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!!!