I am sitting with my computer hooked up to Wifi, drinking a cold coors light (the mountains are blue ;) ), the air condition keeping me cool, listening to some Bob Marley....no, I did not leave the Peace Corps to move home.. I am currently staying in Panama City. I have been here for one week. A lot has happened since my last post in June, let me try to catch everyone up. Sorry this will most likely be sporadic and random, but I guess it fits my personality...?
The highlight of June was attending a soccer tournament. The Blackheart Tournament was held at the stadium in Vieux Fort and it went on a for a few weeks. Unfortunately Choiseul did not do very well and they did not make it through the playoffs. I knew a few players who were on teams who made it to the finals so that kept it interesting. School went into July so we had school the whole month of June. That kept me busy and out of trouble. I am sure other important events happened but I really cannot remember them now. :)
In July my family came to visit!!! It was great to have them here. They were able to meet a lot of my new friends and my friends were very excited to meet them. The family came for 2 weeks. The first week was spent in Choiseul. We crammed all 5 of us into my house. The first night was the worst because I only had one fan. Everyone woke up drenched in sweat and I think a few new bug bites. We spent the day in Vieux Fort at the beach and buying 2 new fans! I am excited because the fans were a necessity I have just been too cheap to buy them. And it would be impossible to transport them from Vieux Fort to Choiseul on a bus. Yes, we rented a car. The only instructions given to my dad, our amazing driver, were, "Stay to the left." In Saint Lucia we drive on the right side of the road. Who would have known! It was a little stressful at first, but after a few hours, dad was driving like a Lucian. The driving is still a touchy subject so I am going to say that dad did a great job and he was the only one of us who was willing to try. My family came everywhere in Choiseul and met as many people as I could introduce them to. But I still have friends asking me when they were never introduced to my family..? Why didn't I bring my family by their house to meet them? Phew!! Talk about stressful, I consider everyone in Choiseul my family, but there was no way we could meet everyone. We also did some fun activities outside of Choiseul. We toured both Soufriere and Vieux Fort on separate days. We went to beaches, waterfalls, and the sulphur springs. We also went zip-lining in Dennery. It was a first for everyone except me (I went earlier this year when Sarah was visiting). It was really exciting. By the end we had a ton of great photos and all of the 20 something guides became best friends with dad. It was a lot of fun. After the week of shuffling around the Southern part of the island, we stayed at a resort for some much needed R & R. We stayed at Almond Morgan Bay Resort in Gros Islet/Castries. It is an all-inclusive resort and it was great! We had some amazing meals and a pool and the ocean at our disposal. As far as the resort being all-inclusive that also meant that drinks were included. I think I speak for everyone in the family when I say that we have never had so many smoothies in our lives. We would have at least 5 or 6 fruit smoothies a day! And they were great!! The time flew by but it was very relaxing. It was great to have my family there! Another fun event in July was the BBQ for July 4th. Our Country Director, (read Peace Corps Boss Lady) Margo, hosted a huge BBQ at her house. We had amazing food. I might have been too greedy with the food because I had a belly ache from eating so much. It was great though! July 5th was Jessica's birthday so we had a little camping trip to celebrate. It was really fun, although the sleeping was slightly uncomfortable, it was a great experience. After my family left, Jessica went home a few days later. Unfortunately her time was up and she was done with Peace Corps. It was hard to say good bye but it is always exciting to hear about her new life back in the United States.
In August (which is not over quite yet) there were a few main events. I turned 23 years old on August 14th. It was a weird birthday because I was not at home. While the family was here we went out for my Birthday Dinner at Debbie's. It was great food, so I had to conjure up that memory on my real birthday. I spent the day with the Peace Corps Volunteer, Lilly, who lives in Anse-La-Raye. She brought her boyfriend, Mandel, and one of my good friends, Fire One, to one of the beaches near her house. It was beautiful and quite possible my favorite beach in Saint Lucia. Another exciting birthday surprise, my friend Fire One got my name shaved into the back of his head. I had mentioned it earlier in the week, sort of joking that I wanted him to do it for my birthday.. and he did! I got mad at him for spelling my name wrong but he did it on purpose because if he wrote it with an "I" then people would pronounce it wrong. Sort of like, Kell-Eye. It is hard to describe but one is example is that Rastafari is pronounced Rasta-far-eye. So he spelled it Kelly. Anyway, the was one of the most unique things anyone has ever done for me. That night I went out with my friend, Humbert and my Jason (the volunteer in Canaries) came over for a birthday drink. On Saturday the 15th I hosted a small BBQ at my house. It was fun and the food was really good. Some of my friends brought over their huge sound system. Similar to my family visiting, for days afterwards there were people asking my why I never invited them to my party. I tried to explain that it was just a little BBQ, nothing special. Apparently everyone in Choiseul heard the loud music coming from my porch and they wanted in on the fun. Next time I am going to have to be sure to invited everyone I see in the days before the party.
Now, the reason why I am in Panama. A few weeks ago I was at my doctor's office in Castries and he noticed a lump in my throat. I had always thought that I was abnormal and I had an adams apple. I think I have had it for a few years but I cannot remember exactly. Apparently, it is not an Adams apple. It is a cyst on my thyroid. My doctor was very concerned and began running tests immediately. In Castries I had a chest x-ray, a thyroid ultrasound and a thyroid function test. Everything was ok but Peace Corps Washington (The big guys) decided to send me to Panama to get checked out more thoroughly. The Peace Corps term for going to a different country for medical attention is "Medevaced." (or "Medically Evacuated") I was told on Wednesday that I was going to be medevaced and I was on a plane to Panama City on Sunday morning. Today marks one week of me being here. I underwent a biopsy of my cyst last Tuesday (August 25th) and the biopsy showed that there are no malignant cells. Basically, the cyst/tumor is not cancerous. That is great news! I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow afternoon to discuss the next step. I might need surgery to remove the cyst because it is so large. I will find out soon... and add a little post tomorrow once I find out. Anyway, in the meantime I have been trying to enjoy Panama. I did the city/Canal tour and got to see a ship pass through the Panama Canal! Pretty sweet! Although it is a stressful situation I have been able to enjoy myself and look upon my trip as a little vacation. It has also taught me to appreciate each day, because I am not really sure when I will be returning to Saint Lucia. This is the longest I have been away from the island and I definitely miss it. Oh yeah, and the title of this post is because as of August 27th, 2009 I have been living in Saint Lucia for more than one year. Pretty crazy! I had a great first year and I have no doubt that this next year will be amazing! I love and miss everyone at home. I am planning to visit in December so hopefully we can all catch up a little!
Besos y Abrazos,
Kelli
