off-roading, beaching, partying & the homeschooling scoop

Between getting back into the island groove after Mexico City, and dealing with the restless natives (my children), I haven't gotten round to blogging in several days. In order to not bore you too much I'll try to recap the past several days in minimum detail...

We've continued to homeschool 2-3 hours each week day morning, but admittedly the kids' and my favorite part is when I teach them non-curriculum lessons, such as my decision to explain the whole slavery mess and its aftermath last week. I told them about how the Conquistadores' arrival was eventually followed by European agricultural endeavors in the form of sugar & cotton plantations, and since these required much hard work, slaves were imported from Africa (or drawn from African slaves already elsewhere in the Caribbean/Americas). By then much of the local indigenous population had been obliterated by massacre, European diseases, etc - thus the African labor. I explained somewhat how difficult it is to manually grow and harvest cotton and sugar, and how there was a class system even among slaves, since the lowest of the lot had to work the fields, back-breaking work, while the lucky ones got the domestic beat. Of course, this was a perfect time to point out how my asking them to make their beds each morning, pick up their clothes, set the table and clear the plates, not to mention attack their schoolwork with gusto, is really quite a privilege for them and they should appreciate how good they've got it.

Originally we were going to visit the only remaining sugar plantation ruins (Playa Grande Plantation) on Saturday, with Bill, but we switched it to Sunday since we decided to entertain Saturday night and by the time we'd amassed the groceries it was too hot to do anything but frolic in the waves. So we went to the plantation on Sunday, following my friend John Hathaway's directions. When we finally arrived, we thought maybe there were more ruins deeper into the jungle, so we sort of ignored the vehicle barrier and drove down the path. Which ended up being one bumpy, wet mess (see picture) and my heart stopped a couple of times as I was certain we were about to get stuck, and I was inappropriately dressed in a sundress and flip flops and my phone had no signal so it would not have been a comfortable effort of either pushing the car out of a bog or trekking back to a road. Thankfully, we emerged in a filthy, scratched-up but otherwise unscathed car. And no, we never did find any more ruins than some basic structures right where John had indicated.

Saturday night we hosted some of our local friends. All ended up great - after all, it's hard to screw up grilled flank steak and lobster, especially when Jorge is kind enough to crack open the lobsters and all 3 chefs decide to pitch in at various points.

Bill's running career lasted all of 3 days but I've upped my own distance and now hit the pavement as soon as it's light out (6:30am) and head into town and back. I truly love running here. I get to observe the locals in their anti-rush hour as they head to work and school, I call out buenos dias to everyone, get chased by a few dogs, dodge the random horse who decides to take the sidewalk instead of the road, jump over horse shit piles (which surprisingly, is odorless), ignore the gaggles of middle and high school boys who acknowledge my efforts with testosterone-induced comments or noises, and finish it off with a quick dip in the pool. I had hoped to compete in this Sunday's triathlon in San Juan but decided it was too expensive. So instead, Tessa (my local fellow athlete) and I are planning to do our own sprint triathlon right here in Vieques. Basically, whoever wants to participate is welcome to do the whole thing with us, or do certain legs, or partner up as a relay team. No registration fee, basically you're responsible for your own fluids, equipment, etc. Tessa has never done a tri before and we figured this would be a fun way to keep training interesting, and introduce her to triathlon in a low pressure way.

Today the kids started at Oasis, a really interesting school that just opened in August. Erika, the director and teacher, is a trained teacher (math & science) and homeschools her 2 kids. Several other homeschooling parents suggested she open up a little center and she did once she had the commitment of a few families. With my kids, she has 12 kids there, ages 5-12. They are all in one room, the main language spoken is Spanish, and in addition to each child doing his/her lesson, there are many group activities (games, art, PE) and frequent field trips. The kids will be going there a few mornings/week. I decided to do this for 2 reasons. First of all, the kids really need more interaction with peers their own age, especially in Spanish. Second of all, after a month of it being always the 3 of us, I have decided that they need a break from me and from each other, and I need a break from them. The bottom line is I am not an earth mama who thrives on domestic duties and being in the constant company of 2 very lovely but inevitably periodically annoying tikes. Jackie at least is as obsessed with reading as I am, but as soon as little Willo gets bored of his studies or independent play, he heads straight for his halo-bearing sister and before you know it the cries of "x HIT/PINCHED ME!!!!" ensue. Nope, not for me. I admit I love peace, tranquility, and order (which explains why I'm allergic to certain facets of motherhood). Anyway, we'll see how the kids enjoyed their morning in someone else's care and with other kids. I know it's been a huge hit with me :)

Alright, must get back to work. Back to Red Beach this afternoon with the kids. It finally reopened on Saturday after being closed for a few months as they paved some of the roads leading to it. I think the pictures above are self-explanatory. Do note the picture of the ferry - that's how any merchandise arrives at local stores, as well as gasoline for the 2 gas stations on the island. Have I told you about the queues at the gas stations? Sometimes they're hours long! Oh, and a picture of the local lighthouse, which was built during colonial rule (1896) and then renovated about 8 years ago.