St. Lucia : International Week

This week was a crazy week. I had to be up extra early to open the school. I had to lead assembly on Tuesday for the preprimary children. It was International week at school so we had parents coming in to give presentations, as well as a food taste test on our halfday on Friday. While seemingly crazy, it was still a really good week.

Monday morning started off bright and early (well maybe not so bright). It’s been raining here in the mornings which makes it a lot harder to get up. It was my week to open the school so every morning I had to go unlock the classrooms on Campus A at 7. While this doesn’t seem that early, it really makes me realize what a half an hour of sleep can do to you. Monday after school I was able to Skype and call some family. Monday night Tanya and I made a delicious hamburger helper type meal. We decided that we like cooking with minced beef over ground beef.

On Tuesday I had to lead assembly on my campus. This was a first for me which made me really nervous. Assembly on the other campus is a lot longer and bigger of a deal, so I shouldn’t have been freaking out, but I was. During assembly the students gather together to listen to a themed message. The theme for this week was taking care of mother earth so I came up with a short mini lesson for the preprimary children. In the end it all went fine, but man is it a relief to be done with that! The rest of Tuesday was a normal day with the exception of a parent presentation on Jamaica. The children got to learn a few Jamaican songs which was really fun for them! After school I watched bachelor and that night I walked to the beach with Rhett. It was the first time I have ever been to the beach at night and I had a good time watching the waves roll in and catching up with Rhett.

Wednesday was quite the day with more presentations to listen to. My students got to learn about Guyana and Libya. It’s fun to learn about the countries in which my students were born in (or their parents were born in). Wednesday night Rhett invited me to see Revenant with him. The movie had a bit too much blood for my liking, but other than that was not too bad. Rhett leaves next week so I’m happy I’ve been able to spend some time with him before he starts his new job.

Thursday was another day filled with presentations from Cambodia and Venezuela and Jamaica. It was also the day our class was in charge of putting up Mr. Fluffy Float. Let me explain. Everyone knows the story of the gingerbread man who jumped out the pan and ran away. Well for International week we spun that story to be about Mr. Fluffy Float. Mr. Fluffy Float jumped out of the frying pan and appeared around the world. Each class was in charge of a day and they made posters about Fluffy and the country he was spotted in (a country that was represented in their class). While this seemed really simple in the beginning, it turned into a big deal and the creativity was amazing! I will post a picture below.

On Friday to conclude international week there was a short program and food sampling at school. The students showed up to school in their national colors or dress. I of course represented the United States by wearing some red, white, and, blue. Around 11 we had a food sampling in our room and afterwards parents were invited to bring their students downstairs to enjoy the rest of the food sampling with the students. Parents from all different countries brought in their ethnic dishes and it was really fun to be able to try a bunch of different food. I was so happy we kept Reception upstairs and away from the craziness downstairs. There is no way we would have been able to keep track of 29 students downstairs with the rest of the students and a bunch of parents walking around as well.

Friday was a half day and we were supposed to have a staff sports day after the food fair, but everyone was so exhausted that the staff social was cancelled. Instead we headed home to clean the house and run to the supermarket to get food for dinner. Friday night concluded with a delicious dinner that Rhett came over and made for my roommates and I. Stewed chicken, rice, potatoes, and beans. So tasty! We all decided that instead of having Rhett leave for the cruise ship that he’d just have to stay and cook for us every night. We even offered to pay him, but he didn’t quite think that was a great idea. I guess he’s right.

Saturday was a lazy day and I was finally able to sleep in. I enjoyed the usual pancakes for breakfast and watched Bethlehem’s sermon from the previous week with Abby. Afterwards I skyped Megan Rabbers. We had planned to go to the beach but after a little bit of rain, we decided to go to the mall and get a smoothie from Felly Belly on the way back. The rest of the day was full of relaxing. I started doing yoga and am hoping that I like it. Tanya has done it and Abby started not too long ago so I decided to give it a try, after all, a family that does yoga together stays together or so we say. Now all we need is Tanya to say yes to a second year! J

Today included church, a walk to the supermarket, skyping Megan Bramstedt and Alexis, pizza/movie night at Pastor and Jen’s, and making Rice Krispy bars. It was again another relaxing day, but much needed. I am hoping that I will be rejuvenated and ready for another week of school starting tomorrow. It’ll be nice to hopefully get back to a normal week of school.