Cake Making!

It is amazing what you can do when you have time on your hands and nothing else to really do! :o) It is my agencies Christmas Party and I was in charge of bringing cake!


- Basic Homemade Yellow Cake with Red/Green Sprinkles Placed in it before I baked it -


- Melted Chocolate Chips in the Middle of the two cakes!-



- Finished Project! Peanut Butter Frosting and Decorations (THANK YOU MOM!) It is hard to see but it says 'NYC' which is the agency I work for-

Pictures!

Camp Pictures Cont.

Life Can Be A Beautiful Mess!

Beside the Volleyball Camp my afternoons were filled with an amazing MESS of glue, gittler, markers, goggle eyes, and everything inbetween!

The Libary had requested a Peace Corps volunteer to assist in the Libary Camp they were having. It is in the capital city so I thought what a great time that would be! Man did I sure have fun and meet some simply precious and amazing students. By the end of the week there was about 30 students there! For the most part they were very good and well-mannered while other times not so much! With children you roll with the punches and don't forget to smile!



Anyways... all of the crafts were Christmas related then we had a little party at the end where we decorated cookies and ate some cupcakes and other sweets. I sent those students home on a sugar rush! It was a great way to tell the students about Christmas in Michigan, and SNOW, and the fun we have in Snow, and how Christmas is just a little different then I am use to! I truly enjoy to ask the students at the end of the week what they liked best because their answers always seem to amaze me by their simple but pure responses.



My mini success story has nothing to do with Arts and Crafts but rather a mini change in character! For the whole week, I did my best to install 'Please, Thank You, and May I' as I lead by example! I find it to be extremely important for children to learn and use those words. Everytime if a student wanted to use something I would have them say a 'good' sentance for them to get the item and I would make sure I rewarded them. One of the older boys, he was about 14 or so and a riot but had a little sass to him! On Thursday, the last day of camp, he was helping to clean up and moving a table. The table had students art projects on it and he said to the group, 'If any of you have crafts on the table can you PLEASE move them!' My heart melted as he said that! I told him how proud I was of him! SUCESS!

C'est une belle vie

What a busy but amazing week I have had! It was jammed packed with ALL of my favorite activities! Playing volleyball, doing crafts with little ones, baking cookies, sleep over parties, and decorating cookies! Truly I could not of asked for a better week! To top it all off there is only five more days until CHRISTMAS! Friday was the first time some had wished me a Merry Christmas and it made me smile ear to ear!


-He was the son of the Sports Officer that was cute as a button and will be an amazing athlete when he gets older -

Here is a little more detail about the activities I had last week. Myself and Uno who is a Japan International Cooperation Agency volunteer (very similar to the PC but he is from Japan) held a Volleyball Camp held from the 14 December 2009 to 18 December 2009. The camp was open to female athletes going to Secondary School in the Roseau Central Area.



Uno and I meet a week before the camp started to develop a schedule of drills and skills for the week long camp. Then it was time to put those plans into place! The skill level of the girls was very low so it was basics that we started with! It was amazing to see the skills of the girl improve in just those short few days. Since there was not a lot of girls Uno and myself were able to provide a lot of one-on-one attention to the girls. In addition, there was a guy there who we play volleyball with that help, Julie (the PCV), two coaches from the Secondary School, and a man who is the Sport officer for the area. There were a lot of people there to assist the girls!

A Little Christmas Part 3

On Saturday I went to my FIRST Chritmas Function! My villiage is know for their flowers! We have a Flower Show Site and a Flower Show Group! The Flower Show Group (Which I am part of), had a Christmas Carol Celebration! The band you see in some of the pictures is a called a Jinx Ping Band from my villiage! It is local muisc!




- My Dancing Partner ALL Night -



- The Band -

A Little Christmas Part 2

What better way to Celebrate Christmas then MAKING COOKIES!! So... for about a week now we (the PC girls) have been trying to figure out a time that works for all to make cookies together! It has been a struggle but on Friday I ran into Alicia (PCV) and we decided we were going to make cookies!



We made two different kind- "Magically Surprise Cookies" and "Swedish Spritz Cookies" with a little Dominica twist because we did not have a cookie press so we just made them into circles and decorated them with some sugars and sprinkles! (THANK YOU MOM the decorations can in GREAT handy)!



We made the Spritz cookies first and when a recipe is for 5 dozen you know there are going to be good! So we doubled the recipe so Alicia could give them out to her neighbors and co-workers for presents. As we were making these cookies and I was tasting the dough, I thought to myself these taste very familiar but I have never made them. I took a look at the recipe ONE last time and it said butter, sugar, egg, flour, almond! I thought to myself that sounds really familiar what cookie could that be.... Any Guess?!?! It is the 'S' cookies we make! We made them a little different and the dough was a little more 'doughee' but there were still a little taste of home!



