Hairoun

The original inhabitants of St. Vincent’s, the Caribs called the island Hairoun which means the land of the blessed. St. Vincent became known as it is known today on January 22 1498 when Christopher Columbus first saw the island, this was the day of a Spanish Martyr named St. Vincent, and so Columbus thought it only right to name the island for the Martyr. The Caribs were believed to have been on the island almost a hundred years before Columbus “discovered” (how you discover a place when people already live there is beyond me, but that’s another post), the island. These people were known to be hunter gathers and relied heavily on marine resources as well as the land to help them to survive. They were also known as fierce warriors and were able to fight off colonization long after other islands were colonized. The next inhabitants of St. Vincent’s were Africans who were on board a Dutch slave ship that sunk. The survivors of the ship wreck found their way to St. Vincent’s and over the next several years the two cultures co mingled and formed two sub cultures, the Black Caribs and the Yellow Caribs. The Yellow Caribs occupied the Leeward side of the island while the Black Caribs occupied the Winward side of the island. Over the next two years I will be living on the Winward side of the island with the ancestors of the Black Caribs. As my time in St. Vincent begins I look forward to learning more history and participating in the cultural exchange that is the Peace Corps.

Finally

After two 5am wake ups, two cramped flights and an hour and a half bus ride I finally made it to my destination in St. Lucia. The retreat where we are staying has a very beautiful panoramic view of the Caribbean Sea that looks like something from a movie. When I first arrived I stood outside and looked in amazement and thanked God for this opportunity. The day we arrived everyone was tired from travelling and Peace Corps took it easy on us and did not have any training sessions scheduled, we were able to relax and prepare for the next day. Today we had orientation; we talked about our aspirations and concerns, safety and security and health issues. We were also given our work assignments and our locations; I will be living in Sandy Bay, St. Vincent and working at Sandy Bay Government Primary School. My job description is to assist with programs geared towards the enhancement of the literacy, numeracy and remedial reading skills of the students. To assist staff to enhance their critical thinking skills to be able to impart this to the students, assist with library development; assist with information technology training for students and teachers and to assist with the development of after school activities such as sports, music and arts. On Monday I will be traveling to Sandy Bay, St. Vincent and moving in with a host family for seven weeks. I look forward to getting to St. Vincent and getting to work.

My thoughts

As I move into the next chapter of my life I find myself nervous about the unknown.  On one hand I am happy and excited about having the chance to live and work in the caribbean while on the other hand I don't want to leave my friends and family.  I know that at this point in my life the peace corps is the best option for me, hopefully this experience will open doors and allow me see the world.  These are just a few of my thoughts, I'll post again in a few.