Helen of the West Indies: May 2008

Monday, May 12, 2008

Mother's Day Celebration at the Montessori Centre

Isabel as the "O"

A Song for the Moms (Video)

Reception Reciting a Poem for Their Moms (Video)

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Video of Isabel Playing Guitar

Isabel's Nana and Grandpa recently gave her a guitar and since then she has been "composing" her own songs! This video is just one example.

Fun Walk!

Photos from the Fun Walk with the Montessori Centre on May Day

Sunday, May 4, 2008

Ramzi, Isabel and I went to Coconut Bay this weekend and Isabel was invited up on stage to dance with the band "Synergy." Needless to say, she fully enjoyed herself! Check out the photos and videos for yourself.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Isabel's Rainbow

This is a picture of a rainbow drawn by Isabel. And you will note that on the left side Isabel wrote "ranbo." She is learning to read and write by phonics, so things are spelled the way she hears them, thus rainbow = ranbo. She is definitely enjoying sounding out words and writing.

Travel Schedule (Visitors and Our Trips)

25. August - Sasha and Isabel in DC and VT
24. July 12-19 - Ramzi and Olga Nemo
23. June 22 - 28 - Sasha in Grenada for Conference
22. Upcoming June 7-14 (I think, will confirm!) - Jim and Elizabeth Engle
21. Weekend of May 31, 2008 - Sasha goes to the US for Jenny Johnson and Alex Perkins' wedding (woo hoo!)
20. Upcoming (fingers crossed) - May 21 - 26, 2008 - Nadege Volcy and her mom
19. April 20-26 2008 - Isabel and Sasha return to the US for Passover
18. Upcoming (fingers crossed) 1st half of April 2008 - Julia Morton
17. Upcoming March 27 - 31, 2008 - Sarah Meyer
16. March 16 - 23, 2008 - Jon Sullivan, CIndy Fink, Tim Sullivan, and Rebecca Sullivan
15. February 29 - March 8 and then March 13 - 15, 2008 - Diane and Charlie Gottlieb and Adele D'Ari
14. February 13-19, 2008, Pete and Leila Peterson
13. January, 2008 - Steven Stichter and Mark Ewert
12. December 22, 2007 - January 14, 2008 - Another Whirlwind Tour to the US for Ramzi, Sasha, and Isabel
11. November 9 - 17, 2007 - Diane and Charlie Gottlieb
10. November 2-6, 2007 - Jenny Johnson and Amber Eisenmann
09. August 2007 - Diane and Charlie Gottlieb
08. July - August 2007 - Ramzi, Sasha and Isabel's trip to the US
07. July 2007 - Rachel Mickenberg and Lisa
06. June 2007 - Peter Weinberger
05. April 2007 - Lynn Kim
04. February-March 2007 - Diane and Charlie Gottlieb
03. February 2007 - Jen and Michael Oko
02. December 2006 - Ramzi and Olga Nemo
01. October 2006 - Diane Gottlieb

Frequently Asked Questions

What are we doing in Saint Lucia?

Ramzi: I am continuing to chip away at my dissertation, shaving a lot less, and enjoying the peace and quiet.

Sasha: I am working at the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute on a Global Environment Facility-funded project. The project is helping the small island developing states of the Caribbean to integrate their watershed and coastal area management and I am serving as the technical coordinator. See www.iwcam.org for more details.

Isabel:

I am going to summer camp at the Montessori Centre and will be starting pre-kindergarten there in the fall, playing and swimming at the beach, and developing a West Indian accent (eh eh).

How can you find out more about Saint Lucia?

Luckily there is a lot of information about Saint Lucia available on the web. Start out by checking out: www.stlucia.org – Official Site of the Saint Lucia Tourist Board

How can you get in touch with us?

Ramzi Nemo E-mail: ramzi.nemo@american.edu

Sasha Beth Gottlieb E-mail: sgottlieb@stanfordalumni.org Skype: sbgottlieb

Phone Numbers

Sasha's Work Number: 758/452-2501
Home Number: 758/450-8666
VOIP Number (this is a domestic call for those based in the US): 202/558-7153

Is it true that Saint Lucia has more Nobel Laureates per capita than any other country in whole world?

Yes! In 1992 Derek Walcott won the Nobel prize for Literature. He followed in the footsteps of Arthur Lewis who won the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1979. Interestingly enough, they share the same birthday (January 23 – one day after Sasha’s dad’s b-day!). In honor of these two men, one week is set aside every January for Saint Lucian’s to celebrate all things cultural through a mix of lectures, plays, poetry, drama, and music. Participants vary but have included such luminaries as playwright Arthur Miller.

What else is going on in Saint Lucia?

Saint Lucia has a fantastic Jazz Festival every May with really incredible artists from all around the world. Check out www.stluciajazz.org for more details. There is also snorkeling, scuba diving, sailing, kayaking, hiking, zip-lining, etc. So you want to visit us and see this all for yourself.

How can you get down to see us?

Saint Lucia is served by American Airlines, US Airways, Air Jamaica, BWIA, Air Canada , Delta, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, LIAT, and Caribbean Star. There are two airports on the island: Hewanorra International Airport at Vieux Fort (UVF) is located 40 miles south of Castries and George F. L. Charles Airport (SLU) which is right outside of Castries. The flying times from major cities are:

3½ hours from Miami

4 hours from New York

5 hours from Toronto

8 hours from London

Helen of the West Indies