Welcome to Bellevue

Yesterday was a very exciting day for the PC trainee group 82. After hours of conspiracy theories and analyzing hints by our project managers and staff members, we now know where we will be spending the next two years...

I'm moving to Bellevue Portland to work with a brand new farmers PMO (Production and Marketing Organization). Portland is located on the north eastern part of the island and is arguably one of the most beautiful parishes. My resources will be few and the work will be great, but from what I hear, Ill be working with some motivated, energetic individuals.

I havent actually been out to see my site yet. I move there this afternoon after spending the morning with my new supervisor.  I won't have internet for a while but as soon as I can, ill write an update with some firsthand perspective.

My site on paper....
Host Agency's Top 6 Activities
1) Protected Ag (green houses and such)
2) Improved Ag Practices (Natural Disaster Mitigations)
3) Environmental and Ag Education
4) School Gardens
5) Reforestation
6) Marketing and Record Keeping (Business management and skills for farmers)

Bellevue is rural community with an estimated population of 1200 people.
Will be living in 4 bedroom, 1 bath house with 4 other adults and a 7 year old.

The resources are few and the work is plenty. Can't wait to get started.

More to come this weekend

(never) Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Here’s an idea... Let’s invite 7 random strangers to a Caribbean island, send them out to the middle of the bush, make them learn a new language, and build compost piles and plant things with each other. If you think this sounds like an upcoming reality TV show on FOX network’s fall line up, you are wrong. This, my friends, is PCJ Green Initiative. The inevitable adventures, challenges, hardships, and successes that comes with such a scenario is starting to yield friendships that will surely last a lifetime.  Such is the story in the Blue Mountain farming community of Woodford as seven Peace Corps trainees have bonded together in environmental friendship and unity. It gives me great pleasure to introduce my readers to my new friends. We almost love each other as much as we love the trees around us.

First there’s Val. Val is great. She comes for New Hampshire and emulates some of the Peace Corps stereotypes to the T. She is ummm... peaceful, down to earth, and has a nurturing ora about her. In her spare time, Val loves making her own deodorant and shampoo, reading the latest in compost techniques, laying in human piles, and beekeeping. She is also a flash mob specialist, which allows her to channel environmental awareness through interpretive dance, poetry, music and art. Let’s say, hypothetically I really wanted to hug this tree, but try as I might, I just couldn’t wrap my arms all the way around it. I would put in a call to Val and she would be there ASAP to help me out.

Next we have Brie Burd. She is tight, brah. She comes from Hawaii and therefore is automatically super chill. She jams to some ultra rad music and I might venture to say she likes to attend shin digs, social gatherings, and “get-to-gethers”. I enjoy her laugh. She also knows some things about organic farming so she brings a lot to the table. There is a 99.7% chance that she will marry a Rasta farmer and stay here forever. I can’t wait to come back for the wedding. Brie, you want to go grab a beer after class?

Then we have Jenny. Jenny is a hipster but claims she didn’t really realize it until she got to the island. I’m not sure why because it’s pretty obvious. She wears tight fitting black jeans, has a star tattoo on her wrist, wears thick rimmed yellow glasses, and reads underground existential poetry. No, not kierkegaard, kierkegaard. was too mainstream in his time and therefore, by hipster law, cannot be truly appreciated. The irony kills me. Jenny is also an archeologist. She is straight nasty with a shovel.

Moving to the gentlemen we have John Eddy. Mr Eddy is 77 years old and therefore brings a lot of wisdom to the group. He can’t hear and is blind in one eye so while his contributions may not always be consistent with the topic on hand, they are ALWAYS funny and very valuable given the appropriate context.  Mr. Eddy always begins his presentations with a sex joke because he claims the increased endorphins allow for better learning and comprehension. I think he’s on to something... I did learn a lot about fertilizer that day.  After class, he entertains the rest of the group with stories as we hike up the mountain.

