slavery, US Navy & my bimbo shot

After almost 2 weeks of being in the nonstop company of my delightful but nevertheless periodically patience-trying children, I was thrilled at the opportunity to leave them with their dad in order to take what I knew would be a fascinating class. The Spanish fort the kids and I had visited on Thursday is part of the Puerto Rican Institute of Culture, and the museum fort’s director, Robert Rabin, was to teach a class on Vieques in the 19^th century, as well as its 20^th century struggle for peace and justice. Robert arrived in Vieques in 1980 to study here for 3 weeks as he worked on his thesis and as he puts it, he “overextended” his stay. He is a leading expert on the matters of Vieques history and culture, and if he doesn’t know the answer to your question he knows the person who does. A charismatic, feisty man with a wild mop of grey hair and a twinkle in his eye, he makes no apology for his strong opinions (against Navy occupation; against the local government’s complete inertia when it comes to appreciating, improving or maintaining the island’s rich historical and cultural offerings...).

In a nutshell, Robert gave us a 1.5 hour summary of the 4000 years of Vieques history. In the late 90’s human remains were found in Esperanza that anthropologists dated back to 2000 BC (!!). These were of an indigenous people that most likely had migrated up from Venezuela, island-hopping until reaching Vieques (some anthropologists believe indigenous peoples also migrated south from Florida). An amulet was found with the carving of an Andean condor, dated c. 10 A.C., proving that indigenous peoples here were a melting pot of Latin American cultures, since the condor was Peruvian and the jadeite used was a material not found in these parts.

By the time the Spaniards arrived here, the Taínos were the inhabitants. They were a peaceful group of hunters and gatherers and they called their island “Bieké,” which is Taíno for “small island.” The Spaniards began sending military expeditions here in 1514 and the Spanish government created “encomiendas” – groups of Indian slaves, which they organized to work in the sugar cane plantations among other agricultural development. The Taínos rebelled against the oppression they suffered, with some important rebellions just outside San Juan. They actually succeeded to some extent, took some Spanish POW’s and brought them back to Vieques. The Spanish military retaliated by attacking the Taínos in Vieques and all but decimated them (1514).

From the late 1500s-1800s Vieques was occupied by British and Danish plantation owners, especially since slavery was outlawed in the other Caribbean islands many years before it was abolished in Puerto Rico (1873). In 1718 the Spaniards decided to stake their “rightful” claim over the island and they commissioned a mulatto pirate to get rid of the British. Around 1845 the Spanish built the fort (where I took the class) in order to establish Spanish control, and to spy on enemies (other colonists and independistas).

One of the most important people in Vieques history was Le Guillou. The governor here at the time, Roselló, was a useless, drunken mess and Le Guillou, a savvy, charismatic businessman gained the favors of the Puerto Rican governor and convinced him to install Le Guillou as Vieques’ military and political governor (mid 1800s). Le Guillou had dozens of sugar haciendas and hundreds of slaves. He in fact had an affair with one of his slaves, Adele, and had 2 children with her. In a written document he actually ordered his 2 legitimate children to recognize their half siblings, love them and protect them. Their descendants (Adele’s) still live here today, but apparently aren’t too interested in their history.

In 1864 the Dominican Republic had its War of Restoration (independence) and 25 POW’s were brought to the fort (which often served as a prison). To this day it is not known how they died, just that they all died in the fort. Their remains have yet to be found. Each year, on the day DR celebrates its independence, there is a celebration at the fort and a ceremony to honor those 25 POW’s, attended by the DR’s consul to PR.

