My Antiguan Adventure

May 26, 2010 And the Games Go On…

Day two of Unity games was awesome! We went to Five Islands and J.T. Ambrose, both on the western side of the island. These were the only two schools that I hadn’t seen before, they weren’t in our van for drop offs and we hadn’t passed them at any point during our journeys so it was really nice to see the schools and the beautiful children that attend them.

Five Islands was our first stop at 9am where we prepared for a large group. The school is huge (same as Jennings) and they had to cut the grade 1s and Kindergartners because there simply wasn’t enough room for all of them. There was about 175 students out on the field going from station to station. Today my station was #3 and I worked with Sarah on the Disability Awareness. I really enjoyed the station, but it was difficult because the students talked at lot. There were also tons of them at one station so we had to rush through things in order for all the students to go through the obstacle course.

I felt like pulling my hair out sometimes because they just didn’t want to listen, or they couldn’t hear because they were commenting to each other. Yet, at times we had a really good talk about what disabilities were and how we can show compassion with a disability. I’m learning that a lot of these students don’t know the common language we do. We asked them was a disability was and they thought it had to do with discipline. I couldn’t believe it they really had no clue what some of the words we were talking about meant. It did feel like a larger success because we did get through the games and had some opportunity to talk about our experiences.

While driving to our next school I ate lunch. Today was special because I had cooked Mr. Noodles the night before and chilled them in the fridge. I then added some steamed vegetables and soya sauce to the noodles and packed them with me as a cold stir fry. It was super tasty and it filled me right up! I was sure drinking a lot of warm water though, anything to keep the thirst at bay.

J.T. Ambrose was a fantastic school. Not that the others weren’t good, this group was broken up into smaller chunks and they had to leave out K-grade 2 which was really hard for the teachers, but necessary because the games would run more smoothly. I was partnered with Shelsea again and we ran the Cross the Volcano station. It was fun and I was glad to be at a more active station. Because the group sizes were so much smaller we were able to feel lots of success as the students interacted with each other and ourselves. They were answering our questions and going deeper by thinking beyond themselves. It was so encouraging and to see them so excited when they reached the end of the course, they just loved it! After each group went through, we were so thrilled it went so well.

After school we met up with Peticia Spencer, who was the women that took Alex and I to church each week. She is recently retired and the former head of the state college. She wanted to through a beach BBQ because she loves what we’re doing. We changed and got ready for the beach at the college and when she arrived with caravanned to the unknown location. When we pulled in we couldn’t believe the sight of the beach. The water was turquoise and just stunning. It is a private beach, only for locals so she snuck us in there. Because it was a local beach, there were TONS of seashells! I filled an entire sock up with shells to bring home. I am looking forward to adding them to my collection.

She made BBQ’ed chicken, potato salad, green salad, bread, and an assortment of juices and pop. It was lovely. The food tasted FANTASTIC and I was just happy to eat food that tasted home-made. Not to mention that the water was fantastic. It was great to swim and cool off. A few of us played pool games that Kaitlyn teaches her swimming lessons class. It was a great day! I can’t wait till tomorrow because we finally head to Jennings. I miss my kids lots and I’m looking forward to seeing them again. I am blown away at how fast this trip has gone. I have learned so much about myself, how I teach and how to work with others. I don’t want it to end, but at the same time, I am ecstatic to start putting what I’ve learned into practice at home.


May 27, 2010 My UNITY Games

The day hasn’t started, but the air is filled with anticipation (at least for me). It’s 7:30am and my roommates are still sleeping. I am on the “early bus” to Jennings today so I can finish painting our mural and then begin to prepare for Unity Games. I am so excited to see my students again, I miss them terribly and I cannot begin to imagine how I am going to feel after I leave them permanently for Canada. Why must there be such a vast ocean and land mass between us? This experienced has changed me from the inside out. My heart is filled with more compassion and understanding. I see a greater need than my own and I believe that good can be done – there is always room for improvement. I am excited about life. Not to mention I have a fantastic tan happening! This is going to be a great day, stay tuned for all the JUCIEY details

