Youth Camp

I am helping with Youth Camp at VOJN/Cumbermere School. The first day I supervised the boys crafts and we worked on yarn poodles. The girls worked on coasters. I took advantage of the situation to ask the boys what grade they were in and how they felt about school. The resounding response was "I like to learn. I like all subjects. As long as I feel challenged." I can understand that sentiment. I like to feel challenged too. Another craft the girls like to work on is "beauty parlor" on Sheri's hair. If you've ever met a little Caribbean girl you will soon find out they like to plait hair. If you hold still long enough they will begin to make you a hairstyle and soon there will be 4 or 5 little girls swarming your head each grasping a section while the nearby boys look on blankly or complain about the flyaways. I understand that it's not every day an adult, especially a "white lady" comes through allowing her hair to be experimented on so I try to hold still and keep from complaining as they tug this way and that. They ask me why my hair feels so weird or what I did to it to make it so fine, straight and silky. My hair is pretty far from silky at this point after a year of intense sun, salt water and no trim. "I guess I was just born with funny hair." I say.

Fruit Festival

I help Marie Mason, the Director of the Craft House, sell some of her soaps and crafts at the Fruit Festival in Charlestown. There were a lot of interesting agriculture booths and different varieties of fruits (especially mangoes as they are in season) to look at. One man had a mountain of bananas, the Taiwanese farmers had a beautiful display of corn, cherry tomatoes, pineapples and mangoes and many people were selling delicious homemade fruit drinks and foods. I finally got to try "Conkie" which is a sort of dense sweet potato and coconut pudding steamed in a banana leaf (sort of like a tamale) that is traditionally served on Easter Sunday and some conch soup ("Conks water" as it is known here). Next to us a few tables down was one of our teacher "students" (from the craft seminars) that was selling her jewelry and her student's sewn projects. It was a fun day with lots of new and familiar faces.

Also a big thank you to Greg for the photos!

Making it work

Living in the Caribbean forces you to be resourceful. I started out making jewelry with anything I could find. My first bracelet was a string of lentils and black-eyed peas! Eventually I worked my way up to all the treasures of the island: sandbox seeds, jumbie beads, Job's Tears, etc. enhanced with glass beads that my guests would send or bring to me. Recently my mom came to visit and brought me some new goggles (mine snapped in half 4 months ago) and encouraged me to use them also as safety goggles for my drilling. Seen here is my extremely cluttered workspace as I drill a sandbox seed for a keychain for Brother Ivano as he is leaving the island to continue his path to priesthood.

Disturbing incident of the day

I started to notice a bad smell coming from the general area of the laundry room/bathroom. Of course noxious smells are often associated with such areas so I wrote it off. However, when I was doing my laundry yesterday I shrunk back in horror when I finally saw the culprit: Two rather large lizards had gotten themselves stuck on my fly paper and were busy decomposing! I was utterly disturbed and horrified at the grotesque dead "gargoyles" framing my back door and couldn't act on it right away. When I had to use the restroom I tried not to look. When I brushed my teeth that night I had to carry my toothbrush into the farthest room and I actually ran past them. Today in the light of day I finally took them down and got my photographs and threw the spectacle away. Now perhaps I can rest a little easier.
There is something about being in the Peace Corps that just entails frightening and unexpected surprises. Last week I got a new towel out of my closet and after my shower, started to towel myself off. I noticed there was some lint on the towel so I gave it a hearty shake and a large, quarter-sized hairy brown spider rolled dazedly onto the floor! I'm afraid to ask what is next?

Craft Seminars

I have been assisting the Director of the Craft House in evening craft sessions. At this time we are teaching jewelry and coconut craft to teachers who can then teach their students. The reception has been wonderful and the ladies really enjoy it! I am blown away by the beautiful creations they come up with and impressed with the eagerness to try new things (drilling seeds, sawing Sandbox seeds, varnishing, etc.) So many people have expressed interest in the jewelry I create so it's nice to be able to pass that on.

