Monday May 25, 2009.
Today is a big day – SCUBA DIVING--- we were picked up at 9:30 and taken down to the scuba shop to complete paperwork, watch a video and then get in the pool there. We learned three of the basic techniques removing the regulator from the mouth blowing out a little and then replacing it, simulate running out of air and using the instructors secondary regulator and clearing water from our mask. We did this in groups of three as the pool is fairly small and with three we were still running into each other as we were under water. Once we all completed the task to the instructors’ satisfaction the scuba equipment was loaded up in the vehicles and we were drove back past Summerset to a resort called Seascape where we did our diving. The resort was beautiful - so colorful as everything her is. The bar is called Ivans because it was completely destroyed by hurricane Ivan. Pictures were hanging up all around to show the damage before they rebuilt. We went down to a one of the lowest spots on the cliffs where we are at. The first group got ready and in the water they went. We stayed along the side and watched as one by one the first three disappeared into the ocean. We followed their bubbles for a little bit because we stay in the cove area for a little bit before venturing out further into the ocean. Simon one of the instructors started getting the tanks ready he seen the bubbles coming back, so I was our turn to get ready. Flippers on, tanks strapped to us while we sat on the ledge. Weight belts around our waist and in the jackets to help us sink. We spit in our mask and wiped it all around once in the water we rinse them out. This keeps the mask from fogging up. The first three Mona, Rebekah and Cody are out and we line up for our jump into the water. Chelsea goes first then I follow. We watch the instructor because he is watching the waves coming in and tells us when to jump. He gives me the nod and in I go I push on the red button that fills the vest with air and I come back to the top of the water. Jennifer is the last to jump in and once we are all in we are ready to descend into the depths of the ocean. There is a buoy with a rope that we follow down, the anxiety was a little overwhelming and as I started the descent I was wondering if I could make it. After relaxing a little bit it was a piece of cake. We got down to the bottom and swam around the cove for a little bit and then it was time to follow the instructor. We gave the signal that we were OK and off we went. I had give the underwater camera to the instructor when we first went down so he got pictures of us in the cove he then passed the camera back to me and I was just in aw at everything that I was seeing for the first time. The fish right there with you the large shell that he picked up with the creature going back in. Although the reef that we were swimming around was not very colorful the experience was amazing. We went about 150 yards out from shore and were about 40 feet down and now I can truly say I swam the ocean floor. We were out for about a half hour and before I knew it we were back at the cove. What and experience. The only problem I am have from it is my right ear I have been having problems getting the water out and have an echo when I talk – but I picked up some swimmers ear and hopefully that will help. We walked back to summer set and I spent the afternoon by the pool thinking about what I had just done. That evening we had a group meal so we left around 5:00 walked down to Xabia and watched the sun set and talk about how thing are going. My only concern at this point is having everything done by Friday, I explained that on Tuesday we should have Leon story finished and I have Kerean on the computer typing her story out and I am sure that Nikki will be able to complete her story because I think she was going to work on hers over the weekend but I am going to have to rewrite Leon’s story so it is in print for him to read. Some of the other students brought up some other concerns but I think after talking we all feel much better about it. We then headed over to Just Natural where we were having dinner. All of the eating places that we have been to are outside and Just Natural is no different. A beautiful yard with lights and a few tables put together to seat all of us. The food was amazing and we have found another place to go eat at a reasonable price. We are all starting to feel independent and are so much more comfortable getting around and dealing with individuals. Back to Summerset and to bed! School tomorrow morning and a very busy week ahead since it was shortened by the holiday. I miss everyone back home but I am having a wonderful time. I will try to get caught up on the days and get some pics posted but I am usually doing my writting and posting early in the morning so have not had a lot of time to go through the pictures to get posted. One Love
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Family Fun Fest Day
Sunday May 24, 2009
Today we are volunteering at Wavz for the family fun fest. The first group was to leave around 8:15 but it was raining so they just had to wait till the rain stopped. I used this time to get caught up with my journal that we are to write for class. I spent the whole morning after breakfast on the balcony writing and reflecting about my experiences here so far. Most of the locals are getting very familiar with us so it is nice to walk down the street and not be hassled as much. The rain finally stops and the first group leaves. This means that the second group does not need to be there until l:00 which includes me. We get ready to leave all dressed in our volunteer tee shirts that has STAFF on the back. We catch a taxi to take us directly there. We are dropped off at the front gate. After waiting we finally get through. The first thing we saw was the blow up rock climbing wall, beyond that was a small and I do mean small Farris wheel, there are three different bounce-a-bouts and a blow up water slide. The clowns are at a booth as you walk down a little further and they are doing face painting and rub on tattoos. We met up with Lynette who was going to be placing us at our stations. I was first placed in a kitchen and let me tell you it was hot….. I was just wondering if I would be able to make it for the two and a half hours that we were going to volunteer, but Dustin to the rescue. He asked the chef if he could take me because Kendra needed someone to take her place. So we walked down and I ended up at the ticket booth. I thought this would be great until all the kids started coming up yelling miss, miss, miss. I kept saying one at a time. I would here ticket for the water slide or the bounce-a-bout and some would even say for the roller coaster which really threw me because there was no roller coaster. I worked with a very sweet girl who had the patients to deal with all this. The tickets were $50 j’s each and the some of the rides required 2 tickets and some required 1. They could also get tickets for the snow cones and pop corn from us. Now I have been using Jamaican money for now over a week but trying to keep it all straight was just crazy, all the kids leaning on the table say miss, miss and trying to keep straight what they were giving you was just crazy. We would drop the money in a five gallon bucket and when someone gave you $1000 j you had to dig through all the bills trying to find a $500 j in order to make change. Plenty of money coming in for a good cause but I have to say when Libby showed up to see if I was ready it did not take me long to jump to my feet to get ready to go. However the gentlemen who relived the women I was sitting with said I needed to stay until she got back. I don’t think he wanted to deal with the kids. So back in my seat I went and waited while still selling tickets. She finally returns and I let her know that it was really nice working with her and out from the table I went. Rebekah got placed at the water slide and she said after that experience she diffidently does not want to have any kids. Then we went to get Jennifer who got placed serving food so she ended up from where Dustin had pulled me. We were given meal tickets for doing the volunteering and Jennifer said after working there she really did not want to eat anything from there. We had a few good laughs about our experience and while we were there they had Granny on stage a commedian that was just hilarious. He had the kids up there and the crowd was just going crazy but after awhile we decided it was time to leave. We started walking back on the road and finally caught a taxi. I was the same gentleman who had dropped us off. I had picked up curry goat for Cody because one of the organizers said he wanted to try it so she had given me his meal ticket. During the ride home the juice ended up down the front of me. We are dropped off at the end of our road and walk down about a block and a half back home to get to summerset. Here I am with curry down the front of my white tee shirt – not a pretty site and then the dogs are all coming after me, you see there are cat yards and dog yards here in Jamaica, Summerset is a cat yard but down the road is a dog yard. I was holding the containers up high and thank god we had Dewayne with us because he used some of his food to distract the dogs so I could go ahead. Dropped off the food and went straight into the house to change my clothes and soak my clothes. Not many places were open today to eat so Pam, Cody, Boomblast and myself walked down to De Bar to have dinner. I am so loving the Jerk Chicken here I will definitely be bring this spice home with me. We talked quite a bit to Eddie and Joseph who runs the place. It is great talking to the locals and listening to them talk patwa their native language is interesting. There are some things that I can pick up on but I am having a difficult time following it. I guess I have not yet been around it enough to be able to follow along. Back to summerset to go to bed in order to awake for another beautiful day tomorrow and my first time scuba diving. Can’t wait.
