Mi Soon Come

The emotional ups and downs associated with this particular adventure are enough to make even the stoniest stomach a bit nauseous, but as always, it is the downs that give the ups the finest view. Today, a current volunteer offered us one of his most profound moments in service, a moment when you feel so low, all you can do is take strength in another’s smile and “bless up!” I appreciated his honesty, I identified with his story and later in the day I feel that I had the first of many of my own profound moments.

After a long week of hard and applied work, we retreated to the classroom today, just as the rain decided to lean towards relentless. In my dress and tights, with my hair lazy and long about my shoulders, I balled myself into my chair as I am prone to do, and I listened to the intelligent and reserved passion of Raymond, the representative of Jamaica Organic Agriculture Movement (JOAM). He spoke about the organization, it’s mission and objectives and how it engages farmers to move towards organic. I identified in him, the same passion I identify in myself, Chris & Lisa, Sadhana Forest and other counterparts stateside- an almost idealistic wish for people to live in harmony with their mother earth, and a plan to help them do so.

The last part of the day, we hosted some farmers of Woodford to join us for a forum of sorts. We sat in a circle together, about 18 persons in all. We introduced ourselves in the context of our mission as volunteers. Among such a peaceful crowd, these people I must focus my energies on, I was the most honest I could be: “ My name is Adriana, I just graduated from Forestry School so yes, that means I’m 22 (cue knowing smile from me and laughter from others). I have always felt an inherent peace in nature and honestly feel that we can produce food and keep that peace. I am here to learn how to help you all achieve that peace.” Many farmers nodded in eager agreement, Mervin, the farmer next to me clapped his hands.

We proceeded to ask the farmers questions ranging from ‘why do you farm?’ to ‘what market to you sell to?’ and ‘what are some challenges you face?’ The farmers were open and knowledgeable, acknowledging some of their practices are not perfect, discussing strategies that they use, frustrations they share, and asking us questions about our own country’s farming practices, which was of course practically impossible to answer unanimously.

The farmers spoke of their connection to their land, the joy of watching growth, knowing that they can subsist, giving breath to the plants as they give us breath, and therefore the importance of chatting with their crop. It was a beautiful gathering. Often words fail where emotion eludes rationale, but listening to these humans speak I felt in my chest the ‘rightness’ that I feel when I am in the woods, or planting/working, or silently meditating on simple beauties.

This past week, we worked at a demonstration farm in Woodford, we worked at an organic farm in St. Mary and we cleared land and began the steps to farm our own plot behind the school. I used a machete to clear grass from our plot, carried 10ft long poles of bamboo cut by my fellow trainees on my shoulder, planted pine, built a barrier into the hillside, got sunburned and smiled a lot.

I also heard a passionate rasta quote the bible with such fire that I withdrew far from any happy place I could remember, felt grumpy for no specific reason, felt sick with a migraine, fought heartburn several days in a row and relied a great deal on others to support me. This, I am told, is the life of a trainee. But this, I honestly feel, is the most eye opening experience I have yet had as a person on this Earth.

In Jamaica the phrase ‘Mi Soon Come!’ is synonymous with frustration for American counterparts. The phrase could mean ‘I’ll be there in five minutes’ or it could mean ‘I’ll be there in 5 hours’, even so it can have no meaning at all. I use the phrase as my entry title today because, even though I don’t know where, and even though I don’t know when, Mi Soon Come pon a community to be their very own PCV: Mi Soon Come with open arms, ears and eyes, Mi Soon Come to learn and to teach and to love strangers until they are no longer strange, Mi Soon Come my friends! I hope that the next time I am down, the strength I feel now is waiting for me on the breathtaking scenic hillcrest above.

Zionites Farm

The three hour drive from St. Andrew Parish, where Kingston lies, and St. Anne Parish covered more of Jamaica than I’ve seen yet. I don’t know how we went or how we got there, though I’m sure another trainee could tell you, but my face was glued to the window and the sights outside. Even the main highways are not straight for longer than 100 yards, however the complete lack of potholes made for the smoothest ride I’ve thus far encountered. Off the highway was another story.

