Funnyquote Friday

When interviewing secondary school students who had applied to join the A Ganar program starting this month, I got a lot of bland, run-of-the-mill responses to typical interview questions like "tell me about yourself," and "how do you see yourself in five years?"  This made the thoughtful and clever responses all the more enjoyable for me, since it tended to reveal a glimpse into the character of the interviewee in a way that 90% of the questions were unsuccessful in doing.  One question that tended to cajole the most peculiar answers was, "Think about your island country of St. Kitts and Nevis: what is one thing that you like about it?  What is one thing that, if you could, you would change about it?"  One particularly spirited girl had a unique response to this, saying that she loved everything about her country, from the beautiful landscapes to the knowledge that her family and friends were there with her.  She added, with a straight face,

"Now if only the White people would stop coming."

I was completely unable to suppress a chuckle at this.  Caught in the moment, I was hardly offended, but instead filled with mirth at the layers of irony in this statement.  I know, I thought, darn tourists crowding up our island, bringing their pasty, untanned legs, their sunglasses, and their silly money.  And then to have the vacancy of mind to say this right in front of me, sans malice or insinuation at all.  It was priceless!  I think she was my favorite student to interview.

I saw Mom and Dad off en route back home after spending a week-and-a-half here on my little island.  I'd say we managed to fit in 97% of everything I could even think of doing, and that with taking Thursday off after the volcano hike.  (Yes, you read that right - Mom and Dad get some GamersCorps points for scaling the tallest mountain in the entire country.  Kudos!) 

In fact, here was our itinerary - for posterity, but also so you can see what you could've been doing last week in the Eastern Caribbean:

  MONDAY

• Circumnavigate St. Christopher island
• Visit Caribelle Batik at Romney Manor
• Visit Fort George at Brimstone Hill
• See Black Rocks, Dieppe Bay
• Lunch at De Green Valley Pub, Cayon

  TUESDAY

• Walking tour of downtown Basseterre
• Visit Mr. Zach Nisbett's cultural heritage museum
• Walking tour of Port Zante and Amine Craft shops
• Lunch at Ms. Moore's (Saltfish fritters and bottomless Passion Fruit juice!)

  WEDNESDAY

• Hike Mt. Liamuiga (2:30 hours in this time)
• Lunch at Cooper's of Dieppe Bay

  THURSDAY

• Recuperate

FRIDAY

• Ferry to sister island Nevis
• Visit Horatio Nelson museum
• Circumnavigate Nevis island
• Lunch at Oualie Beach resort, snorkel and swim at the best beach in the federation
• Visit Chrishi beach for pictures and refreshments

  SATURDAY

• Run/Walk with Hash House Harriers, the international running club

  SUNDAY

• Visit St. George's Anglican Church
• Grill Jamaican Jerk Chicken for guests 

With just a handful of other notable excursions that followed, but the bulk of the trip's activities were handled in the first week.  From a planning standpoint, everything worked out perfectly - my parents were never overworked to the point that we had to go somewhere and they didn't have the energy, and we never ran out of time to fit something in that I felt was essential.  So I consider the visit a success!  And I know they had a really good time getting a feel for what life was like down here (life with trans, anyway!) and getting to meet all of the people that are involved in my day-to-day.  Bar none, I feel like everyone here was pleased to make the acquaintance of my parents as well, which came as a bit of a surprise to me - with so many people to meet, it's only typical that there is one or another awkward encounter to shrug off, but not this time, I think.

I'm using today to get back into a regular routine - and hoping that it is a quiet day to offer a soft lead-in to the weekend.  With no Serious Ting to work on anymore, I turn my attention anew to my job search.  Kicking off a few months later than anticipated (I originally planned to start in November), I have finally screwed up enough of my courage to hit the hunt hard this weekend.  Please pray that this motivation and steeled resolve doesn't wane in the face of insecurities borne of ambiguity and inevitable rejections.