The Holidays and Welcome 2012!

School was out on December 16, and second term would begin January 9th, 2012 so those of us PCVs who work in schools had a nice long break! Did you know poinsettias just grow here- in bushes even! So beautiful.

Fellow PCV Juanita made the difficult decision to go home early (called ET in Peace Corps lingo meaning Early Termination). She was needed at home. She is missed. We are in touch and already have plans to meet up when I return.

For Christmas, Diann came for the weekend- we did not go to Grand Market (once was enough for me!) but enjoyed wine with fellow yardies. Christmas dinner was chicken (what a surprise!) but baked not fried and Diann and I were joined by Laura, a Response PCV who had spent 2 years in the Dominican Republic. It has been so interesting to hear her compare the islands, the people and her experiences.

On December 29th Jamaica had a national election. The two parties- PNP and JLP had lots of gatherings, a few debates and lots of wearing of orange or green. There has been a history of violence during elections in Jamaica so we were warned to stay home and be careful. The election was won by the PNP and Jamaica’s new Prime Minister is now Ms Portia Simpson-Miller. Fortunately and proudly, this year there was very little election violence. Congratulations Jamaica!She has already taken office and formed her cabinet. The Jamaicans I know are hopeful that she can make things better in Jamaica.

For New Year’s weekend Carole and Ron came down from the Blue Mountains – they enjoyed all sorts of luxuries not available at their site- running water, wine, an oven, pizza, and the beach. We had a fun beach gathering on Jan. 2 with some other volunteers.

January 9th School began. I was ready to see my kids again! My routine is the same. I see 8 pullout groups twice a week, plus I do library time for all 9 classes. The main focus though was to get some things ready for me to take to the World Wide School in Chicago, USA. This is a program linking schools in the US with a PCV. My school is the Bradwell School of Excellence in Chicago. The grade 6 students are penpals with some grade 5 students there. I will visit the school on January 19th for the morning. The grade 6 students coloured some beautiful pictures of Caribbean plants and flowers. We made a movie using Windows Movie maker. I was learning as we went along but it turned out great. Mr Abraham, the grade 6 teacher was able to solve the adding music problem. I will also be taking gizzadas- a special Jamaican dessert- sort of a coconut tart. I am really looking forward to meeting these students and their teacher and sharing a little of Jamaica with them! Of course the students here can’t wait for me to come back and tell them about my visit!

Welcome 2012!

November/ December 2011

On the day before Thanksgiving, I had visitors from way back! John and Anita Zavacky from Hope College days stopped in Ocho Rios for an afternoon while on a cruise. We had such fun eating jerk chicken and pork and reminiscing. They also came bearing Christmas gifts for me and my students. How neat is that!

Thanksgiving this year included a real turkey! I had truly missed that last year. Quite an expensive treat, but thoroughly enjoyed, and I have turkey soup in my freezer still! Diann, Juanita, Patrice and Laura, all PCVs, came to celebrate on Saturday. And we had a wonderful time together. A time to reflect and appreciate our blessings and eat down home food!

My next adventure was to travel to Negril to volunteer at the Reggae Marathon. This is an internationally sanctioned marathon (and half marathon and 10k). At least a dozen Peace Corps volunteers and staff participated. Ann and I were lucky enough to be assigned to the finish line to help put medals around every finisher. We managed to get photos of most everyone as well. We had to report to our spot at 4AM- its pretty dark out then! We got done around 11AM and went straight for a swim in the sea! We were impressed with how efficiently the meet was run; runners from 28 countries were there! The rest of the weekend we enjoyed the 7 mile beach at Negril (really only 4 miles, but beautiful all the same!). Sunday noon we left for the 4 hour bus/taxi trip home. It’s funny how accepting we have become about the travelling here.

At school the 4th grade literacy exam re-sit was held Dec. 6. This was the last chance for some grade 6 students to pass this exam. School had been running special sessions for these students and having practice tests for them.

There are 3 components to the exam- vocabulary, comprehension and writing. Students must pass all three sections. There is a lot of pressure- on the school to show that they have a high % passing this exam on the first or second try, and on the students because not passing means they cannot go on to high school in grade 7. Students are only allowed to take the exam 3 times. If a child does not pass, they will be moved on to a special remedial program; sort of a junior high school. At the end of grade 8 they may take another exam and if they do well enough they can move to a high school. Here high school begins at grade 7 and goes until 5th or 6th form (grade 11 or 12)

The Ocho Rios East Rotary Club was officially chartered on November 16. The big topic is our charter ceremony- to be held Jan. 20th 2012. This will be a formal affair with dinner and dancing after. I am grateful for the financial support I have received from the Wallingford CT Rotary Club as well as friends and family. Otherwise I could not have afforded to become a charter member. We already have adopted the Ocho Rios High School Track and Field team as one of our projects. Some kids on the team are running barefoot- and there is need for nutritional food for them as well. We are collecting used running shoes- if you’re coming to Jamaica, bring a pair with you and I’ll see they get to the right place! Thank you!

Schools here run on 3 terms per school year, so term one ends just before Christmas holiday. The last 2 weeks at Breadnut Hill were full of activities- first came exams- for all grades even grade 1. Then we had a fair and a crowning of Miss Breadnut Hill that evening. The Miss Breadnut Hill was just like on TV- the 6 finalist had to model, give a talent (most of them sang, one said a poem), then they were each asked a question. There were 3 judges and then the crowning by the former Miss Breadnut Hill from 2009. Quite a production. This didn’t happen last year. Then on Tuesday, we had a school Christmas Carol sing. The school choir sang a few songs including my favourite- Go Tell it on the Mountain. Their version is one I had never heard before- I hope I can download it for you to hear! Each class did some song and the grade 6 students did the Christmas story. I really enjoyed this; very Jamaican. But I was frustrated and sort of disappointed about how noisy the students were. Only 1 teacher was even sitting with her class. It didn’t seem as if that is a teacher’s responsibility here. The principal would occasionally yell at the students but that only lasted a few minutes and then it was noisy again. School does not have a sound system- that had been stolen with the office computer last year. Wed. Dec 14 was a very rainy day and only 50 students (out of 240) even came to school. I had invited my 8 library helpers to an end of term thank you Christmas party on that day. Only 5 of them came to school, but we had a fun time. My daughter Carrie had sent, on my pleading, How the Grinch Stole Christmas DVD. We showed that to most everyone that day. Only 1 or 2 kids had ever seen it. It has such a wonderful message I just love it. There is no Santa Claus here, and Christmas trees are only in the big stores or around tourist areas. Then our principal announced to the teachers that school would resume on Jan. 9th not Jan. 3rd as scheduled. Seems so amazing that the date can be changed so informally and at such a late day! I also observed how there really was no instruction going on at school for any of the last 4 days. Seems like not the best use of student time.

I’m getting ready for Christmas now, and enjoying the down time!

Merry Christmas to you all!

HALLOWEEN IN JAMAICA + GREAT SHAPE INC.

October 21 & 22 was the Peace Corps All Volunteer Conference in Kingston put on by VAC. VAC stands for Volunteer Advisory Council. I was nominated and elected as one of 2 PCVs from my Group 81. Group 82, the newest group on island, also elected 2 volunteers. The 4 of us are like the board of directors for VAC, and are responsible to be the voice of the volunteers to the PC Jamaica staff. This conference was a step towards promoting better rapport between the 2 Peace Corps groups and with the PCJ staff. Various volunteers led small focus groups on a variety of topics such as organic farming, understanding the Jamaica school system, health and nutrition promotion and one titled “ What to do when you are bored in Jamaica”. I got a great recommended book list and recipes from some other volunteers. The conference went very well, and now the 4 of us are compiling the survey results and writing a report and recommendations for next year’s conference.

I had the chance to visit Ann and PCV G82 who lives in St. Mary parish- more rural than my site. We enjoyed the local beaches and I saw her school garden and the baby goats. I love visiting other PCVs and seeing their communities!

Halloween is not celebrated here in Jamaica but most of the students knew about it a little from cable TV and books. I made 2 Jack o’ Lanterns- one from a green pumpkin (that’s the normal colour of pumpkins here), and one from a calabash gourd. I brought them to the school library, and even lit a candle after closing the windows for Grade 2! The students loved seeing, touching and smelling them. I did not hand out treats to all 240 students at school! It was fun!

November 7-18 Breadnut Hill Primary was fortunate to have volunteers from Great Shape Inc, a NGO out of Oregon which is dedicated to assisting Jamaica in three areas. It runs free dental clinics, eye clinics, literacy programs and supplies computers all around Jamaica. The Sandals Foundation and Resorts host the volunteers. I was invited (Peace Corps approved) and was allowed to stay at the Beaches Boscobal Resort for the first week. Quite a luxury to stay at an all inclusive resort- with elaborate buffet meals, drinks of all varieties at no charge, two pools, a beach and a fitness centre. I’m sure I gained some weight!

The literacy volunteers went to 4 area primary schools near Ocho Rios. They had met with the Ministry of Education and were asked to concentrate on writing skills. On both the Grade 4 and Grade 6 exams there is a writing section which many students score poorly on. I was so impressed with these teachers and their volunteer assistants. They came prepared with a variety of activities to encourage writing skills. Teachers were asked to stay in the room with their class because helping the teachers learn new methods is an important part of Great Shape’s mission. This was not always successful, but it was encouraging to see some teachers excited about a new method and eager to learn more on how to implement it. Back at the resort I was able to share some Peace Corps stories as well as explaining some Jamaican culture and norms to the volunteers. We talked a lot about how to initiate change, and what Great Shape can do to be more effective and more sustainable. That is very much like Peace Corps discussions and concerns. I was able to arrange 2 groups to go visit Mel and see baby Hawksbill turtles hatch and make their way to the sea. That still awes me every time I see them! I met many good new friends at Great Shape and hope and intend to visit some of them when I return to the states and go on the road with my RV! (next dream to fulfil!)

