Hot and Humid

It's 10:00pm, the sun is down, and it's sticky and hot. The thermometer on my travel clock reads 84 degrees. I'm surprisingly comfortable, even though I'm sticky. I think I'm adjusting to the weather alright, but we'll see when the real hot weather gets here.

I just got back from a christening party with my host family. One of their cousins had a baby and they had a big party to celebrate with lots of food and drink. The baby was so cute and big! I got to try pumpkin soup while I was there. It was delicious…kinda had the texture of a thick tomato soup and it had a nice flavor.

I also got to try blood pudding sausage today… it was alright. It's blood and onion and other spices cooked inside animal intestine… I think the concept itself is a huge barrier, but it really wasn't that bad. I just couldn't eat more than a bite because the thought of it would make me sick.

And my host mom made some homemade grapefruit juice which was delicious. I'm looking forward to experimenting with some St. Lucian foods when I get into my own place. I really wanna learn how to make these things they call beks (bakes). It's a tasty flat bread kinda thing.

On top of that I went to my first movie in St. Lucia. It was a very American experience and very surreal stepping back out into island life. I saw Watchmen… which is alright, but kinda weird.

I think that there is a mosquito loose in my room. I'd been doing good as far as bites go, but lately they've been popping up all over. I have four or five on my left arm alone… must have been laying on my right side all night. When I get into my new apartment I will hang up my mosquito net… hopefully that will help a little.

This week should be an interesting one. Our trainee group convinced PC staff to push our Friday sessions to another day so that we can attend a cricket match. It's between St. Lucia and England and tons of people will be there. We argued that it was important to our cultural integration to attend. J So assuming we all acquire tickets before they sell out, we will be there! Also, my host family is talking about taking me to a fish fry or two this weekend… they are like big street parties that happen on Friday nights in some places… as far as I understand. I guess I'll find out.

I also get to implement my service learning activity in my school this week. I'm pretty nervous about it because it's going to be observed and critiqued by PC staff. As I plan to do the activity with the kindergarten class, I'm completely dependent on the teacher showing up and bringing the materials. Without her it will be chaos as usual. And with the way things sometimes go here, it is entirely possible that she may not show up. So! Pray that it all goes well!

We only have 3 weeks left of training and it's flying! Before we know it we'll be searing in as real Peace Corps Volunteers!

For now, I must rest so I can get up early early in the morning to start the week! I love y'all and appreciate all your little notes and emails; they mean a lot to me!