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"Magic is seeing the precious in the mundane, the wild in the silence, the colors with no name" - Nausicaa Twila

 It is a Sunday morning and I'm sitting at my kitchen table writing this blog, listening to an amazing Americana playlist (thank you George!) while doing laundry--and I am feeling so blissful and contented.  I moved into my home yesterday after another week of transitions.  The week in recap...

We finished our training days early in the week.  Wednesday we had our assessments--Commitment to Service, Readiness to Serve, and Kwèyol.  I did well on all!  I am particularly proud of myself for how far I've come with my Kwèyol.  I still have a long way to go, but I'll get practice in my home community--it's even spoken at the school, which we had been told was something that didn't really happen.  

I became a Peace Corps Volunteer!!!!!!  We got sworn in on Thursday and then took the Peace Corps Pledge during the official ceremony on Friday.  The top picture is from Thursday after we took our oath--everyone is beaming!  The bottom photo is during the official ceremony where Peace Corps gave a well-deserved thank you to our host families--right next to me is my PC mom Joania followed by the Country Director Anna Todorova, and our Program Manager Sharmon Jules.  


Then it came time for another round of good-byes.  This time is a little bit different since we will still be on the same island, but given that I've been with these folks pretty much everyday for the last 9 weeks and we have gone through some STUFF together, it was bittersweet.  My PC mom not only gave me a home, but she has taught me so much about life here.  I will forever be grateful for having her walk this part of the journey with me.  

Finally, my new home!!  After saying goodbye at the training center we got loaded into buses to make the trip to our homes.  We made a stop at the grocery store where I spent more money on groceries than I ever have before--part of that is due to the conversion rate, but also things like vegetables and meat are crazy expensive here.  But I have been craving a big salad and so I treated myself to a head of romaine lettuce ($13) and the tiniest little crown of broccoli ($8; broccoli is $20/lb).  Got to my house and was greeted by my landlady and 2 of the children who live next door.  They helped me unpack groceries and then we hung out on my balcony for a little while.  A little while later one of the teachers from the school stopped by and stayed for a balcony chat.  And then my principal came by for a while.  There is a shop (they sell a few snacks and men play dominoes there) across the road and they informed the principal that I was doing ok and that I was relaxing.  In other words--they were keeping an eye on me!  So that is the very warm welcome you receive when you moving into a home in St. Lucia.  They made me feel very welcome.  I made dinner for myself for the 1st time in 2 months and it felt so good to be cooking again.  I had an excellent night of sleep and now I'm doing the mundane and loving every minute of it.  

I made this short video not long after I arrived--please ignore the moving in mess!!!  





Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 6, 2023 at 4:04 PM

    So excited for you. Bigger place than you had in Seattle. Take care. You go girl. Love, Marie

    ReplyDelete

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