Cush-cush

On Tuesday the boat from Dominica brings farmers with their produce all the way across the Caribbean to Nevis. They usually have copious bananas, oranges, grapefruits, some pineapples, cocoa sticks in jars, piles of ginger, yams and other starchy staples. This Tuesday I saw some toady-skinned tubers that I mistook for dasheen, yams or cassava (I'm still not sure how to identify these particular starchy, bland ground provisions.) It was a yam variety called "Cush-Cush." The man said they were "finer" than regular yams so I bought two of them. I have heard of them in natural medicine books so I was excited to taste them. Today I pulled one out of the fridge and peeled it. The thick brown skin gave way to dark purple, extremely slimy flesh. When I say slimy, I mean it took about five minutes under running water to rinse off my hands! I boiled them until they were soft and they reduced the water into thick syrup. They smelled and tasted slightly like bacon and eggs! I immediately fell in love with the soft, melty texture and smoky flavor. I will definitely be buying some cush-cush yams next time I shop from the Dominica farmers! Shown here in the raw and cooked variety with my favorite snack-sized bananas and some rice and peas (pigeon peas). I am eating native!

Creation

Here is some of the jewelry created with the local materials from earlier blog entries; Jumbie beads, Job's tears, Knuckle Seeds (Nickernuts), shells, pigeon peas and shak-shaks.

Preparing

Using the dremel to drill jumbie beads, shak-shaks and shells. The shak-shak makes a nice incense holder!

*note that jumbie beads are extremely poisonous if ground up/chewed and digested, shell dust is also reportedly harmful. Please use proper precaution and care when drilling and working with natural materials, especially if you don't know what it is!

**Note #2: A local friend of mine says that people grind up jumbie beads and use them like coffee to make themselves better when they are sick. Now I am confused. Form your own conclusions...

Hunting-Gathering

West Indian Mahogany seed pod, Knuckle Seeds (also known as Knickernuts) inside their pods, beach finds (unknown seed pods-look like polished apple seeds), diving for shells, beach combing, Shak-Shaks from the Flamboyant Tree, Sandbox tree, jumbie beads, attempting to gather coconuts

Some sights of Fountain

Olive always carries her matchet (pronounced "match-it" here in the Caribbean.) An interesting shape carved by a bug I assume. The pink leaves/flowers blanket the island! The Fountain/Mt Lily Community Club sign pointing to the main road.

Candlelight Vigil

On February 11, one of the bus drivers was killed in an accident. The news swept over the village like a black cloud. It was an emotional week. We had an emergency Rising Stars meeting (the brother of the driver is a committed member of the club) and a candlelight vigil was planned. I wanted to honor him in some way, although I didn't know him very well it hit me hard because his brother is dear to my heart. I painted some containers to put candles in, and even though it didn't work out because of extremely strong winds, it was nice to do something. I went to the funeral, stared straight ahead and willed myself to be stoic as I watched his brothers walk by, his friends, neighbors, family, coworkers, and then his coffin. I came home and cried. I cried for the loss of Perry, for his family, for his brothers (both of which I know), and I cried because of some amazing people I have met here. I don't know how to put it into words, but there are some people that just touch you and they will never know how much. It all came out with my tears.

just a day in the life

Today I was out hanging my laundry and playing with the kids and Aymani was pretending to take pictures, imitating me (I take pictures of EVERYTHING). I occasionally let Quetta take a few photos and she snapped a great one of us. I also discovered that the mosquito net makes a fabulous clothing dryer!

Jewelry session with Marie

One Saturday my friend Marie, the Director of the Craft House, invited me over to her home to make jewelry. We hauled out all her bins of goodies, there were so many wonderful materials to choose from. She made a delicious soup rich with local ingredients (sweet potatoes, goat, dumplings and greens) and we had a great time crafting and chatting the day away.

Christmas tree update

I was looking over my pictures and noticed I didn't post one of the Trinity Methodist Church Christmas tree that we decorated with our dough ornaments. The kids were really proud of their work and the tree looked absolutely stunning!

Kraft Gone Wild, pt. 2

As a continuation to the macaroni jewelry making, I dyed some with cherry, orange and grape kool-aid. We experimented with different patterns and lengths and made some really pretty creations. Quetta made me a matching bracelet but it didn't fit so I let her wear it. Our neighbors from America came over and helped out by entertaining the dogs (who kept trying to snatch our fruit-smelling strings of beads!) I tried to recycle the kool-aid dye by making finger paints and using it as food coloring to make stationary but both experiments failed miserably. Back to the drawing board...

Later my sister came over and we made some new outfits for my paper doll.

Kraft Gone Wild

Here is yet another one of our little "Kraft" projects, those beads are straight out of a macaroni and cheese box! We strung them on a thread, embellished with shells and beads, colored with markers and mod-podged (shellacked) the whole thing. I thought it was really fun but I am not much for macaroni jewelry so I donated my necklace to my sister. She wore them to school today and said some of her friends really liked it and others didn't as much. Oh well, you win some you lose some. Stay tuned for another macaroni project as I have painstakingly dyed some with kool-aid for future endeavors!

