Hello everyone,
Thank you all so much for all the support that you show me. I honestly am so very touched from all of your comments and acknowledgments about my Peace Corps experience thus far. I’ve had countless people write something to me via facebook or in other medians of communication who have given me such positive feedback about my current situation. When I see the messages from people who read my blogs and enjoy viewing them, I feel truly honored. I must write on this thing in a more consistent manner.
One special shout out that I’d like to give is to my main girl, Sheridan Hearn. I know her affectionately as “Sherri Berri Boo Boo” or just “Boo Boo” for short. Apparently at Brat Fest over the Memorial Day Weekend, one of Sheridan’s music groups, the Edgetones, performed during the festivities. For those of you who don’t know, the Edgetones is an A capella group consisting of students from Edgewood High School in Madison, WI that has extremely talented singers within it. They perform beautifully complicated renditions of songs with perfect harmonies without the assistance of musical instruments. One of my absolute favorite pieces that they do is a rendition of Wet Willie’s 1970s classic “Keep on Smiling.”
I consider myself somewhat of a “superfan” of the Edgetones as I really enjoy listening to the fantastic music they create on stage. Also, it brings me pleasure to see so many youth from my Blessed Sacrament community excel on the big stage once they get to high school.
I’ll give a quick example of how dedicated I am to the Edgetones. About six weeks before I left for the Peace Corps, I had an emergency appendectomy late one night as my appendix was about to perforate. Anyway, the following day I was discharged from the hospital in the early evening and I knew that the Edgetones were having a concert that night. I had planned on going to the concert for weeks but the surgical procedure was going to potentially jeopardize my opportunity. Even though I was hopped up on drugs and was a bit sore in the abdominal region, I attended the concert and had a wonderful time seeing all my friends on stage. It was the last Edgetones concert I saw prior to leaving the country.
Well, during the concert at the Brat Fest event, Sheridan dedicated one of the songs to me in Peace Corps when she was the lead vocalist. When I heard this information, it brought a giant smile to my face. By the way, if I would have been in Madison this summer, I totally would have attended that Edgetones concert at Brat Fest. I am very humbled knowing how my friends and family are extremely supportive of me while I am doing work in a developing country. Thanks Boo Boo. Miss you. :)
Now I will do my best to catch you all up with my life on Dominica. I have taken a brief hiatus from going on adventurous hikes since the boiling lake excursion.
A few weekends ago, I attended a Health and Wellness Expo. It’s exactly what my body needed after that grueling boiling lake hike. The expo was put on and ran by locals on the island. The event kicked off on that Friday evening with an hour and a half session of Yoga. Yoga made all my muscles feel so perfect and refreshed. This was my first time ever doing Yoga in an organized class. The instructor is actually from Wisconsin and lived in Madison for a few years. What a small world!
Saturday was epic of that weekend. A few other Peace Corps Volunteers and I attended a cooking seminar called “Caribbean Vegan Workshop” with the author named Taymer Mason of the cookbook Caribbean Vegan leading it. The session was conducted at a private house in an outdoor kitchen that overlooked a beautiful mountainous pass. I felt like we were on one of those cooking shows as professional camera people were set up everywhere videotaping. The workshop was completely sold out and I was the only man present who wasn’t working for Taymer. Many of the people at the event were extremely interesting individuals like one lady owns a very successful mushroom garden on the island. The price for admission for this was 20EC (roughly $7.70 US currency) but after it was finished, I would have easily paid triple that to attend.
They gave us so much food throughout the entire day which all tasted too good for words. The workshop began around 9:30AM where Taymer showed us how to make coconut pancakes then we all got to eat those coconut pancakes with fresh basilik and ginger tea. We then got to create our own mini jerk pizzas with sweet potato crusts after she showed us how to prepare the pizza crust. Later, I demonstrated to the class my abilities in making coconut turnovers. Everyone had a good time watching me struggle with the simple task. Then, we were shown a few other recipes like jerk tofu skewers and coconut rice. Everything that we were shown, we ended up eating.
After that, they served everyone a full lunch of gourmet, vegan food fully equipped with fresh juice and dessert. What a spectacular day. The workshop ended around 3:30PM and I literally felt like I was in a major food induced coma.
Sunday was extremely fun too. It was organized around classes which were held every hour. It was held at the University of West Indies’ grounds where they set up big tents for people to showcase their health items at. The first class of the day was a woman who is an expert in herbs’ beneficial impacts on human bodies. This was really intriguing and I took notes on the different plants she spoke about. After that class, I attended another Taymer Mason session which at the end she brought out vegan quiche, orange cupcakes and chocolate cake. I purchased her cookbook Caribbean Vegan at this class. I took a picture with Taymer after she signed the book. The book is amazing and has chapters on condiments and sauces, breakfast dishes, appetizers, soups and stews, entrees, side dishes, bush teas, desserts, and drinks and cocktails. I’m really excited to start cooking amazing Caribbean foods but realizing my inexperience with cooking, I may need assistance from others.
