Swearing in Ceremony

Monday the 4th of April 2011 was the date my training class of St. Vincent ( EC 83) took our oath to become official Peace Corps Volunteers.  Special day!  I was selected by our class to  deliver the response on behalf of our group.

Response Speech:

"As you can see, we are quite a diverse group of Americans. I would like to take a moment to share parts of us that may not be apparent to the eye.  What are their motives? Did they choose SVG? Who are these people and where did they come from? And most importantly, why are you here?



Our interest, motivations, aspirations and dreams are far to big to capture in this short speech, but I will utilize one of our favorite PACA skills of summarising. From ensuring that Women’s rights organizations still have a voice, to exploring the possibility of enhancing Animal Welfare to increasing visibility of composting. Utilizing 20+ years of work experience on the GM assembly line to bring the highly valued skill of welding back to the technical college , to engaging youth in musical expression such as drumming. Many of us joined Peace Corps out of a desire to share parts of ourselves such as life experiences that assist in he development of life skills , technical skills, emotional wellness practices and aspects of global citizenship. The call for social responsibility has been answered. With this hope comes the desire to challenge ourselves to give the best to you, dedication to being life long learners and lastly the desire to build life long relationships and friendships with those people we meet while serving in SVG.


The common denominator that blends this group together is very similar to the 3 main goals of PC developed from JFKS declaration October 14, 1960. As we continue to participate in activities leading up to the 50th Anniversary Celebration, now more than ever we are called to remember the very reason we are here. The call to help develop while sharing parts of us but most importantly learning about the people of SVG is that thread that connects past, present and future PCVS with the wonderful people of this island. We share Mentality that we are not here to change the world, but rather we desire to make a positive and lasting impact on our communities while serving.


An artist by the name of Ani Difranco expressed : I know there is strength in the differences between us. I know there is comfort where we overlap. There are many differences that exist between nations, religions, genders. the list goes on. The one thing that I am comfortable saying about this specific group of volunteers is that we truly acknowledge and appreciate the differences that lay between us. Just from the 8 weeks we have been in SVG we have experienced life, Vincy Style. The people of SVG seem to love their culture from the food, to the local dialect, the Vans, pride and historical markings of each village, oh and how can we leave out Vincy Mas. These special aspects of Vincentian culture are just the start of what we wish to embrace as PCVS.


The 50th Anniversary is especially meaningful to those of us serving in the EC because of the long lasting history built between PC and the Caribbean Islands. The last few classes of trainees have set the bar particularly high. We are grateful for the time and energy current PCVS have invested in helping us adjust to our new lives in SVG. From tips on where the most affordable places to shop are to the names of Vans to helps us travel from Windward to Leeward before we even knew what Windward and Leeward actually meant. We also thank you for helping us jump in and get involved with projects that were already in progress .


The friendliness and kindness of the people of SVG are especially prevalent in a small group of individuals who we have grown to know more intimately over the past few weeks. I want to give a sincere and heartfelt thanks to all of the host families that have opened there homes to complete strangers. It takes an equal amount of compassion and desire to give back to support such a cause as being a host family. You have helped us become functional adults, crash course in survival in just a span of weeks. A special thanks to my own host mother Ms. Lucy Rogers for always making sure my hair was dry and belly full before laying down to sleep each night and always being pleasant when I brought home my PACA assignments at the dinner table.


Thank you to our counter parts, IPPS for taking us under your wings and allowing us to probe your vast amount of knowledge weekly in order to better assess our own skill set in relation to working with your school or agency. Patience, and commitment are two words that come to mind when I think of an IPP. The commitment to the process of working with a volunteer is unique and challenging. It can often start of slow but the overall investment in hopes of developing a lasting enhancement is well worth the bumps one may encounter along the way.Ms. Rhonda Burke and Ms. Stephens have truly shown me the spirit of dedicated teachers at our school and I hope to be able to contribute just a fraction of what they have in years of work at Cane end.


