Since we are on break, we have had some extra time on our hands. The other day, we decided to try out our new cricket set we got for Christmas. We do not have much yard space, but we do have a small concrete slab by the back of the church. Usually, we do not have much access to it because there is a preschool in the same yard and they use it, but now that both the preschool and we are on break, we can use it all we want. When we were playing cricket, we found an old rusty chair to use as a wicket. The wicket is placed behind the batter's bat. If the bowler (pitcher) hits the wicket with the ball, the batter is out. In real cricket, the batter runs after they hit the ball, but since that is next to impossible to play for runs with only two people, we did not. Instead, we counted up the number of hits the batter got. Once the batter got a wicket (or if the bowler caught their ball), we switched positions. Yesterday we passed a good portion of the day cutting out Biblical characters from felt. One of our neighbours had gotten a mini felt board set identical to the one at the church, except everything is a lot more tiny. She was overwhelmed by having to cut out the whole thing, so she gave it to us. We had forgotten about it until yesterday, but we got a lot cut out then. Some of our other neighbours gave us some games to play over break--Monopoly and Rummy-O. We haven't actually gotten around to playing those games, but we have played some others. We have been finding lots of ways to keep occupied.
~Roxy & Olivia
Today may not be the twelfth day of Christmas, but it is our twelfth day without water. That actually may sound a bit worse than it is, but the situation has been quite frustrating for us. They way the water system works here is that every home and business has their own set of water tanks. Here at the church there are two large tanks that hold, I believe, 1000 gallons between the two of them. These tanks are connected to the city water line that is supposed to refill them as they get low. However, since at least the 19th of December, there has been no water coming into the tanks. Instead, we can see the water that is supposed to be coming to us running out from under the road and into the ditch. We have called the water authority every day they have been open, but so far no one has even come to look at it. They did send out a truck to refill the tanks once, and another is supposed to be on order. In between, we were able to run a hose from the neighbor to refill the tanks once completely and another time partially. As a result, we actually do have water most of the time, but are very conscious of how much we use. We have also borrowed some large jugs that we keep filled for those times when the water does run out completely. The last time the tanks were empty, we took advantage of the opportunity to clean them out. It was pretty disgusting to realize how much sediment had collected in them. That became obvious when the fire truck refilled our tank, and the pressure of the hoses stirred everything up. The water was noticeably brown for several days. A load of laundry that we did without realizing how dirty the water was will probably never be white again. I've told many people that there are times that I can forget that I'm not in the United States. We have access here to many of the same things we would at home. But as we deal with the water situation, I am reminded that Trinidad & Tobago is still a developing nation. The infrastructure here is clearly not as developed as it is in America.
~Richard
Another thing that Richard and I have done this week is to attend two funerals of two different neighbors. We did not know either neighbor personally, but in both cases knew their family. The funerals were very different in many ways. One similarity is that they both took place at the homes of the persons who died. It is common here to set up tents outside the house beside the veranda which everyone has. Friends and family gather first for a night or two of a wake. Then finally for the funeral. In both cases during the funeral relatives came by during the ceremony and passed out water bottles to everyone.
The first funeral was for the brother of our neighbor Jameel. He was a young man who was found murdered. Only Jameel and his grandmother are left in the immediate family. They are Muslims. The Muslim funeral was brief. There were a few prayers in Arabic and a sort of homily by the Imam. There was no singing, no sharing about the life of the individual and not much emotion expressed outwardly with the exception of the immediate family. We did not accompany the body to the next house where there was to be another short ceremony before moving to the cemetery. The part of the funeral we attended took place at the grandmother's house. We were told that then the same would happen at the house where he had been currently living. We were also told that I would not be allowed at the cemetery because women were not allowed according to Muslim tradition here. I asked if that would be true even if it was my husband or child. I was told yes, but that I would not be sad about that because I would understand it.
The second funeral was for Joyce , who was a member of the Charlieville Mennonite Church where we live. In fact, before this building was completed, the church used to meet in her house. She beloved in her community. Her funeral was very much like those I have attended in the US. The amount of singing both by the group and by individuals sharing special music and the amount of sharing of memories about her was probably greater than most I've attended. But there was a lot of love and care expressed.
I doubt one can over-generalize from these two very different situations. I can only share what the two experiences were like for me. Our hearts go out to both families.
~Barb
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Happy Boxing Day and a Merry Christmas, too!
Today is Boxing Day--an official public holiday in Trinidad & Tobago, just as it is in most countries that make up the British Commonwealth. Unlike in the U.S. where the stores are busy today with shoppers rushing to cash in on after-Christmas sales and to return unwanted gifts, the stores here are closed. On Christmas Day, most people spend the day with families. Many attend early morning church services as well. Today, however, is a day to go out and celebrate. Beaches and parks will be packed with revelers who have the day off. Others will take the opportunity to take care of projects that need to be done around the house. It is common here for people to use December to do what many in the States think of as "spring cleaning." A lot of families try to get their homes thoroughly cleaned, replace old curtains and repaint rooms before Christmas. For those who weren't able to get everything done then, today is a good chance to still take care of things before the New Year.
