This is it....

I am officially in my final month of Peace Corps service. I imagined this to be a time of saying goodbyes and slowing down work. The opposite has happened. The school has me busier than ever with events along with my daily duties. Youth events are continuing and I am currently planning for my big final project with them. Along with that working hard to hand of duties to the Youth Nights may continue without my presence. Lastly is the 50th Anniversary celebration of the Peace corps is this year, 2011 so the PCVs are working hard to make it a memorable one.

Many thanks go out to Dewitt Middle School 5th grade class!! They just put on a fantastic performance (from what I heard) at their school; a fundraiser to send books to Dominica. They successfully donated 9 large boxes of books to the primary school I work at. (This is their 2nd shipment during my service). The students witnessed the delivery of them today and were amazed! They then got the opportunity, since we just got our internet, to FINALLY read the American students' blog, talk and thank them! Chatting will continue "across the ocean" among the children!

The Youth group had officially elected their executive board and cleaned out the Kindergarten classroom that was our meeting place; it is now more "hip" and youth oriented. The final project we are planning to do is a beach clean up centered between our three neighboring villages. We will gather as a large group of youth to clear the beach of trash and coconuts, cook some local food over a fire and spend the afternoon playing sports on the basketball court! I am praying that all goes well, we get the funds we need and attendance is high; that we are supported and it can be a great way for my last project and sending off event.

Time is flying, I am excited to get back home to my family and friends, however a bit nervous to leave the life & culture I've adjusted and known for 2 years, as well as the beautiful children and great people I have met. Thanks to the Peace Corps I have had a life changing experience :)

Primary School Art Exhibition

"My" Primary school put on its FIRST ANNUAL (!) Art Exhibition. We had an unplanned trial run in late January but many officials were unable to attend. The art teacher and I teach Art and Crafts every Thursday for grades K-6 and last term consisted of nine projects for viewing pleasure.

The first run gave the students and parents an opportunity to walk through and view the students artwork from the first term (Sept-Dec). We rescheduled for a more formal exhibition in early February. Education officers and village representatives were present for a short assembly; prayer, songs, welcome, overview of exhibition, remarks from individuals and prizes for 1st projects. Officials were guided through the art room and surrounding halls followed by parents and students.

It was a beauty to see the turnout and the school getting recognition for using its new art room and teacher to its best abilities. Everyone was excited to see the winners work as well as their children ... which they will further take home.

A special thanks to all of those who made donations to restock our art supplies!

Waitukubuli National Trail!

A couple volunteers and I took a day for hiking during our Christmas/holiday break. The Waitukubuli National Trail project began in February 2008 and consists of 14 sections of trail making its way around the island of Dominica. The three of us completed Section 3 which started in Bellevue and ended in Wotton Waven. We were luckily enough to finish in this village where the hot sulfur springs are! ... we soaked in the "hot tubs" after our 9 mile hike. Ahhhhh....

Waitukubuli Trail Information
http://www.avirtualdominica.com/waitukubulitrail.cfm

Section descriptions
http://www.dominica.gov.dm/cms/files/wntp_Booklet_final.pdf

Returning to Dominica

I had the privilege of visiting home in the states for a few weeks over Thanksgiving. My body was in shock once the cold struck but the beauty of the snow excited me like I'd never seen it before! I was able to meet with the students who are so kindly taking their time and possessions and donating books to the primary school where I work. Thank your for having me and all the wonderful things you are doing!

I returned to Dominica and the weather was warm and the foliage green... as usual. I quickly appreciated that but took me a few days to adjust being away from home again. Now 2 weeks back I am back at work and enjoying the Christmas festivities Dominica has to offer. Although Christmas trees and lights are not as common here when I do see them it gives me a wonderful sense of home. I have a lovely 4 foot tree in my apartment that lights things up nicely, along with a few other decorations. Christmas is definitely different here but I am making the best of it (the neighbors love my Christmas cookies!) and staying busy.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

Independence Celebrations

It is that time of year again, October and November are when Dominica takes time out to celebrate their independence on November 3, 1978.
This week in the city of Roseau the Botanical Gardens has "Creole in the Park" this is a four day event Mon-Thurs of cultural performances, local and Caribbean bands and the park is lined with restaurant vendors, souvenirs, ice cream and much more.
Today, is Creole day in the schools where everyone come in their Creole attire which for the men is black pants, white shirt and a red sash/belt. While the ladies have a more broad tradition of wearing dresses or skirts made in fabric with Dominica/Creole designs which is a multitude of red, white, yellow, blue and greens... almost resembling a plaid look. Some women also adorn their heads with headbands, wraps or head dresses. All the children look adorable in their little clothing... today we will have a local singer and children will dance one of the cultural dances.
This weekend is the "World Creole Music Festival"... a three night event starting on Friday at the Windsor park Stadium in the city. Bands and artists from all over the Caribbean come to perform and they could come on stage anytime from 7pm - 5am. The stadium has the traditional stands full with chicken, creole plates, drinks, local juices, cakes, etc.

Another exciting Independence Time!!

Dance party on Creole Day at the primary school

World Creole Music Festival

School's in session

At this time we are 4 weeks into the new school year and things are going great! I am working most days in the library keeping things organized and in check. Just last week I finally started the check out system. Students are now able to take books home and I am giving them a big responsibility to return them (what a concept). That is now keeping me pretty busy re-shelving and checking out. On Thursdays I am tag teaming with another teacher to hold arts and crafts lessons. We have done 2 successful weeks of it but its a busy day! We teach Kindergarten - 6th from 9:00am-3:30pm which only gives us 40 minutes with each class. It can be a hustle when there is a good amount of set up and clean ups.
I am very happy working at the school The teachers are wonderful and very welcoming of me and my ideas. As the year comes to a close I will be preparing some of the teachers to continue any work I have started here. I hope to know children continuing to check out books long after I am gone.

The work I've done :)

View from the balcony, outside the library door
(soon the old school there will be demolished completely)

Summer reflection

It's been awhile since I have written so I wanted to fill you in on how my summer has gone (thus far). The school year goes until the beginning of July so vacation is not quite as long as back home. However once July came I worked hard on preparing a one week summer camp for children in 3rd, 4th and 5th grades. I was going to the city and getting donations of art supplies, school materials, food and beverages. I am so proud to say that the camp was a huge success! Five wonderful days full of fun and learning. 9am-3pm including a snack and lunch break. We covered topics of science; where kid-friendly experiments took place, health, arts & crafts, games, reading and of course water balloons! I am not sure why, maybe the boredom of summer, but the children were so amazing and well behaved! I also had about six youth help through the week with supervision as well as teaching lessons. We completed the week with a fun little ceremony where the students received a certificate of completion, bag of goodies as well as special awards to some children for best behavior, attendance, in arts and in sports.

I took off some time and went swimming in the rivers and the ocean
enjoying the beautiful weather August has brought.