–time, materials and money).

Miss Frederick wanted to make sure that we told Mr. Thomas and Mr. Thomas (fondly known as T Squared) how much she appreciated their work on the door stoppers.

Edith and I then hustled over to the field. Some of the fathers had put up two white tents in front of the medical center. Another had brought over the school’s plastic chairs so the children could sit out of the sun when they were not competing.

Parents, aunts, grandparents and siblings were assembled on the field to cheer the children on and to photograph them as they raced to bring colored blocks, one at a time, from one goal back to the other.

A historical moment–Barack (blue shorts) and McCain (red shorts) racing against each other. This time, McCain won.

These little girls can MOVE! I love watching their faces while they are running.

Herman is intensely focused on this race!

Clowie was disappointed that she came in last. Fortunately, her mom was there to comfort her.

Next up, relay race–pass the paint brush. And the crowd went WILD! Take a look!

I was impressed with the creativity of the teachers and the ingenious way they used common materials as teaching aids.

At the end of the races, they presented us with the cards they had made for each of us. I had watched them work on these cards thinking that these were materials for the kids. They traced the butterflies, colored them by hand, cut them out, pasted them on construction paper, and then wrote lovely messages in each during their lunch time, and while the children napped.

At noon, some members of the preschool team returned back to the hotel, but I was having way too much fun to leave. Wandering the streets provided an opportunity to chat with the locals.

I got a taste of what it must be like for friends of Angelina Jolie. People wanted to know if I was friends with Anse la Raye’s biggest celebrities, Gabi and Laurie.

Left to right: My new friends, Laurie, Dotty, Edith and Gabi. All members of the “ladies who lunch” in Anse La Raye. The empty chair belongs to me, the intrepid photographer.

I had time to poke my head in to say hello to Kathy and Jim at the medical center while the kids were having lunch, a little before 12. Then it was time to head over to the library to join in the party the roving caregivers were throwing for Laurie and Gabi. Well, timing is everything in life. My escort, one of the caregivers, spotted them at the end of the block ahead of us. Damn, I missed the birthday party, the wine, the toe nail polishing and the food. On the van home, I heard about the feast the medical team made for Jim and Kathy that started started shortly after I left. So much for the luck of the Irish!

But all was not lost. There was just enough time to visit the local salon to get transformed into Island Girls.

Braided and bedazzled, Laurie and I made our last trip to the market for a final opportunity to stimulate the local economy. I got a dress for our big night tonight, and added to my collection of bling.(See above)

After our dinner with the Anse La Raye partners, we plan on celebrating Laurie’s birthday with an encore of “girls gone wild” at JD’s restaurant. Lawrence, who also doubles as our security guard, is the main attraction at JDs, and we are his Global Volunteer groupies.

This has been my first Global Volunteer experience, but it won’t be my last. I have so much admiration for both Ruth Frederick and Wilcina Gabriel, who spend all day, every weekday showering their love, attention and patience on these beautiful, funny, energetic children. It was an amazing experience.

The evenings were such fun. I was glad to be able to spend time with such a diverse group of fascinating world travelers, and hope that the budding friendships will be like earth boxes and flourish and grow.

Contest answers

Sorry for the delay in posting the answers. Wifi is only available in the reception area these days. That hot spot by the bar? It is now stone cold.

The fun part of this contest, for me at least, is seeing what friends and family choose for their answers. Not surprisingly, Mike has the most points. After 36 years he should know a thing or two about me!

Welcome Jim and Kristy! I’m glad you are participating. And now for the answers.

Every one except Lindy and Mike thought I had “misplaced” my money. That was a good guess, given my past history, but so far, the only thing I misplaced was my footwear. The correct answer was my investment in “end of the day” red wine. It is not that I am a lush; I just never carry much cash when I travel. Instead I use the ATMs, the ATR (Augusta T Rosenthal), and of course, Mike, as my sources for liquid assets.

Mike was the only one that got the second question right. I did indeed go snorkeling. That was a hard one, because three of the choices were very appealing. The only one I would never do is sit by the pool. Ordinarily I would have done zip lining, but we were advised against it for safety reasons. Kayaking without Greg would be a totally different experience. I’d actually have to paddle.

The boat trip to the snorkeling sites was lovely. Here are some photos taken with my iphone.

The last photo is of Mark, our guide.
I’ve only been snorkeling twice, so I was absolutely mesmerized by the sights. My favorite fish was dark blue, covered with luminescent blue spots that looked like sequins. Its tail was nice accent–a brilliant yellow. I was wishing I’d bought one of those cheap disposable underwater cameras!

Kristy and Sandy were the only ones that got the last answer right. Three of us INTENDED to take a bus, but they don’t run on Sunday mornings, except to the local churches. Fortunately, we met Jeffrey (the source of this last bit of information) while walking to the bus stop. We used our considerable powers of persuasion (and cash) to convince him that he should be our tour guide for the day.

