I have a feeling I will be saying this often, but I cannot believe how quickly this week has gone by! Monday dragged on (because it was a Monday), but before I knew it, it was Friday!
With every day that passes, I fall more in love with my school. I am getting to know some of the teachers even more. It’s so fun to joke around with them! All of the students are so wonderful, too. I still have 9.5 weeks left here, but I already know I am going to miss my students so much when I leave.
This week I also started walking home from school instead of getting picked up by my host mom. It’s only a 20 minute walk, and I love walking around here. Even though I walk the same path every day, I’m still astounded by the beauty of Gros Islet! One day I even walked home with one of the teachers. When we parted ways, she called me “Tay”, which really made me miss my Aunt Linda!
I knew the students flipped through a great deal of subjects throughout the week, but my cooperating teacher gave me their schedule, and I can’t believe it! In only one week the students have:
With every day that passes, I fall more in love with my school. I am getting to know some of the teachers even more. It’s so fun to joke around with them! All of the students are so wonderful, too. I still have 9.5 weeks left here, but I already know I am going to miss my students so much when I leave.
This week I also started walking home from school instead of getting picked up by my host mom. It’s only a 20 minute walk, and I love walking around here. Even though I walk the same path every day, I’m still astounded by the beauty of Gros Islet! One day I even walked home with one of the teachers. When we parted ways, she called me “Tay”, which really made me miss my Aunt Linda!
I knew the students flipped through a great deal of subjects throughout the week, but my cooperating teacher gave me their schedule, and I can’t believe it! In only one week the students have:
- Grammar
- General Science
- Social Studies
- Math
- Health Science
- Comprehension
- Spanish
- Phonics
- Literature
- French
- Music
- Vocabulary
- Writer’s Workshop
- Composition
- Library
- Spelling
- Information Tech
- Phy Ed
This week I will be taking over Grammar. I will be teaching subject verb agreement. I’m somewhat nervous for my first lesson, but I am anxious to start finally teaching! It’s fun to be able to share my “teacher stories” with friends and family back home. One student is convinced I look exactly like his mom and one of my students made me a bracelet; however, my favorite story took place on Tuesday. One of my girls gave me a huge hug and said “Teacher Taylor, I always want to give the special teachers a morning and afternoon hug so you know you are loved.” My heart absolutely melted! |
Yet again, I had a wonderful and relaxing weekend! Friday evening, I went to Monchy to spend time with Brittney and a few of the teachers from her school. Just like everyone else I have met, they were so welcoming to me! Brittney and I were a little worried about it, but we ate pig tail! It looked a little sketchy, but it was actually really good. |
On Saturday morning, my host mom took Brittney and I to Castries, the capital of St Lucia. We walked by the offices for different Ministries here, as well as the Prime Minister’s office! We also saw the Derek Walcott Square. Derek Walcott won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992, and the square was renamed in his honor. Unfortunately, the square was locked, but from the outside it looked beautiful! We walked through a huge market where millions of people (fine, I’m being dramatic…) tried to convince Brittney and I that what they were selling was better than the exact same products being sold at the next booth. We found some cool souvenirs for friends and family, and we both made a few impulse buys because the gift was “perfect”; however, we also kept in mind that we have a lot of time left to find our souvenirs! My favorite part of Castries was seeing the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. It was so beautiful that I actually shed a tear or two. Words and pictures could never do it justice!
Saturday evening, Brittney and I walked to the marina. We rarely eat sweets here, and we both had a HUGE craving for chocolate! We both ended up getting a brownie and ice cream (and ate it all before dinner, oops!). We took on the mentality of the Lucians and ended up sitting down by the marina for almost 2 hours, simply relaxing. We enjoyed our treats and had some great conversation. I’m so lucky to have one of my best friends here with me to share in this experience, as well as reminisce on things from home! |
Sunday was quite uneventful, but very relaxing. We went to Mass in the morning, another HOT 2 hour service. Last weekend Brittney felt faint, and this weekend it was my turn. Hopefully we get accustomed to the heat of the church soon! We spent the rest of the afternoon at the beach. It was pretty cloudy, and Brittney actually said she was cold! Looks like we are getting used to the heat after all.
I feel as though I have so much to share, and there never seems to be a clear way to organize all of my thoughts in one concise blog post. My best friend, Seamus, gave me a beautiful journal for Christmas that I try to write in every night. The journal makes it easier to organize my thoughts at the end of the week, but random jumps in what I’m talking about still seem pretty inevitable….
*Cue random jump* One of the things I was most excited about when deciding to come to St. Lucia was all of the new foods I would get to try. Before coming here, Brittney and I joked that we would be hungry, because all the websites we looked at said we would mostly eat fish and fruit. Wow, we were SO wrong. Nobody ever lets me go hungry here—it’s like being at Grandma’s house for every single meal
*Cue random jump* One of the things I was most excited about when deciding to come to St. Lucia was all of the new foods I would get to try. Before coming here, Brittney and I joked that we would be hungry, because all the websites we looked at said we would mostly eat fish and fruit. Wow, we were SO wrong. Nobody ever lets me go hungry here—it’s like being at Grandma’s house for every single meal
I tried to condense my list, but in only 2 weeks I already have so many “favorite” foods here! -Turkey lasagna: There is nothing I love more than my mom’s lasagna, so this served as a pretty nice comfort food -Float: (pictured to the left) I’m pretty sure it’s just fried dough, but I once ate 5 in a single day…oops! -Mango: I had never had mango before coming here, and I love it! -Cocoa tea: tastes similar to Chai Tea -Plantains: they look like a banana, but are not necessarily served as a fruit -Barracuda: I’ve had it twice now, and it is delicious! -Macaroni pie: Mac and cheese is my favorite food, so how could I possibly resist this?! |
In case it isn't clear, life here is great! It might sound ridiculous, but things are becoming so comfortable and normal that sometimes I even forget I am in St Lucia. Of course I still get occasional pangs of homesickness, but I am really happy here!
"They speak of the glorious splendor of Your
majesty--and I will meditate on Your wonderful works."
--Psalm 145:15--
majesty--and I will meditate on Your wonderful works."
--Psalm 145:15--