~Richard
Let's work backwards on this list and I'll write a bit about some of our Christmas day. Originally we were invited to spend Christmas with some other missionaries, which would have included a traditional Trini family day and big meal at home. However, due to health problems, that plan was changed. Instead, we were invited to join another family on the beach. This family said it was their first Christmas to go to the beach. Most people do not go on Christmas. But they had relatives visiting and since it was the only day they were all able to work it out with their schedules, they decided to go then to the beach. And, we got to be included!
It was a bright, warm, sunny day here (sorry to all our dear friends in the cold). We enjoyed a lovely picnic lunch of curried duck (a traditional Christmas favorite here), roti, fish cakes and egg balls. Our contribution to the meal was as many of our Christmas sweets as we were able to make here. We had to explain that peppernuts were not like the peppernuts they sell in the stores here that are literally nuts covered in pepper. They thought it was funny that ours were called that when they had no pepper and no nuts in them.
After lunch we enjoyed visiting, playing in the ocean, hop scotch drawn in the wet sand and a little cricket and American football by the 5 youth present. Cricket, curried duck and a palm tree lined beach on Christmas. What a lovely day.
Barb
Even before that, we went to a candlelight service early on Christmas morning. It started at 5:30, and since the one we attended was held in the church right downstairs from our apartment, that was very convenient. So we got up at 5:00 and went downstairs very soon. We didn't even need to eat breakfast because that was provided as a part of the service. It was still dark at the beginning of the service at 5:30 in the morning, but it got light pretty fast. There were candles set all around the church, but the overhead lights were on too. The service was basically like a regular church service, and for the rest of the day I kept thinking it was Sunday! My family did a special again, and we did the same song that we had already done at 3 Christmas Programs, so we have had plenty chances to get good at it, I guess! By the end of the service, the candle at the very front was only a pile of wax and it was dripping all over the floor. So I was very surprised when I walked to the back of the church at the end and the candles at the back were still really tall! After the service was over, they served 'breakfast' for us, but I thought it was more like any regular meal. They had bread, rolls, ham, turkey, and chicken along with condiments for a sandwich, plus some people brought breakfast things and some people even brought dessert. I think it's impossible to go hungry in Trinidad!
~Roxy
Well, we still are out of water. We've been out since last Friday, so this is day 8. Towards the beginning, someone called the firetrucks and they came and filled the water tanks for us. So, that lasted us a few days. We asked the person who did that for us if we could call the firetrucks and they'd fill our tanks again, but we learned that if we place a request it would at least be a few days before they come and with the Christmas holidays, it complicates everything. Luckily, we were able to talk to our neighbor who filled our tanks with his hose. It makes it harder, though, to have to share water with the church. Like, after the church service yesterday, we found that there was a toilet in the women's bathroom that was still running. We could have never noticed and it would have wasted a lot of our water. We're lucky enough to have found some sources of water, but we still have to conserve a lot. We're hoping that WASA (I forget what it stands for, but that's the water company in Trinidad) will come fix our leak on Monday. That's our next hope since today is Boxing Day and tomorrow is Sunday!
~Olivia
~Richard
Let's work backwards on this list and I'll write a bit about some of our Christmas day. Originally we were invited to spend Christmas with some other missionaries, which would have included a traditional Trini family day and big meal at home. However, due to health problems, that plan was changed. Instead, we were invited to join another family on the beach. This family said it was their first Christmas to go to the beach. Most people do not go on Christmas. But they had relatives visiting and since it was the only day they were all able to work it out with their schedules, they decided to go then to the beach. And, we got to be included!
It was a bright, warm, sunny day here (sorry to all our dear friends in the cold). We enjoyed a lovely picnic lunch of curried duck (a traditional Christmas favorite here), roti, fish cakes and egg balls. Our contribution to the meal was as many of our Christmas sweets as we were able to make here. We had to explain that peppernuts were not like the peppernuts they sell in the stores here that are literally nuts covered in pepper. They thought it was funny that ours were called that when they had no pepper and no nuts in them.
After lunch we enjoyed visiting, playing in the ocean, hop scotch drawn in the wet sand and a little cricket and American football by the 5 youth present. Cricket, curried duck and a palm tree lined beach on Christmas. What a lovely day.
Barb
Even before that, we went to a candlelight service early on Christmas morning. It started at 5:30, and since the one we attended was held in the church right downstairs from our apartment, that was very convenient. So we got up at 5:00 and went downstairs very soon. We didn't even need to eat breakfast because that was provided as a part of the service. It was still dark at the beginning of the service at 5:30 in the morning, but it got light pretty fast. There were candles set all around the church, but the overhead lights were on too. The service was basically like a regular church service, and for the rest of the day I kept thinking it was Sunday! My family did a special again, and we did the same song that we had already done at 3 Christmas Programs, so we have had plenty chances to get good at it, I guess! By the end of the service, the candle at the very front was only a pile of wax and it was dripping all over the floor. So I was very surprised when I walked to the back of the church at the end and the candles at the back were still really tall! After the service was over, they served 'breakfast' for us, but I thought it was more like any regular meal. They had bread, rolls, ham, turkey, and chicken along with condiments for a sandwich, plus some people brought breakfast things and some people even brought dessert. I think it's impossible to go hungry in Trinidad!
