Ready.....Steady.....GO!!!

And it's official! I am now a fully-fledged volunteer, with all the right and duties and ups and downs that come with the role. ^_^ On Monday, the 20th, we had a good-sized ceremony at a government center with several officials and people of note. It was conducted by our boss on SVG, Mr. Cool, and our country director, Margo (out of St Lucia). One of our group was nominated to give a speech it was awesome. Normally I would have taken a ton of photos, but I was sitting in a 'special section' for us....so one of the other volunteers took some good ones. The local media crews filmed the whole thing and they told me I could get a digital copy later....just have to follow up on that.
--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

Frogs and Bats oh my

Hey readers,
Good things so lately for the most part.
--Last Saturday, I went to see the orphans of St. Benedict's play steel pan as the opening group for a music fest. Hopefully how good they were will help shake some of the stigma that the orphans experience, since all of them have some sort of physical or mental ailment. Although I was approached by some weird guy; he didn't seem drunk but I couldn't understand anything he was saying to me and he wouldn't leave me alone. Our HIV/AIDS trainer was around and took notice and together we got the guy to go away. Funny thing was that our trainer, a local, couldn't understand the guy either. On the way back, I was a bit lucky to catch a late bus and we crammed in the most people I've experienced yet....maybe 22 when it is registered to carry perhaps 16. With the rain and really heavy van, it was a long slow ride home--no worries though, this is the Vincy way. ^_^

--So with all the tropical storms in the area, St Vincent has been getting plenty of rain and a humidity that makes everything sweaty. What should I expect...its the Caribbean. : ) I just hope that our other volunteers are doing ok on the other islands. Last I heard, St Kitts is under hurricane warning from Hurricane Omar.

--There is currently a teacher strike across the entire island as they attempt to resolve with the government terms and conditions of a reclassification system, which affects their pay scales. Although I won't get into the nitty gritty, I'll say that it is causing quite a disturbance on the ground. I hope it gets resolved quickly. I am not taking any particular stance on this issue, but I do see how it is affecting the communities. Even though I can't stand how the current scholastic system is performing--both on the part of the schools and the students--it is certainly better to have something functional. Societies are strange. The amount of attention provided during times of strife depends on who or what is causing that strife. The teachers have been protesting their issues now for a few weeks rather loudly and now on strike since Monday going forward--although they have been arguing with government about this for months. If the strike would have come from a different sector of society, perhaps internal government workers or even the police, I'm sure that the response times to sit down for discussion/negotiation would have occured much faster. Again, I am not taking any sides--especially since I don't know all the details--but I personally think that teachers, good teachers, are the foundation for building a better future and deserve the respect and treatment equal to the services they provide.

--Tuesday I began to teach an older gentlemen from a nearby village how to use the computer. He is interested in learning how to use email, since he is currently relying on others to send messages for him to buy a boat from overseas somewhere. Before Tuesday, he had never touched a computer before and although he admitted it was overwhelming, he was very excited to be learning about it. Teaching bare basics, like how to move a mouse and even how to touch a keyboard key properly are things that are easily taken for granted. I was glad to be able to help him and see his responses. Sure, we didn't get much farther than a couple sentences and using MS Paint to connect a few dots for mouse skills--but it was a great start. He didn't mind at all being my guinea pig, since I've never started helping someone from ground zero up and the experience was good for me as well since I will be doing regular classes for people of all ages that have never touched computers. Fortunately, this gentlemen was able to read/write well, so my concerns for later will be for those I will train that can't read/write. Gotta walk before we run.

--A fun little experience. I was at the computer at my host family's house the other day and I noticed a funny looking dark spot bouncing on the floor. I thought it was some strange bug and was pondering if I should squish it or not. A closer look showed that it was actually a really small frog; the entire frog could fit onto the fingernail of my index finger. So small! I have no clue how it got in as the doors and windows were closed, but I captured it and let it go on a plant leaf outside. I'm actually glad to hear the frogs at night. After spending some time in the research labs at Southern Illinois Unv with Dr. Lips, I learned of the Chytridiomycosis bacterium that is causing the deaths of amphibians across the Americas. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chytridiomycosis

--More SVG Animal Planet....we have bats that enjoy roosting in the spaces between the metal sheets of my host family's roof. They are really loud in the evening and when they suffle about. I don't really mind, but it is driving my host parents crazy. Last night, they were taking the broom and whacking the ceiling as they tried to drive them out. I really doubted it worked, since their previous attempts have all failed. I'm not sure if they really cause any damage to the home, perhaps buildup of guano will eat away at the metals over time. Otherwise, I enjoy bats and think they are great for insect control.

