Jounen Kweyol

Today at school. we celebrated Jounen Kweyol, which celebrates the French and African dialect that is spoken here. St. Lucians are extremely proud of their culture, and today was an intriguing look into the vibrant and colourful culture.
Everyone was dressed in Madras, which is a colourful striped fabric. Each class prepared a performance which demonstrated a particular part of the culture. The grade one classes prepared a "Battle of the Flowers," representing the two different flower festivals in St. Lucia, La Marguarite and La Rose. Other classes danced, sang, and played instruments. The entire performance lasted two and a half hours, and it was extremely hot. You can only imagine how well all of the children were sitting by the end! Once the performance was over, we went back to our classroom to eat bouillon, a kind of stew. At the upper campus, teachers were selling a variety of national food such as saltfish and breadfruit. As hectic as the day was, the children did a beautiful job and I can officially say I have survived the first half of the term!