So Christmas turned out to be a lot of fun. I got an invite from Pam to stay with her family during the season. It turned out to be a really enjoyable long weekend. Her family was warm and wonderful to me and I was invited to go along with them to a fantastic Christmas Day party at Delroy Chuck's house (The Jamaican Speaker of the House!) and a family party where I got to meet brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles, cousins and grandparents. It was a great Christmas and I even got to drink some killer scotch! All my favorite holiday foods from home were had and I can't think of a nicer way to spend a Jamaican Christmas. I was then invited to go out to an all night party with Pam's sons on Boxing day. It was really insane and probably nicer than any party I had been to in the states. All you can eat food and drink we danced the night away with some of the boys' friends.

I then flew to Ft. Lauderdale to visit with one of my best buddies Daryl for New Years. The yearly tradition went famously as always and ended with a new hit single that you can view on Facebook. Great times were had.

After I got back from Lauderdale, there were about two and a half weeks of rain. In Jamaica, NOTHING happens when there's a big storm, so all my community meetings were canceled and only half the people showed up to school. From such an exciting two weeks, it transitioned to two of the most boring weeks I've had here so far. After the rain settled though I started teaching my photography classes working with the High School art teacher. They have been going well and the kids seem to really enjoy it.

A couple weeks ago I got a call from the supervisor of the agriculture department for Peace Corps asking if I'd be interested in working with the Jamaican Dept of Agriculture helping them develop some software. I said Sure! Thinking that I would be able to get some of my skills that I've been neglecting over the last year and 1/2 up to par again. So last week I interviewed with one of the ministry's heads and I'm moving to Kingston this Sunday! Things move really slowly here or SUPERFAST! It turns out that Pam lives walking distance to the ministry's building so I'm going to be moving into her spare bedroom!

So my final chapter is starting here in Jamaica, five months left and with it a bunch of change that should hopefully inspire me to write more often here.

Wish me luck!

So I know it has been a long time since I have posted here, but there have been some things happening that I think I want to share.

First of all, I made a realization a hour or so ago when I woke up in some pain and went to take some pain killers (story of the pain to come) I went to the fridge and ate one of these great little bananas called "Honey Bananas". They are the miniatures you see around but they are really creamy tasting and sweet! Best banana I have ever had! So anyway I was eating a couple to take the medication and I realized that I am no longer getting the "Tourist Tax" anywhere in my town. Most places you get dinged $20-$30 or more per pound for fruits and vegetables with the outside stands and sometimes at the bars for a beer. I don't remember when this happened, but I get charged the fair price now, and it just feels wonderful. Finally feeling accepted in my town is just a great feeling and it's making me feel something that I think is rare here, appreciation. Appreciation is rare here in Jamaica, not only for volunteers for myself, but for Jamaicans as well. When somebody does something for another person, you very rarely here a simple "Thank You" or even a smile. I guess it's something in the culture. I'm not saying you never see it, but just not that often. When I talk to teachers or people in other professions, I sometimes ask then if they feel appreciated in their work, and I've never heard a "Yes" I think a "PSA" is needed here to encourage people to thank each other, it might go a long way to making Jamaica a happier place.

Yesterday I helped put together this year's Christmas Tree lighting and it went off great. I think more people showed up for Christmas Carols and to hear some of the local leaders give encouraging speeches. Pam, the leader of the Business Association did an amazing job as always getting people together and to encourage donations. We had a bit of a "Charlie Brown Tree", but it was decorated with love and a crap load of those baby blinking lights! When the lights were hit, it really lit up the town square where the tree was. I handed out some cupcakes that Pam had gotten after the event and that got a little crazy. The kids kept coming back for more and after I gave them a couple more I found if I yelled at them in a joking way to "Gwon!" (go on) they giggled and stopped trying to get too many extras. The adults were just as bad. I guess they were good cupcakes! For a such a destitute place my village is, I think with these events, a little civic pride is creeping in. The bus loaders and mini-shop keepers in the town square all vowed to protect the tree and the decorations. Last year I don't think a single decoration was stolen for the two weeks the tree was up.

Two weeks before, we had the Annotto Bay Christmas Treat for the kids of the area between the ages of four and eight. It was even better than last year. I have to hand it to the teachers for allowing the kids to have fun, but to maintain some order. I got to ride in the parade this year drove in the Santa Truck up and down the main road. We started up at the top of the town where the hospital was and brought presents and visited the sick kids there. Our entourage of Vinny the Vienna Sausage, the National Brand Bird, "The Chocolate Yoohoo like drink Bear" (forget his name...), Santa Clause and one Peace Corps Volunteer were welcomed with warm smiles and even a few cheers from the kids that could cheer. Santa grabbed a few of the older ladies butts along the way, but I guess Santa gotta get his too!

We all jumped back into the truck and headed down to the main road where three of the costumed characters walked in front of the truck and kids rushed out of their schools to meet them. Hats off to those guys, it was HOT! We finally made it to the party grounds proper, and the characters grabbed a quick water, and went and danced with the kids for a bit. The kids were given hot dogs and snacks provided by the larger food companies on the island. They had ice cream, and then were given gifts that were paid for by donations that my city partner Jessica and I begged our friends and family for. The kids LOVED them. The day just couldn't have gone better.