~Roxy
Well, we still are out of water. We've been out since last Friday, so this is day 8. Towards the beginning, someone called the firetrucks and they came and filled the water tanks for us. So, that lasted us a few days. We asked the person who did that for us if we could call the firetrucks and they'd fill our tanks again, but we learned that if we place a request it would at least be a few days before they come and with the Christmas holidays, it complicates everything. Luckily, we were able to talk to our neighbor who filled our tanks with his hose. It makes it harder, though, to have to share water with the church. Like, after the church service yesterday, we found that there was a toilet in the women's bathroom that was still running. We could have never noticed and it would have wasted a lot of our water. We're lucky enough to have found some sources of water, but we still have to conserve a lot. We're hoping that WASA (I forget what it stands for, but that's the water company in Trinidad) will come fix our leak on Monday. That's our next hope since today is Boxing Day and tomorrow is Sunday!
~Olivia
Monday, December 21, 2009
After Tobago
On Saturday, Hope Mennonite Church had their Christmas program. We also didn't have water at our apartment that day. So, we went and showered at some people's house who weren't there at that time. The youth leaders had told us that we should come around 4:30, so we could practice before it started at 6:00. They also asked us to do a special, so we decided to do "Mary's Boy Child" again. Well, we were just about to leave when they said that actually we should come around 5:30. So, we waited and got there around 5:30. Most of the youth were there by then, but the leaders still weren't there. Anyways, it didn't start until around 7:00. We were planning to have the program first and then the meal, but since it was so late and everyone was hungry, we had the meal first. After a nice meal, our family did "Mary's Boy Child". But, since our water jug was now full, my mom had to use my flute case to do percussion. After we were finished, Roxy and I had to hurry and get into our costumes for the Christmas program. They didn't have enough staffs, so I was the only shepherd without a staff. I liked how they had the meal, so people were able to talk more and spend time with each other. We were a little disappointed we didn't get to see the Charlieville Christmas program, though, which was going on at the same time. But, we still made it to 3 out of the 5 Christmas programs, and we were planning to go to the 6th but it got canceled.
~Olivia
I can't believe it's almost Christmas! It seems like so much more than only 4 days!! Yesterday after church, our family drove up a VERY winding and narrow mountain road to get to a place called Lopinot (but the t is silent). We took a picnic lunch to the savanna there and ate and (some of us) played on the tyre swings. (Tyre is the British spelling, so that's how it's spelled here, but it took some getting used to!) Then we took a little walk around the Lopinot historical site. There was a self-guided walking tour that we did. We had heard that we could hear good parang music up there, but the parang festival there had just ended. Parang is a type of music you hear around Christmas that comes from a Spanish background. Although we have been hearing parang on the radio for literally the last 100 days, we have only heard it once in person. So we were looking forward to hearing more, but as it turned out we didn't get to. But then we talked to one of the men in charge, and he said that he wouldn't disappoint us, and then he opened this cupboard and took out a quatro (what I would call a ukulele) and two rhythm instruments: a chak-chak (maracas) and a tock-tock (a block of of wood with a mallet). He gave the chak-chak to Olivia and the tock-tock to me. So instead of just listening to parang, we actually got to participate!
~Roxy
The girls have made reference to several events of the weekend. Let me fill in a few details. In our last blog we told of our lovely, lovely 3 nights in Tobago. It was such a sunny, relaxing time for our family. Unfortunately, when we returned we were greeted with a series of difficulties. Late on the night we returned we found a message that the other Mennonite missionary has been experiencing health problems that have become serious enough that he and his familiy needed to travel back to the states today for him to receive some tests. Richard Keeler called to ask if one of us could fill in for him on Sunday. Richard agreed to bring the sermon that day. We continue to hold Richard and spouse Margaret in our prayers and were happy to be of help in a small way as they prepared to leave.
The next item to deal with was our car. While we had successfully gotten the fender repaired while we were gone, we returned to find that the fan had gone out. After a hot weekend of travel without air conditioning, we got it fixed today. The issue was so small that the mechanic refused to even charge us, which was nice.
Later on Friday we again lost water. We've spent a fair amount of time trying to get someone to repair another leak in our line that prevents water from getting to our house and will probably need to spend more. The latest word is that they are hoping to get someone to assess the situation before Christmas, but can't promise anything.
On Saturday we learned that our neighbor Jameel's brother had died. Actually he had been murdered. Trinidad has an extremely high murder rate. It is 10:00 pm as I write this and Richard is with him, having given him a ride to the funeral home. We will attend the funeral tomorrow morning.
Our lives are very full indeed. We are grateful to know that we can be of service to those around us. We even found a little time today to begin (yes, I did say begin) our Christmas shopping. It is hard to believe that it is only a few days away.
~Barb
~Olivia
I can't believe it's almost Christmas! It seems like so much more than only 4 days!! Yesterday after church, our family drove up a VERY winding and narrow mountain road to get to a place called Lopinot (but the t is silent). We took a picnic lunch to the savanna there and ate and (some of us) played on the tyre swings. (Tyre is the British spelling, so that's how it's spelled here, but it took some getting used to!) Then we took a little walk around the Lopinot historical site. There was a self-guided walking tour that we did. We had heard that we could hear good parang music up there, but the parang festival there had just ended. Parang is a type of music you hear around Christmas that comes from a Spanish background. Although we have been hearing parang on the radio for literally the last 100 days, we have only heard it once in person. So we were looking forward to hearing more, but as it turned out we didn't get to. But then we talked to one of the men in charge, and he said that he wouldn't disappoint us, and then he opened this cupboard and took out a quatro (what I would call a ukulele) and two rhythm instruments: a chak-chak (maracas) and a tock-tock (a block of of wood with a mallet). He gave the chak-chak to Olivia and the tock-tock to me. So instead of just listening to parang, we actually got to participate!
