New Abode, New Wheels and New Challenges

The end of the week, the end of September and a few beginnings. Early in the week Dale, Sue and I, along with Carl, who had arrived here only several days before, we packed up our possessions and headed off to our new house. We had dropped many items off the weekend previous and at the same time we met the local priest along with our landlord’s extended family. They had just finished blessing, complete with holy water and prayers, the house and each of its five bedrooms. If the house is blessed, then we too must be, or at least we hoped we could try and stretch that train of thought to come up with a link there somehow.

The house is working out well in terms of size. It has many areas to escape to for some privacy as well as many areas to congregate and socialize. From this place we have access to two Caribbean beaches, one on either side of the point on which our house is situated.

Being close to the shore, means we are far from the main road. The only sound we hear in the evenings and through the night is the relatively loud, twelve hour chorus of tree frogs. The one pictured here is a petrified one I found in the kitchen this morning. I surmise that he (she?) took his or her final voyage in through an open window. If someone knows how I can capture and post a recording of the sound, let me know since it is special.

Other than that, we are still working through the concept of two kitchens, one electric the other gas powered, and who eats where, when and with whom.
From food to food now, as I relate how we visited the market this weekend, taking full advantage of the car Dale and I purchased, only yesterday. To profit from the many attractions the island has to offer, we felt the need to buy some type of vehicle and the Toyota you see here is what we ended up finding. Negotiating the price, the paperwork, the insurance and the registration (and I do hope we get a document that isn’t as skewed as my driver’s licence is) has been easier with Carl’s assistance. Just goes to prove it’s good to have a retired guy around to do your running around :).

Enough of the car, back to the market and food. The Castries market is quite the collection of people and foods. Although none of us has yet been brave enough to purchase any meat or fish there, we continue to venture into new territory with the vegetables and fruits we are willing to try. Note the breadfruit in the picture (it’s the big green veggie in the back). Sue picked one up with the intention of trying it. Stay tuned for details on how that turns out. You can also see some red avocadoes, two types of mangoes and some other items that are more common.

Tonight I’ll try cooking up my first batch of locally grown okra. Interestingly, at the market in Castries, we also found bags of Grand Falls potatoes that were being sold for much money here than they would have been back home.

My Slovak friends, Palo and Marta, arrived on Wednesday. Carl and I headed off to pick them up at the other end of the island where they were flying into. Our plan was to drive down the west coast (the Caribbean side) and then to return via the east coast (the Atlantic side). The road down the western side of the island is narrow and quite windy and also devoid of place names or other road signs of any type. While watching the incredible scenery, we took a fork we shouldn’t have and ended up with the water on our left instead of our right. We ended up seeing the Atlantic coast twice that day.

Both of us noticed the drop in temperature from the Caribbean to the Atlantic side of the island as we stopped for this photo. Palo and Marta were amazed that I should have goose bumps in such a warm climate. I guess I have become acclimatized. Maybe those sweaters I wore all summer back home as I trained for this assignment helped. That is a comforting thought since I had to endure the laughter of my neighbours all summer. They thought I had lost my mind or something along those lines as I struggled to keep those sweaters on, for longer and longer each hot NB summer day through July and August.

Meanwhile, back in Vieux Fort, at the southern tip of the island where the Hewanorra airport is located, I found this eye catching sign. I wanted to go in and see what specialties they had on the menu but our difficulty that day, in picking a coast to follow and then sticking to that choice, had eaten up most of the extra time we had allotted for the trip.

Now the title of this blog spoke of challenges and so allow me to explain. The first one of the week actually dates back to the middle of the previous week and will last to the middle of next. Our principal’s mother in law passed away and she and her husband flew home (they are from south western Ontario). Sue was asked to fill in and she accepted the role of acting principal. At the same time one of our colleagues took some previously scheduled personal time off to fly home to England. This person is only half time mornings and, as principal it fell to Sue to take over her classes. For most of us, the absence of those two has only meant picking up a few extra duties but for Sue, it has been a long week. She is very much enjoying the long weekend we presently have (it’s Thanksgiving here on Monday).

