St. Lucia : Christmas in St. Lucia

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