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.