Lots and Lots of School Visits

Over the last 2 weeks we have visited 8 schools and our last one is tomorrow. It is sad to think that I will be heading home in just 3 days. It has been amazing to see all the different communities and schools throughout Dominica. Some schools were small and some were pretty large. In Portsmouth we had over 50 fifth graders and in Morne Jaune there were only 23 kids in a combined 4th - 6th grade class. Some schools were very primitive and other schools were very modern because they were given as gifts from other countries (Grand Bay - Canada, Salybia - Venezuela). I question whether any gift of that magnitude can be just a "gift" but that is politics here. Other countries are constantly giving smaller nations "gifts" as a way to encourage then to vote one way or another. One vote that is in high demand is Dominica's vote at the IWC in favor of commercial whaling. Hopefully our gift of education will encourage the people of Dominica to appreciate whales instead of wanting to kill them. So far the results have been pretty positive, we will just have to wait and see.

Regardless of votes and gifts, the kids in Dominica have been incredible. I have never had so many hugs in my life. They are all fascinated by my hair and light skin. At one of the schools a couple of days ago a kid touched my arm and said "you are white". I couldn't help but to laugh and say "yup I am". The chaos that erupted at each school when we inflated the life size whale will be forever ingrained in my mind. The kids would get so excited and ask tons of questions. It was pretty cool to see their excitement and fascination for the ocean. Even though they are an island country, most of the kids haven't even been in the water or on the boat. That will change in May when our team returns to Dominica to take all the students on a boat trip at the end of their term.