Joys of 3/29!

Just the little things that make me love life!

1. Knowing I WILL NOT see snow for TWO years as my nearest and dearest are dealing with snow right now.

2. SLEEPING IN!!!

3. A Very Relaxed Day!

4. BIRTHDAY CAKE without Frosting and it was MARVELOUS!

5. Being able to see a GREAT play and talking with someone that was familiar with Detroit

6. Buying pizza from the little girls that I made cookie with!!

7. Postsecret SUNDAY!

8. A Fanastic Phone Conversation!

LOVE AND MISS ALL OF YOU!!

M

Joys of 3/28

If you look closely at the picture you can see a rope hanging from the Coconut Tree that is the Rope Swing! The rope was not really long enough and the water level is too low to jump into the water so you just held on and swung back. Because we were on the West Coast they do not have black sand beaches so the sand is more what we are accustom to in the States.

Every since I have started my daily Joys I feel lazy about blogging. I have not even wrote in my "old sckool" journal in about a week. It has been busy but AMAZING! I will answer questions tomorrow. Keep them coming if you have more!

1. Spending the WHOLE day at the Beach and NOT Burning!!
2. Realizing even more today how truly amazing of a group that I am with in Dominica. We will make BIG changes and build unbreakable bonds!
3. Being able to spend non-training time with the other PCT!
4. Knowing my TEAL couch will be used by the WM staff while I am done for two years! :o)
5. Talking to my BESTEST today!!!
6. Going to bed EARLY!!
7. Making Fresh MOVIE Style Popcorn on the stove top!! No more MICROWAVE popcorn for this girl!
8. Rope SWING!

Much Love!

Joys of 3/27

Sometimes I do not know what to blog about so I do my Joys of the Day!! But I am opening it for questions. If you have any questions about my journey, the island, my life, etc. Leave me a comment or e-mail them to me (garavami14@gmail.com) and I would gladly answer them via blog and it would give me something to say!It seems the post office took the PINK SLIP but this is the slip they give you to pick up your PACKAGE


The little things...

1. PINK SLIP!! I got my FIRST package today!! (Thank You Mom and Dad)!! The stickers came in handing when the other PCT and myself were starting to melt down after a LONG day of training
2. Being GREETED by running children, smiling faces, and hugs when I stopped by the school this morning
3. Going to the BEACH tomorrow
4. Going to the Market TONIGHT! Unique experience to go to the Market at 10:00PM and the Merchants will stay there ALL night and the WHOLE day on Saturday!
5. A Piece of Dark Chocolate Bar! :o)
6. A Picture of my Nephew that was in my Birthday Card!
7. Cake and Icing Yesterday! (What a TREAT)
8. Getting Losted in Town (No Surprise I Know) and Saying "Hello AGAIN" as I pass by the firefighters twice and a family twice within 10 mins! With the help of my host sister I found my way!

ENJOY LIFE
M

Joys of 3/26

Sometimes the best advice can be found on a bathroom wall!

1. Randomly running into one of the other PCT in Town TWICE

2. A solid Dance Aerobics Class

3. Dominating in Dominos for an Hour while I was "working"

4. Finding a box of TRIX Cereal

5. Finding out about an AMAZING program I will start next year with my primary school kids dealing with Character Development

Love and Miss all of YOU!

M

The Little Things of 3/25...

Here are the little things of yesterday that got me laughing and smiling through my day

1. Finally getting a hold of Beth after many failed phone calls- Thank God for Spyke

2. Dancing with the Traditional Eastern Caribbean Island Dancers at a GREAT Dinner

3. Sitting by the Bay (Have not done that in a while)

4. The Sight of a BEAUTIFUL Sunset over the Caribbean Sea

5. Milo and A ButterFlap (It is a Roll that is folded over with butter in the middle) before bed

6. Being able to sleep an hour later then normal but going to bed one hour later :o)

LOVE YOU AND MISS YOU!