Today we are volunteering at Wavz for the family fun fest. The first group was to leave around 8:15 but it was raining so they just had to wait till the rain stopped. I used this time to get caught up with my journal that we are to write for class. I spent the whole morning after breakfast on the balcony writing and reflecting about my experiences here so far. Most of the locals are getting very familiar with us so it is nice to walk down the street and not be hassled as much. The rain finally stops and the first group leaves. This means that the second group does not need to be there until l:00 which includes me. We get ready to leave all dressed in our volunteer tee shirts that has STAFF on the back. We catch a taxi to take us directly there. We are dropped off at the front gate. After waiting we finally get through. The first thing we saw was the blow up rock climbing wall, beyond that was a small and I do mean small Farris wheel, there are three different bounce-a-bouts and a blow up water slide. The clowns are at a booth as you walk down a little further and they are doing face painting and rub on tattoos. We met up with Lynette who was going to be placing us at our stations. I was first placed in a kitchen and let me tell you it was hot….. I was just wondering if I would be able to make it for the two and a half hours that we were going to volunteer, but Dustin to the rescue. He asked the chef if he could take me because Kendra needed someone to take her place. So we walked down and I ended up at the ticket booth. I thought this would be great until all the kids started coming up yelling miss, miss, miss. I kept saying one at a time. I would here ticket for the water slide or the bounce-a-bout and some would even say for the roller coaster which really threw me because there was no roller coaster. I worked with a very sweet girl who had the patients to deal with all this. The tickets were $50 j’s each and the some of the rides required 2 tickets and some required 1. They could also get tickets for the snow cones and pop corn from us. Now I have been using Jamaican money for now over a week but trying to keep it all straight was just crazy, all the kids leaning on the table say miss, miss and trying to keep straight what they were giving you was just crazy. We would drop the money in a five gallon bucket and when someone gave you $1000 j you had to dig through all the bills trying to find a $500 j in order to make change. Plenty of money coming in for a good cause but I have to say when Libby showed up to see if I was ready it did not take me long to jump to my feet to get ready to go. However the gentlemen who relived the women I was sitting with said I needed to stay until she got back. I don’t think he wanted to deal with the kids. So back in my seat I went and waited while still selling tickets. She finally returns and I let her know that it was really nice working with her and out from the table I went. Rebekah got placed at the water slide and she said after that experience she diffidently does not want to have any kids. Then we went to get Jennifer who got placed serving food so she ended up from where Dustin had pulled me. We were given meal tickets for doing the volunteering and Jennifer said after working there she really did not want to eat anything from there. We had a few good laughs about our experience and while we were there they had Granny on stage a commedian that was just hilarious. He had the kids up there and the crowd was just going crazy but after awhile we decided it was time to leave. We started walking back on the road and finally caught a taxi. I was the same gentleman who had dropped us off. I had picked up curry goat for Cody because one of the organizers said he wanted to try it so she had given me his meal ticket. During the ride home the juice ended up down the front of me. We are dropped off at the end of our road and walk down about a block and a half back home to get to summerset. Here I am with curry down the front of my white tee shirt – not a pretty site and then the dogs are all coming after me, you see there are cat yards and dog yards here in Jamaica, Summerset is a cat yard but down the road is a dog yard. I was holding the containers up high and thank god we had Dewayne with us because he used some of his food to distract the dogs so I could go ahead. Dropped off the food and went straight into the house to change my clothes and soak my clothes. Not many places were open today to eat so Pam, Cody, Boomblast and myself walked down to De Bar to have dinner. I am so loving the Jerk Chicken here I will definitely be bring this spice home with me. We talked quite a bit to Eddie and Joseph who runs the place. It is great talking to the locals and listening to them talk patwa their native language is interesting. There are some things that I can pick up on but I am having a difficult time following it. I guess I have not yet been around it enough to be able to follow along. Back to summerset to go to bed in order to awake for another beautiful day tomorrow and my first time scuba diving. Can’t wait.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Realized I forgot to Post Friday!
Friday May 22, 2009
Today is a big day for us because we are taking all of the Theodora students to the beach after we work with them on their stories. As usual we all ate breakfast then loaded into the van. Today we made it without running out of gas! We worked with the students till noon and since it was a free day some of the students came in later. Kerean started typing her story on the computer and Neon who I finally found out is really named Leon worked on his story. Today is the first day that Nikki worked on hers. She wants to tell about the problems for the youth in Jamaica and what needs to be done. I told her to start writing and we would go through it and rearrange it and add to it once she got her thoughts out. She was just not sure where to start and Dustin told her to start anywhere she could just write and the story would be created. Dustin and Libby are just great to go to when you have questions or do just not understand what the students are saying. I have gotten smart though because I will call for Dewayne who is the oldest student that they have and ask him to translate for me. He is very good with English and listens to the student once and then translates it. As they walked into the school some of the students had their children with them and they are so cute. I gave some of the crayons to the mothers to give to their children. Kerean left to go get her little girl and as soon as she got back we walked with all of the students down to the beach were the locals go to. The park is there but it does not have a lot of playground equipment for the kids. Kerean’s little daughter is just adorable and Nikki brought her son Jay who is five. Jay latched on to Cody really quickly and I spent the afternoon with Kerean’s daughter who is one. Although Kerean told me that she talks she did not the whole time we were there but I did get her smiling and her smile would just light up her face. We took a cooler that had drinks and some bags of chips. Then the Pizza’s arrived and everyone got two slices. The weather has been holding out for us as today was just beautiful for the beach. Since there is a bar right there we also had music and the students were dancing and singing. I was great watching them. Most of our students do not own a bathing suite. The girls would where their bras and shorts or just shorts and a sleeveless top. However they thought nothing of it as you can walk along the beach and see women topless and men completely naked. I have not seen it but the other students have, and it was when we were all together so I guess I was not paying much attention to my surroundings. The beach was a great bonding experience for us with the students. We had a really great time, took pictures, which the students love it when they get to take pictures with our cameras, and wound down the afternoon around 3:30. We said our goodbyes and exchanged phone numbers in case they wanted to call us over the long weekend because we will not meet back up until Tuesday. We walked down to the roundabout and caught a Taxi back to Summerset. We were suppose to go down to Ricks Café on the cliffs. This is where the platforms are for jumping off of. But the rain rolled in and we all just ate at the restaurant at summerset. Dewayne had stopped by and one of the rules that were made this year is that the students were not allowed at summerset because of some issues that they had last year. But Dewayne formed a bond with Pam last year and they had kept in touch. I believe he is jealous of Dale a worker at summerset that Pam will ask if he wants to go eat when she has also invited Dewayne. So we had a few small issues tonight and as I was walking up to the house Pam called out the Dewayne wanted to talk to me. We were outside the gates by the sidewalk talking and Rebekah came out wondering what was going one. We explained to her what had happened and we both sit out there talking to Dewayne. Rebekah is his partner and he really has not opened up to her and she is concerned about his story. Dewayne told us a lot about his life and since I knew Rebekah would be fine just at the gate I excused myself, and went to the house. It has been a great day and I am ready for bed, we have a busy weekend so I will try to keep up with giving all you back home updates.
Today is a big day for us because we are taking all of the Theodora students to the beach after we work with them on their stories. As usual we all ate breakfast then loaded into the van. Today we made it without running out of gas! We worked with the students till noon and since it was a free day some of the students came in later. Kerean started typing her story on the computer and Neon who I finally found out is really named Leon worked on his story. Today is the first day that Nikki worked on hers. She wants to tell about the problems for the youth in Jamaica and what needs to be done. I told her to start writing and we would go through it and rearrange it and add to it once she got her thoughts out. She was just not sure where to start and Dustin told her to start anywhere she could just write and the story would be created. Dustin and Libby are just great to go to when you have questions or do just not understand what the students are saying. I have gotten smart though because I will call for Dewayne who is the oldest student that they have and ask him to translate for me. He is very good with English and listens to the student once and then translates it. As they walked into the school some of the students had their children with them and they are so cute. I gave some of the crayons to the mothers to give to their children. Kerean left to go get her little girl and as soon as she got back we walked with all of the students down to the beach were the locals go to. The park is there but it does not have a lot of playground equipment for the kids. Kerean’s little daughter is just adorable and Nikki brought her son Jay who is five. Jay latched on to Cody really quickly and I spent the afternoon with Kerean’s daughter who is one. Although Kerean told me that she talks she did not the whole time we were there but I did get her smiling and her smile would just light up her face. We took a cooler that had drinks and some bags of chips. Then the Pizza’s arrived and everyone got two slices. The weather has been holding out for us as today was just beautiful for the beach. Since there is a bar right there we also had music and the students were dancing and singing. I was great watching them. Most of our students do not own a bathing suite. The girls would where their bras and shorts or just shorts and a sleeveless top. However they thought nothing of it as you can walk along the beach and see women topless and men completely naked. I have not seen it but the other students have, and it was when we were all together so I guess I was not paying much attention to my surroundings. The beach was a great bonding experience for us with the students. We had a really great time, took pictures, which the students love it when they get to take pictures with our cameras, and wound down the afternoon around 3:30. We said our goodbyes and exchanged phone numbers in case they wanted to call us over the long weekend because we will not meet back up until Tuesday. We walked down to the roundabout and caught a Taxi back to Summerset. We were suppose to go down to Ricks Café on the cliffs. This is where the platforms are for jumping off of. But the rain rolled in and we all just ate at the restaurant at summerset. Dewayne had stopped by and one of the rules that were made this year is that the students were not allowed at summerset because of some issues that they had last year. But Dewayne formed a bond with Pam last year and they had kept in touch. I believe he is jealous of Dale a worker at summerset that Pam will ask if he wants to go eat when she has also invited Dewayne. So we had a few small issues tonight and as I was walking up to the house Pam called out the Dewayne wanted to talk to me. We were outside the gates by the sidewalk talking and Rebekah came out wondering what was going one. We explained to her what had happened and we both sit out there talking to Dewayne. Rebekah is his partner and he really has not opened up to her and she is concerned about his story. Dewayne told us a lot about his life and since I knew Rebekah would be fine just at the gate I excused myself, and went to the house. It has been a great day and I am ready for bed, we have a busy weekend so I will try to keep up with giving all you back home updates.