We followed the coast for a while before taking a sharp left and beginning the climb up a mountain. Que potholes… or rather, large chunks of absent pavement. After climbing for some time, we parked in front of the home of Val, the PCV working at Zionites Farm. Several other PCV’s were there for a visit, including Sarah, the PCV I shadowed. We could not drive to the farm, so we began the gradual and easy decent, taking in the sights of the mountain range in front and to our right, and the immense Caribbean Ocean to our left. A cool breeze blew distracting us from a relentless sunshine as we walked through other farmers’ plots, completely cleared of all but their crop, and in the distance an oasis of shade that must be Zionites.

We were received by a tall, barefoot rasta named Christopher and his wife, Lisa who was born in the Cayman Islands and raised in Brooklyn (I gave the name of my hometown upon introductions because I knew she’d recognize Poughkeepsie and her face lit up). Chris welcomed us and explained the farm- an organic/biodynamic system, tended from the soil on out. He described the human relationship with the earth (soil) as intimate, almost sexual, and beautiful, his lack of shoes a testament to his choice to be as near to the land as possible. I immediately felt at home, as I did at Sadhana Forest in India. There is no killing at Zionite Farm (unless it’s a pest like a rat or snail), compost is as important as the soil itself and a 5 foot buffer of thick hedge made up of various grasses outlines the entire farm to control outside contamination from the surrounding farmers.

Chris, Lisa and Dan, our sector manager

The first thing Chris did was to give us a tour of the farm. A raised, circular cabin-like structure stands at the highest point of the property, closest to the entrance. This structure is primarily used as a kitchen and therefore its hillside is planted with herbs and salad greens: nasturtium, thyme, lettuce greens and several other ornamentals were growing all together, a strategy called intercropping. This small plot was shaded partly by a young mulberry tree, next to that a naesberry tree and various other plants. Chris chuckles as he points out an almond tree and the nasturtium, many of the plants at the entrance to the farm just started to grow there on their own. Sometimes he plants things and they don’t like the spot they’re in, so he sprinkles seeds somewhere else to see what likes to grow where- the opinion of the plants matter a great deal to him, though the opinion of his wife seems to take precedent.

-Chris helped us reach the ripe mulberries just out of reach-

The plot behind the cabin, moving out into the farm proper contains turnips, carrot, bok-choy (called pop-chow here), lettuce, cabbage, banana, plantain and I’m sure I’m missing something. These plants are similarly intercropped. Chris shows evidence of snail damage and encourages us to kill any we see- he also encourages us to pick anything we want to add to our lunch, to which we gladly comply, gathering into gourd bowls Lisa had handed us before leaving to begin to cook. To the left of this plot is a hedgerow, behind which we find pine (pineapple), coconut trees and of course, naesberry (Chris says naesberry just loves his farm). The coconut trees do not love the cool weather that tends to frequent his mountain farm, but they are his favorite tree so he keeps them. Moving down the shaded path flanked by hedges he shows us his compost pile while doctorbirds flitted around a plant I can’t remember the name of but it was taller than any of us, holding beautiful red flowers. We continue on to more herbs growing together: cilantro, chives, thyme and leek then another plot blow that holds more carrot, dill and radish, lettuce, pop-chow and, interspersed throughout, naesberry and paw-paw trees (papaya). The contents of my gourd at this point smelled so delicious I could hardly keep it from covering my face as I walked. 

Sweet Pine!

