Whirlwind

Whirlwind: noun

a column of air moving rapidly around and around in a cylindrical or funnel shape.

• used in similes and metaphors to describe a very energetic or tumultuous person or process: a whirlwind of activity [as adj.]: a whirlwind romance.

That is the only word to describe the month of December and the culmination of the year.

December was so packed full of events, celebrations, food, drink, and fun. I didn’t spend much time at home, let alone to sit down are write a blog post.

I will give you the cliff notes version of December, which included the end of the school term, Nine Mornings, Christmas, Boxing Day and Old Years.

School ended about mid December with a Christmas Concert with performances by none other than CP Hall, the MOE officer and Calypso Monarch, just in time for Nine Mornings Celebrations to start.

Nine mornings is a fun street festival the nine mornings leading up to Christmas Day.  There are different activities, concerts, performances, contests, etc. starting at 4am and ending around the start of the workday.

The immediate days leading up to Christmas were quite busy touring the island in a rented car! We went to Fort Charlotte, the Botanical Gardens, Rawacou Salt Pond, Owia Salt Pond, Fancy, Georgetown, Mt Wynne, and everywhere in between.  We literally went from one end of the island to the other and back a few times. How amazing having a car and the freedom and independence that comes with it is! Christmas and Boxing Day were spent eating tons of ham, yes ham, pork, chicken, turkey, lobster, you name it, I probably ate it. And drinking lots of drinks.  After all, that’s what Christmas is about in SVG; family, food, fun and drinks. Can’t forget the drinks.

Next up was Old Years, which I spent in Bequia. Another whirlwind day/night.  We took the ferry down in the morning, relaxed on the beach all after noon, partied all night, took a half hour nap on the beach, and caught the ferry back to the mainland.

Sure it may not sound so whirlwind-esq, but let me tell you, it was :-)

Pics can be found here!

And just as December was a whirlwind, so too was the entire 2012 year. Alot of ups and alot of downs. Here is a picture montage of highlights from the year:

Valaries Peace Corps Newsletter #5