One week in Jamaica HARD TO BELIEVE!
Saturday May 23, 2009
Well I can’t believe that we have been here for a complete week. It has gone by so quickly. I am sure the next two weeks will go by just as quick. The locals somewhat know us now or at least know who we are and we are not hassled as much when we walk down the street. We stop and talk too many of them and always acknowledge them as we pass. Today we are going to the beach to the Travelers which is a small resort hotel on the beach. We are meeting with individuals with the NEET which stands for Negril Education Environment Trust; their goal is a book in every child’s hand and a computer in every classroom. They are having a Family Fun Fest tomorrow in order to raise money to pay the Jamaican import tax on the computers that have been donated and shipped; they will have rides, foods, game room for the children, a talent contest and more. We met with Mr. Winston a very nice man who came back to Jamaica to give back to the community. Another man that introduced himself is from New York City and he comes to Jamaica about four to five times a year. He was an engineer for the new New York Yankees baseball field. He is originally from Jamaica and he wants to give back to the people so he works with NAAP and makes his several trips a year. As we walked through Travelers to get our volunteer tee shirts we were just in ah of the place, hotel rooms on one side and small cottages on the other. The entry to the lobby just gorgeous! They had very reasonable prices on the food in the restaurant which is where we ate for lunch. BLT and french-fries a little taste from back home but on the best bread I have had. We were told that we could come there anytime which means it is a safe place for us to leave our belonging and use their facilities such as pool and showers. We were planning on doing the glass bottom boat but as we sat there watching the ocean down the beach from where we were setting a storm has rolled through. It was as dry I could be where we were but you could just see the wall of rain as it moved across the island into the ocean. We decided to reschedule for Wednesday morning because we seen some dark clouds coming over are way and we wanted to make sure that we would be able to see when we got out to snorkel. We were informed that we had free time so I volunteered at Travelers along with Pam and her son Cody wrapping gifts for the grab bag so every child will have a gift to take home, fishnets, marbles, pencils, pencil sharpener, plastic watering buckets and so much more. After doing this for a little over an hour we headed back to the roundabout in order to catch a taxi back to Summerset. Went down to the cliffs and went into Ricks Café, this is where a lot of tourists go and for me it was a little uncomfortable and I was ready to leave. Pam went to the bathroom and when she came out we left and went over to where the Jamaicans usually are looking into Ricks and we can see the divers while listening to the music. I took a few videos and some pictures of the divers so I hope to get some pictures posted soon with all the writing for the journals and the blog I have not had time to link anything. Saturday night dominoes getting pretty good learning how to count and block, the locals are amazed. Busy day tomorrow doing the volunteer work, we are splitting up into two groups with half of us going in the morning and the other half going in the afternoon and will be volunteering to work three hour shifts. I took the afternoon, not sure if the is going to be a wise choice or not. Well off to bed more about the weekend to come!
Well I can’t believe that we have been here for a complete week. It has gone by so quickly. I am sure the next two weeks will go by just as quick. The locals somewhat know us now or at least know who we are and we are not hassled as much when we walk down the street. We stop and talk too many of them and always acknowledge them as we pass. Today we are going to the beach to the Travelers which is a small resort hotel on the beach. We are meeting with individuals with the NEET which stands for Negril Education Environment Trust; their goal is a book in every child’s hand and a computer in every classroom. They are having a Family Fun Fest tomorrow in order to raise money to pay the Jamaican import tax on the computers that have been donated and shipped; they will have rides, foods, game room for the children, a talent contest and more. We met with Mr. Winston a very nice man who came back to Jamaica to give back to the community. Another man that introduced himself is from New York City and he comes to Jamaica about four to five times a year. He was an engineer for the new New York Yankees baseball field. He is originally from Jamaica and he wants to give back to the people so he works with NAAP and makes his several trips a year. As we walked through Travelers to get our volunteer tee shirts we were just in ah of the place, hotel rooms on one side and small cottages on the other. The entry to the lobby just gorgeous! They had very reasonable prices on the food in the restaurant which is where we ate for lunch. BLT and french-fries a little taste from back home but on the best bread I have had. We were told that we could come there anytime which means it is a safe place for us to leave our belonging and use their facilities such as pool and showers. We were planning on doing the glass bottom boat but as we sat there watching the ocean down the beach from where we were setting a storm has rolled through. It was as dry I could be where we were but you could just see the wall of rain as it moved across the island into the ocean. We decided to reschedule for Wednesday morning because we seen some dark clouds coming over are way and we wanted to make sure that we would be able to see when we got out to snorkel. We were informed that we had free time so I volunteered at Travelers along with Pam and her son Cody wrapping gifts for the grab bag so every child will have a gift to take home, fishnets, marbles, pencils, pencil sharpener, plastic watering buckets and so much more. After doing this for a little over an hour we headed back to the roundabout in order to catch a taxi back to Summerset. Went down to the cliffs and went into Ricks Café, this is where a lot of tourists go and for me it was a little uncomfortable and I was ready to leave. Pam went to the bathroom and when she came out we left and went over to where the Jamaicans usually are looking into Ricks and we can see the divers while listening to the music. I took a few videos and some pictures of the divers so I hope to get some pictures posted soon with all the writing for the journals and the blog I have not had time to link anything. Saturday night dominoes getting pretty good learning how to count and block, the locals are amazed. Busy day tomorrow doing the volunteer work, we are splitting up into two groups with half of us going in the morning and the other half going in the afternoon and will be volunteering to work three hour shifts. I took the afternoon, not sure if the is going to be a wise choice or not. Well off to bed more about the weekend to come!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
The happenings on Thursday
Thursday May 21, 2009
I slept in this morning so I did not get a chance to write before going to Theodora and that is why this posting is a little late. I also had to get my clothes ready for Pauline to pick up – she is the house keeper and if we lay our clothes out on the bed in a laundry bag with a US $20.00 bill she will pick up the laundry and do it for you. So just bare with me because as we were explained prior to the trip everything is done on Jamaican time which means it could take a long time so I would like to officially say I am now working by Jamaican time. We have breakfast every morning at Summerset prior to leaving for Theodora. This meal is included in the stay so it is a time that we are all usually together. I know the menu by heart – continental breakfast which consists of all the amazing fruit here, pancakes, French toast, Spanish omelet, two eggs with bacon, and they are all served with the juice of the day, toast and all the coffee or tea you can drink. After breakfast we loaded in the van a routine that we are all getting use to--four of us pile in the back seat, four in the middle seat and one in the passenger front seat. Off to Theodora we go, about half way there the van ran out of gas, we heard "oh no" from Bunny the driver and we coasted for the longest time. Cody, Pam’s son was just amazed at how far we went without gas. Sinclair stopped and picked up a gas can and brought gas back to Bunny. Bunny explained that the gage did not work for the gas, once the gas was in Bunny tried to start the van but it would not turn over so they start to push the van with all of us in it – he is able to pop the clutch and we were on our way once more, so we were a little late to Theodora but since there was rain that morning Dustin told us the students may be late or may not even come especially if there is lightning. We found out that Theodora has been hit by lightning before so school is usually canceled if the weather is bad. As we walked in only a few of the students were there. Neon was one; he is always one of the first ones there. Due to the drawings that he showed me I gave him the colored pencils that Suzie gave to me (thank you Suzie). I told him if he wanted to do a drawing we could scan it and include it in the book. He thanked me and immediately started looking for drawing paper. Kerean came in and we reviewed her story. My concern is that she is using her name and places she has lived. Dustin came over to read the story and explained to her it took a lot of guts to write such a powerful story so to make sure she would have no back lash from the community he recommended that the names in the story be changed and possibly even the towns or parishes that she mentions. She understood and started changing her story. She has now given the Jamaican girl in her story the name of Terry (I am so honored). Neon and I sat down and started rewriting his story. I worked on the order that we needed to go in last night so I was just asking him to give me more information about each topic that we had written down the day before. He wanted to tell his story about his Path to Theodora. I have to remember the culture that I am in here and that many of the Jamaicans consider these kids bad kids because of them not finishing school but when you hear their stories your heart breaks. I go into the school each morning with hugs for each and every one of them and knowing the details of some of there stories I have to have a strong will to hold back the tears.
