Christmastime in St. Vincent

        Although it was weird to celebrate Christmas without 10F degree weather and snow (and my family and friends, of course), I had one of the absolute best Christmas’s in recent memory.  Before I detail my happenings on Christmas day let me rewind to the weeks leading up to Christmas, because those are just as important as Christmas day itself.

First, the school schedule in SVG follows a similar schedule as colleges in the States.  The first term ends in mid December after 2 weeks of final exams. About this time many villages have annual Light Up celebrations.  A lot of villages hang up tons of Christmas lights and decorations in the village center. About two weeks before Christmas they are Lit Up accompanied by a full street party with caroling, dancing, music, competitions and contests, and general family fun. The Christmas season officially commences with the village Light Up.  Shortly after all the villages have their Light Ups, the Nine Mornings Festival begins. For the 9 days leading up to Christmas day there are fetes, street concerts, caroling, music, steel pan, singing, competitions, beach limes, contests, and games beginning at 4am until dawn in many of the villages and in Town.  This festival is unique to St. Vincent and is akin to Carnival in many ways. My village held its own Nine Mornings Festival, and although I did not attend, the loud music, still going strong, woke me up every morning around 730am.

Lets jump now to 4 days before Christmas. I was spending Christmas by my next-door neighbor.  We had devised a menu and planned everything out. I spent the 3 days leading up to Christmas Eve in town, trying to run errands and buy food and supplies needed for Christmas. Town was totally chaotic with people such as myself doing last minute Christmas shopping.  The markets were totally insane, as food is a big part of Vincentian culture, not just as Christmas time. I had absolutely no food to cook in my house let alone stuff I needed to bake cookies for all my neighbors and food needed for Christmas lunch. The next day I spent liming in Town with my neighbor’s daughter and her friend. We got lunch, shopped, and limed. It was nice to go to Town and not be on a mission to get a zillion things done.  For once I walked around and actually took in all that was going on around me, rather than just running around like a typical New Yorker.  However, since my neighbor and I spent too much time liming, we didn’t have time to pick up the rest of the groceries needed for Christmas lunch.  That meant the next day we had to go back to Town to get food for Christmas Day Lunch.  This was an interesting trip to Town, as we got a ride with our other next-door neighbor. 

After coming home and preparing some of the food (cleaning the fish-descaling it, gutting it, and chopping it up), cleaning up a bit, and taking a nap, my neighbor’s daughter and I went to a Concert in the evening.  It was free with the donation of 3 cans of food and it was known as CanFest.  It was basically Carnival all over again.  Unfortunately my camera mash up, so I don’t have any pictures L.  Well, CanFest started at 9pmish.  Shortly after it started my host sister txted me to remind me about going to Nine Mornings on Christmas Eve and that she would pick me up at 330am.  Confusing the days because of the time, I thought we were going on Sunday morning, which would have actually been Christmas day.  This meant I would have to meet here in town, as there was no way to get home before 330am.  My neighbor’s daughter and I left CanFest around 230am and walked around Town and got some food at KFC (well she did, not me), of course it was open.  We hung out until 4am when my host sister came for Nine Mornings.  Needless to say I was exhausted, not expecting to be out until 8am the following day!  I spent all of Christmas Eve sleeping.  I think I woke up around 7pm to bake some cookies and brownies for Christmas lunch and then went back to sleep.

Christmas day finally arrived and we set up the dining table with my neighbor’s fine china, and I brought over the Christmas Tree my mom sent me.  IT was just lovely. My neighbor’s daughter and I spent the morning cooking and hanging out. On our menu: macaroni pie, potato salad, regular salad, fried fish, BBQ chicken, BBQ pork, callaloo soup, ground provisions, ginger beer, sorrel juice, beer, wine.  It was a splendid day filled with tons of food and love.

            St. Vincent also celebrates Boxing Day.  Although I’m still not entirely sure of the true purpose of Boxing Day, it is celebrated in SVG by going to all your friends, family, and neighbors to visit, eat and drink. I spent Boxing Day by my Landlord and his family having lunch.  I have eaten more food in those two days that the whole week prior combined.  More fish, lobster salad, potato salad, macaroni pie, salad, stew peas, beer.  My landlord has a son and a grandson who was visiting from Trinidad around my age so it was a lot of fun to hang out with people close to my age.  After lunch, I went by another neighbors for a beer, and then afterwards went to a salt pond for a sea bath with my Landlord’s son and grandson.  The season’s festivities did not end after Boxing Day.

            The following day I spent with the school counselor and her family.  Again I was fed and given drinks.  We had a great time and I was very thankful to be included in her family’s celebrations. 

            In addition to spending time with new family and friends and sharing in their traditions, my Christmas from home has yet to end.  I am still receiving Christmas cards and Christmas/birthday packages.

            I hope everyone felt even a fraction of the joy and happiness I felt this Christmas season.  No offense mom, but I was so busy and surrounded by so many great people filled with love I didn’t even miss home!