Thank you Great Shape for your dedication to Jamaica and your kindness to me- I really enjoyed my Sandals vacation and getting to know some of you! Blessings!

BUSY DAYS- SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER 2011

September 17th was the International Coastal Clean-up Day worldwide. I joined about 180 local participants including 2 other PCV’s and 2 of my summer camp boys at the White River. The organizers had buses ready to take volunteers to various beaches that needed cleaning. Our group of 5 ended up at Priory Beach near St. Ann’s Bay. We pulled a lot of black scandal bags out of the beach area along with shoes, clothes, cans and plastic. Everything was tallied up to be submitted for analysis. After we were bussed back, hot and hungry we had lots of donated food for lunch including my first taste of Lionfish soup! Quite tasty. Was so encouraging to see the local support and the number of school students who came out to help.

How appropriate- one Saturday in October a bunch of PC volunteers (16 in all) gathered to go tubing down the White River. We drove up into the bush where the river ran clear, cool and beautiful. No houses no trash. We divided into 2 groups and walked up the river with our tubes and floated down to meet our friends. The tubes were the same type you get at a water park- with the 2 handles. The river had a few ripples, some small rapids and one tricky spot that flipped out about half of the group!

I have been attending weekly formative meetings for the soon to be chartered Rotary Club of Ocho Rios East. In October we were visited by the District Governor Guy from Haiti. He has approved out charter and now we are planning our charter ceremony event! Then we can finally get to do some of the community projects we have discussed! Peace Corps volunteers are encouraged to get involved in community organizations, but they suggest we be just guest members since our monthly allowance is not enough to pay dues. I really want to be a “real” member so I have reached out to the Wallingford CT Rotary Club and past Rotarian Al Reynolds for financial support and they have graciously and generously helped me out! I am excited and proud to be a charter member of the Ocho Rios East Rotary Club! A “big up” to my supporters! (A Jamaican phrase to indicate a big thank you or accomplishment. )

BACK TO SCHOOL IN JAMAICA

SEPT. 2011

The big event after summer camp ended and before I left on vacation was that the barrel of books the ROMEO group had shipped from Boston arrived in Montego Bay. The ROMEOs are a bunch of Retired Old Men Eating Out, including my father, who had set themselves a goal to collect and send books to my school. What dears! I had heard that getting a barrel was quite a process, but I did not expect 8 hours of a process! Fortunately, Ms Gowie came with me, and found someone with a truck to take us and get the barrel back to school. The process was to present papers at one window, and then take them to another window etc. for the whole morning. We skipped lunch because we didn’t dare leave our spot in case they called our name! Then when the barrel got to us, we had to wait for a customs official to open it so we could take everything out and have it inspected. I wanted to take a photo of the large sign in the warehouse which detailed the 8 steps necessary before you could leave with your barrel, but another sign stated NO PHOTOGRAPHS! Eventually around 4PM we did get to leave with our barrel! 3 of “my” summer camp boys came and helped unload the books and stamp the books. It was so cute to see these reluctant readers stop and look at various books! And such a lovely assortment was sent to us. A real blessing.

I spent the last 2 weeks of August back in the US having a wonderful family vacation visiting my daughter’s and meeting my new grandson, then off to my son’s and a family reunion in NH where we enjoyed a rain day courtesy of Hurricane Irene. Still no hurricanes in Jamaica for which I am thankful! I returned with a second suitcase of 49 pounds full of books and school supplies from Hallettsville Elementary School in Texas. One of the teachers had visited our school while she was vacationing in Jamaica and offered to send books. Since shipping is so expensive, I suggested she send them on to my daughter also in Texas and I would get them when I came to visit. Was I ever surprised when instead of 1 box of books there were 5 boxes waiting for me!

School opened on Monday, September 5. We have 3 new teachers and 2 who began in the spring of last year. The staff makeup and atmosphere is quite different and seems of more a positive, energetic nature. I hope so. I was asked to help train the new teachers in how to give the new MOE diagnostic test. That was a nice compliment! Along with the usual first week of school chaos, the MOE (Ministry of Education) was sending an inspection team on Sept. 13th for 2 days. So there was a lot of frantic cleaning, organizing, and meetings about what should be prepared. I helped out where needed. This was very stressful for the staff.

Now, the third week of school I have finally begun my pull out groups of 3 or 4 students from grades 3 and 4. This is my favourite part of my day- I truly love working with these small groups. And I am pleased that this year each class has a scheduled time to come to the library. This will, I hope, begin a regimen that can be continued when I leave Breadnut Hill Primary. The next project is to work out a computer room system that works. It is nice to get back in to the school routine.

Adventures in Learning Summer Camp for Boys

July 11-28, 2011 Breadnut Hill Primary School

The idea of this camp was to broaden the life experiences of a small group of boys who had been identified as being at least 2 grade levels below their grade in reading skills. The 13 boys were from grades 4 and 5. The plan was to create a learning environment that would excite them to learn and then use that to increase their reading and writing skills. Mr. Gooden, my Jamaican co-teacher, has a passion and interest in sports and art so these were included in the weekly schedule as well. There was also a service project component to the camp. This did not work out as planned and hoped for, but I feel still a valid idea. Swim lessons twice a week was also included (my passion!).

As part of the Peace Corps Jamaica grant, an introduction to HIV was included and 5 sessions were planned. HIV is of major concern in the Caribbean. I was fortunate that Tina Quinby, PCV in St. Ann’s Bay, was willing and able to run these sessions- she did a great job! I also had help from 2 other PCV’s for swim lessons, (thank goodness!) Daniel McDonald and Mark Bryson. For two days I had the luxury of having 2 PC trainees stay with me and help out at camp. Ann and Susan were a great help as well.

Trips were arranged to work around the cruise ship schedule and in a logical order. My landlord very generously arranged for the use of his 15 passenger van and a driver for a very small fee. I had planned a lot of site visits because I wanted the boys to be exposed to a large variety of places, people and careers. We went to: Rennie’s Auto Garage, Ocho Rios Library, Wassi Art Pottery Studio, Dr A Giles, optometrist, Jamaica Defence Force Camp, Durgan organic farm, UWI Discovery Bay Marine Lab, Hawksbill turtle hatching in Orcabessa. Plus swim lessons at Ocho Rios Beach and once we used Bucksfield football field for football drills. We had lunch supplied free to us once from Burger King and once from Island Grill for which we were very appreciative. The boys wrote formal thank you letters to some places and more creative thank you notes to others.

At Wassi Art, each boy was allowed to sit at the potter’s wheel and make a small pot to take home. That was a favourite experience for most of the boys. Dr. Giles very generously did a vision screening for each boy- and recommended that 2 boys return for a complete eye exam (free of charge!). I was able to make the arrangements and both boys have now had their eye exam and have their prescription for glasses. I am in touch with the Kingston Lion’s Club Sight Foundation to see if they can assist with the purchase of glasses. Just this made all the work worthwhile- no wonder these 2 boys have not been successful at school- they can’t read the blackboard!

We were really treated well on our visit to the JDF soldier camp. We toured the assault course, the regiment band played for us and we had lunch there as well. At the auto garage the boys had lots of questions of course and Rennie showed them his tools and equipment. The Marine Lab was neat- they had a touch tank with sea cucumbers and sea urchins, and they learned about lion fish- this is an intrusive species that is devastating the local fish population- it is edible if the poisonous spins are removed correctly. The hope is to develop a market for the fish so that their numbers will go down. A highlight for many was to see and hold the baby hawksbill turtles. Watching the boys watching them crawl to the sea was so special. At swim lessons the boys learned the buddy system and to “Reach, throw, but don’t go” in regards to water rescues. They had a blast at the beach, and we were still able to cover a few basic water skills!

Our last day was an American hot dog cook out- each boy had to find a stick to roast their hotdog (well everyone had at least 2). Mr Gooden made the fire after the boys rounded up some wood for fuel. After hotdogs and baked beans plus carrot and celery sticks (not big hit- celery was a total unknown) we made s’mores. I had drawn a diagram of how to make a s’more, and the boys roasted their marshmallows. They were a great hit. It was such fun to share a bit of American culture with them! At the end of the day parents were invited to come for an Open House, and we had certificates to hand out. Sadly only 4 parents showed up, but Miss Gowie, the principal, and another teacher came and cheered for the boys. I was happy to hear Miss Gowie say she wants to continue a boys’ summer program next year- and I will leave her a jump drive with all my letters, schedules and contacts.

This camp turned out really well- and involved a lot of community members. I hope the boys learned a lot about themselves and their community. I am grateful for all the people who helped make it a reality!

June- July 2011 School Summer Holiday began noon, July 1!

Monday, June 27th the Breadnut Hill Primary Grade 6 students had their school leaving exercise at a nearby church. In other words; graduation. Unfortunately 9 students were asked not to attend due to behaviour issues. It was an elaborate affair, the students were in school uniforms, but the staff and most all the parents were very well dressed- more like wedding attire than church attire! Luckily, I have my one dressy dress (I wore it to the US Embassy for our swearing in ceremony). There were speeches by various persons, a guest speaker, and one by the top student. Trophies were awarded to those who scored the highest on the GSAT exam. A very nice event.