Plot behind the cabin (top of hill)

Lily the doctor birds were nuts over

Grandfather naesberry

Paw-Paw

During our lunch of sip (rasta for soup), salad, fresh grain bread, salsa and potato salad, Lisa told us her end of the enterprise: marketing. A firey fashionista and a rasta man, the couple form a neat yin-yang, fused with a common passion. Lisa cooks, and exemplifies the couples teachings of agro processing while marketing their organic produce to niche markets. The organic movement will not gain momentum (anywhere) if farmers cannot make money from it. The process takes care and patience, which is not seen as conducive to feeding a family. Lisa imports seeds from the states to grow things not considered ‘cash crops’ to Jamaican farmers, such as cilantro, chives and mulberry, so these things are in demand by chefs, especially in the resort/hotel market. She has created her own label called ‘Stush in the Bush’ (stush means posh in patwa) and processes the raw products grown into things like salsa, chutney, salad dressing and jam. This is an important still for farmers to have, Jamaica has an issue with glut markets- When one farmer plants something lucrative, the other farmers follow suit and suddenly the product is worthless and they can’t get rid of it. Agro processing allows farmers to sell peanut butter instead of just peanuts, carrot juice instead of just carrots etc, for a higher price than the raw good. Furthermore, if they sell those goods as organic, they have targeted an even more lucrative niche market- provided that they are business savvy, which many farmers are unfortunately not.

This could get very involved so I’ll stop here. Suffice it to say that the couple’s passion and ability to teach were inspirational and refreshing.

After lunch we went into the field and helped Chris build a new compost pile closer to his far plots. Because he does not use synthetic fertilizers or manure, his compost must be very nitrogen rich and he therefore uses much more green matter (nitrogen) in his compost pile. We stacked logs into a container-type shape abutting a hill, and stacked logs along the bottom to allow for air to flow under the pile. We then collected brown waste/carbon, stacked it with green waste and covered it with soil to protect it from the elements. I was glad for the practical application, though I know composting science like the back of my hand and so, I zoned out a bit while he explained it.

This post is getting long and technical. I’d move on to today but even today feels long and involved so I’ll just leave you with a testimony I found about Stush in the Bush from some random blog, if you could possibly read any more  http://rysratings.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/stush-in-the-bush-jamaica/

Bless up my friends, for the land is green and the sun shineth <3

Eco Camp Part Deux

 

This past Friday, the Green Initiative had it’s second practicum exercise in the form of another eco camp, this time we went to Woodford Primary School which has hosted Peace Corps volunteers in the past and currently has a volunteer named Wanda working as a literacy professional. Wanda and her husband John work hard with the kids, who know them well. The school started a terraced vegetable garden with other PCV’s the year before that as well. We had more to work with this week than last week, especially with Earth Day as a theme (oh yeah btw- HAPPY EARTH DAY!)

We started off the day with a quick introduction to Earth Day. The kids were not really familiar with the day and it became hard to explain once Cory made it seem like the Earth’s Birthday (cake and gifts…really?)… but I’m a perfectionist when it comes to integrity of information and I take for granted my ability to put things into applicable terms. It took a lot to not interrupt and I can’t say I avoided the urge completely.

After that, I lead one of my favorite ice breaking activities called The Human Knot. the kids all circle up, close their eyes and grab any hand they feel in theirs- one hand/arm per hand/arm. They open their eyes and try to untangle themselves without breaking grip. We got as far as we could, sometimes it’s not physically possible to move like a piece of string- and then I talked about how the human knot is like cycles on the Earth, and people’s roles in it. Everyone had to move together to untie the knot, no one person could do it successfully so there was a cause and effect lesson AND a behavior change lesson. I’m definitely using that game again.

After the human knot, Jackie and Vinai lead a scavenger hunt in two parts. In the first 15 minutes the 4 groups searched for things related to each other: a dry leaf, a decomposer, soil etc. and in the second 15 minutes they searched for things involving humans: something that interrupts nature, something that’s a million years old, something humans changed. The group leaders did a really good job of getting the students to think about these things during the hunt, so the discussion after was pretty participatory- my favorite!

Jamaicans are used to having a break in pretty much everything they participate in- including movies at the theatre- so after a 15 minute snack and water break we split into two groups for Garden Beautification. One group painted rock pets to put around the garden path, the other weeded the garden. Again, the students were eager to participate which was such a relief.

Finally, we had the kids write Earth Day pledges and share them, followed by a tree planting and Earth Day birthday cake (oy). We planted Mahogany, Lignum Vitae and the Poui tree, which is planted outside the school where we train and I’m obsessed with its flowers and branches. The Lignum Vitae is also the Jamaica national flower, so there’s that.

