Thursday, February 28, 2008 
I rose early this morning because I wanted to resolve my “out of gas” situation in the dinghy (see post for Feb 27) so as not to be late for school, so I tried to radio for a water taxi to pick me up and deliver me to the gas station (there is only one gas station on the entire island). I tried hailing African (his boat name) and then just "water taxi", but unfortunately didn’t have luck raising anyone today. I’m not sure if my radio wasn’t transmitting properly or if perhaps they just weren’t monitoring this early. Time for Plan B.
It appeared this might take longer than anticipated, so I went ahead and prepared my things and dressed for school, today choosing black cotton slacks and a simple cotton top since I’d be carrying around a gas can. When I was ready to go I went up top to see who might be puttering about in their dinghies on their way into town, or if perhaps I could flag down a water taxi on the fly.
Within a few minutes I saw a youngish man in a dinghy who’d apparently just towed someone out to their boat who also seemed to be having dinghy challenges, and he appeared to be heading back toward town. I flagged him down to ask if he could take me in so I could get gas for my dinghy and he readily agreed, and just to be sure I asked if he would accept 10 EC for the ride – this was only about $3.25 US, but I knew this was the going rate for one-way transport for water taxis). He agreed, and began unhooking the gas can from the dinghy for me while I locked up boat, and as I stepped into his dinghy he asked if I’d prefer to simply tow the dinghy in since that would alleviate me from having to water taxi back out. I thanked him because I knew this would take him longer and be extra gas and wear/tear on his dinghy/engine, so I appreciated him making the offer.
My daily walk to the Sunshine School is up this hill, past Knight's Market (right) and the hospital (large building shown in background on right) and library (see photo below).I introduced myself and he said his name was Simon, and as he stood to untie the painter line which attached my dinghy to SJ, he commented that I tied mine up as much as he did -- when he noticed not only the traditional safety on the cleat but another backup safety half-hitch knot on the stern rail just in case. I told him that I learned that from my husband who always tied a backup in case the cleat line slips for some reason (I thank Tim's Dad, Darvin, for teaching him that kind of prevention), and Simon Says (oops, sorry but I couldn’t resist that pun) -- he said it was a good thing because you never know when something might break loose and next thing you know your dinghy is out to sea.
We chatted while we slowly motored in toward town and I discovered that he was originally from St. Lucia. He was in Bequia just finishing up a charter (he was the skipper), and in a few days he was headed across the Atlantic to deliver a boat to somewhere (I think he said England) as part of a crew of 5 people. He also mentioned he does boat watches, and all of this of course perked up my ears just like my dog Kennedy when he sees Tim enter the room, because we’ve been discussing moving SJ around a bit throughout the Caribbean so we can check out different places where we hope to be able to eek out a basic living/working part of the year in the future. I asked for his contact information for later before he dropped me off at the fish market dock. He had kindly thought ahead that this dock is closest to the gas station and would be a shorter walk for me to carry the gas can back. He is such a really nice guy.
As I started to dig through my bag to pull out the EC dollars he waved his hand and politely said “never mind, it’s okay” – and while I appreciated his kind offer, it seemed only fair to pay him a little something for his gas and time, and because he had towed my dinghy too, $10 EC didn’t seem quite enough so I handed him $20 EC (only $7 US) instead, asking him to please accept it because he really helped me out.
Bequia Library
After we said goodbye I walked to the gas station and the gentleman there filled my tank and mixed the oil for me. I was to learn later from a friend that the very next day the gas station ran out of gas for a few days – leaving everyone on the island to ration their gas until the truck arrived on the ferry to replenish their supplies -- so I guess my timing was good eh? While I was waiting, an older gentleman who had seen me towed in asked if I needed help carrying it back, and I agreed because I had been wondering how I’d keep that heavy can away from my clothes on the walk back.
Lunchtime recess at Sunshine School.
