John's Next Step

Front of the new school waiting on approval to see the place The teachers and some of the children went to see the new school on the Friday before last. We were told that it would be ready in a week. This is progress because since October we had been told that it would be ready in a month. And now that they’ve been saying another week for a few weeks now is should really be ready soon. Back of the front building with some work still ongoing The new school is big, maybe bigger than the school destroyed by Ivan and certainly bigger than our current one in the community center. One of the classrooms for the lower grades.  How am I going to fit six students in this room? Before Ivan a lot more students attended Holy Cross. The school had a woodworking shop and other facilities (such as real classrooms for all grades) that we don’t have now. Many parents decided to send the children to other schools in the area so now we are a very small school. The hope is t...

Banner at Church Thursday February 7th was Independence day for Grenada. The school celebrated the 45th year of independence from England with children in the patriotic colors of red, yellow, and green. Getting ready for prayers Third grade waving their letters First and second waving flags Ring game We had a program consisting of songs or skits from each grade as well as singing by our choir, and the teachers. The very nice day ended with a traditional oil down meal. Resiliency Theme for this year The theme this year is “Building resilience and enhancing social economic transformation.” We used the assembly on Monday and Friday to help explain the theme to the students because resilience is not yet a common word in elementary school. Resiliency is a common word for governments on the Caribbean and Pacific island nations and other countries around the world that see their future. The ability to quickly recover from difficult situations is requir...

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 wo...

As I mentioned before Mount Carmel is a short walk, about 3 miles, from my house. Sunday afternoon Haley and I finally made it to the falls. We were going to go on Saturday after I finished shopping in the market, but decided on Sunday after church. So we had to walk both ways as buses don’t run on Sunday. On the walk down But the falls is very nice and worth the exercise. Haley liked the cold water and the falls and she returned Monday when I was at school. A couple of kids near the falls Cool water Haley left Tuesday morning on her own via the local buses while I went off to school. She was boarding the plane to leave Grenada for St. Vincent while my next visitor was boarding the plane from Miami to come to Grenada. My visitor this week, Lisa, is a fellow Returned Peace Corps volunteer friend who served in Ghana. She is leaving today. As I have school she has been on her own for the most part of her short visit. I’m glad that she found a local guide and...

Finished the second week of school. In the first week I reviewed topics from the previous term – such things as the basic math operations. This term I need to cover, among other things, the ways math can be used in everyday lives – such as measuring distance. Back to assemblies and setting down in school Teaching this can be a little confusing on the islands because we use both the English/Imperial and the Metric systems. After setting the stage on Monday with terms I got into the practical business of measuring inches with a rule and later measuring centimeters with a metric tape. Happily, I listened to their answers as a class and individually and happily watched their progress. My method of teaching math to my small class is to provide the basic lesson details to the entire class, give extra material to those who have mastered a topic, and then check in with homework, sometimes a worksheet, and commonly a quiz. Based on feedback I adjust my teaching for topics that st...

We are at the start of a new term and we find ourselves back in the old school. “There is just some finishing work that should be done in about a month.” However, as that is the same line given for the past few months – it might be a few more months… The new school is still far away The principal, realizing the demotivational situation of not moving to the new school as expected did some repairs to the building and a bit a paint to freshen up the place for students and teachers. Some repairs to the holes in the plywood walls And some new paint So we are making the best of it and had a good week of planning for the term and reviewing with the children in this first week. Turn it around not over when you show me the word please Visitor On a group chat some time ago a volunteer on St. Vincent asked if anyone could “host a US traveler sometime in February for a week or two?” Peace Corps volunteers experience hospitality during homestay training and as we i...

Back to Grenada I’m back on the island after my very short trip to the states. The first thing I noticed when I returned to my site was the candle on my table – indicating that when I closed the windows for two weeks it got a bit toasty inside. I’m also back with those flying blood suckers – a bit different that the chill in Missouri and Arkansas in December. So maybe a little warm in the house I went home to see family for the holidays and to get the house partially ready to sell. I did what I absolutely had to do – set up the paper work so my son can sign closing papers, sort important Christmas decorations, move my stuff into my other son’s house, and a few others things. I was not able to see everyone or do everything that I wanted. In two weeks – that is not surprising, but disappointing. Visiting home during service I absolutely love seeing family and friends. The biggest joy I get is being with my children, grandchildren, mom, and siblings as wel...