Quarter of a Century

Sounds old, doesnt it?
I found this and thought it pretty fitting:
Some say with age that our purpose becomes clear, I see the opposite happening here.
Maybe one day I'll figure it out, but until then I'm just going to enjoy this roller coaster that is Peace Corps life.

Its Beginning To Look...

....A Little Bit Like Christmas....

Note: it may be beneficial to read A Time of Thanks and Giving, to gain a better understanding of the Pelletier Family Holiday Traditions that will be alluded to in this post.

Thanks MOM for sending me Christmas via the USPS. Included in Christmas In A Box was my very own Christmas tree, complete with lights and ornaments!  What good timing you have, because I was just devising a plan to make a Christmas tree from a cardboard box, some paint and other random household items that I have begun to hoard. Luckily now I don’t have to try to put together a pathetic tree from recycled materials (although upcycling is one of my favorite hobbies), or bring in a banana frond from my backyard in a pitiful attempt to recreate a “traditional” Christmas tree.

For me, Christmas would not be Christmas without my stocking…You [mom] know me too well.  The stocking is the best part about Christmas [presents].  I don’t really know why, since its usually only filled with toothbrushes, deodorant, body wash (what are you trying to tell me?), candy and some other random stuff.  But alas, my stocking was even included in the Christmas In A Box. 

As soon as I got home from town from picking up my package, I put Christmas music on and put “up” my tree.  I put the decorations on and seeing as I had no one here to help me, I put the lights on all by myself.  Thankfully it wasn’t too difficult, as the tree is only a foot tall.  Too bad I didn’t have any Christmas cookies, and no eggs to make eggnog; though even if I did I’m not sure if I would want to drink the raw eggs here.

It is beginning to feel a little bit more like Christmas.  Though, there’s a significant part of the equation missing.  Family. 

Christmas Came Early

A BIG BIG BIG Thank You to Andrea De Vries and the International Alliance for Child Literacy!

Thanks to the IACL for donating 300lbs of books to EHSM this holiday season!

A Time of Thanks and Giving

     As quickly approaches, and as everyone updates their status to outline their Thanksgiving holiday plans, I cannot help but feel longing and sadness.  It feels like so long ago that I was pulling all-nighters finishing the second set of midterms and preparing to take the train 5 hours north along the Hudson (How, I miss that time on the train!), back to Troy. It always marked the first time home since the start of the school year and that random trip home during the summer over co-op (crazy Drexel schedule). It was the light at the end of the “grueling Fall Term tunnel”. Thanksgiving meant falling leaves, chilly weather, the sweet smells of home, leftovers, love, relaxation and rejuvenation before finals in two weeks.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, much more so than Christmas. Thanksgiving was like a haven in the midst of the chaos of exams, endless calculations, never-ending experiments, and responsibility.  Whenever I returned home I could revert back to my pre-semi-adult ways of spending the day in my pajamas, eating a home cooked breakfast and if I could get away with it, not doing my own dishes. (In retrospect, the responsibilities of college life are hardly the real thing.) 

Even as my brothers and I grew older and grew apart in distance, it was the one holiday that we all still celebrated together.  As my brothers moved away, Christmas became less of a family tradition and more of a hit or miss holiday. Even towards the end of high school, when my middle brother was still in college and my oldest brother was recently out of college, moved out, grown up, the magic of Christmas was lost.  No one woke up early on Christmas morning, if they were even home at all.  It soon became like any other day, but with presents (most of which I already knew of, because I picked them out).  Tree decorating even seemed to become a chore.  My dad lost interest; so cutting down the tree was left to my mom and me in recent years (although we did have many good times trying to cut down 8ft trees by ourselves, and stuffing it in the car).  I can remember following my dad, trekking through the snow, knee deep, and still falling, in search of the perfect tree. In recent years there have been times when we didn’t get a tree until 2 days before Christmas Eve. I long for those times! Decorating used to be a family affair; with my dad putting on the lights, and my mom, me and brothers putting on the ornaments while eating fresh baked sugar cookies shaped like Santa, Rudolph, trees, and angels, while we sipped my dad’s infamous Eggnog, and the soft sounds of Christmas music playing in the background. 

            Thanksgiving still held onto its magic. Nothing had changed in the 24 years of my existence.  I think there was only one year when things took a turn for the worst.  My oldest brother, and now wife, said they could not make it.  My mom and I were devastated.  This would have been the first year that not all of us would be together.  Yet, as we sat down to eat turkey, my moms amazing mashed potatoes, cranberry apple stuffing, sweet potato deliciousness, etc., my brother and his wife walked in, much to everyone’s surprise.  What a relief that was, and a cruel joke! In the end, all was well.