Joy!

I was thinking about JOY this weekend! What an amazing emotion to have! It is so simply but then some people rarely experience that true and pure joy young children have. I was thinking about- what gives Michelle JOY! If some one where to ask me that say a month or two ago and I can say the answers would be totally different. My answer would be around seeing/touching/hug my nearest and dearest, going to Grand Rapids to see my bestest from GVSU, the random events and people that I may see walking around RO but not anymore. Those are not options anymore for me but there are these new random, wonderful, pure, simple, and basic events that happen in my life everyday that offer me JOY and puts my heart at ease if I allow myself to truly take the moment in.

Here are some things that just make my soul happy:

- When I a Drink Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice- I know it is freshly squeezed not because that is what the carton says but because I squeezed it myself and I personally know the farmer that picked the oranges the other day!

- This Kid Below. I met him at a Birthday Party. He is Three and Picked a flower for me. It was pure thoughtfulness.

- A Pink Slip- While if you are not a PCV/T (Peace Corp Volunteer/Trainee) this means nothing to you but for us it means we have a PACKAGE!! To see the faces of the PCV/T simply let up when the Pink Slip is in their mailbox

- Sitting eating dinner outside in March watching the Sun fall into the Caribbean Sea

- E-Mails from my nearest and dearest even when I did not write them

- Hugs and excitement when I walk into my school attachment

- My Nephew- When I call him on Skype and He Smiles and Giggles At Me

- Falling Asleep under a blanket of stars outside

- Laughing until I cried while watching my Host Mother run from a wave while she was also laughing!

- My Family because they are the MOST SUPPORTIVE individuals!

Everyday Views...

Here are some pictures of the Island I call home. I just want to paint all of you the best picture I can with pictures...

Put Your Floatie On We Are Going....

SWIMMING!!

That is right!! On Saturday my host family and I went to Mero Beach which is in the Southwest of the Island to go swimming. Let me tell you- it was a simply BLAST. It was also very unique experience. I am use to the sand being a tan brown color. Since Dominica is a volcanic island the "Sand" is black and a little bigger then I am use to. Also, the beach is not very big, I would say it was only sand covered for about 10 feet. A person could not play sand volleyball that is for sure because at times the larger waves would come all the way to were the wall was and there was no more sand.

Because we went to the Southwest side of the island we were swimming in the Caribbean Sea which is suppose to be calmer then the Atlantic Side but I am not really use to seeing waves but the waves were pretty high. They "folded" over my head. Speaking of that- the Sea and I fought and the Sea won and my arm and back got scratched on the bottom of the Sea. I came out alive with just a few scratches and a mouth full of Sea Water. So after that I just hung out on the sand and the got wet when the after effects of the larger waves got me wet! After the Sea we went to the River where there is fresh water. The water was COLD! I had goose bumps on my body. I rinsed off the salt and hung out with Chocolate in the sun as we were drying.

By this time it was getting dark so we headed out and got some ice cream. Strawberry and Fruit Salad- YUMMY!!! It is "Top of the Line" ice cream. It taste a lot like homemade ice cream. Very creamy and has a little bit of a ice texture to it. Then we stopped one more time for some "Bakes" the best way I can describe these is a deep-fried roll. They are delicious- very bad for you but GREAT tasting!

That was my adventure for my Saturday! I am off to a birthday party! Enjoy the pictures!! LOVE And You Miss You Guys!

FOOTBALL...

Tonight I was able to go to the Football game at the new Stadium in Dominica. For those of you that do not know "Football" is really soccer but they call it Football similar to other countries. About 3ish years ago China gave Dominica a WHOLE LOT of money and assistance to build a new Football and Cricket Stadium. It is located right in the capital town and absolutely beautiful. There was a GREAT showing at the game tonight. Dominica ended up losing 5-0 but it was still a lot of fun. I went with my host family and another Peace Corp Volunteer. Below are some pictures from the game.