Second to lastly theres Kyle K. Kyle fits in the doesnt-have-a stereotype, stereotype. He’s from the midwest, likes fish and the outdoors. My favorite thing about Kyle is that when I need a hit of testosterone we can chat about the latest in NFL news (testosterone is seriously hard to come by in PCJ group 82. Of the 29 left, 6 of us are men).

Hmmmmm... who’s left? Oh yea, Sarah Marshall. Let me tell you a little something about Sarah Marshall. She is a redneck from Kentucky and therefore is the only person in Jamaica that not only owns flannel, but wears it on a regular basis.  You would think that  this fact alone would make Sarah Marshall very easy to spot in a crowd but the truth is you can actually hear her before you’d be able to see her. Sarah Marshall loves to talk... loudly.  I remember vividly within the first week of us living in Woodford some of the locals asking me about other members of the group. An older gentlemen asked “who’s di loud girl dat lives pon di hill with Auntie Peggy?” Who else could it be? “Sarah Marshall” I replied.

Sarah Marshall’s obsession isn’t what it seems.  As perfect as she is, Sarah Marshall used to smoke cigarettes :(  As we were attending a behavior change workshop early on in our training, Sarah Marshall got up and explained to the whole group the challenges she had kicking the bad habit. In vivid detail, complete with hand motions, Sarah explained that the behavior she needed to change had nothing to do with the addiction to nicotine, it was actually a problem stemming from her oral fixation.  The constant need of having things in and around her mouth eventually resulted in the surgical removal of her uvula... it was a tragic incident...

Sarah Marshall is very intelligent. She has two degrees: A BS and a MA in Agriculture Education.  She was actually the student body president for the college of agriculture at the University of Kentucky. She was so popular and good at everything she did that she was asked to speak at her college graduation. She has a recording of it on her external hard drive if you’d ever like to see it.  Anyway, in the heat of her graduation speech she was speaking so passionately that her uvula actually tore in half.  Don’t worry though, Sarah Marshall, in true Sarah Marshall fashion, finished the speech without anyone knowing of her discomfort.  After the closing line of the speech, Sarah was rushed to the UK medical center where the emergency room doctor was forced to amputate.

One would think that that this rare type of surgery would actually hinder one’s ability to communicate.  Believe it or not, the absence of the uvula increases the spacial volume under the soft palate, thus allowing vocal waves to reverberate at an increased level of 17%. It’s amazing, and you literally have to see it to believe it.

As if it doesn’t get any better, Sarah Marshall has a tattoo of Kentucky on her wrist, is a 4H expert and is Strengths Quest certified. Strengths Quest is a contemporary personality analysis program.  As if you couldn’t already guess, Sarah Marshall’s top strengths are communication, empathy, leadership, and facilitating. This is Sarah Marshall laying pipe, another favorite pastime of hers.

Sarah Marshall and I are great friends. We kick it on the reg and as a result much of the community of Woodford actually believes we share mangoes. This however, is not true. She is the closest thing to a frat bro that I have on this island, and for that I am incredibly grateful.

As you can see, the Green Initiative group is close. And not close like that good friend you had in high school type of close. Close like the there is no room in our relationships for discomfort as we talk about our digestive irregularities type of close. Close like the tell me about the love you did (or did not) leave in the states type of close. Or close like the lets be best friends for the next two years because we have no choice, type of close. 

Love you guys...

Small up Yuhself

First of all, I’m glad to have finally gotten the opportunity to blog again. As most of you know I’ve been living in a rural community in the Blue Mountain range for the last 3 weeks and haven’t had much internet. I finally found some time this morning to shoot ya an update... (Disclaimer: After reading this I realize it is very long and that you probably don’t want to read it all. I would suggest breaking it up in pieces. Think about it like 4 blog posts for the price of 1)

