Concocting a Mystifier

Hello everyone,

I hope you are all doing well!   

I have so much to catch you up on.  My apologies for the large time lapse between posts.

Since I’ve last written on this blog, many circumstances have changed for me at work.  As suggested in my previous post, my involvement with the East Dominica Children’s Federation without Rickey has been a bit rocky.  During the entire month of September I struggled with my role with the Non-Government Organization (NGO).  Without having Rickey around, I went through a span of days where I felt ineffective while working with the NGO. 

Unfortunately for the company, I was not the only one feeling “lost” when Rickey departed.  The NGO is an extremely flat organization (as many NGO’s are) and the loss of one integral person like Rickey was felt by all involved parties.  Apparently, he was essential to many people’s success and efficiency within the organization.  September turned into a rough month for all the employees as they were still figuring out how to continue business when Rickey moved on to become a teacher. 

Another major issue looming over the NGO is their lack of financial resources.  The management team decided to not replace Rickey as they saw his departure as an opportunity to cut administrative costs by having other employees absorb his responsibilities.  This overburdening workload led another employee to quit the NGO shortly after Rickey did as she could not handle the added duties to her position. 

Despite all of the issues in September, the NGO workers and I banded together during October and now November.  The employees divvied up the tasks so everything could be completed proficiently.  Because I now have extensive knowledge of their practices, I started taking on more responsibilities as well.  Besides creating and managing activities like I’ve done the past several months, they have been using me predominately to write for them whenever they have a document that needs to be written.  After a torturous September, we figured out how to be successful again.

Many returned Peace Corps Volunteers have spoken in an extensible fashion about how they had to persevere through tough times during their service campaign.  They explain that the service felt like a “rollercoaster ride” with many “ups and downs.”  Even though I became internally frustrated with the stagnant actions at my NGO, if this episode of my “rollercoaster ride” is the lowest of my “downs” then I should be just fine. 

Several parts of my volunteering efforts went quite well during the past few months too.  I have become extremely active in the Castle Bruce and Sineku (Rickey’s school in the Carib Territory) primary schools.  Just like last school year, I have been utilized as a glorified gym teacher for both schools because they have seen my resume with all the experience in the sports industry.  However, the principals have entrusted me with more responsibilities as well.  For instance, I spend time at both schools tutoring the children who are remedial in their classes.  The teachers from both schools have mentioned to me that they see improvement with the children I have worked with on an individual basis. 

An entertaining development for me while volunteering at the school is my interactions with the children while they are on break during the school day.  I always bring several decks of cards to the school and I have taught many students how to play the thrilling card game, Egyptian Ratscrew.  If you’ve never heard of the game before then you should consider looking up the rules, it’s very fun to play.  The children adore playing Egyptian Ratscrew so much that I have given random kids decks of cards so they can play when I am not at their school.  Apparently, Egyptian Ratscrew has gone completely viral at Sineku Primary School.  All grade levels of students are playing whenever they have free time.

I first learned how to play Egyptian Ratscrew going all the way back to my early swim team days at West Side Swim Club.  When I was on swim team (back in the 1990s) the other kids and I played tons of different card games during swim meets.  The legendary Matt, Nick, and Keith Hudson would set up an orange tarp as an overhead protection from the sunlight during meets.  The Hudson’s and their friends would then put their towels underneath the shade-producing tarp so that we had something soft to sit on in our super-awesome hangout spot during the meet.  While we were waiting for our events, we played card games.  Egyptian Ratscrew was one of many games that we played but it was definitely the one I was most talented at.  

Since I was very young, I have been the self-acclaimed “best player in the world” at Egyptian Ratscrew.  Someone many of the readers of this blog may know, Charlotte Martin, attempted to challenge me a few summers ago in the card game as she said that she was also the best player in the world.  Something had to give.  She and I played five extraordinarily intense matches but I remain undefeated against her. :)

Many of the children from Sineku and Castle Bruce have become immensely talented at the card game.  If it weren’t for the short amount of time that the children get for break, thus stopping our card game's progress, I would be easily defeated by many of them.  Several matches have ended in stalemates but I have yet to be taken down.  The children thoroughly enjoy playing and I predict it’s only a matter of days until I lose my self-acclaimed title. 