~Roxy
The girls have made reference to several events of the weekend. Let me fill in a few details. In our last blog we told of our lovely, lovely 3 nights in Tobago. It was such a sunny, relaxing time for our family. Unfortunately, when we returned we were greeted with a series of difficulties. Late on the night we returned we found a message that the other Mennonite missionary has been experiencing health problems that have become serious enough that he and his familiy needed to travel back to the states today for him to receive some tests. Richard Keeler called to ask if one of us could fill in for him on Sunday. Richard agreed to bring the sermon that day. We continue to hold Richard and spouse Margaret in our prayers and were happy to be of help in a small way as they prepared to leave.
The next item to deal with was our car. While we had successfully gotten the fender repaired while we were gone, we returned to find that the fan had gone out. After a hot weekend of travel without air conditioning, we got it fixed today. The issue was so small that the mechanic refused to even charge us, which was nice.
Later on Friday we again lost water. We've spent a fair amount of time trying to get someone to repair another leak in our line that prevents water from getting to our house and will probably need to spend more. The latest word is that they are hoping to get someone to assess the situation before Christmas, but can't promise anything.
On Saturday we learned that our neighbor Jameel's brother had died. Actually he had been murdered. Trinidad has an extremely high murder rate. It is 10:00 pm as I write this and Richard is with him, having given him a ride to the funeral home. We will attend the funeral tomorrow morning.
Our lives are very full indeed. We are grateful to know that we can be of service to those around us. We even found a little time today to begin (yes, I did say begin) our Christmas shopping. It is hard to believe that it is only a few days away.
~Barb
Friday, December 18, 2009
Tobago!
With the school term over, our family decided to do as the Trinis do. We took a Christmas holiday in Tobago. The country we are in is called Trinidad and Tobago. It is mainly made up of the two islands after which it is named. About 95% of the population lives where we do on the island of Trinidad, and that is also where all of the Mennonite churches are. But when one wants a vacation, most people here go to the island of Tobago.
One can either travel there by small plane or by ferry. We took the ferry which takes about 2 1/2 hours. We were told that we should all take sea sickness medicine before we went which we did. The sea can get pretty rough, but we were all fine. On the way home the trip was much smoother because we traveled with the wind.
The two islands are quite different. Trinidad is very industrial. We learned recently, for instance that it is one of the top greenhouse gas producers per capita in the world. Tobago, on the other hand, is much more of the stereotype of a Caribbean island. It is laid back, quiet and absolutely picturesque. We took the ferry over on Monday evening and returned Thursday evening. It was a glorious several days and our big excursion for the year.
~Barbara
On our first full day in Tobago (Tuesday) we got to go out in the ocean in a glass-bottom boat! You see, we were on our way to the beach (we could walk to it) when we got confused and wanted to double-check that we were headed in the right direction. So we asked somebody, but he said that he didn't know because he was from Trinidad, not Tobago. But just then another man came up and told us that we were going the right way, and also that he had a glass-bottom boat! He was part of the crew of a boat called Miss Jo. There are a lot of different glass-bottom boats that you can get tickets for, and I guess people just own them and sell tickets. So an hour later our family all piled in the back of a pickup truck and headed from one beach to a dock where the boat picked us up. From there we rode out into the ocean a ways, then stopped a while and everyone assembled on the bottom floor of the boat. (We had been on the top deck of the boat.) There was a sort of well at the bottom where there was glass and we could look through. Then the captain explained about some of the "plants and fishes". Then we continued on until we got to Buccoo Reef. (When Trinis or Tobagonians say Buccoo it sounds more like boca or boco.) There they anchored the boat and threw out a rope with a floating ring at the end of it. Then they handed out snorkeling gear and sometimes life jackets to those who wanted to go snorkeling (which included all of our family). Then we got to go snorkeling!! We could follow along the rope and stick our heads under and see all the coral and everything! After everyone got back in the boat we proceeded to 'The Famous Nylon Pool'. This is a place that is out in the middle of the ocean, but shallow enough to easily stand in and warmer than some of the other water. All the sand there was made of coral that had been crushed up by the ocean. It was not very fine or soft, but apparently it was good for your skin if you rubbed it on (which was slightly painful, actually). Then we got back in the boat (on the top again) and rode back to the beach.