Jump forward to the 1940s and hello US Navy. (Spain has lost PR to the US in the 1898 Spanish-American War). Land expropriations occur under the auspices of Congressional documents and the Navy takes over the eastern third and the western third, to use the land, beaches and turquoise waters for military training. Vieques was basically used as a training ground for World War II, the Cold War, the Bay of Pigs, Vietnam War, the CIA’s coup in DR to oust democratically-elected Pres Bosch, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Chile (to oust Pres. Allende), Grenada, Panama (to oust Noriega), the 1^st Gulf War, the Balkans... In 1964 the Navy decided it should take over the whole inner corridor of the island too, in order to connect the western and eastern sides they were occupying, but the Vieques governor at the time went to DC and staged a one-man protest on the steps of the US Capitol and met with the Under Secretary of the Navy and fortunately the plan was thwarted.

So, jump forward to the present and what all of you back home get glimpses of on CNN. As you know, there is a high incidence of cancer on the island. When the Navy was doing all its training exercises (ie bombing), people stayed here because, well, they were from here, and had no desire to pick up and leave, and I suspect they didn’t know the effects that all this crap could have on their health, further down the road. In spite of what the various media outlets like to imply, you won’t get cancer or grow an extra limb just from coming here for vacation. The potential risk would be from long-term exposure. The Navy is right now engaged in an intensive clean-up effort (much of the island is still off-limits), which is also controversial as they are openly burning certain areas in order to clear the brush and have a clearer view of mines, etc, in the ground. Those who oppose this burning are concerned about the environmental destruction, but a better option has not been proposed. Hundreds of tons of metals have already been removed. A couple from Maryland who attended the class with me, Johanna & Tom, and I struck up a conversation as we waited to head out for the second part of the class. Johanna works in Public Health and she was saying that the problem with all these studies hyped up in the media is that the data collected isn’t exactly accurate. The incidence of cancer (40% of the Vieques population is what’s cited) is going by the National Cancer Registry. People who register on this list tend to be the very advanced cases; plus, registration is optional and individuals register themselves. So the whole motivation factor comes into play. Somebody in Vieques, who is poor, whose family has suffered many real and perceived injustices, will be more motivated to make a stink about a cancer that perhaps would have occurred anyway, and register on this list – than perhaps someone in some little town in Indiana. Therefore, when comparing incidences of cancer between Vieques and some other geographical location, you’ve got to be really careful (which, of course, the media tend not to be).

After the lecture we headed out to our cars and caravanned to the first of 2 sites on our tour. We drove maybe 10 minutes, parked, and then walked through what felt like someone’s overgrown back yard, to the Le Guillou’s private family cemetery (c. 1843). There were a few tombs, one of which is believed to have been that of Le Guillou’s white wife. At some point the plan is to exhume the remains and conduct genetic testing to find out the exact identities. The sad thing is that this cemetery is completely unkept. The next spot was the same. We drove to Esperanza and a few minutes from our favorite beaches, you turn off the main road, drive a little ways on a dirt road and there you see these huge boulders with a tree growing through them. As I said earlier, in the late 1990s human remains were discovered. A skeleton was found under a sort of opening under one of the boulders. The skeleton was only about 2 inches from the surface! The rocks had at one point been underground, but because of erosion etc, they were now sitting above ground. So here we have an archaeological site that dates back to 2000 B.C. – and there is no protection, no control. There were beer cans strewn throughout the rocks, someone had drawn an alien face on the rock under which the skeleton had been found, someone else had written her and her boyfriend’s names on another rock... Robert said that the municipal government throws its hands up, claiming lack of funds (but clearly it’s a lack of priority, as is the state of education on this island but don’t get me started on that...). Apparently the Puerto Rican Anthropological Studies Society (or whatever it’s called) has a total of 2 archaeologists so they’re not hopping over here to find more, which is a shame since this is most likely the tip of the iceberg. Anyway, something really interesting about the remains found is that it was laid in a deliberate position – fetal position – which implies that contrary to what had been previously believed, even 2000 BC the people believed in some sort of after-life (otherwise the body would have been left to unceremoniously decompose).