Future Tartmakers of...Nevis/America

My host mom taught my sis and me the way to make coconut tarts. My sister showed a lot of promise as a future tart-maker. Now Isilma has passed on the tradition and we can both teach our future generations the art. She even colored some of the coconut so we have red, yellow and green tarts!

New Years Tradition

Every new years day the village has a tradition of having a "senior" luncheon to honor members of the community. It is put together by the Fountain/Mt Lily Community Improvement Club of which I am a member. This year we had about 20-25 people and music, dancing and lots of good food.

Paper dolls

Remember paper dolls? Living here has forced me to resort back to a time when everything wasn't available to me. I have been creating little activities and things to do with the kids. This one was pretty labor intensive and I know it won't last long but it was fun to make! Let it be known that I tried to make her complexion dark but my colored pencils didn't agree with me. I glued her to the cardboard backing first (recycled from my rice-cooker box which has served many purposes over the duration of my service; from Halloween costume to craft treasure chest, painting shield to coffee table). I made the mistake of trying to color it post-glue which was not ideal, especially for creating future outfits. It's amazing what a little creativity and a few supplies yields to a fertile imagination!

Christmas in the Caribbean

Merry Christmas everybody! I spent my first Christmas in the Caribbean! It was the first one I've ever spent eating dinner outdoors under the shade of a golden apple tree (golden apples look to be in the mango family). We had turkey, ham, boiled vegetables, rice and peas, salad, mac and cheese, sweet potatoes (not the same as the ones we eat at home and not cloaked in brown sugar and marshmallows), pork (the pork they usually serve here is a hunk that was sliced straight off the pig, it includes the skin, a layer or fat and a layer of muscle.) I am not a fan of that kind of pork but there were plenty of other things for me to enjoy. Besides, I wondered if it was my unfortunate friend from outside and when I inquired everyone laughed! Probably not a good sign. We all ate until "our belly's full" and then ate cake for dessert. You can see in the photo my little sis stuffed her belly very full! The night before I had carolers and one of them I recognized as a member of the community group I belong to. The leader of the group was playing a guitar made from a coconut. The songs they played were tropical and nice and I was touched they came to my house. I didn't have any money left except bus fare so I gave them all I had, hoping my host mom would loan me the $3.50 it takes to ride to town. It was a bittersweet holiday. Surrounded by new people who love me and take care of me but on the other hand missing my boyfriend terribly.

Last minute Christmas cards!

I vowed never to get involved with Christmas cards after listening to people complain about having to send them out year after year, however, it never seems to get me out of doing them! This year my friend Netta asked me to help her make some for the Trinity Youth Group so last night I designed 30 cards and wrote 30 greetings inside until my hand cramped up. We worked late into the night and my darling host mom couldn't keep her eyes open but insisted she heard every part of the conversation. The unfortunate part is that everyone now sees me as the Go-To-Gal for card making so I have a feeling I will be very busy from now on!

Also I'd like to thank my parents for sending the craft supplies and markers and my boyfriend for bringing everything to me! Also for sending their camera (mine was stolen in St Lucia) and bringing it to me, this blog wouldn't be anything without it.

Christmas Party #2

The Fountain/Mt Lily Community Improvement Club had our Christmas tree lighting celebration last night and my host dad was the guest of honor! It was such a beautiful thing and I can't think of anybody who deserved it more. My brother gave a speech detailing the different things he's done in his life so Mr Daniel could be honored while he's still alive and be here to appreciate it. It was a real eye opener to hear all the different things my humble host father has done and been a part of. I think everybody had a nice time and it was a great follow up to a dinner the night before with the ladies of NTCOG. We stayed out late, driving around and looking at decorations and then got up early the following morning to set up the tree and clean up the grounds for the celebration. (My little pup Nuffy helped out a lot with the setup, untangling the lights, chewing on ornaments, giving moral support). Might I add that Nuffy went to the party before me and also stayed later...Can you see the animals I made under the tree?