My parents went to Dominica about 2 years ago and Mr. ChuChu took a picture of the building being built so there is a before and after effect. Enjoy the pictures...

I am off to bed now. I am going to be with the preschoolers tomorrow so I need ALL the energy I can have so I can match their energy!

A Beautiful Look EVERYWHERE You Look...

Well Everyone where do I begin!! It is crazy to think that in about 2 days I will have been gone for a MONTH!! That is simply crazy to me because it seems like yesterday when I was stressing out about fitting everything into my suite case- carrying my suitcase- and simply staring into Jenifer's room hoping it would pack itself. Nearly 6 months ago, I was sitting at my kitchen table getting the news I would not be leaving until February as the Plumber walks by. Now I am here- in Dominica getting my big toe wet and learning as I go. Look back it makes me smiles- understanding life happens in a specific order for a reason. It seems to all fall right into place like a the perfect jigsaw puzzle life is. There will be always be road blocks, things that YOU want to happen at a specific moment but happen at a later one. I am were I am suppose to be at the moment I am suppose to be there. It is a Magnificent feeling.

This might be a long one because I feel like there is a lot of updating to do. I have a fantastic weekend. Saturday was the baking and then I Sunday I got the opportunity to join a service learning group as they went to Church, a picnic, and the river to "Bathe". Let me break down "Batheing" in the river for you. Sometimes it does have to do with actually taking a shower if the river but for the most part it means simply hanging out in the river. How this river work is- there was rocks on both ends of where we were and a little deeper not so rocky part in the middle. The water was a little on the cold side- and no animals got me which made me happy. It was great to just spend the whole after noon with individuals my add hanging out and chic chatting. The weather treated us well for the most parts. It sprinkled just a little bit on and off some of the day but for the most part it was fine. Dominica is like that though- it will "spit" rain for a moment then stop and start again.

She was our little one that went with us to the River. Needless to say she was passed out about 5 minutes into the van ride.

I am now attached to a School. It is a fourth grade classroom right by my work site. It is GREAT. The children are between 8 and 10 and a simply delight to have around. One of the little boys said "You are Fun" after I got done facilitating a conversation about the GREATEST of TREES!! I get a hug from most of them as they leave and when they come in the morning. I ran into one of the girls in the store on Monday and her face simply light up when she saw me. I am glad for the School Attachment.

That is all I got...

Love and Miss ALL
M

It is Baking Time...

Today was such an AMAZING day! The morning started with me running about 15 mins late (which is not a big surprise) but the plans were nothing set in stone. My host mom, Shirley and I went for a watch throughout the village. We first stop at a woman by the name of Tete. Tete is from Liberia and now lives in an amazing house over looking the city and the water in Dominica. She is marriage to a man who was part of the second group of individuals set to out of the country for the PEACE CORPS!! He was group number 2. I am group number 79 which means 79 groups have been sent to Dominica alone.

And then we walked to a local villager with a unbelievable green thumb and he is he the local Gardner. He was not around but we walked through his garden anyways. After that we stopped by a man who does local wood work. My village is full of artist individuals.

Then it was BAKING TIME!! I set up and measured all of the ingredients for Oatmeal Raisin Cookies just like I use to make at home. Five of the local girls and myself were going to make cookies. The children ranged from 5 years old to 11 years old. I told them I would be done to pick them up (they just live down the road) at 2:00PM. I got there at 2:00PM and they were not ready so I just told them to come up to my Host Mother's house when they were ready. Anyways... we just had a BLAST making cookies. The girls were soo excited to be able to help, mix in the ingredients, and stir them all together. They do not get to bake a lot so it was a true treat for them. So we made about 5 dozen cookies which they LOVED and took some home for their mother and oldest sister (14 years old). Then we had lunch together! I went back down to the spring with the help of the girls. We went on a little adventure on the way up when we were trying to take a short cut through the forest. I did a little hiking :o). The girls and myself had such a BLAST this afternoon. It was a great Saturday!