Besides at schools and with my NGO, I have become involved in several different avenues as well.  I’ll list some here that I can recall.  I’ve started editing essays of college students from my village.  The Sports Division invited me to be an official at both the regional and national track and field event for the primary schools.  I give swimming lessons to children from my village.  I’ve taught countless children how to throw a frisbee.  Youth randomly come to my house to hang out.  Young people join me on my jogs.  I now appreciate the fact that being a volunteer with the Peace Corps is a 24/7 job with all the activities I do outside of work.  At times I do get exhausted but the majority of the stuff I do is fun so I have nothing to complain about. 

Since my last post, I’ve spent time exploring parts of the island again.  Several other volunteers and I splurged and signed-up for a canyoning experience.  I had never heard of canyoning before I decided to join the group but I’m really glad that I went.  It was an absolute blast.  Essentially, a trained team of “canyoners” show novices how to hike down a canyon.  This process involves repelling down 40 foot waterfalls, trudging through clear water in darkened caves, and the exciting leap off of 20-30 foot cliffs into deep pockets of water.  The whole experience made me feel very “Bear Grylls-like” as I felt like I was on a Man Vs. Wild episode.

On a separate weekend, three other volunteers and I rented out a tree house at one of the eco-tourism lodges on Dominica.  The eco-tourist spot was completely au natural even down to the "bellhop" who turned out to be a donkey that carries people's bags from the entrance to their tree house.  The owner of the resort informed us that he built all the tree houses completely out of trees from the forest where the resort is located.  When the sun went down we had to use candles as our source of light.  This particular place is located in the middle of the rainforest surrounded by breathtaking views of mountains and crystal-clear rivers to swim in.  Being several miles inside the rainforest gave us an authentic feel to what it is like to sleep surrounded by just nature.  It was really neat.

Very recently I trekked the quite difficult boiling lake hike for the second time.  Some of the volunteers who have been on Dominica for a year longer than me have completed the boiling lake over ten times.  The rain drenched my fellow hikers and I as we lumbered through the path to the second largest boiling lake on the entire planet.  The rivers flowed intensely as we crossed them because the water levels were elevated from the rain.  Everything ended just fine but the torrential rain storm definitely made things more interesting.  By the way, I took a “planking” and “Tebowing” picture at the overlook point of the boiling lake.  Check the Dominica Photos tab.

FWI, "Planking" and "Tebowing" are funny poses people do in pictures.  "Planking" is when someone looks like a stiff board while "Tebowing" is when someone copies Denver Broncos' quarterback Tim Tebow's favorite touchdown celebration.  

The last week in October and the first week of November is an enjoyable part of the year in Dominica.  It signifies their independence time as a country with the official Independence Day on November 3^rd.  Dominicans know how to celebrate their independence as they essentially shut down the island and party for two straight weeks.  During the first week Dominica has concert events which feature well known artists from the Caribbean.  I attended concerts on two of the nights which were really fun.  The second week consists of national days of community service and even more concerts. 

Since I’ve been on Dominica I have really started to enjoy the music culture.

Here's a few songs from the Caribbean region you should consider looking up on youtube:

Gyptian – Hold You (I saw him live during the independence concerts)

Alaine – Up

Vybz Kartel - Summertime

Jah Cure – Unconditional Love

Nicki Minaj – Fly (I know its mainstream but she is from Trinidad)

Let me know what you think of the music.  :)

Dominica is now officially feeling like home to me.  Being the only American around was difficult at first but now I feel like I fit in.  I’ve met several wonderful people who I interact with on a daily basis.  People in my village are now comfortable with having me around.  The children act like they’ve known me for years.  My current situation is feeling quite fantastic.  I hope that I can sustain and broaden the relationships that I’ve made with the individuals in my village.

That's all for now and I hope to not have another two month gap between blog posts.  :)

Be safe,

Joe

P.S.  Congratulations to two of my closest friends, Chris Vergeront and Kacie O’Brien, for officially becoming engaged recently.  I’m so happy for these two!

P.P.S.  Aaron Rodgers = Stud.

P.P.P.S.  I apologize if my reference to being on swim team "back in the 90s" made anyone feel old.