Martinique

Saturday:  This morning we got up nice and early to head to Martinique.  Let me tell you, it is not easy waking up for anything at 4:30 in the morning.  Jen picked us up at 5:15 and we headed to the port to meet the ferry.  Getting our boarding passes and through security was a piece of cake.  Definitely don’t need to get there an hour and a half before it leaves.  We waited for a bit and boarded our ferry.  We took the first seats we saw which was not the best idea.  Our ferry actually left 20 minutes early. I never thought I’d see the da that happens in St. Lucia.  Anyways, the whole way over we felt sick.  I’m surprised none of us got sick on the boat.  We were very excited when we finally reached shore. 

            Once we arrived we walked to our hotel which was pretty easy to find.  Tanya did ask for directions and I’ve realized I’m going to become very reliant on her the next few days.  We asked them to hold our luggage for us and then we hit the streets of Fort de France.  One of the first places we visited was McDonalds.  There is no McDonalds in St. Lucia so yes at 9:37 in the morning, I got fries and a hot fudge sundae.  No regrets! Afterwards we went shopping.  While prices are not cheap, the quality seems a whole lot better than St. Lucia.  I’m loving all the street art and cobblestone roads.  We went in some cute clothing shops and I bought a beach dress for 16 Euro.  While we hadn’t had a ton of food and were all hungry, we decided we needed to make the most of the day since all stores except for the mall close at 1:30.  This was a bit of a bummer, but oh well! We’ll do more shopping on Monday.  At 1:30 we stopped and got food in the mall.  We then went to the supermarket where we got cheap meat, some brie, and bread.  This will be Abby and my lunch tomorrow since we’ve been told places are closed on Sundays.  We also bought wine for cheap and some snack foods for later on and tomorrow. 

            We headed to the hotel to check in.  Unfortunately the made us pa for a 2^nd room since our room could only fit 2 adults.  We were a bit bummed about this, but it all turned out ok after they moved us a second time to 2 adjoining rooms.  The view is spectacular and the hotel is super nice!  The front desk helped us set up a day trip for Monday, so hopefully we’ll get to see some of the island.  We stayed to rest in the room until about 7 when we headed down the road to a restaurant called the Black Pearl.  My chicken burger was delicious!  When we were finished we headed upstairs to finish our last glass of wine, before we went back to the hotel to crash. All day I have been very reliant on Tanya and it’s frustrating for me to not be able to understand or ask questions.  Another observation I have made is that people stare at us.  I’ve never been stared at so much in my life.  Men, women, children, it doesn’t seem to matter.  It’s like they’ve never seen 3 white girls who speak English together before.

Sunday:  Oh it felt so good to sleep in this morning!  I have missed sleeping with a heavier blanket on me.  The A/C made it cool and comfortable.  Way cooler than my room in St. Lucia!  We all got up and enjoyed some amazing coffee in our room.  Lavazza coffee is soooo good!  Afterwards we headed out to see if any coffee or pastry shops were open.  None were.  We had also been told the supermarket might be open, but the main one was also closed.  By this time we were all hungry and so we went to a small supermarket to get snacks.  There wasn’t much we really wanted, so we headed back to the hotel in hopes that the might still be serving breakfast.  We were too late.  We ate a few of our snacks in the room and waited until the time a ferry would leave for the beach.  All of us are crabby, but we’re hoping that the beach will have food.

            The ferry was relatively easy to take.  Our first stop was at apparently the better beach, however we took a look at it and realized it was a tourist beach much like Reduit.  We chanced it and took the ferry to the next beach.  Since when did we become beach snobs?  Well our decision was worth it. This next beach had food options, coffee, and a lot more space to lay out.  After getting some coffee we laid out under a palm tree.  There was a creepy guy who kept talking to us and whom we ignored for quite some time.  He knew no English so he talked mostly to Tanya.  When we got sick of hearing from him we headed to get food.  I got pork, fries, and vegetables and it was delicious.  We finished up in time to catch the last ferry back to Fort de France.  When we got back we cancelled our trip on Monday because we found out that Monday is also a holiday for those in Martinique and therefore we won’t be able to catch a ferry in time to get us to where we would need to be for the trip.  However the kind hotel lady scheduled a lady to pick us up and give us a private tour around the island.  It won’t be by boat, but definitely will be cheaper.  Hopefully she’s open to bringing us where we want to go.  After hanging in the hotel for awhile, we went back out to find food.  The Black Pearl looked to be the only place open, so we headed back there.  This time around I got a burger.  Again very good!  I haven’t had a good burger in forever! We got back to the hotel and sat around chatting for awhile.