So this brings me to what started out as a really fun event, a going away part for a great volunteer who had extended his service six moths to finish his projects. We had a really fun party in a beach house right on the water with about 12 volunteers. I won't go into any detail of the bad part of the evening, but I ended up hurting my back from an external force. Nobody got hurt (besides my back) but we were reminded that things are pretty rough here in Jamaica. So if you come and visit, please make sure that you get back inside at a reasonable hour, and lock up your doors.... After the unfortunate event, we had a fun white elephant Christmas gift exchange which I think raised our spirits a bit. I ended up with some cool coffee smelling candles. A GREAT gift when the power goes out a couple times a week!

So with less than 8 months to go, I have to say that I'm finally feeling accepted and even a little appreciated in my community. The bad stuff keeps you in check, but I think the good is outweighing it. During this holiday time I do confess to being pretty home sick, and I wish I could be back in California for Christmas.

Miss you all

-Jason

http://www.flickr.com/photos/25527363@N02/sets/72157622798136943/

So today is the Jamaican Holiday Labor Day.  Unlike the American version, in Jamaica it is a day for volunteerism and community projects.  So for the last two days the two local organizations I'm involved with joined forces and painted a "Basic" school, aka preschool.  

1) Man I am out of shape

2) It was a blast!

We had tons of people come out to help, which was such a great thing to see.  Sunday it was mostly kids but they did a great job!  I pulled the whole Tom Sawyer scam and got them to paint the fence!!  They were fighting over the brushes!  We scraped the walls to get off the old paint and started the actual main school painting.

Today was great, we started early and maxed the capacity of the back of a pickup with kids and went to plant some trees.  The pickup left and I was left with around 12 kids ranging from ages 6 to 14.  We managed to plant around 20 coconut trees and then literally marched back to the school.  We were trading marching songs as we all marched in line.  I forgot where and who I was with and started the "Full Metal Jacket" song going, "I don't know what I was told...." I had to come up with some creative lyrics quick!  I think I went with, "....Planting trees is mighty bold"  They taught me some Jamaican marching songs as well, but don't ask me to repeat them...

We got back to the school and I was invited to a quick breakfast at this wonderful doctor that helps organize community events.  His nephew (also a doctor) and his friend were visiting from Burma with a quest to take a test and go work in America.  Another peace corps volunteer then joined us and we took off for the school.  By this time more community members arrived and the big job was underway.

We worked until around 4:00 and were basically done!  A nice face lift to an aging school.  I ended the day tired and smelly as hell, but satisfied of a job well done.

Good stuff

I've posted the link to the new site, the kids are really excited and I think they did a really nice job on their first attempt. I'm missing two groups, but hopefully they will bring their cameras tomorrow.

So I'm happy to report that today I had my second photography class at the high school.  I have 13 students which is a great number.  There are 5 cameras that are usable, but decided to break the students into groups of three (one group of 4) and just use 4 cameras for now.  There are actually three more cameras that were donated but they didn't include the charging supply.  I have to research replacement power plugs.  Anyways I taught a basic lesson on camera settings, and then gave the first assignment of portrait.  The kids were really excited to get the cameras, the first cameras I think most of them have ever used.  I'm not sure that the fresh batteries will last very long because it was like a night club with all the flashes going off.  Their assignment is to get three shots each and turn them in by next Tuesday.  I'll post some of the results when I get them.  I actually want to get a website going but maybe I'll just use blogspot here.  That might be a good plan actually.

I also got involved with two new agencies.  The Perish PDC (Public Development Committee I think...) and my towns Heath and Agriculture Associations.  I'll be helping them write project proposals to get government funding.  It's going to help keep me busy in the summer months so I'm pretty excited.

Well anyway just wanted to let you all know that things are on an upswing here and I feel like I'm getting to do more of the work that I wanted to do.  Oh and I'm getting a bicycle!  Gonna ride to work now and get a little more exercise.

Bye for now

Approaching the midpoint in my service I find myself in a routine.  The newness of the experience is wearing off and I feel like my job at the high school is just like any other job.  Kind of doing the daily grind.  So I'm now on a quest to spice things up.  My lack of posting is due to a lack of interesting things occurring, so please forgive me.  There is a homeless shelter that is asking for volunteers in a nearby town that I'm going to check out.  The photography club is just about ready to kick off, and the business association is planning new activities for the year so my life should become bloggable soon.

Good news with my literacy student though, he is really improving and followed through with an assignment to read 3 books.  I think I'm going to set up a reading program like I had in the library when I was a kid for the summer time.  For every X number of books he reads he gets a prize.  Lunch at KFC or something.  

I'll be looking for summer activities as well, the school always has stuff going on and computers to fix and viruses to kill, but I'll need extra things to keep me busy.  Now that the equipment is all setup, it feels like I've already accomplished my goal here, so its off to find new goals and new challenges.

Oh one more point about computer viruses, if your a virus creator and happen to come across this blog, please die.  Die, die, die, die and die.  In computer challenged countries, a virus can knock out all the computers at a school for months.  My school is lucky to have antivirus supplied by the ministry of education, but it still takes me and the tech at the school a whole lot of time fighting them... ok phew that was some negative energy getting out.  I feel better now.

Oh I had a great birthday by the way, thanks for all my good birthday wishes on Facebook and my friends here making my day special.  Plus loved ones back home.

So it's a rainy morning here in Jamaica.  I just got a call that school has been canceled so all I have to do today is go over the cooks house and help him with his computer.  Thankfully he has a car so is going to pick me up.  Mr. Core the cook is a great friend to have as he hooks me up daily with a huge tasty lunch that makes dinner unnecessary.  This is a man who can have all the computer repair services he needs!  The last few weeks have been mostly uneventful.  The school has been keeping me busy as they received 55 or so new computers and a second server.  They sent the 2nd server already configured so all we had to do was put the old server on the new network and then put all the current computers on that network as well.  That is a bigger job because now that we have a stronger network from the fiber optic connections that were finally installed, I have to put computers that never made it on the first network on it as well.  Then of course we have to clean up those old computers before installing..... oh well boring stuff to most anyway that's whats been keeping me busy.  The after school teacher class is going well, I feel lucky for that class because it satisfies my Peace Corps goals and leaves me time to do the work that the school really wants me to do, be a computer tech.