Since next Monday is a holiday and there is no school and we thought we would take the kids to the beach this Friday after we worked on the stories in the morning. Friday’s are an optional day for the kids at Theodora so we are not sure how many will show up so Dustin explained that we needed to meet on Friday because of no class on Monday and that after class we would take everyone to the beach and buy lunch. That means everything to these kids otherwise they would probably not eat. As we got ready to leave Thursday, Kerean came up to me and asked if I could give her money for lunch – this is one of the days that Theodora does not provide lunch. I had not broken a large bill yet but I gave her $200 Jamaican dollars which should get her a juicy patty and a drink but I wanted to do so much more. Pam and I walked to the beach with her son Cody and Dewayne another student from Theodora. We found a bench where we took a seat and talked for a little over an hour. We than grabbed a Taxi and got the same driver as the day before. He goes by Mr. T or that is how everyone knows him by and he is a wonderful person to talk to. He has dreadlocks and is very talkative, which is a great way to find out more about the Jamaican culture. We got back to Summerset and got ready for scuba diving lessons in the pool. Mona has met a guy who is from England. Him and his father run a scuba diving course here and he was willing to come down to see if we liked it. TOTALLY FABULOUS – I loved it. Dustin and one of the girls had a hard time with it but the rest of us thought it was just amazing. Some of us really want to do the scuba diving so we have a group of five that on Monday will get to scuba dive in the ocean – I can’t wait – have my underwater camera ready to go – Thank you Kyle and Jen. The evening dinner was on our own so Pam and I took Dewayne, Boomblast, and Dale out to eat at Alice’s I really like the food there and very reasonable. We returned and played dominoes until Midnight. I turned in but had a difficult time sleeping not sure why but only got about 3 hour’s total of sleep. Oh well I have made it through the day on less than that.
I slept in this morning so I did not get a chance to write before going to Theodora and that is why this posting is a little late. I also had to get my clothes ready for Pauline to pick up – she is the house keeper and if we lay our clothes out on the bed in a laundry bag with a US $20.00 bill she will pick up the laundry and do it for you. So just bare with me because as we were explained prior to the trip everything is done on Jamaican time which means it could take a long time so I would like to officially say I am now working by Jamaican time. We have breakfast every morning at Summerset prior to leaving for Theodora. This meal is included in the stay so it is a time that we are all usually together. I know the menu by heart – continental breakfast which consists of all the amazing fruit here, pancakes, French toast, Spanish omelet, two eggs with bacon, and they are all served with the juice of the day, toast and all the coffee or tea you can drink. After breakfast we loaded in the van a routine that we are all getting use to--four of us pile in the back seat, four in the middle seat and one in the passenger front seat. Off to Theodora we go, about half way there the van ran out of gas, we heard "oh no" from Bunny the driver and we coasted for the longest time. Cody, Pam’s son was just amazed at how far we went without gas. Sinclair stopped and picked up a gas can and brought gas back to Bunny. Bunny explained that the gage did not work for the gas, once the gas was in Bunny tried to start the van but it would not turn over so they start to push the van with all of us in it – he is able to pop the clutch and we were on our way once more, so we were a little late to Theodora but since there was rain that morning Dustin told us the students may be late or may not even come especially if there is lightning. We found out that Theodora has been hit by lightning before so school is usually canceled if the weather is bad. As we walked in only a few of the students were there. Neon was one; he is always one of the first ones there. Due to the drawings that he showed me I gave him the colored pencils that Suzie gave to me (thank you Suzie). I told him if he wanted to do a drawing we could scan it and include it in the book. He thanked me and immediately started looking for drawing paper. Kerean came in and we reviewed her story. My concern is that she is using her name and places she has lived. Dustin came over to read the story and explained to her it took a lot of guts to write such a powerful story so to make sure she would have no back lash from the community he recommended that the names in the story be changed and possibly even the towns or parishes that she mentions. She understood and started changing her story. She has now given the Jamaican girl in her story the name of Terry (I am so honored). Neon and I sat down and started rewriting his story. I worked on the order that we needed to go in last night so I was just asking him to give me more information about each topic that we had written down the day before. He wanted to tell his story about his Path to Theodora. I have to remember the culture that I am in here and that many of the Jamaicans consider these kids bad kids because of them not finishing school but when you hear their stories your heart breaks. I go into the school each morning with hugs for each and every one of them and knowing the details of some of there stories I have to have a strong will to hold back the tears.
Since next Monday is a holiday and there is no school and we thought we would take the kids to the beach this Friday after we worked on the stories in the morning. Friday’s are an optional day for the kids at Theodora so we are not sure how many will show up so Dustin explained that we needed to meet on Friday because of no class on Monday and that after class we would take everyone to the beach and buy lunch. That means everything to these kids otherwise they would probably not eat. As we got ready to leave Thursday, Kerean came up to me and asked if I could give her money for lunch – this is one of the days that Theodora does not provide lunch. I had not broken a large bill yet but I gave her $200 Jamaican dollars which should get her a juicy patty and a drink but I wanted to do so much more. Pam and I walked to the beach with her son Cody and Dewayne another student from Theodora. We found a bench where we took a seat and talked for a little over an hour. We than grabbed a Taxi and got the same driver as the day before. He goes by Mr. T or that is how everyone knows him by and he is a wonderful person to talk to. He has dreadlocks and is very talkative, which is a great way to find out more about the Jamaican culture. We got back to Summerset and got ready for scuba diving lessons in the pool. Mona has met a guy who is from England. Him and his father run a scuba diving course here and he was willing to come down to see if we liked it. TOTALLY FABULOUS – I loved it. Dustin and one of the girls had a hard time with it but the rest of us thought it was just amazing. Some of us really want to do the scuba diving so we have a group of five that on Monday will get to scuba dive in the ocean – I can’t wait – have my underwater camera ready to go – Thank you Kyle and Jen. The evening dinner was on our own so Pam and I took Dewayne, Boomblast, and Dale out to eat at Alice’s I really like the food there and very reasonable. We returned and played dominoes until Midnight. I turned in but had a difficult time sleeping not sure why but only got about 3 hour’s total of sleep. Oh well I have made it through the day on less than that.
Better Late than Never!
Friday May 22, 2009
As I write this on Friday morning at 5:30 am I am trying to remember everything that has been going on. So many places we have visited and so many people we have met. The last time that I wrote I was setting at the cliffs because we did not have to volunteer/work until 1:00 pm so lets start on Wednesday May 20 2009 as the group heads to Theodora. We are taken to Theodora in a van driven by Bunny there are nine of us that load in the van. We all fit but we are a little snug however the drive is only about 15 to 20 minutes so it is not too bad and he takes us directly to the school. The school is what they call a container building. It is built using two semi tractor trailers which is the base for the outside wall and where the trusses set. A computer lab is in one of the trailers and the other is being used for storage for now. Between these two trailers a large room has been built where they hold most of their classrooms. It has a large white board at one end that assignments are written on and behind the white board are three restrooms, in the very back is a small room with a sink, small refrigerator and a microwave. It has a front porch that is the whole length of the building and if you walk out the back door you can climb up the limestone to the safe house that they are building. It is going to be magnificent when it is completed and the Reverend is very proud of it. I can tell you that when she envisions something she somehow makes it happen. We got together with our students and as promised Dave took us for a walk in Red Ground where the school is located, so we would know where his church is. It was about a 15 minute walk from the school and Neon, Kerean, Jennifer and I took the walk with him. It was a very interesting to go through the small neighborhood, and I am sure the individuals living there do not see many white people walking in that area. After finding the church we turned around and headed back to the school where we started working on the stories. Kerean has two stories already written and as I read them I am just amazed at what she has gone through and still has a somewhat positive out look, although she does talk about killing herself which I talked to her a great deal about. Her story is very personal and I think she wants to get it out. We talked about how she could combine the two stories together so she would have enough pages for one complete story to publish. Neon and I work together the whole time because he can not write English very well and I do all the writing. When we get ready to type the story he will be typing what I have written for him. We started by out lining his story as we talked he gave me a lot of information that was all over the place but I think we will have a great story. At times it is difficult to understand him but I have to tell him to slow down and talk louder - I keep using my age here by tell him I can’t hear as well as I use to. I have to ask him to explain some things like the shadow past, which he saw after his grandmother died. When the shadow passes it means that the spirit is leaving. Nikki is studying to take the heart exam so I have not had a chance to work with her yet but I know she will have no problem with her story. Her exam is Thursday (tomorrow) and we all told her good luck and to remember that we were all thinking about her and that we knew she would pass with flying colors. At 3:00 we left Theodora and spent a little time on the beach before heading back to Summerset. We all met up for a group dinner. Dustin and Libby found this really nice local place called De Bar that has an open bar area under a large Thatch circular roof and all open on the sides. Behind the bar area are several tables in an open area of the ground with a fire going every night. The table was large enough to hold all ten of us. The meal was vegetarian, with a boiled green banana, yellow sweet potato, rice and beans, veggie chunk, and a few other thing that I am not sure of, but that did not matter I ate every bit of it. We talked about how everyone was feeling with the students and problems that anyone was having. A good discussion with everyone gave us all an ideal of what everyone else was having problems with. It also made us all look closely at the problems that we are having and we discussed ways in handling them. This year we have some very personal stories that will be told and we want to make sure that we protect the students so they have no repercussions once the book is published and it is out in the community. After finishing dinner we headed back to Summerset, I had a Red Strip and learned how to play dominoes – I think I am hooked – slamming them on the table and winning some games. Maybe beginners luck not sure but it was really fun. Sinclair who is a driver in Jamaica was one of the locals teaching me to play. A few times I had to be corrected because I was not seeing the dots correctly – yep trying to play without my glasses or contacts – not a good ideal. After playing dominoes I headed to bed for the evening with another day awaiting us tomorrow.