Before we left, the boys and girls respectively wanted to perform for us. The boys got embarrassed when the music wasn’t loud enough and ended up goofing around for a bit before the girls took over and sang us some songs. At the end they asked us to to an American song or dance for them. Clueless and in a hurry, we grouped up and shot down every idea from Bohemian Rhapsody and Don’t Stop Believing to the Chicken Dance. We said we had nothing and filed to the front of the classroom to receive the students’ vote of thanks, but they wouldn’t give it until we performed for them soooo, we decided to teach them the Chicken Dance- or, rather, I taught them and my co-trainees helped with the song. Turns out it was a great idea because they loved it, and as the song got faster they wanted to do more and more rounds till the old PCT’s (meaning all of us) were breathless and laughing. Later that night at the bar, while good naturedly humoring the men after a game of dominoes, one of the boys asked me to show him my moves (really, all they ever wanna know is if the white girl can wind)… So obviously I busted out the Chicken Dance. That got em laughing.

We had a tex-mex cooking party planned for Saturday to simultaneously avoid 7th Day Adventist church and to eat some comfort food, so after Eco Camp, and after a strange foray to Hope Gardens Zoo for an enviro expo which wasn’t as relevant as we expected, we went to the grocery store and bought lots of food and lots of rum. We left to go pick up one of our LCF’s (learning community facilitator, I think) at the Peace Corps Office, as she was at a meeting to solidify our final site locations, and she told us to expect some Youth as Promise people to attend as well. We all became a bit grouchy after that, number one because every member of our training team has information we so desperately thirst for, and withholds it, and number two because we were unsure if we had enough food to feed everyone. Or rum.

Turns out we did, and we had some truly delicious food to combine with some wonderful company. Only four volunteers from YAP came to our little schoolhouse (which has a full kitchen and refrigerator), but a few of their LCF’s also joined, along with our LCF’s, Dan the GI supervisor (who is awesome) and Joan, the cultural trainer. Dominoes, Jax, Frisbee, party hats (for Joan’s son’s birthday), cake, tacos, home made tortillas and mango and tomato salsa combined with a bit of rum made the day quite a low key blast. Autumn and I even took a regenerating hike to John’s shade house and chatted, watching the goats across the little valley and making whistles out of grass.

Today, strong rain and thunder storms have kept me blissfully lazy, uploading pictures, eating food, writing this and even sleeping extra. My mind wanders home, especially on Sunday’s and I hear you are all enjoying some rain as well. May your plants grow tall and green and healthy this spring my friends and as always, much love from the land of wood and water <3

Shadowing

An integral part of every trainee’s hub experience is the period of time when they shadow a currently serving volunteer. It gives us the experience of traveling out on our own: negotiating patwa, being white in a sea of very dark complexions, accepting the invariable truth that is running late and moving from taxi to bus with no discernable labeling system other than the shouting conductors. Once travel is conquered, shadowing offers the obviously incomparable experience of seeing how a Peace Corps Volunteer successfully (or unsuccessfully in some cases) manages life socially and professionally among Jamaicans.

I had the fortune of traveling with two other trainees, Vinai and Jackie. The three of us were headed to Morant Bay in St. Thomas Parish where Vinai would stay with his volunteer and Jackie and I would proceed with the help of our volunteer, Sarah, who lives in a town about an hour away, in a river valley, nestled between some very steep and deforested mountains.