Other than that I had a nice trip to Ocho Rios and had a tasty burger (a rare treat) and hung out with some fellow volunteers.  I'm trying to plan a little something to celebrate my birthday at the end of the month, but it's becoming complicated.  I might just settle for a few friends over and to cook some nice food and watch a movie.  I find that I am spending way to much of my own money so have to find ways to chill on that.  I might need every penny that I have when I come back, looking at the job market and hearing stories from people back home.

My project to start a digital camera club at the school got a nice boon as I received a few more cameras from my old company.  Thanks guys!  I'll be sending personal thank yous soon to the folks that donated.  I just need a couple more and I'll be ready to start.  I've been talking to some of the kids and received some interest.  I've created an outline of the lesson plans, got an ok from the principal, so now I'm almost ready to go!  I find that alot of my creative juices get zapped here from daily life so this project is moving slower than I would like.

Well that's it for now.  I need to get ready for my repair job to keep getting double helpings of lunch!

So my trip to America was pretty bizarre.  The Peace Corps recommends that volunteers don't go home for the first year and I got an idea why that recommendation exists.  After living pretty simply here, ok maybe some here live more simply than I do, but for me, I live simply here.  Anyway going from that simple lifestyle and heading to the craziness of Ft. Lauderdale for New Years was pretty mind blowing.  My friend's beautiful home on the intercoastal with his amazing boat and a huge keg of my favorite beer, the variety of food and the monster supermarkets almost short circuited my brain.  It was bliss, but it also reminded me how much all of that bliss could have bought some new computers for the school, or funded a lunch program for a 1000 kids or so...  The perspective I have gained here far surpasses any perspective that I thought I already had.  Working at a country club for weddings and seeing all the food being wasted every day and thinking that "hey somebody is starving somewhere and could really use this..." doesn't compare to actually being physically next to people who are REALLY poor.  This affected me more than I thought it would, and made the experience back home really just "weird".  Don't get me wrong I had a great time and I loved seeing my friends and especially my family.  I just didn't feel at home anymore.  That was a really weird part as well, Jamaica has become my home, and when I was back in the Bay Area, it didn't feel like home.  Now for somebody who has never really lived away from the bay, that's just a mind blower.  So if you saw me when I was visiting and I seemed a little "off" that's what was going on in my head.  When I'm done with my service and I move back to the states I'm wondering how I'm going to feel.  I guess it will just take some time to get readjusted.

To my friends and family, please don't take any of that the wrong way.  You all made me feel so missed and welcomed back, this is just an experience that's all new to me.

Yesterday I was walking home from the bus park on my way back from a Peace Corps meeting in Kingston and some cute 7 year old(ish) girls came up to me and asked if I wanted to play dominoes with them.  Well at first I thought they were asking me for money (through the thick Patwa accents) and I was so glad I hadn't immediately dismissed them as kids begging for money.  I then remembered that I had met them before and had actually played dominoes with them.  I couldn't play as we had pizza at the office and my home was a callin' (for those who know me you know what I'm saying...) but I smiled and said, "Next Time".  It really struck me how wonderful it is that I can sit and play dominoes with some kids and not have everyone immediately assume that I'm some sort of pervert.  I can smile and wave and kids walking by and even stop and talk to them.  Younger and older kids stop me on the road and say "Mr. Candido!  Wat a gwan!" (whats going on) I can stop and chat with them for a while and their parents will smile and nod, not giving me a look questioning my intentions.  I have it say that it's just great!  There are growing issues with child molestation in Jamaica and I think the independence of small children can be a contributing factor, but the experience reminds me of when I was a kid and could walk to school alone.  It's quite an interesting topic for debate, whether to become more like America where everyone is paranoid protecting their kids, or leave it like it is in Jamaica now.  It's hard to say what is better, but I sure do enjoy being able to greet a child without wondering if somebody is thinking I have evil intentions.

Sorry about the delay in creating posts, it's been eventful and uneventful.  Some of the eventful times was heading to Negril for Thanksgiving.....

Rick's Cafe'  A big tourist spot in Negril where you can cliff jump (at your own risk...) and blend in

I have to say that Negril is my favorite spot on the island so far.  The pluses are beautiful beaches, nice American style restaurants, cheap (and nice) hotels and some of my favorite people on the island.  After a long bus trip my road companion and I were greeted to 2 for 1 rum punches at a cool little bar on the ocean, the fall weather was perfect warm without much humidity and a small reunion of volunteers made the night special.  I met some new friends, a cool visitor from the states as well as a really nice British ex pat who's family owns a couple shops in town.  We migrated to his bar and enjoyed a couple of Jamaica's finest.  I made it an early night and went to my hotel which was this great and affordable place on the ocean.  LTU is very Peace Corps friendly offering a discount and a great staff.  Their eatery offers an ocean view and GREAT food.  The room was great and the hot water and A/C a treat!  

