September 30, 2005
How's everyone doing? This has been an eventful week! Monday I met with my other community partner. She's a principal for a primary school in town. She wants me to help reorganize their kindergarten program and help to modernize the structure of it. I cannot really say I have a lot experience writing curriculums, but it should be a learning experience! There are also a few students with special needs within the school, so I will be helping to assess their needs, and help to modify materials for their education, as well as train teachers on useful methods and strategies. Between working with the Resource Center for the Blind, and the primary school, I will have my hands full! I'm very excited, though. These projects sound great.
I started learning Braille this week. We are learning how to read/write using a slate and stylus, as well as Brailler (Braille typewriter). We are blindfolded when using the typewriter, which makes it very difficult to not only load the special paper properly, but also to know what we're typing! I have a whole new appreciation for individuals that must rely on Braille regularly.
I also started my practice project. All new Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) have a project that they must implement within the first 4 weeks of being sworn in. It's essentially, practice, so if it does not work the way it is planned, it is a learning experience. For my project, I am observing a 15 year-old student with visual impairments in her Secondary School. In a few weeks, we're going to make a presentation to her peers on what it means to have visual impairments. As an activity, I will pair the students up, and blindfold one of them. They will need to try and maneuver around the school without seeing, and relying on their partner. I will also bring in a Brailler and explain some aspects of Braille to them. I will also have this student speak about her experiences, and maybe offer ways in which her peers can support her. I'm really looking forward to it, and if it goes well, it may be my model for awareness presentations all over Grenada.
It's crazy how much life has picked up. I find myself busier than ever now. Many days I'm on a bus into town by 7AM and many times, I do not return home until 6-7PM. So far so good! In a few weeks, I will also be moving into my own apartment, which is very exciting! It also means people can come and visit me! I would love to show Grenada to as many people as possible!
Have a great day!
September 22, 2005
Today Grenada swore in! It was a great ceremony, held at the Botanic Gardens in the Ministerial Complex (where the Government Ministries are as well as the Governor General's office). We all arrived in the morning to wait for the tents and chairs to arrive to help set-up. The ceremony officially started at 3:30PM and we were very fortunate to have the Angel Harps Steel Pan Band playing as people arrived. Our ceremony started off with Franka, our Associate Peace Corps Director of Grenada saying a few words about our training class. She also introduced us individually and explained the organizations with whom we were working. After she spoke, the Peace Corps Eastern Caribbean Country Director spoke. He came in from St. Lucia. Our guest of honor was His Excellency, Sir Daniel Williams, the Governor General of Grenada. He is the highest-ranking political figure within the country, and he also serves as a direct representative to Queen Elizabeth II. It was very exciting that he was present and he gave an excellent speech about service and Grenada. The Charge d'Affairs from the US Embassy in Grenada gave us our Peace Corps oaths. It's basically an oath to uphold the US Constitution. For our cultural exchange, we had a Grenadian folk singer that performed a few songs with a guitarist. In response, we talked about notable Americans and their words on service. We closed by my playing guitar and singing "Bridge Over Troubled Water", and it went well! We had TV crews present filming, so I hope to be able to see a copy of it (my host family does not have TV from Hurricanes Ivan/Emily). To close the ceremony, we sang both the Grenadian and U.S. National Anthems. It was a very exciting day, and we were presented with certificates as well as pins, and now we're official volunteers! Many of our community partners were present as well as friends, and host families. All of the current volunteers also came, which was great of them. SO, now we move into our integration phase, where we explore initiatives within our organizations, as well as delve into our interests we have. I will make weekly visits to both the Resource Center for the Blind, and the other primary school where I will be working. I will also visit other schools to see resources, and methods. It should be a nice few months to familiarize myself with special education in Grenada. It's also the time when I finalize my work plan for the next 2 years, so it's very exciting because there are so many possibilities! Anyway, that's all...I will include the Grenadian National Anthem:
Hail Grenada, land of ours,
We pledge ourselves to thee
Heads, hearts, and hands in unity,
To reach our destiny.
Ever conscious of G-d,
Being proud of our heritage,
Will we with faith and courage,
Aspire, build, advance.
As one people, one family,
G-d bless our nation!
September 18, 2005
Today I went on my first "hash". Apparently, hashing is an international event, and it is basically a group of people that get together to hike/walk/run around a set path in a specific area. The Grenadian group is called the "Hash House Harriers", and has been in existence for years. I would say about 50 people turned up yesterday afternoon, and our path was set for the Laborie community of St. Paul's. There are a few rules to hashing:
1. In order to find the path, you must look for designated signs with the plaque "HHH" on it.
2. Once you set out on the path, you will be guided by small piles of shredded white paper. If you are not seeing them on the ground, most likely you are heading in the wrong direction.
