to lime is to hang out.

so thanksgiving in barbados came and went. and per usual, the day was filled with joy, gratitude, and cheer. we did have a coma inducing meal to cap the night off, but the day mostly followed the standard routine. which means, yes, a routine has begun. class in the morning, internship in the afternoon. but more on that later.

before i get too much into the day to day, my thoughts on this year's thanksgiving: as needs to be done every thanksgiving, i took a look back over the year. there have definitely been some ups and downs, ins and outs, etc. but we've made it through. and i'm grateful for everyone that stood by me during tough times. and if i had to pinpoint one thing i'm most grateful for this year, it's love. namely the heartwarming smiley, pure, no-strings-attached love. people actually do care about one another and that, my friends, is inspiring. keep it up.

my internship has shaped up beautifully. the first day i went to the national child care board to sort out logistics of where i would spend the remainder of the trip. we, mrs. corbin, mrs. simpson, and i, decided that work in a home for children up for adoption and foster care. their age? baby-babies. the little ones would not have been my first choice, but since the older and more responsive ones go to school during the day, the droolers have my full attention. so everyday i hop on one bus, then catch a second, and then stroll down a government housing neighborhood to reach the lovely little house with the small playground out front. the kids are such cuties. there are 5 baby-baby boys, 1 baby-baby girl, and 2 toddler boys. they sleep, eat, get bathed, laugh, and mostly just watch you. (i'd show you pictures of them, but it's illegal to take their pictures - something about privacy.) and the ladies that work there are delightful. most of them have worked there for decades and just love working for others and being nurturers to those children that, arguably, need it most.

but more than all that, they love love love obama. fortunately, i love love love obama too, so we have some good talks and political rants. it's fun to see american politics bring tears of joy to foreign eyes. oh the power of hope. reminder: bush's last day in office is january 20th. stand by.

this past weekend was packed, so i'll give you the play-by-play:

friday morning we all got up early and did some lawn care - and garbage relocation) for the christian science church here. and honestly, it's looking pretty good now. apparently they have monkeys living in the yard, but i never saw any so i'm putting off believing it.







the rest of friday was spent running errands - grocery shopping, doing laundry. we've totally accepted that we live here.

most of satuday was spent cooking caribbean food under the instruction of a brilliant chef named ann-marie and her team (most notably a lovable man named sam). the day started in the fruit and vegetable market and then continued to the fish market. i never thought i'd see a fish go from living, to scaled, to boned, to prepared, to cooked, to eaten all within a few hours. talk about fresh.





the large guy on the bottom there is a dolphin fish - aka mahi mahi:

also on saturday i saw a grown man chase a two dollar bill down the street. (editor's note: 2 dollars barbadian is equivalent to 1 dollar american.) that man was my professor. we tease him incessantly.

the 47th anniversary of the barbadian independence from britain was sunday. so, naturally, independence day celebrations began saturday evening and will continue until monday night.

sunday, naturally, evolved into a day of music. in the morning, the group traveled to a formal breakfast locale only to be serenaded by a world touring barbadian gospel choir. and we were sitting front row. late night sunday found a few of us in an open air reggae club featuring a live bob marley tribute band. their rendition of 'no woman, no cry' is a definite highlight of the trip. and i'm loving that sunday was bookended by incredible live local music.

the holiday ends tonight and the country will get back to work tomorrow. and i guess that means we will too...

let's start with the story behind the name barbados.

barbados update numero dois.

so any tour guide will tell you, and for those of you who don't know, barbados is portuguese for "bearded one" which comes from this tree that uses long vines as an alternative root system. the vines grow from the top of the tree and eventually reach the ground, which is when they take on their supportive role. so that's that.

since i last wrote, a number of things have happened. we've gone out of the hotel. we checked out a couple of restaurants, first mamma mia (a pizzaria) and then the green dragon (serving more typically barbadian - or bajan - food). honestly, i prefer the green dragon, there is more of an authentic feel.