The next day we went over to the couple hosting the Thanksgiving dinner who by the way are probably everybody's favorite people on the island.  B&E are really some of the finest people I have ever met, and made this volunteer feel welcome and with family.  The day was spent preparing for the dinner, purchasing, chopping, BBQing and baking, and the group of us then settled in for a classic turkey day experience with all the trimmings.  Everyone gave their thanks in a circle for a toast and I really felt that I was so lucky and thankful to have this Peace Corps family.  With my fellow volunteer's support (plus support from back home!) I feel I'm going to make it these two years and make some difference.

That night we went to Rick's Cafe' and some people did the Cliff diving, "at your own risk" should have been bigger because I think a couple people came out of it with some bruises...  The next day was a lazy day and I was able to explore a really beautiful beach called Half Moon Bay which reminded me of home.   Overall this was the best time I have had here in Jamaica and solidified many friendships here.

Christmas Festivities.........

The town's "Christmas Treat" is a yearly event sponsored by the Business Association that I have become involved with.  300 or so children under the age of 7 gathered at one of the town's churches for food, music, small gifts and Santa!

I live in a city where many major agriculture industries have left within the last 10 years or so and it has decimated the place.  Ramshackle houses line the side streets and desperately poor people fight to make a living.  The Christmas Treat for many of these kids was their ownly chance for a little holiday cheer.  I was so glad that I could be apart of the organization and implementation.  My co-volunteer Jessica and I recruited some additional man/woman-power so thanks again to Amy, Bill & Gail!  The Jamaican corporations Grace Kennedy and National both provided free food and costumed characters for our event.  There was a paraide down the main road with these folks, a bunch of balloon carying kids and Santa out the sun-roof of a SUV.  This led into a really nice party, where after Santa left the kids kept asking me if I was Santa.  I would reply "Ho Ho Ho" and their faces would light up!  Being mobed by 50 or so little kids was quite the experience and at one point I felt like the Beatles, running away with them chasing me!  The party was a complete success and the president of the Association should be proud.  Pam looks out for us and always hooks us up with treats at her shop along with a word of encouragement.

The Tree Lighting.......

A couple weeks later the first annual town Christmas Tree lighting occurred in our fair city.  Sorry about not having any pictures, but it happened at night and nothing came out.  This event was far less planned but I think even more successful.  After worries that the tree's ornaments and lights would be stolen by the town folk, the project pressed on and we were donated a 15' tree by the member of Parliament.  All of the area churches were invited to participate lending their congregations for entertainment.  So the day of the event, we decorated the tree, backed up a flatbed truck for a stage, and prepared the town square for an evening of carols, and distinguished guests including the member of Parliament, the parish Mayor and the Custos. (The representative of the Governor General of Jamaica)  Around 250 community members came to sing and see the show, and I'm happy to report that almost two weeks later, all the decorations are still on the tree!

Christmas Eve....

Today is Christmas Eve and I will be heading off to spend time with some of my fellow PCVs and then tomorrow go to a church service (first time in how many years??????) and spend Christmas Day with a Jamaican family.  I'm thankful for my friends here and at back home and especially my family who I will miss dearly.  It's weird that and old man like me is having his first Christmas away from home and it certainly feels strange, but you will be in my heart.

So working in a high school has been hard, even though my job is to not work with the students I have interactions every day. Some of those interactions are nice, most are challenging. Challenging to understand the language, I practice as much as I can, but when somebodies talking fast forget about it! Challenging to interact with high school kids, kids are kids all over the world and teenagers......oh boy..... Challenging um yeah nuff' said.

I have implemented a new web content filtering program at the school which I think will help things. I reviewed the log of those blocked sites today and was amazed on how many porn sites got blocked. The majority of the sites were gay sites. I'm in the middle of showing the Principle and Guidance counselors this information to encourage some support for the hidden gay community at the school. If looking (or attempting to look) at pornography at the school is their only outlet to express their identity, there needs to be a change. As homophobia is king in Jamaica I'm assuming it will have to be a very slow process.

Turkey Day for me will be spent in Negril with some fellow volunteers. I'm going to have a solo dinner tomorrow but will be thinking of my family and missing one of my favorite holidays. Hope you all had a great dinner and always welcome your e-mails and wishes.

So people who have lived with me and some others know of my issues with spiders. They have mellowed over the years as when I was a kid I was terrified, but grew with just a severe dislike. I'm able to kill them or sweep them out the door. I have to say tonight was my worst experience ever! I got home after spending the day in "Town" (Kingston) and turned on my bedroom light to find a HUGE spider crawling on the ceiling. I was talking on the phone at the time to Summer and was like "Oh my god there's a huge spider on my wall" But I don't think I was in freak mode or anything. So thinking a sweep or even a squish would deal with it as I didn't want the spider falling on my bed, I got out my trusty bug spray and started at the MAMMOTH spider. It took a lot of spray as the spider was so GIGANTIC it could take a hit, but I could tell he was slowing down. So then the COLOSSAL spider got his final revenge. The bastard hovered on the ceiling right over my bed and dropped around 100 baby spiders EVERYWHERE! Then it dropped this weird white sac where I guess the babies were living. I screamed like a 6 year old girl!!!!!!!!!!!!! Baby spiders where everywhere, I sprayed everywhere, I cursed and screamed while Summer had me on speaker phone with her kids listening, chaos and pandemonium reined. With what I hope was the last baby spider killed, I went up stairs to tell the story to my host family and their friends that were visiting. To add to my defeat the entire group raged with laughter! "They can't hurt you Jason! They aren't the kind that bite!" I laughed as well as it was pretty funny, and to the families credit they offered me some clean sheets to use for the night.

Now I'm trying to come down from my horror movie experience by drinking a good ol' Red Stripe and sharing the experience with you.

I survived

Phew!

