One Stop?

A lot of weird things happen here. Not really weird in a universal sense but just weird to me because I'm not from here. A lot of these things I've gotten used to in the 344 odd days I've been here but something happened this last weekend that was really out of the ordinary.
I was visiting Kelsey in Trelawny. I think it was a Saturday. We had just spent a really nice day shopping in Falmouth for her new place in Bunkers Hill. We ate some Chinese food, went to the market for fresh veggies - you know, cool stuff like that. The weather was really nice too.
Somewhere about 3 or 4 o clock it was time to head back up to country. We loaded up in the mini bus with all our goods and shoved off.
For the first 25 minutes the ride was fairly normal. The common conversations of politics, the heat, the poor condition of the roads, more politics and sex filled the bus as we rumbled along. I rarely chime into these. Most of the time when traveling on a mini bus I keep to myself - sunglasses on, facing forward or out the window, pretending to be anonymous. Kelsey and I carried on a few quiet conversations, pointing out the scenery to each other, or chuckling at some of the conversations occurring in the background. Taxi/Bus drivers know everybody's secrets.
We had just passed through Wakesfield which is about the halfway point between Falmouth and Bunkers Hill when somebody in the back yelled out "One Stop!," the signal to tell the driver to pull over and let you out. The conductor opened the door and let out the passenger. Something happened in the proceeding seconds that remains unclear to me. Whatever it was really irritated the driver so he turned around and snapped at the conductor "yuh show off too much!". The conductor, who also happened to be the owner of the bus, didn't like that much. Understandable. So he snapped back with the usual cus words "bumbaclot!.... backside!.... bloodclot!" etc etc etc...
Well, this went on for some time and evolved into a completely different argument about money and how one of them owed the other a thousand J (11 bucks) and things started to get real heated.  Soon, the whole bus started to get involved and what started as an argument between two turned into something that more closely resembled a family meeting that just got out of hand. I love that about Jamaica. The older women started to assume their motherly roles and pleaded for the bickering to stop. The real older women scolded, the rasta man and the young men blurted out a few "chill nuh man!"s as a third brother would do and a few embarrassed people in the back kept saying things to the affect of "not in front of the white people!".
Well, all the pleas didn't help and this argument continued to get out of hand. Amongst the chaos the driver decided he had had enough so he pulled over, flagged down an oncoming taxi, and drove off in the opposite direction. The looks of disbelief popped up all over the bus - except for the rasta, he just smiled and shook his head. Disbelief was quickly replaced with relief however because at least we had the conductor, and he could drive the bus.... right?
The conductor got out of the side door and walked back and around the bus to the drivers door and reached for where the keys should have been... It didn't take long for all of us to figure out that the keys were still with the driver who was in a taxi headed in the other direction.
So there we were, somewhere between Wakesfield and Bunkers Hill without a ride. Most of us were laughing. Another reason why I love this country. Really, no matter how bad it gets, everybody just says "give thanks" and laughs. Those who weren't laughing were apologizing to the white people for the embarrassing display. We tried to tell them it was ok... and that we like Jamaica... and that we weren't really there visiting but that we lived there. They still felt really bad.
Thankfully, the whole thing was resolved very quickly. The road between Wakesfield and Bunkers Hill is reasonably busy so the bus load of people were able to flag down a few different drivers and within 10 minutes or so everybody was on their way again.

Never, ever, a dull moment.

"Give Thanks"

John's Blog

Here's a link to my brothers blog. He takes better pictures than I do.
A few things to look out for:
My organic demo plot. Theres a picture of the terraces I built as well as a seed bed. Nothing was planted when the picture was taken but now I have tomatoes, basil, bell pepper, jalapenos, broccoli.
A picture of the finished dam.
My supervisor, Mr. Downer in the yellow shirt with a machete.
Some cool shots of my yard.

http://www.aroundtheearf.blogspot.com/

"Teach me how to jerk"

Hey all,

Not sure if any body still checks this thing but I figured I'd throw up a quick post anyway.

All is good here. The truth is I don't really have a lot to report on. The things that were once out of the ordinary and therefore noteworthy are now the normal components of my every day life.  It's difficult sometimes to differentiate those stories that anybody would find remotely interesting. Nonetheless, Ill try.