Training is going great. The magnificent seven, as we humbly refer to ourselves in the small hub group of the Green Initiative, are becoming really close. I will formally introduce all of them in an upcoming blog post but they are pretty rad people and I’m lucky to have them around. As anticipated, the training we’ve focused on in hub has been narrowed down to applicable information and skills we will be using in our environmental and agriculture work in the field. The average day of training has the usual dose of language and cross culture coupled with various sessions ranging from environmental perceptions in Jamaica to common farming practices. Anika (who develops and implements most of our programming. She works closely with Dan who spends his time developing our sites) has done a good job of mixing in field trips and practical assignments to prevent the headache that comes from information overload. Pretty much, the PC training has continued to impress. I think a lot of it has to do with the size of our group. Because we are so small, most sessions have more of a discussion feel as opposed to a lecture feel. And of course, Dan and Anika have to get a lot of credit as well for putting on a good show. 

The group successfully completed its first practical this week with the planning and implementation of an “Eco Camp” at a local elementary school. We invited about 14 students in the local and neighboring communities to spend a few hours with us Monday morning to partake in environmental awareness activities. Given the religious training I’m getting at home (more on that to come) I was asked by the fellow trainees to lead the group in the devotional, as is customary for just about every gathering/meeting here in JA. It was short and sweet but I ended it with ... “and dear lord, we ask that by the end of this day together, you will have made us better stewards of this earth, that you have so graciously given unto us”. It was a crowd pleaser for sure. At the end of it we broke off into teams and planted trees around the school. I know, I know, that sounds like a real hippie Peace Corps thing to do but let me tell you, the kids loved it, and they got the message. Deforestation is a bid deal here.

As of Wednesday we are focusing our training less on the environment and more on the agricultural climate of Jamaica. The day was spent discussing farm structure, supply chains, marketing etc... It was like being back in an AGB class at Cal Poly except not one of the boring ones. The difference here is that in less than a month a will be sent out on my own to deal with these issues/opportunities face to face. The thought is both nerve racking and thrilling. Each one of the trainees has to do “viewpoint” presentation during training where we present on a topic of our choice within the realm of our development goals. I presented mine on Cooperative structure and the Cooperative movement in Jamaica. I can’t take credit for the timing but it seemed to fit in pretty well with the other stuff we were talking about.

Starting today and going through next week we will be implementing a school garden at another school here in the community in cooperation with 4H, which is really active here. School gardens have been a big push by the government here as part of their “eat what you grow, grow what you eat” campaign. Jamaica has a ridiculous, and I mean RIDICULOUS import bill. What makes matters more frustrating is that a large portion of this bill consists of food products that could easily be grown at home.  Another highlight of ag training so far was a panel discussion we had with some local farmers. We invited them down the the community center where we train and just chatted with them for a couple hours about the life of a farmer. 

One of the highlights of hub training was the opportunity last week to go spend a couple days with a currently serving volunteer. The assignment served two purposes: 1. A travel test, where for the first time we were sent out on our own to navigate the island and 2. To see first hand the daily life of a PC volunteer in Jamaica. When I got my assignment to go visit Patrick Marti all the way in Westmoreland (one of the westernmost parishes, I’m now on the southeast part of the island) I was stoked.  Traveling alone has been a source of anxiety for a number of trainees so I was happy to get a great opportunity to practice. I got up around 4am on Monday morning and started on my first leg of the journey down the mountain. The plan was to take a series of busses and taxis down into Kingston where I could catch a straight shot out to Westmoreland on a Coaster or mini bus. I made it down to the country bus stop without any problems. The country bus stop is the central transportation hub for Kingston. There, I happened to run into a few trainees who I hadn’t seen in a couple weeks who were on their way out to shadow some volunteers as well. Turns out, they were headed to Santa Cruz which was on the way to my final destination so I adjusted my itinerary. It was good to catch up with them and to hear about how their hub training was going. From Santa Cruz I caught another bus to my final destination where Patrick was waiting to receive me. The whole trip took my about 6.5 hours.

