--Here's a pic of EC78, our crew. Kudos to us, nobody quit! Actually, nobody quit from any of the EC78 crew--including those that went to St Kitts & Nevis or St Lucia. Our staff is so pleased--they say that usually 10% of volunteers drop before training ends.
So becoming a regular volunteer also means that I'm now on my own. Saturday and Sunday I moved into my own apartment in the village. It's a cute little place--kitchen, bathroom, main room and 2 bedrooms--yeah I can have guests. There are a few issues that I won't discuss here....but I will say that a previous volunteer (a couple years ago) made a real hard time for the landlady which is causing grief for the Peace Corps now. I'm in a spot that is conviently located for the places I'll be working and the locals can pass by regularly. Because lots of kids pass by there and they know my name--I get shouted out regularly. I'm still getting used to them calling out my name and when I answer, they don't. I guess they just like to same my name. ^_^
Tomorrow I am going to town to try and negotiate getting my cable internet installed. The dsl here (Cable and Wireless) is down regularly--even though the locals say it is better than the cable internet provider (Karib Cable). What sucks is the massive deposit they require for 'non-locals', even though we are here by request and will be here for 2 years. Sure we get that deposit back (or should), but coming up with the cash right away is not cool or easy. I suppose complaing doesn't help. I mean, I was expecting dial-up and for the cutthroat price of around 10% of my monthly allowance I will get a whopping 1.1 (supposedly) Mbps 'high-speed' service. It really makes me appreciate my job with Comcast back home...
For those that keep tabs on the weather--Hurricane Omar had done a quick sweep and passed over the north end of the island chain, hitting St Kitts & Nevis. Gladly, all of the volunteers and I'd hope the locals are all ok and safe. The waves caused from the hurricane came all the way down here in force. It destroyed lots of fishing boats and jetties on our northern coasts. Even Kingstown, on the southern end, of St Vincent had high waves. The pic below was taken near one of the bus terminals. Previously, there were wooden stalls that lined the row and the waves destroyed them all and washed them down the street. The wave in the pic is probably 10 feet or so high over the cement wall--probably 16 feet or so altogether as it hit the land.
Today, I attended another meeting of the Cumberland Valley Environmental Group--an organization here in the village. They meet to discuss a project that will be going on with the nearby beach. The government had requested tourism facilities be erected around SVG to help cope with the collapse of the banana trades here. After several years, this project should soon be ready to break ground and finish before the end of 2009. Although the government requested it and the European Union is helping fund it and will operate with a non-government team here, the local community will be responsibile for it after it is complete. Unfortunately, I'm learning that the community really isn't on board with this project and feel very closed out of the process. The project team is looking to me to help bring aspects of this group together and train them; whereas the local group will need my help to try and find advocates to bring them into the project process. This one will end up becoming some delicate balancing acts and seems to be one of my first activities....
I'll also be starting my 2nd pupil for computer training. The group's secretary does very well with records and seems to do a good job. She doesn't know how to use a computer--so I'll be showing her how to maximize her secretarial duties. Hopefully my payback will be learning/meeting more people here in the village. I haven't met too many adults yet and this will be a good inroads.
I think the NGO Developer role that I've been assigned to will be a good fit for me and will become a double positive. On one side, I'll be helping the people of Spring Village with skills training and organizational development and on the other side, I'll be gaining massive amounts of practical experience that will assist me in graduate school and hopefully politics & policy.
Before I kick-off here, I thought I'd toss up one last photo....
After our 'graduation', the other volunteers who have already been here a year invited us for a swim & chill on the beach at a place called Beachcombers (total tourist area and not our normal place to go). I decided it was time for another tasty round of coconut water and for only EC$2 ($1.50 away from tourist areas) it was still cheaper and better than a soda. There are 2 common kinds of coconuts--the kind you usually drink they call here a waternut. It was a bit strange to me at first, but it's growing on me. I guess this shot is a bit of a caribbean classic.
The SVG independence day is coming up on the 27th. On Sunday the 26th, I hope to be going on a trip to the island of Mustique--land of the rich and famous--on a special independence boat ride. Still have to figure out how I'm getting to town and back for that--since the buses don't usually run on Sundays...more to come later.
Stay safe and happy
ciao tutti
~your local wannabe jedi
~Shawn
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