Monday, February 11, 2008
A new day has begun, and after a light breakfast of banana bread and reheated coffee from yesterday, Tim and I dinghied ashore to complete some errands in town. He stopped at the Gingerbread to use their free Internet service, and I stopped by the produce market to see what was available on the way to taking our trash to the dumpsters provided for mariners near the market and ferry docks. Then I made my way up the hill past Knight’s store first to the primary school where Annette works (Annette is mentioned in an earlier log; she is the lady we met in a
local restaurant in St. Vincent). Since her kindergarten class was in session when I arrived, I spoke briefly with the head teacher (what we’d call the principal) about the potential for volunteering at this school as well (in addition to the Sunshine School which I had set up before I arrived). Then I went up the hill and over a block to the Sunshine School to see if I could locate Camille Jacobs, the head teacher at Sunshine.
Camille welcomed me warmly (people are so sincere and friendly here – very “real” if you know what I mean), and she gave me a brief tour of the upper floor of the school which included a computer room, library, several classrooms, kitchen and her office which is also combination storage room, meeting room and everything else. We met for a while and discussed various potential needs, including helping with their annual auction this Sunday (and perhaps some organizing of items on Saturday), some website changes they need to make, and possibly working with the kids on various projects. This week is especially busy for them with getting ready for the auction along with regular duties, so we have an appointment for me to come back next Monday morning at 9am which would provide a chance to see their start-of-day assembly, and we’ll likely play things by ear as they come about. 
I thanked Annette for letting us visit and spoke again to the head teacher on my way out. I asked her about the proper attire for being at the school in a more formal capacity, because I didn’t expect to wear the casual shorts and collared top I had worn for the visit. Women in Bequia don’t typically wear shorts in public (only young boys and men from what I’ve seen), so slacks and skirts or dresses are standard wear for women in business, church, or other public places. Since I had brought limited clothing with me (boating people need only bathing suits, tshirts, a pair of shorts or 2 and I had brought along only one sundress), I stopped at a couple of stores in the little village and found a couple of peasant skirts I thought would work – light cotton black one for $22 US and another from the sale rack for $10US (white with salmon-colored flowers on the bottom). I’ll wear these or black slacks on future trips to the school.
After leaving the school I ran into Tim on the street (the main part of “town” is actually a pretty small area, perhaps about 500 yards long and 200 wide). We were both hungry for some local food, so we found a small local restaurant on a side street that offered some type of local dish
that looked great with rice, beef and vegetables; but it “was finished” (meaning they were out), so we went next door and found a great cheese pizza and coke for $22.50 EC (about $8US).
After lunch we wandered back through town and then along the Belmont Walkway to Gingerbread, where later in the day we shared an ice cream sundae made with coconut ice cream and butterscotch and chocolate syrup. Tim worked for a while longer on his computer using their Internet, and I took my first solo trip in the dinghy back to the boat to do some things on board. As I walked along the wooden dinghy dock above the turquoise and sparklingly clear water on such a sunny day, I noticed the sailboats which seemed to be swinging happily on their anchors or moorings, like small children enjoying a rope tire swing on a sunny afternoon. One of the ferries to other islands was just about ready to leave the harbor and I heard the loud horn announcing immediate departure as I bent to unlock the dinghy chain. After tossing my shoes and my bags into the beer crate we’re using to keep things out of the water and gas that always accumulates in the bottom of the dinghy, I climbed in and started the engine (after a few tries), and then I made my way back to the bow of the dingy and untied the painter from the dock. Moving back to the stern again, I moved the gear shifter from neutral to reverse and backed out, then shifted the metal lever with my thumb into forward, gave a bit of gas on the throttle, and I was off. The boat was only a few hundred yards away, and since this was my first time approaching the boat this trip, it took me a couple of tries to successfully land at the swim platform. Approaching a stationary dock is one thing, but a bit
more timing is required to approach a boat which is a moving target as it swings on its hook and rocks and rolls in the waves and swells. My second attempt allowed me to slide up smoothly to the side of the rear swim platform, and soon I was off the dinghy and safely aboard.
While aboard I washed our breakfast dishes and made sun tea for later (put water and tea bags in a plastic container and sit it up top to brew in the sun). Before I knew it, it was almost 3:00 and time to return to town and pick up Tim. After arriving back at the dock, I spent some time in the Gingerbread with him while he waited for his computer to finish charging, enjoying the breeze that blew from the nearby trees into the 2nd floor balcony just off the open air restaurant. Then we headed back out in the dinghy with me driving, and I dropped him off just long enough to change into his swim trunks while I made some practice runs around the harbor to get the feel of the dinghy at higher speeds and different turns. Then we motored the short distance (about 50 yards) to the new dinghy dock which has recently been added to one of the 3 main beaches that surround Admiralty Bay. We spent the next hour or so taking a break to swim and sit on the beach and enjoy the view of the catamarans, mononhulls, and motor vessels in the harbor from a different vantage point. We watched the water taxis coming and going, and followed the trail of the boat which delivers ice and freshwater slide smoothly from boat to boat where requested, like a big
black and yellow bug crawling among the flowers. It seems this harbor is always busy when the sun is up, and it sleeps only at night when the sun is also resting.