So, after my 3.5 hours of kid-free time, I headed home to the bar-b-q Bill was hosting at our house, for the workers he had asked to sacrifice a Saturday in order to get the hotel closer to opening. When that was over, we headed over to Blue Beach to meet up with Rona and baby Dagan. The waves were really rough so I only swam laps for about 10 minutes, figuring I’d better help Bill with the kids. Willo has become surprisingly comfortable in the water and no longer has a breakdown when he’s thrashed by a wave. We’re thrilled that he’s not wimpy when it comes to water but yesterday I talked to him about respecting the power of the ocean and not getting too cocky. I doubt he understood, that’s the sort of lesson that must come through experience, so in the meantime we stay vigilant as he throws himself into the big waves. I took Juana for a jog up and down the beach and ended up meeting a couple from Atlanta, the owners of what sounds like a really hip home furnishing store, Heliotrope. Anyway back to our perch on the beach (umbrellas, chairs, 18 sand toys, all the holes that Juana had dug, cooler filled with water, grapes and a few beers), Bill asking me if I could please sit down and chill for once? Bruce the Ranger comes by on his ATV and I take a picture so he stops to say hi. I decide to climb on behind him and Bill takes a picture (I know, BIMBO!). He’s from Ft. Lauderdale and the kids and I met him last year. He basically patrols the area to make sure dogs are on leashes, nobody’s doing drugs, nobody’s been robbed and no one’s engaged in any other inappropriate activity. He flies home often, says he’s got it down to a science – apparently you can fly San Juan-Orlando for $175 round trip.

We went home and showered and then went to the local, newish restaurant in Isabel II, Cantina La Reina. Mexican, really well decorated. First floor is dining area, 2^nd floor is a bar with a pool table, and the rooftop is lounge-y with sofa seating. Bill says it’s the place to be for happy hour on Fridays – so I guess if we ever get a sitter here that’ll be where we go. I had lobster enchiladas (YUM!!!) and the margaritas were really good too.

This morning Tessa and I went for our first bike ride together. Bill got me a mountain bike that was apparently for the use of guests at Martineau Bay (the hotel that is now the W). I hadn’t tried it out yet but I made plans with Tessa to meet at my place, ride out to Mosquito Pier, leave our bikes at the end of the pier, run the pier, then bike back. Well, it turns out my bike only works in one gear. And it’s too small for me. So basically I got a great workout, looked like a total idiot, and had a blast. Tessa and I are seriously thinking of doing a triathlon on March 7 in San Juan, but first I need to figure out the bike situation. This bike won’t do it for me. The pedals don’t even have stirrups. I’m hoping that someone in San Juan can either loan or rent us bikes. Tessa just did a marathon on New Year’s Eve and now wants to do her first triathlon – the San Juan one would be awesome! So if you have any leads for us we’d greatly appreciate it...

Our community service day

As part of my homeschooling curriculum, I've decided the kids should spend one morning a week doing community service. Today we went to the Humane Society. If you're a dog freak you're probably aware of the problem here in Puerto Rico with strays. It is estimated that there are over 150,000 "satos" (slang here for strays) in Puerto Rico, and Vieques certainly contributes to the problem. The Vieques Humane Society was started in the 1980's when a group of Americans (ie non-Puerto Ricans) decided to start to tackle the problem of stray, neglected, underfed, abused animals on the island. Right now they have about 70 dogs that they feed, bathe, vaccinate, sterilize, nurse to health, nurture. The VHS is the only place on the island where you can take your own pets for vet services. They rely on donations and on volunteers. Last Saturday, I met an Australian couple who are very dedicated to the cause. In fact, they bring in on average 7 dogs a month to get sterilized.

I had called a number I saw in a local newsletter and spoke with Margo. She and her husband Joe moved here from upstate NY several years ago. They are retired, have a guest house they rent out, and spend 1 day per week volunteering at the VHS. We made arrangements to meet there this morning, and the kids and I would help them walk dogs.