extra protein

I ate bugs in my curry last night. I'm not proud of it but I'm not not proud either. My squeemish attitude regarding food has been a lifelong journey. As a child, I didn't like all the standard things: mushrooms, smelly cheese, beans, brussel sprouts, etc. (As I grew up those things inevitably became my favorite foods!) I've always had a careful attitude towards the food I will put in my mouth. If a bug so much as sniffed a bag of flour I would throw it away. I would sometimes wash my vegetables in bleach water and usually throw out food that had sat outside of the fridge for 4 hours or longer. Things are a little different now. I am living on a small budget and food is a long way away so it's not always viable to be so selective. I have kept an open mind. As I entered training in St Lucia, I was scared to find ants all over the kitchen. I was disgusted to find the chickens were allowed in the house, because those birds carry a lot of diseases. But as my host mom plucked a ripe sugar apple from the tree, the skin crawling with ants, ripped it in half and pushed the soft, custardy flesh up to her mouth I took a deep breath and nibbled my half, trying to avoid thinking of the ants. The sugar apple tasted good and tropical and I didn't taste any ants. Later on I noticed people left food out all day and I was beyond scared. I don't want food poisoning! But I ate what was made for me and trusted that I would be ok. Time went on and similar experiences came up, each time softening my picky attitude. Last night I was preparing a curry and I dumped a measure of lentils into the spiced, boiling pot and then noticed a few beetles in the sack. I also had cumin seed in my curry so they also looked like little bugs. I decided not to throw away the whole pot but to see if my stomach would allow me to eat it, I was really hungry! And it did. I forgot about the bugs until I picked one out. Yay for me! Perhaps there is a tv deal in my future.

making cards

Today we made Olin cards because he isn't feeling well. Of course he doesn't live here in this country, but we made them anyway because we love him.

One community Christmas party down, one to go!

Here are a few pictures from the Rising Stars Community Club Christmas Party. It was a fun day full of games, food and friendship.

woodwork animals

I volunteered to make some wood animals for the Fountain Christmas display. First I asked around at TDC to get prices on wood and paint. The wood was going to be over $100 and there really wasn't much paint except for wall paint. After a little legwork and talking I managed to get it donated by Mr. Merchant at TDC! He donated a 1/2"x10"x14' pine board and 4 pints of wall paint (white, brown, orange and blue.) He had them delivered to the Craft House before I could even walk back there! My boyfriend (who was visiting from the States) was impressed. I designed the animals and cut them out using a band saw and scroll saw, then sanded them with a belt sander and hand sanded them with help from my boyfriend. I base coated them all white and then painted the details with my One Stroke acrylic paints that were delivered from my mom (in Idaho) to my boyfriend (in North Carolina) and finally brought to Nevis. A few of my little friends helped me by painting the stands blue. The animals took a lot of work but it was worth it because everybody loved them.

A white (flour) christmas!

I have been asked to help decorate Trinity Methodist Church for Christmas. I racked my brain, wondering how I could decorate without all the standard paraphernalia I'm used to seeing in December: Santa Clauses, reindeer, tinsel, bows, wreaths and glass balls. I ventured all throughout Charlestown to nearly every store and returned with white glue, kool-aid, flour, salt, cinnamon and tea lights. Not exactly everything I had hoped for. But what could I possibly do with all that?

I worked all night like Jekyll and Hyde concocting various mixtures and doughs and colored glitter pastes. I awoke the next morning to what looked like a freshly fallen snow; in reality it was last night's floury mess. I cleaned up, gathered a few kids and enlisted their help in making salt-dough ornaments. They had a blast and can't wait for the next craft session! They did a great job and were extremely creative.

life is nothing more than a string of moments

Rising Stars

Here are some logo ideas for the Rising Stars Community Club that I designed. They liked the top one.

When Bats Attack

I had another winged visitor in my house! My boyfriend was lucky enough to be there to witness and help contain the uninvited guest while I watched in amusement and took pictures. So far I have had an average of one frightening critter per month, with the exception of two in September when there was both a tarantula AND a bat in the same weekend. Thank goodness I have a mosquito net.

Animal rescue update

Nevis is extremely lucky to have such caring people as Jeff and Maggie, Nancy and Mark. The last living pup of the litter, Nuffy, is thriving and loving life after being checked out and wormed. Mama pup, Ameyah, is awaiting being spayed. They were especially lucky because my visitor took a special interest and fed them all kinds of scraps, he even brought home leftovers and carried bones in his pocket just for the dogs! I will continue to help out and do whatever I can to support and assist Animal Rescue and the efforts of Jeff and Maggie. Thanks guys!

My first visitor!!

