11/12/10

Today's special guest writer--Michelle

It’s my last day here and the sun is shining….

Part of me (the part that isn’t really tan) wishes that I could say that about the rest of my time in St. Lucia. Sad to say to that Caroline and I spent more time dodging black clouds and big rain drops then catching rays on that perfect spot on the beach. Despite this, we still spent some time on the beach, Saturday in Vieux Fort, where we saw some real sun, and Sunday in Rodney Bay, where small, little rays showed through the cloud filled sky. In some weird way, since I don’t know the difference, it is kind of cool to be witness to the tropical depression, or whatever this was. It just made me laugh to hear Caroline complain that 80 degrees was cold. It’s still better than 35!!

I would guess that one benefit to rainy times in St. Lucia is that, as I have been told, the local Lucians tend to be afraid of the rain. So that means the beaches are not very crowded, allowing for a quite a few open lounge chairs, and that I do not have to spend all of my time fending off dirty Rastas trying to sell necklaces and other treasures. I must say though, that one man, Julius did get a little more money then he should have for the necklace and bracelets he strung on us. Funny how he kept telling me that because I have my friend living on the island he would give me a good deal, but EC$120 is not a good deal. I only had EC$40 in my wallet but he took it with a frown on his face. I suppose after he kept shooting me compliments and telling me stories of what a great guy he was, settling for EC$40 was not what he "deserved." Especially after he and the security man (he’s from the hotel where Caro and I were "borrowing" chairs) got in a fight in front of us about how he was bothering us. Oh well! That’s how the game works isn’t it? I was particularly vexed (like my use of a Lucian word?) after Caroline and I came about a gold mine and discovered a store selling better necklaces for EC$4 a piece. Yes, you read that right, EC$4! If you make it down here, make sure that Caroline takes you there, although I doubt she will forget. Although if you want to do it in true tourist style, there is some Ras named Dennis that Caro keeps talking about. I never met him. I

Speaking of Rastas and other locals, for the most part every one has seemed quite nice. Of course there have been the couple spurting out lovely things like, "Oh, my American baby" and "How I’d like to have a girlfriend like you" but that comes for most US travelers in any country. Spain definitely toughened me up with that one. I have never been offered so many taxi rides either! A swift "Oww-ah" (I have no idea how you spell it, but it’s "NO" in Patois) from Caroline elicits a good laugh and they left us alone. Other Lucians, like I mentioned have seemed pretty nice. I appreciated the honesty of a Ras down in Vieux Fort about his hustling habits. He even used the term "hustle" himself. I’ve jammed (hitting fist to fist) with quite a few of them and exchanged a Ras phrase that I only remember by thinking of "chubby wedding." I must say that like that everyone greets each other on the street with Good Morning, Afternoon or Evening, as appropriate; but my favorite is the use of "OK" and "Alright." By the end of my stay, I too was using these words, which mean Hi, Bye, Thank you, Your Welcome and I acknowledge you, don’t make a kissy face at me. While in Soufriere yesterday, Caroline told me that she liked hearing me use it. I also tried to speak "Lucian" but think I more just sounded like I had a weird accent and was skipping words. Saying "Ok," however, seemed to be a good substitute for passing as more of a local then a tourist – not that my bright white skin didn’t give me away – but when I wanted a reduced price to get into a park it worked. Well, so did Caro doing all the talking.

A quick highlight regarding the money exchange… I was quite proud of us when we snagged a quick ride across Rodney Bay (which saved us a hour or so walk) in a resort sky boat. Following the ride, the man asked for EC$20. Too bad I had an EC$50, an EC$5 and a few coins. Caroline had nothing. We wound up getting away with him EC$8. Trick of the trade; always say that you don’t have what they’re asking for!

The fish fry Lucian style on Friday night at Anse La Ray was quite the experience. I have never had fish so fresh in my life. I just wished I could have afforded one of the lobsters; they were huge! The highlight of that night had to come from watching the Lucian dance party. Not only did I get to witness "whining," but also enjoyed watching a twenty-something man act out Michael Jackson videos while his friend pretended to film with a roll of aluminum foil. This quickly turned into a dance fight of sorts where an older man was able to "win" by jumping off the speakers pumping music into the streets.

Ahh, music. I now have a much greater appreciation of Sean Paul. Funny how two weeks ago I couldn’t stand Beyonce and her "baby boy" song, but now continue to choose it off of Caro’s list of music. I hope that Caro will soon send me a CD full of Sean Paul, Shaggy and other random Carribean sounding music. Just a hint Caroline, you can leave off the country music.

I really enjoyed the trip on the whole, despite the lack of sun and my ritual of "boo-hissing" the weather every morning. But I saw a bit of the island and met some of the important people in Caroline’s life down here (including the aforementioned Venezuelan AT&T employee who has returned for the week), a couple Peace Corps, and some assorted others, like the Digi-cell Irish and a few more Venezuelans (one who was nice enough to drive us down to Vieux Fort on Saturday, although I thought I was going to fly through the window on some of those turns). I wish had more time to stay here. Funny how when I booked this ticket I was so concerned about missing work, but now that I leave in about 20mins to head to the airport, I want to stay here longer and work isn’t such a priority. The island truly is beautiful. Visiting another country is always dangerous for me, it just makes me want to go someone else and get to know the culture intimately. My wheels are starting to turn, but we’ll only have to wait and see what happens. In the meantime, I have to leave the warm sun and head back to snow and cold in Denver.

Tjebe wed!