Middle School and the Importance of BET

So on Monday the lady who is my supervisor at one of my schools and who has taken me under her wing, Marie-Claude Grangenois, offered to take me around and help me run errands and get stuff I needed. It was when she picked me up in the morning that I really felt like I was 12 again, and I was waiting for my mom to drive me somewhere so I could do something. I’ve gotten so used to being out on my own and doing things on my schedule, not being able to do that here because I don’t have transportation is quite enervating.

She was very sweet. She took me to a bank so I could open an account. We went and bought some things I needed for the house, and I got some clothes for teaching because the straps on my tanks tops were apparently not thick enough sometimes. She invited me over to her house for lunch and she had prepared Fricassee de Lambi, which is conch fricassee, and white yams which are like potatoes, and fresh avocados. All of it was delicious. Monday afternoon she brought me back and Sarah and I kind of just hung around because we finally got internet that night. SCORE.

Tuesday I went to LP Dillon, one of my school for the first time. I didn’t know it then, but I was actually going into class and going to meet the students. I sat in on two classes and all the students introduced themselves to me and I spoke to them. They asked me lots of questions about Virginia and I told them what a fabulous state it is. They asked me what I like to do, where I like to go, but when I responded to them (very slowly at the teacher’s request) I don’t think they understood a lot of what I said. So I’m trying to figure out ways I can form simpler sentences or help them understand. That’s my work this year, to make the kids understand me and to help me to understand them when they speak. To my surprise, when they introduced themselves, ALL of them said they like to dance. All of them go out and dance on the weekends. I can understand that from their cultural roots and the pounding rhythms of zouk music, but it was surprising to me that there was not onc exception to this rule, even among the guys.

All of the kids I have are between 15 and 19 years old. Some of them are a little older because they had to repeat a year or two. I am in what they call Lycee Professionels. It’s basically vocational high school or a technical school. The students I have are kind of rough. I wouldn’t compare myself to Michele Phieffer in Dangerous Minds, or anything, but they are difficult and really seem to not care at all. There are pregnant girls in the hallways and there are threats of fights after school and weapons being brought it, I’m told. But the students in the classes I had at Dillon seemed very interested and alert. They asked me a lot of questions and tried to speak in English but they were happy I could understand them in French. I was kind of thrown into the spotlight in the classes and Marie-Claude helped me a lot. I think it went well. We’ll see how it goes at my other school, LP Bateliere.

Today me, the other girl who lives in my apartment Sarah, and our good friend who lives near us Caitlin all went to Fort-de-France today to hang around and shop a little, see some sites. Right now there are big sales in all the stores. Sarah and Caitlin are also assistants but they are in primary schools. Sarah actually just found out that she has to leave because she has a thyroid problem that is exacerbated and some tests that they ran before she left came back a few days ago and were negative enough for her doctors to want her to return to investigate. I am not quite sure what I will do with this big apartment all to myself. Potential visitors, I will soon have two extra rooms. I will miss her. It’s nice to have someone to cook with and share the difficulties of getting around and going places with. It’s been hard for her to make the decision, and I can imagine as much. What a blow to get here and go through training and then find out you have to go. I will miss her. This apartment is too big and too far from things for just one person.

We did have a fun day in FDF though. We went to the Bibliotheque Schoelcher which is a very famous landmark here. It’s an old building with old books and interesting mosaic structure. I was not super impressed but now I’ve seen it. We walked around in shops for hours. Shops ranging from expensive, gorgeous clothes to super cheap, trashy clothes. I found the Martinique equivalent of Wings (for those who know those crappy beach stores in OBX and North Carolina). It even has the t-shirts where you pick the shirt and the design and they make it for you. It was hard not to buy things today. I saw some pretty things but they were too expensive. I’m not getting paid for two months and I have a LOT of expenses right now. So I really have to watch it. It’s nice to know that there are things out there. We went into a bunch of fabric stores and looked at the beautiful madras plaid that is sold everywhere. I love it and have all these creative thoughts when I see it, making dresses and skirts and placemats and curtains. Unfortunately I don’t have a sewing machine or I might actually attempt something.

For lunch we went to the central market where they sell all kinds of Martiniquais spices and fruits and vegetables. They sell fresh vanilla and all these great spices in sachets and the market itself smells great, but the best part is at the back. On the other side of the market from where we entered were these little tin shacks where people had set up their restaurants or juice stands. So we went back and chose a stall where they had some good menu choices and they offered us a juice, salad, entrée, and dessert for 14 euros. Not bad. I chose Paella Créole which had an octopus and a conch fricassee on either side, saffron rice, and two prawns which didn’t have a very good texture so I didn’t eat much of those. There was coconut chicken and Columbo chicken (a local spice) and grilled mouru, which is cod. We all really enjoyed our meals. I had juice of Prune de Cythère which was not really sweet at all but absolutely refreshing. They made it right in front of us. They also had a coconut flan, a local specialty, and every restaurant serves it. I don’t really even like coconut anything but this is good.

