MoPo

For the first three weeks of my Peace Corps career, I lived in a village called Mon Repos (MoPo) in the beautiful island of St. Lucia. This was my first time in the Caribbean and when my feet hit the white sand for the first time I had one of those awe inspiring moments where, for a moment, you just want to run around laughing hysterically while leaping in the air out of pure joy. I imagined myself to be like Leonardo Dicaprio's character in the movie "The Beach" when he first found paradise. I was soon snapped back into reality, however, when I met my host mom Prisca. I was to spend three weeks under her roof and I was petrified.

The first time I saw Prisca I was surprised by how young she was. As it turns out she was in her early 30's and living in a home by herself, which I figured would either make it an ideal host family situation or it would be an awkward three weeks spent staring at each other should things not go well. Her home was small with barely enough room for the two of us and I got used to cold showers pretty quickly. Other things I got used to; cheese and carrot sandwiches, insects, spending countless hours sitting on the porch doing absolutely nothing. I was in training everyday so the only free time I really had was in the evenings and during the weekends. I met the rest of her family as well and every time I went to her mother's home, she tried to feed me. This is where I was introduced to the cup of sugar that locals sometimes refer to as juice. I remember tasting this "juice" impersonator and it became glaringly clear to me why type 2 diabetes is such a problem in the Eastern Caribbean.

All in all, the homestay experience was fantastic. Prisca and I didn't always see eye to eye. . .actually, we never saw eye to eye, but in comparison to the home stay relationship I have with my host mother in Grenada, Prisca is a saint. The most difficult thing was feeling as if I were a kid again living under my parents roof. I had to ask permission to do everything, but this was no fault of Prisca's. Peace Corps should really just implant tracking devices on us. . .it would be much more efficient.

MoPo will always hold very special memories for me, especially the karaoke nights at Rosemadin's BBQ/rum bar which was our Friday night hang out spot. Many talented Peace Corps trainees were discovered at this establishment and it is where we all hung out and played dominoes before being on lockdown in preparation for hurricane Dean. Yes. .. I experienced my first hurricane, but it wasn't all that exciting. Okay, it was kind of cool to hear the howling wind and pelting rain, but had I been allowed outside I would have tied myself to a tree and that would've made for a more interesting experience. But, I did read an entire book during the course of the storm and I took my first bucket bath so it wasn't a complete loss.

Onwards to Grenada!!