It was quite an experience. The dogs are in small fenced-in areas, grouped according to temperament. Many were in small cages. Gosh they were excited to see us! The kids immediately picked the ones they wanted to take home (my protests were ignored), I took a few pictures, and then we followed Margo & Joe to the back, where they proceeded to round up a few dogs, attach leashes to them, and then they handed one to each of us. Margo had warned me several times to make sure we brought shoes we wouldn't mind messing up, but we're pretty light on shoes here so we really didn't have a choice. Needless to say, the shoes got a good scrubbing when we got home!

We took the dogs for a 15 minute or so walk. We left the premises and went down to the beach, since some dogs really love to play in the waves. The first lot of dogs were very mellow and had no interest in the water, so we took them back and got the next batch. Once again, back down to the beach. These dogs were much more interested in the water, and it was great fun watching them, until Willo got caught by a wave which submerged him up to his ankles, distressing him that now he had wet, sandy shoes. So that was our last round of dog-walking. Margo told me that they walk around 20 dogs each visit, and it distresses her that more dogs don't get to go out for exercise. Also, most of these dogs have never been on a leash, let alone trained, so when she and Joe take them out the dogs get used to being on a leash, and being in the company of humans. This makes them more suitable for domesticity should they get adopted.

We left, and when the kids begged to take a few dogs with us, I told them that was impossible, but hopefully if we tell people how desperate the situation is, they will help by donating money, time, supplies, or by adopting one of these dogs. The dogs were so sweet, friendly, cute!!! I told them it would be great if they talked about them on their blog, and one of their friends back home decided to adopt one and we could take it to them!

Life, history & ginger margaritas

I really should be getting ready for the dinner party we’re going to tonight, since I need to do something about my beached-out hair, and throw on a little make up for the first time in days. But I’ll first quickly tell you about today, since I know a few of you can’t sleep without my nightly bedtime stories about dreamy island life J

Today the kids did a very brief bit of school – William breezed through his kindergarten stuff (I love his enthusiasm, he’s still young enough to think school rocks!) and Jackie did some writing, then we played Life (the board game). It was definitely a good hour of homeschooling, as they learned the following: why college graduates usually make more money, why health insurance is very important, why I simply cannot sue either of my kids for $100,000 even though the game requires it; they learned about karma, about how sometimes it pays to take risks, and that they need to pay their parents $10,000 apiece when the parents retire.

Done with that, we headed out to the Museum Fort Count Mirasol. We had gone there last year and I remembered it was not only a fascinating place in terms of history and culture, but it was also a very photogenic structure and small enough that the kids wouldn’t even have time to utter “I’M BORED.” This was the last fort to be built by the Spaniards in the Americas, and at one point also served as a prison. It was closed for a few years and then after 2 years of intensive restoration work, opened in 1991 as the museum it is today.

Our friends Rona & Bronwen met us there with their young ones. The hour or so we spent there was a delightful mix of photo shoot and historical and cultural discovery. Jackie as usual was thrilled to nurture the little ones, and Willo and Alejandro (“Jano”) hung out, being the Two Boys With Long Curly Hair. Willo was very excited to see the Taíno relics we had talked about in homeschooling, which had been excavated from various sites on Vieques, including where the W now stands. There were also a few art exhibits: Yasmin Hernández had a big exhibit called “Tierra de Valientes” which honored the valor of several Puerto Ricans who have fought injustice, or who have simply been brave in the face of life’s daily challenges. The kids wondered what the display of contaminants was about (see picture) so I briefly explained about the Navy occupation and the bombing, reminding them of the bunkers we’ve visited and the shell casings we found there. I told them that the military activity meant a lot of poison was released into the environment, and the bags of leaves we were looking at were a display about that. The other two artists were less political; Dee Wagner Kennedy had really pretty paintings, scenes around Vieques, while Lulu Atkin had mostly sculptures. Some of them were of cement and sea shells and sea glass, very cool – and when we got home I emailed her to see if perhaps the kids and I can have a lesson with her (haven’t heard back).

After the fort the kids and I tackled the grocery store, where I actually found a cheese grater (it’s all plastic, so not sure if it works) and we stocked up on chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter. The kids really wanted to make their special dessert for tonight’s party. Rona and baby Dagan came over, and after giving them a little tour of our magnificent quarters, we walked down to the beach.