These are the girls I was baking with. The second picture is of is some of the girls and my Host Mother!

Lets Play The Question and Answer Game..

So, I just a received an e-mail asking me questions about questions regarding my everyday life in Dominica. They were great questions, I want to share the answers with all of you.

1. I get around by either "Bus" which are really 12 passenger white vans. I am lucky because my Host Mother has a car and she works in the same time as me. So A LOT of the times she will just drive me down. But the majority of individuals take the bus or walk.

2. The whole island especially the children speak English but the individuals here have a different dialectic, use different words choices, and they talk fast so at times I feel like they are speaking a different language. But if they speak slower then I can usually follow better but I have no problem asking them to repeat what they said. Also, the older individuals and individuals that live in smaller villages speak Creole which is a broken french- it is not formal written so it is harder to learn. I have language class about twice a week.

3. Yes there is Grocery Stores. Surprise they have ALOT of American food but it is about 3 to 5 dollars more expensive because they have to import it but they do have it. You will not find a Meijer or Walmart type store but it is a good size grocery store with about 10 aisle. All the basic are there. There is also a Subway, KFC, and Rituals (which is a Dominican verse of Starbucks- same colors and all) in where I work. All of the food they use for those two restaurants are imported so it taste just like in the states :o).

4. The food I am eating contains ALOT of starches- they have about 5 different types of Po toes/Yams. I am still trying to learn the names and tell the difference between all of them. They eat a lot of fish and chicken a long with beans. We do not eat a lot of noodles because they get there starch from their pototoes. Also, we eat A LOT of veggies because they are so easy to find and make. The Market is open Monday-Saturday so you can also find fresh fruits and veggies. Also, there is two ice cream places really close so I eat ice cream about once a week! :o).

5. Yes the kids where uniforms. At the school I am at they were brown pants or jumper with a white and brown and plaid shirt. Depending on the School will change the color and style of the uniform.

6. The currency we use is Eastern Caribbean Dollar (EC) but a lot of shops will take the USA dollar. The exchange rate is about 2.6. So I buy a liter of water for about 3.50 EC which is about $1.35 US Dollars

7. Lastly, my address for the next two years is as follows:

PO Box 357

8 King George V Street

Roseau Dominica

Just an FYI it goes through Customs, so do not send me any valuable. It takes about 3-6 weeks for a package and about two weeks for a letter.

I think that is it- my lap top is about to die!

LOVE ALL of YOU!

M

It is the Little Things of 3/12 That Keep Me Smiling

Introducing Chocolate- The Family Dog!

I felt like I should blog but was not in the mood for something long- so here it is in a nutshell. Ideal stolen from my sister!

1. Having the opportunity to work on a Easter Egg Hunt where the kids will be goin to about 5 local villages to collect clues

2. Having a 6 year old little girl introducing me to all of the Children at the after school programs

3. Having the 1st graders smile with delight when I let them play with my hair (They LOVE how soft it is)

4. Hot Chocolate before bed

5. Seeing my Peace Corp Volunteers Tomorrow

6. Baking my FAMOUS Cookies this weekend with 5 sisters in the village

7. Going to the Beach on Sunday

8. A Sky Full of Stars

9. Goin to the MARKET on Friday

Love and Miss all of you!! Stayed Tune- I will try to give a more updated version sooner...

Just a short one..

So I was reading another PCT (Peace Corps Trainee) blog, we are still Trainee until our training is over and they make it official at the end of April with a little Ceremony. While I was reading her Blog I was inspired. So I am also go to share similarly to how she shared:

I have lived an amazing short 22 years of life (Almost 23) and touched many hearts a long the way, some I realized and some I did not. Most importantly people have touched my hearts in different ways, it could be the man on the street that makes a comment of how nice I look that day, A friend telling me how I am appreciated, or a client being "mad" at me when I inform her that I am leaving. All of the moments and a millions others have touched my heart.