            I knew when I applied for the Peace Corps back in 2009 that I would miss important events-weddings, holidays, etc.  but when that dream seemed so far away, so intangible, it didn’t really matter that I might potentially be missing out.  Now that it is here, it kind of sucks.  I think what makes it worse, is that not only am I not able to make it home for Thanksgiving this year, neither of my brothers will be able to make it either.  This marks the first time in over 30 years that my mom will not be cooking Thanksgiving dinner.  After so much work over the years, she’s probably a little relieved, but I know deep down that it breaks her heart too.  In a matter of a short year, she went from having a full house on this momentous (who knew that monumentous isn’t a word?) holiday to no one.  Of course she still has my grandparents and my uncle, but it’s “not the same without my kids.” They even contemplated going out to eat instead.  Oh the blasphemy!

            I am sad to be spending this Thanksgiving just like any other day of the year. I long to be 7 years old again when everything was easy as my mom’s/Mary’s apple pie.

            In the spirit of a Pelletier Thanksgiving I will try to spread that warmth and love. At a time of thanks and giving: Thanks for being amazing Mom, Dad, Justin and Carmen, Coty, Gram and Pop, lastly, but far from least, Uncle Dave; I cant and wont even attempt to make my mom’s/Mary’s apple pie, instead I’m thinking of giving my neighbors some home made pumpkin muffins.

Violate Your Expectations

In high school I had a teacher whose class I did not attend much.  However, when I did occasionally show up (often late, as it was first period of senior year), I could frequently hear her saying her famous motto.  Violate your expectations.  She taught English.  Oh the irony!

Although she did not touch my life in a profound way in terms of English, a love for Shakespeare, or whatever else it is that she taught us, I did come away with a very significant life lesson.  Constantly challenge yourself, your beliefs, your expectations.

I guess there are two points to this post, now that I think of it. 

The first (and unintended) point is that even if you aren’t changing lives the way you had hoped to, change is happening.  It may not be sudden and is probably very subtle. She may not have cultivated me into a literary genius (HA!), but she did give me a new perspective on life (which, in my opinion, may actually be more significant.)

I can hardly begin to count the times where I have uttered that same motto. Yet, I have never quoted Shakespeare.  She probably didn’t think that her motto was what was going to make a lasting impression in my mind. But, I guess if you hear things enough you learn by osmosis.  This is my new outlook for working with students in SVG.  I’ve realized I’m probably not going to change these students’ lives by teaching them to read (teaching someone to read is a lot more difficult than I thought. It also requires more than just simply knowing how to read yourself), or helping them to improve their reading/writing/comprehension skills through one hour a week sessions for approximately two years.  Some of these students need much more than that. But hopefully by repeatedly telling these students that they have potential and that they can do it, they will believe in themselves.  Maybe if I continually tell them that they are valued, appreciated, and their opinion matters, they will be confident and assertive.  Perhaps if I show them that I care and love them then they will show that same compassion and respect to others.  

The second point, and the one that I had originally deduced from revisiting that motto is that, every day I am constantly violating my expectations.  My entire idea of what the “Peace Corps experience” would be like has been shattered.  It was shattered before I even left the States, in fact. Everyday I am being challenged in what I believe in, what I expect of myself, what I expect of others.  And everyday I am violating those expectations.  Some are for the positive, and benefit everyone; and others are terribly troubling to me.  Either way, it is important to constantly be asking questions, challenging yourself in any and every way possible.

I will continue to try (I only say “try” because it is as difficult for me to teach reading as it is for them to learn it probably) to teach these wonderfully bright students how to read. All the while, chirping in their ears about goals, ambitions, potential, compassion, respect, the significance of preserving/conserving our environment!, and other important life lessons.

Forgive Me Mother Nature

Dear Mother Nature,

I know that I am always talking about sustainability, the preservation and conservation (do they mean the same thing?) of your precious resources, your beautiful landscapes, the rich diversity that this planet offers and of the harmful effects of pollution, etc.  I have a confession.  Please forgive me.  It is not sustainable nor responsible of me to take two showers a day, everyday.  But sometimes it is just necessary, honestly.  But what really makes me concerned, is not so much the water consumption, albeit exorbitant (a subjective word and probably really not that much water in comparison to other people.  I bet my two showers a day don’t add up to the amount of water you use for your one HOT shower a day). Anyways.  What really concerns me is that the drain to my shower just deposits right into my backyard.  So all my chemical-laden shampoo, conditioner and body wash just goes right into the backyard, into the ground, and subsequently my vegetable garden, and ultimately the water supply.  This is true for nearly every house in SVG.  What kind of effects is this having on the environment?  Could this be the reason for increasing prevalence of cancer and other diseases that are so prevalent nowadays? This really “vexes” me.  I think its time I invest in some biodegradable, eco friendly beauty products.  (I’ll also be taking donationsJ ).

So, please Mother Nature, forgive me for treating you so badly, so recklessly, and for being a hypocrite.

                                                      With the Utmost Respect,

Valarie Pelletier

PS: Its hard to believe that my backyard actually looks like this, despite all the chemicals I am polluting it with, not to mention god knows what else thats accumulating as a result of the runoff that gets deposited in my yard from neighbors up the hill from me.

This picture is literally taken from my bedroom window.