I Shaved my head!

I have always secretly wanted to do this so two weekends ago I went for it. Thanks to Shanna for the clippers. I have to say it may not look the best, but with the wind blowing in the taxi ride jacking up my hair, it is a Jamaica smart "do"

As a Peace Corps Volunteer you are supposed to stay out of politics, period. I have found that to be next to impossible this week with all of my Jamaican friends and strangers wanting to know if I voted and who I voted for. Surprisingly to me, everyone thinks I voted the opposite of who I actually voted for. They seem to be surprised when I just say "I can't talk about politics" with a HUGE grin on my face. Sorry Peace Corps but I guess I'm not that good an actor as whoever I'm talking to gets the picture. All I can say on this blog is that I had a REALLY good week. Why? Oh for no reason.......... Normally the policy makes perfect sense as conversations about politics here can get heated. Boy what a great week this was......

Halloween was last weekend and I went to a super fun gathering mixed with PCVs and Jamaicans alike. With my new hair cut I went as Joe the Plumber of course, sporting a plunger and as close to plumber gear as I could find. The house was right on the beach and a great time was had by all.

Other than that, life is settling down here a bit. A week from Monday we are meeting up with our group of volunteers for a few days to go over our experiences so far and to talk about what happens next. I'm looking forward to it.

So this last weekend a large number of Peace Corps Volunteers gathered at the home office in Kingston to meet for committees. I went to the computer group and our project will be to bring around 100 computers into the country to distribute to different communities. A fine project. The next day we met to elect the Peace Corps "student council" like group. I have to say that the best part of the weekend was getting to stay with some of the US Embassy employees! Up at Powell Plaza, named after the general, it was simply beautiful. The apartments were very nice and our host family there treated us to a great dinner with hot showers and A/C. Quite a treat. Thanks again to my host family!!

Back at the high school, I think I'm ready to further my aspirations for starting a digital photography club at the school. For those of you who have old digital cameras, or can spend a couple bucks to purchase a really cheap digital camera to send to me, it would be greatly appreciated. I want to teach the kids the basics of photography and display some of their creations on the walls as well as in a web site. The address you can send the cameras is on this blog.

Not much else is going on. I've been having a hard time with some of the students who are using the computer labs. All of a sudden (or was I just not catching them before???) the kids are looking at pornography. They aren't even trying to hide it! I'm sitting right there and I kick one out of the lab and make a big deal about it, and then I turn around and somebody else is looking at it! I'm trying to come up with some strategies but for now I'm just not letting anyone use the labs outside their class time.

Over all things are settling in here and I've been enjoying the experience. I miss you all and thank you for your continued support.

I have found the term "Take it iizy" (some spell it different in Patwa we of course spell it "easy") to mean something quite different that it first appears. To most it means relax and enjoy life. To me, it has meant different things.

First and foremost, it has meant for me to slow the heck down. In Jamaica if I'm rushing around like I do in America, it means that I might step in a puddle, mud, poo, gross bug or any number of things. It means to look for people around you to greet in the morning as to not look like a stuck up American. It means to keep an eye on my personal safety for some of the less savory characters I might pass in my travels. Maybe more importantly it means to slow down and think before I speak. The sense of humor here is different here than in the good ol' USA. Sarcasm doesn't fly much as well as some of the antiquated pop culture references that I find myself making (the younger volunteers here don't get them either!). In this way, Jamaica has been teaching me many lessons that I have been wanting to learn. My brain often works faster than my mouth and I tend to get ahead of myself. "Taken it izzy" has been a great mantra.

Consumption. This is something that we all need to "take it izzy" on. I find that living on a very small living allowance has "encouraged" my cutting back on consumption. I thing it's appropriate that I'm learning these lessons while there is a world economic crisis going on. I bought a whole chicken the other day and am using every part! OK, well maybe with the exception of the guts that I donated to my host family who could use them better, I'm not that brave yet..... but I've made four meals out of that sucker. The first meal was a treat. I had the other PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer) in my town over and we made a feast of the chicken breasts pan cooked with a little oil, garlic salt and pepper, then some pasta with pesto sauce. YUM! Simple dish back home but was flavors I haven't had since I was back home. Left over pasta and the legs and thighs are covering two more dinners, and the chicken "back" as it's called here will make me some soup. I made an investment of buying some pots and pans here out of personal funds and am very happy with my purchases. Nothing sucks more than wanting to cook something, having the food stocks but not being able to cook it properly. Another point on less consumption is paper products. Good toilet paper and paper towels here are REALLY expensive. More than it costs in America. For instance a four pack of the quality kind of toilet paper cost me $10 US. I have been conserving more than ever and it works. If you put your mind to something, you can really do it. I'm afraid my good friend Andrea would have major money issues here... You know what I mean Ann! (and Joe!)

I had a great weekend this last week, where I traveled to the southern island. After a LONG journey squished up ("Smalled Up" as they say here) in a bus, I arrived in a nice town with many amenities. My friend there was a wonderful host and though it was raining we just "Took it izzy" Laughing a lot and sharing our peace corps experience. No beach, no sun, no major excitement = just right. Don't get me wrong, I like a beach day (shocking for my friends who know that I usually don't like the beach) but I also enjoy just chillin (not shocking for my friends who know I LOVE a lazy day). The weekend was great because for the two previous ones, I found myself holed up in my room doing the traditional lazy day of bed, computer and TV. Luxuries I never thought I would have here in Jamaica, but have found to keep me sane for the meantime. One of my goals of coming here was to ween myself off these things a bit, so that is going to be more challenging than I first imagined.