The last week of school was crazy- teachers were busy correcting tests and completing student reports. The students who did come to school pretty much had free time the whole day. Thanks to my daughter, I had brought back some Disney DVDs so the library became a movie house. The teachers loved that there was somewhere for the kids to go. I was busy all week! I was able to complete a report for the principal about the progress the students I had been tutoring made for the year. Out of the 36 students I worked with, 10 showed no improvement, 13 went up 1 grade level, 8 went up 2 grade levels and 3 went up 3 grade levels. The staff was pleased with this progress. I’m not sure that I’m that pleased, although when I look at the 10 who showed no progress, I found that they had the worst school attendance. They came to tutoring barely 50% of the time if that.

4th of July! Wow was I ever fortunate! The US Ambassador invited a few Peace Corps volunteers and staff to the US Embassy for the big American 4th of July Celebration. I was invited but wasn’t notified until that Saturday, and I was in the middle of the island helping at an eco-fest and spending the night at Baboo’s Garden, a fun little eco lodge (no electricity) in Accompong a Maroon village. Maroons are descendents of runaway slaves who hid out in the mountains and harassed the British for years until they finally signed a treaty and were given autonomy and their own land, sort of like a reservation. Very interesting history and they have their own unique culture. I then was heading to Juanita’s place for Sunday night so I had to borrow a skirt from her so I could be at least somewhat appropriately attired! There were all kinds of dignitaries there- from Jamaican business CEO’s, government ministers and directors, representatives from other embassies, etc. The US Marines presented the colors, the ambassador gave a short speech, and then we enjoyed an all American buffet! Hotdogs and hamburgers, ribs and wings, potato salad and baked beans, ice cream and cake... The 6 of us volunteers were in 7th heaven! And trying to fit in a little bit of everything! The Peace Corps put us up for the night at a little hotel near the PC office, and we came in to help out the next morning for a few hours. The office was really busy because the newest group of PC Volunteers had just arrived on island a few days before, and had just started their training. I haven’t met any of them yet, but will be hosting 2 the end of July when they do what is called “shadowing”. They visit a current volunteer to see and hear what life is really like as a PCV in Jamaica. I remember my shadowing experience was really, really helpful.

Monday, July 11 was the start of my 3 week Adventures in Learning Summer Camp for boys! Supply items were purchased- quite a process- first I had to go get an invoice with everything itemized, then go to the principal to have her write out the check, then she had to find a second person to co sign the check, then I could take the check and go get the items. But everything worked out fine. Schedules had been set, then rearranged, and reset. All 12 boys were confirmed and registered; actually 13 boys as 1 boy was going to miss the first week, so we asked another boy to come. I will share all about camp on my next blog, when camp is over. But the first week went GREAT!

May/June 2011. It’s getting hot in Jamaica!

I’ve been busy with a variety of end of school year events at Breadnut Hill Primary. Miss Gowie, my principal, very generously makes sure I am included on all trips. I went along on a school field trip to the Prospect Plantation- only about 60 students went (out of a school population of 250) but it was a good trip, highlighted by camel rides (for an extra fee of course!)! As a chaperone, I got a camel ride as well! The students loved it! I also went along when the school’s 3 dance groups went to the parish of St. Ann dance finals. All the groups looked great to me- and we came back with 2 silver medals and 1 gold. The senior (grades 5 & 6) group won the gold and they qualified to go to Kingston and dance in the National finals on June 17. I went on that all day trip (6am until 10pm) and was proud of how well they did- but no trophy. The dancers were disappointed, as you might expect. The event on that day was just for class 3 dance groups (ages 10-12 year olds) and there were a variety of dance categories; folk, modern, praise, dance skit, and popular. That day there were 71 performances which I thoroughly enjoyed. I was truly impressed with the calibre of the dances and the costumes. Our group danced in the folk category and there were 9 other entries in that category.

At school the main focus has been the nationwide grade 3 and 4 exams held June 14 and 15. Teachers in those grades did a lot of reviews including mock exams. Each student was asked to bring in $200 J to help pay for the paper used for the exams. I’m not sure what happens if a student doesn’t bring in the money. The other students were told to stay home on Wednesday so that the students taking the exam could be spread out and monitored. We also had an unfortunate incident in which 2 Grade 6 boys got into a serious fight. One boy ended up in the hospital with 2 stab wounds, the other boy has been suspended for 2 weeks. The school atmosphere here is rough- lots of aggressive behaviour- such as pushing, shoving, and hitting. The girls are just as likely to be involved as the boys. The students are not fazed by yelling at them. Even though corporal punishment is not allowed per the Ministry of Education, there is a lot of ruler slapping on the desk, and other threats to enforce discipline. Positive reinforcement and clear behaviour guidelines are just beginning to be developed. Students at my school, and I think throughout Jamaica, have a different sense of personal space than I am used to. Most likely due to the smalling up in taxis and buses and in classrooms where 3 students share desks designed for 2. 45 students are in a one classroom with no space between the desks. There is constant pushing in lines, and cutting in front of others. I am having problems with students pushing to get in line for the computers at lunch even though I have explained that I check their names off and they don’t get a second turn until everyone gets a first turn. If they don’t get on a computer that day they just hang around the door watching. I find this very irritating and it disrupts those on the computers, or maybe not them, just me! Ahh, Peace Corps said we should get lots of chance to practice patience!

Besides school, I have been going to introductory meetings for a group trying to form a new Rotary Club in Ocho Rios. I have been impressed with this group and they have great ideas for community projects already. So maybe I will become a Rotarian soon!

I took a weekend trip to visit Juanita, another PCV, who is at a school in the bush- I stayed at her place and got a tour of her landlord’s farm- yams, and ginger mostly. Beautiful country side. We then went to Mandeville for an evening out with Diann and Benita, 2 other PCVs. Last week I journeyed to Lucea, west of Montego Bay to visit another PCV and saw yet another part of Jamaica. I enjoyed snorkelling in “her” bay, within walking distance of her apartment! I was a guest at her Lucea Rotaract social fundraiser event that night and was impressed with these young people and their efforts to raise money to buy a lightning guard for a small basic school located at the top of a hill in her parish. The school, built in 1970’s still does not have electricity! Apparently it has an electrical line but cannot hook up until they have the lightening guard! The group needs to raise about $150,000 J or $1750 US. So far they have raised about $50,000J. If you want to help, let me know! Patrice is working on a PowerPoint to share with Rotary in the US. When it is ready, I’ll pass it along!

After a week of lots of rain, it is now just HOT. And the mosquitoes are out in force! I look forward to weekends and the chance to get to the beach!

APRIL & MAY 2011 EASTER IN JAMAICA

Easter in Jamaica is an important holiday. School was off from Holy (Maundy) Thursday and all of the following week. Most businesses were closed Good Friday and Easter Monday. Church on Easter was at the same/regular time, no sunrise services. Lovely tropical flowers though! No coloured eggs or candy (well, I did buy myself a Cadbury chocolate Easter egg). The big Easter tradition is bun and cheese. The bun is a spice bread loaf and the cheese is a soft sort of processed cheese sort of like Velveeta.

On Easter Monday there were a number of big concerts going on island wide, but in St Ann it was kite flying day. I went to a huge field near St. Ann’s Bay to see the kite flying that afternoon. Lots of homemade kites- made by gluing plastic sheeting and using small sticks and long tails of old materials like sheets. The breezes off the ocean were pretty strong so the long tails were essential. I watched the builders of this huge kite made with bamboo struts and probably 8 feet across and 14 feet long try to launch their kite. They had about 6 men on the heavy nylon line. It went up maybe 6 feet off the ground then crashed. They spent a few hours patching and reinforcing the bamboo, but again it just barely flew. I wandered around watching lots of families, kids, and teens all with kites. For $1000 JA (About $10 US) I could have bought an entrance ticket to the official kite festival- with food vendors, contests, music (of course) and games, but I saw my fill of kites in the free parking lot, so skipped that.

The Tuesday after Easter my son Christopher came for a 1 week visit, he got to visit my school (but no students since it was Easter vacation). It was great to show him around, and he shared his expertise by doing some computer repairs at school and for a friend. We spent 2 nights at a rustic eco lodge in Portland parish called Great Huts, visited the Green Groto caves and Reach Falls. And cooked and ate jerk chicken and pork.

Our PCV group 81 had our mid service conference at the Shaw Park Resort- lovely accommodations and fabulous buffet food! We had 2 days of a behaviour change workshop which hopefully will come in handy for my year 2. Then another 2 days of PC business, reviews and policies. It was really good to spend some down time with our PCV friends in other parishes, and compare stories, frustrations and successes. Sadly 3 more of our group have left Jamaica for different reasons; we miss them and wish them well.

Great news from Texas, James Caden Grace arrived at 8 pounds +; both my daughter and grandson #2 are doing great!

On Saturday, May 21st, I traveled across the island for a funeral. Myrtle Drummond was my Hellshire host mother and she was a pillar of the community and her church. Her funeral was quite elaborate. There was an outside tent for the overflow crowd with a closed circuit TV; many guests shared a song, a greeting, or condolences. There was also scripture, eulogy and sermon. Diane and I had to leave before the end since we had to travel at least 3 hours to get home before dark. Sad, but lots of assurance that Myrtle is in heaven with her Lord.

Monday, May 23 was Jamaica’s Labour Day. A national holiday which emphasizes doing labour for your community. I heard 2 themes: It takes a village to raise a child, and Labour for Literacy. On that theme, the NCB bank chose Breadnut Hill Primary School to share their labour. Over 100 NCB employees descended on the school ready to paint and plant. It was amazing and impressive- paint brushes were in high demand- so many wanted to paint! They painted the inside of the library, computer room, the staff room, and grades 1 and 2. Then they started in on the outside! They also planted hardy plants around the school. Most of the NCB crew left in the early afternoon after lunch (donated by Burger King), but then the Breadnut Hill Police Club showed up and took over the outside painting. Up in the library the NCB had donated the funds to have 2 walls of library shelves constructed, and they were installed and anchored to the wall after the paint dried. The eager NCB volunteers helped put our books on the shelves. It looks fabulous! A real library. This is something Jamaica should be really proud of- this tradition of labour on Labour Day!