we all took a trip to the grocery store. all of us. needless to say, the store knew we were coming long before we got there. once in, i can honestly say that i haven't seen so many imported items in a foreign grocery store before. the guilty pleasures ranged from several competing brands of crunchy and smooth peanut butter (peter pan, jif, skippy, and some generic, yet foreign, brand), nutella, betty crocker cake mix, a variety of milk alternatives (almond, soy, rice), a cereal isle to rival any american selection, and, of course, hershey's chocolate shell topping. all in all, a complete experience.

friday night included some pretty incredible dancing by my two roommates. they starred at the weekly fishfry in front of an audience of, at least, 200 jealous onlookers. few others had the confidence to compete, but those that did made for some solid entertainment and there are definitely some fans crossing their fingers the american students stop by next week.

a man named ted entertained us yesturday. he gives bus tours of the island - and apparently has led tours for the past 20 years. check out the hotel website - it advertises him: http://www.coconut-court.com/activities_tedstour.cfm
(by the by, we are at the coconut court hotel)
so ted definitely put on a good show. he showed us the best sites, sang us some songs, and provided us with some fine food. we adore him.

so the school part of all of this starts for real tomorrow. or somewhere near there. i think i'm working/playing with orphaned children, but who knows. all should be made clear tomorrow.
people here just move in a relaxed sort of way. things happen when they happen. appointments happen within the hour they are scheduled to. and it's quite nice to just be expected to slow down. very much my style. and i have no intention on getting back up to speed when i get back in the states. fair warning.

and with that, here are some pictures to soothe any lasting concerns that barbados isn't gorgeous:

the little fella is ted's son, lee.










climbed on up to have some quiet time (photo credit for these two: emily peck).




and then climbed this one:


and the sunset from our balcony:


until next time...take it easy.

we've unofficially named the dove andromeda.

for all those that were worried, we've made it. safe and sound. of our small pod of 13 (10 students, 2 professors, 1 rc - to manage the funds and promote good thoughts) only one bag was lost in transit. i'm hoping it is only slow to arrive and not, heaven forbid, lost lost.
and yes, it is as beautiful as all of the tourbooks and websites allege. my room is shared with two lovely women. their names - emily and molly. and we have a view of the ocean off of our balcony. and by view, i clearly mean that the ocean is, at a conservative estimate, 200 yards away. not too bad.
because i've been asked, the smell is definitely tropical and humid. but it lacks the delightful zest of rotting fruit and trash that has been known to bombard the olfactory nerves on previous tropical adventures. how refreshing.
we've been told by the teachers that we are expected to take a hint from the culture and relax. watches off. pleasure reading on.
the school part of all this starts in about an hour, but i'm hoping it maintains the relaxed feel. (fingers crossed on that one) but then again, weren't the teachers the ones that told us to calm down in the first place?
so yep. it's balmy and marvelous. and the ocean is real and has a legitimate seabreeze.

i know it's a hard life, but some one has to lead it. more later...

for now, here is the view from my balcony:





(oh, and the dove referenced in the title of this post lives on our balcony.)

barbados it is.

the countdown begins for serious now. two days until i land on the beautiful and tropical island in the south caribbean. i'm thrilled for a couple of reasons. firstly, i'm out of dodge of this sudden winter coldness that has decided to sit in the midwest. secondly, i'm all about being tan for the depths of winter. also, and on a less shallow note, i'm excited to observe and interact with another culture - especially one entirely devoted to tourism. it should be worth reporting. check back here for details and, fingers crossed, photos. oh, and i'm writing a lengthy paper on the rum culture. that's right. alcohol. watch out prin, i know it exists.
time to prepare. now, what to pack for my month vacationing...i mean studying...abroad?

yeah, i did it.

i followed the crowd and created a blog. actually, i was afraid that this url would be taken before i ever got a chance to tell the world my story via internet blog. what a scare. i'll admit, though, i do feel pretty twenty-first century chic now that i have my own webspace.

i don't know where this blog will go or what purpose it will serve, but do stay tuned. judging from my tendency to travel, i do suspect that this posting business will become something of a habit as i venture to those forgotten corners of the world that still manage to have even the shoddiest of internet connections.

here's to the future.