3. When you get to a circle, or fork in the road, it is your decision which way to go. Only one path will be correct, but the others will mislead you for a few minutes (mainly to slow down the runners). If you see a shredded paper "X", you are on the wrong path!
4. If you feel lost, you can yell ahead, "ARE YOU?", which means, "Where are you? You will then receive the reply of "ON ON", which means to continue going, it's correct, or "ON BACK", which means, someone's reached an "X" and it's the wrong path.
In general, it's not only a hike, but an extremely social event. When we arrived back, they "initiated" the new hashers by giving us a certificate, while they showered us with various beverages. They meet every 2 weeks, and it was a great time. I went with 4 other PC trainees, and the path was very interesting. We were trudging through brush, and bush, climbing down ravines, along with being on the main roads. We had some incredible views, especially considering how steep some of our climbs were. It took us about 2 hours to complete, and I made the ridiculous decision to start off running. Tom, another trainee, and I were running for at first, until we started climbing hills. Eventually, I told him to continue on, and waited for the other trainees. I cannot believe how mountainous Grenada is. I've heard the hills compared to San Francisco, because it is hardly ever flat! It makes for great walks/hikes certainly. So overall, we met some great people, and I hope to be involved soon! If you are interested to check out more information, search for Grenada Hash House Harriers online. It's very fun!
September 17, 2005
Well a lot has happened in the past week and a half. I'll start by going back a bit. As a training group, we visited Carriacou and it was an incredible couple of days. Carriacou is a Grenadine island that is part of Grenada. It's about 13 sq. miles, which is a large change from Grenada! We were able to see a large part of the island, and we had the fortunate opportunity to visit an incredible foundation, the KIDO foundation. It began as a grass-roots group of people from Europe that traveled around the world helping in diverse ways. The group that eventually settled in Grenada, about 20 years ago, wanted to start a Montessori school, however, it was not in the best interest of what the community needed at that time. Instead, they realized that the population of Leatherback turtles was becoming endangered, and if extinct, would completely alter the important eco-system in which they were an integral part. It became a goal of the KIDO foundation, to work with organizations worldwide, to help to save the turtles. They do nightly walks on the beach during mating/laying season to help prevent poaching, study the migration patterns of turtles, and educate the community on the importance of the various species. It was extremely inspiring to see an organization so devoted to the well-being of animals here. We also had the great opportunity to travel around Carriacou, and hear some local "Parang" music. Parang is a yearly festival on the island around Christmas. Many bands get together to write about the year's events, including anyone that has been in trouble with the law. As you can imagine, during Parang season (September-December), it certainly helps to curtail the level of crime. Also, because it is such a small island, everyone definitely knows everyone, so it's virtually impossible to get away with doing anything illegal. Similarly, it is like that in Grenada as well. They have a saying, "bush have ears", because you may be talking to about someone and not realize it is a distant cousin, neighbor, etc.
This past week I started my first steel pan class! Steel pan is a huge deal in many of the Caribbean islands, and they have full bands with various parts. I played a single tenor. The class was really fun, and I'm really looking forward to pursuing it. I also started my first Grenadian singing group. It is run through St. George's University, and there are about 20 people in it. There are only 5 altos including me, so it should be fun.
For training this week, we visited our retreat site of Mt. St. Ervans for the last time. It really is beautiful up there. One of training coordinators, a distinguished Grenadian actor/playwright/musician arranged for the Tivoli Drummers, a well-known Grenadian drum circle to visit us. They came on Wednesday night after dark, and taught us all about Grenadian drumming, the dances, songs, even how to play. It was an exciting and upbeat event, and even local people in the neighborhood were following the sounds out. It was the most amazing cultural experience I've had yet. I'm hoping to see them again soon.
We also had the opportunity to meet our community partners. One of my community partners is in charge of the Resource Center for the Blind. It is my understanding that I will be collaborating with the regular education teachers that have students with visual impairments in their classrooms, help to modify materials, facilitate a pull-out program to better serve students, and organize workshops for teachers, parents, and communities about visual impairments. I begin learning to read and write Braille next week! My other main project is also within special education, although I am not sure of the specifics, because my community partner was unable to make our meeting. In general though, we are all community development volunteers, so we have a responsibility to our communities as well. I will most likely be doing a fair amount of work in HIV/AIDS awareness among other things. It is all very exciting, and I cannot wait to learn more!