After Taymer’s class, I attended a class on Ayurvedic healing which was intriguing. Finally, I attended the African Dance class...once again I was the only man at that. The Yoga instructor from Wisconsin taught the African dance class too. I was planning on hitching back to the east coast but I randomly saw someone I knew from my village at the event who gave me a ride in the afternoon.
All in all, that was an excellent, revitalizing weekend.
As for staying in shape, I’ve officially become a member of my village’s national adult league basketball team. “National” is obviously very relative since only about 50,000 people inhabit this island. I’ve been practicing with them for the past several weeks and one day my neighbor, who is also the coach of the team, invited me to be a member. We practice at least once a week and have games on the weekends around the island against other villages. It’s been a wonderful way for me to get to know some of the guys my age from the village.
The team is called the Castle Bruce Oilers most likely named after the NFL franchise that used to be in Houston but is currently in Tennessee as the Titans. We play in the Premiere league which is the highest group. Evidently, a former NBA player, who was born on Dominica, named Garth Joseph plays in this league. He is 7’2 and over 300 lbs. We’ll have to see if I get matched up on him when we play each other.
Since I’ve been on island, I’ve taken up running as my main form of exercise. While in Madison, I was fairly dedicated to exercising at Supreme Health and Fitness. Since I don’t have access to a gym currently, I decided to focus on “hitting the pavement” and start to go on long jogs. To be honest, Dominica is a perfect place to take up running since it has beautiful scenery and prosperous trails to explore. I’ve built my stamina up and I am now comfortable running for distances of 10 miles and further. I haven’t felt in this good of shape since my days of swimming in high school and college. I read the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall which has also kept my interest in running at an all time high. If you have never read the book, I highly recommended it. Born to Run touches on topics that really provoke many interesting thoughts while having a highly entertaining storyline. Also, it may make you want to put exercising as a higher priority in your life.
Work has been going quite well this past month. I brainstormed some project ideas that the NGO is excited to start implementing.
The main idea I thought of is to create an organized summer junior Cricket league for the east coast region of the island. The league would run from early May to mid-August and would start in the summer of 2012. Basically, it would involve youth between the top villages of the Carib Territory to about three communities south of my village, Castle Bruce. I did some research on Cricket leagues in England and also took many ideas from the Little League system in the states to begin the process of writing the proposal. I’ve visited all the schools in my region and the one constant is that children are always playing Cricket during their free time. Also, it would be wonderful to have an organized cricket league for youth as a fun summer activity that the entire community could be entertained by. The plan is to have about eight to ten teams and it would be offered to children 12 and under. I plan on obtaining sponsors to alleviate the majority of the costs but I have a few more revenue generating ideas to explore as well.
The unique aspect to this whole thing, which people at the NGO really liked, is that I want to focus on recruiting people between the ages of 18-25 years of age to be the coaches, umpires, and managers of the teams. I thought that my NGO could put on seminars teaching the young adults strategies to develop children’s characters. Also, the seminars could teach the young adults ways to effectively teach Cricket to the kids. The NGO could also pay the young adults a stipend at the end of the season for their efforts. It would be a great way to employ the young adults of the region who do not have anything to do while developing their leadership skills.
I’ve developed about fifteen pages of the business plan which I gave to a representative of the Sports Division of the Government. Obviously, this project will take dedication and vast effort in order for it to be successful.
If the other workers and I exert energy into making this idea a success, other communities could potentially use the league as a template to start it in other parts of the island. Also, I really want to focus on the sustainability aspect for this project which I will speak to the business sponsors about when the time comes.
Here are a few smaller sections of the business plan for your viewing pleasure:
Mission Statement: It is the mission of the East Dominica Junior Cricket League to provide children interested in cricket the opportunity to play the game they adore in an organized manner. We strive to help our players develop and strengthen the essential physical and mental skills associated with the game of cricket while keeping the fundamental traditions from the game intact. Furthermore, East Dominica Junior Cricket League will also aim to develop and strengthen the virtues of respect, sportsmanship, competitiveness, teamwork, and work ethic while keeping cricket entertaining for the participants and their communities. The league will include formal training and player development programs, spirited but fair competition, and recreation into its structure to facilitate in attaining its mission.
Vision Statement: To provide a vastly organized cricket league for the youth of Dominica which achieves excellence in cricket, increases personal and physical development, and supports the core principles of serving the participants and communities of the island.