It cost $35 EC ($12 US) to fill the tank, and then the nice island gentleman carried it back to the dock, put it on board, and then talked me through re-installing it so I would know how to do it. He held onto the dinghy painter the entire time to keep the dinghy close to the dock, and then once installed, he waited to be sure it started for me. He did all this AFTER I had already paid him (without him asking for anything) a pittance of $5 EC (less than $2 US) for his help. He stayed with me until the engine was running smoothly and then we waved goodbye as I motored my way to the regular town dock. If you wonder why I pay people a little something for most anything they do that is out of their way, that's because I understand the average wage for most locals is about $40 EC/day (about $15 US). And while Tim and I aren't rich by any means, it only seems fairs somehow.
And people who go out of their way to help me has largely been my experience during this trip – I meet many nice people and the men here still seem to have that old-time chivalrous attitude about someone in need -- perhaps especially when it is a somewhat clueless woman "messing about" with dinghies on her own. I learn so much from each experience that perhaps I won’t be clueless for long!
Ashanda (front) and Shantell working on their knitting in the sewing room.
At the Sunshine School this morning the students and teachers seemed to enjoy my story of running out of gas the night before during our "what we did yesterday" part of the assembly, and later one of the girls in my class asked me to repeat the sound I made imitating the engine when it conked out. I must have made an entertaining noise in my description, but I’m glad they found it amusing because so did I – and I guess that came across.
After they went off to their first class, I worked in the computer room typing a PSA (Public Service Announcement) to send to local radio stations for the Jumble Sale school fundraiser we were hosting this weekend, and then I cranked out a few pricing signs for the tables. I looked forward to the sale and since I love organizing things, these kinds of preparatory “logistics” tasks were always my favorite to plan and execute.
I was looking forward to class today, especially our math lesson because I had spent some time last night on the boat making paper money for our virtual “shopping” trip to teach what I’d call “living skills”. I had taken old brochures on the boat and cut them up into small strips and then labeled them in denominations of $100, $50, $20, $10, $5 and $1 to represent EC currency (the coins we’d skip, so today all our prices were in whole dollars). Then I had made up a few hand-written signs to represent the “stores” we’d go to – one was Knights Grocery (like in town) where they could buy milk, eggs, butter and cake. Another was a clothing store where they could buy dresses and shoes and shirts. And finally the last one was a household store where they could buy pots and pans and TV’s and other home items.
Play money I made the night before class on Sacajawea for our "living skills" class.
I made a game of it and gave them each a “salary” of $175 EC, and then gave each an opportunity to go shopping and also to be the shop owner. I was amazed at how quickly they took to our little role play and added their own scenarios to it, and it was very interesting to see which girls always went for the fancy dress and expensive shoes and cake, and which ones picked a bit more conservatively of the simple dress and basic shoes that cost much less. As we started the game and some of the girls were buying clothes and games, I reminded them as their money supply dwindled that they still had the rest of the week before payday again, and they hadn’t fed their family yet. I don’t think I’ll ever forget that sudden pause and look of “Oh!” on their faces as perhaps a bit of reality started to dawn on the fun they were having. Of course there was at least one girl in the class who demonstrated a very cautious approach, always choosing the less expensive and more practical thing – much in keeping with her overall personality which is very responsible, thoughtful and considerate of others.
Later we worked on a poetry reading comprehension assignment, and when time for lunch rolled around and Ashanda and Krista asked if they could stay to finish the lesson first – that was probably the biggest reward I could have received.
The kids are enjoying a dancing game at recess. These two girls are awesome dancers.
As we entered the kitchen together later for lunch, Miss Delnora had kept mine covered for me with the other teachers – today’s meal was spaghetti with spicy chicken on top that was excellent, and I cleaned my plate as always. After lunch today, recess was a new game where Kristine (the teacher visiting from Switzerland), had brought her Mac laptop with music CD’s. The game was similar to the “musical chairs” game I played as a kid – where they danced as long as the music was playing, but once the music stopped they had to freeze, and anyone who didn’t freeze quickly enough was out.
It was a lot of fun to watch them play the game – and what I enjoyed most was the way the students worked together without any prompting from the “adults” to help the ones that were less able to understand the game instead of making fun of them or ridiculing them. There are a couple of students who have pretty significant speech limitations, and a few others whose learning skills are at a pretty basic level. But with the exception of one student who seems to have a few aggressive tendencies that we all work together to curb, the other students with more severe developmental issues are very gentle and cooperative, so they are a joy to work with and teach.
