Our J-term trip in Martinique is officially over. The month flew by so quickly that it almost already feels like a dream! But in fact it was a very real and magnificant experience.
So I'll re-cap our last few days there...We spent a good mixture of time finishing up our final projects and trying to squeeze in as much beach time as possible. On Thursday we took our final exam and then met with the law students again. This time we brought them snacks - chocolate chip cookies that Hailey and I had an adventure baking with our host family along with bananas with peanut butter. The cookies went over better than the peanut butter did. We shared a powerpoint presentation we made of our homes and the Pacific Northwest and then we discussed environmental issues. This was especially interesting for me because I am an environmental studies major and I did my final project on the viewpoints of the Martiniquais towards the environment and conservation in comparision to what I observed in my previous study abroad in Madagascar. The discussion got a bit hard to follow because they were all talking simultaneously in French but overall it looks like they think that it is more the job of the government than the individual to implement conservation practices. It was really nice to meet some students our age there and to be able to share cultures and opinions with them.
We tried to soak up the sun as much as possible our last day there. Hailey and I sat at the beach and finished up our final projects...The group met up at a different beach, the very first beach that we had gone to in the beginning, for our last bit of swimming and relaxation. We all ate mangos and guava on the beach...I sure will miss all the fresh delicious fruit. My name has become Jessica-Mangue because I love mangos so much. Afterwards our host mom took us to the Galleria which was like a big shopping mall with everything on sale. She seemed to think we couldn't leave the island without seeing it. Friday night was our goodbye party with all the students and their families. We munched on snacks and chatted. It was nice to see who everyones family is after hearing about them all the time. Once we got back to our house Hailey and I had quite a feast of desserts. Man I miss the desserts already. Our host brother went all out, we had little cookie sandwiches, gallette de roi, chocolate lava cake, a fluffy vanilla cake with candies on top, ice cream, and banana flambeés. Ooof, so much food but it was all so so good! It was really nice to have that last little bit of time to spend with our family. They are truly wonderful people and they were so generous and helpful towards us. I really appreciate them and am glad that I got the opportunity to live in their house.
Yesterday was the longgg voyage home. It took me 19 hours to get from my house in Martinique to my real house in California. We woke up at 5 and our host mom was of course already making us breakfast. Met up with everyone at the airport and we all said our goodbyes to our families. It was very sad to say bye, but it wasn't unbearable because I am 98% sure that I will end up back there and I will see them again.
Thank you for following our blog, we hope that you have enjoyed reading about our adventures and hopefully we've inspired you to travel to the beautiful island of Martinique. It was a month of educational as well as personal growth that none of us will ever forget!
Jessica
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