Rona and I talked about the challenges of motherhood. This week I’ve spent a fair amount of time with her and Bronwen, both mothers of very young children, and I can only feel empathy and compassion for them, and relief that my own kids are now so independent. I am not a baby-lover; while I love photographing them and spending some time with them, the whole infancy and toddler stages are extremely annoying to me. Watching Rona and Bronwen handle babies who crave their mothers’ arms, diapers that need changing, crawlers who eat sand, naptimes, fragmented conversations, diaper bags… Brings back memories of my own frustrations when the kids were younger and the whole motherhood gig created enormous friction between the Nurturing Me and the Selfish Me. Sure, after 3 miscarriages I was obviously grateful to have these 2 wonderful gifts, but I also resented being completely at the mercy of two beings who owned my heart, my body and my schedule. I am truly thankful that this opportunity we have right now to be in Vieques, has occurred now and not when the children were younger, for it would have been a very different experience for us.

Okay, must sign off for now, Field Trip time!

We've found a new treasure! (Sol Creation)

Bill went out for his 3rd consecutive run (YES!!) and took Juana with him, on a leash. When he returned about a half hour later, he complained about how she was zig zagging in front of him, how frustrating that was, and when he got to the field he let her off the leash, and she disappeared for a few short moments and suddenly reappeared with a hen in her mouth. He scolded her so she put it down, but it was dead. At this point, Juana came over to show me how much she loves me and I immediately pushed her away, not wanting chicken guts to be licked onto me, but he told me she apparently was only interested in the chase, she had no interest in mangling the poor bird. He figures it's the retriever in her (she's apparently half pincher, half retriever, is the guess). So now our Juana Come Iguanas (iguana-eater) is Juana Mata Pollos (chicken killer). I just hope she didn't affect some poor family's ability to feed their children.

I headed out for my run. I went alone, wanting a fast, hard run without worrying about Juana or uneven ground, and I decided to head toward town (Isabel II) instead of the peaceful meadow. It was pretty busy on the road, as it was approaching 8am and people were heading to school and work. There was a sidewalk for most of it, and I noticed that unlike back home, not a single driver was texting or checking email, and also unlike in Southbury, there wasn't a large population of elderly drivers. Kids were walking to school and at one point I passed a group of what appeared to be kindergarten-aged boys. Walking without adults. For some reason I remembered what several people have told me about Vieques schools - that there are no substitute teachers. If the teacher is out, the kids get sent home. One person told me last year that her kids were home more often than they were at school, teacher absenteeism was so prevalent. This obviously makes it hard for parents to work, since they must pick up their children and then stay home with them.

Today in school Jackie read her Nancy Drew book from the moment she woke up, until about 1.5 hours later when I told her it was time to do some writing. Willo had done some work in his workbook (reading & math), we read a book on frogs, and then he did a frog art project. When Jackie had finished her writing assignment, the kids finished their 300 piece puzzle, and Jackie had updated her blog, we had lunch (Bill came home for a quick lunch for the first time), then I told them about the Taino Indians. I told them about how when Cristobal Colon first arrived in Puerto Rico, he found it inhabited by some very peaceful, cheerful Indians who were all naked (except the married women, who wore loin cloths), who slept in hammocks, lived in bohios (sticks, grass & mud huts), snacked on parrots, played guiros and maracas, bathed several times a day, and invented the BBQ. Willo asked me where the Tainos are now, and I told him dead. He asked how they died and I explained that the Conquistadores wanted to expand their empire by greedily taking all the land and riches they could, and between outright slaughter, the diseases they brought here to which the indigenous peoples had no immunity, the fact many succumbed to the hardships of being in slavery, etc - well, they didn't last long. But I told them that the local Spanish fort has all kinds of great information about them, with lots of Taino relics. They asked where the relics came from and I told them that a few archaeologists unearthed them, some of them even came from under what is now the W hotel. Willo said that next time we go to the beach, he will dig for hours, so maybe he can find some relics.

