Well here we are…One year of Peace Corps finished. Here are a few things that I’ve accomplished.

• SURVIVED…that is, found a place to lay my head, got from here to there, got food from the store to my house and cooked it, didn't contract any disease too extraordinary.
  

• AND sustained the life of a lesser being, my cat.
  

• Met lots of people…neighbors, co-workers, other volunteers and workers from many countries (and their neighbors and co-workers), random people here and there.
  

• Maintained dignity and self-respect despite being perceived a freak and receiving near-constant catcalls from men, women and children.
  

• Carved out my niche within my workplace. I now have a project, work friends, and network contacts.

o Developed several curricula to be taught at the National Skills Development Center.

o Taken charge of developing and managing a major project within NSDC, the Papyé St. Lisi cooperative papermaking project in Bexon.

• Learned how to speak both Lucian and a bit of Kwéyòl.

I’d say this is all remarkable.

Here are some other random thoughts:

• Sometimes it feels like things down here are easy, or they should be easy. I remember plenty of people (myself included) saying "Peace Corps Eastern Caribbean… Life on the beach, it must be rough!" Well sometimes it really is. I came down here all modernized and liberated, and it was great to see some of the nifty comforts of home… internet, cable TV, familiar foods, etc. But these things are illusions if you think that they make things here on par with things at home. And it’s easy to get caught in that trap, even living down here. We (as outsiders and/or tourists) have pre-conceived notions about things and people down here just like they have about us. It can be really frustrating to break these notions, whether they are stupid things like someone constantly asking if I want a taxi, to more deep-seated things like a woman’s respect for herself. So to make a long story long, YES, we are needed down here, and our work is important.
  
  

• One of the biggest challenges in all of Peace Corps is blending into your community. It’s even more of a challenge here because it seems like it would be easy to do. 99% of the people speak English, and they are relatively familiar with the US and Peace Corps and what we’re all about. But just as I get to feeling good about where I am, some moron bus driver makes a scene and tries to charge me double for my bus fare. When I (rightly) object, they call me racist. It can be really upsetting, because it feels like all my socializing work went for naught. Not to mention that their own idiocy has taken me down a peg emotionally…  Obviously I’m not racist for coming down here, giving of myself to work for the betterment of the people. I’ve learned that the ‘race card’ is a disarming tactic that some enterprising tricksters will use. My initial automatic reaction was to then bend over backwards for such a person, trying to prove to them that I’m not racist. But I’ve learned that people who resort to these kinds of mind games will always think that way, and it’s not worth me breaking a sweat.

 

So here’s what’s been happening lately:

My project is coming along nicely. I think I’ve finally landed on a format that will satisfy the trainees, who are primarily interested in wage-employment; NSDC, who is interested in continued training and self-sufficiency of the Bexon center; and Peace Corps, who is interested in skills-transfer, development and sustainability. So we are going to open a business there, just slowly, and slowly transfer control of the different aspects to co-op members who are specializing in different things. Right now, I’m working with Lisa, the center supervisor, at setting up the format for everything. We’ve been working on deciding who our customers will be and how we’ll reach them (for now, the large hotels, and we’ll make direct, in-person sales calls), and what products we’ll make (for now, large and small gift bags and stationery/envelope sets). I think this is a good start; it’s conservative yet encouraging for administration, the trainees and me. Once things get off the ground a bit, we can branch into more complicated products and niche markets. Last week, Lisa and I also developed a business plan, which we’re waiting for approval on from NSDC administration. This week I’m hoping to set up a prototype for the accounting books and systems to also present to administration. I have no idea for when the trainees will actually start working… it seems that every time I set a goal for that, twelve things crop up that must be done first. But regardless, progress is being made.

Swimming is also going better than ever. Lately I’ve had two volunteers, Joanna and Nick. So we’ve been able to split up the kids and give them more personalized attention. I’ve been working with the more advanced kids, Alexi, Cameron, Akim and Johnny K, who pretty much have the form of things down and can get along ok in the deep end. Joanna and Nick have been sharing the more nervous kids who are still scared of the water, or who just don’t get it yet. So now the very beginners are getting more attention in fixing their flaws, and the advanced beginners are making progress and moving ahead.

Soon we’ll be combining my class (level one) with level two. In the summer, not as many kids come regularly, and this will save us from renting too many lanes. We’ll also have another teacher helping. I think it will work out to have three mini-groups, the very beginners, advanced beginners, and level twos, all working in different parts of the two lanes we rent.

This past weekend was Carnival. I had intended to jump with a Jouvert band. Jumping is just being part of a costumed group. Jouvert refers to a party that takes place from about 4 to about 9am. Other friends jumped in full bands, wearing the little bikini costumes and being in parades in town. I didn’t think that was for me just yet, so I thought the Jouvert would be Carnival-lite. But as it turned out, Mike, who was going to be in the Jouvert band with me, wasn’t feeling well. I didn’t want to jump alone, for safety and companionship reasons. I wasn’t too upset to miss Jouvert. Lately I haven’t felt a lot like going out. The scene is rather limited, and I just feel like I’ve been there, done that. And drinking has interested me less and less. So I didn’t really want to be in a mass of drunks while I was sober. I also read the St. Vincent carnival recap by Aaron http://www.aaronblondeau.com/journal/07152003.html  and found that I agreed with his assessment. Anyways, there’s always next year.

Quote of the week:

Deb and I went horseback riding with some friends of hers whom I had never met. They asked us if we had ridden before, and we both said, yes, but not very much. Both guys looked at us, and then one looked at me and said, "I think she’ll be good, you know, she looks like a man!"