Wow, time flies when you're having fun - learning new things, meeting new people, stuck for hours in boring training sessions! The first week passed quickly and here I am again, sitting on Elvira and Oliver's porch, overlooking the sea as a storm cloud rolls in and telling tales of life on St. Kitts.
As you on the East Coast know, I was a wee bit worried as Hannah sped up the the coast and came in just 30 miles south of my house in Wilmington. But all is well and all NC
got was some strong winds and lots of much-needed rain. Here we ducked Ike, which veered north toward the Bahamas and Florida. Josephine is still a ways off but I added NOMA's website to my homepage and check it daily for hurricane updates.
Besides training and more training (you would think they could at least give us old folks chairs with cushions on which to rest on during the daily 9-4:30 sessions!) I've gotten to know Elvira and Oliver much better. They are such a wonderful couple and I feel blessed to be living with them - compared to some of the stories the other PCV's tell about their host families. Today, Sunday, it was my turn to go to church with Oliver. He attends the high Anglican Church and sings in the choir. It's a much different service from Elvira's. Very staid and formal compared to the joyful singling and hand-clapping, foot-stompin', praise-the-Lord service at Wesleyan Holiness. Guess which one I like the best?
Every Friday Oliver bakes bread and rolls for his family on Nevis and, of course, for us. Just look at the picture I took of his final product. I got steaming hot rolls, dripping with butter, right out of the oven. Fantastic. He's promised I will get at least one loaf a week once I move into my own place. Yum.
On Friday afternoon our entire group headed out to Brimstone Hill, the site of the major fort on the island which was their main means of defense for centuries. It was, of course, built by slaves, and changed back-and-forth between British, Spanish and French numerous times during the turbulent Caribbean history. The Minister of Culture met us there and gave us a lesson on the Creole language that is spoken here along with teaching us circle dances and folk songs - during which I managed to plant my big foot in the middle of a fire-ant hill. Three days latter and I'm still itching and stinging. Ow!
And now the really fun part of my week. Yesterday, Saturday, I joined Arron Harris, another PCV who has been here a year, and we met up with about 15 boys and girls and headed out to the Royal St. Kitts Golf Course at the Marriott Resort on Friggit Bay. The membership of the course offer what they call 'golf camp' to local kids who would never have a chance to ever learn the game or play. The children must bring their homework and we and members of the club help them however we can before we head out to the range or to play a few holes and teach the fundamentals of the game.
Just look at the picture of the boys who I got to take out on the course for a lesson. I had twin 7-year olds, a 12-year old and a 13 year old. It was like having a cart full of monkeys. Between stopping and teaching with every shot, finding lost balls and trying to keep them from driving off with the cart, one hole took an hour and a half to play. It was a long, water-lined par 5 and they wanted me to play as well. They use donated clubs, which as you can imagine, leave much to be desired. I drove off with a driver that was the size of the very first driver I ever owned back in high school. Compared to my over-sized Cobra, it was tinnie-tiny. But managed to bang
it straight down the fairway about 150 yards. The boys just ooo'd and awh'd. I put a 4-iron close to the green and then my only choice of club was a sawed-off 7-iron that came up to about my knees - think putt-putt clubs! Somehow I managed to chip the ball within 2 feet of the cup and sink the putt. Between telling the boys they couldn't stand on their balls and sink them into the green; that clubs were for swinging at the ball, not their twin brother; and trying to teach them a few basic rules of the game, the time just sped by.
When we returned to the clubhouse, Arron had arranged for me to meet with the head pro, the president of the members association, a local British businessman and another employee of the club to discuss the possibility of bringing The First Tee program here to St. Kitt's and possibly all of the Eastern Caribbean. It was a great meeting and everyone thinks it would be a wonderful way to teach the children the Core Value System that The First Tee stresses and is much needed here on the island. Will keep you posted on the outcome.
As the bus with the kids headed back into Basseterre, Arron and I headed to the new, air-conditioned Marriott for a lunch of cold beer, burgers and fries! After this wonderful treat, we went into the casino which has a wall of TVs and Dish TV showing every football game, golf game and tennis match, along with EC football and cricket being played. As you can guess, a favorite hang-out of the PCV's on Sunday afternoons. We can even use their beautiful beach and pools.
So my hard, hard life in the Caribbean continues. Oh - the other pic I posted is of the main cricket field here in Basseterre which hosted a World Cup event just this past year. Haven't seen a game yet or learned what a batter or pitchers does in a games that can take days to conclude, but I'll be sure and share all that info with you when I learn:)
Take care of each other....
ReAnn
No comments:
Post a Comment