Originally I was planning to take them to the fort today, but instead we decided to go into town to buy Jackie a sunhat at Black Beard's, where I could also get specific directions for how to get to Glass Beach. As we were driving around, looking for parking, I spotted a store I hadn't seen before, and Jackie agreed we should definitely check it out. We ended up first checking out another store, which had the most random stuff (this seems to be the case with shops here). I found a plastic cutting board and a largish frying pan (finally!!!!), but still no cheese grater. The same store also had an interesting collection of tacky souvenirs, window treatments, sewing items, flip flops, and sex toys. Very odd. From there we got Jackie's hat and I got directions to Glass Beach (as usual here, no street names or anything: take a left out of the store, then a left at the next block, a right at the bar with the blue walls, go down and turn left at the white house on the square, and go down the road that looks like a driveway...)

We then went to check out the new shop, Sol Creation. It's in a cute little building I've photographed each time I've visited. Soleil and her mom Destiny own it; Destiny has been here a few years, having moved here from West Virginia, and Soleil came here more recently, from Hawaii. Extremely friendly, very child-friendly (there's water & grapes for you to enjoy as you shop), really just lovely women. And the clothes! Jackie watched me trying on stuff and asked, "if you could afford it, would you buy the whole shop?" To which I answered with an unequivocal "YES!" Beautiful, soft fabrics, flowing designs, gorgeous colors - there were sundresses, skirts, tops, tanks, wraps, shorts... They also had beautiful stuff for the home - bed linens, throw pillows. The prices were certainly reasonable, but they aren't going to have the capacity to accept credit cards until next week, so bring cash or checkbook. They support the local Humane Society by giving 50% of each sale of their Wish Necklaces to the HS. I'm pretty sure I'm going to wear the top I bought to tomorrow's dinner party. Jackie is stylin' in her wrap :)

Conquistadores & whatnot

Today was Day 2 in Bill's quest to get into shape. Both yesterday and today, he has gotten up at 6am to run, and when he gets back I go out. We've started taking Juana with us, because unlike Penny, she actually runs in a fairly straight line. It's been interesting running with her - yesterday I took her on the leash, but today I had her off- leash, since Bill had done that and assured me she doesn't dart out into traffic or heed the taunts of the other off-leash dogs. Well, it's the last time I do that. While on my watch, she darted out into traffic twice, and I had images of her as roadkill just like the dead iguana 25 feet away. Other than that, though, she was a fun running companion as she loved running round the meadow with me, at her own irregular pace. On loop one I was so taken by the sunrise and the horses grazing in the distance that I paused to take a picture with my iPhone. On loop 3 the sun was a bit higher, and when I was close to the horses I took my phone out again for another picture. On loop 4 she expected me to do the same so she charged ahead, then lay down, expecting me to pause to shoot (I didn't). But then at some point she decided to frolick with the horses and I'm not sure if one of them kicked her or stepped on her, but she cowered away wimpering, limped over to me and lay down. She was fine after a few moments but I decided to call it a day and we headed home.

Homeschooling was really cool today. I told the kids all kinds of stuff about how people thought the world was flat, but C. Columbus suspected otherwise, and believed he could find a better way to India than by sailing through the treacherous waters of Southern Africa, by sailing west. And finally he convinced the Spanish monarchs to finance his trip, since they were hurting from their civil war and were determined to be more powerful than Portugal. They had nothing to lose, as they were so behind. I told them about how hard the conditions were for sailors, how the ships were nothing like the Royal Caribbean ships they've seen docked in San Juan, how they slept by finding any open space and then tying themselves down so as not to roll overboard. We talked about how Columbus thought he'd hit India when he alighted on San Salvador in the Bahamas (incidentally, where Bill & I honeymooned almost 13 years ago), and all 3 times he came over to the Americas he figured he was in India and the locals were all Indians. We talked about how the Exploradores were in search of gold, trade, and spreading Christianity. The kids did some art - Willo painted a picture of the Santa Maria and Jackie made one about what the native villages must have looked like to Columbus. I gave them spelling words from the lesson (Willo got words such as spices, ship, trade; Jackie got journey, cinnamon, exploration...) and then we broke for lunch.

