These are a few of my favorite things

1. Kids! I love the kids here! They are so great and welcoming.
2. The weather-beautiful (and no snow-people had jackets on the other night because it was chilly aka in the 70s)
3. The stars
4. Getting in the bus to go home and getting weird looks from people (tourists only go to my town on Friday nights usually)
5. Getting in the bus to go home and knowing people I ride home with!
6. I'm going to Catholic mass here because that is what is available and service was "short" at the church I went to today. It only lasted 2 hours (the week before it lasted 2 1/2 -see what those 45 minutes and out people would say in the states)
7. The school that I'm at is really cool
8. Science fair is a big deal here too!

These are just a few things that I'm loving right now!

confidence builder

While I struggled with helping the kids at school yesterday with a simple spelling exercise (spelling has always been one of my weaker suits), there is one aspect of the EC that I take as a confidence builder. It is the fact that almost daily while I'm walking down the street, guys make comments. I've heard everything from "sexy" to "my love" to "beautiful". We learned about this the first week of training in a session called "unwanted attention." To be honest, I just take it as a compliment (sometimes laugh) and move on.

Lists!

Things that I do/expect now on a daily basis that I didn’t do in the States

1.       Pass a banana field on the way to Castries

2.       Look out at the Caribbean (I love it!)

3.       I’m an expert at taking a bath using a bucket and a cup! (We got water today so I don’t have to do this anymore)

4.       Hear comments walking down the street (a couple days ago I passed a boy about 12-14. He leaned over as I passed and whispered “Sexy.” After I passed him I just laughed!)

5.       See cruise ships (I had never seen one before. Yesterday there were four of them in the harbor)

6.       Find myself trying to learn another language

7.       See a white person and think “darn tourist” (yes, it happened already! I hate being mistaken as a tourist.)

8.       Try and figure out what school a child goes to based on their uniform

9.       Journal

10.   Almost cry when I hear rap/r&b music (it reminds me of home and my girls)

11.   Laugh when I hear old country music (they love it here!)

12.   Enjoy learning about politics (the prime minister can call the election anytime between now and March)

13.   Enjoy learning about culture/history/economics (this is a big one. I didn’t really care in the states, now it’s interesting) and the school system (I’m going to be working in one. I’ve found my best source of information is my 13 year old “cousin” here).

14.   Tell myself or someone else how much I love St. Lucia!

Homestay

So my homestay family is amazing! I have a beautiful view of the Caribbean! Yep! I know you all are jealous! I'm going to be working in the little town at the bottom of this valley so I will live in this area my whole two years! It rained a lot this weekend so we didn't get out much, but I got to meet my mum's family. It's hard adjusting at some points, but overall it has been rather smooth. I'm learning a lot about life here including policies, how hard it is to get to the states, politics and how different it is from the U.S. It's really neat! I opened my bank account today and am really learning my way around. It's becoming home!

PST and more

Everyone left for thier islands this morning. We finished phase 1 of PST (pre service training) yesterday. I move in with my host family today! They should be here in a couple of hours to take me home! I am super excited about it! I can't wait to meet them! For any of you that are curious the best address to reach me at is the Peace Corps office in Castries. That address is:
Sara Faison
US Peace Corps
Gablewoods Mall
Sunny Acres
PO Box 123
Castries, St. Lucia
I do like mail :) Mom is doing an experiment to see how long it will take to get to me. So far we're at a week and counting! I can't believe that I've been here for a week already!

More Training! (and ice cream)

Today we had more training in the morning. This afternoon we got to go to PC headquarters in Castres! We then did a scavenger hunt and found lots of different things including ice cream. We also went to the market and had a great time! I found out that I will be working in a primary school helping to develop programs. I am super excited about it! The town that I will be living in has a fish fry every Friday (mom I thought you would get a kick out of that)! Still loving it so far! Another day of training tomorrow. Saturday I move in with my host family. I am really looking forward to that because I struggle with languages and am looking forward to them helping me out!