Year 2 in Jamaica!

It seems amazing to me that I have been in Jamaica for over a year! I continue to work with my at- risk students at school- and have seen some progress in their decoding and phonics skills. Just as important are positive changes in behaviour. Now that I know the students and the school better, I think I expect better behaviour from my students. I continue to struggle with how to run the library in a better fashion, and so have invited a grade 2 class and the grade 1 class to come up for class library time recently. Some adjustments still need to be made, but I think this format will lead to more opportunities to share some wonderful stories and teach some library skills to all the students not just the ones who come up at lunch time. This will be my new challenge! Another challenge is to work out a better computer room system that gives more children computer time.

Sports Day competitions are held in March and April around Jamaica. We had our school Sports Day at a neighbouring school’s field. The school had been divided into 3 “houses” – and each house had entries into all the races. A variety of race distances were offered- 80 yd for under 9 year olds, 100 yd for under 11, under 13 then 200 yd races for all except the under 9’s, 400 yd and a 800 yd. Then 4 x 100 relays. The only field event was the cricket ball throw. The kids were excitedly cheering on their teams and the winning team (house) only won by 2 points! The winning kids went on to a district competition between 4 schools, and then a few went on to the St. Ann parish finals. Winners there go on to the National Stadium to run. Breadnut Hill won 2 bronze medals at the parish finals; pretty good I think since our school doesn’t have a field to practice on nor any teacher willing to coach the students. Most kids ran their races barefoot. Jamaicans are rightly proud of their international track stars and the students want to emulate them.

May 8 & 9 I travelled into Kingston for two wardens’ meetings. We had an interesting discussion about 2 surveys recently done in regards to Peace Corps Jamaica. We heard about sustainability and the frustrations on some volunteers’ parts about expectations to write and get grant money. I found this curious and sort of naive and idealistic: even in the United States’ YMCA world, grants are useful and necessary sources of money that local communities cannot always generate. More important is the commitment and investment the community makes that goes into the grant request. I just think of the Habitat for Humanity philosophy of sweat equity and “lending a hand up not a hand out.” And I am pleased with the community support for “my” summer camp program. I currently have 7 boys registered for the 12 camp spots. I have been worried about this aspect of the program as signing up in advance is not usual. Jamaica is also suffering from the high gas prices and Ocho Rios is losing cruise ship berthings to the new pier in Falmouth. So Breadnut Hill families are just making ends meet.

Ann, our PC safety and security person, reminded us of personal safety behaviours and about the upcoming hurricane season – June 1- November 30. Be prepared- with food supplies, with radios and batteries and candles etc. We have quite a system in place; from alert stage to evacuation if necessary. Now my job as warden is to hold a St. Ann parish meeting for all the volunteers (12) living here and pass on the information.

I am looking forward to a visit from my son Chris arriving on April 26th for a week! We have a number of fun activities planned as there is no school for the week after Easter. I feel so fortunate that he will be my 3rd family visitor! I am also looking forward to the safe arrival of grandson #2 due around May 4th.

March Anniversaries!

The end of February came quickly and I submitted my SPA grant request for a 3 week Adventures in Learning Summer Camp for Boys. And on March 5th I learned it had been approved! I am really excited about this program and have found a young Jamaican, Mr. Gooden, to assist. He has been student teaching at Breadnut Hill Primary so he even knows some of the boys. The camp will include swim lessons (of course!) field trips, a service project (shelves for the school library) and basic literacy and math skill reviews. You’ll hear more about it as we get into more detailed planning. But I am definitely excited!

Peace Corps encourages us to be connected with a school in the U.S. I have a World-wide School in South Chicago- the Bradwell School of Excellence. We have just had the first set of pen pal letters between the two 5th grades. We hope to come up with some more creative ways to connect the 2 classrooms. This is part of what Peace Corps calls the 3rd goal: To help Americans have a better understanding of other peoples in developing countries. It widens the Jamaican students’ horizons as well.

March 1, 2011 Peace Corps celebrated its 50 year anniversary of being founded. I was one of the lucky ones who attended a Peace Corps Anniversary Celebration at the U.S. Ambassador’s residence in Kingston. There were speeches and dignitaries. Since I remember JFK’s original proposal and question of “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” this really meant a lot to me.

March 8 I flew to Texas to spend time at Carrie and Justin’s helping get ready for baby brother’s arrival around May 4. It was strange having traffic drive on the other side of the road, and to actually drive instead of taking route taxis everywhere. I did come home from a shopping trip to Target early because I told Carrie I was on shopping overload- too many choices and decisions! But it was great to spend time with Jackson (now 6) and his parents. I came back with 48 pounds of books collected and donated by the Romeo group of Exeter, NH. The books will be added to the Breadnut Hill Primary School Library. I feel very fortunate to have such great support from family and friends in the States- these books will really help the students here have a better education. Thanks Dad and friends!

I returned March 17th – exactly 1 year from when I flew to Miami and signed in to Peace Corps Jamaica! Seems amazing how much I’ve learned in one year, and what good PCV friends I have made! So on March 18 (1 year from actually arriving in Jamaica) a bunch of us met in Falmouth to celebrate. We went out in 2 boats that evening to see the Glistening Waters of Falmouth. Due to millions of microscopic organisms called dinoflagellates, the water in this lagoon actually glows! Because of the bright full moon, we didn’t see too much glowing at first. But when I slid in the water and swam around –true enough the water sort of glowed as I stirred it up- how cool! And sort of a fitting way to celebrate our 1 year anniversary of being PCVs in Jamaica: sometimes we feel as if we glow, and other times we don’t feel as if there is any glow at all.

February 2011 in Jamaica

Happy Valentines’ Day- Jamaican style! There were some Valentine commercials on TV, no parties at school though. My sister Connie brought me 2 bags of those ultra traditional Valentine candy- those little conversation hearts. I put them in baggies for each classroom and explained to the students that US kids would have these at Valentine’s Day parties. Kids refer to most all candy as “sweeties” and many have come looking for more of those sweeties.

In February my sister Connie came to Montego Bay to help out with Mission Jamaica – an NGO who sends volunteers to help out at a home for disabled Jamaican children. She and friend Sandy did a lot of wonderful decorative painting. I joined them for a night at their all inclusive hotel- my first experience at one of those. I really felt like I was on vacation! (Which I was!) I loved the on-tap Pina’ Coladas and the 3 pools plus a beach- we did a little snorkeling plus a little kayaking and a lot of eating! Then Connie and I headed to my place. Connie came to school 2 days and helped out in a variety of ways- there is always something that needs doing! She also mastered the route taxi system into Ocho Rios and enjoyed the beach and the sun. We visited Coyaba Gardens and Wassi Art Pottery Studio. The Pottery Studio tour was wonderful- put it on your agenda if you come to Ochi. We saw how they treated the raw river clay from St. Mary parish into workable pottery grade clay, and then watched a potter at work. There are 13 artists employed there, each with his or her own style. We saw the firing kilns and the glazing process. So interesting! We saw wonderful colorful hand painted vases, cups, bowls and other items.

We enjoyed home cooked jerk chicken at a birthday party for everyone living in Steve’s “yard” – Steve is my super landlord who is always making sure I am safe, and taken care of. There are 5 tenants who rent from Steve in our yard. We listened to “vintage” reggae- the Bob Marley era which I really enjoy.

I have become a “regular” guest at the Ocho Rios Rotary Club. I am hoping to become a “real “member at some point. I have met John, a dentist trained in Cuba, and Chris, a structural engineer who studied in Trinidad and is the only one of 6 Jamaicans in his engineering class who returned to Jamaica to work. Brain drain is truly a problem here.

Right now I am busy finishing up writing a grant for a boys summer camp I am hoping to run this summer. (It is due on Feb. 25th.) Peace Corps has some US Aide money for Small Project Assistance grants for amounts up to $3000 US. I am hopeful that I will be approved for some of that money! (Thanks Wallingford YMCA for all that grant writing experience!)

Thinking of you all!

Holidays in Jamaica

There is no Thanksgiving Day in Jamaica but Peace Corps tried its best to help us celebrate. They arranged for some necessary meetings to be held the Friday and Saturday after Thanksgiving . So Friday night we had a pot luck Thanksgiving dinner with about 70 volunteers and PC staff and their families. It took some creative thinking on how to transport your potluck item via public transport to Kingston. We had jerk chicken- turkey is available in the more extensive grocery stores but very expensive. We had all sorts of Jamaican and US dishes and was really very nice for a lot of us to be together. Luckily for me, I had one of the Sat. morning meetings and there were even leftovers!

Christmas- not a lot happened at my school- no Christmas program, just some readings at morning devotions but not the singing of Christmas carols or spirituals that I had expected, and looked forward to. I did attend the Prospect Academy Christmas Carol Service. That was absolutely wonderful. This is a small military academy offering a free education to poor Jamaican males. They have to be tested and interviewed and only 13 are admitted to each class. They live on campus, help with chores, and they were the ones giving the concert. They marched up the drive at dusk with candles in plastic cups along the path. Full military uniforms and even bagpipes! The song selections were wonderful, some traditional, some Jamaican, some fun. It included a saxophone solo, organ solo and a trio of bagpipers!. Was a perfect evening, just what I had been missing.

