St. Lucia Service Trip

As I mentioned in my initial reflections, this was my first time traveling outside of the United States and because of this trip, I am finding it more and more difficult to be at home.  In St. Lucia, everything was just….closer, and I mean more by that term than just proximity (although that was an important part of my experience on the island).  I mean that the people were so down to earth and willing to help.  I mean that I built relationships with people that I probably would not have had under normal circumstances.  I mean that I grew to love St. Lucia in 17 days and I wish that I could be there now.

Not only did I have a great time with my friends, enjoying the day and nightlife of the northern tip of the island, I also enjoyed working with the RC Boys’ School and the people from Anse La Raye.  The facilities at the Boys’ School broke my heart a bit, but it seemed to me that the boys were not even bothered; they were just happy to be.  Their reactions to our cameras were priceless and it seems that they are both models and photographers because they are just as enthusiastic about being in front of the camera as behind it.  I really do hope that they are able to use the things we worked on with them and I hope that they will remember us because I know that I will never forget this experience.

The only thing that I regret about the trip is the fact that I did not assert myself more.  It was great as it was, but I feel that had I put myself out there more with the people we worked with, I would have even better memories of the trip.

Something very interesting occurred today during our time at the RC Boys’ School.  Joe and Brandon put together a powerpoint on compound words and before the presentation all of the teachers present introduced themselves and we introduced ourselves to them.  All of us used sophomore, junior, senior to express our college year, but it turned out that that was particularly confusing to many of the teachers.  They asked us about it and it turned out that they were confused because they use those terms for years of high school, if I am not much mistaken.  It was a very interesting instance of the language barrier problem, although it was simply solved when they asked about it. 

While I am not exactly sure why, it was surprising that those little boys caught on so quickly to those compound words.  I have figured out that there are some students who rather fall through the cracks either by letting those like to read do the reading or by reading things that they have essentially memorized.  I also noticed that a lot of them are definitely good at repeating things, which does not necessarily mean that they know what it is that they are saying.  One of the smallest boys in the class, one of two Stephans, is an avid reader and a very energetic little person.  I remember discussing in sociology class the effect birth order has on children’s behavior and need to stand out.  In this case, I think it can be applied to his size and his need to be seen in other ways.

I was rather unhappy about Anse La Rey today because of the fact that we started painting today….on dirty walls.  We just started cleaning yesterday, which likely means that the paint job will not last particularly long because we did not prep the walls correctly.  All of that aside, it has started to look better.  Some of the people who were our age or so helped with the painting, but we did not allow the children to paint, which I saw as rather counter to what our purpose is here: to do things with, not for, people.    

As far as the Word Jam preparations are going, we already have two pieces in the offing: the group piece (written by Kesia), and a piece by Kim.  We got a few new girls in our group, two of whom want to do a song and they were putting one together that sounded pretty good and then some suggestions were made that were not quite suggestions.  I am not at all sure how that is going to turn out, but I think it will be okay; it does not have to be perfect, it just has to be by them as far as I’m concerned.  When we were running each group across the stage, we picked up another group member somehow, but hopefully everything will work out.

The thing I am most excited about with regards to this trip is the opportunity to get outside of the United States and see some ocean water that is actually blue.  Of course I am interested in helping the children that we will be working with and having a rewarding experience, but there are other aspects of this trip that I am anxious to experience, like Caribbean cuisine, for one thing in addition to the spirit of the St. Lucian people. 

I can really appreciate the fact that we are supporting the local economy by staying in a locally owned villa, which is something I probably would not have though about before our classes this week.  I am still having a bit of trouble believing that this is actually happening and even when I get there, I am sure to be in awe for at least a couple of days. 

I KNOW that this trip is going to be amazing.

-Foluke B.