--Last night's U.S. presidential debate was a disappointment in my opinion for Obama. Sure, the polls and pundits are saying that he did better overall and that this now makes him 3 for 3. I couldn't ask for better on that part. And yes, he did maintain a cool and collected air about him for the entire thing. I was split on his discussions. Some portions really resonated with me, such as education, while others left me wanting more details. Either way, I really thought that Obama was a bit flat, to echo the words of the analysts. Where is the great speaker and motivator that carried him through the primaries? I am glad to see that he is settling in rather comfortably into the presidential 'look', but I think his tone has lost a bit of its fire. As much as I can't stand Sarah Palin, she seems to have picked up where he left off in terms of energy and enthusiasm during her speeches.

--Which tosses me to my last thought. My village has expressed an interest in reviving the drama group they used to have. I will need to spend time research what that actually entailed, but this is something that several have really wanted help with. I don't know a thing about how to work with or run a drama group--but if it is one thing I know how to do.....is find and bring people and skills together. I might also try to revive the drama group and umbrella other efforts with it as well, such as the steel pan and public speaking efforts--try and put them all into a greater organization and reduce the individualized structure and resources required for each group within a smaller village. So don't be surprised if I shout out a few emails asking for your thoughts and opinions as I seek guidance down the road. ^_^

Stay happy and well.
ciao tutti
~Your local wannabe jedi
~Shawn

Change of pace as things begin to fall into place. ^_^

Hey wonderful people out there.
Today's the 2nd day on island. It's nice here and there are certainly noticeable differences for certain. One could see different styles, sizes, and types of buildings along the roadsides. There were many banana farms as well--very cool. I tried to get some pics from our bus, but we were moving too fast to get good shots.

There were a few surprises here.
We found out quickly that CNN was available in our dining hall. In fact, about 14 of us are sitting in front of it now--awaiting Obama's nomination acceptance speech. Another treat was wi-fi. It isn't super fast, but is certainly does the trick. Lol....probably doesn't help the bandwidth that there are many laptop in use right now. The last surprise was my placement assignment. I was supposed to go to Dominica, but when I signed in on island I was informed that I am going to St Vincent instead. This totally threw me for a loop. Of course, I had spent lots of time reading up on Dominica and was very excited to go there. Yeah, I'll admit I was disheartened to hear the change--but like water, I will flow with the change. A quick reflection reminded me that there are many others in our group going to St Vincent and I will be lucky to have their company--well when we can see each other anyway. ^_^ More importantly--I joined the Peace Corps to help others and have to stand for our first goal--to identify the needs of the people we'll be serving. This means I go where the help is needed and it happens to be needed on St Vincent at the moment. So although I don't really know much about this new spot--I can learn. Life will be good either way and talking with the others is really making me look forward to our new start on Saturday. ^_^

Otherwise, the staff here are great. They are patient and answer our questions. The food is really good too--even for veg-heads like me. It is hot and humid--but duh, I'm in the Caribbean. Lol....I just noticed that my arm and side has been all bitten up with little red marks, probably bug bites...they didn't even itch. I have no clue how long it has been there, but I can already tell that my brain is giving me phantom itches elsewhere. Today we got all sorts of info--with much more to come tomorrow. We talked about hurricane prep, with much more detailed plans to come on our individual islands--so those worried about me in a wind storm can breathe easy. Oh, how could I forget--we got a visit from the region's Ambassador, whose office is all the way from Barbados. She had lunch with us and gave us thanks for our service.

Maybe early tomorrow, I'll get my first chance to go for a splash in the Caribbean. A couple of us found a beach only 5 minutes walk from here. A few of us are talking about getting up early before our classes for a dip.

I have to get my blog reviewed yet by our country director, so I can't really give out too much info until I have approval.....so I won't spill many details till I have the ok. So keep on checking back for more later, whenever I get a connection at least. ^_^

ciao ciao
~your wannabe jedi
~Shawn