My students tried to explain Grandmarket to me- this, in their opinion, is the epitome of the Christmas festivities. Jamaican have not been Americanized with a concentration on gift giving and receiving. It was explained that a Jamaican family would splurge on home decorations; new bed spreads, curtains etc. and maybe gifts for the children. No Santa, and no 3 Kings Day like in some other countries. Boxing day is celebrated as a holiday.

December 21-23 I made the trek to the Blue Mountains. After 2 buses, 3 taxis and a pickup truck, a bunch of PCVs and I arrived at Jah-B’s hostel in the Blue Mountains. The plan was to leave at 1:30AM to hike the 4 hours up to be at the peak for sunrise. My goal was just to get to the peak! There was a full moon, hence the date selection, But it was still dark along the trail! It was cool to look down on the lights of little towns and even Kingston. They kept warning us how cold it would be and to dress in layers, but I don’t think they know what Minnesotans think is really cold. I had on too many layers and had one off pretty quickly! Eventually I was at the end of the group ( 2 chose not to continue) but I kept trudging along, just determined to get to the top eventually. And I made it! About 7AM, a 6 mile hike, one way. Up to 7,404 ft. I was exhausted, and most of the group had passed me on their way down! But the views were worth it! I was adopted, thankfully, by 4 Jamaican college students who got to the top the same time ,so we all went down together. At least now you could see the trail and the views and the flora, and stop to take photos. Carol and Ron (Blue Mt PCAs) were waiting at the Rangers Station (halfway mark) for me and we finished the hike and collapsed into a bed! I spent a second night at the Wildflowers Hostel- no electricity but running water- I was given a lantern, and I had a whole bunk room to myself. The next morning at 6AM I headed out for the long trip home, sore calves but no blisters, and a great feeling of accomplishment!

Juanita came down from her “back a bush” site to spend Christmas Eve with me. My landlord Steve and his family took the 2 of us to Grandmarket around 7PM. Ocho Rios was full! A giant street party with vendors of all sorts- food, trinkets for kids, those glow stick necklaces , all sorts of clothing, and shoes galore! Just spread out on a tarp practically anywhere. Juanita and I were fearful of getting separated but young Steven, (11) made sure he was holding my hand or arm and I made sure Juanita was behind me. After walking around for a few hours- looking for some specific shoes for Chantal (age 14) we stopped at the Island Grill around 11PM for something to eat. Then home by around midnight, We understand the street dancing started closer to 1AM and ran till dawn. I had been looking for a Christmas Eve church service but no one seemed to be holding one- Most churches had a Christmas morning service at 6AM or 7AM. I did not make one of them. Juanita, Trish (another PCV) and I had a lovely Christmas Day dinner together.

Next came New Years Eve/Day. Again, I set out to find out what Jamaicans did. I learned it was traditional to go to a Watch Night service at church to pray in the new year. Or some families had parties at home New Years Eve. In Kingston there was a big waterfront concert with fireworks which was on TV, so that is what I did. I missed the New Years Day football games and especially the now traditional outdoor NHL game. I thought about finding a sports bar, but it seemed like not so much fun alone, and too expensive on my PC budget.

So now it is 2011, school has started again, and things are back to a more regular routine. I hope you all a safe and peaceful 2011!

THINGS I’VE LEARNED RECENTLY

1. Jamaicans do not get paid by the hour even in places like Burger King. They are paid by the week.

2. Teachers do have a health insurance plan similar to U.S. Teachers contribute and the Ministry of Ed. contributes, and they pay a portion of dr. visits & prescriptions. The parish Health Clinics are free but statistics say less Jamaicans go there than 2 years ago. (Poorly staffed is one reason I hear)

3. Murder has gone down in 2010 but not that much(10%). We have heard from PC warnings about increased thefts and burglaries during this Christmas season. I have heard this on Jamaican TV as well.

4. Poverty has risen form 9.9% to over 15% in 2010.

5. My Rasta neighbor’s comment to me when discussing the purpose of Peace Corp and will it help Jamaicans, is that “Jamaica is a failed state” How sad that that is his opinion.

6. 3 young teachers at my school are all looking for jobs overseas ( U.S., Canada, UK, Japan) and express frustration with educational system and little hope for its improvement or t5heir career advancement.

7. Students miss a lot of school - one boy was absent 2 weeks and there is no real procedure to address this issue.

8. There is really no teacher substitute system- teachers will just combine classes, or maybe a parent will come in to supervise them. Miss Gowie, our principal, will go in to check on a class without a teacher but she does not stay and teach them. If too many teachers are out, school may be dismissed at noon.

9. Drugs and guns traffic with Haiti continues to be a problem.

10. Peace Corps celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2011 and Peace Corps Jamaica celebrates its 50th year in 2012! I’ll be here for both!

11. I think I have seen maybe one convertible here in Jamaica- personally I think the roads are so bad no one wants to be in one if they go off the road!

12. I went to the St. Ann parish Rotary Club meeting in Ocho Rios this month- it’s been around for 40 years. Kiwanis is here too. I hope to become active and either a guest member or a “real” one.

13. We are on a cholera alert since we are so close to Haiti.

14. I just met some Smithsonian (as in DC) researchers studying the Jamaican crow. They play a tape of their call and sure enough 2 crows flew over to check the “invader” out! Right on Breadnut Hill! They told me the crow population is stable but very susceptible to new pathogens, such as West Nile which has arrived in Jamaica, so they are working on a baseline survey.

15. It was explained that Christmas is a time to fix up your home- new drapes, furniture, bedspreads, not so much a time for present giving like in the US. I see Christmas trees in some stores and hotels (tourist focused obviously) but not in anyone’s home that I know of. I have been looking for a potted Norfolk pine but so far no luck.

16. Due to the severe consequences of the 4th grade literacy exam ( if they fail this they cannot take the GSAT) and the Grade 6 GSAT exam (which determines their high school placement), parents will pay to send their child to Saturday lessons to prepare for the exam. They may only take the GSAT once, so some students even repeat Grade 6 to give themselves a better chance.

THE RAINY SEASON HAS ARRIVED IN JAMAICA!

Since last I wrote there have been a number of different activities at Breadnut Hill Primary School. One Saturday, 4 Peace Corps friends from the Ochi area and about a dozen members of the Breadnut Hill Police Youth Club met to help build a rock/cement wall at school. This wall will help to divide the school yard from a dirt road. This project entailed hauling marl over to mix with cement and gradually pouring it over a collection of rocks dropped into a wooden form. We were able to complete about 3 new sections of 5 feet each. Some of the Police Club members prepared us a lunch of chicken and rice and peas (really kidney beans). This group meets once a week at the school on Monday evenings from about 7-10PM and is geared to what we would term young adults from ages 16-24 or so. They have various activities, community projects and social events. There is more wall to finish but they need to fundraise the money for more cement first.

Mrs. Williams, the school guidance counselor, and I met with Junior Achievement representatives about starting an after school program for our Grade 5 & 6 students. JA has a financial literacy program designed for this age students and the curriculum is all organized and Jamaicanized. This seems like it has great potential and is something that would be very helpful to our students. I will keep you posted on how this works out!

Currently volunteers from a U.S. nonprofit called Great Shape Inc. (they do have a web site) are at my school. This is the group that donated most of the school’s 8 computers. The volunteers come and lead sessions in Music, Art, Sports, Literacy, and Computers. The students love it- Music, Art, and Sports are not in the school curriculum and computer time is very limited, so this is a real treat for them. The volunteers are generally from the Washington and Oregon area, but anyone can sign up, pay a participation fee, and come. Some have teaching experience but it is not required. Sandals Resort puts them up for the week so they are able to enjoy deluxe accommodations and food. The group helps at 4 primary schools in the Ocho Rios area. I felt badly that my fellow PCV’s working at more rural schools don’t have this opportunity, so the group kindly put together a box of school supplies & some books for them. When I go to our PC Thanksgiving dinner and meetings I will pass them along.

The most exciting event of this month was having my 1st visitor! My father, (G’pa) came for a week long visit. He stayed at my apartment for 3 nights and I joined him at the Hibiscus Lodge Hotel in Ocho Rios for 4 nights. He came just before the anticipated arrival of Tropical Storm Tomas. But lucky for Jamaica, and us, Tomas really did not hit Jamaica. We had lots of windy , cloudy weather but not much rain. Dad and I took a number a day trips to places I had read about but had not visited. We visited Sir Noel Coward’s Jamaican home, Rose Hall Great House, and The Enchanted Gardens with multiple water falls, gardens, and a bird aviary. and took a plantation tour It was such fun to show him around “my” Jamaica; he even came to school with me one day- the day before TS Tomas was to arrive- only 40 of the 275 students even came to school that day! I’ve learned that lots of rain, or in this case, anticipated lots of rain is sort of like snow days in the U.S. The Ministry of Education announced that schools were open on that Thursday and Friday in all the parishes except the far eastern ones, but hardly anyone came to school. On Friday only 4 students total came to school- the principal sent them (and us teachers ) home by 10:30AM! Both days there really wasn’t much teaching going on, but I was kept busy supervising students in the computers room, so they lucked out! Dad was even invited to go “clubbing” with 3 of the younger teachers! My landlord Steve was very helpful in arranging transportation for Dad and me. I am lucky to have such a caring landlord!

Dad came with school supplies from the Wallingford Family YMCA, (Thank you everyone!) some clothes and shoes I had ordered, and some Christmas things, including Christmas cookies from Dad’s church! I am so fortunate that at 87 he is interested and able to travel and came to see me! I do have a spare bed, so let me know if you are interested in coming to Jamaica! I’d love to see you!

I feel so very supported by family and friends - I am truly blessed! Thank you- and have a wonderful Thanksgiving wherever you are! I will be in Kingston with most of my fellow PCV’s for a couple of meetings and a Friday night Thanksgiving potluck dinner!