My wonderful boyfriend came to Nevis to see what my life with the Peace Corps was all about. Perhaps he was hoping for a nice relaxing tropical vacation but I had other ideas; I put him right to work! He even came to meetings with me. He got a flavor of what it's like to integrate and accomplish the little things that paint the big picture of being a PCV. I dubbed him my PCVAS (Peace Corps Volunteer Auxiliary Support) and together we tackled some rather daunting tasks: soliciting donations (supplies) for the Fountain Christmas party, designing, creating & cutting out wooden Christmas animal decorations for the Tree Lighting Celebration, wrapping gifts for another Fountain Christmas party, designing paper tree decorations, designing and creating locally attainable jewelry ideas for the Craft House and gathering materials for craft projects. Those are few of many seemingly insurmountable tasks that my wonderful visitor helped bring to fruition. He also spent days and countless, exhaustive trips to various stores to pick up every item on my wish list before he left the US. I don't know how he can be as wonderful as he is but I am one lucky girl!

How do you know when you get in the groove?

Today I had an appointment in St Kitts at 2:30. My plan was to have a little break from my schedule, do some exercise and then leisurely catch the 1pm ferry. At 11 my boyfriend called to tell me he was going to work. It was at this time that I realized my computer clock had set itself back and it was in fact noon. This was bad, very bad! I need at least an hour to wait for the bus to make sure I reach at 1pm. I lunged into the shower, dressed as quickly as my clothes would unfold and gathered my forms and belongings. At 12:22 I was waiting for the bus, calling one of the drivers. He was on his way to my village. Soon a bus pulled up and I hopped in, then realized it wasn't Don! We stopped a bunch to drop people off and Don called to ask where I was, then his bus flew by! Drat...I was praying the whole time, visualizing reaching in time to catch the ferry. I repeated "I will make the one o'clock ferry, I will make the one o'clock ferry!" over and over, even though it seemed impossible as time was ticking away and we snaked through Nevis dropping people off. I did not want to deal with the implications of rescheduling. Everything is much more complicated when you have to deal with two separate islands and somewhat unscheduled modes of transportation (relying on other people completely!) At 1 pm we were still driving, reaching Charlestown. At about 7 past, I hopped off the bus, thanked the driver, waved to Don who was relaxing in his bus (should have waited!) and started running as fast as I could to the ferry terminal. A large group of people were liming near the docks, they started making noise, urging me to hurry. "Run! They are still there! No, run straight to the boat!" As I veered towards the ticket booth. I changed course and went straight for the boat, which had pulled up the ramp and swiveled slightly away from the dock. They pulled closer and helped me aboard, the adrenaline pumping and a huge smile brightening my glistening face. I did it! A small accomplishment maybe, but when everything just happens in your favor life feels great. Especially something that seems impossible at first.

Dogs & Death

Nov. 8, 2007

Today started out as a pretty ordinary day. I have been going to the Craft House every day this week except today I had to stay home to wait for the APCD and scurity officer to come by to check out my house. I wrote to Maggie and told her I couldn’t find a ride to the vet with the sick and injured puppies (long story short: the puppies have been dying and getting hit by cars, we were down to three. Jeff and Maggie work for Animal Rescue and said I could take them to the vet and get them dewormed and looked at.) They offered to come pick me up and we could take them together. When we got there, the vet picked Fluffy out of the basket, the one who had gotten hit by the bread van. He started vomiting. He had hardly been moving all morning and wouldn’t eat. She looked at his fractured leg and was telling me what to do to care for him when he started to die on the table. His head was turned at an odd angle and he was shuddering as the life slowly drained from the broken little body. Maggie was crying and we were both petting him. I was surprised it hit her so hard since she deals with this so often, but there she was, tears reddening her eyes, voice cracking as she tried to say something comforting to us, to herself. “Sometimes the best gift you can give someone is to help them pass on.” And we watched as his warm, furry body became still and it was just an empty shell on the table. It’s amazing how you can tell when life ends. The body looks and feels different, empty. Then the vet lifted the small, meager puppy out of the basket, the one who had disappeared for several days. He was nearly dead too. She advised that we put him down so we layed him next to the body of his brother, petted him and walked away with only one pup in the basket. It was hard to leave him but it was the kindest thing to do and really the only solution, I don’t think he would have made it through the night.
And we drove back, talking about the future and how to make a difference in a positive way. I clutched the worm medicine and the little syringe. It was a hard blow, one I hadn’t really expected. Life in the Caribbean is much more real than the tourist brochures suggest. The kids didn’t take it very well. Imani was angry and smacked Maggie's arm, it seemed like he blamed her for some reason. That was really heartbreaking but his three-year old mind connected the loss with the new stranger. Quetta wanted to know all the details and decided to rename Patches, the remaining puppy after her favorite: Fluffy (the one with the broken leg.) It has been a draining day and hopefully something good has come of it, a little knowledge, education, health care for the animals and an end to suffering.
Right after I settled in and threw the sheet in the washing machine, Renney and Mavis came over to ask how I was and look at my place. They were happy with the way I was “comfortable” and “settled” (must have meant that I gained weight.) Renney was happy to see me in better spirits than the last time (after a thievery incident.)
Now I must leave for a meeting at the church. They are having a presentation on alkalized water. I don’t really feel like being around anyone right now but I think it will be good for me.

