Archive for May, 2009

Classiqué International wishes to thank Club DVD Entertainment Sound System and all the people who attended the Ladies’ Night affair on Saturday, May 30th, making it a spectacular event. We appreciate your participation and look forward to your continued support as we strive to maintain an environment which is safe and accommodating for all your entertainment needs. For those of you who were first-time visitors to Classiqué International, we certainly hope that your evening was an enjoyable, memorable experience.   We look forward to having you, as well as other families and friends, at our future events. 07-heavy-t-bus-stop-riddim

VOLUNTEERS

Classiqué International will be assisted by some volunteers from  Alvin Alexander’s youth group, during the Summer Camp 2009 session.   Please contact Alvin Alexander in Marigot, for additional information, if you are  interested in signing up to become a volunteer during our summer program.

PENCILS FOR KIDS (PFK)

The theme of our summer program will be, Pencils for Kids (PFK).  On the first day of camp,  PFK will offer each child a pencil and a piece of paper on which to sketch something of interest to each one of them.   The goal will be to help the children analyze and create their designs by the end of the week.   First, we will discuss the sketches; secondly, we will ask the children to give a brief explanation as to why they chose their designs;  and finally, how will each child benefit from the completed product.   Some of the areas  being explored for the older children will be, woodwork and sports for boys; and, fashion design/sewing/knitting for girls.  Reading comprehension, writing, acting, as well as short speeches, will also be included in the program for the older children.  Younger children will be involved in art work, painting, playing games as well as playing sports. 

Additionally, group discussions will be scheduled to include invited speakers who will address areas of concern to the children; including, crime, medical, music, sports, and education.  We are still brainstorming ways in which to create a stimulating and interesting summer program, which will be beneficial to all children.

We look forward to your comments/ideas to help us create an  exciting summer program for the kids.

DO  YOU  RECOGNIZE  THIS  PICTURE?   THIS  WAS  MY  OLD  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOL   IN  MARIGOT,  DOMINICA. 

THE  W. STEVENS  SCHOOL  AT  WEIRS  IN  MARIGOT  WILL  FINALLY  BE  RENOVATED  OR  REBUILT  THIS  SUMMER.   

Classiqué International will be signing up approximately 50 children for one week of Summer Camp 2009.  The theme will be Pencils for Kids (PFK).  The date will be Monday, July 20th to Friday, July 24th.  The time will be 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon.  On Saturday, July 25th at 1:00 p.m. parents of the children will be invited to join them at an exhibition where the art work which was completed by their children will be displayed.   Following the exhibition on Saturday, July 25th from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. we will be hosting our regular children’s party, which will be opened to the public.  Alvin Alexander will be posting additional information as well as signing up children for the one week of summer camp.   Additional information will be posted as we progress to the next stage of planning.

Classiqué International will also be selecting  several children, some from (PFK), as part of a dance group for performances during the 2009 World Creole Festival and Independence celebrations. We are also hoping to begin our Star Search selection process, sometime in July.  Dominica has a lot of untapped talent.  Let us work with the youths in our communities to help them express themselves through positive words and actions instead of violence and crime, as they strive to realize their dreams.  We all have the potential to achieve our goals but our DREAMS must be greater than our FEARS.  Children are eager to learn and in spite of what we may think, they are all in search of love, guidance and a sense of belonging.  Therefore, it is not good enough to say……they can do it……we who have trod the path before them must be willing to hold their hands and lead them through the right path to success.   While children should not be rewarded for negative behaviors, they must be given an incentive to pursue their goals and be adequately rewarded for their efforts. 

Take the time to listen and understand just one child in your community and you will realize that he/she more often than not, has very good intentions, but lacks the moral support needed to proceed.  It is true about most human being, when we are comfortable with our lives and we are settled into a realm of complacency, we really do not like to be disturbed.  The truth is, we need to find out what constitutes real happiness in our lives (people or possessions), and when we do, we will realize that life is really not about ourselves, if we convince ourselves that it is, we will continue to feel like empty vessels even when we pretend to be filled and overflowing with happiness.

This is a great website for young children  www.wordworld.com.