To our trainers that have been with us for the past 8 weeks of PST: Junior Bachus, Haydn Marshall , Theresa Daniels and Debbie Darymple. With out you, there would be no us today. Thank you for dedicating your time, resources and vast amount of knowledge about your specific areas of expertise as well as the cultural and history of SVG. We truly appreciate your efforts and hope to continue to develop on going relationships.






Evenly and Jeffery, you two are the eyes and ears of SVG. You are the bridge from St. Lucia, to Cool to us. You effect the quality of our day in many ways, from questions about transportation, to ensuring we have water, your genuine and sincerity shine through with each interaction we have with you. Thank you for being the back bone of our headquarter.


 Mr. Cutbhert James, or better known as Mr. Cool. The legend of Mr. Cool reached us long before we met you. As we anxiously awaited our 1st face to face encounter with THE Mr. Cool upon arrival in SVG, we conjured up all kind of stories of what you would be like. I think its safe to say , the only way to truly understand you, is actually be present with you. Your hard work and dedication as a person is apparent in your professional life as well. Your values of hard work, integrity and punctuality ( we won’t start on that debate) have allowed us to enter SVG with a sense of what it means to be a successfully PCV. You practice what you preach and mean what you say. You have given us a balance of appreciation for the theoretical concepts of community development, capacity building and sustainability but more importantly you have emphasized the practical aspects of these words. Therefore, as your newest group of volunteers we are prepared to turn this words into actions. Thank you for challenging us to bring out best to not only you as our APCD, to our worksites, current PCVS, ourselves and the people of SVG who have welcomed us to their home.


Finally, to my extended family. EC 83


This is OUR PC experience, it is exactly what we make of it. When times get tough or cloudy, take a moment to reflect on the amount of time and energy invested pre-service. Or better yet, take a stroll down memory lane during your application process. Think about those long hours spent on gathering documentation, forms and completion of questionnaires, nominations, invitations, and finally your acceptance response to serve in the EC departing January 27th. When you are unsure if you made the right move, reach out one another. My hopes are that we continue to be that support system while here, utilize one another as resources for project expansion and development. I am pretty sure we have all realized at this point that the saying is actually true. This is not a job, but an experience. Cultivate and create the experience you desire along with the people that have been placed in your life. We each have separate paths carved out, from Union Island to Owia. Stop, take a moment, breathe it all in. We are 9 weeks into our PC experience, Congratulations. I am honored to cross over from PCT to PCV with such a talented, compassionate ambitious group of people. In my heart, I believe the possibilities for us are vast and infinite. The structure is being removed.


From here I extend this challenge to you: "not to turn everything into us. In truth, the deepest function of humility is that it helps us take experience in on its own terms, not violating its own nature. All in an effort to be nourished by life that is different from us. Through this effort, we find the corresponding seeds of such life in us. They are the common seeds of grace that can sustain us. "- Mark Nepo


I look forward to serving the next 2 years of my life with you, ( god willing as many Vincentians will say) or unless Cool has already persuaded you to extend to that 3rd year. I am overcome with joy to embrace this next step of our journey with each and everyone of you, Congratulations, EC 83"

Laptop(less)

So it has been forever and a day since I have been able to update my blog. Most of you guys know by now that my computer took a vacation from life a few weeks ago. It's funny because a dear friend of mine was giving me a hard time about the amount of time I was spending on Facebook just before it went down. I agreed that it seemed as though my FB time had significantly increased since I left home, my profile wasn't even active before I left! *sigh* I attribute part of this increase to missing my friends and family and finding FB as an easy way to stay connected to my life back home and the other part of the increase came from not having TV or cable. Makes sense right?

