May 25, 2006
Well, I've returned to Grenada from the States. For those of you that did not know about my trip--my apologies. It was very short and my primary focus was spending time with family. I flew out to Los Angeles to surprise everyone for Gabe's graduation from USC. Believe me, it was quite the surprise. Trying flying 4,000 miles and showing up at a restaurant where your immediate family is eating dinner. The greeting of "Hey guys, sorry I'm late!" was quite the shock! It was so great to see everyone and be able to be at Gabe's graduation. After a few great (but chilly) days in LA, I flew back with my family to Chicago. I was so excited to touch down in O'Hare, because it meant home. It seemed like forever when I last sat in O'Hare airport, waiting to leave for Peace Corps. Throughout the course of the week, I saw family and friends, caught up, ate some of the best meals in my life, and had a great time. It was incredibly short, but it made me excited to know that despite the distance, these relationships are still as strong as ever.
I'm back in Grenada now, back to the grinding stone. My grant proposal project starts in less than 2 weeks, and I have a lot to do on it. Also, with school finishing in about 5 weeks, there is much to be accomplished for the end of the term. Do I sometimes wish I was still back in Chicago? Of course. However, I've realized that this might be my only chance to live and experience Grenada. It's such a whirlwind of a place, and time is leaving me behind. I'm glad to be back to my second home.
May 11, 2006
Well, I am currently sitting in the Miami airport heading to Los Angeles! I know many of you (including my family) didn't even know about this trip, but I am heading out to surprise my brother, Gabe for his graduation from University of Southern California. This covert operation has been planned since February and somehow it's been kept a surprise all this time--even including when my Mom and then Gabe visited. My dad and I devised this surprise a long time ago and I never thought the day would come. I've made a good effort at trying to throw everyone off, so hopefully, when I see them in about 6-7 hours, it really will be a surprise! I have to admit, I didn't think I'd experience culture shock coming from the Caribbean, but believe you me, I was VERY shocked just landing in San Juan and seeing the city. It just seemed so different from everything I've been used to, and I was definitely caught off guard. I immediately missed the lush greenery and mountains of Grenada. I guess it's a sign that I've really acclimated to my current home.
In other news, I've been really busy working on my empowerment program. Due to a delay in funding, we've been forced to shorten the program from 8 weeks to 4, from 4 schools to 2, and from 2 Forms (grades) to 1. However, the show must go on! I met with the principals and a few staff members of the two schools yesterday and they seem really excited. They are just as disappointed as I am that the program cannot continue longer. However, if the two schools are successful, then I am going to try and obtain funding to continue this program from local NGOs in Grenada. The funding for the small project assistance grant funding comes from both Peace Corps and USAID. Needless to say the program will begin in about 3 weeks, and I am lucky to have recruited some really great facilitators. I'm sure it will go great!
May 2, 2006
Happy May! I am guessing that it is starting to warm up back home, and unfortunately, my right to brag about nice weather here is coming to an end. The weather is still nice here, but if I remember correctly, May is a nice upper 60's/low 70's month. I would be tempted to trade weather patterns for a bit. Our rainy season will be approaching in the next month or so, and it is starting to get really hot again. In all reality, the weather does not fluctuate much here...it's the tropics, and we're only 12 degrees north of the equator...so it's HOT (and humid). I still love it, though.
In 3 days, all students in grade 6 take what is called the Common Entrance Exam. In order to attend secondary school in Grenada, students take an aptitude exam. It's not really a matter of passing or falling, as it's graded on a curve. However, a student's place in school depends on his/her score. Needless to say, it's a very stressful and competitive time of year. There are not enough spots in secondary school for all students. If a student does not place into school in grade 6, he/she can take the exam again in both grades 7 and 8. However, for many students, school ends after grade 8, unless they are able to enroll in one of the few vocational schools on island. I have not been very connected with common entrance preparations because I mainly work with students in kindergarten and grades 1 and 2. However, in all of the schools I attend, I can see how hard these students are working. It's easy to take secondary school for granted when attending in the States just means passing the grades in general. Due to the nature of the process, students are sometimes forced to travel an hour or two to reach the school into which they place. I cannot imagine. I had a 15 minute drive to high school back in the States--with traffic.
So I had a little anecdote I wanted to share about an experience in one of my schools here...
I was sitting in the classroom working with one of my students with visual impairments. The teacher gathered the students together to listen to a book about sharks. I sat with them, so I could help reinforce what she was reading to my student. It is important to really rehearse listening skills with students with visual impairments. Anyway, I'm listening along, making sure to really pay attention so we can discuss sharks later. The teacher starts reading about the eating habits of sharks and out of nowhere I hear her read that sharks eat porcupines. I was totally perplexed, as this was complete news to me. Sharks like porcupines? But how? I then wondered how it was that I never knew that porcupines were not only aquatic, but preferential to deep-sea waters. (Granted, it wasn't until I was 24 years old that I learned that lambs are baby sheep, so needless to say, I figured maybe I was also absent for the lesson on porcupines in second grade.) Still confused and utterly curious, I asked to borrow the shark book after the teacher had finished reading. I leafed through and soon realized that she had misread porpoises for porcupines on several occasions. I had a silent laugh to myself and then thought about the greater picture: There is now a class of Grenadian children that not only believe that porcupines are aquatic and deep-sea swimmers, but that sharks EAT them. You have to love that...