I arrived a week before Maddie and certainly had a few adventures on my own. The island is beautiful and I think one of the best adjectives for it would be lush. Everywhere there is an immense amount of vegetation. There are mountains covered in rich green.
I wasn’t able to move into our house till Monday (I arrived Saturday), so I stayed at a hotel in the Rodney Bay area for two nights where I was able to catch up on sleep and lounge by a pool. I managed to venture out into the surrounding area too. Rodney Bay features a mall that has two grocery stores, a pharmacy, many bars and restaurants, resorts, as well as a famous beach, Reduit Beach (pictured above).
Work started Monday at CEHI. To get to CEHI we have to take two buses. The first stop is about a 10 minute walk from our home in Corinth. We take the 1-D to the center of Castries, the capital of St. Lucia. From there we take a second bus, the 5-F, which takes up rolling hills to CEHI, which is located near the open-campus of the University of West Indies. It takes about 40-50 minutes depending on traffic.
Buses are an interesting experience as they are not what might be typically expected. Buses here are vans that have been converted to seat many people. There are usually 4 rows in the back that seat 2-3 people, as well as foldable chairs as extensions. Two people can also sit in the front with the driver. There are also no seat belts.Everyone squeezes in, meaning that when someone needs to get off, it is inevitable that part of the bus needs to get out and make room. When one wants to the bus to stop one must yell a variety of “Bus stop!” Though the bus routine might feel a little tight and uncomfortable at times, what is nice is how when many St. Lucians get on the bus they greet the other passengers and driver with a “good morning,” “good afternoon,” or “good evening,” depending on the time of day. Riding the bus is a truly St. Lucian experience due to the fact that it is the popular method of transportation among natives.
At CEHI, I’m going to be working on various projects. My main project during this internship consists of going through CEHI’s archives of past projects and converting each lengthy project report into a 1 page synopsis. So far, this has been a somewhat slow and long process. But, I’m hoping that I have gotten through the worse. I've been given creative license to edit the template being used and provide my own suggestions to how to make a user-friendly database.
A very interesting of our internship is our opportunity to go out into the field. We are provided with the opportunity to see other parts of the island while collecting data for specific projects. Last Tuesday I helped take water samples in Dennery, an area of St. Lucia known for its less than superb water quality. It was an interesting experience as I got to see the lab technicians at work and see how many locals live. We also visited a state penitentiary and I saw many open machetes (something I had yet to see). I learned that a reason why water quality has generally suffered in St. Lucia is due to last year's Hurricane Thomas. Other than water, roads and bridges have also been destroyed which has resulted in temporary bypasses that take deep dips in the already windy roads.
During my day in the field I also experienced my very first St. Lucian meal! It was a very hearty meal costing about 12 EC (1 USD = about 2.5 EC). I had stewed lamb, beans, rice, mixed vegetables and green bananas, cold vegetables, two large dumplings, and a plantain. It was delicious but overwhelming in quantity.
Each day, after commuting to and from work I mostly just hung out at the house. I wasn’t really ready to cook by myself, especially after our toaster caught fire, so I prepared lots of salads and a pre-cooked chicken I got at the grocery store.
Our house has two bedrooms, 1 bathroom, a full kitchen, a living room/dining area, and a washing machine. We are on the bottom floor of our landlady, Mrs. Johnson’s (though she prefers Jenny) home. Jenny is very sweet and always willing to help. I had a termite problem one night and she very willingly came down to help me spray and attack the invading insects. Speaking of insects, the mosquitoes are quite sneaky meaning that bug spray is a necessity. It also turns out that where we live, Corinth, used to be a marsh, explaining the immense amount of insects.
Well, that's all for now. Maddie and I will update about our experiences soon!