Most travellers, especially Dominicans will certainly understand my predicament when it comes to travelling home.   First you begin the process of packing, then weighing, and repeat the process over and over until you say to yourself, oh forget it, maybe I will get through after all.  Luckily, I had gotten through with my luggage several times but during my last visit to Dominica I was not that lucky.  When I arrived at JFK airport at four o’clock in the morning and an older gentleman picked up my bags I was a bit hesitant to let him help me but I decided to give him a chance because he appeared quite eager to help.  That decision would cost me much more than I could ever imagine.  After spending valuable time trying to convince the bag handler that I would be willing to pay for the overweight and him telling me that I would not be allowed to do so, I decided to combine my luggage.  I should have been more prepared because the last time I flew out of New York the security personnel really took a good look at my carry on items.  Honestly, I did not realize that my computer would be considered my personal item which meant that I could not have my purse.   Ladies do not travel without their purses so it was difficult for me to choose between my purse and my computer.  This time, I must admit, the computer won the battle because I really needed to take it with me to Dominica.  After unpacking and shifting things around I finally got tired and decided to approach the security guard at the gate who, you guess right, turned me back.  With so much time wasted, guess what, I missed my flight, yes, I actually missed my six o’clock flight to Puerto Rico.  Well, needless to say I was a complete mess because the last thing I wanted to do was return to my brother’s house.  I was too embarrassed to let him know that I had missed my flight because he tried telling me that I had too many things but I kept on packing anyway.  After much deliberation, I called home to say that I had missed my flight but was catching a later flight to Puerto Rico.  Did I mention that a bottle of nail polish broke and spilled in my purse causing me to ditch my purse?  Picture me emptying my purse and loading the contents into my computer bag, mirror, lipstick, money and much more, while decreasing my stress level by throwing my lovely, black purse  into the trash bin.   My only concern at that point was freeing myself of any thing that could hinder me from passingly safely through security to board my flight.  Although I knew that the connecting flight to Dominica had already left, being  in Puerto Rico meant that I would be much closer to home, so that was fine with me.  

Finally, after spending several hours at the airport, I boarded the twelve o’clock flight to Puerto Rico with the intention of spending the night at the airport hotel.  However, after waiting a few hours to make a reservation, I was told that there were no rooms available.  Surprisingly I was cool, calm and collective because in my mind I felt that there had to be an unknown reason for me not getting into the hotel.  Actually, a man standing on the line asked me to explain what I meant because he could not understand why I was so relaxed after standing on the line for about two hours.  The attendant gave me the name of an inexpensive, nearby guest house and directed me to the cab stand.  I arrived at the guest house, took one look at the place and decided it was not a place where I would feel comfortable spending the night, especially by myself.  After asking the receptionist a few questions, such as how many guest were in the hotel, did they have air condition, and did they have Internet service, her answers confirmed my decision that spending the night there was not an option.  Luckily I had asked the taxi driver to wait while I checked out the place.  He agreed with my decision and was able to take me to another hotel which was in close proximity to the guest house.   I was quite pleased to spend the night at the San Juan hotel which was an upscale hotel and where I had previously overnighted.  After ordering a nice dinner and relaxing I went off to bed.  The next morning I left early for the airport because I was not about to miss my flight to Dominica.   Unfortunately, my flight was booked to Puerto Rico but not confirmed for the American Eagle flight so it took the customer representative about an hour to get me on to the connecting flight.  By the time she was through processing my ticket, it was time to head to the security line which took another hour leaving me just enough time to board the plane.  None the less, I was elated  just getting unto the flight knowing that I would be in Dominica shortly and all my troubles would be miles away.