 Initially, when my computer went down I felt a little bit of panic. What will I do with my free time?? How will I keep in touch with my family and friends?? How will I know what’s going on in the world? How will I get ready every morning without music??!!? But gradually, day by day these major issues became less and less of a problem but more so an opportunity to create alternative methods of existing. I'm not going to go all Thoreau- Walden on you (I am enjoying the book though lol), but I must say coming home to an empty apartment with nothing but myself, books, letters, paper, pens to occupy my time has been just the boost I needed to take let go of the safety net and fully allow myself to plunge into this experience.

 My nightly routine consist of making dinner ( YES, you read correctly- I have been cooking), preparing my lessons for school, reading and writing. It has been quite relaxing and just the shift that I needed to find that balance I yearned for.



The past few weeks have reminded me of the beauty that exist within simplicity. I know I have said this many times before, but it's so easy to stray away from this truth and get caught up and a million other things that tug at your attention, appeal to various desires throughout a typical day. When we release the death grip we have on the steering wheel, life is able to unfold with ease. By simply living a life of love and being present in each moment that I am blessed to experience the details work themselves out.



Although staying connected my family and friends may not be as convenient as before, there is still a way to make it happen. And I have found a new type of music to start my day to each morning :)

Thank you dear friend for using your super hero magic goddess powers to crash my computer from over 1,000 miles away, you rock.

Sidenote: I am enjoying the time away from the net, however I am in no way saying I am denouncing modern technology! I AM indeed in the process of trying to get it back up and running :)

Life outside of a dayplanner - week 7 of PST

Today, something simple yet beautiful occurred. The past few weeks in the schools have been infiltrated by ongoing sports days. I still don't understand it 100% but its kind of like field day every day for 2 weeks then all the top teams and competitors from areas around the island get together for one big sports day to compete. Again, I have yet to figure it out fully so I will update you as I learn more.

So you may be wondering why an ex-athlete ( yes I have come to terms that I am no longer in any type of shape to call myself  an athlete AND I think my balance is getting even worse) ok, back to what I was saying you may wonder why I would have a problem with the schools here dedicating so much of their time to sports. Of course I think  benefits exist , being part of a team teaches various life skills and obviously leading an active lifestyle as a child most likely increases your chance of continuing to lead a healthy life as an adult.This is all fine and dandy but I have 2 weeks left in training. This means I have to develop  a SLP( Service Learning Project)  to be assessed  by one of my trainers. The SLP is a major part of PST for Youth Developers ( Me) , lets just say its my final exam.

When you have kids that are focused on sports sports sports and aching to get through the day to exit the class room its difficult to introduce a new idea to them that doesn't include fun and games. Oh and I forgot to mention they are going on a  2 week break next week!  Needless to say, not only has it been difficult to introduce my project idea to the students but the teachers also seem a bit scattered during this time.

After 2-3 attempts to get the ball rolling and scheduling constraints from my assessor I finally decided to just LET GO.  Today I entered the school knowing the entire day would be dedicated to sports competitions. I had 2 tentative dates that my assessor has available to come out to my site to see my project. And the bottom line was I had no idea how it was all going to come together. No details pinned down, no idea which kids would participate, no time, no agenda.... no real plan other than my nice little outline of how it is supposed to look.I simply walked in the school an allowed the day to unfold as is.  Knowing that whatever was going to happen next week would occur with or without any additional stress from my end. ..but then...it happened!

Agnes, one of my grade 6 students came to life. I don't know where it came from but she was my little starlight today. It warmed my heart and reminded me of the beauty that will occur when we step back and allow life to happen.  Agnes not only began to question me about this Poetry club I mentioned but she took initiative on how WE were going to make it happen by break next week. One thing led to another and by the end of the day I had a list of 15 dedicated participants, a leader, co lead and 15 hand written letters to be given as reminders for next weeks meeting. GO Agnes!

The ability to just be without constantly pushing for more or finding a way to organize what appears to be chaos was granted to me today. I hope to get more practice with this concept .

Highlight of the week: Count down to move out day ( less than 1 month)! I will miss my nightly home cooked meals but I am ready to have my own space again.

