West Indies vs. Australia Cricket Game

Another scorcher of a day (my friend and I were literally pouring ice cold water down our spines so we could get the chills). Unfortunately the West Indies got crushed, but I was happy for my friends Down Under. And I ate about 5 pounds of Rice Krispy Treats, so how can I complain?

School's out for the summer!

We had our End of the Year Party at the Limes today! I can't believe it's already summer. The kids have done so great and responded especially well to the Incentives Program I began in January. They all got their prizes (my Mom sent a bunch of toys and books from home) depending on how many stars they earned on their chart, and it was so rewarding to see their faces when they realized all their hard work paid off. I also ended the year with 2 young girls who have come onto the program to help teach, so that is a huge blessing!

Special Olympics Launch

Tonight they officially launched the Special Olympics here in Grenada. One of the volunteers from the previous group has been working hard with the organization to make this happen, so this was exciting to witness and I'm really looking forward to helping coach for the upcoming games in November (Lauren and I are stepping in to fill her shoes).

Green vs. Yellow

It's not just election fever in the US...Grenada's Prime Minister Keith Mitchell recently called for elections, so everywhere you turn there is something green (New National Party) or yellow (National Democratic Congress). As Peace Corps volunteers, we're supposed to keep our distance from any political gatherings as to keep neutral and not offend anyone. But I was able to watch a New National Party Rally from afar since my homestay family's house overlooks the location.

Limes Field Day

Since the school year is wrapping up and the masses are getting restless, I decided to have a Field Day with my Limes kids. We had football, relays, frisbee 500, jump-roping contests, and cake...it was a great day. I was narrating everything like an Olympics commentator the whole time and the kids got a kick out of that. And of course my whistle made another appearance.

Dancing King

My friend Keith is a performer with the Vinney Way Dance Group and let me tag along as the photographer/groupie for one of their shows at a nearby resort...how fun is my job?

And this is Keith (they won't let him wear the rest of the costume...for obvious reasons. :)

Football & Reggae

Today was the Grenada vs. Costa Rica football game, which was fun, but disappointing for 2 reasons: it was a tie and I wasn't able to snag another free jersey from a player. But there was a free reggae concert afterwards with Maxi Priest! It was awesome and we were dancing along right in the front row!

I chopped my hair!

HIV Peer Counseling Workshop

For the past 3 days I co-facilitated a workshop with my community partners at Hope-Pals, based on the material that we acquired at the Tobago training. We had a small turnout from the Hope-Pals members, but every person trained is a big step towards educating the community in HIV/AIDS and peer support, so I was very happy with the results. It felt like a huge accomplishment running my first workshop and I'm feeling much more confident for the next one.

PE classes

My classes with Grensave have been going a lot better lately since I’ve switched over to PE class instead of keeping them indoors all afternoon. We all walk down to the old National Stadium, do warm-ups and stretching, then either have races or I teach them frisbee. Today I brought my whistle to keep them in line and it works wonders! As well as push-ups for those who misbehave. Muhahaha!