Owia Salt Ponds

I went to the Owia Salt Ponds with two other volunteers a few weeks ago. Owia is located far north on the windward side (east side) of the island. It's an hour and a half walk from where I live. The salt ponds were created during the 1979 volcano eruption here in St. Vincent. When the lava cooled down from the ocean water, it formed big rocks that surrounded a small area for water to wash in and deep enough to swim in.

I hadn't gone swimming since December, so I was excited to go to the Salt Ponds. You have to bring shoes that you can get wet because the rocks are very slippery. We put our stuff down by two big rocks and then walked into the water until we got to the pool. There wasn't much sun when we arrived, but it was really hot nonetheless. It rained for a 10 minutes and then afterward, the sun came out.

Some of the locals came and started diving off of the rocks. I wasn't brave enough to do it, but it was fun seeing them go one after the other.

The waves hitting the rocks was an amazing sight to see. I borrowed swimming goggles from a friend and they definitely come in handy because under the sea is so beautiful. If you stay still, you can see all of the fish moving and they're not afraid to swim close to you. I'm really looking forward to going back within the next few months and I'll be sure to buy some goggles before I go. 

Performing Arts May Never Die

"Your students can learn the arts as well as learn through the arts." 

~ Andrew Miller

Each March, there is a performing arts competition called Primary School Performing Arts Festival (PRISPAF) that takes place in each primary school around the island. The festival is sponsored by St. Vincent's own Ju-C, a non-alcoholic beverage company. All of the students in the school participate and show off their talents. Only three acts are chosen to move on to the next level which takes place in two weeks. Monday was our PRISPAF at Tourama Government School and the students did such a good job!

Below is the performance from my first grade class, doing a folk song called "Carry Me Breadfruit."

Here is a dancing performance from two sisters.

I was so happy to see that the students partake in performing arts and I learned that the school has won the competition two years in a row. I'm hoping we win again as we go into the second round. Even if we don't, like the students said (video at the top) performing arts may never die!

Working on the Library

My service with Peace Corps in the Eastern Caribbean is based on English Literacy. I'm working with a 1st grade class at Tourama Government School to enhance reading and writing skills. However, I have been tasked with a secondary project: fixing up the school's library. It needs to be cleaned out and redecorated.

The students have a say in what their library should look like, so I asked all the students at the school what their favorite cartoon characters were. I would like to paint them on the outside and the inside of the library. I'm now trying to learn how to draw Spiderman and Paw Patrol, so I have a lot of work ahead of me.

Books are being donated to the library from Hands Across the Sea once I get the library cleaned out. All the books that were in the library were put in boxes to be sorted. Some have been given to teachers for useful material in the classroom and others will be sold in a book sale to bring more money into the school. I will post updates on the work being done in the library. However, I am just getting started.

When I Grow Up

"Whatever we believe about ourselves and our ability comes true for us."

~Susan L. Taylor

Normally, I teach Language Arts, but I taught the Social Studies lesson for today. In light of Black History Month, I wanted to teach the students in my class about some of the African American heroes that have gone done in history for great things. We went to the computer lab to watch a video on Youtube.

The video was on Mae Jemison, George Washington Carver, Madam C.J. Walker, Dr. Daniel Hale Williams and Garret A. Morgan. I paused the video a lot to explain things about each person and what they did to contribute to society. When we got to Madam C.J. Walker and the hot comb, I explained to kids how it worked and how my grandma used to always straighten my hair in the morning before going to church. The video ended with Mae Jemison's quote: "I always knew I'd go to space."

Afterward, I talked to the students about the power of the tongue and how you can speak things into existence. I asked each one of them what they wanted to be when they grew up and that if they spoke it out loud and believed in themselves, that they could do it. When we went back into the classroom, I had them write down what they wanted to be. One of the girls in my class said she wanted to be a doctor, but changed it to a nurse and I told her that there are doctors who are women as well. After they wrote what they wanted to be, they had to write "I can do it!"

