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| Guadeloupe Study Program Travelogue: Thursday, Jan. 20, 2005 |
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Rachel
French, Biology Major
Here's one simple thing that I've learned so far during our time here
in Guadeloupe: it requires a certain amount of energy to visit a country
and to be more than just a tourist on vacation. Working to interact with
the culture and to speak the language can leave you pretty worn out at
the end of the day, but it really is worth it. I am fully enjoying this
opportunity to experience life in Guadeloupe. It may only be for three
weeks, but I love getting to live here -- to drink my bowl of coffee in
the morning, to greet the same shopkeepers on my way to school, to laugh
over dinner with my host family and to speak French with new friends.
I am blessed.
The other day, our Whitworth group and some friends from our language
school had a new experience. We drove along the coast to the island of
Basse Terre and met up with a local banana farmer who gave us a tour of
his plantation. Jean-Claude grew at least six varieties of banana: some
were plump and others were skinny, some were cultivated for their reddish
color, some were designated for cooking -- I can't do them justice! My
favorite part of the tour was getting to see and taste all of the other
fruit that was growing around his plantation: passion fruit, coconut,
starfruit, guavas and some with no name in English. He taught us that
most every fruit grew in a variety of different colors and tastes. It
was a beautiful tour.
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| Students at banana plantation. |
Students at banana plantation. |
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| Banana flower. |
la Musée du Cacao. |
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| Students learning about the history of cacao and its production at la Musée du Cacao. |
Sugar cane fields and the mountains of Basse Terre. Sugar cane, and the rum made from it, are Guadeloupe's main products. |
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