So as I said, the main part of training is nearly complete. We have our swear-in ceremony on Thursday, after which, we become official volunteers! It is hard to believe we've been in Peace Corps for almost 2 months now. I will fill you in more after swearing in!
September 11,2005
It was sort of eerie that the commemoration service for Hurricane Ivan was on such a tragic day within recent U.S. history. Tonight I went to the ceremony, which was held at Grenada's Trade Center. It was an inter-faith service basically talking about Hurricane Ivan and the aftermath. There were some interesting religious perspectives on it, and some talk about the way in which the country worked together to start rebuilding.
The service started with their mention of
September 11th, and I thought that that was very honorable. In addition, all of
the money collected with donations tonight is being sent to the American Red
Cross for Hurricane Katrina. It made me feel so good to hear that, because in a
country, where they are still in the rebuilding process, and in which they will
be for awhile, it was so benevolent for the country to decide to donate the
money to New Orleans. It made me feel very proud to live here.
The ceremony was a couple hours, and there was some great music in it. A
Spiritual Baptist choir came all the way from Trinidad to take part in the
event. I was very glad to be a part of it, and in time, this country will look
as good as new!
September 7, 2005
Today marks the one year anniversary of Hurricane Ivan. It's crazy to think of the chaos that must have been taking place one year ago. It's even more upsetting to watch everything going on in New Orleans, and listen to Grenadians talk about how it reminds them of their horrible situation a year ago. Of course, the destruction of life was far worse in New Orleans than it was in Grenada.
I sort of expected today to feel like a different day. I was anticipating "Ivan" being the talk of the town, and in all reality, it wasn't. For the past few weeks, I've been listening to hear if there would be a ceremony or memorial service commemorating "Ivan", but I heard nothing. I asked around to members of my community, and similarly, no news. However, a few days ago, the radio programs started mentioning a prayer vigil this coming Sunday. Since today is a Wednesday, it was hard to arrange something with work schedules and all. Apparently, the vigil will take place on Sunday in Grand Anse. My host family has no interest in going, so I'm going to ask around to locate a transport down there. The buses don't really run on Sundays because of Church. I think this event would be something important and memorable to attend. I only hope I can find a way to get there.
Looking around, there are still a lot of missing pieces in the reconstruction of Grenada. Many homes are still without roofs, and many schools were unable to open this week due to unfinished construction. It's really sad to think about everything that was demolished in a few short hours one year ago. However, like I said in a previous entry, looking around Grenada, in the mountains and countryside, it still appears gorgeous. Being that I never visited Grenada pre-Ivan, I was unaware of what changed. To me, it is still the most beautiful place I've ever seen.
So today went on like any other normal day. We ran some Peace Corps errands, and the special ed volunteers visited the School for the Deaf. It was more of a resource center. I made quick friends with a little girl that signed to me. I hope to return eventually. After running around St. George's and St. David's all day, Sue, another trainee and I decided to relax at the beach later in the afternoon. Grand Anse beach is really beautiful, and I could not believe how many starfish we saw floating along the bottom of the ocean. We almost stepped on many of them, and by their size (at least 1-2 times the size of our hand), I think it may have been painful. It's interesting to note that Grenadians prefer to go to the beach in the later part of the afternoon. It's not uncommon for people to plan a beach trip for 3PM or later. Granted, today was a work day, however, even on weekends, people avoid the heat as much as possible! It's been very hot here, so I can understand. September is supposedly the hottest month, which I hope is true, because it can't possibly get any hotter! Also, keep in mind, air conditioning is uncommon in most places, especially on a crowded bus filled with many sweaty and hot bodies. We call that a "shake and bake" here, when a bus (15 passenger van) is packed with about 20 people, it's steaming hot, and their driving fast all over the city....we shake and bake! However, don't dare say that to a bus driver or conductor, or you're on your own!
Tomorrow morning we change the training routine from going to the west coast, to traveling to Grenada's Grenadine island of Carriacou. We have three volunteers from our training class there, and we will get a nice tour as well as relaxing few days of training! I'm very excited, it is supposed to be a great little island. It's also pretty hard to believe that in 2 weeks from tomorrow we'll be swearing in as official volunteers. I can't believe that the main part of training is almost over! It seems like just yesterday we left our home cities and met up in Miami. How far we've all come, and how far we will go. Well, I guess I should go and pack.
July/August 2005 September 2005 October 2005