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