One of my favorite aspects of being a Peace Corps Volunteer down here is helping my students have experiences they've never had before. Whether it is as simple as
watching the Space Station pass overhead (and enjoying “magical” glow bracelets afterwards),
sailing on a 40 foot yacht,
seeing a real airplane close up, building a
bamboo raft to float on the river, swimming in
a real swimming pool, or countless other first time experiences (many of which—including the ones I just listed here—have been documented in this blog), I've loved every one of them. The excitement of doing something for the very first time is quite invigorating, even if you are just watching someone else go through something to which you're already accustomed.
This week I had the opportunity to enjoy the students' broad smiles as they got the chance to try something new—riding horses. Check out the pictures that I have interspersed in this story to see for yourself. There is a horse stable, the Brandy Manor Equestrian Center, that offers schools a program where for just $10 EC per student (less than $4 U.S. dollars), they get to go for a guided trail ride on a real horse. We arranged an afternoon outing for our 5th and 6th grade class, and caught a bus headed that direction after we ate lunch at school on Wednesday. [This is the same horse stable we encountered on our
Belle Marche last year when we tried to go to
Brandy Falls.]
The seven students all had a blast. Some had a few initial trepidations, but it was great to see them overcome their fears and end up sitting tall in the saddle. All who did it came back with huge smiles and the overwhelming desire to do it again someday.
I emphasized to all of them that the feeling they had of riding atop a large horse ambling along a trail was similar to what mankind around the world had experienced for countless generations when traveling distances until the growth of the automobile in just the last century. Hopefully they can remember that feeling and it will help some future secondary school history lesson come alive for them.
Afterward, we hiked back out to the main road, and walked along it until we caught a bus with enough room to take us all to Portsmouth. From there, we caught a bus taking us to the southern end of Picard, where we got out and walked to Coconut Beach. We finished the afternoon with some swimming and some cricket on the beach. We also ate the breadfruit and codfish the teacher brought along, as well as the can of Pringles I contributed.
[I made them do some mental math to figure out how many Pringle chips there were in the can based on the average serving size of 15 and with 6 servings per can. Then I made them divide into that total to decide how much each person should get (plus we figured out other totals to continue the lesson). It was a good opportunity to demonstrate math in action.]
I had been to Coconut Beach several times, but I learned something during this trip that I had not been aware of before. The students showed me how if you dug down in the sand, it was very hot. I knew there was a hot spring in nearby Glanvalia, but I did not realize that Coconut Beach was in a “hot zone.” You could dig your feet in the sand under the water and instantly feel the heat. The students liked smearing the hot wet sand on their faces and skin (I tried it as well). I tried digging with my hands in shallow water, and only got about 6-8 inches deep before it was too hot for my hands to go any deeper. It's hard to believe that the magma of the earth is so close to the surface on this island.
We ended the day by walking back into Picard to an ice cream store, where I purchased an ice cream cone for everyone (me buying ice cream on these special trips has become a tradition). It was a great way to end a great day! [Notice that you can see me in the background of the picture below.]
Finally, I just want to mention how busy my week has been, beyond just teaching school. Sunday was the Annual General Meeting of the National Cooperative Credit Union down in the capital city. Monday night was a committee meeting for the basketball court project. Tuesday night was the disaster management committee meeting. Wednesday night was the tourism committee. Thursday night was the Village Feast committee meeting. It isn't always this busy, but I'm glad to be actively involved in my community. It is a good place to be!
P.S. I just wanted to once again plead with my readers to donate towards building a playing court for my village, as part of the matching funds to the grant I won (described in this previous story) from an American charity. Time is running out because the charity will be transferring most of our money by the end of this month. I'm very grateful for the donations that have already been made, but I'd love to get more money to help out this wonderful community who has been so welcoming to me. Every U.S. dollar gets multiplied by about 2.67 when converting to Eastern Caribbean dollars, so a simple $38 donation from America becomes a triple figure ($100 EC) donation down here. It makes a difference!
For anyone leery of donating via a website using your credit card (the instructions for the electronic donation process can be found in the link above), it is also possible to donate the old fashioned way. You can mail a check to Courts for Kids, and just note “Thibaud, Dominica community court” in the memo line. Make the check out to “Courts for Kids” and mail it to:
Courts for Kids
PO Box 873786
Vancouver, WA 98687
Thank you for at least considering a donation, whether electronically or by check! It will make a big difference for my students and others in the village. The good folks here will surely appreciate your generosity!
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