Monday:  Monday morning we got up, drank coffee, and had brie and bread for breakfast.  We checked out of our hotel, leaving our luggage behind and left on our tour.  The lady who took us was willing to do what we wanted and took us first to the supermarket where we were able to buy chocolate, coffee, and alcohol to bring back home with us.  This made us all very happy.  After, we went to a garden that had a souvenir shop and I was able to get more souvenirs than I probably needed, but hey I’m only in Martinique once.  We then drove through the rain to a waterfall.  The waterfall wasn’t anything spectacular compared to ones I’ve seen in the states.  Afterwards we went to the town of St. Pierre which is near Mount Pelée.  Mount Pelée erupted in 1902 and killed all the people in St. Pierre except for one prisoner.  The city still has parts of the original buildings that stood at that time.  It was really cool to walk around the city and see all this.  Finding a restaurant that was open seemed to be a bit troublesome, but eventually we did.  In fact I even tried a bite of Abby’s shark.  After lunch we went to a black sand beach which overlooked Mount Pelée.  The sand was so hot to stand on, but the water was the clearest I have ever seen!  We spent about an hour at the beach, before heading back to the hotel.  Because everything was closed, we stayed in the hotel lobby area for about 2 hours before leaving.  Luggage in tow we walked down the streets towards where we had to meet our ferry to take us back to St. Lucia. On the way we stopped at what was like a food truck and I had a crepe and ice cream, 2 things I will not be getting anytime soon in St. Lucia.  We got to the pier and waited forever to go through customs.  Our ferry left about 45 minutes late.  Tanya and I however were smart and actually spent the whole ferry ride back outside.  I did not feel sick at all and I was happy to be back home. 

*This will probably be my last blog post until next year.  My t and y keys are currently not working on my laptop so I’ve been using the onscreen keyboard to type those 2 letters which is a pain.  

Best coffee I've ever had was in Martinique

Such great travel companions

The canvas actually lights up.  I want this in my future home.

Please don't judge me.

I was able to eat burgers!

22 Changes in Year 22

So I was sitting in church this morning when Abby turns to me and says, “A year ago today, we were sitting in our first church service ever at Trinity.”  What?!  Wow!  A lot has happened in the last year and God has been there with me every step of the way.  I decided after church to make a list of ways in which my life has changed and here is what I came up with.

1.     Abby and I decide that instead of taking a call, we are going to move to St. Lucia, not knowing exactly what that meant in the coming year.

2.     I graduated from college, Kelsey graduated from high school, and Katelyn got married to Ryan.  Three big life changes.  Between July and August we all moved out of the house. 

3.     I had my last summer at home with my family (or so I thought). 

4.     I had to say goodbye to family and friends who mean so much to me.  Moving far away from them was not easy, but skype, whatsapp, and facebook messenger make it easier to communicate with loved ones far away.

5.     I moved out of the country to a gorgeous island.

6.     I started my first official year of teaching my own class.  I get to spend my days with 29 Reception (Kindergarten) students every day.

7.     I never imagined having a teaching team my first year.  Teacher Najma is awesome and has become a great friend.  Teacher Robin is a great resource person.  So thankful to have the two of them.

8.     These “strangers” that I met last year at church have now become my friends.  I don’t know what I would do without my church family.

9.     I teach piano lessons.  What?!  I’m not even good at piano.  Lesson learned.  You don’t have to be good at piano to teach people what you already know.

10.  I have started learning how to play guitar.  This has always been a dream of mine and it is now becoming a reality.

11.  I live with two awesome roommates.  Abby and Tanya are such a huge part of my life and I don’t think I could live in St. Lucia without them.  (I mean after all Abby does kill the bugs for me.) This however was a big change for me. In college I spent 4 years of my life with one awesome roommate. While Abby and Tanya are not Megan, I do love them and they are great! 

12.  I have to make meals for myself every day.  I no longer am walking to the caf to get whatever my heart desires. 

13.  Going along with that, I have to buy my own groceries.  Making weekly trips the supermarket is a necessary thing. 

14.  No fast food.  I really don’t eat out in St. Lucia very often and when I do it is not fast food.  There are definitely certain foods that I crave that I do not have here in St. Lucia.  Burgers and ice cream are both things I will be filling up on when I get back to the U.S.

15.  I’ve gotten the opportunity to vacation to Barbados and soon will be traveling to Martinique.  Two years ago I never would have imagined that I’d have the opportunity to explore all these different islands, but now I have the opportunity and I’m going to take advantage of it as much as possible.

16.  I now understand a lot more of what Lucians say.  While they speak English, it is not always easy to figure out.  When I first arrived I would literally just stare at people as they spoke and still not understand.  Now I understand most conversations, even when people assume I don’t.

17.  I have started playing piano in church with the band. I never would have thought that I would ever play piano in church.  I don’t play every Sunday, but I feel more comfortable now than I did the first time I started. 

18.  I have had to get used to insane heat. I knew that August would be bad, but honestly September, October, and November were all terrible.  I got used to being sweaty all the time and let me tell you this is not a pleasant feeling.  The end of April started getting hot again and I’m assuming I will be sweaty from not until December again. 

19.  I don’t have to share a bathroom with 30 girls.  I get my own bathroom and room and I absolutely love it! 

20.  I have started yoga.  I’m not one to work out, but after trying a 30 day Yoga with Adrienne series, I can say that I don’t mind yoga and it’s actually a decent workout.  It also helps me relax and sleep better. 

21.  Having to get used to unwanted attention from guys because I’m white. When Abby, Tanya, and I are alone, we get kissed at and called out to ALL THE TIME.  We’ve gotten good at ignoring a lot. 