As I write this on Friday morning at 5:30 am I am trying to remember everything that has been going on. So many places we have visited and so many people we have met. The last time that I wrote I was setting at the cliffs because we did not have to volunteer/work until 1:00 pm so lets start on Wednesday May 20 2009 as the group heads to Theodora. We are taken to Theodora in a van driven by Bunny there are nine of us that load in the van. We all fit but we are a little snug however the drive is only about 15 to 20 minutes so it is not too bad and he takes us directly to the school. The school is what they call a container building. It is built using two semi tractor trailers which is the base for the outside wall and where the trusses set. A computer lab is in one of the trailers and the other is being used for storage for now. Between these two trailers a large room has been built where they hold most of their classrooms. It has a large white board at one end that assignments are written on and behind the white board are three restrooms, in the very back is a small room with a sink, small refrigerator and a microwave. It has a front porch that is the whole length of the building and if you walk out the back door you can climb up the limestone to the safe house that they are building. It is going to be magnificent when it is completed and the Reverend is very proud of it. I can tell you that when she envisions something she somehow makes it happen. We got together with our students and as promised Dave took us for a walk in Red Ground where the school is located, so we would know where his church is. It was about a 15 minute walk from the school and Neon, Kerean, Jennifer and I took the walk with him. It was a very interesting to go through the small neighborhood, and I am sure the individuals living there do not see many white people walking in that area. After finding the church we turned around and headed back to the school where we started working on the stories. Kerean has two stories already written and as I read them I am just amazed at what she has gone through and still has a somewhat positive out look, although she does talk about killing herself which I talked to her a great deal about. Her story is very personal and I think she wants to get it out. We talked about how she could combine the two stories together so she would have enough pages for one complete story to publish. Neon and I work together the whole time because he can not write English very well and I do all the writing. When we get ready to type the story he will be typing what I have written for him. We started by out lining his story as we talked he gave me a lot of information that was all over the place but I think we will have a great story. At times it is difficult to understand him but I have to tell him to slow down and talk louder - I keep using my age here by tell him I can’t hear as well as I use to. I have to ask him to explain some things like the shadow past, which he saw after his grandmother died. When the shadow passes it means that the spirit is leaving. Nikki is studying to take the heart exam so I have not had a chance to work with her yet but I know she will have no problem with her story. Her exam is Thursday (tomorrow) and we all told her good luck and to remember that we were all thinking about her and that we knew she would pass with flying colors. At 3:00 we left Theodora and spent a little time on the beach before heading back to Summerset. We all met up for a group dinner. Dustin and Libby found this really nice local place called De Bar that has an open bar area under a large Thatch circular roof and all open on the sides. Behind the bar area are several tables in an open area of the ground with a fire going every night. The table was large enough to hold all ten of us. The meal was vegetarian, with a boiled green banana, yellow sweet potato, rice and beans, veggie chunk, and a few other thing that I am not sure of, but that did not matter I ate every bit of it. We talked about how everyone was feeling with the students and problems that anyone was having. A good discussion with everyone gave us all an ideal of what everyone else was having problems with. It also made us all look closely at the problems that we are having and we discussed ways in handling them. This year we have some very personal stories that will be told and we want to make sure that we protect the students so they have no repercussions once the book is published and it is out in the community. After finishing dinner we headed back to Summerset, I had a Red Strip and learned how to play dominoes – I think I am hooked – slamming them on the table and winning some games. Maybe beginners luck not sure but it was really fun. Sinclair who is a driver in Jamaica was one of the locals teaching me to play. A few times I had to be corrected because I was not seeing the dots correctly – yep trying to play without my glasses or contacts – not a good ideal. After playing dominoes I headed to bed for the evening with another day awaiting us tomorrow.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Tuesday May 19, 2009
Well as I write this on Wednesday morning I am setting on the cliffs at the edge of the ocean. The group walked down to Negril Escape where we can go swimming without being hassled by someone trying to sell you something. Today we don’t go to Theodora until 1:00 so are free time is in the morning. I could sooooo get use to this. Yesterday we set down with our groups. I took Neon and Kerean up to the church and we talked about what they wanted to write about. Kerean wants to write about child abuse. She has gone through it and I think she has some scars on her from this. She informed me that she thinks it is very important to let people know about the stories. I found out she wants to focus it towards young men before they have children so I think her abuse may have come from her father. I am sure I will find out more as we start her story. I am sure I may have some tears as we write her story. Neon is so sweet he came up to me as I arrived and informed me that he had something for me. He gave me a bag and said Mangoes and let me tell you they are three of the largest mangoes I have seen – delicious…. All I can say is the fruit her is completely different from the states so many flavors coming from them. Neon is not sure what he wants to write but I know I will get a story from him. After we talked we met up with Jennifer’s group. She has Michele who wrote a story last year about a dream of being a professional pool player so we walked down the road and there was a small bar that yes had a pool table in it. I played a game with her and David the other student that Jennifer is working with. Michelle lit up at the pool table. Jennifer stated that is the most that she had said and she and I just hit it off. She looked at me and said you really know how to play pool and totally had a smile the whole time. She want me to go with her on Friday night to play pool and I had to let her know that I was not sure what are schedule is like but we will get together one night to do this. After the pool game Nicola the other student that I am working with joined us. We stopped by the store and I brought drinks and snacks for everyone. They all grabbed a small bag of chips but when I told them they could get the large back they put the small ones back and was trilled to get the large bag. Lay’s potato chips, they say they really like the American chips but they don’t get them very often because of the cost. We walked down to the craft shops where Nicola grandmother has a shop. I met her grandmother and aunt and got to see the craft shop that she has. This is the only income that her grandmother has and there are so many shops in this one compact area. From there we walked down to the beach. During this entire walk I had given my camera to the student and told them to take pictures of what ever they wanted. This way if they are having problems with a story we can look at the picture and ask why they took that picture. We stopped on the beach under a tree and talked there for a good hour. David has had a really rough life. He is so positive though and he is living with Nicola’s aunt so there is a very strong bond between them. He had been abused as a child and both of his parents have died. He has been moved from relative to relative where the abuse continued and is now with a wonderful family. He invited us to go to church with them on Sunday. As soon as we find out our schedule we will know if we can commit to activities with the students. It was just a great day with the students, I think that on Wednesday we will walk to the church they are wanting us to go to and I may get to see Kerean’s daughter. After leaving Theodora we walked down the beach quite a way to get to Niah’s to have her patties. They have been the best so far. I could go there again and again. After eating lunch we returned to Summerset and hug out by the pool. Pam, her son and I, along with Dewayne a student from Theodora walked down to the cliffs, further down from where I am writing this blog. We watched the divers which was amazing. I want to go back and take the camera because the things they were doing totally blew my mind. We stopped to eat on the way back at a road side shop – could totally go vegetarian here with no problem. We returned around 9:00 pm and set and talked till around 11:30. As I said at the beginning of this post I am at the cliffs and could totally get use to this. It will be hard coming back to reality when I return.
