Screw's Spa

A Saturday morning at the spa, 4 of us volunteers spent the morning soaking in natural sulfur springs. These pools ranged from hot (like a hot tub) to a perfect warm bath. There was also a "Cool Pool", which was just COLD. The spa is set back among the tropical trees and flowers ... the definition of paradise basically. Not much to say, the pictures show it all.

God's amazing creation.

Blue Marlin

Look in the front of the boat and you can

see the blue marlin the fisherman caught!

FOOD

I bought fresh pumpkin from the market to make pumpkin soup;

here it is in the beginning stages

... and the final product

The first lunch of provisions I made myself; plantain and dasheen

A delivery from a friend in the village;
mango, banana, plantain, cinnamon, cabbage, ginger and cherries

My River Bath

Today I took a walk down the track to the river and walked in the stream towards the sea.I found a nice pool to take a dip in and cool off.
Then I sat on a rock for a good while soaking my feet.

My walk back home ... to the left is a bay oil factory

Math Contest

I spent Tuesday at the primary school working alongside a teacher. We worked to prepare 2 students for the island-wide math contest on Wednesday. We started with 6 Grade 5 students reviewing material and ended up with 3 to take to the competition. Wednesday afternoon the teacher and myself took the students to a primary school about 6miles down the road... 20minutes. The two boys competed and the girl was "backup" in case needed. The contest consisted of 3 rounds while each one got more difficult with fewer questions. Unfortunately my school did not place in the quarter finals of these 6 schools. The boys are brilliant students however the speed was not there. Either way I was glad I got to be there and support them. At times of the contest they looked at me and just smiled... it was a good event and great practice for all the students involved.On the way to the Contest

Arriving at the school ... ready to go!
That is the judge sitting at the frontThe boys working hard during the competition

Banana Juice

Here sits grade 3 students on my porch making banana juice. The children always want something when they visit, whether it is my "corn flakes" (that includes all cereals), fruit to make juice or even ice cubes to suck on. The boys just smashed the bananas into the strainer, added water and sugar. It was very delicious, the perfect balance of banana and sweetness.

The Fisheries

I spent the afternoon down by the bay where the fisherman dock their boats. It is just a short walk from the primary school I work at so after the children were let out I walked down the road. I came to find a blue marlin laying near the water waiting to be cut and weighed. I watched the Dominican with the cutlass clean out the humongous fish. The belly was cut open and I could see him pull out the different organs such as intestines and lungs. Next was the head and he worked his way down cutting the fish into pieces. The fish ended up weighing 228lbs with a beak reaching 24 inches. Everyone had gathered around, fishermen and village people alike. After the seagulls had begun to swarm a young man started throwing the scraps into the sky - the seagulls began diving down and catching them mid air.
Catching these huge fish is quite a days work. Dominican fishermen do not use fishing poles, and I quote " it takes too much time to use a pole, when you real in a fish you're only bringing it in centimeters at a time, but with our hands we pull it in yards at a time". They hold the line right in their hands and for the bigger fish wear gloves when pulling it in. When the fish get well over 500lbs the method is not to kill the fish right away because the fish actually helps the fishermen bring it into the boat. As the fish is coming out of the water it's back fin is flapping and swimming and assisting itself into the boat. Bringing in fish this size can take up to 2 hours from catch to safely in the little fishing boat.

I am proud to say there is a nice steak of blue marlin chillin' in my freezer.

Little Visitors

I had a house full of school children this afternoon. The kids wanted to visit me so they walked home with me from school, which ends at 1. They played in the yard for awhile, then got hungry and finished my cereal. Later I ran them around carrying each one on my back - they call them Sprees here, instead of piggy back rides. They posed on the porch for some photos.
The girls saw my clothes in the closet and asked to try them on. Then played dress up for quite awhile, almost each article of clothing was laying on my bed.
I made the four girls and two boys tea for the afternoon and they settled down and watched cartoons on the couch.
When they heard the ice cream truck I gave them a few dollars to share an ice cream. 5 ran up the hill and only 3 returned with a cup full of strawberry ice cream.
When 6 o'clock rolled around they lil' chillin' were still hangin around. Every time I said it was "almost time for them to head home" they started whining like crazy! But then my landlord came down (she's also a teacher at their school) and told them to get home because it was past 6!! They said a quick, " bye bye Julie" and were gone. She has more power than me, and also doesn't care if they like her or not. My house was a disaster, the sink was full of dirty dishes, the pillows and blankets messed up and I needed to sweep. After the house was back to the normal I crashed on the couch. I felt like I ran a daycare for the past 5 hours.