- The Taste Testers -

The Santa Hat you see me wearing! I did not bring that from home but rather my dear friend Alicia gave it to me for Christmas! Naturally there is a story behind this random but amazing gift! My BESTEST Beth from back at home made me a calender with pictures in it for Christmas. The picture she decided to use for December is the below picture. So every year (I mean EVERY year), our lovely Mother makes us wear these hats when we open our Christmas Presents! Jennifer and I are not always a fan but we understand it means the world to Mom and she means the world to us so we just do it. The two newest additions to the family (Andrew and Austin) even got one too! I was telling Alicia about it and it made her laugh out loud, so on Friday she came in with a gift for me and it was the Santa hat so I could have a little piece of home with me!

A Little Christmas Part 1

Well.. Christmas is 12 Days Away! For me it is really crazy to think because what normal reminds me of Christmas does not happen on the island! There is no running around to get last minutes gifts, fighting the snow storm roads, salt marks on the jeans, and wearing layer after layer of clothing to stay warm as you run in and out of the stores. For me there is no Fleece Fabric laying on the living room floor with dad keeping time to see how fast it will take Mom and I to finish the blanket, or stockings hanging by the window, there are no sweet candies in the jar on the desk, or a whole lot of extra stuff that was once in the living room and is now in my room! :o) There is not a little man running around, a crib in the family room, and toys everyone!



Rather, there is sunshine and rain! A little Christmas Tree that now has a taste of home to it, a Santa Hat from a Dear Friend, and a Christmas Lighting Ceremony! A few of you have called me out on being homesick right now! Honestly, I am a little, if I could just come home for Christmas and then come to my Dominica I would! I cannot stay too long because I have work that needs to be done here. Also, I have a Christmas to Celebrate in Dominica! As I struggle to find reminders it is Holiday Time I do things that I would do in the States with a little Holiday Twist!My Christmas Day Plans are still up in the Arm but all I know is that I will be surrounded around ones that care and adore me!

D Cold!

Well for about the past week I have had D Cold! It started off with just a little nose and throat... then turned into nose, throat and ears.... and now we are at the no voice and cough stage! I have a volleyball camp and arts and craft camp next week so I am hoping it finishes today! It is fine though! Nothing I cannot handle!

Anyways.. On Thursday was the worst day! I went up to my Landlord's house to see if she had any ginger! Ginger cures anything from the Cold to a Stomach Ache. Just grind or pound ginger (the thing in the grocery store that looks like a root- that I did not know what it was until I got here), boil it with some Cinnamon and nutmeg with a little sugar and you got yourself some ginger tea! As I walk up there asking for some ginger she is like "You got the Cold... Come Awhile!" At this point honestly I was annoyed, I just wanted to make my tea and go to bed and not go on some tourney! But she just goes outside her house with her knife and cuts some roots of this bush I have looked at about once a day! I do not know the name but it helps with the cold! So the picture above is what my Landlord gave me to help my Cold. Who needs medicine when you have bush remedies!

The Finished Tree!!

The Students at my afternoon program completed their decorations for my tree so now the Tree is COMPLETE!!

Christmas Tree..

"Oh Christmas tree, oh christmas tree, of all the trees most lovely
Each year you bring to me delight, meaning in the christmas night
Oh Christmas tree, oh christmas tree, of all the trees most lovely






The other day I put up my Christmas Tree! I have decided I needed a little Christmas Decoration because without the cold winter weather it just does not feel like Christmas Time! My little 'Charlie Brown' Christmas Tree brings me some joy! Today I am going to have my students make me some Christmas Ornaments to hang out my tree!

Moments...

That is a picture of Scott's Head, the southern most part of the island. It is always where the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean Meet. To the right is the Atlantic and the left is Caribbean.

I may have already talked about this but it is that near and dear to me, I am going to talk about it again! There are many moments that I experience daily that I wish everyone in the world could have that very same moment. I can tell you about them, show pictures, but it is not the same, the feeling is not there, the touch, the vibe, the situation.

Moments of having to hold onto the wall because I am about to fall over as the children run to simply embraces me! I am never quiet prepared for that moment and I am sad for the day it will stop! I hope it never does! It always takes them a moment before they come running. It is like; their little minds think “Is that really Miss standing in the door, YES it is… ATTACK!!” They greet me every Monday and Thursday like they are my long lost best friend I have not seen in years! Pure Joy… Pure Love!

Other Moments as I am walking through town and my island mom will YELL out her car window “Like Your Hair Michelle” or ‘Your Trendy!” So Honest and So True! Man Am I lucky to have her in my life. Today while I was meeting with the individual in charge of the PCVs on island, he was with my island mom last night and he simply said, “Man she (My island mom) Loves you!”

There are always Moments of Rainbows, Shooting Stars, and Blankets of Stars every night. I hope these moments never lose their effect, their awe, their ability to warm my heart!

The View!

This a picture is of the View I normally see every time I am playing Volleyball! A Beautiful Rainbow over the Mountians! Breathtaking Every time!

HIV/AIDS March

December 1st was National HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. The organization that I work with a long with the Red Cross, HIV Response Team, and Women's Bureau all team uped to do a Silent March through the capital with our signs, candles, and t-shirts. We called upon the youth of Dominica to take a stand against HIV/AIDS and show their support by walking wiht us! As we were walking though town, we blocked traffic to make our point even stronger! There was about 50 Youth that came out a long with a few different Youth Officers. Here are some pictures of the walk!