Running on E (mpty) - Week 6 of PST

Ooook so here it is, my first post lined with a hint of grey as opposed to sparkling rays of yellow. I believe the best way to describe this feeling is >>>PLATEAU<<< : Any of the following definitions can be used to describe my state of being this past week.

–noun


2. a period or state of little or no growth or decline: to reach a plateau in one's career.

3. Psychology . a period of little or no apparent progress in an individuals learning, marked by an inability to increase speed, reduce number of errors, etc., and indicated by a horizontal stretch in a learning curve or graph.



4. a flat stand, as for a centerpiece, sometimes extending the full length of a table. ( YES, there are moments in the day where I FEEL as if I am indeed a centerpiece!)



–verb (used without object)



5. to reach a state or level of little or no growth or decline, especially to stop increasing or progressing; remain at a stable level of achievement; level off: After a period of uninterrupted growth, sales began to plateau.






Well I think you get the point. On top of feeling as if my wheels are spinning round and round going absolutely nowhere other than the pre -constructed track already laid out for me. My thoughts run rampant day dreaming has it perks , truly, however there comes a point where I would like to enjoy the present moment more than the thoughts dancing around in my head.



On a brighter note, I have encountered a surge within that has lead me to writing more than ever before. Journaling, poems, vents, motivational speeches (to myself I guess), blurbs...its pretty neat.



Highlight of my week: being nominated by my fellow trainees to give a speech at our Swearing in Ceremony. Its a pretty special event because it marks the transition from successfully completing training to being sworn in as an official Peace Corps Volunteer. I am excited and honored. We are kind of like a dysfunctional family, I appreciate each of them in a special way. With that said I also feel we are all getting to the point of being annoyed over little things. Its not so much one another, more so the situation. Imagine being randomly selected to begin 2 years of your life with 12 strangers. ( Some of my military friends probably identify) You are forced to become each others support system in one way or another. I enjoy the camaraderie and familiarity that we get from all the time we have been spending together...lunch, after training liming, weekend excursions.. its been great.

                   
Training, however, is starting to feel repetitive, boring, ceaseless, constant, continual, dull, insistent, monotonous, repeated, uninteresting, verbose..you get the point. I understand the purpose of training. I get the need to expose us to module after module. Some of you may know I actually enjoy meetings and trainings, I love learning new things but I find myself mentally grasping into the air as I watch my day dreams float away into the pretty shades of blue in the sky. Skipping stones across the flood of information just to create a ripple in the flow.



I think it's safe to say I have successfully exited the honeymoon stage :)

The little people...

Today marks 1 month to date since I left home. It’s funny because it seems like I have talked to some of my family and friends more in the past month than I have in years. I think my parent's are experiencing reverse empty nest syndrome, like umm didn't we already get rid of you?? (Thanks for being so accessible the past few weeks Mom and Dad. Even when I call at 5am your time oopsie) I think I am ready to re-establish my independence now :) The frequency has definitely increased, I guess its part the adjustment process and re-building my support system.

All and All, things are wonderful. I am adjusting in my own unique way in my own time. I love it here and I am beyond happy that I made the decision to join the Peace Corps. 1 more month of living with my host family, then I will be moving into my own place. I am very excited about the move. I wish my bestie was here to help decorate but I will figure something out .

Enough about me. This update is mainly to express my deep admiration for the little people in my life. Literally, the little people. Tomorrow will be my 3rd week of working at the primary school I have been assigned to work at the next 2 years. I am REALLY taking to the kids at the school. They are so bright, enthusiastic, creative , caring, energetic...the list goes on. They have welcomed me with open arms. The teachers are wonderful as well. Most of them have been at the school for 10+ years. Their experience and wisdom shine through in many ways as they work with the students.


Aside from the joy experienced from the personal interaction with the students and teachers I 've also silently been in a state of awe. I have so much admiration for the resourcefulness of the school. They create and foster an environment of abundance. How? Lets see, Basic set of books, Chalkboard and desk. The end :) The students generally show appreciation for what they have and appear to be happy and content with what is. Alas, the key to happiness has been disclosed to these little people at the ripe age of 10! How fortunate are they to have made this discovery so early in life.


