Natuuuuure... Goulet

Well then, I have finally made it to St. Kitts and have been here for exactly one week. It has been quite busy since my arrival, but I have been getting along pretty well since I've landed. My host family is fantastic and has been keeping me well-fed with the local cuisine. Some of the foods I have had include potfish, saltfish, dasheen, breadfruit, plantains, green banana, starfruit, guava, and plenty of chicken. A note on the potfish: this is usually fried with the head and eyes still attached, so I have never experienced a staring contest between myself and my food until now. It is delicious once you get passed the guilt trip the fish lays on you. My mom's name is Armel and I think knows everyone on the island. She is very friendly and does my laundry even when I insist I do it. Her husband is Heston, and he works on the sightseeing train that uses the old sugarcane tracks. He is very talkative and loves to go on walks and hikes. I'm hoping he'll take me up Mt. Liamiagua (which we live right under) and down to Black Rocks one of these days. They have a 13-year old daughter who attends the same school that I will be attached to for at least the next 6 months, so it is very nice to see a friendly face in the classrooms. 

Speaking of my school attachment, I am currently working at Saddlers Secondary, which is the newest school on the island. They are more or less a pilot school, focusing more on giving the students hands-on experience and less "chalk and talk," as they refer to it. The students have mandatory after-school programs to attend that I hope to become involved with as the weeks go by. During training each of us has to come up with a service learning project with a group of youth, and currently I am working out a small program to improve the aesthetics of the school. As it is a new school, a lot of the walls are bare and there are no flowers or trees nearby. I'm hoping a quick project will be for the students to design some posters with positive school-related themes. 

Yesterday I visited my work site for the first time, which is the Department of Sport. The offices are located at Wagner Park, which is a big complex with a cricket field, football pitch, netball and basketball courts, and tennis courts as well. I will be focusing on designing a website for the department (good luck, me) as well as helping out with their after-school programs. Their idea for me is to run some more fun and games-type activities, especially ones that increase coordination and overall fitness. I will repeat that - I will be running activities focused on coordination and fitness. So, a lanky 6'2" pasty white (transparent, even) guy who couldn't run a 10k will be in charge of these two areas. Oh, and designing a website. Time to get on my jazzercise and html classes, preferably at the same time.

The town that I live in is called Saddlers, which is almost on the opposite side of the island. I take "busses" to get to the capitol for training and my worksite. These busses are simply 15-passenger vans that travel at very high speeds on the winding and very pothole-friendly roads. Trust me, it only bothers you the first time. After you learn that it doesn't matter how tightly you shut your eyes that they will still scare the crap out of you, you tend to figure out why everybody is so religious. 

Things overall have been pretty exciting since arriving. I definitely have my work cut out for me, but I guess if it was going to be easy they wouldn't need us. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed, but it is in a good way. It is definitely something that I have missed feeling for a long time, a sense that there is real work to be done and I can't just idly sit by anymore.