This journey is about the community, children, and Dominica but this adventure is alsoabout ME. For the first time in a long time I am allowing this journey to be about my continuous personal growth as a Women. I am no longer a "Girl" but a Women that is going to spread her wings farther then she can image. Test her will, fall down at moments but pick HERSELF up, and find her true passions for life. During the Peace Corps I am hoping to find ME at the moment (knowing I will change).

I want to THANK YOU each and every one of you that needs this. More then likely you are someone that is near and dear to me (if you aren't a random) and have helped one way or another in personal growth. THANK YOU for the endless support you have shown me in your own special way because of that I am free to explore, grow as a Women, and see the World!!

It is go time now for ME!

My New Room..

Let go on a little tour of my new home...

That is the road on the way down to my house off the main road that goes through the WHOLE city

The outside of the home- my host mom rents out an apartment on the top and the bottom

My Bed Where I have sweet dreams- It may be messing but MOM take a look IT IS MADE!!

My Dresser and Closet...


My FANASTIC Shower Head

The Inside of my shower that was finished a few days before I arrived

The Sink and Toilet


Sometimes it is just easier to show pictures then example. That is where I am living in a nutshell! Miss and love you!!

M

To The Spring We Go...

I put on my "Hiking" Flip-Flops and My Northface "FannyPack" (THANK YOU JENNIFER) and we were to to the spring..




Saw some Larger then life leaves on the way....

Finally we Arrived at the Spring after about 3/4 of mile walk (up hill BOTH ways) to catch some fresh rain water from DEEP in the ground (that I can drink and not get a tummy ache)

First Time For Everything...

OK Everyone! (A Common Greeting in Dominica)

I never really know how to start off these blogs so I guess I will start them with a simply Greeting! Anyways... two first happened today, the first being attending the Market in the Roseau. Man oOo.. Man.. it sure was a lot of fun. There was over 50 different stands of individuals selling their goods. A lot of the stands had similar items because it is simply the veggies and fruits that are in season at the moment a long with Fruit. It was a very busy area with all of the individuals selling and buying. It also was calm because the vendors were not pressuring you to buy their items rather just standing there waiting for you to approach them. Mango are just becoming into to season and I am SOOO excited- they are yummy in Dominica because they are so FRESH and have a very sweet taste to them. I have found that Dominica has a lot of starchy foods and a bread truck. There are numerous different veggies (that all look the same) that taste similar to a potato. There is even a banana looking fruit that cooks and taste like a potato, they are called figs. The Market was an adventure and we ended the Market experience that started at 7:00AM with some ice cream from a local shop. Passion Fruit ice cream may be my new favorite.

Second first thing today was I said it was Chilling today. Yes, you read correctly it was chilling today once the sun went day. The day was very warm with the sunny shinning and the moment the sun went down, the wind picked up and it became chilling. See I live on top of the moment so it is about 5 degrees cooler then it would be in Roseau which is at the bottom of the Mountain. The ladies in the house were REALLY cold because they were not use to the chill at all.

There is currently limited running water in the house which means I am going to church in the morning without a shower... OoO Well..

Hope everyone enjoys their day!

Peace and Love

M

For The Ones With The Same Last Name As Me... Because it will make them laugh...

Hello Everyone!

If you are part of my family you will understand why this picture is funny- and if you aren't then just enjoy the picture. The picture was taking this morning outside of my homestand house! If you look closely there is a brown COW eating the grass!!

I hope it makes you smile. If you want to know the story behind why this random picture makes my family laugh- just ask and I might just tell you! :o).

Peace and Love

Pictures of MY Island..

A crazy looking tour bus I say at the Bay Front while all the tourist were getting off the island and I was journal

A view of some of the houses on the Mountain by the agency I am working at.

It is the Bay Front View- where the cruise ships come in and the rain cloud that is ALWAYS over the mountain villages.