On the flip side ( yes, if you know me then you know exactly where this post is going) *smile* Acknowledging the beauty that exist within simplicity and resourcefulness, oh and my favorite - vivid use of the untamed imagination, I also have to support the benefits of exposure and mental stimulation. I think it is fair to say there are many ways in which learning manipulatives and culturally appropriate books (published within the last 10 years) that interest children while challenging their minds can enhance the process of learning in a multitude of ways.


I have created a separate page titled wish list. Check it out and enjoy the clips!

I've got peace like a river...

Today was the 1st day to report to my primary assignment. I will be assisting with literacy at a local primary school, working with ages 5-12. I was escorted on my 15 minute walk by a few of the kids and a neighbor who was friends with the previous Peace Corps volunteer. Partly excited just to be out of training and into the field today and partially excited to enjoy a casual morning walk inhaling fresh air instead of the roller coaster van ride into town.


As I walked into the school yard a wave of indescribable emotions set in. I was truly caught off guard. It seems as if each day is a bit more affirmative that my journey is leading me further into the depths of discovering my passion.


The morning assembly was spent pretty much in praise. Smiling bright eyed kids, some fidgeting, some antagonizing others , some staring into the clouds- but when praise began it appeared that everything else ceased to exist.


Surrounded by the harmonic tunes of: " I've got peace like a river, joy like a fountain in my soul"..." Troubles will float away, never cloud your day" and my personal favorite, " Love makes the world go round" left me teary eyed.


Through the break in my heart poured in rays of hope, love, potential, innocence. The gaps are filled with their tiny souring spirits each uniquely sharing their individual heart song while recognizing the beauty and strength of harmony...I think I'm in love!


P.S. It appears I am the first volunteer "of color" that this school has had. One of the teachers made a joke about not knowing Peace Corps was accepting locals to volunteer now lol I am happy to add some diversity into the bunch.

Highlights...

Sooo fast forward two weeks and here we are! I have completed 1 week of orientation/PST in St. Lucia and 1 week PST in my new home, St. Vincent. So much has happened in just 2 weeks here goes:

The night before departure : Total melt down! lol In hindsight I can laugh now, hopefully bestie can laugh as well. Some of the girls came over to hang out and "help" with the final packing. Great idea right?? Wrong! Somehow I managed to overlook luggage dimensions listed on the PC Baggage advisory. Long story short thank goodness for Walmart and great friends. By the time I got my 2 bags packed and my personal items and cleaned the room it was about 2:30am, eek! Trek it over to Michelle's to complete the final touches, only problem is she had my favorite cheese AND 2 episodes of RHOA that I had missed...hmmm finish packing or catch up on episodes of RHOA while munching on my favorite cheese?? Go figure. A break turned into a nap. We were suppose to head to the airport @ 5:30 am. Around 5:15 I looked around an realized I still had a ton of stuff to "sort through" that were intended to fit in my carry on bags. ~ME: (knock knock on Chels door) Chel?? I NEED HELP Chel: " OH ___beep__ I was suppose to get up at 5am, are you done?? ME: No, and Im hyperventilating , I can't miss my flight, I have to take a shower, I can't breathe. Chel: Go take a shower, I will finish the rest!~ We made it out on time and I made it on my flight . Both Teary eyed and a mess, but we made it.