The kids played together for awhile and then I figured our 2 day exile from the beach was about all I could stand, and after stopping at the fruit & vegetable stand we headed to Blue Beach, to meet Rona. Several of us congregated and aside from Juana kicking a bucketload's worth of sand into poor Dagan Jr's face, and Jano being completely freaked out by the huge wave that suddenly overtook his mom while she was bobbing with him and his baby sister Adela, it was a very successful outing. Willo & Jackie are now completely comfortable in the water, regardless of the big waves we had today. I got in a quick swim (laps). Tessa & Pablo happened to be there, and they were going off for a run so they were nice enough to take Juana with them. The lucky dog thus got in 3 runs today, and as a result is now passed out on her yoga mat, with her legs up in the air. (No worries, she's still alive).

Right now there's a big snowstorm headed toward CT and I feel really bad for all our friends back home. Well, at least they have well-stocked supermarkets, kitchens that have frying pans, cheese graters, large bowls, they can leave out their food for a bit without worrying about the tiny ants that appear out of nowhere within seconds, if they're pregnant they don't have to fly to a doctor or hospital (Bill just told me that the maternity ward in Vieques has been closed for 3 months, and if you're pregnant you have to hop on a plane, and many women/girls have given birth in flight)... OK, hope you feel better now; I know I do :)

(Pablo took the picture of me & Willo, and of Jackie splashing)

From homeschooling to tarantulas

Yesterday was the most uneventful day yet. We schooled, and then Jackie became so engrossed in her book after lunch that she decided we had to stay home until she finished it. I'm a sucker for a bookworm in today's media-obsessed culture so I readily indulged her wish. Willo did some remarkably accurate imitations of Taino art, I blogged and researched curriculum ideas, and then when she triumphantly closed the book for the last time, with the bittersweet announcement that she had finished the book, "now what will I read???" we headed out to the grocery store. In the morning the kids had declared that they were in charge of dinner that night. For some reason, this seemed like a fabulous idea to me, whereas a similar announcement back home would not have been as exciting. After all, Jackie's not home from school till 4pm, and then it's a rush of homework, diva lessons (acting/singing), dealing with Penny the Puppy, etc. Here, on the other hand, the afternoon & evening is a vast, empty space of time to be filled with all sorts of adventures, explorations, and yes, occasional fights. Having them come up with a menu, then negotiate the cramped, crammed grocery shop here, while learning how over-priced the goods are, plus have them involved in the food preparation, all of which will mean Willo will be more apt to try something even though it's not breaded and dipped in ketchup, was a very appealing activity. I told Jackie she had $15 to spend and Willo, the dessert chef, had $5. While I was trying in vain to reach some hair conditioner that was way beyond my reach, they came to find me. Jackie had selected 2 yellow peppers, 2 orange peppers, and a bottle of orange juice. We calculated that at that point the tally was a whopping $14. I asked her how she planned to buy chicken with $1 left? So she returned everything but the yellow peppers. She had decided to make us Chicken Rico, which was the main item on the menu at the restaurant she plans to open in our house. According to her, it is marinated in soy sauce and cooked on the bar-b-que, and served with grilled peppers and sliced tomatoes, and green salad. Willo insisted we have some roasted potatoes, and his dessert was to be chocolate chip cookie sandwiches, with a peanut butter filling. Anyway, we left with everything we needed, and it was a great lesson at the grocery store as the kids were more conscious of how challenging it is in Vieques to buy food. There was no lettuce to be found, everything is over-priced, and it's a struggle to get through the cramped aisles with a shopping cart. I always used to assume that Caribbean islands had an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables, but it turns out that everything is imported here, so we are at the mercy of the latest cargo ship, and having a captive audience, shopkeepers charge what they will. I suppose the good part of all that is we know that we aren't eating or drinking anything contaminated by Navy stupidity - even the tap water comes from Fajardo, on the Big Island.