After all, you would think  getting to Dominica would be smooth sailing.  Well remember, I missed my six o’clock flight but my bags were already on the plane so they arrived in Dominica unaccompanied.  After clearing immigration, I walked over to the baggage claim area and immediately spotted one of my bags.  Incidentally, the other bag was missing in action.  First we thought that it might have stayed back in Puerto Rico but according to the baggage handler both bags were checked in and should be together.  I went over to the airline to file a complaint but was told that the list showed that both bags had indeed arrived on the same flight.  I returned to the baggage  area and informed the custom’s officer who immediately called the custom officers who had been on duty the day before.  After being told that no one had checked out the bag, I returned to the airline agents who began their own investigation.  Finally the bag was located in Roseau.  As luck would have it, a passenger had accidentally taken the bag all the way to Roseau and it was being returned to the custom’s office at the airport in Roseau.  Can you imagine the custom officer had the nerve to ask me if I would be willing to go to Roseau to pick up my bag.  My response to the question was that it should not have been in Roseau in the first place so the answer is absolutely no.   The bag was finally returned to Marigot and brought to my house by a custom’s officer.   Was everything in the bag?  Well, I really don’t know because  after packing and unpacking the bags it was almost impossible to remember exactly what went into each bag.  However, most of the items in the bags were supplies for my children’s Easter party and as far as I could tell, the coloring kits for the eggs were missing, so instead of coloring the six dozen eggs which had already been boiled, we made deviled (stuffed) eggs which the kids enjoyed eating. 

After spending over five hundred dollars extra because of having overweight, which caused me to miss my six o’clock flight, spend the night at an expensive hotel in Puerto Rico, purchased meals, paid for cabs to and from the hotel, paid to change my airline ticket, I am totally convinced,  that travelling with less will definitely relieve my stress.   Upon my return trip from Dominica, I started the healing process by leaving with my carry on luggage and my purse.  The experience was wonderful and one hundred percent stress free.  While I realize travelling to Dominica with less luggage will not be easy, recognizing my needs will help me avoid the unnecessary stress which could occur by my irresponsible actions.

Do you have an overweight story to share, or am I the only person who travels with too many bags?

After spending approximately six wonderful weeks in Dominica, I am back in the US and wondering what is happening to my mangoes, yes, my mangoes. During my six weeks in Dominica, I ate more mangoes than the thirty years I have spent in the US. I don’t remember Marigot having so many mango trees. Elva mango which was once considered a special mango, is now scattered all over Marigot. Maduae mango which was only in Porthsmouth is also scattered all over Marigot. Long mango is one of my favorite but not so common anymore. As far as I know, Sylvian remains the sole owner of the santido mango tree which is full of flowers and young mangoes at the moment.  Don’t ask for grafted mangoes, they have become part of the decor of Marigot. Now I am not trying to make some of you hungry for mangoes but I just want to let you know that I have eaten so many mangoes that I looked at my hands and they are beginning to look a lot like a mango. Should I be afraid of mangoes, hell no, I am hoping to get back to Dominica before the next crop is gone.  As a matter of fact, mangoes seem to be bearing year round instead of seasonal. For those of you who have not been to Dominica in a long time just think mangoes and you will find yourselves feeling the way I do.

Just imagine I have even bought a dehydrator to help me preserve some of the mangoes.  If I have my way, Classique International will soon be known as the provider of dry mangoes.  Why?  Because so many of the precious mangoes go to waste and by the end of the season we are left wanting a nice, ripe, juicy mango.   Therefore, it is my firm belief, that even a nice, sweet, dry mango will be better than no mango at all.  We are not allowed to travel with mangoes because of some sorry excuse.  I believe the real reason is that we would all pack lots of  mangoes in our luggage and that would be problematic.

I remember growing up as a child in Marigot one of the fun things we did was to collect ripe mangoes which had fallen under the tree during the night.  Unfortunately, one day my  brothers and I were collecting long mangoes and my youngest brother, Elvis, got hurt by a stick which had broken through his shoes – or was he wearing shoes – I really don’t remember.  However, it turned out that we were afraid to tell our mother that he had been hurt so he hid the injury which almost cost him his life. He reminded me about that injury a few months ago. That did not deter me from looking under the mango trees which hung over the road while I was walking overgutter. Just imagine that there were some little children collecting mangoes and they offered me the only bitterskin, baby mango which they had collected. I felt guilty accepting their only mango but it was offered to me so how could I refuse. A nice, yellow, clean looking mango which I ate with one bite followed by a ferocious suck to the mango seed which revealed the white hairs of the mango seed signifying the end. I know most of you do the same thing when there are few mangoes around. We make sure that the mango seed is completely clean before discarding of it.  I would love to know if other countries are as fortunate as Dominica with so many different kind of mangoes to choose from(…………to be continued………….)  In the mean time, please share your mango stories with us.