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What a whirlwind of emotions. Being at Jennings was so great today. I have missed my students more than I had realized and I was so glad to be back. We were able to finish painting our mural before morning prayers began; Pam painted the lettering and I did the grass. It looks awesome. I hope they all remember that they were a part of something spectacular. During prayers, the teachers and students did a little presentation for us. They gave each of us (Ms Bay, Ms Bolla, and myself) a tote bag. It is made of potato sack material and has a painted island of Antigua on one side and a beach scene on the other. It truly is lovely. That was the beginning of the water works. At that time we said our goodbyes to the rest of the school and dismissed all but the grades 4-6.

What was also so special about our school was that the teachers allowed us to take the grade 6’s. They are studying for an exam that will determine which type of school they continue on to. It is a huge deal and they have been studying for it for a long time and the big day is coming up soon, so for their teachers to release them for an entire morning is just fantastic. As much as we would have loved to have the entire school out, some 250 students isn’t reasonable. So, we decided, in order to have a smooth games, we needed to reduce class sizes. We broke the three grades into their 3 house teams: Green, Yellow, and Burgundy. From there, we divided them up as best we could into two teams of each color. What was great about this method was the fact that we had all three grades working together. It was very encouraging to see and I am glad that Pam and I made that decision. At each station, our teachers (my peers) were saying how well behaved they were, that they were amazing and that this was the best day yet. I felt so proud, like these were my children and I was showing them off.

They rotated perfectly and participated. It was simply amazing!!! I was very proud of how they handled themselves. We said our goodbyes one more time and then I started bawling. I told them that the reason I was crying is that I know that I am going to miss them and I have loved being their teacher. When I finished they all clapped, a very humbling moment indeed. Oh how I am going to miss J.P.S.

Next on our list was Paras Primary (my roommate Kailtlyn teaches here). Their school was much smaller and only excluded the Kindergarten and the grade 1’s simply because they do not have the capacity to critically think yet. Anyways, it was hot as usual and we were dripping wet with sweat (eww I know). It went well, typical games. I was at station 2 and ran the Recycling game. I really like it because it teaches them about the environment and about stewardship AND I was with Leticia, my tea buddy so I was grateful for that too!

Dinner was fun tonight, chicken nuggets, wedge fries, and steamed veggies. Yummy, but I am looking forward to home cooking as well. It was after dinner that the rollercoaster of emotions began again. A few of the girls went to the beach and on their way home a dog followed them. We normally have dogs follow us for a bit wherever we go, hoping for food. There are strays everywhere and here, dogs are considered pets so much and if they are a pet, they are for sure not treated like the ones at home. But this dog was different, he actually followed them there ENTIRE way home. Being the dog freak that I am, I was instantly in love. We all thought he’d just hang out for a bit and take off, but that isn’t where the story ends.

In short, as I write this he is sleeping outside my door. He stayed with us all night, even when we were packing up our equipment for the schools and shooing him away, he still stuck by. He is kinda glued to me as well. He would wait outside whatever room I went into. He sits beside me and plays with my hair. I want to take him home so badly, I know that Lily would understand, she would learn to share me. Basically, Jo has said that if he is still here in the morning, he likely doesn’t have a home, but to be sure, walk him back towards the beach and see what he does. If he still doesn’t seem to have a home and no one shouts out their missing a dog, that he is mostly likely a stray. In that instant, I need to get a clean bill of health from a vet and get all the plans together to bring home a dog!!!!

Mind you, I still need an “okay” from my parents and that might be a little harder to come by. In full truthfulness, I hope he has a home. I want to take him, but I know that it will be a lot of money and effort to get him back to Canada, but I am completely willing to do it if he doesn’t have a home. I can’t imagine leaving an animal behind when I know that I could help him out…Ahh the struggle I face. So thus the praying begins, for guidance and direction on the situation.

PS His name is Monty, after Montserrat, the island we visited on Monday.