PEACE CORPS ADVICE FROM OUR EARLY SERVICE TRAINING CONFERENCE

September 27 (my birthday) - October 1st our PC Group #81 met for our Program Development and Early Service Training conference. Each volunteer was expected to bring a community co- worker for the 1st three days to work on Program Development methods and skills. Mrs. Williams, our school guidance counselor, came with me. Our training was at the SandCastle Hotel in Ocho Rios. (This was the hotel we had stayed at last month!). Mrs. Williams and I had discovered a Pennsylvanian connection- she and her husband had worked near Chambersburg PA for a residential program for delinquent youth a few years ago! In fact, she met my son Chris in August when she and her son visited friends in Chambersburg! It was great to spend time discussing ideas and possible projects without all the usual school interruptions. We talked about strengthening fathers involvement in school, starting a school newsletter, improving our computer room usage, and starting/restarting possible after school clubs. It was great to see everyone from our group and hear of their projects and activities. The entire week we were together the island was visited by Tropical Storm Nicole. It rained constantly and some areas of the island really suffered with flooding, bridges out, no power. Some people couldn’t get home for a few days! At the hotel we were fine. And when I got home power had just been restored, and no flooding! I was sure lucky!

I visited 2 Police Youth Club meetings; they are primarily for young adults ages 16-24 and offer sports teams, speakers and service projects. The club that meets at my school hopes to rebuild a stone wall for the school and has asked Peace Corps volunteers to come and help. No date has been set yet though. These clubs offer social activities especially for youth not pursuing tertiary education (Jamaican term for any school after high school)

October 10th a bunch of us PCVs went to watch and help out at the Marlin Tournament and Health Fair in Oracabessa. It was a rainy day and no marlin was caught. But I enjoyed seeing the small open boats come in and have their fish weighed. This was a hand-line tournament, so no big rigs with the big fancy seats etc. Most of the fish that came in were small tuna, jackfish and a few Mahi- referred to here as dolphin fish. The Health Fair was giving away t- shirts to fisherman taking a non invasive HIV test. This is a population group not often reached.

October 14th was JAMAICA DAY or Culture Day at my school. Quite a day. It started with a guest speaker for devotions, and a soldier from the Jamaican Defense Force in the morning. There were displays on Jamaican history, fruits and vegetables, baked goods and old time artifacts. $50 JA tickets were sold for merry go round rides, snow cones and popcorn. Jerk chicken and roasted breadfruit were cooked for lunch. After lunch each class had a presentation- a song, dance or poem. I was informed that the teachers had to do a dance as well, and I was needed! Over much protesting and many promises of help, 3 Jamaican teachers and I practiced our traditional dance on Wednesday afternoon for Culture Day on Thursday! I still am a little unclear how some Jamaican teachers didn’t dance but I was needed! ? When the teachers weren’t laughing too hard, they were very encouraging. We were quite a hit and even had to come back for an encore. To me the best part of the day was the arrival of a troupe of JonKunnu dancers. Traditionally these dancers come out at Christmas time, and originated from Africa and the Jamaican slave days. The group was in wonderful, colorful costumes depicting the Devil, a Duppy (ghost), a Donkey, a Bull, Pitchy Patchy, a Belly Women, a young Boy plus their 4 man band. They danced and chased the kids, some of whom were truly afraid of them. Sort of reminded me of Halloween and Mardi Gras! Their dance was as wild and colorful as they were!

I was certainly exhausted by the end of that day! But happily we had no school on Friday, and Monday, Oct 18th is Heroes Day, a National Holiday to commemorate Jamaica’s six National Heroes.

I’m ready to get back to school and my kids- I really love working with them and trying to find ways to to encourage them to try, and to read more!

SIX MONTHS- AND NOT COUNTING!

School started September 6 so my schedule is pretty regular now, but before school started I took a little vacation! Dian, Juanita and I treated ourselves to 2 nights at the SandCastle Hotel in Ocho Rios. Air conditioning, hot water, a pool, walks on the beach, rum punch, free internet access, cable TV, and great company! A real treat! Our reason/excuse was to give us time to work on 2 Peace Corps reports due in September. One was our Community and Sector Inventory and the other was our trimester report. These are to enable our PC supervisors to read what we have learned and what we need help on, and to report to the US government statistics about how many lives we have touched etc. I found both to be helpful.

I also took Diann on a turtle hatching- this one was unique in the Mel had 3 nests to open so we had 3 buckets of hatchlings and we got to count and release them. Mel had been keeping an eye on some local fishermen who had a huge net out in the bay. So after we released the turtles we all went with Mel to visit the fishermen. They had caught 2 juvenile green turtles in the net, so Mel untangled them and we got to see them before he released them back to the sea. Even though catching turtles is illegal in Jamaica, most likely they would have been eaten if we hadn’t been there. This coming October the whole bay where the turtles are nesting will be a designated fish sanctuary. Mel has been warning the fishermen about this deadline, and some effort has been made to offer the fisherman some training in landscaping with the opportunity of jobs with the nearby hotels.

School starts at 8:30 am with devotions, usually outside with students lined up by grade with the boys on one side, the girls on the other. There are grade 6 monitors to keep kids in line. They sing a few hymns, have a prayer and usually end with the Lord’s Prayer or sometimes Psalm 23. Classes begin at 9AM. I am pulling out small groups of 4-6 kids from grades 3, 4 or 5 and bring them to the library for about 45 min twice a week. I work on sight words, decoding skills and reading stories ending with comprehension questions. This year I plan to use the computer room as a reward for good behavior and progress in their skills. I also hope to have a “Treasure Chest” with special prizes for when the kids have read 20 books or other noteworthy accomplishment. Donations would be lovely! Items such as fancy pencils and erasers, matchbox cars, or fun little games would be so nice. These low readers have been passed from grade to grade and they don’t have much self esteem. And when I say “low” I mean grade 5 students reading at primer level or maybe grade 1!

Besides my pullout groups (currently 36 kids, school has about 270 kids) I plan to open the school library 3 days a week at lunch and after school. I have asked the grade 6 students who would like to be library helpers to submit a letter to me by this coming Monday. I like working with the grade 6 students and this gives them a chance to help out their school and gives me help! School is out at 3PM except Thursdays when school is out at 2PM to give teachers an hour for lesson planning and staff meetings. I also am in the process of developing a computer lab course on word processing for the grade 5 & 6 students. I hope to find a college student or parent to take over this Friday program.

At the moment, I am not needed at Swim Jamaica for fall; I ended the summer teaching 3 days a week when one of the instructors left for work in Canada. I miss the water! I am still hopeful that we can get lessons started in Ochi this year.

Success! I made 2 screens for my 2 windows- I bought screening= referred to as mosquito mesh, made a frame of cardboard and stapled and tacked Velcro to the frames. Velcro makes it possible for me to undo a section to lock my windows when I am going away or for hurricanes. It’s wonderful to be able to leave my windows open and not have a herd of little tiny and quiet mosquitoes munching on me!

I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S BEEN 5 MONTHS SINCE I CAME TO JAMAICA!

This has been kind of a quiet month- mid July to mid August. I led a round table discussion on stress at the little church on my road- met both the Basic School teachers ( Basic School is ages 3-6 including Kindergarten) which is moving into their new building across from the little church right where I catch my taxis.

The end of summer school ended with a “field trip” into Ochi- not at all like one in the states! Was decided the day before and students were just told to tell their parents- no letters home or permission slips, or much in the way of planning. Crazy! I just kept telling myself “I’m not in charge, go with the flow….”

Ron and Carol Sands, a retiree couple from our group #81 came for a respite visit- they are up in the Blue Mts.- coffee country, with no paved roads, an hour hike to Carol’s school. They really have challenges! But they can get coffee right from the farmers- so let me know if you want some! We all went to turtle hatching- and it is just as awe inspiring the second time!

Jamaica celebrates Emancipation Day on August 1st, and Independence Day on August 6th. No fireworks, there was a parade in Kingston but that was the only one I heard of. Celebration in Ochi was kind of an all night block party- lots of people in the streets, lots of vendors selling jerk pork or chicken etc.

Carol and Ron inspired me so I have been doing more walking; I have walked into Ocho Rios – downhill about an hour. I have also been walking uphill to my school (45 min.). I usually go up twice a week to use the internet and walk back home. I am in training to hike the Blue Mt. in December!

I finally got a library card for the Ocho Rios library- they wouldn’t give me one until I brought in my electric bill to prove I lived here. I am now reading James Michener’s Caribbean. It’s been a great read since everything is right here! Did you know Columbus was stranded on Jamaica for 9 months?

Peace Corps invited me into Kingston to talk about the Swim Jamaica program with 14 new Peace Corps Response Volunteers. These are returned PCV’s who have accepted a 6 month assignment for a specific project. These 14 are here to help with HIV projects and sports programs.

Courtesy of my landlord, I got to join a working plantation tour-mostly bananas, and then Dunn’s River Falls. This is a prime tourist site with the usual vendors and hype, but it was fun to go up the falls- the water was nice and refreshing!

This past weekend I journeyed to the parish of Portland and the town of Port Antonio and visited with Jerry, Group #81, and his wife Kathy. Jerry will be turning 70 this month and is starting a training program in fiber glassing. Since Port Antonio, Errol Flynn’s old haunt, has a wonderful marina and obviously boats, this could lead to some skilled jobs for his students. We had fun finding Long Bay, eating curry shrimp, swimming in Fisherman’s Cove and visiting Great Hut- an ecologically friendly native West African resort. A very fun weekend. And Jerry showed me how he made screens for his windows so I am inspired to make some for mine! So there, you ol' mosquitoes!