Ashanda helps out Phil during the game.
My favorite part of the day was to watch Ashanda, one of the girls in my class, take care of one boy about her age who was not really able to understand the game and how he was supposed to stop when the music stopped. He was included in the game just like everyone else, and Ashanda held his hand when they danced so he’d know what to do, and when the music stopped she froze in hopes he would freeze too. He did sometimes eventually, although perhaps not soon enough, so eventually he was “out”, and when that happened since he didn’t really seem to understand what to do then, she led him by the hand to the bench and asked him to sit there, which he did and smiled happily -- seemingly as content to watch the others finish the game. I have since worked with him on lessons drawing letters in his workbook, and although he can't seem to speak beyond a few grunting sounds, he smiles and holds your hand and is happy to keep trying the same letter over and over again. Those moments remind me of what is really important in the world, and why I'm here.
Witnessing his efforts and the way Ashanda and the other students worked with him -- all of that pretty much made my day, perhaps even my year. It felt so great to see kids that young take care of one another, accepting each other’s limitations and differences without ridicule and mean-spiritedness coming from the ones that perhaps don’t have the same limitation, or the resulting fear and
shame that often promotes in the ones that do. It is a lesson that we adults would do well to learn, and it gives me hope for the next generation and the kind of world they might be able to create for themselves and each other, that perhaps our generation doesn’t do so well. It gives me great hope for the future.
After school today I made my almost-daily stop at the Gingerbread, and since I had fully charged my laptop at school I was able to work outside at one of the tables just steps away from the restaurant’s dock and of course the beautiful blue water beyond. There was a nice breeze rustling through the trees above and lots of birds chirping, so this was the background music that Tim heard as he and I caught up during our Skype call from his laptop to mine.
Looking down from the Gingerbread Restaurant (and Internet area) on the outdoor cafe area and dinghy dock beyond.
I know I mentioned this in one of my earliest logs, but Skype is a wonderful tool that can be downloaded for free, and then used to call another computer using the Internet, free of charge. It’s been a lifesaver for Tim and I during the 3 weeks I’ve remained in SVG after he left – otherwise the cost of calling by traditional phone would have meant we could only talk about once/week, if that. But with Skype, we set a time each day when we’d both try to be online, and then we could talk as long as our time and Internet connection allowed. How DID we ever exist before the Internet anyway?
Later in the day I donned the swimsuit and snorkel gear for my daily water exercise, and today I tried out a new snorkel spot at the end of Princess Margaret Beach. There is rocky point which connects the beaches at Princess Margaret and Lower Bay, and the water is deeper there (about 30 feet or more in places almost immediately off the rocks), but the area is lined with these interesting “canyons” under the water of rocky coral that you can swim among like hikers navigating a switchback trail.
As I paddled softly over the purplish sea fans swaying in the current, and among the parrot fish, reef squid, and occasional turtle below between one beach and the next, I stopped to check my position and at one point I wondered if I had taken a wrong turn – because I couldn’t see the next beach yet still around the point ahead, and as I looked out toward the boats anchored here at this far end of the harbor, it felt as if I was headed out to sea and in much more open water than I really was. I really like this spot and look forward to a repeat visit here with Tim when he returns to help me deliver SJ back to St. Vincent in mid-March.
Realizing the sun was starting to get lower in the sky, I reluctantly turned back toward the shore and made the long swim back against the current to the beach. Since I realized one person swimming alone might be harder for a water taxi to spot, as I headed back in the general direction of SJ I swam parallel to shore and stayed near the beach, and then when I was even with our boat which was anchored about 5 boats away, I swam at the shortest and most direct line I could toward her while staying near other anchored boats as much as possible for better visibility.
That’s all I have time to write today, so until later, cheers!
visual check around me noting where all the boats are and ensuring no one’s position is changing due to a slipping anchor, and that SJ is not likely to get a bump in the night. Usually I’m exhausted by 10am and falling asleep while I read, so I turn out my reading lamp, close the top hatches in case it rains overnight, curl up in the bunk, and am rocked to sleep with the motion of the boat and the soothing sound of water lapping against the hull. Perhaps it's not a glamorous life, but all in all, not a bad way to live at all.