Our task was to taxi from Woodford to Papine, bus from Papine to Kingston, bus from Kingston to Morant Bay and then taxi to Sarah’s home, about an hour north. Taxi’s here have one beginning point and one ending point, and all drivers of all vehicles get paid per person not by distance SO taxi’s do not leave until they are full, and then add people along the way. This of course means that taxi drivers have been known to fit 6-8 passengers in a four door wagon. Additionally, car inspections here either don’t exist or are not enforced so that vehicles may not have interior upholstery, or may require special measures to start. Finally, there are big yellow coach-like busses which are government funded, and then there are smaller bus-type-vans that seat about 32 and are more on par with taxis in how they operate. One person drives and another hangs out the door shouting the destination while still another walks up and down the bus park shouting and ushering people in. These bus’ are often decorated and playing music. On our way into Kingston from Papine, our bus had the words ‘mi nuh waan see nuh man sit pon di front!’ meaning the driver only wants ladies sitting near him. This bus was also stopped mid route for about 45 minutes while they repaired it and we sat, waiting.

ANYWAY. I could go on for a while about this but moving on. Sarah is famously one of the most well integrated volunteers on Island, so living with her was like learning from a master: intimidating and inspiring. She has several projects, chats patwa with everyone from the pickney to the women in their yards, the farmers in the bush and old and young men alike and dates a man from town. She is locking her hair and is respectfully called “brownin” by those in her community, who loved her completely the day she rode a donkey two hours through the bush to weed carrots on a farm plot- not something any woman in town would be caught dead doing. The best advice I’ve learned from most volunteers is to do something surprising and awesome, get them to notice you for something besides your skin color or your poom poom (vagina)- street cred, they call it.

Sarah’s main project is to construct containment dams, which are built in the gullies that water makes coming down the mountain. Farmers have grazed their livestock so heavily and burned so frequently that the ground cover is simply a peach fuzz of grass blades, and heavy rains have been known to bury houses under feet and feet of soil (last time in 2004). The dams are meant to catch the soil before it reaches the houses, while allowing the water to flow through them.


We hiked through a gully to see some dams and then hiked up, up, up to see the reforestation project- trying to plant seedlings in the barren earth. The view was also breathtaking.

As we sat, regaining our breath in the shade and chatting, some men came through- one old Rasta and two other men who Sarah knew. They and their donkey were on their way into the bush to visit their farm plot, did we want to come along for some sugar cane? Why, yes, we would! And so I found myself in the most curious of hiking crews: Donkey in front attached by a rope to the shoeless and shirtless Rasta man who was chat-chat-chatting along with Sarah about politics, people, the land and all sorts of other things I could’t follow, behind her the other man, then I, Jackie and the third man with his wafting ganja smoke behind. The forest changed abruptly to pine trees, bringing with it comforting smells of home, confusing sights of bamboo and mango mixed in and increased political chatter from the front of the line, as the pine trees are not native, not good for the soil and are planted by the government for lumber production (and reforestration- so they say). We arrived to the plot to find lush, lush everything growing everywhere- a true Rasta man, growing organic, patient and careful, and proud of his land and what grows there. We sat about gnawing on sugar cane and chatting, and upon leaving to get lunch at a dam construction site were presented with a sack full of produce to carry home, along with three 4ft long pieces of cane.



We headed back, and after about an hour realized we had no idea where we were. Sarah, in Jamaican fashion, had no minutes on her phone and her supervisor, it turns out, had none either. Through phone borrowing on his end we connected and he advised us to turn around and walk back, calling to him, and he’d come try to meet us. About 25 minutes into this crazyness we met a farmer on his way back to the community and our exhausted, sweating and hungry bodies willingly followed, along with the 3 canes of sugar and sack of produce full of carrots and yams and more cane.

We arrived home, anxiously showered and positively feasted on a dinner of steamed lionfish (serious invasive species everywhere this side of the Americas) which I had never had before and was thrilled to learn that I actually liked it a lot.

Anyway, this post is getting very long, thanks for sticking to it if you’ve gotten this far. The ride home was pretty uneventful today, we arrived back to the lush Woodford mountains and had another interview with Dan, to see how our minds have shifted- Dan is as confident as ever in my abilities and very excited to see me assimilate into my community, which of course has me positively squirming to just KNOW already.

Gotta plan another Eco Camp tomorrow for Friday, I’m exhausted and expect to sleep well tonight. Peace and Love to you all and may your dreams be as sweet as sugar cane<3

Team Building

These days move by so quickly, I feel I just wrote a big long entry and looking back realize that those events seem to have taken place ages ago. For the record I feel much better, I had to wear my glasses all week but finally my eye is pretty much normal.