For those new volunteers coming to the island. Feel free to send me a note with any questions you may have. I also hope to put together a short packing list of the things I have found useful.

I finally got my computer cord back!!

It arrived at the PC office Thursday evening so Friday morning I took off for the long bus ride to Kingston, met up with some other PCVs there and had the best Pizza I've had in a while (Goat Cheese and Jerk Chicken toppings!!) and a green leaf salad!! (Salads are a rarity here in Jamaica)

So anyway, here are some pics from my last couple months here

So this is my back yard. Can't show you the front... still have to worry about security and all.

A neighbor! Every once in a while, the entire back area will be filled with cows mooing their rump roasts off.

A little cutie who is staying with my host family for a bit.

Who doesn't love puppies! Wow babies and puppies, this really is a poof blog.... One of the family dogs had puppies right before I arrived at my host family.

Me at some really nice gardens some of us went to.

More garden...

The guide showing us a cannonball tree. The tree has a bunch of pods and a very small amount of them bloom every morning. They live the day and fall off the tree at sunset.

This is the hotel we stayed at during our final days as trainees. Was nice!

A view from the place we did our final testing (I was a bit nervous...)

Hooray! Finally a full fledged volunteer! We went to the U.S. Embassy and were sworn in by the ambassador.

So I had a really interesting thing happen to me today. I was attempting to fix some of the broken computers in the lab, and a group of young high school girls walked in. They wanted to look up some of the testing criteria for the CXC exam (SAT Equivalent for Jamaica) but they decided that they REALLY wanted to touch my hair instead. I flashed back to growing up in a very white suburb of Northern California where there was one of the few African-American families living next door. Their grand daughter would come by occasionally and I would always want to touch her hair! It was just so different!

So the girls kept pestering me and pestering and I finally let them tug a lock. "Not to hard!" I yelled, "There's not much left!" They giggled and were satisfied and went back to work.

I'm still getting the "White Man" comments most place I go, but now I take it as an opportunity to go and say hello and introduce myself. This works especially well at school because I pretend that I'm all pissed off being called white man, then walk up to the guy who said it, ask him/her their name and then smile and introduce myself. I then make the entire class repeat my name. They all laugh and then comply.

The housing issue is now settled. I will staying at my initial house (for a hefty increase of rent) but will be able to create my own kitchen giving myself pretty much my own place. This will be nice for both me and my family as we will be out of each others hair (I wonder if THEY want to touch my hair too.....?)

This morning I was pouring my coffee into my favorite thermos (Balan & Terry you know the one!) and my host father was watching TV. He asked, "Hey do you know these guys??" and as I looked I found my fellow volunteers being interviewed on the TV! One of them was my roommate from the trainings. They were really impressive I thought. It reminded me how unique the press is here. It seems even more free than in the US. They will take the smallest topic and make and stretch it out into a whole hour. Almost PBS/NPR style. They also are not afraid to say or ask ANYTHING. After the Olympics they were asking the Jamaican women's team what happened during the 400m relay race, basically asking them how could they f*ck up so bad. I really liked the style and think that the US press is just too polite and politically correct.

Anyhoo thats it for now. Please cross your fingers for me that my computer power cable will arrive tomorrow!

Hooray!

I am now a full fledged Peace Corps Volunteer with all the rights and privileges. So that means I get to travel a bit around the island. I'm thinking my first sleep over party will be in Negril. It's supposed to be very beautiful with a fun nightlife. We'll see!

The kids came to school for the first time yesterday, the 7th, 8th and 9th graders. They seemed ok and were checking out the school. Today the 10th and 11th graders (that's where they stop and can go on the an extra year (12th?) not sure how that really works yet) came and they were a little more frisky. Humor seems to work so far...

The home front is a little sketchy and I may be moving in the sometime near future. Hopefully I can find something closer to school so I don't have to take a taxi. The taxi's become packed with kids going to this school and that and much more uncomfortable if that's possible...

It's interesting how the school system works. In the 6th grade you take this test to see you skill level, based on that skill level you can go to different High Schools. The better high school can be far away though (as well as the worse high school...) so usually the kids have to travel a good distance even if there is a high school next door to their house. Somebody forgot to tell the Jamaicans that you can have different skill levels housed in the same school... Oh well. Maybe something for the Peace Corps to Suggest! It might be to the limited space within the schools to house all of those different classrooms that would be needed.

I'm enjoying a bit of internet time right now, with the son back at my home, my availability has diminished, and the school's internet was down all week. I'm still waiting for my cable to reach the Peace Corps Office, missed this week so I'll be checking next Thursday (only comes once a week)

Tomorrow is the first day of classes, so I'll be seeing how that affects my life here.

Will keep you updated as much as possible!

So tomorrow I'm leaving for the final testing in Kingston. Trying to study as much as possible to pass the last part of my training. Hopefully my computer power cable will be waiting for me so I'll be able to share some of the pictures I've been taking. We went to Castleton Gardens for a PC project and it's a really nice place.

Wish me luck!

So my job here has been pretty great. I start out walking about a mile down the road to the main highway here (two lane road) and take a $50 Jamaican taxi ride to my school. The road is great with a beautiful view of the ocean. My school has a great view of the ocean as well and is well built. Inside are some great teachers that I have met and started friendships with. Some of the computers need a lot of work but that's what I'm here for. I've fixed up 4 already and didn't even have to call Jeff or Joe! They must be so proud!

I haven't thought about being a tech since I was on the help desk and I have to say it's been fun so far. Lots of small challenges that you get to fix immediately, and larger challenges that take a while to figure out. So far very satisfying. The long fixes will be to develop the community center technology and programs. I guess I have it all covered.