~Roxy
Most of Wednesday and a smaller part of Tuesday we spent at a beach near our hotel called Store Bay. It was really beautiful. If you looked out on the ocean, the water was a really pretty bright color of blue. I've never seen water so blue. It looked completely picturesque with the palm trees and the sand and the water and the waves crashing on the beach. The water was pretty rough while we were there, so we couldn't go very far out. Mostly we just stayed at the edge. One of my favorite things to do there was to sit down in the area just beyond where the waves crashed. I thought it felt like I was in a dishwasher. We also rented beach chairs with an umbrella, so we could just sit there and watch. And right before we left, we bought fun drinks there. Me and Roxy got a mix of pineapple, cherry and coconut cream. My parents got a punch made of sorrell (a fairly common soft drink here, made from a sorrell flower). For Wednesday lunch, me and my parents got the crab and dumplings which everyone told us we should try. Roxy got some roti with potato since she doesn't like seafood. I thought the taste of the crab and dumplings was very good, but it was very messy and it took a lot of work to actually get to the meat, which there wasn't much of. I got extremely messy eating it. I looked around and saw some other people eating the same thing who weren't nearly as messy as I was. I think some were staring at me. We spent a little time at another beach called Pigeon Point, but there was lots of seaweed and coral in the water. I kept stepping on the coral and it hurt and Roxy got so much seaweed caught in her hair. It was a mess! I preferred Store Bay, since it was so beautiful, even thought the water was kind of rough.
~Olivia
We had the option of taking our car over on the ferry, but decided against it. This was due in part to the cost, but also because I was looking forward to having a few days off of driving. As it turns out, leaving the car in Trinidad also provided an opportunity to get the fender fixed after the little accident we had a couple of weeks ago. Our friends the Jaiminis were kind enough to give us rides to and from the ferry terminal in Port of Spain. In Tobago, we caught taxis to our hotel on Monday, then back to the ferry on Thursday. On Tuesday & Wednesday, we simply walked where we needed to go. The hotel we had booked, on the recommendation of some of our other Trini friends, was easy walking distance to Store Bay beach. It was also close enough to walk to Pigeon Point, although that turned out to be a bit longer of a hike than we had anticipated (about a mile). There were plenty of restaurants and shops within walking distance to take care of what we needed, too. Our room included a small kitchen as well, so we didn't have to eat all of our meals out. There were also two pools where we were able to swim when we didn't feel like getting all sandy, or when the surf was too rough. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Tobago, and are hoping that we might have the chance to go back for another visit sometime while we're here.
~Richard
One can either travel there by small plane or by ferry. We took the ferry which takes about 2 1/2 hours. We were told that we should all take sea sickness medicine before we went which we did. The sea can get pretty rough, but we were all fine. On the way home the trip was much smoother because we traveled with the wind.
The two islands are quite different. Trinidad is very industrial. We learned recently, for instance that it is one of the top greenhouse gas producers per capita in the world. Tobago, on the other hand, is much more of the stereotype of a Caribbean island. It is laid back, quiet and absolutely picturesque. We took the ferry over on Monday evening and returned Thursday evening. It was a glorious several days and our big excursion for the year.
~Barbara
On our first full day in Tobago (Tuesday) we got to go out in the ocean in a glass-bottom boat! You see, we were on our way to the beach (we could walk to it) when we got confused and wanted to double-check that we were headed in the right direction. So we asked somebody, but he said that he didn't know because he was from Trinidad, not Tobago. But just then another man came up and told us that we were going the right way, and also that he had a glass-bottom boat! He was part of the crew of a boat called Miss Jo. There are a lot of different glass-bottom boats that you can get tickets for, and I guess people just own them and sell tickets. So an hour later our family all piled in the back of a pickup truck and headed from one beach to a dock where the boat picked us up. From there we rode out into the ocean a ways, then stopped a while and everyone assembled on the bottom floor of the boat. (We had been on the top deck of the boat.) There was a sort of well at the bottom where there was glass and we could look through. Then the captain explained about some of the "plants and fishes". Then we continued on until we got to Buccoo Reef. (When Trinis or Tobagonians say Buccoo it sounds more like boca or boco.) There they anchored the boat and threw out a rope with a floating ring at the end of it. Then they handed out snorkeling gear and sometimes life jackets to those who wanted to go snorkeling (which included all of our family). Then we got to go snorkeling!! We could follow along the rope and stick our heads under and see all the coral and everything! After everyone got back in the boat we proceeded to 'The Famous Nylon Pool'. This is a place that is out in the middle of the ocean, but shallow enough to easily stand in and warmer than some of the other water. All the sand there was made of coral that had been crushed up by the ocean. It was not very fine or soft, but apparently it was good for your skin if you rubbed it on (which was slightly painful, actually). Then we got back in the boat (on the top again) and rode back to the beach.
~Roxy
Most of Wednesday and a smaller part of Tuesday we spent at a beach near our hotel called Store Bay. It was really beautiful. If you looked out on the ocean, the water was a really pretty bright color of blue. I've never seen water so blue. It looked completely picturesque with the palm trees and the sand and the water and the waves crashing on the beach. The water was pretty rough while we were there, so we couldn't go very far out. Mostly we just stayed at the edge. One of my favorite things to do there was to sit down in the area just beyond where the waves crashed. I thought it felt like I was in a dishwasher. We also rented beach chairs with an umbrella, so we could just sit there and watch. And right before we left, we bought fun drinks there. Me and Roxy got a mix of pineapple, cherry and coconut cream. My parents got a punch made of sorrell (a fairly common soft drink here, made from a sorrell flower). For Wednesday lunch, me and my parents got the crab and dumplings which everyone told us we should try. Roxy got some roti with potato since she doesn't like seafood. I thought the taste of the crab and dumplings was very good, but it was very messy and it took a lot of work to actually get to the meat, which there wasn't much of. I got extremely messy eating it. I looked around and saw some other people eating the same thing who weren't nearly as messy as I was. I think some were staring at me. We spent a little time at another beach called Pigeon Point, but there was lots of seaweed and coral in the water. I kept stepping on the coral and it hurt and Roxy got so much seaweed caught in her hair. It was a mess! I preferred Store Bay, since it was so beautiful, even thought the water was kind of rough.
