Cayon

I arrived in St. Kitts Monday afternoon. We left super early from the retreat center, and as is custom with Caribbean airlines, LIAT's flight was delayed. And then our layover in Antigua was extended. My host mother came to get me from the PC office in Basseterre. She's a very outgoing woman who loves to blast music on in the car and throughout the house =) She has an 18 year old daughter (my host sister) who is in her second year at college, and wants to study business.

The kitchen, where I plan on cooking and baking with my host mother =) And thankfully she likes both! 

The back porch with a tree that grows breadfruit which I have yet to try. 

My host mother has been awesome. She took me around town my first day and showed me which store to get meat from, where to get everyday house stuff, where to get fresh produce, the bank, where to catch the bus, etc. She takes me in for training in the morning on her way to work and on the way back I catch the bus. Which I did all on my own today =) It's actually a really fun experience! I've learnt that the license plates starting with P and in black are personal vehicles. The ones in yellow/orange starting with T are taxis. And the one's in green starting with H are cabs. And when you want to get off at a certain stop you say 'Stay here'. 


On a side note: banks are the most aggravating institutions ever. Trying to open an account here has been the most frustrating experience ever, and mainly because of my bank back home, not the one here! It really shouldn't be this difficult to get a simple reference letter. Arainrianain. 

A short walk from our training center and this is the view we're greeted by =) It's impossible to wake up upset when you have a gorgeous view of the Atlantic ocean (that's the side I'm on) 

Some of our group in Independence square after a day of errands in Basseterre. 

David standing by the bamboo in Independence square. Him and Ingrid are the cutest and sweetest couple I have ever met. 

Close up of  the federation of St. Christopher and Nevis from the old French map in the museum.

Some artwork displaying Kittitian culture.

Yesterday, my host mother's sister came over with her kids. She has a baby boy, and two daughters, six and nine years old. Their reactions to me were beyond adorable. Their mouths dropped open as they said 'wow, she be white'. The elder daughter talked to me from the get go, telling me all about how athletic she is and what sports she plays and how she loves math and Hannah Montana along with the rest of the Disney channel. When the six year old got over her shock, she came and started petting my hair. Now anyone that knows me knows that I LOVE having my hair played with. So it was a match made in heaven. She couldn't get over how soft and straight my hair was and when we found out that we both share a fondness for the Alvin and the Chipmunks cartoon, and made plans to make their favorite cake (chocolate unfortunately) after church on Sunday, she hugged me and said 'I ain't never gonna let you go, you be the best girl I know'. The baby boy was adorable too, with his cute round face. He fell asleep while I was holding him. I think he might have started drooling. 

Afterwards, my host mother took me and one of her other niece's who's visiting around the country. We visit two of her friends. Her friend couldn't stop smiling at 'de white girl'. It was my first real interaction with how the concept of personal space is very different here. He shook my hand (which he didn't let go of for quite a while), pat my back and then was like 'eh come here' and hugged me. I wasn't sure how to react. I realize that he meant no offense and people are just very used to a lot of physical contact here. But in my culture, women and men have very limited physical contact. Since he was a sweet older man, it didn't make me too uncomfortable so I just smiled. When he introduced me to his 23 year old son though, I made sure to maintain my distance and just waved hello. He guessed I was 12, his son said I was 16, and his wife guessed 18.

Walking in the street on my way to and from the bus, everyone has been beyond nice. It is customary to greet everyone absolutely everywhere. I've noticed a lot of people respond by shaking their heads and saying 'ok, ok' or 'you alright?'. The men also seem a lot friendlier than the women. They also like calling us darling and similar names. I know people in the neighborhood are curious about who I am. If I don't end up going to my worksite tomorrow, I think I'd like to go meet some of the neighbors in the area. And I'll go introduce myself at the police station. It's apparently a good idea to become friends with the police, bus driver's, people at the post office, etc. I also got some advice from the volunteer who just left Cayon (my town) regarding places to meet people, and people who will introduce me to the community. 

This post is getting long, but I really want to add how amazing this whole experience has been so far. First off, the amazing people that I am serving with here. I truly feel blessed to have the fortune to be serving with the group I'm in. If it weren't for the PC I don't know how we would all have come together. And also, I feel like I'm actually doing what I want to be doing. It's been one day at a time so far, but I absolutely love everything about this so far. I know a lot is going to change in the next two years, but in the short time I've been here so far, my respect for the Peace Corps and what it stands for has increased and I know that it's an organization I would love to stay with. So even though they have a 5 year limit on being a staff member, I'm pretty sure I want to try and work with them after my 2 years is up.