Of course I have to say that the students aren't there yet, and I have never really worked with students before. I have the feeling that's going to bring a whole new dimension to it...

I have one more week at my site until I go back to Kingston for final testing and graduation. My language skills have really been poor so far, so this week I've really stepped it up. Thanks to my new friends at the school I hope to be prepared for that final testing. I'll be really embarrassed if I come back to the states for not passing!

So if you see me around back in the states don't ask why!

Coke or Juice?

My cousin pointed out one time in the early 90's that in Northern California everyone calls every kind of soft drink a "Coke". "Do you want a Coke?" somebody would ask holding out a 7-Up. Not sure if its as true today as it was then, but Jamaicans have a similar drink structure.

"Juice" seems to be most sorts of cold liquid, though sometimes not including soda (though I've heard it)

"Tea" is any sort of hot liquid with the exception of soup.

"Biscuit" is any sort of cracker, cookie or biscuit. Though that's an British thing.

I'll let you know if I hear of more.

Oh on the soda string, Jamaica's LOVE sugar. I think I have a way for Coca-Cola to make a ton of money here. Market "New Coke S4 - All the Caffeine of regular coke with 4X the amount of sugar!" it would kill!

I have to say that as time passes I have been able to relax more and enjoy the beauty of Jamaica. We went to a small beach yesterday in the incredible warm clear water and thought to myself what a treat after a hard weeks work. I have never been a beach person, but Jamaica may change me yet.

We have three more weeks until graduation. It will be nice to be an official volunteer. I hope I can make it! The language class has been very challenging to me. My brain just doesn't take to new languages very well. I've stepped up the studying, with all the stresses here, I've probably haven't paid as much attention to it as I should have. Wish me luck!

I hope all of my friends at home are doing well, shoot me an e-mail to let me know how you are doing. Would love to catch up on whats going on with you.

I wanted to share some of the night time adventures in my community and probably others across Jamaica.

1) Car Alarm Insect

As those of you who have called me in the evening, you may have noticed the loud beeping in the background. This is what I have deemed the car alarm insect. It is VERY loud and sounds like a car alarm going off.... maybe a microwave completion beep is more accurate, but it has the volume of a car alarm. It goes allllllllllll night. The good thing is that I got used to it the first night and I don't hear it anymore.2) MosquitoesApparently I am delicious because I have more bites than I have ever had in my lifetime. The mosquitoes like to party! I think I have it figured out now though. This is my nightly routine. 1) Spray my room with bug spray leave to 10 min. 2) Get a new VEPE cartridge and plug in the warmer. It's like a plug in air freshener but for mosquitoes. 3) Apply liberal dosage of spray. With these three steps, I have cut down the bites to 1 or two a night. I'm thinking of putting up my net, but there's nothing to hang it on. Something to do in the next couple nights.3) Other bugsUm yeah, the bugs here are big, bold and beautiful? Um maybe the first two. I'll get used to them eventually.4) CRAB WARS!!!My host family has three dogs, and the 2nd night here it started raining heavily. This apparently flooded out the underground living quarters of crabs. Yes, underground crabs. They are the size of dungenous if not a little smaller, and for a good 6 days after the rain, they came up from underground and started harassing the dogs. The dogs FLIPPED out and barked and barked fighting the crabs. This happened 3-4 times a night for usually around 30 min a shot. The fight always ended with a "Crunch" indicating that the dogs won and got a tasty meal. Apparently you can eat the underground crabs, but I have not been offered any.So these have been my nights. I'll be able to get used to it, but it makes a fun story. The days have been spent at my site, working with my counterparts and principal. The principal has aggressive timelines for new equipment setup and older equipment re-imaging and repair, so these first few weeks are going to be busy! I got to take a couple side trips to some nice places so that was pretty nice. Sorry for no pics but I really don't want to look like a tourist. I tried to get pics of the crab wars, but the crabs always seemed to be out of frame. Sorry!

I am now staying at my site for two weeks of on the job training!

I drove to my site with my supervisor somewhere north of Kingston. It's a nice town with an interesting cast of characters whom I hope to meet soon! Sorry for being vague but the whole security thing you know....

The host family is great so far and have welcomed me into their home. I'm trying to be as open with them as possible asking many questions like "Is this OK with you?", "Am I dressed appropriately?", "Sure I'd love to come to church with you on Sunday to meet some of the community" or "Do you mind if I hold a kegger in your house?"............ JK on the last one. I'm SURE they would not appreciate that......

I really like my supervisor, he's a principle and obviously really cares about his school. The work they are doing at the school that I'll be involved with is very exciting and forward thinking. He's looking at me to do a lot of technical tasks that I am only moderately familiar with so I may be calling some of my tech friends.... (Yes you Jeff and Joe!!)

The real work has begun and the quick paced, hard training with the beer filled evenings with my fellow trainees are put on hold for a couple weeks. I'm getting a real taste of Jamaican life right now and so far so good.

So I've been having a good time here, training is interesting and useful. We went to a school yesterday and had a really nice time. I got to meet some kids and exchange interests and dances!

So this is what I've been eating for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. Lunch is pretty much the same as dinner.

Can you guess what is what??

The people here are really nice. The staff at the place where I'm staying (Still a mystery I know!) help me anytime I ask. I've needed a lot of language assistance so this has been huge! Eh mon! Waagwon!

So I'm here now in Jamaica since the 3rd.