Before I continue, let me tell you a little something about Jamaican public transportation. Lets assume that a vehicle was designed to carry, say, 5 people including the driver. It’s a fair rule in Jamaica to take the maximum occupancy of that motor vehicle and double it. Only then, is it full enough to drive. A common phrase you hear around the transportation hubs is “Small up yaself!” If a taxi man is yelling at you to do this you need to prop yourself up and allow another 1-3 people to sit in the back seat/bus row. At the beginning of the trip the occupants of the vehicle all tend to sit on eachother but after you go over a few pot holes everyone kind of shimmies down somewhat comfortably. Most taxi’s and busses here operate on a flat rate system so there’s no such thing really as “splitting a cab ride” with someone. Everyone pays the same price so it is most beneficial to the driver to fill up his vehicle as much as possible. As a result, you will spend up to an hour, or more, waiting for the driver to fill up his car/bus before you move anywhere. Thus, a trip that would only take 2.5 hour tops in your own car, took about 6.5 on public transit.  This is one of the many charming things about this place... ya just have to go with the flow.

Anyways, my boy Patrick has a ridiculously awesome set up. He lives in what I would call a coastal farming community which to me sounds like utopia. From his dwelling you can practically see Bluefields bay where he spends half of his time working with the largest fish sanctuary on the island. Patrick has had his hands in a number of projects there including the installation of an artificial reef as well as creating a deal with a local resort to serve lion fish to their guests. Lion fish are an invasive species that up until recently have served as a headache to most fisherman. Before, they would just kill them, now they are making good money off of them. It was nice to see a success story in action. When Patrick isn’t at the fish sanctuary he is spending time at a local Rasta’s farm helping him convert his operation into an organic one.  Patricks living situation is semi rural but very comfortable. He doesn’t really have running water but his catch system is pretty complex. He has a sink and a shower and a toilet that runs off a pump so you can hardly tell the difference. He lives in his own little shack on a plot of land with a number of other host family members. I would be very lucky to anything close to this. I will get my site placement on August 22nd.

On the current home front though life has been great. I’ve really integrated well into my family and I have the Richardson’s to thank for that. I have a feeling I will be coming back here often to visit for holidays  and to get a good meal. Auntie Maureen LOVES to feed me. A standard breakfast for me includes 3-5 pieces of festival (google it) a couple of dumplings, some type of meat left over from the night before, steamed callaloo (its a leafy green) a couple pieces of fruit and some type of non caffeinated tea (because caffeine is forbidden in the household per the SDA religion. If you are wondering, I have stashed all of my coffee supplies including my hand grinder and french press at the training site where I try to show up early every morning to get my fix. The first couple hours of the day are rough though). Breakfast usually gets me through most of the day with a couple snacks and then when I get home for dinner, its another feast. They are way too kind.

My first SDA church service was a marathon. We started at about 9:30am and didn't get home til about 10:30pm. It was exhausting but it also wasn’t so bad. It was more interactive than church back at home. On a couple occasions we broke off into small groups and discussed bible verses.

Speaking of church, I actually need to go there now. Sorry for the abrupt ending but sabbath is calling and I’m probably not supposed to even be on my computer... 

Here are some pics...

The Green Initiative fieldtrip to Holywell. It's like a state park with hiking trails and cabins. From left to right you have John, Sarah, Brie Burd, Jenny, Kyle, Me and Val is the one laying in our arms.

This is me learning how to do laundry Jamaica style. Auntie Maureen was very patient. When word got out that the white boy was doing his laundry in the front yard people made it a point to stop by and see it for themselves. I don't know what was so funny but they ate it up.

Uncle Shorty... AKA The Man

The ladies on our hike over the mountain last weekend

The Man giving me a trim. Turns out he's a trained barber. I got hooked up!

Hangin with some kids at Jamaica Day, The local emancipation celebration.

Sarah Marhall singing amazing grace at Jamaica Day. Sarah is a really cool person and will get her very own introductory blog post very soon. Please read her blog @ keepingupwithsarahmarshall.wordpress.com

The Kingston lights from the main road in our community. Shutter speed: extra slow

The crew on our hike