This week was
crazy week at school with so much going on! Monday and Tuesday were spent doing
Christmas activities, listening to Christmas music, and practicing for the
Christmas program. After school I had
parent teacher conferences from 3:30 to 5.
I am very thankful for my co-teachers.
It made my first parent teacher conferences really easy knowing that the
three of us would be able to back each other up. After conferences on Tuesday, Tanya, Abby and
I decided to go see Hunger Games. We
however weren’t quite thinking properly, as we tried to take a bus at 6 to get
to the 6:20 movie. A bus finally arrived
that wasn’t already full, but by that time it was 6:15 and we knew we’d miss
the beginning of the movie, so plan B.
We decided to walk to Lime and at least get more data on our phones for
the week. While at Lime I came up with
the great idea to go get a bottle of wine and go sit on the beach, however we
then thought better of it, being it was already dark out. Plan C:
We’ll walk to Razmataz. They have happy hour until 7. Razmataz is closed. Plan D:
I guess we’re going to Keebees.
Tanya got some fries and we all got drinks. I love my roommates and I’ve missed girl time
with the 3 of us. It was so nice to have
Tanya back in the mix! She’s been busy
with reports and grading, so now that school is winding down we can finally be
graced by her presence! J
Wednesday was a
half day with 12 p.m. dismissal so that our students could head home and get
ready for the Christmas concert at 3.
After they left and I had helped set up, Tanya and I headed home. We had a rum and coke in between and headed
back by 2:30. This years Christmas
program theme was “Christmas around the World.”
Our school is very diverse and so each class was assigned a country
based off of one of the students who was in our classrooms. My class was assigned Venezuela because I
have 2 students from Venezuela. A parent
came in and taught my students the songs “Mi Burrito Sabanero,” which I
happened to learn in Spanish class in high school. They learned the song, as well as actions to
go along with it. We had a live band to
go along with the performance which included a guitar, cuatro and maracas. I played the maracas along with Teacher
Robin. I was so proud of my students and
their performance!
Wednesday night
Abby and I went out with Rhett and Kerne.
We tried out Verve and of course ended up at Keebees. It was a nice night and the guys walked us
home afterwards. Thursday was our big
Christmas costume party at school. It
was filled with lots of food, Christmas music, and dancing. It was fun to see all my students in their
costumes. Teacher Robin, Teacher Najma,
and I decided to join in on the fun and dressed up as the 3 blind mice. While I enjoyed the day, I was happy that it
was a 1p.m. dismissal and I was able to rest a little bit before Pastor Bram
picked us up for piano lessons that night.
Friday
was a day filled with parent teacher conferences. We had 15 minutes to talk to each parent
before the next one came in. It was
quite the day and while different, it was exhausting in its own way. Afterwards Abby and I went over to Jen and
Tom’s to celebrate Pastor Brams and Lamick’s birthday with the Landwehrs. I love singing Happy Birthday with that group
as they make sure they sound absolutely terrible! Jen made Buster Bar dessert
and it was great! Friday night Jen came
over and we destressed from school over a bottle of wine. We have officially hit 4 months of being in
St. Lucia. The time has gone by so fast
and I can’t believe I leave to go home on Monday! So crazy!
Saturday
was another busy day for me, but in a fun way.
Saturday morning I woke up as usual and made pancakes. This has been our tradition since getting
here and I love it, although I will say that are not quite as good as the
pancakes my grandma makes. Four days until I am able to gobble those up!
Saturday afternoon was spent on the beach with Abby, Rhett, and Kerne. I was so happy that we were able to go relax
and enjoy the sun and the water once more before we leave. On the way home we stopped for pizza which
was very tasty! We’ll have to go back
again!
Upon
getting home, I had to quick shower and get ready for the staff Christmas party
that was happening later on. After
getting ready, Abby and I headed to Pastor Bram’s to celebrate his birthday
with Sheena, Ravi, Casey, Kerne, and Delphina.
The favorite game that they all play is Settlers of Catan, so Sheena did
an awesome job making cupcakes that resembled a Catan board (check below for a
picture). Abby and I quickly ate our
cupcakes and then walked down the road to Bay Gardens Inn for Montessori’s
Christmas party. We really didn’t know
what to expect.
The
Christmas party was actually really fun!
After some delicious food and drinks, the dancing started. I can say without a doubt that Abby, Tanya
and I looked very white dancing amongst the other teachers. Afterwards we went to Keebees with
Najma. We’ve been trying to go out with
her since we started teaching together, but nothing had worked out. I love Najma and it was nice to have someone
else along for a change! One of her
friends picked us up and dropped us at home.
It was a late night, but well worth it!
Sunday
at church Abby and I were able to meet the Project Timothy group that
arrived. This group included Emilee
Koltz who was my fellow RA last year at MLC and is now one of the tutors at
prep. It was so nice to talk to all of them
about St. Lucia. After church we headed
back to have a lazy Sunday. I was exhausted from this last week, so I was able
to catch a quick nap, pack, and clean before we were picked up around 6 to head
over to Landwehrs. At the Landwehr’s we
had yet another birthday to celebrate (Jaxson’s). They PT kids went there as well so we had
dinner and spent a little more time catching up with Emilee. After heading back to Pastor Tom’s for a bit,
Abby and I took Emilee to Keebees and then headed home for more sleep. We leave tomorrow! What?!
I
got up bright and early Monday morning and Abby and I headed to the store to
pick up some groceries for Tanya. When
we got back we all sat around the table and chatted. I think I’m going to miss my roommates just a
bit! Rhett came over as well and spent
some time with us until Pastor Bram arrived at 11:30 to take us down to the
airport. I am going to miss St. Lucia. Once we arrived and got checked in at the
airport, we all ate lunch before Abby and I said our goodbyes and headed in to
wait for our plane.
As
for today, I am finally home! I got in about 11:30 last night and mom and dad
picked me up at the airport with BBQ wings from Buffalo Wild Wings in
hand. It’s such a nice feeling to be
home and I can’t wait to see more friends and family within the next few
weeks! My next blog will have to be
about the little changes I have noticed!
J
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| These two ladies keep me sane and I could not have asked for better roommates! God knew what he was doing when He brought us all down to St. Lucia. |
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| Best teaching assistant! |
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| Getting in the Christmas spirit. |
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| Practicing the choir song for the Christmas service: "Light Come Down" |
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| Settler's of Catan cupcakes that Sheena made! |
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| It was so nice to hear about Emilee's ministry at Luther Prep while she was here. |
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| We had a Christmas Costume party at school |
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| One of the many "Elsa's" in my class |
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| Merry Christmas from the international teachers! |
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| The band walking to school |
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| Rhett tagged along on the ride down to the airport. |
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| The gorgeous sunset on my way back to the States. God is good! |
