My name is Grace and I am a senior in college. I am majoring in Chemical Engineering with a minor in sustainability. I am from Rwanda. I am excited to explore the island. I can’t wait to explore the beach and the coral reefs in the sea and ocean. I look forward to eat St. Lucian Food at different restaurants. I also cannot wait to explore the mountains in St. Lucia, zip-lining, and visiting Castries (St. Lucia’s capital city). Looking at the visible culture, for example what type of food is most popular in a certain place, can help you understand the role the environment surrounding the place plays in what they eat. Other aspects that are important are language, history, politics, main economy, religion, etc. understanding these aspects will help you understand the place and the people who live at that place. For example, St. Lucia’s most popular dish is salt fish and green figs (green banana). This is probably influenced by the fact that their economy used to be heavily based on agriculture, specifically banana exports, and St. Lucia is an island surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean from which they get their fish. One of the most meaningful places to me is my home country, specifically my hometown. Rwanda is known as the country of thousand hills, consequently the house I grew up in was also built on a hill, surrounded by other hills with trees and bushes. At my home, when I look out on the other-side, I see two completely different, yet nonetheless beautiful hills. One with roads and houses which shines really bright at night and the other with lots of trees and bushes that creates a beautiful scenery during the day. Looking out across my home has always relaxed me and made me appreciate the beauty of nature, and that’s why it’s so meaningful to me. In the context of St. Lucia, I look forward to just being in nature and seeing the Gros Piton and Petit Piton, these are two of the mountains in St. Lucia. Although they are much taller than the hills in my country, their green color reminds me of the hill across my house.
Grace Ndayishimiye