St. Lucia: St. Lucia was wonderful!! I met so many amazing people in my training class. We stayed at the Pastoral Center, it was kind of like living in a dorm all over again. The view was gorgeous and we were spoiled by being walking distance from the beach. Late nights full of card games, taboo, music exchanges, book trades and great conversation- what more can you ask for? I also got to meet some of the volunteers who are currently serving in St. Lucia, cool group of ladies! Wonderful way to start of PST


St. Vincent: Felt like home as soon as we touched down! lol Our group had the longest wait at the airport (arrived @ 7am and flew out at 12pm) and probably the longest wait upon arriving to SVG haha. I think it's a reflection of the personalities in the group to be able to travel with 11 strangers with no major hang ups. I think we were all excited to meet our SVG PC staff , current PCVs and most of all our homestay families! Long day but I think it brought us all a little closer.

*Homestay: This is the start of week 2 at my homestay and I already feel like this is my refuge. My host family is very considerate and sweet. They are patient with me and allow me to ask as many questions as needed about anything. I get wonderful vegetarian meals prepared everyday! I will share some of the dishes in future post. There are 5-6 other people that live on the property, everyone contributes in some way to make the household run smoothly. My host mother is a florist and my host sister is a chef in training. Two of my goals while here are to learn how to make some authentic Vincy dishes and to turn my black thumb into green.

There is a pretty heavy local dialect spoken here in St. Vincent. I kind of felt like I was missing out on language exposure since St. Lucia and Dominica were the only two assignments that take language classes during PST. Creole is still spoken in those locations. Little did I know that Vincy's have their very own local language. I can go an entire van ride and have NO idea what was said, I can sit at dinner and be completely lost until my family laughs or says JESSICA?? I'm VERY excited to improve my ability to understand and speak the local dialect as time goes on.

*Vans- The vans...oh the infamous Vincentian VANS how do I even begin to describe the experience. First off , its completely different from St. Lucia so that was a fake out. The van system here is divided into towns or villages. Each town has its own group of vans that are privately owned by individuals. Its almost like a mix between a taxi and a bus. The names range from " Krunkest, Blade, Gifted, Precious, Da boi" and the list goes on. There are only 5 vans that go to my village which means a lot of waiting and cramming in to fit as many people as possible on the van. Usually its about 25 people on a 15 passenger type van. You hale them like a cab but the route is predetermined like a bus. Good stuff I tell you lol There have been no two days alike thus far...will post pics soon.

*Rain -Apparently this is suppose to be the start of the dry season but it has been raining everyday since we arrived. Usually its just small passing showers about 5 times a day lasting maybe 10 minutes tops but sometimes they last longer. Most people just stop what they are doing if on the street and seek shelter until it passes. I toyed with the idea of packing rainboots for the "wet season" but I think its safe to say in 80 degree down pour I would look a tad odd, I haven't seen any yet hmmmm

*Valley My final note is about my village. The Mesopotamia/Marriaqua Valley- Excerpt:
"This vast expanse of land is so luxuriant and evergreen with virtually every tropical crop growing in the rich fertile soils of St. Vincent. The Valley, viewed from a specific location on the island, offers a spectacular panoramic view of what is often referred as the “islands breadbasket” containing plots of bananas, nutmeg, cocoa, breadfruit, coconut and a multitude of root crops. The grand Bonhomme Mountain (318 ft, 970 metres) dominates the ridges that rises around the valley and a number of streams and rivers come together to flow over the rocks of the Yambou Gorge; in the small town of Mesopotamia (“Mespo”), before entering the sea on the east coast of the island.



Sometimes I wake up and this all still feels surreal. I smile as I hear the roosters or the dogs sounding the wake up calls in the morning. It has been nice to allow myself to wake up to the sounds of nature or the sun gently tugging at my eyelids, is this real? Am I really here? I feel like a child on Christmas morning waiting to unwrap the various surprises, treasures and gifts that await me as I embrace each day with open arms.

Even in the midst of soggy pants, wet feet, overstuffed bags, cold showers, hour long van waits, overcrowded vans and not understanding 70% of what I hear any given day I continue to be overwhelmed with joy and appreciation for the beauty encountered within each moment. The gift of "first sight", new sight...the ability to "fall sweetly into the miracle of ones presence upon the first time truly seeing another.", this makes it all worth it.