~Olivia
We had the option of taking our car over on the ferry, but decided against it. This was due in part to the cost, but also because I was looking forward to having a few days off of driving. As it turns out, leaving the car in Trinidad also provided an opportunity to get the fender fixed after the little accident we had a couple of weeks ago. Our friends the Jaiminis were kind enough to give us rides to and from the ferry terminal in Port of Spain. In Tobago, we caught taxis to our hotel on Monday, then back to the ferry on Thursday. On Tuesday & Wednesday, we simply walked where we needed to go. The hotel we had booked, on the recommendation of some of our other Trini friends, was easy walking distance to Store Bay beach. It was also close enough to walk to Pigeon Point, although that turned out to be a bit longer of a hike than we had anticipated (about a mile). There were plenty of restaurants and shops within walking distance to take care of what we needed, too. Our room included a small kitchen as well, so we didn't have to eat all of our meals out. There were also two pools where we were able to swim when we didn't feel like getting all sandy, or when the surf was too rough. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Tobago, and are hoping that we might have the chance to go back for another visit sometime while we're here.
~Richard
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Christmas Programs
Yesterday was the Christmas program at Carlsen Field Mennonite Church. It was scheduled to start at 3:30, and we arrived around 2:30 to help get things ready. Mostly, people were putting together bags of treats for the kids afterward. Soon people started to arrive. The chairs filled up fast and soon there weren't enough chairs for everyone. I was surprised at how many people came considering that there are usually close to 20 people on a regular Sunday morning. We heard at the end that there were around 150 people, but we think that might have been a little high. The service consisted of the drama the youths had been working on, some singing of Christmas carols, our family performing Mary's Boy Child, my parents performing The Virgin Mary (on the spot, just to kill time), some people performing Away in a Manger and the preacher saying something. One of the things I noticed was that there was a very high proportion of children to adults. From what we heard, there were about 120 children and 30 adults. That means that mostly children came without their parents. But, they could walk because I think pretty much everyone except some of the members of the church were from the village. But, I'm still amazed in general at how many children come to church without parents.
~Olivia
We just returned from the Chaguanas Christmas program. We had been asked to sing a song there also. It seems that providing music in the churches has been a fairly major part of our work here. How fun. This morning we were at Charlieville Church where Richard preached and they needed someone who knew The First Noel well enough to lead it. They spontaneously called on me and all seemed so impressed that I could lead it.
Tonight I got to play the water jug again as percussion for Mary's Boy Child while Roxy played violin and Olivia played flute. But the really fun part was some of the other music we heard. Most of the time the music in the churches here is very American. But tonight we had one group that included a steel pan. That was the first time we really heard and saw it live. Another group performed another kind of traditional Spanish music called parang. While we have been hearing it on the radio, this is the first live group we've heard. All this happened along with skits by the 2 cell groups, the youth group and the kids club from the church. The program took place in the Savannah (park) under and around a tent. Several times during the program the rain fell hard and everyone had to try to squish together under the tent. Then it would stop and we'd wipe off the chairs and try spreading out again. I think by the end everyone was somewhat damp, but happy nonetheless.
~Barb
Just a few observations from the two Christmas programs the last couple of days:
~Richard
~Olivia
We just returned from the Chaguanas Christmas program. We had been asked to sing a song there also. It seems that providing music in the churches has been a fairly major part of our work here. How fun. This morning we were at Charlieville Church where Richard preached and they needed someone who knew The First Noel well enough to lead it. They spontaneously called on me and all seemed so impressed that I could lead it.
Tonight I got to play the water jug again as percussion for Mary's Boy Child while Roxy played violin and Olivia played flute. But the really fun part was some of the other music we heard. Most of the time the music in the churches here is very American. But tonight we had one group that included a steel pan. That was the first time we really heard and saw it live. Another group performed another kind of traditional Spanish music called parang. While we have been hearing it on the radio, this is the first live group we've heard. All this happened along with skits by the 2 cell groups, the youth group and the kids club from the church. The program took place in the Savannah (park) under and around a tent. Several times during the program the rain fell hard and everyone had to try to squish together under the tent. Then it would stop and we'd wipe off the chairs and try spreading out again. I think by the end everyone was somewhat damp, but happy nonetheless.
~Barb
Just a few observations from the two Christmas programs the last couple of days:
- Both of the programs were held outside since neither of the churches have enough space inside for more than about 40 people. This marks the first time for me that I've attended an outdoor Christmas program without having to really bundle up in layers. In fact, at the program yesterday afternoon I was wearing short sleeves and still sweating in the heat. The rain and darkness made things much cooler this evening, but I still didn't need even a light jacket.
- Both of the churches also used the programs as a significant time to connect to the communities in which they meet. We had gone with members of the Carlsen Field Mennonite Church last weekend to hand out invitations in the neighborhood. I was amazed at how much response they got from this effort. A church that usually has about 20 people on a Sunday morning (essentially 3-4 families) ended up with around 150 for the Christmas program.