Well as I write this on Wednesday morning I am setting on the cliffs at the edge of the ocean. The group walked down to Negril Escape where we can go swimming without being hassled by someone trying to sell you something. Today we don’t go to Theodora until 1:00 so are free time is in the morning. I could sooooo get use to this. Yesterday we set down with our groups. I took Neon and Kerean up to the church and we talked about what they wanted to write about. Kerean wants to write about child abuse. She has gone through it and I think she has some scars on her from this. She informed me that she thinks it is very important to let people know about the stories. I found out she wants to focus it towards young men before they have children so I think her abuse may have come from her father. I am sure I will find out more as we start her story. I am sure I may have some tears as we write her story. Neon is so sweet he came up to me as I arrived and informed me that he had something for me. He gave me a bag and said Mangoes and let me tell you they are three of the largest mangoes I have seen – delicious…. All I can say is the fruit her is completely different from the states so many flavors coming from them. Neon is not sure what he wants to write but I know I will get a story from him. After we talked we met up with Jennifer’s group. She has Michele who wrote a story last year about a dream of being a professional pool player so we walked down the road and there was a small bar that yes had a pool table in it. I played a game with her and David the other student that Jennifer is working with. Michelle lit up at the pool table. Jennifer stated that is the most that she had said and she and I just hit it off. She looked at me and said you really know how to play pool and totally had a smile the whole time. She want me to go with her on Friday night to play pool and I had to let her know that I was not sure what are schedule is like but we will get together one night to do this. After the pool game Nicola the other student that I am working with joined us. We stopped by the store and I brought drinks and snacks for everyone. They all grabbed a small bag of chips but when I told them they could get the large back they put the small ones back and was trilled to get the large bag. Lay’s potato chips, they say they really like the American chips but they don’t get them very often because of the cost. We walked down to the craft shops where Nicola grandmother has a shop. I met her grandmother and aunt and got to see the craft shop that she has. This is the only income that her grandmother has and there are so many shops in this one compact area. From there we walked down to the beach. During this entire walk I had given my camera to the student and told them to take pictures of what ever they wanted. This way if they are having problems with a story we can look at the picture and ask why they took that picture. We stopped on the beach under a tree and talked there for a good hour. David has had a really rough life. He is so positive though and he is living with Nicola’s aunt so there is a very strong bond between them. He had been abused as a child and both of his parents have died. He has been moved from relative to relative where the abuse continued and is now with a wonderful family. He invited us to go to church with them on Sunday. As soon as we find out our schedule we will know if we can commit to activities with the students. It was just a great day with the students, I think that on Wednesday we will walk to the church they are wanting us to go to and I may get to see Kerean’s daughter. After leaving Theodora we walked down the beach quite a way to get to Niah’s to have her patties. They have been the best so far. I could go there again and again. After eating lunch we returned to Summerset and hug out by the pool. Pam, her son and I, along with Dewayne a student from Theodora walked down to the cliffs, further down from where I am writing this blog. We watched the divers which was amazing. I want to go back and take the camera because the things they were doing totally blew my mind. We stopped to eat on the way back at a road side shop – could totally go vegetarian here with no problem. We returned around 9:00 pm and set and talked till around 11:30. As I said at the beginning of this post I am at the cliffs and could totally get use to this. It will be hard coming back to reality when I return.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Getting Started
Sorry for the delay in getting my blog started. No Internet at Summerset but they have wireless at Theodora so I will be trying to upload from there. So here I go.
Saturday March 16, 2009
WE ARRIVED! We landed in Montego Bay and it took almost 2 hours to get through immigration and customs but we finally made it. The plane ride was good and as we arrived the rain started. Before going through customs we exchanged some money. We only exchanged a small amount so I exchange $40.00 and received bills and coins that I did not understand $1000, $500, $100, $50 and coins that had 1 dollar, 5 dollar and 10 dollar. I figured that I would learn once I started to use the money. After getting through customs Dustin, one of the instructors on the trip, went to check to see if our ride was here. He had been waiting on us since 1:00 and it was nearly 4:00. Our driver went to get the bus and as he pulled up I realized that what they call a bus is actually a van. So here are the seven of us with all our luggage – and literal no room in the back of the van for luggage. So try to picture a narrow van with the long seat in the back where four of us piled in – yes we were literally setting on each other. In the two middle seats one had a student while the other we managed to load our luggage that we stuffed everywhere we could. Only two suitcases fit in the back of the van so the remaining seven were stacked to the top of the van with all of us holding our carry on luggage. Dustin got the front passenger seat and Libby, our other instructor, got to set in the middle between the two front seats. Windows fogging up quicker then you could clear them we were off! With the rain it was difficult to really see everything as we drove to Negril, remember we had suite cases piled to the top of the van so as we drove, those by the suit cases had to hold on to them so they would not slide and knock our driver out. The drive was a little over an hour to get to Summerset Village. A few bumps along the way got us laughing in the back, part of the reason was I think we felt everything in the back of the van, and I was on the end and partly setting on some type of bar that was part of the seat. We tried to adjust ourselves every once in a while so that required us all to lift up while one got situated and the others followed – we kept asking each other are you good. So that was the adventurous ride from the airport. As we drove we followed the ocean, the streets are very narrow and people are always walking in the streets mainly because there is no other place to walk. Vehicle horns beeping all the time, to give warning to the pedestrians that a car is coming. As we drove through different towns it was amazing to see the different homes that were built. You had some beautiful homes right next to others that are like shacks. Dustin pointed out that you will see this all through Jamaica they do not worry about class status here. We also seen the resorts that were along the Beach and very few are locally owned. Most are owned by individuals from other countries and are run by individuals that they place there from that country. The Jamaicans are only hired for jobs like housekeeping, security, cooks so the money does not stay in Jamaica which is one of the reasons we are staying at Summerset it is locally ran by Jamaicans and the money stays here. Upon arriving we checked in. Since there are only five students on the trip and we were all staying in the Thatch House we were told that we would each have our own bedroom and one would have to take the loft, which I volunteered to take. The Thatch house has a large front porch; upon entering you have the living room and dinning area in one large room containing a sofa, two chairs, a TV, a long dinning table and a refrigerator. To the left and right of this room are two bedrooms that have a bathroom between each of them. Each of the bedrooms has a full size bed and a twin bed and plenty of closet space. The kitchen is through the back door and in another building. The room is large with two gas stoves but if we want to use them they will have to get us propane tanks, they keep the kitchens separate from the living area incase of fire. Going back into the house near the back door there is a set of steep stairs that take you to the loft area. To my surprise there is a beautiful wood carved king size bed in the middle of the room, a dresser and two side tables. It has a large closet and a half bath. There is a door that opens to the balcony that has a small table and white wicker chairs. Yes volunteering can have its advantages. After settling in we walked down to the cliffs to watch the sunset. We then went to Alice’s to eat we listened to music and the smell of ganja is everywhere, restaurants, walking down the streets, everywhere. Since we all had and early start we were exhausted and we turned in around 9:00 for bed.
Sunday May 17, 2009
An early wakeup for me, I think my internal alarm clock is still on. 5:00 am I up and enjoying the warm weather and beautiful colors of plants and buildings while sitting out on my balcony. Around 6:00am I went to the restaurant and got coffee, while waiting on the others to get up. We had breakfast then headed to the beach. We split into two groups so we could learn how to catch a taxi, which is really no problem because they are everywhere, everyone wanting to give you a ride. We just need to make sure that they are not a tour taxi because they charge more. On the way down to catch the taxi we got stopped by Charlie’s, a Jamaican who has his own souvenir shop down from Summerset. Before I knew it he had put a bracelet on me, which I brought for $500.00 but that is Jamaican money so it was under $5.00. He tried to put shirts on me sell me beach towels, just a little bit of everything. I finally told him, “I am here for three weeks and I have plenty of time to spend my money.” As soon as we got to the main road a taxi stopped ask if we needed a ride. He drove us to the roundabout which is as far as we wanted to go because any further than that the cost goes up even if it is a block, His name is Richard and he gave us his cell phone number and told us to call him at anytime. As he stated it is good to have someone you can trust and help you with the local surroundings.
We went to the 7 mile beach and we walked, and walked, and walked. At the beginning of the beach is a park where the locals go. The beach starts there and as we walked down Dustin pointed out the yellow sign, explaining that this was a separation point from the local beach to the tourist beach. The individuals wanting to sell you something was all along the beach, beautiful paintings that had the traditional Jamaican colors, red, green, yellow and black, wood carvings, colorful clothes and all types of eating places and bars. The water is so beautiful, the turquoise color from very light to a darker blue color as it goes out. Music everywhere and individuals wanting to sell drugs approached a few of the other students. Some really dark clouds were rolling in so after some time in the water we were told we had better start heading back. We stopped at a local eatery which is just a shack behind the medical building, a Jamaican woman gave us our options and everyone got the vegetables but me, I had the fish. Not sure what type it was but it was excellent. We walked back to the roundabout and caught a taxi back to Summerset. We had our first class meeting to discuss culture, what we are expecting to get out of this trip, what is applied anthropology, and what do we use to observe culture. A really good discussion started with our group and having two Anthropology majors also helps. Rebekah and Kendra are both Anthropology majors, Jennifer is doing a double major in Biology and Chemistry, and Chelsea is doing a major in photography and a minor in creative writing. So we have a very diverse group here to work on this project. The Reverend came to meet us and discuss the Theodora project. She is from Scotland and is an amazing person with some crazy stories to tell. After dinner I walked down to DJ’s the market down the street and brought a small bottle of Red Wine. Yes that it the name but it is a local wine. Libby and I both brought one and as we were walking back we opened them to try it. We decided it had the taste of cough syrup but after the first few drinks it seemed to get better. We set by the pool and discussed some of my fears such as the kids that we will be working with may not open up to me because of my age. Dustin and Libby both assured me that I was not going to have a problem. Around 10:30 we turned in. Tomorrow will be are first day at Theodora and we will meet the students that we will be working with.
