The news everyone has been waiting to hear!
We were placed in the parish of Saint Elizabeth which is located on the Southwestern part of the island. We are both working for an organization called RADA (Rural Agricultural Development Authority). It is directly under the Ministry of Agriculture! We will be working with farmers and extension officers.
It has been almost a week since we found out and moved to our new location. We’re living with a woman, her sister, and little boy. We can’t give a lot of details about it for safety reasons. However I can tell all of you that it’s HOT, cozy, safe, and exciting!!!! Our house mother has pigs which make me very very happy- they’re even durocs! Last night I made a new friend- a little kitten- he looks like LT- I’m hoping he stays around and keeps eating the lizards, bugs, and rats! Hopefully he doesn’t get eaten by a dog or squished by a car!
We’ve been touring some of the local farms; agriculture schools, and talking with 4-H leaders. They hosted a welcoming ceremony for us on Tuesday! It was really nice, there were several guest speakers, food, and we sat at the front table (as if we were special guests of honor or something like that).
We’re busily preparing for next week- the fair! It will be really exciting to see how it is different from the good ol Canyon County Fair in Idaho!
We’ll post some pictures soon, hopefully of the latest happenings! Lots of love to everyone!
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Updates!
These last couple of days have been awesome!
On Thursday we went to a Botanical Garden! The flowers here are amazing! There was bamboo, cattail trees, and trees with vines we could swing from. Here are a couple pictures from that day.
Will hanging from tree
On Saturday we went to St. Katherine to a current Peace Corps Volunteers site! It was awesome! They showed us how they do tissue cultures, pineapple tree planting, and some Ag in the Classroom!
Planting Pineapple Trees!
Agriculture in the Classroom- This is where the students learn all about Ag- currently they are planting tomatoes, yams, lettuce, kallalu, mangos, and the list goes on. Will and I though this was good that kids were getting some hands on experience in raising some of the crops they produce.
Today we went to the BEACH!!! It was GREAT! The water was warm, the lobster was tasty, and the sun was hot!
mmmmm Fresh Lobster
And finally to everyone We LOVE! Sent especially for you from Jamaica!
On Thursday we went to a Botanical Garden! The flowers here are amazing! There was bamboo, cattail trees, and trees with vines we could swing from. Here are a couple pictures from that day.
Will hanging from tree
On Saturday we went to St. Katherine to a current Peace Corps Volunteers site! It was awesome! They showed us how they do tissue cultures, pineapple tree planting, and some Ag in the Classroom!
Planting Pineapple Trees!
Agriculture in the Classroom- This is where the students learn all about Ag- currently they are planting tomatoes, yams, lettuce, kallalu, mangos, and the list goes on. Will and I though this was good that kids were getting some hands on experience in raising some of the crops they produce.
Today we went to the BEACH!!! It was GREAT! The water was warm, the lobster was tasty, and the sun was hot!
mmmmm Fresh Lobster
And finally to everyone We LOVE! Sent especially for you from Jamaica!
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Pictures as Promised
We went from this in Florida
To this in Jamaica
The view from our room!
My wonderful legs with tons of bite marks
My wonderful husband relaxing
And finally my little lizard friend
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Ya Man!
Well I will try to sum up the last couple of days in some short stories...as promised.
It has become very apparent to me that the Jamaican people are a very caring, sweet, and nice culture. Over the last few days we both receive several smiles, nods, mornins, and evenin's. We have become more accustom to the heat- however we both still sweat like little pigs in the middle of the day! The food has taken some getting used to- I'm not going to lie- we have both had some seriously upset tummys! The showers are still FRIGID!!! Although some days they are bearable! The bugs must love my skin- I have about 15 bite marks on each leg- oh the pain…and the itching!
We're learning so much about the culture and language! It's so amazing and we haven't even been here for a week! This week we have a couple of field trips planned which will be exciting- I will get better about taking pictures I promise- It's been an adjustment so give me a break:) The thing we're the most excited about is finding out where we will be placed, what our job will actually be, and who our host family is!
Lastly I wanted everyone to know that it’s practically a requirement that we carry a cell phone- therefore if you would like the number please comment or send me an e-mail and I’ll hook you up- We can receive international calls for free but it costs us money to call you!
Likkle Mo! (See you later!)
When we arrived in Kingston there was a welcome dinner for us that night. Now mind you this was a very tiring day however we were dressed snazzy for the welcoming of the Jamaican Ambassador! What an honor! The playing of the national anthem nearly brought a tear to my eye! How great it is to be here and doing a service to our country!
On Saturday we had our first experience in Kingston off campus...this was equally exciting but nerve racking! We had several places to visit in a small amount of time. With little to no Patwa at this point it can make traveling somewhat complicated. We got onto a bus $J50.00 which is just under a US Dollar! After that we had to wave down a "Red Plate Taksi" and go to our next destination. Well this was equally entertaining. Imagine; riding in a taksi, stopping for gas, and cutting someone off that was at the gas station first. Mind you the gas was $J89.90 per liter! You do the math- say your prayers it's not that expensive in the US yet :) The taksi driva jumped out and started hollering at the other man- I seriously thought there was going to be a brawl for the gas! Fortunately they were able to work out their differences and away we went- For our listening pleasure--SNOOP DOGG! Then we went to the Market- this was fun but kind of stressful. We got onto another bus only to have it stopped and searched for weapons. The gentlemen behind me had a knife which he slid onto the floor by our feet- everyone was kicking it hoping they wouldn't be the one caught with a weapon. We all asked to get off the bus, were frisked :), and loaded back on the bus- No Harm No Fowl!