Sadly we have had 3 of our group #81 go home early - we had high hopes tthat our group would be able to stay the whole 2 years together. But each person had their own particular situation to deal with, and we wish them well.

Jamaica is really struggling- with not enough employment, a too crowded and often ineffective educational system, violence, and poor infrastructure plus a few more issues I haven’t really identified yet. But the people, when you take the time to get to know them, are very nice.

July started out with a bang- but no fireworks! About 35 of us PCV s gathered at Cocono House in Treasure Beach (south coast) for our own 4th of July. It was fun to be together and hear about everyone’s sites and experiences. Lots of cooking (we had a potluck buffet on the 4th), playing, talking, drinking, beach walking- the surf was up so just a little swimming, and a general good time had by all. I had borrowed a nice blow up air mattress- heavy to haul around in my roll bag, but I slept well- with a wonderful ocean breeze! Then summer school started (no break at all - the last day of school was Friday, July 2, and summer school began July 5th) I had volunteered to assist Mrs Minnott, my counterpart person and an excellent 1st grade teacher. Our focus was to be on basic phonics and word decoding skills. Class was to be M- TH 9am to 12pm through July 29th. The first week we had an average of 6 kids, and I was thinking how many kids needed to be there but weren’t. No letter went home and no announcements at school, only an announcement at the PTA meeting. The parents need to pay $500 JA per week, that‘s expensive for some families. Beginning the 2nd week we have averaged 15 kids, and most of them really need this focus. Students range from entering 2nd to entering 5th grade. I have learned that classes don’t usually start at 9 and don’t end at 12- definitely island time for the summer! I also started helping Swim Jamaica lessons on Wednesdays. I assist a very capable young man, Dave, with his level 1 class of 15 students. Then I walk them to the showers across a field so that Dave can start his second class, a level 4 class. I have sat in on 2 staff meetings and hopefully made some usable suggestions. I still love teaching kids to swim! We are discussing restarting adult lessons in August. I am still hopeful that we will be able to have lessons in Ocho Rios this fall. I went to a Wardens training meeting in Mandeville- another traveling experience involving 4 route taxis and 1 bus but a quick 2 ½ hours! Was interesting- I am now the Assistant (ie Ass) Warden for St. Ann parish- we currently have 20 volunteers in our parish. The warden is responsible for contacting all volunteers about any emergencies- both weather related - hurricane season is June - Oct., and civil unrest as we experienced in Kingston, and other Peace Corps info. Any volunteer spending the night away from his home needs to let his warden know where he will be as well. We reviewed hurricane procedures and that we should expect a consolidation drill soon. St. Ann parish would go to Montego Bay to consolidate- that way we are close to an airport if we need to be evacuated- not likely but possible. While in Mandeville one of our volunteers I was with was almost pick pocketed- it reminded all of us to stay alert and follow our safety training! The very best thing this month was Friday night July 23rd my landlord Steve, his 2 children and I went out to a private beach in Oracabessa (20 min away) to help baby sea turtles to the sea! This is something I have always wanted to do- and it truly is a bunch of little miracles! This English retiree has become a turtle expert and after 7 years he has learned how to assist the babies without harming them. He keeps elaborate logs on how many nests , data on the mother turtles and on the nest, its location and depth, and is able to predict when the hatchlings will be ready to come out. Very impressive! When we arrived, we helped stamp down the crab holes along the path to the sea. Then Mel started lifting the babies out of the nest ( he said they would work their way out eventually but this way he can count them ) There were 196 baby Hawksbill turtles in “our” nest! And about 25 unfertilized eggs. We each got to hold one turtle in our hand- such an awesome sensation to see them “wake up” and begin to wiggle and look around. Then we had to put them back in the pack and watch them all scurry to the sea. They crawled over rocks, sticks and shells but all went right to the water. Mel says if the night is dark and the nest is near to one of the two street lights, they will make a half turn away from the sea towards the light- and they won’t make it to the sea at all. We could see little heads bobbing up for air in the water. The first 2-3 years they eat plants then they move on to other marine life. They won’t be ready to lay eggs for about 17 years or so. Hawksbill turtles are one of 3 critically endangered species of sea turtles, the others are “just” endangered. Mel says he gets a few Green turtles and Loggerhead turtles laying eggs on this beach but 80%+ are Hawksbill. This was such an amazing evening, and I was so glad my Jamaican landlord & family could be there- to learn about “their “ turtles. Young Steven took videos (me too) and he really was excited! I hope to go out again in the next few weeks. I am on Mel’s list to call if he needs help- if we expect a hurricane hit he has to pack up the unhatched eggs and move them to safety. It was also such a delight to share this with grandson Jackson- he is an animal lover and he was so excited! And he already knew about Hawksbill turtles!

3 months in Jamaica!

On May 21st, 37 of the original 38 of us trainees were sworn in at the US Embassy. A very meaningful ceremony and especially our 3 group #81 representatives did a fabulous job summarizing our hopes and experiences. We were out of Kingston before the real violence began there. The situation has not really been resolved yet as the man the US wants extradited has not been found, there is now a reward posted for him. We (Peace Corps volunteers) are not allowed to travel in the Kingston area without special permission and may not use public transportation (route taxis and buses)

My apartment in Breadnut Hill is beginning to feel like home (Carrie sent a housewarming box- it took a while to get to me but so nice to receive!) I am very fortunate in having a wonderful landlord and nice neighbor tenants.

I have settled into a school routine for the rest of this year (the last day of school is June 29th. ) I pull kids out for special tutoring M-TH 5 groups of 4 or 5 come M & W and 4 groups come T & TH. On Friday I have been bringing small groups of 6th graders up to our computer lab.

The library is up and running but I am still trying to figure out a system for usage as I get big groups of kids wanting to turn in a book and lots of pushing and shoving. It is great to have this short end of school time to see how things work so that come Sept. I will be better able to design my schedule. I have really enjoyed the 6th graders- they are so eager for more responsibility. I’ll have to find new helpers next fall! The library is in need for more books- especially Level 1 and 2 beginner readers and books boys might want to read - I have lots of Hannah Montana books! Today the Grade 6 students learned their GSAT test results and what high school they will be going on (all based on test scores not location) there were some very upset kids, and a few happy ones.

The highlight for me has been a trip to see Swim Jamaica lessons in action at the James Bond Beach in Orcabessa - a $140 JA taxi trip east of Ocho Rios. I observed their end of session lesson assessment day and then this week I took the Assistant Instructor course. It was fun to get back into teaching kids swimming! I knew I had missed it but hadn’t realized how much. I need to take the Royal Canadian Lifesaving course in order to be a “regular” instructor - they don’t accept Am. Red Cross here. One step at a time! The group is working on securing a site for lessons in Ocho Rios and that would work out perfectly! A few of the teachers at my school want to learn to swim- so maybe we can work that in this summer too.

Group #81 continues to be a great support system, and since I am near the beach and have a spare bed, I have invited friends over for an R & R weekend! I hope to go see other parts of the island as well.

I am feeling much more at home on Breadnut Hill- most of the taxi drivers know me and when I walk home I visit with the people at the small stands along the road. I learned what a nutmeg looks like before it is out of its shell (?) and not dried yet. They also grow allspice and chocolate up here! Plus lots of mangoes and sour sop and June plums- I’m learning what they all look like and taste like!

The Jamaicans are a welcoming people who are always asking how I like their island! I love the jerk chicken and pork! Come and try it yourself!

BREADNUT HILL PRIMARY SCHOOL

I have been at my school for about a week now. It is exciting to finally be here. I have now sat in on each of the classrooms, talked with all the teachers, and explored the library and computer room. All the teachers are looking forward to help for their low students and utilizing the computer room On Thursday I was one of 3 judges for a Reading contest- grades 1-3 finalists (5 each grade) had to answer questions about the book they had read= written answers, then read aloud a passage. The grades 4-6 each put on a readers theater production complete with costumes. The Ministry of Education sent 2 literacy consultants to observe. The one consultant is eager for me to open the computer room and use some phonics software for the kids needing help. So obviously that is a priority I will be working on - school runs to the end of June, so I have a month as a trial run for next school year.

I also have gotten to know some of the 6th grade girls and they are helping put the library in some kind of order, stamping books and arranging them. The school has been given multiple copies of the same book (and I mean 50-60 copies) which isn’t that helpful as libraries go- I hope to see if other school have this problem, maybe we can create a book swap! I should know next week what types of books we are lacking- right now I would say level 1 and 2 beginning reader books and books for boys. Here too, just like the US there is concern for boys not being interested in reading. We have lots of Hannah Montana!

The school doesn’t have any after school programs although some kids seem to stay later just hanging out. I have been watching some of the boys play cricket- using a tennis ball or an inflated juice box. Oh, they sell bag juice which most of the kids drink - cheaper that bottles or cans. Most don’t put a straw in, just bite a hole and drink. I get school lunch free- so far it has been chicken and rice and peas, curry chicken and rice, and mac and cheese and mac and veggie mite ( vegetarian meat substitute very common here cheaper than beef).

I am mastering taking the taxi every where- grocery shopping is a challenge since you can only buy what you can carry to the taxi stand (3 blocks away) and then up the hill and down 36 steps to my place!

Because of the violence in Kingston, all of the Peace Corps Volunteers are on Alert status and we have a procedure in place to communicate anything to us and what steps we should take. I feel very safe in this neighborhood.

SWEARING IN DAY IS TOMORROW!