Monday May 18, 2009
Today is the big day – we are going to meet the students at Theodora! Once again up early for me but it gives me a chance to write so I can do the blog and my daily Journal. I go to the restaurant and Mr. Glenn, who is one of the workers at Summerset, is there always with a big smile – his smile reminds me of Magic Johnsons smile it just puts a smile on your face. Boom blast is another worker at Summerset and apparently last year he was what they called the crazy man of the neighborhood. Pam one of the students from IU who was on the trip last year said he has done a complete turnaround. He is very friendly and wanting to really talk to you. I always have to ask him to slow down because a lot of his words I don’t quite understand and I need further explanation. We had breakfast and then the seven of us from Ball State pile in a van that will be taking us to Theodora daily. Our way back to summerset is on our own. We arrived at Theodora and the students were in there uniforms and just as curious about us as we are about them. The Reverend had a verse read in John by one of the students and she talked about friends. She indicating that we were friends and that we would be spending the next two weeks together, which will take the place of their English and Communication classes. After the Reverend was done she turned the group over to Dustin and Libby. Dustin spoke about the differences between our cultures asking some very simple questions such as who in this room thinks coco bread has chocolate in it – the Theodora students started laughing but no one in our group raised there hand. And I have to admit I questioned him about coco bread at the airport because I seen it on a sign in one of the stands. Then he asked how many in our group have had a Big Mac. Of course all of us from BSU raised our hands but the Theodora students were not even sure what a Big Mac was. Dustin pointed out that we would both have to teach each other because there are differences in our cultures and we may all need to explain so that there is understanding for all of us. Dustin and Libby then had the Theodora students draw numbers. They had one through seven in a hat and once the seven where drawn he had them line up in order. Collecting the numbers back and putting them in the hat the next seven drew and lined up with the other student with the same number. There were three more students which drew and then it was our turn. Working on this project are the five students from BSU, Pam who was on the trip last year from IU, and Mona, a graduate student from IUPUI doing her internship for her Masters. We broke up into our groups so we could talk and find out what their favorite snack is. I have three students that I will be working with, Kerean is a young mother with a one year old daughter who she informed me is walking and talking. Neon is a male student who is originally from Kingston, and Nicola is the third student in the group that I did not get to spend a lot of time with because she is studying for her test that she will be taking on Thursday. All of my students are very soft spoken but really wanting to open up to me. They all have brothers and sisters and as I asked if they had any ideal of what they wanted to write about they all had a story that they wanted to tell. We discussed what their favorite snacks were and Kerean said chocolate chips, Neon said chocolate potato chips ??? and Nicola likes plantain chips. I was not sure about Neon but Dustin asked again and was told the same thing. We gave our list to Libby and Dustin and as we watched a movie together they went to the store and got as close to the snacks as they could. By the way the store does not have chocolate potato chips, and instead of chocolate chip Kerean got a chocolate candy bar and Neon got peanut M&M’s. We finished watching the rest of the movie and then it was time for us to leave. I got the chance to talk to a lot of the students and hope to continue to do so. We left and walked down to exchange some money. We then went to get something to eat. The small shop we went to is a place where not many tourists go. As we were walking there we heard are you lost. We got to the eatery and they serve pasties beef, chicken, cheese, and vegetables. They are excellent and a very cheap meal. We then broke up into groups. Three went to the beach, Jennifer and I walked with Dustin to meet some of his friends that he has made over his years of visiting and studying here. Libby, Pam and Pam’s son also walked backed to Summerset. The walk was long but gave us a chance to really see things. Dustin explained so many things to us. We seen a soup man on his bike, he had a large pot with a hot plate strapped to the front of the bike with a propane tank on the back selling soup from his bike. The small locally owned shops were all around. The first stop that we made was Ms. Pam who has a roadside shop selling fruit, jewelry that she’s made handbags that she has knitted and some very interesting purses made from different type of shells such as coconut. After leaving her place we stopped at another house right down from there and meet another woman who had a stroke about a month ago. I cannot remember her name but she is very welcoming and hugs were given all around. We caught a taxi for the remaining trip back to Summerset – thank god because the laptop bag was getting heavy. We got back with about a half hour before we were meeting as a group again just enough time to rest my poor feet. I should really lose some weight with all the walking that we are doing. We discussed our first meeting with the students and listened to everyone’s concerns. Afterwards we walked down to the cliffs and watched the sun set and then went to get soup from a roadside stand, but with the size of the group he did not have enough so back to Alice’s we went. The jerk chicken was just amazing – I will definitely be bringing some of this seasoning back with me. We walked back so Summerset went to the restaurant and had a few red stripes while set by the pool and talked to Boom blast and Dale who is another worker at Summerset and talked about the amazing fruit here. I think when I get back I will be so disappointed with the fruit because the pineapple here is just amazing and has a completely different taste then the pineapple back home. I am anxious for tomorrow when we get to really get to know the students that we have been paired up with. Hopefully I will keep this updated through the week for the first two weeks while we are going to Theodora and then I will find an internet café for the final week. That’s it for know will have some stories later of what some of the students have experienced -- more to come! By the way I am having a BLAST!!!
Saturday March 16, 2009
WE ARRIVED! We landed in Montego Bay and it took almost 2 hours to get through immigration and customs but we finally made it. The plane ride was good and as we arrived the rain started. Before going through customs we exchanged some money. We only exchanged a small amount so I exchange $40.00 and received bills and coins that I did not understand $1000, $500, $100, $50 and coins that had 1 dollar, 5 dollar and 10 dollar. I figured that I would learn once I started to use the money. After getting through customs Dustin, one of the instructors on the trip, went to check to see if our ride was here. He had been waiting on us since 1:00 and it was nearly 4:00. Our driver went to get the bus and as he pulled up I realized that what they call a bus is actually a van. So here are the seven of us with all our luggage – and literal no room in the back of the van for luggage. So try to picture a narrow van with the long seat in the back where four of us piled in – yes we were literally setting on each other. In the two middle seats one had a student while the other we managed to load our luggage that we stuffed everywhere we could. Only two suitcases fit in the back of the van so the remaining seven were stacked to the top of the van with all of us holding our carry on luggage. Dustin got the front passenger seat and Libby, our other instructor, got to set in the middle between the two front seats. Windows fogging up quicker then you could clear them we were off! With the rain it was difficult to really see everything as we drove to Negril, remember we had suite cases piled to the top of the van so as we drove, those by the suit cases had to hold on to them so they would not slide and knock our driver out. The drive was a little over an hour to get to Summerset Village. A few bumps along the way got us laughing in the back, part of the reason was I think we felt everything in the back of the van, and I was on the end and partly setting on some type of bar that was part of the seat. We tried to adjust ourselves every once in a while so that required us all to lift up while one got situated and the others followed – we kept asking each other are you good. So that was the adventurous ride from the airport. As we drove we followed the ocean, the streets are very narrow and people are always walking in the streets mainly because there is no other place to walk. Vehicle horns beeping all the time, to give warning to the pedestrians that a car is coming. As we drove through different towns it was amazing to see the different homes that were built. You had some beautiful homes right next to others that are like shacks. Dustin pointed out that you will see this all through Jamaica they do not worry about class status here. We also seen the resorts that were along the Beach and very few are locally owned. Most are owned by individuals from other countries and are run by individuals that they place there from that country. The Jamaicans are only hired for jobs like housekeeping, security, cooks so the money does not stay in Jamaica which is one of the reasons we are staying at Summerset it is locally ran by Jamaicans and the money stays here. Upon arriving we checked in. Since there are only five students on the trip and we were all staying in the Thatch House we were told that we would each have our own bedroom and one would have to take the loft, which I volunteered to take. The Thatch house has a large front porch; upon entering you have the living room and dinning area in one large room containing a sofa, two chairs, a TV, a long dinning table and a refrigerator. To the left and right of this room are two bedrooms that have a bathroom between each of them. Each of the bedrooms has a full size bed and a twin bed and plenty of closet space. The kitchen is through the back door and in another building. The room is large with two gas stoves but if we want to use them they will have to get us propane tanks, they keep the kitchens separate from the living area incase of fire. Going back into the house near the back door there is a set of steep stairs that take you to the loft area. To my surprise there is a beautiful wood carved king size bed in the middle of the room, a dresser and two side tables. It has a large closet and a half bath. There is a door that opens to the balcony that has a small table and white wicker chairs. Yes volunteering can have its advantages. After settling in we walked down to the cliffs to watch the sunset. We then went to Alice’s to eat we listened to music and the smell of ganja is everywhere, restaurants, walking down the streets, everywhere. Since we all had and early start we were exhausted and we turned in around 9:00 for bed.