Conquering the Piton

8-4-07 Piton Hike
I did it!!! I hiked the larger of the two Pitons. At 5:45 am I met a bus at the training school in Micoud, St Lucia with 30 other sleepy volunteers. We drove to Vieu Forte at the base of the Piton. It was much more rigorous than I thought it would be and it was pretty much straight up. About 10 minutes into the hike I felt like I was ready to call it quits and had no idea how I was possibly going to make it to the top. Climbing straight up seemed impossible and I didn’t think I was in good enough physical condition. I was breathing hard the whole time and sweated so much I was wringing out my ponytail. It was basically climbing stairs 2,600 feet. The steps were made of rocks and roots. The rocks at the top were slippery from the rain and moss so I slipped once between some rocks but miraculously I was hardly even scratched. It really brought the group together to test ourselves in such an excruciating way. As a small group of 7 or 8 we split off from the other groups who were going at their own paces. We picked our way carefully albeit quickly straight down the way we came up. I am glad you couldn’t see all the way to the bottom or the vertigo would have been terrible. We found a dead tarantula along the way and what looked like a bright orange hermit crab. About ¾ of the way down my legs (and by all accounts everyone else was feeling the same) felt like Jello. I was half afraid they might give out and came close to falling once or twice. The bottom couldn’t come fast enough. I got a false sense that we were close long before we actually were and we all pretty much ran out of water. I was incredibly thirsty so I asked around and we found that Kit still had a whole bottle of water so she graciously divided it up between everyone. The last 20 minutes was sheer willpower and muscle memory because I don’t know how I was moving my legs, they were so shaky and tired.

Craft House in the house!

I have found a new way to spend my time: Basket weaving! I have been working with the Nevis Craft House this week and they are teaching me this ancient and useful skill. Later I will learn to sew, make grass mats, leather sandals and pottery and I will teach them some of my art skills. I feel right at home here! They let me bring home my first basket (seen here.) I'd like to think it's because you can't put a price tag on it (for all the right reasons.)

My birthday was a glorious celebration

Fountain had a big day coming. It was my birthday and they didn't know it yet but it was about to hit like a twenty-six year old hurricane. It also happened to be the Fountain/My Lily Community Improvement Club's 5th anniversary. Posters were being pinned, invitation were being photocopied and dresses were being pressed. So happy birthday to me, I put on a new Island Hopper skirt and oxy-white shirt and picked my way up the road to the church. We were to each perform some sort of content for the concert. At first they asked me to sing but I assured them that they wouldn't be pleased if I did. So I settled on reading a poem. I was called up and I announced into the microphone that I had written a poem about my experience in Nevis. Silence blanketed the audience like fresh snow as my poem wove it's way from one ear to another. I felt like I had extra eyes, some to read my scratches and some to watch the audience. I saw the warm and curious eyes of everyone in the audience, eager to hear what the "clear" girl, the Peace Corps had to say. Applause rippled though the air as I swept back to my chair, but not before the announcer called me right back to the stage.
"Where are you going? Come back here!" And my birthday was announced. The keyboard beat out the notes and the audience sang, clapped, swayed! "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!" As I clasped my hands to my chest and grinned, blushing and self-conscious about how to react to such a momentous occasion. It was such a beautiful birthday.
My wonderful boyfriend arranged a surprise with one of my friends, Allyson, to buy me a lucky Chinese cat that I had my eye on. The thing is exactly what I always wanted. It is so gaudy, sparkling gold and battery-operated waving arm; the grand finale to the lucky cat I always wanted but could never find. Somehow Nevis got it's paws on it first. And now I have lucky cat! True it's battery-operated arm doesn't work, but lucky cat is so glorious it doesn't matter. And all because my boyfriend cares so much! $80 EC may seem too high a price but one can't put a price on love.