Day 6 - Market & Lisa's presentation

Day 6 (December 6th, 2013) We got to sleep in this morning! It was much needed even though I still woke up at 7 am. About 9:30 am, we left our residence and drove into Castries to the market. The market is only a few blocks from the Health Ministry. On the right side of the road is the Arcade and on the left is the Market. We went to the Arcade first to find Owanna, a woman Lisa Hunt knew. There were many stands in the Arcade, more touristy items like t-shirts, postcards, scarves, hats, shot glasses, necklaces, etc. I bought a few t-shirts and some bracelets. They had beautiful scarves so I may have to go back! After the Arcade we crossed the street to the Market; the market had more crafty, homemade items. You have to be very careful when crossing the road, especially since Saint Lucians drive on the opposite side of the road than we’re used to. The locals are good about helping us cross. Anyways, the Market had wonderful items, homemade paintings of the items, woven baskets, spices, soaps, sculptures, etc. We all went a little crazy in the Market – definitely contributing to the GDP. I bought a woven bag, two small paintings, bracelets, kissing sculpture, wooden elephant (my favorite animal, maybe second favorite after giraffes), turtle made from malachite (stone), kissing fish sculpture, shot glass with the Saint Lucian flag, more bracelets, cocoa stick (real cocoa to make hot chocolate), and homemade soaps (aloe vera, black, & cocoa butter). This list is ridiculous ha! Definitely bought too much, but most are Christmas gifts  The locals gave very fair prices, and you could even bargain with them to get a deal. After the Market we were supposed to go somewhere local for lunch but did not have time. Amelia and I had Burger King, Dr. Hansen has Subway, and Ursula & Lekei had Patty Shack. It was nice to have a taste from home, even though the local food here is amazing. We took our lunches to go and rode with Lisa to her presentation. Her presentation was at a primary school (ages 5 to 12) outside of Castries about 15-20 minutes. Her presentation was given to teachers regarding childhood obesity prevention. It was a very informative presentation and the teachers were eager to implement some of the ideas/tips Lisa had given them (food day, fruit a week, health fair, recipes, etc.). After the presentation we head back to Castries to the Health Ministry and then to our residence. When we returned, we met in Amelia and mine’s room to show each other our purchases, while enjoying rum & coke with lime. Everyone got such great stuff! Dr. Hansen returns to the same vendors to buy handmade masks for her grandchildren. She also bought he son (he collects elephants) a carving of an elephant from a tusk; it as beautiful. Ursula bought colorful printed outfits/dresses for her sister, niece, and herself. Lekei bought a beautiful serving tray and bowl set carved from wood. Amelia bought gifts for her friends and family, including a piggy bank made from a coconut. After our drinks, we had some downtime to relax before dinner. We met Lisa Hunt for dinner at the Spice of India in Rodney Bay. The restaurant was beautiful; we were seated outside and had such great service. I had never had Indian food before so this was an experience. Lekei’s husband is Indian, so she described the meals to us; it was very nice to have an experienced person to guide us. We had veggie kabobs and samosas as appetizers. I had a blue lagoon to drink; delicious! I ordered vegetable korma – veggies in a creamy sauce with cashews. The meals came with white rice and naan (traditional Indian bread). The others ordered chicken korma, goat, lamb and shrimp. We all tried each other’s meals; the lamb was delicious. I did not try the goat because Ursula ordered it HOT – I do not like spicy, hot foods. For desert I had sapphron cheesecake. It was amazing – I love cheesecake! Kheer, fried chocolate cake, and an Indian donut were also ordered. During the meal, we had the best conversations. We told Lisa about the Iowa State Fair and all the fried food, being a nutritionist she was appalled ha! Lekie told us how she met her Indian husband and their small wedding of 300 people – outrageous. It is crazy to think none of us knew each other before this trip; we all just clicked. Our dinner lasted 2 to 2.5 hours, we just laughed and ate and talked and laughed and ate and laughed; very fun night. After dinner, we said our goodbyes to Lisa and headed back to our residence. We get to sleep in tomorrow as well! We are just going to hang out so the other students have time to work on their paper and presentation. At 4, Lucius (our driver) is going to pick us up and take us to a rum distillery and a fish fry in Dennery. Emily, the medical student we met in Vieux Fort, is joining us for the weekend in Castries. I’m looking forward to a fun weekend – it’s been work, work, work so it’ll be nice to relax and enjoy the island. Missing all my friends and family back home, but enjoying this experience. Until next time – peace, love, Saint Lucia. Things to know about Saint Lucia: • Popular sports include futbol (soccer) and cricket • The bananas are wrapped in blue plastic bags while still on the trees to prevent infection