The first view of the Ocean I saw on the Way to meet with my host family.

It is very unique because the individuals of Dominica take their island very personally but referring it as "Their Island." I found that remarkable to have so much proud in the place you live.

Island Life...

Well... where do I begin. While I am typing this my pictures are uploading so you all will be able to see what I am calling home for the next two year.

I made to Dominica safe and sound after two flights from St. Lucia. I arrived this Monday at about 6:00PM where I was greeted by my Host Mother and a BIG Hug!! My host mother and her two daughters are simply a delight and a blessing to have around. My host mother is very active in the community and knows almost everyone which will be very helpful when I start working on my different projects with the Youth of Dominica. I have my own bedroom and my private bath room. It is a very nice home. Every evening my host family so patiently lets me cook with her so I can learn how to cook the local food and the other day we went to her friends home to pick fresh grapefruits from her tree. Today on my way home from the gym (I will tell you more about that later)- there was a man selling Coconuts right out of the back of his truck, us girls all got one. First you drink the juice and then you give it back to him so he can cut it again and you can eat the inside. They are not brown and hairy like in the States but rather a yellow/green color on the outside but still white in the inside. My host mother kindly paid for a time membership so I go with her two daughters. It is a lot of fun- it is on the third floor of a building and is just a one room weight room where a lot of the same people come everyday.

Today I went to meet the individuals that I will be working with for the next two years. It is an agency that works with the youth of Dominica all across the island. There is only two women who work in the agency. I will be working on various activities such as World Youth Service Day, A Leadership conferences (where I will be speaking about active listening and empathy). There is a handful of other activities that I cannot think of at the moment- such as a walk for awareness and a Book Club.

I am truly enjoying myself. I live in the rain forest on top of a mountain. City girl is in the mountains and loving it. It rains almost everyday at my host family home- even though we are in the dry season at the moment. There is a rainbow frequently (a few times a week). I have to take a picture of it the next time I see it. I am also surrounded around naturally untouched beauty that I hope I do not take advantage of.

I think that is it- enjoy the pictures on the next post- if you have any questions just e-mail me or e-mail me to say Hello. Hope all is well with everyone!!

Love and Miss Each and Everyone of you!

M

Pictures for your viewing Pleasure..

Outside the Park Finishing our Ice Cream

The Girls Pretending to be in the Jungle

GROUP SHOT!

Waiting is the Game...

Let me paint just a little picture...

Next to me is one of my Peace Corps volunteers Beth (Beth says "Just Chillin looking for Rhianna") also farting around on her Laptop- there is a Security Guard outside to my Left- and a Man wearing a Fanny pack that just walked by.

Well.. you guessed it I am at the Airport in Barbados waiting for my Flight to Dominica.

So... for those of you know I check Post Secrets every Sunday (I am not sure what I am going to do if I do not have a Internet and cannot check them out weekly. Two things I found out is- he is coming out with his fourth book (Christmas Idea :o) ) and the Postsecret above is amazing for the journey we are on. The answer to the questions is Yes- they do have tampons on the island.

Anyways- today is filled with emotions similar to most. There is happiness/excitement to meet my host family and finally get to my Island but their is also nervous and a sense of anxiety that comes a long with that. Then there is sadness as well. We were a close group of 23- that become about 16 and now it is 8. I am going to miss those individuals that I learned about- chatting with and a bond was formed. We will meet again in about 1 year to see the amazing things we have done in our communities. I know they will ALL do GREAT things in their islands!

All is well- simply enjoying the different languages I hear around me (none being English) and the Sunshine that wakes me up every morning.

I do not have a lot to update with you beside I will be living with host family for about 2 months and then I will be living on my own. As time goes on I will be able to update you on events going on and projects I will be partaking in. But for now- we are learning the ways of land and training like crazy!

I hope everyone is doing well! Miss all of you!

Love You

M