This past Friday, we had our first Eco Camp- a practical application of the things we've learned in hub so far. We entertained 21 students from Woodford with ecology themed activities such as a water cycle demonstration, the migration game, compost relay, planting seeds and reusing bottles to make toys. We split the kids into 4 groups, 4 of us acting as team leaders, the rest of the trainees ran the activities as we rotated around, keeping the kids focused and excited. I was the leader of the Yellow Boas, a group very diverse in age and therefore a bit difficult to gauge in terms of education. Of course they were quiet to begin with, self conscious of getting answers wrong and of being an 'uncool' level of excited- a limitation I of course grew out of long ago.

With about an hour left, rain began to fall, heavy and persistent. We transitioned quickly to indoor activities and decided to cut out the last rotation in the interest of time and space. The kids readjusted and cooperated very well during this moment of chaos, we were impressed and relieved that nothing was truly ruined.
We finished the day with a game show to test what they had learned and followed that up with prizes for all and finally, lunch. Having done environmental education, this was better practice for working with my crew than with actual education.

The rain continued off and on into Saturday- a day we had set aside for a team building field trip into Kingston. On the walk down to catch the bus, I got soaking wet and was therefore rather miserable for much of the morning. The rain in the mountains is cold and the air is cool, both factors contributing to my misery. Our first stop was Devon House, an old plantation turned ice cream shop/bakery/plaza in Kingston. This was the first time I've had ice cream in Jamaica, though I quickly followed it with a hot cup of Blue Mountain Coffee.

With my shoes still soaked but my pants slowly drying, we walked down town to catch a bus to the stadium where an invitational track meet was being held. On our way, I stopped and bought a pair of rubber flats for 400JM, improving my mood significantly.
Once at the track meet, it was nice to sit and watch: the runners, the field, the audience. Jamaicans love their runners and the stands were swarming with excited fans, college students, moms dads and kids, seniors... people of all ages were there to cheer and be entertained. Men pedaled cotton candy, peanuts, banana chips and bag juice (essentially water and sugar in a bag which you bite a hole in to drink it). Usain Bolt, Shelly-Ann Fraiser and other Olympic contenders were there to run, and the crowd went wild when they did.
Finally, the part we were all excited for, was dinner at a JaMexican restaurant. Burritos! Tacos! Fajitas! Salsa! CHEESE! Red Stripe and Tequila too were consumed. We ate well and cheers'd with tequila and the drive home was high strung and giggly. The field trip had done it's job, we felt refreshed and united as the Green Initiative. The next day Autumn and Jackie came to my house and we hung out in my room, using the internet, trading music and watching TV shows on the computer. Being lazy and bonding :)

Days Off

This weekend was a holiday weekend here in Jamaica which meant that we had off Friday and Monday.

I already described farming on Friday. On Saturday Shameaka and I went into Papine, a district of Kingston close to the steep mountains and then to Kingston... and then back to Papine. As you snake your way down the mountain, houses and buildings get closer together and nearer to the road when finally the road levels out and Papine is before you in all her urban glory. To the left of the road is blocks of buildings holding cell phone stores, hair and nail salons, the off track betting/gambling outlet and of course various shops selling 'sweetie' snacks and drinks. The road splits into two one way roads with a park-like square in the middle. To the right of the square is a grocery market and a bit more of the same, with some jerk chicken sellers here and there. If you look beyond the line of businesses on the left, it drops steeply, following a road further into the valley, and directly across the way, another mountain side dotted with fancy homes taking in the view. Of course there's also the beautiful sight of garbage pretty much everywhere you look, regardless of location.