A new day has begun, and after a light breakfast of banana bread and reheated coffee from yesterday, Tim and I dinghied ashore to complete some errands in town. He stopped at the Gingerbread to use their free Internet service, and I stopped by the produce market to see what was available on the way to taking our trash to the dumpsters provided for mariners near the market and ferry docks. Then I made my way up the hill past Knight’s store first to the primary school where Annette works (Annette is mentioned in an earlier log; she is the lady we met in a
local restaurant in St. Vincent). Since her kindergarten class was in session when I arrived, I spoke briefly with the head teacher (what we’d call the principal) about the potential for volunteering at this school as well (in addition to the Sunshine School which I had set up before I arrived). Then I went up the hill and over a block to the Sunshine School to see if I could locate Camille Jacobs, the head teacher at Sunshine.Using Internet at Gingerbread
The Sunshine School is located a few streets off main street up toward the hills and is surrounded by a fence, so it took me a few minutes to locate the entrance and figure out how to use the gate. Once inside, I walked down a concrete ramp where someone directed me through another wooden gate where I could find Camille. As I followed their directions and turned a corner into an open area which is covered but yet open to the outside and included tables and chairs for working in the cool breeze, I spotted a lady I thought might be Camille (I had not met her before) just coming out of a classroom door.
The Sunshine School is located a few streets off main street up toward the hills and is surrounded by a fence, so it took me a few minutes to locate the entrance and figure out how to use the gate. Once inside, I walked down a concrete ramp where someone directed me through another wooden gate where I could find Camille. As I followed their directions and turned a corner into an open area which is covered but yet open to the outside and included tables and chairs for working in the cool breeze, I spotted a lady I thought might be Camille (I had not met her before) just coming out of a classroom door.
Sunshine School exterior
Camille welcomed me warmly (people are so sincere and friendly here – very “real” if you know what I mean), and she gave me a brief tour of the upper floor of the school which included a computer room, library, several classrooms, kitchen and her office which is also combination storage room, meeting room and everything else. We met for a while and discussed various potential needs, including helping with their annual auction this Sunday (and perhaps some organizing of items on Saturday), some website changes they need to make, and possibly working with the kids on various projects. This week is especially busy for them with getting ready for the auction along with regular duties, so we have an appointment for me to come back next Monday morning at 9am which would provide a chance to see their start-of-day assembly, and we’ll likely play things by ear as they come about. 
Sunshine School assembly area (open air)
After leaving the Sunshine School I started back to the primary school and conveniently ran into Tim along the way and we walked there together. The school rooms are actually one big building consisting of about 8-10 classrooms divided only by chalkboards on rollers. The double-sided chalkboards serve double-duty as each class uses one side of the board. It makes for a pretty noisy classroom, because of course the noise from the other side of the blackboard comes through and it seems everyone is competing to be heard, including the teachers who practically have to shout for their students to hear them. They are in this school temporarily, and their new school is being built now up the hill which will have proper divided classrooms. It should be ready by next fall, so it's understandable how much Annette and the other teachers look forward to that.
Annette’s kindergarten class included 5 boys and 12 girls for a total of 17 kids. Tim and I sat in a couple of chairs along the far wall (he was in a wooden chair built for little people so his knees were at an odd angle, but he’s such a good sport he didn’t seem to mind). The students were sitting at small rectangular wooden tables for 2 and seated in small wooden chairs facing Annette and the chalk blackboard, with their backpacks resting on their desks. There was a couple of side tables, one that functioned as Annette’s desk (although there were no drawers that I could see), and another that contained the kids’ water bottles and lunch bags. That was the extent of the classroom facilities. A window looked out onto the courtyard and the entrance, and a fence also surrounded the school and school yard.
Public primary school (Annette's kindergarten class)
The kindergarten students, dressed in uniforms of dark blue dresses for the girls and blue shirts and khaki shorts for the boys -- were working on their alphabet - spelling and basic sentences using plain lined paper (no workbooks or other texts, the teachers seem to create their lessons from scratch). Annette, wearing a burgundy 2-piece suite w/skirt and black dress shoes - wrote on the blackboard “Oscar’s owl sat on the orange” and they discussed the letters and why the first O was a big O and how to sound out the letters to make the words. (Today, they appear to be studying the letter "o"). Then the students copied the sentences onto their lined papers for practice. Next was mathematics where they were studying addition. Tim needed to leave at this point to handle some errands at a local marine chandlery, but I stayed on a bit longer. To engage student participation in the math lesson, Annette drew two big circles on the concrete floor and asked 2 children to stand in one circle and 3 in another, and then she asked them to tell her how many students total were standing in the circles, and they all counted the students together to get the answer. This exercise was followed by some other adding problems with marbles as examples. Finally just before lunch break, they started the science lesson about going up and down a road and how to follow directions. The bell for lunch rang just 
as she started to explain about directions so that was postponed until after lunch. The school starts at 9am, breaks from 12-1 so the kids can eat lunch by returning home, eating at the school what they brought from home, or walking to other places nearby. Then they continue at 1 until 2:30 for the younger kids, with the older kids 9this school goes up to grade 6) staying until about 3pm.
