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Less than 24 hours after writing my final exam of the semester, and I was on my way to the Caribbean. It was a turbulent week leading up to my departure for three months abroad, however, as I boarded the plane, my feelings of worry faded away and were replaced with excitement for the adventure ahead. Three flights and three countries later, I made it to St. Vincent. I was greeted by a wave of hot air as I stepped off the little island plane. It was a long day of travel, and I was grateful for the warm welcome from the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Community College faculty at the airport.
I spent my first two weeks in St. Vincent getting to know the SVGCC community and its operations, exploring the beautiful island, while learning more about its agriculture industry, sampling the local cuisine, and attempting to pick up some Vincy dialect and culture throughout it all.
With SVGCC I attended student classes, sat on panels for student presentations, worked in the product development lab, aided in evaluating coursework for their new Agricultural Science and Entrepreneurship Program, and even got my hands dirty gardening with the students during their practical learning sessions. It was delightful to work alongside the spirited staff and students to learn about the opportunities at SVGCC that foster agricultural entrepreneurship in youth.
To supplement the academic learning, my hosts generously took their time to show me the dramatic scenery of their home island. With lush mountains, a rugged coastline, vibrant cities, friendly folk, volcanic black sand beaches and the warm Caribbean Sea, St. Vincent will be an incredible place for an internship with tremendous amounts to learn and do! Looking forward to Connor’s arrival in the next few days!
Check out SVG Ministry of Agriculture report on SVGCC students and I working on urban gardening here: https://www.facebook.com/agribusinessnow/posts/1893892873955551
SVGCC Agricultural Science & Business Entrepreneurship students working on their peri-urban farm to grow root crops including cantaloupe and watermelon! Photo by Victoria Dimick, taken April 20th, 2018.
Mountain top view of St. Vincent. Photo by Victoria Dimick, taken April 21st, 2018.