The first day was pretty intense, with leaving the hotel by 5:30am (1:30 still to me with pacific time..), getting to the airport to wait five hours for our flight (Peace Corps policy to ensure timely arrival) then flying to Jamaica (only an hour and 1/2) and then a REALLY long customs line, getting the luggage and out the doors. The Peace Corps staff and some current volunteers met us at the entrance with big smiles and needed water bottles. So I knew it would be hot, but ooooooh boy, it's HOT here!

We take a quick group photo and then jump on the buses. It was a really interesting ride to the place where we are staying (exact locations will be left out of this blog for security reasons) Jamaica is truly a mixed land of poverty and beauty. When we arrived we were immediately hit with tons of paperwork. We then got to purchase a cell phone and given a few minutes to take a shower. After the shower we headed for dinner. To my nice surprise we were joined by the US Ambassador and the Jamaican Foreign Minister. They gave lovely speeches and the dinner came. It was really good. I can tell I'm going to love the food here. Fish and Chicken and "Rice and Peas" with some cabbage. Then some excellent sweet potato pudding dessert. More speeches by the Country Director and then some Entertainers singing and dancing Jamaican cultural songs. The night, while fun, couldn't end too soon because I was EXHAUSTED. After talking to the folks and Summer via internet I crashed out and sweatily slept until morning.

The first full day of training was very informative going over beginning language skills, security, health, program (mine is Youth) and some other useful stuff. Today we got to go into Kingston with a staff guide. WOW. Yup pretty much WOW. The bus system is pretty complex and the people speak Patois really quickly. This is going to take a bit to get efficient at, but my staff person was informative, patient and helpful so it turned out to be really enjoyable. After giving in to the chaos it was really great. We went to several spots, which I am supposed to remember the names of but cant right now..... Except for downtown. That was where the mass market was and I picked up a couple items. We went for lunch and had more great food, this time I got my first bite of authentic Jerk Chicken (Yum! Yup back to poultry) We made it back to where we are staying and have the rest of the afternoon along with tomorrow off. Phew! I need it, this is really tiring.

More later!

(Some of you have been asking for the address for packages here, e-mail me and I will send it to you)

I arrived at the airport plenty early to find that my flight was delayed 45 min. A little scary since my connecting flight was leaving in Dallas to Mimi 45 min after I landed. Waiting around in the airport they announced that the flight was delayed an additional 30 min. I checked with the gate agent and the next flight was at 6am and that I would have to pay for the hotel myself... Humph! "I think your connecting flight is delayed though so you will probably be fine...." We pushed back and additional 15 late and I didn't have much confidence. We landed at 7:45pm just as my Miami flight took off........... The gate agent said I would have to leave the security area to re-ticket. I thought to myself (With some previous info given by my good friend the Jet Blue Captain) I wonder if I can get on a Ft. Lauderdale flight.... Sure enough there was a 8:15 flight to Lauderdale that was delayed 30 min. I went and chatted with the gate agent giving my Peace Corps credentials and he offered me a seat as well as a free shuttle ride to the Miami airport. Sweet! So he printed my new ticket and then said because I was doing such a nice thing he was bumping me to first class! Extra extra bonus! So American Airlines went up a notch in my book and I flew in luxury to Ft. Lauderdale. I arrived and went down to collect my luggage and my shuttle pass to find something missing....... Luggage! Not there! So flash backs of the last time American lost my luggage (3 months gone!) and crossed my fingers that the lost luggage lady believed my stuff would be sent to the hotel tomorrow. So I jumped in the shuttle (A town car none the less!) solo and paid the driver an extra $20 to take me right to the hotel. Went to bed and had a great first day of training. The luggage actually arrived at 6pm, so I was a little smelly during the training but I got my stuff back and I am ready to go!

So it's the day before I leave. I'm sitting at my parents house without a home, a paying job or much left to do before I leave. I think I'm finally starting to feel the true impact of the change in front of me. I'm feeling pretty exhilarated (except for the part of needing a nap!)

It's been a great last week here, I had three really nice parties, one from work, one going away camping trip and a really nice family party. Thanks so much for all of you that attended and for those that sent their best wishes. Thanks Mont for making the surprise journey up to the Bay, and to Summer for making my last week extra special.

I hope I can make everyone proud and do my part at making the world a slightly better place. Next blog should be from Jamaica!

This is going to be such a huge change in my life. There are so many emotions that are running around my head I thought I would make a short list.

Sadness: Moving far away from everyone I know and love

Excitement: Looking forward to new experiences, meeting new people, exploring new places, facing new challenges

Anxiety: Have I packed everything I need???

Shock: I can't believe I've left the job I love after 12 years!

Happiness: Feeling good about making a positive decision for myself that may benefit others

Thoughtfulness: Been thinking about and researching ways teachers in the US are instructing youth on technology, and its been pretty interesting. Hopefully there will be enough infrastructure to implement these ideas in Jamaica

There are many more but maybe too personal for a blog like this.

Anyway the first two are the strongest, and quite conflicting. The date is coming quick!

So with the assistance of a fellow volunteer already in service, I have identified that I am in Group 79. If anybody is out there reading this blog who is also in this group please contact me! Would love to get to know the folks I will be sharing this experience with. My program is Information and Communication Technology (ICT Advisor) for the Youth as Promise program.

Still deciding if this is the Blog to use so I'll keep it short and sweet. I'll be reporting in Miami on July 1st. I guess we stay there a couple days to get some shots and orientate on basics. This means my last day at work will be June 20th. I'm organizing a camping trip for the 21st, and we'll have a family party on the 28th.

Thats the news for now.