Who could resist wheels with “cute face” written across its hood?

Jeffrey dropped us in town, then went to pick up his fiancé, Ashley. Aren’t they a cute couple?

<a
So here's the score so far:
Mike- 2
Lindy, Sandy and Kristy – 1
Sue and Jim – 0

Time for some educational questions. To make it harder, it won't be multiple choice. Or maybe that will make it easier?

Question 4: The cruise ships dock at which St. Lucian city?
Question 5: Which two countries spent150 years fighting over St. Lucia?
Question 6: In what year did St. Lucia become independent?
Question 7: What St. Lucian poet received the Nobel prize for Literature in 1992?
Question 8: St. Lucia makes a unique kind of ketchup. What is unusual about it? (and do you think it might be one of the prizes?)
Question 9. Tomorrow night we will be having dinner in St. Lucia's capital. What is its name?

Photo of the three intrepid travelers, with assistant tour guide Ashley, doing her Angelina Jolie pose.

A beautiful day

Today was an exciting day. The earth boxes arrived and the kids were pumped! Kathy and Jan did an incredible job. They are so patient with the children. They managed to get the job done, while making the children feel like they were contributing something really important.

This was supposed to be a project for the five year olds, but for a while, the four year olds inserted themselves into the midst.

While the earth box ladies were working in the front, Kathy’s husband Tom and the other Tom were hard at work fixing the fence behind the school.
Here’s the construction team hard at work.

Here are a few more kid photos. Notice the uniform color is different.

These are the kids from the kid step preschool, which is right next door to the kiddie homey day care.

The St Lucia Contest

I promised a contest so here goes, but first something akin to the “fine print”. Prizes are only awarded to contestants residing in either New Jersey or Massachusetts, because the contest sponsor (that would be me) only makes deliveries in those two states.

Furthermore, prizes will only be awarded if I find a cash machine that accepts either my ATM or my credit card, because, you see, I am out of money. On a positive note, I have learned something useful to pass along to future Global Volunteers and those staying in the general vicinity of JJ’s Paradise Hotel. There is only one bank nearby, in Marigot Bay, just a boat ride away. That bank does not accept ATM or debit cards, only credit cards, however–and this is a BIG however– it only accepts credit cards that have the Cirrus logo on the back. As you have guessed, MY Chase Sapphire Visa card does NOT have that little logo on it. With those disclosures out of the way, Game On!

Question One: I am out of money because

A. I lost at the slots and roulette, big time

B. The bar at the hotel only accepts cash and a week’s supply of red wine can really add up

C. It cost a lot to get my hair braided and beaded

D. I forgot my money pouch somewhere, I have no idea where.

Hint: there is only one correct answer

Question Two: We are on our own on the weekend, to do as we please. Which one of these did I do today?

A. Sat by the pool, working on my tsn

B. Went zip lining

C. Went kayaking

D. Went snorkeling

Question three: plans have been made for tomorrow. Which of these will I be doing:

A. Driving an all terrain vehicle through the jungle

B. Bird watching in the national forest

C. Visiting Sandals resort

D. Taking a local bus and letting the day unfold

Answers on Monday afternoon, by which time I will have made it to the city and replenished my funds.

A wonderful first week

So much to say, so little time to get it typed up! First an earth box report for Julie. Kathy and Jan discovered that the earth boxes at the primary school were getting a little too much love and attention. The kids had cut holes in the “shower cap” so that they could water around each seedling. They were watering from the top AND the bottom. The little seedlings were in need of an ark! What the seedlings got instead was kids educated about the need for plant roots to breathe. The team created charts so the kids would know whether the boxes had gotten their daily watering. Some boxes received a week’s worth of watering in one day because multiple kids were caring for them.

The boxes had to be moved so the ground could be leveled? ( not sure why, but Iimagine Julie would know) In the process, a box was overturned, which provided the team with a “teachable moment”…an opportunity to show what happens to waterlogged plants. The kids then painstakingly scooped up the dirt and put it back into the box. They LOVE those boxes.

When the earth box team comes to the Kiddie Homey Day Care Center, I’ll try to get some pictures, but the short report is that all is going well.

About the hand washing…take a look.

Kids are your hands clean??? The bluriness of the photos give you a good idea of the level of activity!

Today was an especially great day at the Kiddie Homey Day Care Center because the construction team installed the equipment that stops the doors from slamming. I have no idea what their official name is. I just call them “sanity savers”. There still is the noise from the high ceilings and the sound bouncing off the concrete walls, but those “sanity savers” made a huge difference in the sound level this afternoon!

The kids love to color, so I decided to try to get them to color their names. As you can see, they really got into it. I took the first shot before they saw the camera. Once they did, it was all over.

Ms Frederick tells me what the different kids need to work on. Starr and Gratia needed help with numbers, so i created a little game for them. They liked it so much, they insisted we play it again and again. I told them to “mess up the card”, then put them back in the right order.

And now it is time for the weekend to begin!

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: