Before I tell you all that I am thankful for this year, here is a small update on life. Things continue to go well in the Isle of Spice. It seems to be getting a tad colder here, and by cold I mean like 80-85F. It has also been raining a lot, per usual. We're closing out the official Hurricane season, but really we haven't had much of a threat this year. I've gone back to playing football. I was under the impression that the fellas didn't practice anymore since the season was over, but we still go to the pasture to play small goal. The bright side of this is that I get the exercise I need/want and continued integration. The down side is that I've blown out 2.5 pairs of shoes playing. I am pretty sure there is an evil elf cobbler that lives with all the creepy crawlies at my apartment because that brings my total of ruined shoes to 5 or 6. Big shout out to my cousin Cuyler for sending me one of his old pairs to keep playing in, also when the hell did you get bigger feet than me??
This past week has been probably one of my favorites so far in my service. I was able to be at school every day during the week doing work for both NaDMA and the actual school. If you recall, at NaDMA I am currently working on a project that will be a training program for 5th and 6th graders on disaster preparedness, responsibility, respect, health and hygiene, yadda yadda. Earlier this month I was playing the waiting game at NaDMA. I had to get these forms from my counterpart to take to the school, a questionnaire and consent form for my program. Well, I finally received the papers and I was able to knock out all the questionnaires this week at school while also assisting my counterpart there. School was so much fun this week, the kids were really excited that I was able to be there every day. I've started going every morning to monitor my Road Safety program, but it was nice to stay the entire day. The students are OBSESSED with being Safety Patrols. It makes me so happy to see them passionate not only about my project but also about taking responsibility. I have to show up to school earlier and earlier each day (between 7:30-8) to hand out the vests to the students that come to school first. My friendships with the other teachers definitely took a good boost in the past month and I love spending time with them and joking around. In classes, the students continue to improve slowly, but surely. You can see the lights go on in their heads every now and then, and their attitudes are definitely improving. Outside of class, I'm always surrounded by the students. Most of them want to practice drawing with me, I think I've got them hooked. Especially my new best friend Rayanna. She is in grade two and follows me around like a puppy asking for my notebook and pen to draw with. But don't be fooled by her cuteness, she has hella attitude.
Okay so that was a brief update on life, very brief. If you're wondering, that disaster preparedness program I am doing probably won't start till next school term because there is only 2.5 weeks left of this term and I need 3 to conduct it.
Tis the season. I'm not really sure what season it is anymore. Grenada celebrates a Thanksgiving Day on October 25 in remembrance of the intervention in 1983 that helped restore peace to the island. So it seems like we just had a Thanksgiving day, unfortunately there was no turkey that day. Just a couple weeks ago we celebrated Guy Fawkes Day and Veterans Day. Holidays everywhere, people! However, us volunteers didn't celebrate Thanksgiving last night because most of us were too busy--we only get the day off for Grenadian holidays. We decided we would celebrate tonight with a good ole American pot luck dinner, and yes there will be a turkey. I was glad to be able to have the chance to talk to some family before they enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. Everyday is thanksgiving. Today is of course Black Friday and we had a family "tradition" for that as well. Instead of rushing to the mall to buy crap we don't need with money we don't have, we went to the mall to eat lunch and watch people act like idiots everywhere. Highly entertaining. On top of that, the supermarkets and buses have been playing Christmas music since the beginning of October and we've also been singing carols in morning assembly at school. Next week I will accompany the teachers at my school attachment in a singing festival. When we practice our songs during break sometimes the teachers will say "Mr. Taylor we can't here you?" (everything is a question here), to which I respond "Look y'all, I told you upfront I am a terrible singer. I am here merely for my good looks and to add diversity to the group." The laughs that ensue usually buy me another day of pretending to sing. The moral of this story is that I've been a victim of holiday overload. I don't know what and when I am celebrating, why I am celebrating etc... Tis the season. What season? Hurricane and rainy season? A 3 month Christmas season? 3 separate Thanksgivings? The season we've all been broke (we're all hoping to get paid today)? All I know is I've had an awesome last few weeks and there is no sign of that changing.
Thanksgiving. Normally, I hate when people do the whole "today I'm thankful for ..." routine. Don't get me wrong, it is important to show thanks and gratitude and I'm not saying people don't do that year round. I just think that sometimes people look at Thanksgiving as a reminder, like "oh yea, I need to be thankful today", when in reality I wish that was a year round concept. Sure, for some people it is, but for others they go ape shit the next day on Black Friday and continue to gripe and bicker until the new year. I was telling Katie the other night that if I had a super power I wish I could walk up to everyone and just bitch slap them and tell them to stop fighting and let things go, to be grateful, to love. A pipe dream. C'est la vie. But I'm no better than anyone else, and I'm not trying to say all this like I am, I'm not going to not tell you what I am thankful for! I just have a dream of a future where people put their differences aside and embrace each other in brotherhood/sisterhood.
This year, I am thankful for life. My life, your life, the lives of thousands of people all over the world that make this earth such a beautiful and diverse place. I'm thankful that most of us have opportunities and choices to make everyday. We can choose to spend time with each other, to spend time in a foreign place, time with strangers, or to spend time alone embracing the beauty of the wild. And I'm thankful that that is okay, that it isn't strange or weird for people to venture into the unknown and feel welcomed. I'm thankful that modern technology has made that possible. There is no part of the world that people cannot travel to or experience without modern technology, that is truly something amazing and leads to so many opportunities. But most importantly, I am thankful for support. The way my family supports me in my adventures. The way they support each other. I can't wait to see my family rally around my older brother and Rebecca when they have their first child. That reminds me, I still need to buy an Arsenal onesie. I'm thankful for the support my friends give to me and to each other. Yea I might be 2000 miles away, small thing, but I can still keep up with everyone at home and watch y'all support and love each other from the sidelines. It's beautiful. Don't for a second the bonds of friendship for granted. We could have ended up anywhere, and we ended up together and I'm thankful for that. Lastly, I'm thankful for where I came from and where I've yet to go. Everything and everyone I've encountered has shaped me into the man I am today and given me a great life, and experience of a lifetime. Even all the bad times, the heartbreaks, the losses, the horrible mistakes, they have helped me to be who I am. Do you ever think about going back in time for a second chance? I don't know what I would do were I given that option. I've got a great thing going here because of all I've been through and I'm thankful for that. And I'm thankful for the promise of the future. There will be a tomorrow. There will be food to eat, shelter to live and sleep in, money to earn, people and places to meet. Life is good, people, open your eyes and take a look around. There is something to be thankful for each and everyday, don't forget that. Oh, I almost forgot, I am also thankful that the haircut I gave myself last week turned out okay.
Here's a nice little diddy that we rock out to in the mornings at school;
"Give love on Christmas Day
No greater gift is there than love.
What the world needs is love
Yes, the world needs more love."
Picture time:
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| My Safety Patrol kids, making the roads safe. |
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| Morning prayers and songs. It's impossible to get a good picture inside the school because of all the windows. |
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| Ms. Phillip the best principal this side of the Grand Etang (our rainforest) |
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| Each day is a gift, each day we are a day older. |
Brice
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