 

This lesson was important to me because I was able to share a part of my culture with my class and co-teacher. Also, I wanted them to know that just like these historical African American men and women, they could accomplish anything they wanted. It warmed my heart to hear them chant "I can do it!"

Nice Radio Station

Last Wednesday, I was invited to do an interview on Nice Radio Station, where 30 minutes is allotted to Peace Corps. The program was started by a volunteer named Tom over 20 years ago. 

The current hosts are fellow volunteers, Myranda and Ford. We talked about my life before Peace Corps and how my service has been so far while in St. Vincent. Down below is a recording of the 

radio show. I hope I'm able to go back by end of year to give an update about my service. You can listen to the radio show by clicking on the link below. 

https://soundcloud.com/brooklyn-dun/radio-interview 

Valentines Day

"All you need is love. But chocolate now and then doesn't hurt." ~Charles M. Schulz

On Valentine's Day, everyone came to school in red, pink and white. In my class, we did a chocolate exchange where the students came to school with chocolate bars and candy (spending up to $5) to give to a classmate. I wrapped some of them in construction paper and my co-teacher wrote their names on them. 

At break time, they did the exchange and we had them find who it was for. We had to help some of them though because they got the names confused if they started with the same letter. 

They were happy to receive the sweet treats and ate them during break time. One of my students received a big chocolate bar with fruit and nuts in it. She ate half and gave the other half to me accompanied by a hug, which put a huge smile on my face. I had never tried it before and it was really good. 

My co-teacher even got me a gift. A wine glass decorated with hearts on it and chocolate in the inside. 

Valentine's Day isn't the only day we should show love to each other, but it is nice to give something to someone and receive something from someone. The smiles on their faces was worth it. 

I hope everyone enjoyed their Valentine's Day!

Leeward Tour

 

I went on a tour with the other Peace Corps Volunteers here in St. Vincent to see the Leeward side of the island. The Leeward side is the west side of the island, the side where the Caribbean Sea is. Since I live on the Windward side (east side, where Atlantic Ocean is) I finally got to see the other side of the island. It is beyond beautiful.

Our first stop was Fort Charlotte. Our tour guide and local historian gave us the history between the Kalinagu people (indigenous people on the island) and the fight between France and Britain to gain control of it. Fort Charlotte was built in 1802 by the British to fight against the Kalinagu people on the island.

The Kalinagu people were warriors and put up a strong fight against Britain which is why it wasn't easy for them to colonize the island (although they eventually won in 1797). During slavery, escaped slaves found refuge on the island and mated with the Kalinagu people which is how they became known as Black Caribs.  France had a presence on the island, being tolerated more than the British, which is why there are communities named Chateaubelair and Petit Bordel on the Leeward side of the island.

 

In the photo below, the plaque reads:  "The Black Caribs were taken to Baliceaux and then Bequia (both are Grenadine islands). In 1797, they were put on British men of war, as shown, and exiled on Roatán Island in the bay of Honduras. Their descendants may now be found in many Central American countries."

Next stop was in Layou where we got to see the Layou Waterfront Project. It was done to keep the water from eroding the shoreline. Steps were built and layers of rocks were put down to keep the water at bay.  

Then we went to Mr. Cool's farm (Assistant Peace Corps Director). He gave us coconut water, tomatoes and lemons. When some of us wanted to eat the coconut jelly/flesh inside, he cut a spoon from the coconut shell for us to scoop it out.

Last stop was Richmond Vale Academy in Chateaubelair. It is a non-profit research and training institute with courses centered on poverty reduction, environmental conservation and climate change awareness. There are students from all over the world that go to this school. We got a tour of their greenhouses and got to pick starfruit (locally called 5 fingers), bananas, guava and moringa (good for tea).

  

 

They also gave us soursop and fruitcake served out of a coconut shell. 

Before we left, we got to meet their pigs. They were adorable! I ended up feeding them starfruit, banana peels and half of my moringa. 

I haven't seen everything that there is to see on the island, but I'll be sure to post all the places that I go. Next stop will be Vermont Trail hopefully within the next 2-3 weeks.