22.  No car.  While I don’t really have a desire to drive in St. Lucia, I do miss driving and the freedom that comes with it.  Being able to go wherever I want, whenever I want is something that I do miss.  That being said, I am thankful that we have people who are willing to take us places, as well as a pretty easy bus system that allows us to travel from Castries to Gros Islet without much hassle.

Twenty-two changes in year twenty-two of my life, however God knew what he was doing.  He had better plans for us than we had for ourselves. A year ago I was in a frazzle because I did not know what I wanted to do.  St. Lucia sounded cool, but scary.  Moving away from my family and friends was not easy.  However all of it was worth it and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me in this coming year.  

Last week in April

This week was a bit odd.  Not necessarily because of how school was, but more so because I was in bed and asleep every night by 10, sometimes earlier.  Another thing I’ve been noticing is that the heat is back.  Air conditioning is back on before bed and some days even at school. 

Monday was picture day at school.  Other than that it was a normal day.  I came home and had a relaxing night watching a show or two.

Tuesday night we did not have sticky group as Pastor Tom was sick, so instead we again had a relaxing night.  I skyped Deb and AJ and was in bed by 9:45.  So nice! 

Wednesday was the strangest day ever.  Teacher Darnelle was sick so I got to spend about an hour and half in grade 1 while Najma taught my class.  I got my stunt in grade 1, but was very happy to return to my classroom after snack.  The rest of the day was off as well since Najma, Robin, and I all had observations to do.  I spent 45 minutes observing the Toddler class and I was very happy when I was finished and able to go back to my classroom for lunch.  The afternoon was a bit off as well since we had a student birthday and a parent coming in to talk to the students about tourism.  I was observed as well and I felt like I was back in student teaching.  By the end of this week observations should be over and I’m extremely grateful to get back normal.  After school I rushed home in time to eat and head to piano.  All my students showed up which was a win in my book and we were able to make it home before 8. Another early bedtime for me.

Thursday was back to normal.  The day went as planned. I’m so proud of my students.  We have been practicing our dance for the dance festival and they are doing fantastic!  I got home and was able to relax a bit before doing a bit of lesson planning.  I finished off the night by skyping Ruth.  Hearing from friends and family makes it easier living far away from home.  Although this is my new home and I am loving it most days! 

Friday school was also a bit off as we did not have both music and computer class.  Other than that the day was good.  Abby had a student with a birthday so I got another piece of cake.  With the 3 birthdays that have occurred this last week, I have saved a piece of cake from each.  This is going to be what I eat for my birthday on Monday.  After school we chilled for a bit and then around 5 headed to Spinnakers for happy hour and fries.  On the way home, we stopped at the supermarket to get some groceries.  Casey and Kerne came over about an hour later and we played card games for a couple hours.  I have missed playing games, so it was a fun night. 

Saturday morning I was able to sleep in and it felt wonderful!  I woke up, did laundry, made pancakes, watched Bethlehem’s sermon, and watched some of my shows from the week.  It was an overcast day so while we had wanted to go to the beach, we decided to wait.  Instead we walked over to the mall and shopped for 2 hours.  What did I get?  Felly Belly.  That was it.  I can’t justify getting clothes here, I’d much rather wait and shop when I get back home in 2 months.  Before heading home, Abby and I picked up sweet and sour chicken from Jade Terrace.  What a great decision!  I got home and did not have to cook.  We ended the night with movie night.  We pushed the couches together and set up the laptop and speakers on the back of one of the couches.  Such a great set up for us!  We popped some popcorn and enjoyed our movie.  Who needs a movie theater anyways? 

This morning we headed to church as usual, but it was a bit of a special Sunday.  A year ago, we were spending our first Sunday ever at Trinity on our visit to St. Lucia.  We realized how special of a congregation it was, as we worshiped with a bunch of strangers.  I remember feeling very overwhelmed because Abby was all for staying and I was all for taking a call.  We had completely switched roles.  Man has God brought us a long way in a year!  Another reason today was different than most Sundays is that Pastor Tom announced that he has returned his call to Colorado.  We were all pretty happy to hear this!  I can’t imagine living in St. Lucia without the Spiegelbergs around. 

After church the congregation always sings Happy Birthday to those with birthdays for the week.  As soon as Pastor asked if there were any birthdays, Abby’s hand shot up to announce that it was my birthday.  Everyone was very sweet with the birthday wishes.  I played piano during part of communion and gave Jason a very short piano lesson after Sunday School.  It was a good Sunday.  We returned home to eat our usual Sunday lunch of hash browns.  I skyped Katelyn (and Ryan) for a bit, watched some tv, and took a nap.  Again it is an overcast day.  We had wanted to go to the beach, but we decided we’re saving it for tomorrow.  In a little bit I will be making tacos for dinner.  Tonight we are going with Jen and Tom to Skip Monday (a band).  They are playing at the Marina.  Following that we plan to meet the guys at the beach to ring in my birthday with some waves and a drink.  

I love Felly Belly! 

Look what my roommates got me for my birthday! 

Starting off the birthday weekend right!