~Richard
Thursday, December 10, 2009
School Ends
Today, I had a Christmas party at school. My class has been doing something we call "Angels and Earthlings". Each person draws a name and that is their "Earthling". Then the "Angel" buys something for their "Earthling" every few days. So, today each person bought their "Earthling" a nicer Christmas gift today. We also had a lot of food and I am completely stuffed. After school, we stopped by my friend's house and they got us each a coconut off their coconut tree. Her brother used a machete to cut the coconut off the tree and her dad chopped the top off the coconuts so we could get to the jelly, also with a machete. My dad and I each had ours there. They cut a hole in the top and we drank the water out of it. It tasted pretty bitter and not very good, I thought, but it was fun because I got to drink out of a coconut with a straw. Then, they cut it in half. I was lucky, apparently, because I got jelly. So, they ripped off a little part of the coconut shell and I used that as a spoon to scrape out the jelly. The jelly was pretty much the same as the water just more slimy. We brought home Roxy's and one for my mom, too.
~Olivia
I also had a class party. Ours was smaller and less organized, but I enjoyed it anyways. In the morning, I brought 13 red balloons to decorate the class, but by the time the bell rang at 2:30 only 4 remained! For lunch, we ordered pizza, brought chips (of many types), and for dessert had cake and ice cream. Plus there were 2 kinds of soft drink. My teacher also brought a tree, a laptop, a projector and many movies. We ended up watching Superman and Batman; Public Enemies and Star Trek. Me and the two other girls in my class had a gift exchange, but our class's Angels and Earthlings game long ago got squashed. (People say things get squashed when they get canceled.) Today something happened that has not happened to me in a few years. There were more girls in my class than boys!!
~Roxy
While the girls were finishing up school for the year, we have been busy trying to finish up grades. In one of my classes I gave a final exam which meant that I had all the papers from that and was able to grade them. From my other class I have been waiting for final papers which I asked to have turned in by last Friday. However, the students technically have until tomorrow to get in assignments. So, I so far have 3 out of 12. That means I'll either have to work really hard this weekend to grade some from tomorrow or I'll be giving some very low grades to all those who do not turn theirs in.
I've been thinking lately about some of the things Americans say that make Trinis laugh at us. 1. "Americans often eat soup when it's cold outside." We got such funny looks when we relayed that piece of information. If they waited to have cold weather here, they'd never be able to have soup. 2. When asked the obvious question, "What color are oranges?" and we answered, "orange." Here they are bright green or pale yellow. It is orange season. 3. When we tell someone that Americans do not eat pizza covered with in either ketchup, mustard or hot pepper sauce. Sometimes Americans just eat it plain.
~Barb
This has (thankfully) been a less eventful week than last week. In particular, the drive to take the girls to school in the morning has been much shorter. I think many of the schools actually had their end of term tests last week. So a lot of students simply didn't go to school this week, which meant that there was significantly less traffic on the roads. Tomorrow is technically the last day of school for the term. However, the note we received from the principal last week stated in bold capital letters that STUDENTS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO ATTEND on Friday, 11 December. We took that to mean that, while the school will be officially "open," the faculty would really rather not have any students around to supervise that day. I have been happy for the shorter commuting times this week, and am looking forward to having a few weeks off of the morning drive.
~Richard
~Olivia
I also had a class party. Ours was smaller and less organized, but I enjoyed it anyways. In the morning, I brought 13 red balloons to decorate the class, but by the time the bell rang at 2:30 only 4 remained! For lunch, we ordered pizza, brought chips (of many types), and for dessert had cake and ice cream. Plus there were 2 kinds of soft drink. My teacher also brought a tree, a laptop, a projector and many movies. We ended up watching Superman and Batman; Public Enemies and Star Trek. Me and the two other girls in my class had a gift exchange, but our class's Angels and Earthlings game long ago got squashed. (People say things get squashed when they get canceled.) Today something happened that has not happened to me in a few years. There were more girls in my class than boys!!
~Roxy
While the girls were finishing up school for the year, we have been busy trying to finish up grades. In one of my classes I gave a final exam which meant that I had all the papers from that and was able to grade them. From my other class I have been waiting for final papers which I asked to have turned in by last Friday. However, the students technically have until tomorrow to get in assignments. So, I so far have 3 out of 12. That means I'll either have to work really hard this weekend to grade some from tomorrow or I'll be giving some very low grades to all those who do not turn theirs in.
I've been thinking lately about some of the things Americans say that make Trinis laugh at us. 1. "Americans often eat soup when it's cold outside." We got such funny looks when we relayed that piece of information. If they waited to have cold weather here, they'd never be able to have soup. 2. When asked the obvious question, "What color are oranges?" and we answered, "orange." Here they are bright green or pale yellow. It is orange season. 3. When we tell someone that Americans do not eat pizza covered with in either ketchup, mustard or hot pepper sauce. Sometimes Americans just eat it plain.
~Barb
This has (thankfully) been a less eventful week than last week. In particular, the drive to take the girls to school in the morning has been much shorter. I think many of the schools actually had their end of term tests last week. So a lot of students simply didn't go to school this week, which meant that there was significantly less traffic on the roads. Tomorrow is technically the last day of school for the term. However, the note we received from the principal last week stated in bold capital letters that STUDENTS ARE NOT REQUIRED TO ATTEND on Friday, 11 December. We took that to mean that, while the school will be officially "open," the faculty would really rather not have any students around to supervise that day. I have been happy for the shorter commuting times this week, and am looking forward to having a few weeks off of the morning drive.