It has become very apparent to me that the Jamaican people are a very caring, sweet, and nice culture. Over the last few days we both receive several smiles, nods, mornins, and evenin's. We have become more accustom to the heat- however we both still sweat like little pigs in the middle of the day! The food has taken some getting used to- I'm not going to lie- we have both had some seriously upset tummys! The showers are still FRIGID!!! Although some days they are bearable! The bugs must love my skin- I have about 15 bite marks on each leg- oh the pain…and the itching!
We're learning so much about the culture and language! It's so amazing and we haven't even been here for a week! This week we have a couple of field trips planned which will be exciting- I will get better about taking pictures I promise- It's been an adjustment so give me a break:) The thing we're the most excited about is finding out where we will be placed, what our job will actually be, and who our host family is!
Lastly I wanted everyone to know that it’s practically a requirement that we carry a cell phone- therefore if you would like the number please comment or send me an e-mail and I’ll hook you up- We can receive international calls for free but it costs us money to call you!
Likkle Mo! (See you later!)
Friday, July 4, 2008
Welkom Gruup 79
This is your first lesson in Patwa- the official language in Jamaica!
I just wanted everyone to know that we arrived. It's freaking HOT! It's hot at night and we're sweating, sweating, and did I mention we're sweating! Yesterday we took our first cold showers here! I actually showered with a lizard that came climbing up out of the drain! Look at me go- I'm trying new foods- even eating peas! The fruit is delicious and very different-
The rumors are true- the Mangos are AMAZING! I'm loosing battery power however please know that I will post some more soon.
Love to Everyone!
I just wanted everyone to know that we arrived. It's freaking HOT! It's hot at night and we're sweating, sweating, and did I mention we're sweating! Yesterday we took our first cold showers here! I actually showered with a lizard that came climbing up out of the drain! Look at me go- I'm trying new foods- even eating peas! The fruit is delicious and very different-
The rumors are true- the Mangos are AMAZING! I'm loosing battery power however please know that I will post some more soon.
Love to Everyone!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Famous Last Words
Training is finally over!! It reminded us both a lot of RA Training because there are so many little house keeping items to cover!
I just wanted to take this final chance to express some of our thoughts before we actually depart for Jamaica...
We're so excited to live in a different country! Jamaica has so many fantastic things to offer. We both can't wait to immerse ourselves in the culture, meet new people, and begin our projects. The most important thing we're looking forward to is living our lives much simpler. While there are still many unanswered questions....this has been normal for us however at times it can still be frustrating.
Tonight we dine for the final time in the United States! Tomorrow we fly to Jamaica!
I just wanted to take this final chance to express some of our thoughts before we actually depart for Jamaica...
We're so excited to live in a different country! Jamaica has so many fantastic things to offer. We both can't wait to immerse ourselves in the culture, meet new people, and begin our projects. The most important thing we're looking forward to is living our lives much simpler. While there are still many unanswered questions....this has been normal for us however at times it can still be frustrating.
Tonight we dine for the final time in the United States! Tomorrow we fly to Jamaica!
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
What a way to start.....
Well we did it...we're sitting in Florida preparing for Peace Corps- While this is exciting I would like to share some thoughts about our day yesterday :)
We arrived at the airport at approximatively 5:30 a.m. We were flying through Delta airlines- When flying in the United States you're only allowed to check one bag- However if you're flying out of the United States you can check two. We needed to check two bags each because eventually we'll be flying to Jamaica. The clerks just couldn't seem to understand that- we explained to them that our tickets were purchased through the government and we were doing a service to the country. The gentlemen at the counter (Will was his name) proceeded to tell us that Peace Corps is not a service to the United States! Now I want everyone to think for a minute whether or not we're really sacrificing two years of our lives for this country........after much thought I tend to think...uh duh! I was deeply offended by this mans comment and chose to walk away- after a nice hefty bill for our extra bags we walked away and boarded our plane to Florida.
It was extremely hard to say good bye to ALL of our loved ones however I'm grateful to have Will through this entire process. We're preparing to meet everyone in our group! We're excited to meet these people but I have to admit we're also a little nervous. There are so many unknown things ahead of us!
Yesterday for dinner we ate at a fabulous Sushi restaurant and this morning we had some delicious Starbucks Coffee and ate at a little Crepe restaurant. Our hotel is very nice and we got some much needed rest last night.
Love to Everyone!
We arrived at the airport at approximatively 5:30 a.m. We were flying through Delta airlines- When flying in the United States you're only allowed to check one bag- However if you're flying out of the United States you can check two. We needed to check two bags each because eventually we'll be flying to Jamaica. The clerks just couldn't seem to understand that- we explained to them that our tickets were purchased through the government and we were doing a service to the country. The gentlemen at the counter (Will was his name) proceeded to tell us that Peace Corps is not a service to the United States! Now I want everyone to think for a minute whether or not we're really sacrificing two years of our lives for this country........after much thought I tend to think...uh duh! I was deeply offended by this mans comment and chose to walk away- after a nice hefty bill for our extra bags we walked away and boarded our plane to Florida.
It was extremely hard to say good bye to ALL of our loved ones however I'm grateful to have Will through this entire process. We're preparing to meet everyone in our group! We're excited to meet these people but I have to admit we're also a little nervous. There are so many unknown things ahead of us!
Yesterday for dinner we ate at a fabulous Sushi restaurant and this morning we had some delicious Starbucks Coffee and ate at a little Crepe restaurant. Our hotel is very nice and we got some much needed rest last night.
Love to Everyone!
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