In Papine we visited with Shameaka's cousin who does hair and got a pattie for lunch. Patties are cheap fast food type concoctions, a flaky turnover-like crust filled with one of several options: beef, chicken and sometimes veggie chunks (soy). One can put this between a fold of sweet white coco bread to add some more carbs but I generally prefer the comfort of a side of fries. After lunch we headed into town (Kingston) with Sham's other cousin who recently found that she is 2 months pregnant with her third child (her other two girls are sweethearts, the youngest of them has just the biggest eyes and the sharpest tongue). In town I followed the women around the busy streets towards coronation market, where I'd gone with Peggy 2 weeks ago. Sham bought some sunglasses and earrings but the open and crowded layout was too distracting for me to actually shop, I never realized how partial I am to the quiet and orderly mall setting. I was glad to move to the produce market where the prospect of fresh fruits and veggies laid at arms reach. I bought some broccoli to put in pasta, and tomatoes and cucumbers for lunch sandwiches.
We went back to Papine where I waited for Sham to get her nails done. As I sat, a man came in with a suitcase and began to take clothing out of it. All the ladies knew this man, stopped what they were doing and asked him to throw them things if they liked how they looked. They then appraised the quality, fit and price before taking it of throwing it back to him to pack back up. He visited for a bit and on his way out asked for my number so he could get to know me. Psh, classic Jamaican.
By the end of Friday I was exhausted with a headache and feeling sick, I've been fighting something for a few days now, but I'll get to that.
Sunday was Easter, I skyped with the family and stayed inside most of the morning due to rain. Once the rain stopped I met up with the other trainees and we took a long walk up the hill to Jack Allen, a kind of district of Woodford (the town I'm in, I'm supposed to be discrete about public displays of location...PDL?)The district I'm a part of is Freetown, which one can see from Jack Allen. We took the back way instead of a road so that it would seem more hike-ish, it was my first time among those houses I said I'd no idea how to get to... I can't imagine being old in one, how could they get groceries up the mountain with no car access??

Sunday there was to be a wedding in Kingston and I was invited to attend by another host family. I think the last wedding I went to was Uncle Toph and Aunt Holly's and I don't remember it as I was a likkle pickney (have i mentioned this yet? 'little child'). A 7th day Adventist wedding reminded me of a more chauvinistic Roman Catholic wedding though, lots of emphasis on the role of a man vs the role of a woman in a marriage. A 7th Day Adventist wedding is a dry wedding, no alcohol and finally a 7th Day Adventist wedding is one where you sit and listen to people give speeches and toasts while you eat food for 4 hours- there was no dancing. The wedding got me really excited to plan my own, something that has never crossed my mind unless it's to think "I wonder why I never feel compelled to plan my own fairy tale wedding? oh well, come on Lucy let's get muddy."
While I'd expect no fairy tale, I'd expect something along the lines of my going away party, except I'd get to wear a pretty white dress and spend the rest of my life with someone special. Daaw.

Today (Tuesday) I went to training feeling under the weather as has been the case since Thursday. I called Viola, the PC nurse to let her know that I scratched my eye over the weekend, not expecting her to tell me to leave immediately for the doctor. With 500 JD (jamaican dollars) in my pocket and no ID to speak of, I took a taxi with Robert, one of the trainers, down into Kingston. I was not in a great mood and felt sicker as we got in. I have a mild corneal abrasion and must use antibiotic drops however, the sickness is simply a cold, nothing to diagnose and I must stick it out. I opted to come home after the doctor's instead of go back to training, I slept for a few hours to the tune of some anxious dreams and now find myself awake with a bit of a fuzzy brain. Hopefully I can find enough rest tonight to feel better tomorrow... the thought of the walk home feels very daunting this side of Wednesday.