Sunday May 17, 2009
An early wakeup for me, I think my internal alarm clock is still on. 5:00 am I up and enjoying the warm weather and beautiful colors of plants and buildings while sitting out on my balcony. Around 6:00am I went to the restaurant and got coffee, while waiting on the others to get up. We had breakfast then headed to the beach. We split into two groups so we could learn how to catch a taxi, which is really no problem because they are everywhere, everyone wanting to give you a ride. We just need to make sure that they are not a tour taxi because they charge more. On the way down to catch the taxi we got stopped by Charlie’s, a Jamaican who has his own souvenir shop down from Summerset. Before I knew it he had put a bracelet on me, which I brought for $500.00 but that is Jamaican money so it was under $5.00. He tried to put shirts on me sell me beach towels, just a little bit of everything. I finally told him, “I am here for three weeks and I have plenty of time to spend my money.” As soon as we got to the main road a taxi stopped ask if we needed a ride. He drove us to the roundabout which is as far as we wanted to go because any further than that the cost goes up even if it is a block, His name is Richard and he gave us his cell phone number and told us to call him at anytime. As he stated it is good to have someone you can trust and help you with the local surroundings.
We went to the 7 mile beach and we walked, and walked, and walked. At the beginning of the beach is a park where the locals go. The beach starts there and as we walked down Dustin pointed out the yellow sign, explaining that this was a separation point from the local beach to the tourist beach. The individuals wanting to sell you something was all along the beach, beautiful paintings that had the traditional Jamaican colors, red, green, yellow and black, wood carvings, colorful clothes and all types of eating places and bars. The water is so beautiful, the turquoise color from very light to a darker blue color as it goes out. Music everywhere and individuals wanting to sell drugs approached a few of the other students. Some really dark clouds were rolling in so after some time in the water we were told we had better start heading back. We stopped at a local eatery which is just a shack behind the medical building, a Jamaican woman gave us our options and everyone got the vegetables but me, I had the fish. Not sure what type it was but it was excellent. We walked back to the roundabout and caught a taxi back to Summerset. We had our first class meeting to discuss culture, what we are expecting to get out of this trip, what is applied anthropology, and what do we use to observe culture. A really good discussion started with our group and having two Anthropology majors also helps. Rebekah and Kendra are both Anthropology majors, Jennifer is doing a double major in Biology and Chemistry, and Chelsea is doing a major in photography and a minor in creative writing. So we have a very diverse group here to work on this project. The Reverend came to meet us and discuss the Theodora project. She is from Scotland and is an amazing person with some crazy stories to tell. After dinner I walked down to DJ’s the market down the street and brought a small bottle of Red Wine. Yes that it the name but it is a local wine. Libby and I both brought one and as we were walking back we opened them to try it. We decided it had the taste of cough syrup but after the first few drinks it seemed to get better. We set by the pool and discussed some of my fears such as the kids that we will be working with may not open up to me because of my age. Dustin and Libby both assured me that I was not going to have a problem. Around 10:30 we turned in. Tomorrow will be are first day at Theodora and we will meet the students that we will be working with.
Monday May 18, 2009
Today is the big day – we are going to meet the students at Theodora! Once again up early for me but it gives me a chance to write so I can do the blog and my daily Journal. I go to the restaurant and Mr. Glenn, who is one of the workers at Summerset, is there always with a big smile – his smile reminds me of Magic Johnsons smile it just puts a smile on your face. Boom blast is another worker at Summerset and apparently last year he was what they called the crazy man of the neighborhood. Pam one of the students from IU who was on the trip last year said he has done a complete turnaround. He is very friendly and wanting to really talk to you. I always have to ask him to slow down because a lot of his words I don’t quite understand and I need further explanation. We had breakfast and then the seven of us from Ball State pile in a van that will be taking us to Theodora daily. Our way back to summerset is on our own. We arrived at Theodora and the students were in there uniforms and just as curious about us as we are about them. The Reverend had a verse read in John by one of the students and she talked about friends. She indicating that we were friends and that we would be spending the next two weeks together, which will take the place of their English and Communication classes. After the Reverend was done she turned the group over to Dustin and Libby. Dustin spoke about the differences between our cultures asking some very simple questions such as who in this room thinks coco bread has chocolate in it – the Theodora students started laughing but no one in our group raised there hand. And I have to admit I questioned him about coco bread at the airport because I seen it on a sign in one of the stands. Then he asked how many in our group have had a Big Mac. Of course all of us from BSU raised our hands but the Theodora students were not even sure what a Big Mac was. Dustin pointed out that we would both have to teach each other because there are differences in our cultures and we may all need to explain so that there is understanding for all of us. Dustin and Libby then had the Theodora students draw numbers. They had one through seven in a hat and once the seven where drawn he had them line up in order. Collecting the numbers back and putting them in the hat the next seven drew and lined up with the other student with the same number. There were three more students which drew and then it was our turn. Working on this project are the five students from BSU, Pam who was on the trip last year from IU, and Mona, a graduate student from IUPUI doing her internship for her Masters. We broke up into our groups so we could talk and find out what their favorite snack is. I have three students that I will be working with, Kerean is a young mother with a one year old daughter who she informed me is walking and talking. Neon is a male student who is originally from Kingston, and Nicola is the third student in the group that I did not get to spend a lot of time with because she is studying for her test that she will be taking on Thursday. All of my students are very soft spoken but really wanting to open up to me. They all have brothers and sisters and as I asked if they had any ideal of what they wanted to write about they all had a story that they wanted to tell. We discussed what their favorite snacks were and Kerean said chocolate chips, Neon said chocolate potato chips ??? and Nicola likes plantain chips. I was not sure about Neon but Dustin asked again and was told the same thing. We gave our list to Libby and Dustin and as we watched a movie together they went to the store and got as close to the snacks as they could. By the way the store does not have chocolate potato chips, and instead of chocolate chip Kerean got a chocolate candy bar and Neon got peanut M&M’s. We finished watching the rest of the movie and then it was time for us to leave. I got the chance to talk to a lot of the students and hope to continue to do so. We left and walked down to exchange some money. We then went to get something to eat. The small shop we went to is a place where not many tourists go. As we were walking there we heard are you lost. We got to the eatery and they serve pasties beef, chicken, cheese, and vegetables. They are excellent and a very cheap meal. We then broke up into groups. Three went to the beach, Jennifer and I walked with Dustin to meet some of his friends that he has made over his years of visiting and studying here. Libby, Pam and Pam’s son also walked backed to Summerset. The walk was long but gave us a chance to really see things. Dustin explained so many things to us. We seen a soup man on his bike, he had a large pot with a hot plate strapped to the front of the bike with a propane tank on the back selling soup from his bike. The small locally owned shops were all around. The first stop that we made was Ms. Pam who has a roadside shop selling fruit, jewelry that she’s made handbags that she has knitted and some very interesting purses made from different type of shells such as coconut. After leaving her place we stopped at another house right down from there and meet another woman who had a stroke about a month ago. I cannot remember her name but she is very welcoming and hugs were given all around. We caught a taxi for the remaining trip back to Summerset – thank god because the laptop bag was getting heavy. We got back with about a half hour before we were meeting as a group again just enough time to rest my poor feet. I should really lose some weight with all the walking that we are doing. We discussed our first meeting with the students and listened to everyone’s concerns. Afterwards we walked down to the cliffs and watched the sun set and then went to get soup from a roadside stand, but with the size of the group he did not have enough so back to Alice’s we went. The jerk chicken was just amazing – I will definitely be bringing some of this seasoning back with me. We walked back so Summerset went to the restaurant and had a few red stripes while set by the pool and talked to Boom blast and Dale who is another worker at Summerset and talked about the amazing fruit here. I think when I get back I will be so disappointed with the fruit because the pineapple here is just amazing and has a completely different taste then the pineapple back home. I am anxious for tomorrow when we get to really get to know the students that we have been paired up with. Hopefully I will keep this updated through the week for the first two weeks while we are going to Theodora and then I will find an internet café for the final week. That’s it for know will have some stories later of what some of the students have experienced -- more to come! By the way I am having a BLAST!!!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Getting Ready
May 16, 2009 I will be flying to Jamaica. I am doing a field study that was set up by two extraordinary instructors to work with the Theodora Project through Ball State University. I hope to updated this on a daily basis so that my friends and family can follow me on my adventure. I will be staying at Summer Set Village in Negril, Jamaica http://www.summersetvillage.net. During my 3 week stay I will be spending 2 weeks working/volunteering with the Theodora Projet, a USAID funded non-governmental organization http:/www.theodoraproject-negril.org. The final week will be spent exploring other parts of Jamaica - so follow me on my trip -- that is as long as we have electricity and can get an internet connection!
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