Hospitality.

After three weeks with guests I have the house to myself – nice to be back to my routine. But it was also nice having people around: sharing conservation, food, and time together – showing them the island when I could and happy that they could easily venture off to explore the island without me. I enjoyed meeting a new friend and spending time again with an old one.

Lisa using wifi with permission
Well, of course neither one of my attractive, single, female guests would be considered old. Before they came I made sure teachers and people in the community realized that I had a second bedroom and that I was having house guests in the spirit of traditional hospitality – guests treated with the utmost respect.

I think most people get it. Hospitality in the ancient cultures, Greek, Middle East, African, Native American, Asian – was very common and taken seriously. Helping strangers provided a way to expand ones own support network. The host gained as well as the guest. It worked well in the ancient world and it still works today. It could work better – at the individual and at the national level.

Peace Corps volunteers rely on the hospitality of host countries and host families. The host helps the person during training when they are adjusting to a new culture and environment. I think most, but unfortunately not all, volunteers have good experiences in “homestay”.

My homestay in Ghana and on Dominica were wonderful. My homestay on St. Lucia was a nightmare – no matter what I did – I wasn’t going to be the young female my host wanted and she was not going to make as much money as she thought. Peace Corps staff only made things worse and I think that if I had not had the good experiences in Ghana and if I was not so stubborn I might have quit – which is a big deal to those who know me – I don’t like to quit or fail.

The kindness and hospitality showed to me on Dominica allowed me to have a better view of island hospitality. Grenada has also been very nice. I’ve been on the receiving end of good hospitality outside of Peace Corps in the states and abroad happily more times than bad experiences.

So I wanted to make sure my guests felt comfortable and safe during their visit. I’m not a perfect host of course – I don’t keep my kitchen as clean as some might like, I go to bed early, I know Dominica better than Grenada, and I’m not the best at cooking for gluten free or “native” dishes. However, Haley and Lisa had a nice time and being on a Caribbean island made up for some of my shortcomings.

After my guests left I was talking with a couple of locals. They tried some locker room talk but I interrupted and reinforced the fact that the young ladies were my guests and deserved respect. Happily, most people know me better - my standing at school and in the community is fine.

A Peace Corps volunteer is always on the clock - “in the fishbowl” with locals sometimes tapping on the glass just to get a reaction so that might have been part of it. Still, all women deserve respect and the volunteer needs to be careful of their reputation and that of Peace Corps and the US.

Thanks to Lisa my PC hat now has the flags  of the countries of served: Ghana, Dominica, Grenada

School


School is going well. Thursday this week is Independence day so the week will be a bit broken up.

I got a kick out of the kindergarten teacher’s guard squad on Friday. Our one teacher’s bathroom has a door that is not the best and a sign that doesn’t always get properly changed. So some of the small kids have gotten into the habit of protecting the door for the kindergarten teacher.

Guarding the door


Love always,
John

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