*** Ok I cant get the photos to work right so if you want to see photos go to my facebook pager**** BOO HISS to blogspot
I have been thinking alot about how I want to blog about this one. The experience brought about alot of things for me. So since I have posted alot of the pictures on facebook I thought I would rather put up more words than pictures.....but don't worry there will be some!
Anyway, so we took the red eye and arrived in St. Lucia July 4th at 2pm St. Lucian time. We were all prepared (or so I thought) to be hit hard by the humidity and heat! I didn't expect to start sweating so quickly....through out the 5 weeks this was a constant occurance and after awhile you just didn't care that it looked like you peeded your pants due to the excessive sweating....but I digress....
We were in St. Lucia for 2 weeks. The place that we stayed was quite fun. It was right across the street for a Steel Drum Orchestra. They practised every night (well there may have been a few nights they missed) but were our "going to sleep music." The owener of the apartment/hotel we were staying at was named Castro and his sons name was Mandela. Mandela ran track for a university in the states and was quite nice to help us figure out how to use the bus system there. I loved the bus. The beach was amazing (well until we got to Tobago but that will come later.) In the first few days people around Gros Islet (the city in St. Lucia we stayed) starred at us but soon became so friendly and were saying good afternoon to us constantly. We also had the cat calling from the men. Yes you may think flattering but after the everyday occurance you soon found it incrediably annoying and could not wait to get back to the states where men would never say anything. We did alot of fun walks, a boat ride down the west coast of the island, hiking in rain forest, swimming, meeting the poet Derek Walcott and hanging out at his amazing house, meeting fun musicians, etc. Plus of course hang out with amazing people from our program....and most especially my roommates Emma and Lori!R>>DIV>
Then we jetted off to Trinidad which was suppose to be a quick flight to Barbados and than to Trini but ended up being a four hour journey and we went to the island of St. Kitts, Grenada, Barbados, and finally Trinidad. The airline is Liat and well not so hot. Well we finally got to Trinidad and went to our hotel Par-May-La and well needless to say it was not customer friendly, were told bad information, and is where the international phone we used was apart of a scam company and we were charged outrageous amounts. But regardless of that we saw many fantastic things (i.e. another rain forest, the Leatherback Turtles) and tasted some great food (rotti, baby shark sandwich, and doubles.)
After spending 10 days in Trinidad we jetted to Tobago. We decided to walk to our hotel from the airport and what was thought to be a 10 minute walk was more like 30 minutes. Well it felt like it. Now just imagine the sight we were.....a long line of white people hauling all their luggage. We were a spectacle and heard all of the laughter. Tobago was my most favorite island. The beach there was the most spectacular in both sand and water. The sea looked like a swimming pool, it was that clear. In Tobago we did my two most favorite activities, sea kayaking and a glass bottom boat!
After the 7 days in Tobago we headed back to Trinidad and than a day later back to the states. The trip for me was amazing for all I was able to see but more so for the spiritual side of it. We went to branches on each island. They were small and yet so strong. I would even venture to say stronger than some of the wards here in America. They were so happy, they were full of joy, loved being there, and full of the spirit. In Tobago we were able to witness 2 new member confirmations and the smile on one of the guys face was so big and he just couldn't stop smiling. I felt the spirit every Sunday and to be honest I do not in the states. I realized that the gospel brings so much more than we are allowing ourselves to feel. We can be uplifted to a greater extent than we let ourselves partake of. We can feel that church is just another thing we do each week and almost drag our feet to get there. I felt that this entire experience was life changing for me and it showed me great possibilities. Yes it was fantastic to see beautiful parts of the world, and learn about poetry that promoted the love of nature, and artistically being inspired from the surroundings, but the most memorable were the members!
Here is some of the cat calls we got (besides from the hissing sounds they gave all of the time)
You are the Champion
Are you a movie star? Because you look good
(out of no where) I am attracked to you
Will you marry me(then later.can I buy you a drink.no thank you.why not? can I buy you a drink.no.what are you scared of me.no I don't drink.bla bla bla.well if I found the right girl than I would move to America and marry her.at that point I said see you later)