The second large challenge of the week we faced showed us just how addicted we can become and how serious it can be when we are without something we are so accustomed to having in our lives. This is true even if this is something that several years ago, many of us, if not all of us here, could have done without. Why we may not have even noticed its absence. When I contrast this adventure with one I took 13 years ago, picking up my family and heading off to Slovakia for the year, the difference is full-screen in-your-face. Back then we also left family, friends and financial matters behind and headed off to a far-away place. We sent cards and letters via snail mail and searched for fax machines to really communicate quickly

By now, some of you reading this may have deciphered that I speak, of course, of the internet. Although we were told it would be here when we moved in, our house is not yet on-line and surely won’t be until only a Caribbean God knows when.

We are also without a land-line phone here, but who cares? We all have cell phones, but we need our internet. We are antsy without our daily, if not hourly fixes. Dale went into the school twice yesterday to get his. I will do the same later today.

The neighbour has graciously given permission for us to use his wireless network but we both live in big cement block and plaster or stucco walled houses. Trying to find even one small bar of connectivity is a nerve racking experience. Let me close today with a mental image for you, since none of us are willing to pose for this shot. (Would you blame us? What addict would want a picture taken of him or her getting his or her fix?) Knowing how we feel this deep need to connect and knowing how difficult it can be to do so in this big house of ours, picture, if you will, the four of us, each standing with our laptops, either at a window or on a balcony, frantically pointing our machines towards the neighbour’s place, hoping upon hope that the winds or frequencies or fortune blow our way. Ah, life can be tough when you are living in the Caribbean......

Chats, Days of Mourning and Visitors

Another week has come and gone. Last Sunday, Dale and I thought we would take the day to go exploring. We took a maxi (a fifteen passenger van that is kind of a cross between a taxi and a bus, the cheap, everyday, but not Sundays, way to travel) and tried to head south. Got part way only to find out that they only go so far on Sundays so we started walking north, slowly heading towards our new home (we move in this Tuesday :0 ).

We decided to head down to the beach and follow it back home. This is an island after all. As you can see in the pictures, the beaches are beautiful and only occasionally did we, as forged northward, have to resort to either a walk in the water (kind of cooling anyway on such a beautiful day) or a path through the woods to avoid a rocky outcrop.

A brief stop along the way at a beach front restaurant for lunch taught me to avoid “jerk” pork...definitely a spicier meal than my taste buds enjoy. We were tired, slightly sore and a touch more tanned when we finally did arrive back at our present address but happy at having done the walk.

School week started and I quickly noticed I had a problem with my Grade 11’s. They are doing on-line courses from New Brunswick and along with the courses they have access to the communication tools that the other on-line students use. Some tools though can be abused and that was what they were doing with their pagers. The tool should be used to ask quick questions and get answers from your on-line teacher or classmates.

As the excerpts below show though, they were not always chatting about school topics. Btw, (which is how they would write “by the way”), if you have trouble getting the gist of the conversation below, you are surely not alone :) Bonus marks given for anyone who can give me a complete and correct translation of what follows.

r : zobiee jajaja
s : want i want to ask u sum ee..
s : u eh deh mun...?
s : woyyyyy YUTE !!! where u base oye???
r : you knw...
s : im aiight n u?
r : wats de vybz uh gyal..ask i askin u ee wah
s : vibe wit who? or with what?
r : wats de vybz??

Now Tuesday was an official day of mourning with everything on the island closed. Banners, posters and flags at half-mast covered the island. For ten days now, local television has covered nothing else but the passing of Sir John. I, on the other hand, took advantage of the day to remove the pagers from their courses.

The closure of all St. Lucian also kept my friends from Slovakia from arriving last week. They needed to get visas from the St. Lucia High Commission in London England, but even the High Commissioner and his staff far across the ocean mourned the loss of their beloved Prime Minister. My friends will arrive this Wednesday now instead of last and they will be our first visitors in the new house.

