The life of a Peace Corps Volunteer is highly cyclic in a myriad of ways. There is a great fluctuation of emotional stability across a range of time, work related cycles involving times of great success followed by by times of infinite boredom; times of prosperity and times of poverty. Yes, all life is cyclic, but a PCV sees and anticipates this cycle in a very concentrated span of 2 (or 3) years. Thinking back, year one is all about testing the waters, year two is about taking the dive. For a volunteer who is the first in a community must see the cycle beyond two years, for her own sanity. Being the first volunteer is like being the first daughter in the family: it’s a lot of bushwhacking, and lot of trial and error. You’re not sure what to do with yourself and your community isn’t sure about your purpose either. The first volunteer must draw boundaries, invite possibilities and trust that the next volunteer can take over from there. Not to say I’m not “making progress” here, being in year two makes it easy to compare mistakes and improve the cycle.
About 11 months ago this year, I was a new volunteer still only 4 months on Island and I volunteered to plan a children’s summer program that the CDC always runs for a few weeks. I hardly knew anyone and they hardly knew me. The entire thing was a chaotic tug of war between multiple parties and was a stressful introduction into Jamaican event planning.
This year, I prepared as well as I could, left for Clarendon to work at the Denbigh Agriculture Show with a bunch of AWESOME people and came back ready for week one of CDC program, Eco Program. The theme of day 1 was, “Respect yourself, respect the environment” day 2 was “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”, 3 was “Trees” 4 was “Games Day” and 5 was a Nature Walk. We has a few very rainy days, but we managed to balance every day with physical activity and learning, and the presence of my dear friend Autumn made everything go much smoother. The kids surprised me with their enthusiasm, especially doing leaf rubbings and watching Planet Earth. Autumn and I had a blast teaching students kickball and The Migration Game, and we only had one major fight for the entire week!
The last day was the one I was most apprehensive about. During planning meetings we had discussed taking the kids for a walk in the bush and roasting Breadfruit for lunch. I left the logistics up to some committee members, outlining what we would need for the day. Once my weeks started though, I hardly checked in on the progress so I was relieved when the day ended not only incident free, but as one of the fondest memories I will have of my community.
The plan was to hike behind Left Hall, the biggest, and highest, district in Beeston Spring, beyond which is farmland with a breathtaking view of the coast. At 700 ft above sea level, there is a cooling breeze almost the entire way. We drove the bus to where the road ends and led our ducklings in a row, along the footpath that serves a good number of farmers on a daily basis. We paused to admire the view, talk about a plant or just drink some water and the children were so engrossed in their surroundings that the familiar negativity of their interactions was relaxingly absent. About an hour into the hike, we came upon a bare hilltop dispersed with several rock walls and the children begged to run up it. On my approval they set off as a mass, spiritedly climbing the emerald hillside. We had a stretch session at the top of the mountain and a long rest.
silly face!
The walk back was relatively uneventful and we were met with a Breadfruit fire on our arrival. Some kids played cards on the blankets in the shade, others wandered around, playing on dead trees and looking at birds. With 5 small Breadfruit, a can of beans and a can of corn, we fed 20 children while the 6 adults enjoyed an added bulla and pear. Rain began to fall as the kids began to finish their plates, the place was swiftly packed and we rolled back down the hill, the happy kind of tired.
This week would not have gone as well if I hadn’t experienced last years debacle. This year I knew to place a high value on good behavior, have everything prepared well beforehand, how to utilize my community members and what should be expected from Jamaican children. Sometimes the cycle is tiresome and daunting, and stability seems far away, but if not for the cycle, I would not have gotten a second chance to have such a successful week. Here’s hoping next week is just as great!
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