Week Summary

On Thursday I woke up early because I was supposed to have four different appointments. Two of them ended up being canceled/postponed. It’s something I am going to have to learn to deal with, the spontaneity in schedules here. That afternoon, I had the opportunity to meet with the program director of the World Diabetes Foundation. I don’t know how but I somehow manage to get thrown into diabetes related organizations, even though it has never been my goal to work with them or try and help other diabetics. I have always felt like other conditions and hardships deserve more attention because of the fact that I am a diabetic, and think it is one of the easier things to manage. But maybe that is why I am thrown into these situations. To help myself come to terms with the reality of the hardships that comes along with my diagnosis. To come to terms with what I have gone and continue to go through as a Diabetic.

That evening I went to my first SOS event. They had planned a social Bingo night, which was pretty successful in my opinion. I made some new friends and met new people. I feel really lucky because I get the opportunity to meet and work with people my own age. My actual work assignment goes hand in hand with integration; unlike my fellow NGO developers and youth developers who are either working with younger children or older adults. So far the people I have met through SOS are really easy to get along with, and I look forward to working with them for the next two years =)

Friday after training we all met up with some of the EC 78 group at a local restaurant/bar. I had been craving French fries, so me and Julie-Ann shared a plate. I stayed till around 7.00pm. I got a chance to talk to Geoff for quite a while about a whole bunch of things. He’s a really really nice guy. And when Kim told me that she and Geoff had some baking materials including a hand mixer I could have kissed her. A mixer is one of the things I was ready to have Sophie ship over to me because of how expensive they are over here. But one of the volunteers who finished her service this summer left a lot of her stuff and Kim and Geoff are being generous enough to give some of it to me. Needless to say, they are both getting the best birthday cakes ever!

I know I mentioned this before, but I love the group of people I am here with. This group now includes the people from EC 78, and is growing to include the people from SOS and other community members I am getting to know. I can already see myself being really sad having to leave St. Kitts…

Saturday we went to Brimstone Hill. It is absolutely beautiful up there. Definitely one of the places I will be taking my family and friends when they come to visit (note I said WHEN not IF, hint hint). There are supposed to be a lot of monkeys in the area, but the only one I saw was the dead stuffed one on display. Ironically I happened to be the first one to walk into that room and let out a little squeal. It was not cute.


Side note, I have Will and Julie Ann started on the ‘YOU’RE’ come backs!!! They are going to hate me for it at the end of these two years, mwahaha. But it’s SO entertaining. For those of you who don’t know me, I have a habit of saying ‘YOU’RE ____’ as comebacks, regardless of whether it is appropriate or not. For example, if you said ‘Something smells bad’ I would reply with “YOU smell bad”. Or ‘That’s not appropriate’ I’d say ‘YOU’RE not appropriate’. Sometimes it comes out really wrong because I don’t normally think before using these responses. Only recently have I started using them around my fellow trainees because I’ve reached that comfort level with them. My true colors are coming out as they discover my random quirks. Will hasn’t fully caught on, he just throws in the YOU wherever he can, but he’s getting there.


Saturday evening, it took me an hour to get to Will’s host house. I left the house at 7 pm and didn’t arrive till 8. And mind you originally I was told the party begins at 6. Then I was updated that it probably wouldn’t start till 7.30ish. Kittitian timing is just like desi standard time, so I’ll be just fine. So I didn’t actually catch a bus going towards Saddlers till after 7.30. Now anyone that knows me knows how much I HATE waiting. That’s one thing that has surprised me about myself. I have way more patience than I ever thought I had. I don’t feel like I have to be in a rush to get anywhere anymore. Probably because nobody else cares. I can see this being a problem when I readjust to the way things work in the states. It was also my first time taking the bus at night, and my first time sitting up front. There are some unspoken rules of riding the bus here, that I am still learning. If a girl sits up front, the other guy sitting in the passenger seat gets out and lets her sit in the middle. Personally I would prefer to sit on the side by the window in the passenger seat, but for some reason it’s like a sign of respect for a woman to be shielded by the two men instead of on her own or something. So this was my first time riding up front instead of in the back. And then I had never actually ridden to Saddlers before. And I had never been to will’s. so I kept asking where we were, and the bus driver was VERY nice and accommodating. I got dropped off right in front of his house. I met some of his host family’s friends, and had his host sister ask me a lot of questions and share a lot about her musical tastes and sports preferences. Very sweet teenage girl. I also got to try some sandwiches that will made (Diane you will be proud, your son is learning!) and some goat water which is a soup with chunks of goat, vegetables and huge dumplings that I had great difficulty getting down. Will also made me try some ginger beer (don’t worry Mambu, it’s non-alcoholic), but I’m not a fan. I also don’t like the local malt drinks here either. But I absolutely LOVE the passion fruit juice. We told each other a bunch of riddles and jokes and had a good time. Then one of Will’s host mom’s friends dropped me home. It was a good weekend.

Sunday was the first day I got to sleep in this entire month. It was awesome.