Yet, the week was not entirely without visitors as you can see in the photo here. Coast Villas is where Dale and I are presently staying and although not daily happening, a frequent sight are the local horses that come to graze in and around the local area. Driving down major thorough fares (that is almost an oxymoron when I consider that I am speaking of St. Lucian roads) we often see horses, cows, goats, chickens, etc., leisurely eating away. The local police offices even keep goats as a green alternative to lawn mowers, making sure to move them around the yard in a strategic fashion to ensure a nice even cut.

One of the teachers at our school is a retired police officer/supervisor/trainer with the London, England police force. Judith is pictured here with me with the harbour in Castries behind us.

Her husband, Paul is working here on the island as a police officer. He is part of a British team here to support and help train local police. And he is a wealth of stories. He had us in stitches telling us of the meeting they had with the locals discussing how officers should dress when they attended the state funeral. Time does not allow me to recount it here but I will gladly give a rendition if and when I cross paths with any of you and we are F2F.

Paul and Judith came by yesterday to help me find my way through Castries which I need to do when I go south to pick up Palo and Marta on Wednesday. They took me on a beautiful tour of Castries showing me not only the touristy look-offs, Government House from several different angles and a collection of fine restaurants hidden away down sometimes obscure roads, but also a amazing array of hidden gems or not-so-gemmy (if I can use that word) places that only a police officer might know of.

When they dropped me off at the end of the tour, Sue, her husband Carl, who arrived the previous day, and Dale were around and the six of us sat and talked for a while. When everyone was on his/her way away, someone mentioned an odd smell in the air. Paul, fountain of information that he is, informed us of the passing of one of those horses pictured above. He added that although the horse had passed away the night before, he had yet to be picked up some eighteen hours and one hot day later. Luckily, it had rained, off and on as it is apt to do here in the rainy season. We are saddened by the loss and we are holding yet another day of mourning but we are also hopeful for a speedy burial. And I am left wondering how my Gr. 11’s would have recounted this passing and delayed burying, had they discussed it in their chat.

Ah....such is island life in the Caribbean ;)... it is now time (no, not just now, it is always time) to go jump in the pool or the ocean. Till next week then.... and thanks to Paul, Sue and Dale for pictures this week.

Rain Forest, Zip Lines, Prayers for the Customs Officer and Driver’s Licence

Another memorable week has passed. Last Sunday we were up and out early as we headed off to a free (regular value $90US) guided tour of the rain forest. The trip there took us south and east through some small winding roads. The villages we crossed along the way were considerably less well off than are the coastal touristy areas. Bananas grow abundantly which led us to believe many of those we saw were farmers or farm workers.



The rain forest preserve was just opening as we arrived. Once suited with our gloves, harnesses and helmets it was off to our training run. The do’s and don’ts were fairly simple: lay back, relax and don’t put your hand on the wire in front of your pulley.






Since we were one of the first groups to head up the mountain in the gondolas, they thought they should explain to us why the gondola seats were all wet. Yes it was a rain forest but there was no sign of recent heavy rains, yet the seats were dripping. The guides informed us that it was necessary to power wash the slatted seats every morning because apparently the tarantulas enjoy jumping on for a little ride overnight. And when they are not riding, where do they reside, we thought to ask. We were told to keep our fingers out of any holes in the trees and the day would go well for us. Needless to say none dared try their luck nor were we disappointed to say we had seen none. Same went for the boas constrictors who apparently share the same forest with those spiders.





Confident that the seats were well washed, up the hill we headed. Our guide Marius, a very well spoken and friendly chap, was a wealth of information commenting on all we saw and answering questions on topics ranging from plant life to geology and history.




Once we had arrived at the top of the gondola ride, we hiked a short distance down the mountain to arrive at the zip lines. From a platform attached to one tree we would slide/glide attached to the wires via our harnesses and the “just-in-case-something-goes wrong” lines to the next tree. As the terrain dropped off we climbed through our successive zips to reach a height of approximately 70 feet off the forest floor. None in the group of 8 or 9 of us ever experienced any fear factor. With a guide ahead and one behind, safety was always foremost.




Eleven or twelve zip rides later it was time to head back down the mountain, again via the gondola. The ride down was more impressive it seemed since we were more aware of the flora and fauna around us. By the end of the day, we agreed it would make a very interesting, educational and enjoyable school outing so stay tuned for rain forest part 2 when we return with the students.




