Only two weeks left of training! We are all itching for it to end. Only 4 or 5 days left for training in the office and the rest is worksite days or shadowing days. Then we get a week to move into our new places before we swear in! I haven't seen my place yet but I know that it will be farther away from town and it's an apartment in the bottom of a house. The rumor is I won't have hot water. I've also heard it's rather new and is just now being furnished, so I don't know what will be included in that. I don't mind not having hot water. I'm more concerned about how far away it will be from my worksite and how much I may have to spend to fill in with furnishings that I will need. I am trying to be patient and not jump to conclusions, but it's hard!
This past weekend was very full. We were able to convince our director to move Friday's training to this Tuesday so that we could go to a cricket match: West Indies vs. England. We explained that it was important for our cultural integration and they actually agreed J! So we bought the cheapest tickets for the grounds area, which is just a big patch of grass. Upon hearing that traffic for cricket games is terrible, we decided to get an early start. We met in town at 8:00 and were at the stadium by 9:00. It rained the whole morning, longer than we've seen it rain here yet. And if you don't know, they don't play cricket in the rain… so this caused a delay. The game didn't start till 2:00!! So we sat in the sun for five hours before we saw any action on the field. But it was interesting to observe the partying crowd. Almost everyone brings coolers with liquor and juice and some snacks. And if you forget yours there are drinks available. In fact, one section of stands is called the party stands. You pay one big price for all inclusive food and drink. They play loud music and from what I understand no one really even watches the game from that section.
Several other Volunteers were there so we were able to meet some new people. By the time the game started we were getting tired. Not too mention my shoulders were turning into toast despite frequent applications of sunscreen. So after a few hours I left with a few others, came home, showered, and took a small nap. When I woke up I saw the tail end of the game on TV. England won. I learned that St. Lucians party hard no matter who wins.
Friday night my host parents took to to Anse La Raye for the fish fry. It's like a big street festival with lots of Creole food including lots of fish. There's music and karaoke and steel drum bands and craft tables and all sorts of things. I ate some king fish and a bek with my host mom and we wandered around for a little bit before retiring to the car at 11:00pm. It was about a 45 minute drive from our house, so we didn't get in until around midnight! After a full day in the sun and a late night at the fish fry I was exhausted. I slept very well.
Saturday the current Volunteers organized a little get together at the beach to welcome us trainees. We met at Choc beach (which I discovered is a very nice beach… great for swimming), where we had hotdogs and snacks and played some volleyball and chatted all day. We cooked the hotdogs on this cute little clay stove that is a craft of St. Lucians. I hope to acquire one at some point during my stay. It was really nice to meet some of the other Volunteers and we were even able to meet some Japanese Volunteers (Japan has a similar program to Peace Corps).
Saturday evening I discovered my host sister's love for movies and we watched two of the DVDs I brought. It was fun to spend some time with her and fun to have a movie night… as we all know I love movie nights J.
Sunday was a nice relaxing day, which was good after such a weekend. And of course, it all starts over again today (Monday) with training… yay. Just two more weeks!
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