Objectives:
Enhance the youth’s character, courage, honesty, loyalty, sportsmanship
Develop the young people’s communication skills, self-confidence, and self-esteem
Enable the children to become decent, healthy, and trustworthy individuals of Dominica
Learn the skills, tactics, and strategies of cricket to improve as players
Ensure that each participant feels like an important part of the team regardless of performance or gender
Allow youth of the island to have a major organized activity during their summer breaks
Create a sustainable league that youth may participate in on an annual basis
Endorse healthy lifestyle habits while making physical activity a major priority
Promote that the attainment of exceptional athletic skills and winning of games are secondary objectives
Keys to Success:
Develop a sense of ownership of the league with active community members and parents
Organize an energetic board of directors
Obtain sponsors to alleviate league operation costs
Minimize field maintenance expenses
Increase the level of excitement among the youth about the Cricket League
Utilize the schools and teachers to promote the league
Recruiting proficient and committed coaches and umpires
Maintain a consistently high approval rate among the athletes and their parents
I’ve thought of some other activities which we are planning to implement during this coming summer but I’ll explain those in another blog post.
My work at the primary school in my village is going well too. I adore spending time with all the children. Many of them are now comfortable to come to my house and hang out for a bit. Or they’ll tag along with me when I go to the beach for a swim.
I usually teach the physical education class because of my background. Since we were having lots of rain the past few weeks, I taught inside the classrooms while the kids were supposed to be having gym class. Because it is considered their “sports” time, I was told to play games with the children in a class setting. I taught grades K through three how to play two games that I played in classrooms at Blessed Sacrament Grade School in Madison, WI. They all thoroughly enjoyed the games!
The first game I taught them was called “Heads Up Seven Up” where the instructor picks students to come to the front of the room and the rest of the students need to put their heads down on their desk and close their eyes while holding one of their thumbs up. The students who were initially selected walk around and they each tap one person’s thumb. After the students finish then the people who had their thumb’s tapped get to guess which person got them. If they guess correctly then they get to switch places with the person who they guessed. The game is tons of fun.
The other game I taught them that they had fun with is called “Sparkle.” During this game, the kids get into a big circle and hold hands and the object is to last as long as possible. I would tell them a word which the students would have to spell correctly letter by letter going around in the circle. If the students spelled the word right then the student after the last letter of the word says “sparkle” and the person after them gets eliminated from the game. Also, if a student says an incorrect letter then they get eliminated. I remember getting “sparkled” was always annoying because the person cannot control their own destiny but it adds a fun luck element to the game.
I attended an event at a place called Islulukati Special Education School in the Carib Reserve. The event was an open house and a sports day. The beginning of the day was dedicated to a bunch of different people speaking about the school and showcasing it to visitors. The Carib Chief was there along with the parliamentary representative from the Carib Reserve. The students also did some neat presentations when they introduced themselves to the audience. If I had to guess, the people attending the school were between the ages of early teenage to mid twenties. I believe they have about fifteen students at the school currently. Many other children with disabilities from around the different east coast villages were in attendance too. Apparently, a former Peace Corps Volunteer was instrumental in getting the school opened and funded several years ago.
While we were eating snacks after the speeches, I spoke with the parliamentary representative about the Cricket league idea. He sounded fairly intrigued and told me that he would get me in contact with someone he knows well from the sports division of the government. I’ve already spoken with the Carib Chief about the idea and he is all for it as well.
The real fun started after snacks! The lead teacher at the school divided the youth with disabilities into two teams called the Hawks and Humming Birds. The students prepared team banners which they held onto as they marched to the playing field. Some of the kids who weren’t part of the school were feeling anxious about joining a team. I got to know some of those kids on the bus and during the morning so I was able to talk a few of them into joining one of the teams. I became an honorary member of the Humming Bird squad as it comforted those non-students who I knew.
The activities they had prepared for the kids were quite awesome. They did soccer kicking through cones, races around the field, and cricket among many other various things. I stood with the Humming Bird team encouraging and directing some of the youth during their competitions. Also, I raced the youth around the track. After racing the youth, they had adult spectators race the 200 meter. I competed in the adult race and in an exhilarating fashion caught a Carib man in front of me with about 15 meters to go then passed him right before the finish line. All the kids from the school gave me high fives after my epic comeback!
It was really cool for me to have many of the youth with disabilities become so comfortable with me during that day. Actually, I visited the school again recently and all the students remembered me quite well. I was welcomed by them with big smiles and laughter. I believe many of them were doing a sign language signal for poking fun at me for the effort I put into running at the event a few weeks ago. It was great to see them again.
Finally, I’d like to give a quick shout out to the West Side Swim Club community in Madison, WI. I know that the pool just opened during Memorial Day weekend. I’m really going to miss being part of the magical times that go on there throughout the summer. Coaching swim team, teaching swim lessons, directing the boy’s water ballet, and even just being around during open swim times are such fond memories for me. I’ve developed so many close bonds with people at the pool that I truly miss having the opportunity to see all of them. All the people at West Side have become as close as family to me and I hope that they know that I think of them quite often. I’ll always cherish the memories of not only growing up at the pool but also working there during these past several summers.
Thanks again everyone for checking into my blog!
All the best,
Joe Bridwell
P.S. Check out one of my many new giant spider friends that I took a photo of in the bathroom of my place.
P.S.S. It’s now officially Hurricane Season!!
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