The week at school seemed to drag. By midweek the frustration of intermittent internet service, one or two blown computers (they don’t tolerate changes in voltage it seems) and the lack of textbooks left me searching for my wine glass in despair. Then things seemed to improve.



It started one morning at school with my grade 10 homeroom class. They asked if we could stand and spend a minute in silence in memory of the recently departed, well-loved, elderly Prime Minister, Sir John. I agreed and even managed some appropriate words prior to. At the end of this, one student asked if we couldn’t spend a short bit of time praying each morning. Quick thinking was called for on my part. After a moment’s reflection, as well as a reading of the others’ reaction to her request, (the majority were clearly in strong agreement), I suggested that I was not about to impose a specific prayer on such a ethnically, culturally and, I imagined, religiously diverse group, but I continued, I felt we could all agree to 30 seconds of prayer/meditation/reflection as per our own beliefs. They rejoiced; our prayers began.



My first prayer therefore became one of thanks for having had the uncanny good luck to fall into a beautiful way to start the day. We go from a loud, raucous homeroom period into 30 seconds of silence, where each and every one, without any pressure on my part, voluntarily spends time in silence and together we emerge from that into math class. Imagine, every day, I ask them to bow their heads and we go from noise into starting our day.



On the second day though, I had the thought... I should ask the class to pray to their God and ask Him or Her to help guide the customs officer that was holding up the school’s shipment of textbooks and personal items into making the correct judgement call. Lo and behold, why the very next day, after having sat at the dock for a month or more, the shipment that left Moncton in early July, arrived at the school. Such is the proper of prayer my students chimed in the following morning. All can rest assured, this coming week’s prayers will be directed towards improving the service we get from our local internet service provider :)



To end the week off, I went and obtained my St. Lucian driver’s licence. It required a physical, patience, watching a cricket match (India vs. Pakistan) and a bit of money but nothing over the top. I don’t understand why it came to me so crooked but as long as it works who cares.


Well I’ve written long enough for today. It has been a good way to spend some of the time I’ve had to give up today. Seems they needed someone to come into the school today, on a Saturday, to let the air-conditioning man in to do some repairs/improvements. He’d be here only an hour or so they said. Been here since 8 this morning, it’s four now and he has about another hour before he calls it a day, but hey, life in the Caribbean never moves too fast they keep reminding me :).

Have a good week one and all.

First Week of School

The island of St. Lucia is very beautiful from the little of what I have seen to date. I have only had a chance to see the top northern corner and am looking forward to exploring more and more of the island as time passes.

The people are quite friendly for the large, large majority, from the street vendors, to the homeless, to the many well-to-do people who are behind the school. The school has an enormous amount of backing and so we end up with favours or evenings and do's here and there.


And tomorrow, continuing on in this vein, we, the new teachers on the island, are off to ride a gondola to the top of the rain forest canopy, approximately equal to being on the sixth or seventh floor of a building except we will be on an open platform. Once on the platform we are tied into a harness which allows us to follow the zip lines from one tree to the next. There are guides to help explain what we see along the way. We will see if those of us that are leery of heights find the day exhilarating. Stay tuned for stories and pictures since ideas for the next blog entry should be easy to find after a day like that.

To return to the locals, many are bilingual. Amongst themselves they speak a Creole patois that lets a recognizable French word sneak in every now, but for the most part, it is quite difficult to pick up the gist of their conversations. When they need to communicate with us, they effortlessly slip into a beautiful-sounding, Caribbean-lilted English.

As for our work load at the school, we teach four one-hour and a bit classes per day (it must be the Caribbean influence....none of the classes seem to be exactly the same length :-) ) The classes are small so far, 14 or 15 in mine, with a guaranteed max of 20 so even if they do grow, they won't grow much. The day starts at 7:45 and finishes at 2:30 but we are encouraged to participate in extra-curricular activities after school which means we finish somewhere around 3:30.