I hope good health and happiness is following you all <3

Farming

Told you I'd have more time to blog :-p

The town I'm living in is one predominantly made up of farmers, a perfect place for the Green Initiative to begin our specified learning. Each of the Green Initiative members were invited to serve under even more specific titles such as Agroforestry (me), agrobuisness/tourism, environmental education and so forth. While these sub-titles are not as important as the overall sector title, it is interesting to see how each of our skill sets drive us to ask questions and give answers. Some of us ask questions applicable to the worth of a crop or the sale of it while others ask about ground cover, crop rotation and pest control. Our trainer Anika and our other teachers are not actually educated in any environmental fields, their true strengths are facilitation and of course, being Jamaican. Anika will always find an answer for us if she doesn't know it, but she knows everyone in town who holds information we can use and so she invites them to our training sessions regularly. It's useful to watch Anika work and teach as our overall purpose is to be a facilitator ourselves so that the success and sustainability of a project doesn't land on our shoulders. We've been told it may take up to 2 years just to get our project off the ground, and for Americans this can be frustrating. We're encouraged to find alternative outlets such as tutoring in schools or starting a youth program outside of our assigned organization so that boredom and frustration does not get the best of us.

Yesterday (Friday morning) Pat and I shadowed a farmer, a man hosting a fellow volunteer. The front and side of his house is lined with thick greenery, some flowers for show but also tomato plants, mint and parsley, cho-cho vines, guava trees and various seedlings being prepared to replant in the fields. For confidentiality I'll call this man Mr. Gill. Mr. Gill received us warmly, put on a pair of tall rubber boots and grabbed his machet (machete, but it looks like a short dull sword). He led us behind his house, past a hutch of hens and down a sloping clay path. We were immediately plunged into lush greenery as he pointed out his coffee plants, the difference between banana and plantain plants, guava trees and so forth. The first field we passed was his by law, he owned it and he farmed it. The adjacent plot was not his nor was he the one farming it- this one had grapefruit, guava, mango and other fruit trees. We snaked down the path as it got skinnier and wetter, hearing the soothing sounds of the 'river' (more like a small stream at this time' down below. As we got closer and then crossed the stream, Mr. Gill pointed out the high water mark where the water would be around october-december, a good 7-10 ft from the current level. We continued walking to his next plot, government owned but citizen farmed. We asked the legal process involved and he replied that there is none, he had pointed out his third plot to us earlier as we descended the mountain, a square of banana trees a bit higher than where we stood, up the opposite slope, this too was government land.
Mr. Gill plants with no particular rhyme or reason, so he says. He has a few cabbage growing beneath some banana trees, gungu peas in a patch below that and somehow, he points out, a ganja plant found its way in among a patch of red peas. Someone probably smoked there and dropped some seeds. Mr. Gill uses chemicals to combat pests when it is needed, we did not ask how often or how much as we did not want to seem offensive or like we know better. He also slashes and burns to control weed and invasives growth however, the majority of his current plots are completely covered in plant growth, the only exception being a month old patch of banana and pine (pineapple) which was recently sown. He says that this is his biggest concern if a big rain were to come, it would wash everything away, however with the amount of growth just a month brought, I imagine he'll be safe until October.
Mr. Gill does not farm for the money, he is a carpenter and mason by trade and giggled when I commented that he is a man of many skills. He pointed out baby beans and a new cho-cho vine like they were his children, adopting a slightly higher pitch and a loving tone when indicating their wherabouts, letting out a little giggle saying 'see da baby cho-cho der? Jus climbin up the mango tree *hehe*' What a proud daddy.

My life shifts when I return home, my young host mom sent her son away with his dad for the long weekend and she is feeling happily liberated. I see her more as a friend than a mother for sure, which is great but kind of has me more reserved since she plunges herself into social situations while I stand quietly, knowing that the boys are looking me up and down as they yell 'hey whitey!'... Shameaka told me to call back 'wa'gwaan black man!' I tried it on her brother last night and his crew laughed and left me alone so I suppose I'll try that one out again. The color thing doesn't bother me as much as the stares from the men like I'm a prize or a piece of meat. American men at least pretend to be your friend, even if they want to take you home. I'll never complain about indecent American boys again I promise you that.

Sham and I are heading down the mountain today into 'town' ie Kingston. Should be a fun use of a day most of my co-trainees are at the 7th day Adventist church. HA, they'll be there from 7-4 if their host families are super religious. I'll be celebrating my holy day in nature if all goes to plan.

until next time, peace and love to you all <3