What We've Learned so Far

I have been given the incredible opportunity to teach for one year in St. Lucia. I am living with a friend from my college, and another teacher from Canada who has taught in Vietnam. Today is our fourth day on the island and so far we have learned many things:

1. I stick out like a sore thumb. And I always will while I am here. I have white skin and blonde hair. When walking down the street, people will stare. Better just get used to being stared at when we are in public.

2. I do not understand electricity and voltage and wattage at all. So far we had burned out our coffee maker and Magic Bullet because the converters do not always work for every appliance. I can't really explain because I do not understand. Just hoping and praying my crock pot makes it out of St. Lucia unscathed.

3. Sometimes it is OK to greet people. Other times, you are better off being rude. For example, at the beach, random men will come up to you, either to sell you something or to just be creepy. My roommates and I are learning how to not be so nice (as Mid-westerners and Canadians usually are) and dismiss these people with a "No, thank you" or completely ignoring them.

4. Similar to #3, I learned that if you do not buy conch shells from the random man selling from his paddle board at the beach, he may attempt to run you over with his paddle board. I was firm with him that I did not want to buy one, he eventually floated away, and then a few minutes later was floating past, narrowly missing me. Granted, this may have been an accident. A "excuse me" or "watch out" would have been nice.

5. Grocery shopping is hard. Especially when paying in EC (Eastern Caribbean), the currency used down here. 1 US dollar is equivalent to 2.67 (or so) EC. For example, a can of soup was about 4.75 EC, which to me seems like a lot for a can of soup. But when you convert it to USD, it is only about $1.75. Our last grocery bill was a little over 100 EC, which seems like a lot of money, but it is only about $40 US. Being a frugal person is hard here, since most food is more expensive than in the States. A head of broccoli is roughly $24 EC, $9 US. No broccoli for me...

6. Grocery shopping is hard when you don't know how to cook local food. Or just food in general. PERSONAL GOAL: Learn how to cook.

In general, the teachers at our school are very welcoming and will do basically anything for us to make us happy. They drive us to stores and help us figure out service plans for our phones. Living in a different culture feels like being lost. I am very much enjoying the time I have spent here so far, and I am eager to learn more and begin teaching!