To date I have found the classes to be a delightful mix of students from many varied ethnic backgrounds. Although at times difficult to understand on the first go, (I just pretend I am old and have trouble hearing) and although we are all speaking English, the collection of accents and varied vocabulary is almost musical, especially for someone like myself who enjoys hearing other languages spoken.



A hot lunch is provided and my schedule and duty see me arriving as one of the last to eat lunch. On the first day, our principal June had to intercede on my behalf, since there was little left to eat by the time I got there. Not wanting this to occur on a regular basis I made sure on the second day to introduce myself to our cook. I explained to her how not only would I always be last, but also how I would also be very hungry. I asked her if she could make sure she put some aside for me. The rest of the week has gone extremely well. So well in fact, Dale, who is one of the first to eat, is left wondering how his portions are turning out to be considerably less than mine. He gets one drumstick, I get two. He gets a serving of rice, I get a mountain. He gets three pieces of pizza, I get five. I am loving it :-). There is something to be said for those who are last will be rewarded.

All in all, life is good in spite of the fact that the school’s textbooks and our personal items, that were shipped in early July and that have been on the island for a month, have yet to find their way through all of the custom officers’ paperwork. One must be creative when creating lesson plans without access to texts, curriculum documents and, for those of us doing math, calculators. Ah the joys of island life :-)

Thanks to Sue for the pictures.

Found a place

Well, it has been almost a week since I flew south to begin this adventure. I started it off by ignoring the stress of getting to the airport much later than my darling Denise would have liked. What does it matter if I was the second last person to board and they closed the doors immediately behind us? I watched the kids' movie "The Last Minsky" as we flew south from Newark even though I wouldn't have had I been at home. I smiled when I saw the pilot in San Juan tug on the propellers and kick the tires to make sure all was okay before he boarded to fly us to St. Lucia. And then here I was, under the palms and in the heat of the Caribbean.

The first week has been one in which my colleagues from New Brunswick, Dale and Sue, and I have spent much of our time getting settled in. The place I had waiting for me, is comfortable even if it is not well set up for someone who needs to work. I had believed before arriving that it had wireless internet, yet discovered that not to be the case so the search for cables to plug in was on. Found some that the three of us could share. Then we searched for electrical plugs and found them on the opposite side of the room than are the work tables. We now work on our laps, our beds or hunched over at a coffee table :)

I also had to get used to the clock radio alarms here. We have three Caribbean ones here in the place. I say Caribbean since they all work but all have their own leisurely pace at which they advance. After setting them several times my first day here (I had trouble believing I had been that tired as to have set them all wrong and all at different times), I have since given up. I note the time I go to sleep on the clock beside my bed, wake up and take the time I see, subtract the time at which the clock told me I was going to sleep and then add on a few hours for what it has lost overnight. It usually gives me a good estimate of how long I have slept. At other times through the day I simply ignore these clocks.

Setting up bank accounts (why do they have to freeze those funds for close a week before we can get access them??), buying groceries (the grocery store is on the ground floor whereas the school is on the second floor which makes for convenient shopping), meeting the others with whom we will be teaching and working this year, and waiting for items shipped to arrive (suitcases that didn't arrive when we did and texts and personal items that were sent on a ship in early July still haven't cleared customs and their endless paperwork), these are the ways in which we've spent much of our first week. I say much since there was also a search for suitable accommodations for the year that ate up a great deal of time.

The question of how close the school, the beach and the main road should we be was hotly discussed. As the three of us wandered searching for places, we came to realise that we could get a much nicer place for about the same price as we would pay individually, if we decided to rent a large place as a group of three couples. Now the search became one in which we needed to find a place large enough that we would not be constantly tripping over one another, one which would allow for us to work comfortably at home, one which would accommodate our spouses when they fly down to join us and have room for the company we eagerly await to visit us. Of course, the place also needed to have a pool since cooling off is something we need to do several times through the day. Finally, after four days and 20 some places viewed, we finally found a place that we think will work. It is a bit more money than we wanted to pay but we think it will be worth the extra cost.

I've included a picture to give you an idea of what we've found and what we see out the window. I will try and throw a few more pictues in later. Well that's all for today.