So we didn’t do much after FDF. We went to Caitlyn’s house to hang out a bit then back to our house to eat dinner and I went to bed early because I was so tired. I had been under attack from bees all the night before and that morning. That probably deserves some explanation… So there’s a beehive right outside the door to my balcony. The balcony is very small and floorboards are loose so I don’t use it, but also I don’t use it because there is a bee hive. So the landlady thought she would get rid of the bees for me, but the product she put on there made them crazy and they decided to come into my room. So the night she “fixed the problem” I had about 30 bees in my room. They were swarming and all over my lights and flying around, and then after a little while, they would die. So my floor was covered with dead or dying bees. They didn’t sting me fortunately, but they were everywhere. So that night I hid under my mosquito net and went to bed. The next morning it was a little better, after I removed the bee graveyard from my floor. But when I got back from running they were everywhere again. So I just kind of got dressed really fast then we left for FDF. That night there was a bee guy who came who seemed to fix the problem, but I have to keep my windows closed for 3 days so it’s very hot in my room right now. The guy who took out the bees was very strange. He was interested in my landlady but he was talking to all of us. We were all sitting around, and he came in after he had finished and started talking. Marie-Ange, my landlady, was holding the check in front of him for about 20 minutes, but he didn’t get the hint. He went on and on about how he is a Baptist preacher, but he was a clown (like in the circus with the silly car and shoes clown) before that, and he was also a horticulturist and he taught school for a while too. So we were all very perplexed at how this clown-preacher-teacher-horticultural expert managed to get rid of the bees, but he did. And he also said that if Marie-Ange married him, he’d give her a better price next time. HAHA. It was great to hear her talk about him after he left. Hilarious.

So I finally visited my other school today. I went into town with Marie-Ange because she works near it and she also took me into the school as well. I hadn’t heard anything from these people so my other tutor Marie-Claude (yes, every woman is Marie-something because Martinique is predominantly Catholic and very religious) told me just to go over there today instead of going to Dillon. So I went. And I met my partner there, Odile Sylvanie. She is very nice but very disorganized. It seems the entire school is really. I’m glad people have their stuff in order at Dillon or I think I’d be in real trouble when it comes to getting paid and getting a carte de séjour. But I went in and met her, met the principal, and visited a class. The principal is really nice. He is the president of Martinique’s soccer league and I told him I wanted to see some games while I was here. He said he would give me a ticket and I could watch in a nice box and that there are some inter-Caribbean matches coming up that will be very good in November. I think he was impressed that I liked soccer.

In contrast, the class I visited and helped with was completely out of control. Another English teacher I met in the lounge just before I went into the class told me that all the kids watch BET. So that’s where they get their ideas of America. I’m so glad he warned me about that because otherwise I would have gotten much more frustrated in class. Like in the classes I had gone to two days before, I was made the center of attention and introduced with instructions to talk about myself and respond to the students’ questions. I did this, but after they asked my name and how old I was, the questions consisted of ONLY rap-related material. One guy asked me if I like Martinique, but the rest asked about LA and guns and gang-wars and Chingy and 50 Cent and T.I. and Fat Joe and all these rappers who I know of only by name. Suddenly me, the whitest of white girls became the only link to America and black culture in America. I became the BET aficionado because I come from the place where this music is created. It’s insane how many questions they asked and the ideas they have of the Bronx and LA and all these places that are mentioned in the rap songs but are just such a small slice of America. So I guess I’ll have to find a way to use that portal because it seems that is all they are interested in. It was a difficult morning. I don’t like the school that much, it’s very far from me, and they are not organized. They need help though because they have to pass an oral exam at the end of the year for their degree and hardly any of them can get out a question without asking a word, much understand what I say, even though I’m trying to annunciate and speak very slowly.

So, even though I’m in a beautiful place, it’s interested to see the underbelly and the reality of life here. I’m starting to see what a challenging year this will be now that I know where I am and who I’m with. I will need all the help I can get so any teachers with ingenious ideas of things that have worked in the past, feel free to pass anything along.

Hope you all are doing well and enjoying Autumn. I miss the chill in the air and the smell, and the crunching of leaves under my feet. Talk you all soon!