as she started to explain about directions so that was postponed until after lunch. The school starts at 9am, breaks from 12-1 so the kids can eat lunch by returning home, eating at the school what they brought from home, or walking to other places nearby. Then they continue at 1 until 2:30 for the younger kids, with the older kids 9this school goes up to grade 6) staying until about 3pm. I thanked Annette for letting us visit and spoke again to the head teacher on my way out. I asked her about the proper attire for being at the school in a more formal capacity, because I didn’t expect to wear the casual shorts and collared top I had worn for the visit. Women in Bequia don’t typically wear shorts in public (only young boys and men from what I’ve seen), so slacks and skirts or dresses are standard wear for women in business, church, or other public places. Since I had brought limited clothing with me (boating people need only bathing suits, tshirts, a pair of shorts or 2 and I had brought along only one sundress), I stopped at a couple of stores in the little village and found a couple of peasant skirts I thought would work – light cotton black one for $22 US and another from the sale rack for $10US (white with salmon-colored flowers on the bottom). I’ll wear these or black slacks on future trips to the school.
After leaving the school I ran into Tim on the street (the main part of “town” is actually a pretty small area, perhaps about 500 yards long and 200 wide). We were both hungry for some local food, so we found a small local restaurant on a side street that offered some type of local dish
that looked great with rice, beef and vegetables; but it “was finished” (meaning they were out), so we went next door and found a great cheese pizza and coke for $22.50 EC (about $8US).After lunch we wandered back through town and then along the Belmont Walkway to Gingerbread, where later in the day we shared an ice cream sundae made with coconut ice cream and butterscotch and chocolate syrup. Tim worked for a while longer on his computer using their Internet, and I took my first solo trip in the dinghy back to the boat to do some things on board. As I walked along the wooden dinghy dock above the turquoise and sparklingly clear water on such a sunny day, I noticed the sailboats which seemed to be swinging happily on their anchors or moorings, like small children enjoying a rope tire swing on a sunny afternoon. One of the ferries to other islands was just about ready to leave the harbor and I heard the loud horn announcing immediate departure as I bent to unlock the dinghy chain. After tossing my shoes and my bags into the beer crate we’re using to keep things out of the water and gas that always accumulates in the bottom of the dinghy, I climbed in and started the engine (after a few tries), and then I made my way back to the bow of the dingy and untied the painter from the dock. Moving back to the stern again, I moved the gear shifter from neutral to reverse and backed out, then shifted the metal lever with my thumb into forward, gave a bit of gas on the throttle, and I was off. The boat was only a few hundred yards away, and since this was my first time approaching the boat this trip, it took me a couple of tries to successfully land at the swim platform. Approaching a stationary dock is one thing, but a bit
more timing is required to approach a boat which is a moving target as it swings on its hook and rocks and rolls in the waves and swells. My second attempt allowed me to slide up smoothly to the side of the rear swim platform, and soon I was off the dinghy and safely aboard. Along the Belmont Walkway
While aboard I washed our breakfast dishes and made sun tea for later (put water and tea bags in a plastic container and sit it up top to brew in the sun). Before I knew it, it was almost 3:00 and time to return to town and pick up Tim. After arriving back at the dock, I spent some time in the Gingerbread with him while he waited for his computer to finish charging, enjoying the breeze that blew from the nearby trees into the 2nd floor balcony just off the open air restaurant. Then we headed back out in the dinghy with me driving, and I dropped him off just long enough to change into his swim trunks while I made some practice runs around the harbor to get the feel of the dinghy at higher speeds and different turns. Then we motored the short distance (about 50 yards) to the new dinghy dock which has recently been added to one of the 3 main beaches that surround Admiralty Bay. We spent the next hour or so taking a break to swim and sit on the beach and enjoy the view of the catamarans, mononhulls, and motor vessels in the harbor from a different vantage point. We watched the water taxis coming and going, and followed the trail of the boat which delivers ice and freshwater slide smoothly from boat to boat where requested, like a big
black and yellow bug crawling among the flowers. It seems this harbor is always busy when the sun is up, and it sleeps only at night when the sun is also resting. ####
No comments:
Post a Comment