~Richard
Sunday, December 6, 2009
End of Semester
On Friday we started end of term tests. Actually, Olivia had a few starting already on Thursday. We had two tests on Friday (one in the morning and one in the afternoon). And the same thing will happen Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. Olivia is scheduled to have another test on Thursday morning, but Roxy is not and each class is also having a Christmas party that day. And the test Olivia has on Thursday morning, she took already on Friday. So, that seems a bit confusing. The tests are held in a big room with everyone in the whole school sitting together. People from different forms (grades) are put next to each other to prevent any cheating (e.g. someone in form 5 next to someone in form 2). The test in the morning was scheduled to be two and a half hours, but all the form ones and twos, including Roxy, finished before an hour and a half was up. But, they were not allowed to leave or talk or do anything except sit silently for the next hour or more. The form fours and fives, including Olivia, took most of the time. We think that the form one and two test should have been scheduled for an hour and a half, but the form fives and fours was about good for two and a half hours. Our school is so small that there are no form threes and we have not quite figured out what the 3 form sixes do all day (when they even show up in uniform). We are hoping that Roxy won't be so bored the next few mornings.
~Olivia and Roxy
While the girls are finishing up their term with tests, the classes that we've been teaching are already done. WITC has two weeks of finals, November 30-December 10, but the finals for all of our classes were this past week. So now we are busy grading final papers and exams. The semester ends with a luncheon this Friday, the 11th at the college. Final grades are due on December 17, but we are planning to turn ours in at the luncheon so that we will be able to enjoy our holiday in Tobago the following week. Teaching philosophy has been a very interesting and rewarding experience for me. I'm sure I learned more than my students did this semester. I'm looking forward to next term when I will be more familiar with how the school operates and will also be teaching homiletics (preaching), which is much more in my field.
~Richard
This week I gave one final, had a last class (which did not have a final, only a paper due) and preached today at the Diego Martin Church were we will be attending regularly next semester. It was good to be involved in all those activities, and it is good on Sunday afternoon, to enjoy the completion of them all for the week. Next week I grade final exams and papers.
The other activities dominating our week had to do with the car. Each day the traffic seemed to worsen this week stretching the normal one and a half hour morning commute for Richard to two and a half hours. It climaxed on Thursday morning when a truck refused to yield as he was changing lanes and hit the car. This was shortly after they had stopped to pick up one of the girls' school friends who has begun catching a ride in with us since her family does not have a car. Thankfully no one was injured. The speed at which this happened was a morning crawl. Still, Richard will have a fender to see to next week. Then this morning on our way to church we had our third flat tire since we've arrived. The one that was flat this time was one we had already replaced once. I don't know how much of the problem is the crazy condition of the roads and how much is the condition of the tires. In any case, that will also be something to attend to. When we finished changing the tire (and by we I mean Richard), I called the church to let them know that we would be late. By then the rain had started.. They thanked me for calling and then told me that they were still out of water (now they are in their third week of that) and were also out of electricity. When we did arrive the church service had already begun and the electricity had been restored. Our late arrival was not a big deal in any way to anyone. It's just part of how life works here.
~Barb
~Olivia and Roxy
While the girls are finishing up their term with tests, the classes that we've been teaching are already done. WITC has two weeks of finals, November 30-December 10, but the finals for all of our classes were this past week. So now we are busy grading final papers and exams. The semester ends with a luncheon this Friday, the 11th at the college. Final grades are due on December 17, but we are planning to turn ours in at the luncheon so that we will be able to enjoy our holiday in Tobago the following week. Teaching philosophy has been a very interesting and rewarding experience for me. I'm sure I learned more than my students did this semester. I'm looking forward to next term when I will be more familiar with how the school operates and will also be teaching homiletics (preaching), which is much more in my field.
~Richard
This week I gave one final, had a last class (which did not have a final, only a paper due) and preached today at the Diego Martin Church were we will be attending regularly next semester. It was good to be involved in all those activities, and it is good on Sunday afternoon, to enjoy the completion of them all for the week. Next week I grade final exams and papers.
The other activities dominating our week had to do with the car. Each day the traffic seemed to worsen this week stretching the normal one and a half hour morning commute for Richard to two and a half hours. It climaxed on Thursday morning when a truck refused to yield as he was changing lanes and hit the car. This was shortly after they had stopped to pick up one of the girls' school friends who has begun catching a ride in with us since her family does not have a car. Thankfully no one was injured. The speed at which this happened was a morning crawl. Still, Richard will have a fender to see to next week. Then this morning on our way to church we had our third flat tire since we've arrived. The one that was flat this time was one we had already replaced once. I don't know how much of the problem is the crazy condition of the roads and how much is the condition of the tires. In any case, that will also be something to attend to. When we finished changing the tire (and by we I mean Richard), I called the church to let them know that we would be late. By then the rain had started.. They thanked me for calling and then told me that they were still out of water (now they are in their third week of that) and were also out of electricity. When we did arrive the church service had already begun and the electricity had been restored. Our late arrival was not a big deal in any way to anyone. It's just part of how life works here.
~Barb
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