After 9 weeks of training and orientation the Peace Corps Jamaica #81 group is finally ready to swear in. Tomorrow at the US Embassy we will take our oath, 4 of our group will give a short speech, a guest speaker and the charge d’ affairs will preside. Our site supervisors will be there and after a short reception we will head to our new homes across the island. This week we enjoyed hotel living with hot water, usually, and a pool and a bar, next week we begin life on a Peace Corps volunteer budget. But this week was busy with last minute trainings on budgeting and final documents. It has been great to hear about everyone’s sites and housing, and plans on how to visit each other.

Another especially nice event was that Wes, our acting PC director, invited all 11 of us over 50(years that is) volunteers to his house for dinner. He said his mother was a PC volunteer at 62 to Romania and she told him to look out for us older, vintage volunteers and treat us right. It was a lovely dinner at his VERY nice apartment with a wonderful view of Kingston.

Jamaica has some nice amenities that many PC sites don’t have, such as pretty universal cell phone coverage and running cold water (with some lock outs due to the drought). Our housing has been selected for safety as crime- theft and robberies- are pretty common. Unemployment is high- bauxite mining is about done here, and of course the state of the world economy.

I am excited to begin what I came here to do- contribute to improving life here in Jamaica. I thank you all for your offers of help and will keep you posted on my needs and ways you can help!

A DAY AT THE BEACH

May 1 4 PCV’s joined a pensioners bus trip to discovery bay, Puerto Seco beach. Amazingly the bus trip took 2 ½ hours to go across the island- the good news was that the bus was a government bus - big, huge windows and nice seats with no smalling up! We stoped at faith’s Pen- an Jamaican landmark with a row of Red Stripe wooden booths selling jerk chicken, pork, festival etc. then we drove through Fern Gully- truly a deep gully with wonderful ferns growing along the sides. A very narrow road so sometimes the bus had to stop to let another big bus pass us. Was interesting to talk with some of the retirees and hear about where they grew up along the way.

The beach was one that charged (JA $350 for adults) and was fabulous! Very clean, nice little cement picnic tables all around, the water was fabulous- so blue and clear- you could swim along and see to the bottom. Lunch was included in our feed- the usual beach fair of chicken, rice and peas and a coleslaw. I actually had a chance to swim along the buoy line, and then had fun teaching a Jamaican senior how to float- she was so thrilled! Just being at the beach felt so relaxing!

Today May 5, was Teacher's Day in Jamaica. The children in the 4th grade classroom where I have been doing my practicum decorated the blackboard, and picked flowers from the school yard and arranged them in a basket for Mrs. Channer. they also decorated here chair with flowers and had a tiara for her. A few children brought gifts. It was so cute to see them work so hard on this. Mrs Channer accepted everything so graciously!.

Then I taught a lesson on rocks- igneous, sedimentarty & metamorphic. Was a struggle at times to keep everyone on the same page- litterally and figurateively. lots of out of the seat to find someone who had a pencil sharpener to borrow, or a pencil. exhausting! but they really got into making a metamorphic rock sandwich ( 3 slices of bread with pressure applied by walking on the baggie) Quite a lesson for me as well!. The students were excused after lunch so that the principal could host a lunceon for the teachers. All of us Trainees were thrilled to have a few hours off! We have to submit a teaching portfolio this Friday, so this worked well!

The link will help you learn about the SOS Village that this school is attached to

I am trying this blogging thing on the recommendations of 2 of my fellow trainees who have found this an easy way to keep everyone back home up to date on what life in Jamaica as a Peace Corps trainee is like. I hope you will find this interesting too.

JAMAICA #1

Wha Gwan or What’s happening?

I have been a Peace Corps Trainee in Jamaica for a month now. And have a month to go until the official swearing in to become a PC Volunteer. If I have the schedule correct, I will visit my selected work site the last week before swearing in. I am eager to know which part of the island I will be living in!

So… there are 38 in group #81 and many friendships have developed already, PC has even developed a peer support network for all the volunteers here in Jamaica (group #79 and #80 plus #81). That’s nice to know.

Training has been intense at times, hot often, and too many hours sitting, but we have now moved on to more practical training. The first 2 weeks we were with host families in Hellshire and were initiated into Jamaican culture and foods. Now I am staying with a different host family in Stony Hill, north of Kingston about 30 min. Everyone is very helpful and eager to show us off and teach us. Since Jamaica as a whole is in a drought quite often we only have cold water bucket showers. But that feels pretty good when you are really hot! No one has AC, including the schools and most offices.

I have been surprised how hot it is here- and we hear August is the hottest- I thought I would adapt quicker after living in Guam, but it is coming along slowly.

The island has lots of vegetation and many many fruit trees- mangos- 5 different kinds, coconuts, pineapple, star fruit, papayas, ackee, limes, watermelon, sugar cane is sold to munch on, lots of yams, sweet potatoes, pumpkins. Carrots

The food has surprised me- I thought it would be spicier - jerk chicken and pork is great, then the national dish- ackee and salt fish- ( the salt fish was way to salty for me) the ackee is nice- a fruit that somehow boils up like a pasta. Lots of boiled yams, pumpkin, green bananas ( a bit too bland and very starchy). Stewed fish- with head ( I ignore it) Fried sliced plantains, curry chicken and curry goat over white rice. There are goats everywhere, eating the grass along the roadsides- and they seem to know how to cross the street without getting run over! Rice and peas are kind of a staple- the peas are really red kidney beans. It will be nice when I have my own place and can plan my own meals!

Church- plays an extremely important part of Jamaican life. They brag that they have the most churches per population in the world! I visited a tabernacle church- 3 hour service with lots of praise and alleluias and laying of hands in a little zinc roof church with no fans but they had a drummer and elec. Guitar. Then last Sunday I went with my second host family to a United church of Christ- very mainline Protestant with many hymns I knew, and less than 2 hours long. They too had a drummer, and a trumpeter. The public schools- often founded as church schools originally, start the day with school devotions, they pray in class before lunch and at the end of the day. Most meetings start with a prayer as well.

Public transportation- since many families do not have a car, and Peace Corps will not allow us to drive here anyways, learning the system is very important. I just had my first long distance trip on my own from Stony Hill to Little London, close to Negril at the far western end of the island. That 210 km trip took 6 hours going and 4 hours returning! After a taxi to the country bus depot, Brad and I boarded a mini van- what we would class as a 15 passenger van with 4 rows of seats. Then you wait until the van is full before it heads out to its destination. So on the trip out we waited 2 hours for the driver to round up 18 adults (everyone “smalls up” ) then we took off- since time is money, speed limits have very little importance! I was sure he was going 80 but glad I could not see the speedometer (if it worked!) The coming back was even more crowded- I was in the way back seat with 2 other adults and 3 kids, maybe ages 10, 10 and 7- one on the women’s lap and that wasn’t even her child. I think the bus held 22 when it left!, this driver was a bit more careful thank goodness!

Crime is here in Jamaica, so we have had trainings to thwart pickpockets and to keep bus money in separate pockets so you don’t open your billfold in public. Most of the more lethal crimes are gang related mostly in Kingston (where we can only go with prior permission). Most everyone has bars on their windows and front gates they lock at night. Peace Corps encourages us to become integrated into our communities as the best deterrent- the neighborhood will keep an eye out for you once they know you are helping at the school or wherever.

Schools- are based on the British system and have a very important placement exam in 6th grade to determine which kind of high school you can go to. Students list school preferences, they are not limited by where they live, but the parents have to pay for the taxi/bus for them. All students are in uniform preschool thru h.s. Kids can drop out after 9th grade. This past TH & Fr. I visited Deb and Kirk- PC “vintage volunteers “ ( the over 55 group) who have been here 1 year as literacy aides. Their school has over 900 students grades 1-6, each grade has 4 classes which are “streamed” so that the Blue class has the brightest and the Orange has the slowest with red and yellow in the middle. Most classes have 40+ kids per teacher, and hardly any supplies. Kirk was given a white board and 1 white board marker for the year. Needless to say the library has only a few books but at least they are able to keep it open 2 days after school plus lunch times. The library is in a donated converted shipping container. Lunch recess is completely unsupervised- the teachers must be exhausted and need their break! Deb and Kirk pull out kids that have potential to pass the 4th grade literacy exam and or the 6th grade exam and work with them in small groups of 3 or 4. Since there is no special ed, they have to be selective on how many kids they can take on effectively. I am expecting that the school I am assigned to will be pretty similar. Once I know more I am sure I will be requesting help with supplies from all of you. Maybe some of you can find out how much it will cost to send 10 pounds of books construction paper etc. check on the media rate / the slow boat rate. THANKS! I understand it can be pretty expensive. So if you are coming to Jamaica, leave room to bring things! There are some sources for free books from various organizations- I can work on that once I’m placed, then may just need shipping $. Will keep you all posted.

FUN- after visiting with Deb and Kirk they took me to Negril- on the far western end of the island only a 20 min. taxi ride from their place. Finally I saw the Jamaica the travel brochures show you! The 7 mile beach was gorgeous, the water warm beautiful and the sand clean, we spent a few hours enjoying it. That was a wonderful refresher! There are “regular” resorts, high end ones and the all inclusive ones in this area. They have found it is important for them to take time to refresh themselves and come often on the weekends. Tourist season is Nov.- April with the 2 end months being not too busy and often good rates can be had. (remember that!). I have not been to any of the other north shore resort areas yet.

Here are 2 Peace Corps principles I want to share-

“If you want to reach fast, go alone,

If you want to reach far, work together.”

And ACT LOCAL, THINK GLOBAL

The goal is to build on Jamaica’s strength and try to develop projects that can be sustained when the volunteer leaves.

I hope you enjoy this update, maybe I’ll put together another one next month once I become official! Thanks and love to all of you for your encouragement and support!

Pam