The kids and I went to work on prepping the food, which means that they scrubbed all the vegetables, I cut them, they put them in the ziploc bag to marinate in olive oil, salt & pepper, and some chopped garlic, they went off to play and I looked at the block of frozen chicken breasts (the only place to buy fresh fish & poultry is from the gourmet store in town, Buen Provecho) and then stuck them in the sink to defrost. Jackie had prepared its ziploc with soy, garlic, and chopped ginger (which I'd found at the farmers market last Wednesday).

The kids were out in the pool when suddenly Willo screams "MAMI! A TARANTULA!" Now when I'd heard a similar scream during our visit last March, I said "that's nice" and went back to reading my magazine. Finally, after Jackie had screamed "TARANTULA!" several times, I'd uttered an exasperated sigh and put down my Shape magazine to go and give them a lecture about "The boy who cried wolf." Except it turned out they had indeed discovered a tarantula hanging onto the pool edge. So this time, when they yelled "tarantula" I immediately sauntered out there with my camera and we admired how big & hairy it was and I took a few pictures. Then I returned to my curriculum research. A few minutes later I heard another scream and looked up and 3 horses were drinking from the pool, much to the kids' amazement (they were still swimming). Juana, hearing the commotion, sprang off her yoga mat on the couch and dashed outside to defend the children from any dangers, effectively scaring off our 3 thirsty visitors.

I went back to curriculum research. Up to this point, most of school has involved workbooks and worksheets from online. My supplies were very limited since we were still waiting for several boxes I'd shipped, so we didn't even have markers, glue sticks, books, construction paper, etc. William was flying through a kindergarten workbook I'd brought for reading & writing, and the online worksheets Bill printed up for me, for math, were apparently completely unchallenging for him. Jackie had been really enjoying her Brain Quest workbook, the Advantage software app, and the writing assignment Bill came up with for her, an ongoing project. We have some of her school's Trailblazers stuff (math) so she's been keeping that up. But to be honest, this just didn't do it for me. I found myself checking out the Core Knowledge curriculum again, and saw that the kindergarten module has a whole section on Conquistadores. My plan had been to integrate the lessons they must learn in math, language arts, science, social studies, with the wealth of historical & environmental lessons to be had in Vieques. Core Knowledge is a sequential curriculum, which means that in kindergarten you are learning concepts that are then built upon sequentially each subsequent grade. A Core Knowledge kindergartner doesn't just learn about Christopher Columbus and the Niña, Pinta & Santa Maria; he learns about the purpose of exploration, the differences of past & present, vocabulary such as "nutmeg" "hammock" "papaya" "voyage," geography (Europe, Asia, Indian Ocean), cultural differences... A far cry from writing "s s s s s s S S S S S" over and over across several pages (his standard homework back home).

Just before we were about to sit down to the kids' delicious dinner, there was a knock on the door. Sandra (the Front Desk manager, who is positively fabulous, adores our kids, and in a few days is actually going to have them help her organize their new office) had come by with the rest of our boxes!!! It was like Christmas as we unpacked puzzles, board games (Life, Kids on Stage), my frisbee, spices and knives from our kitchen back home, my tripod, the wall charts I'd found on clearance at Border books, excellent for schooling, Willo's telescope and the solar system kit I'd also found on clearance at Border's, Gummy Vites, sketching paper, construction paper, glue, glue sticks, crayons, markers, watercolors, Enid Blyton books... Homeschooling had just taken on a whole new dimension!

Happily, we sat down at the table the kids had set, with candles and all, and ate the Chicken Rico which actually was delicious. Willo's simple dessert was absolutely scrumptious too. The kids had decided that they were in charge of dinner every Monday - no objections from me!