January 10, 2006
It's hard to believe it's a new year! It seems like just yesterday that I began 2005. December definitely flew. The schools all closed for Christmas vacation around December 9th. In general, the Caribbean somewhat stops around Christmas. It's very hard to work on projects, because no one is really in the mindset. It's a very happy time of year, and Parang music can be heard on buses, in town, on radios, in the streets. Parang is a local music that could be compared to calypso music about Christmas. Some songs tell specific stories about people and events, others are more general. On the island of Carriacou, there is a big festival in mid-December every year. Grenada also has some traditional foods served during the holidays. There is a beverage called Sorrel, made from the sorrel flowers. It's somewhat of a red spiced cider. A specific fruitcake called Black Cake is also served at this time of year. The fruit in the cake is soaked for weeks in rum and other liqueurs. It is very rich. In the center of town, near the old bus terminal, there was a large Christmas tree. Town was decorated with lights, and many shops and government buildings had decorations. Some homes had Christmas lights, but current is so expensive, so many do not.
I made a point of doing some exploring of Grenada while I had the time. A group of us went to hike a few of the Seven Sisters waterfalls. It was truly beautiful. We ended up taking a detour and seeing a somewhat recently discovered waterfall called "Honeymoon Falls". It is named for the heart-shaped basin at the bottom of the waterfall. We hired a local to guide us through, because it's completely off the beaten path. At one point, we had to hike up the side of a smaller waterfall. Being that I am not the world's most competent hiker, I was totally scared. However, with Raldon, our guide, I managed to do it! I also went snorkeling one afternoon. I had not done that in years. In terms of work activities, I helped out at the Salvation Army a few times. They have the same fundraising they do back in the States, with the red pots and bells. It was totally surreal to be ringing the bell in 80 degree weather, though. I have never experienced a warm Christmas. With money that they have been collecting, they purchased food hampers/bags from Trinidad and had a distribution a few days before Christmas. Meg and I went to help with that, and ended up on television. In Grenada, everything involves media and a camera crew, and it is usually broadcasted on the local network TV. Being that I do not have a TV, I never see it, but my Grenadian friends keep me informed. I think I've been on TV about 3-4 times now.
A few days before Christmas, my good friend Erin on St. Vincent came to stay. On Christmas Eve, my Grenadian choir, Crescendo caroled at the Spice Island Resort. Meg and Erin came to support me, and afterwards we went to Midnight Mass. I figured it would be a great experience, culturally. It was nice. Many of my friends from choir belong to the Grand Anse Catholic Church, so I was able to see them as well. We did not reach home from church until about 2:30AM. Because we were so excited for Christmas, we stayed up for a couple hours decorating my apartment and making paper chains. Christmas morning, a few of us had a nice brunch of lox and bagels, eggs, and mimosas. It was really nice. For dinner, more PCVs came by and we had a untraditional Christmas dinner. In Grenada, ham is traditionally served, and it is sort of a drop-in occasion. You never know who you might have. We had a nice intimate group, and it was a nice day. We sat around eating, playing games, and appreciating that although we missed our families, we were lucky to have each other. I liked experiencing Christmas in Grenada. In a way, it almost did not feel like Christmas because it was so warm. It definitely made me laugh to hear all these traditional Christmas songs about snow and Frosty the Snowman on the radio, because snow does not exist here! Instead, it poured rain on Christmas day. In Grenada, Christmas and Boxing Day are days to stop by and visit family and friends. I've really come to appreciate the close community feel of Grenada. People know their neighbors very well, and it is not uncommon for someone to drop by. In fact, it's a part of everyday life. I think it makes the slower pace special. People are very important in this culture. It does not matter if you're on Market Hill with a row of cars behind you. If you see a friend or acquaintance walking down the road, you stop and chat for a minute. You go out of your way to say hello to someone, even if it's just a friendly and familiar face.
Another big holiday here is Old Year's Night or what we would call New Year's Eve. Many Grenadians attend church, and New Year's Day is another day of visiting friends and family. While ham is traditionally served on Christmas and Boxing Day, Turkey is traditionally served on New Year's. I spent Old Year's Night with some PCVs and Grenadian friends, and it was a nice time.
The schools have all resumed by now, however, I've been busy writing grant proposals, so I have not returned yet. Peace Corps has a small project assistance grant program with funding from Peace Corps in D.C. as well as USAID. The focus in the Eastern Caribbean is HIV/AIDS this year so all grant proposals needed to relate. My first proposal is for an empowerment program in the secondary schools. I am working with a local organization called Youth Prints. It is comprised of a small group of women between the ages of 13-36, and it is completely voluntary. Their main target group is commercial and transactional sex workers. It is an issue that many other Grenadian organizations do not want to deal with. It's very stigmatized, and many transactional sex workers do not even think of themselves as such. Some Parishes within Grenada, have a higher prevalence. I chose the secondary schools within these Parishes for this program. There are 4 schools, and it will be a once-weekly session for 8 weeks that will incorporate HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, self-esteem, respect, communication and negotiation skills, and issues of overall empowerment. The target group is 833 students in forms one and two, which translates to about the ages of 11-13. The second grant proposal is for a summer sports came that incorporates team-building and leadership with basketball and netball. It would take place in town, and would be a 3-week camp for 3 hours per day. One hour would be similar empowerment issues while also talking about future goals, leadership, and teamwork. The other two hours would be basketball for the males and netball for the females. Netball is very popular here. The target group for this project is fifty secondary school students in St. George's. I will not find out if I received funding until mid-February. Each island is given a certain amount of money for grant proposals, and this year, I believe there were six grant proposals from Grenada. It would be very exciting, though. I am eagerly awaiting to hear. In the meantime, I am arranging appointments to meet with the stakeholders, and ministry officials from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture. We are also trying to get support from local NGOs such as the National AIDS Directorate. If it is successful, it would be great to incorporate these very important issues in curriculums island-wide. Yes, it has been busy around here!
Happy New Year, and I hope everyone is well!
January 15, 2006
I will try and be more consistent in terms of updating everyone. This past week was very busy. We, the newest group of volunteers had our Inter-service training. Basically, we met with our community partners to discuss a project plan for the next year. My community partner in the acting principal for the Resource Center for the Blind, a group of itinerant teachers that travel to schools that have students with visual impairments. It is still somewhat undecided about which schools I will be visiting. It will however, be two. In one school, I will definitely be teaching Braille to a students, and my other job duties will depend on which second school I visit. Also, since I live about a 3 minute walk to the School for the Deaf, I have started working one morning per week there. It's great to use a little sign language again. Lastly, I am paired at another primary school for general special education. I have been visiting there since October, and I cannot wait to return tomorrow and see all the smiling faces!
My community partner and I are also discussing the possibility of a music program for children with visual impairments. Most students with visual impairments are included, so everyone is really spread out. However, there is talk of putting on an Easter concert, and incorporating a few local primary schools, as well as the students with visual impairments. Being that I love music, I think it would be an incredible opportunity! Speaking of music, my Grenadian choir is going very well. We are planning some concerts in the next few months. There is talk of taking our Easter Concert to St. Lucia for a weekend, which would be incredible! We had executive board elections yesterday and I was nominated and elected to be a board member. I was honored and I think it will be great. My closest Grenadian friends are from this group, and we generally lime on weekends together. I definitely believe that this group has been one of the best parts of my experience thus far. I've met some great friends, and I am loving it here more and more everyday. It's such a wonderful culture, and beautiful country. It's slowly becoming my second home. I keep joking that I'll be full Grenadian by the end of my two years. My friends usually laugh...
Also--I will try and put up some new pictures this week. I am hoping to re-format the photo gallery!