As for Peace Corps work, the construction of the water project is completed. All 600 or so residents in Bellevue now have access to clean running water. My community members here are probably real sick of hearing it from me but I continue to preach that the real project is now just beginning... now we have to figure out how to manage the thing. In this regard we are making progress, slow progress albeit but we we are moving forward.  

I'm gonna try real hard here not to break off into deep development philosophy but the whole thing has been a fascinating study.  I was explaining the project to a family member recently and she was just gushing with pride. She said something to he effect of "Gosh you must be the man around there!" Haha, well, not quite. Its complicated. When the project was finished. There was no dancing in the streets, or naked children frolicking around a standing pipe gushing with cool, clean water. You'd never believe it but we are having a HELL of a time getting people to actually hook up to the system. It makes slinging $100 cabernet look easy.  The reason can be found in two inconvenient realities. Domestic water costs money and Bellevue doesn't have any money. 

A big chunk of my time since February has been spent with the community group that runs the system creating a business plan that would allow the residents of Bellevue access to cheap, but economically  sustainable water.  I do my best to explain: "look, we could have free water and it might last a year, or we could charge a fee, and it could last forever." To me it the answer is clear. But I come from the land of Iphones and six figure salaries.  The business plan we worked out calls for 60 customers paying $500 J per month in order for us to break even. As of the beginning of May we are up to 45, which is double what we had in February. Of those 45, 44% actually pay their bill, which isn't great but its better than the 8% we had at the beginning of the year. We are really making some progress and it feels great. I think in about a years time we might actually be operating in the black. If we can achieve that, I'll be the one frolicking naked in the gushing standing pipe.

With the construction now over I've had the time to start on some other small projects. I started an environmental club at the school, built a demonstration plot to showcase organic farming techniques and hillside farming techniques, and worked with a local NGO to assist local farmers with disaster mitigation land husbandry techniques. It's been a real treat to get back to the farmers.

Last month I had the gift of hosting my lovely family. We were able to split time between Bellevue and an all inclusive in Runaway Bay. I welcomed the opportunity of a warm shower and a break from boiled green bananas. The resort even had Jack Daniels which runs for about $50 US here when you can actually find it.  Hosting my family in Bellevue was even more fun, though. They got to see first hand the deceptive dichotomy that IS Jamaica.  Watching them go through the sensory overload that I remember from my first day in Bellevue was especially entertaining. It's a lot to take in, and they did great. Brother John was able to hang out for an extra week to really experience PCV life before he left for his 4 month trip around the world. Bro, if you are reading this can you drop me a line? Hope you are still alive.

Some random news... I adopted a dog. His name is Beenie, after Beenie man, the king of dancehall.
I will be visiting the US for three weeks at the end of August.
Will be spending most of my time in the bay with family and friends.
Big up to all those who have sent me care packages... Among them Mom, Dad, Christina, Kris Parise... huge thanks, you are true patriots.
My host mom and sister got their Visa's a week ago and are already in Pennsylvania starting their new jobs. The family dynamic will change drastically as the ship has lost it's captain in Kate. I already miss them dearly. They both spoiled me. The bachelor pad should be fun though for the six months they are gone.

Before I sign off, here are a few pics: 

The Bellevue Environmental Entrepreneurs (BEE Club) showing off their "Adapting to Climate Change" posters. TJ, on the far left actually won $75 from the UNDP for his work.

Bill taking a leak out of his right pant leg like a real man. Its a long journey to Bellevue. Pit stops are common and necessary.

My boy Squeaky putting on a Jerk lesson for my brother

Beenie trying to charm Kate into some Jerk

In the spirit of cultural exchange, I though it only appropriate to put on a BBQ chicken clinic after the Jerk lesson. Homemade BBQ sauce.... finger lickin' good

The trail to the dam.

Me and Beenie up at the dam

John, gettin his jerk on

The most important ingredient,  Scotch Bonnet peppers

The finished product

Bomb

Brother John planting his first Yam during a hillside farming demo day.

A clip from a workday to do some finishing touches on the dam.