Tag Archives: Creative

Satur-Date

17 Sep

Hi all!

It’s Saturday and I wish you were here.
Like, seriously.
I really, really wish you were here.
*Hrmph*
Well, no need to dwell; I’m going to do some imagining. Since finishing Anne of Green Gables I’ve been inspired by her poetic visions and want to experience my own daydreams; Today, Saturday is turning into a Satur-date and you and I are having an adventure!

In the beginning…

Good morning!

I made you some breakfast.

breakfast

Hungry?

Farm Fresh eggs, yummy local veggies, and sliced niesberry served with my very best cutlery. – There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you if you were here!

Take your time.
Chew slowly.
Relish and Enjoy!

What's the rush?

Soon, some children will appear in the yard — it happens everyday.
They love to come over and hear stories!
It’s adorable how they pile all over us; pressing their faces closer to see.

Caribbean Dreams

When we finish the story the kids are giddy with excitement! — They have games they want to teach us 🙂 We put on some music and run around the yard; laughing, playing, jumping, dancing! Silliness ensues.

magical simplicity

A few hours later the kids return home to do chores while you and I sit on the porch drinking cold water and cracking up as we remember some of the hilarious stuff that the children had said — kids can be so funny!

“Whenever you’re ready”, I suggest, “we can go to market. There are exotic fruits we can sample plus we’ll be closer to The Pelican Bar where we should go for dinner. They have fabulous fish.”
Smiling, we head to Santa Cruz.

We'll have one of everything, please

Evening time finds us on a gentle boat ride to The Pelican Bar located in the middle of the Caribbean Sea. It’s a perfect ride and we appreciate the waves in silence. The water lapping around us is the color of paradise blue.

Fish so fresh it swims to the plate

With the setting sun I feel contentment settle in.
“Did you have a good time?”, you thoughtfully inqure.
“Best Satur-date ever”, I respond, “Thank you so much for being here!”

When you actually are here I fancy myself saying “Dreams do come true.”
—-
That being said, I’d like to invite you (again) into my home, my life; Jamaica.
I have approximately 8 months left in this country.
And 8 rhymes with Satur-date.
And I don’t think that’s a coincidence
(I should probably get out more.)

Anyway, for all of you word-spouting, pinky-promising, heart-breakers…
You have eight months to “mek a move”.
I promise that I’ll still love you even if you don’t come.
But I will love you a bit more if you do.

Honestly,
‘mi

PS. If you are wondering what this Peace Corps Volunteer does all day I invite you to check out the International Alliance for Child Literacy’s (IACL) latest blog post.
Yes, I just name-dropped.

Elim Early Childhood Institution – Jamaica

Peanut Land

27 Jul

All this week I popped out of bed
Made breakfast, did chores, and I said
Not all white girls are “stoosh”
As proof I went into the bush
But now I’m so tired I feel like I’m dead!

It’s Peanut Time and everyone, everyone has peanuts to harvest.

The Process:
Once peanuts reach maturity (approximately 3 months after planting) they need to be pulled. For this you arrive at the farm early in the morning (because “It’s so hot in Elim that…”). You pull up the peanut plants by their roots, shake off excess dirt, and leave them in large piles to dry in the sun for several days.
An acre of land could take 5 people 3 full days to pull.

Once the peanut plants are no longer in the ground, organized into messy piles, and have dried in the sun for at least 3 full days, you can begin the process of actually ‘picking’ the peanuts off of the plant.
This activity, blessedly, can be done in the shade but has to be done sooner rather than later because birds, unfortunately, also like peanuts.
This same acre takes those same 5 people 5 more days to pick and sort.

I'm day dreaming about ice cream

These peanuts, in their shells, lay out in the sun (yes, again) for 3 more days.
By this time they are “well dry” and so am I.
Time to get hydrated.

The next activity, although not as urgent, but just as tedious involves cracking the shells and retrieving the nuts. Hours (and now days) of my life have petered away during this mindless, (but necessary) task.

Suffice to say I’ve had peanuts at every meal; peanut porridge, parched peanuts, rice ‘n peanuts, peanut dumplings, peanut juice, peanuts on my salad, peanuts in my oats, peanut cakes, peanut drops, and on and on.
I’ve done little else this past week.
And what I have done has been at night.
And always in front of the fan.

Tonight, pray for me to have creamy, sugary, cold (think peanut-dairy) wet-dreams.

Yours until the ice ages,
‘mi 🙂