So when we arrived to work on Monday we found the internet wasn't working- turns out that the massive storm we had on Saturday destroyed our precious internet at work. The lightning actually hit the modem and well for a lack of better words...killed the internet! So I have to write this quickly because I'm in a little internet cafe in Santa Cruz- with little time left!
We recieved two yes I said two packages on Tuesday- 1 from the Reyes's and 1 from the Newlans! Oh the joy of recieving a package! I felt like a child at Christmas!!! Even though you have to claim the contents on the outside there are still unexpected surprises! Kaui and Cisco- I'm not going to lie the loofa's you sent- AMAZING! We have been in Jamaica now for 3 months and I've searched hi and low trying to find becuase the one I brought fell apart! I havn't been able to find one and then a package comes from you with what....TWO LOOFAS! I immediatly took the sticker off and jumped in the cold shower- and how wonderful it was! Scrub a dub dub...well you know the rest! Also in your package was more toiletries than I can shake a stick at! I think Will and I will be squeaky clean for at least a month! At first I felt as though this was your silly way of telling us we stink therefore you should have some shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and oh by the way brush your teeth with this toothpaste, new toothbrush, mouthwash, and would you please floss for crying out loud. However I then realized that you truly understood how bad we needed those things- TRUE FRIENDSHIP! Nick and Joy we also recieved a wonderful package from you! I loved the little notes attached to each item- I took them off and will hopefully hang them in our room- once we get some time to decorate! I also loved the pictures you both sent! How I miss both of my girls! I take the photos around telling everyone I left my children at home and look at how cute they are.
Jamaica is making us crazy! Somedays go by so fast that I can't remember the date let alone the month! This is a good thing though- makes the time go by much faster. Will trained some extension agents on a new program he designed to calculate their crop production every month and to also compile the totals for a parish report. I started working at a primary school (grades 1-6) on a school garden and compost pile. I love working with the kids. Last week when I went to visit them I allowed them time to ask me any questions they had about me, the United States, etc. A lot of the kids asked me if I was married- I told them yes to a man named Willy (that's what they call him here)...and then they immediatley asked if I had kids- when I replied no several of them said, "Mrs. can you take us back to the United States to be your child." I laughed of course and told them they would miss Jamaica too much if I did that. Some of the kids are so intrigued by me they just want to touch my skin or hair...it's kind of weird but easy to cope with. (It's almost like I'm a celebrity here...haha)
Last week we went to a funeral- one of the extension agents we work with his father passed away. The night before they have what is called a "wake" They stay up all night celebrating the life of the person. The next day, which happened to be a Sunday the service began at 1:00 p.m. needless to say we didn't leave until about 6:00 p.m. It was extremly long but is something I think can be admired about Jamaican culture- They have much respect for their elders!
Once again we need to say thank you to everyone who has sent us letters and packages. We have several people asking us what Will wants for his Birthday and what we want for Christmas! We will compile a list hopefully- we were able to get some pro deals through Keen, Chaco, NorthFace, etc. so if you're interested in helping with a purchase from one of these fine places we would really love that but I will post a list....soon kum!
Until later--- JAMAICA TO DI WORL!!!!
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Erin and Michael
We LOVE YOU 10X OVER AND OVER AND OVER AGAIN!!!
Today we recieved your package and what a great package it was!!! You probably forgot what you sent so here it goes:
*Chips Ahoy Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies/ MY FAVORITE!!
*Granola Bars
*Gobstoppers
*Mike and Ikes
*Fruit Roll Ups
*Fruit Punch and Lemonade Mix
*Sunscreen
*Bug Spray- 100% Deet ( I Love You)
*Chapstick
*Headbands!
*Shampoo/Conditioner
*Body Wash - our favorite kinds- Old Spice and Dove- YOU ROCK!
*Q-Tips- how did you know we were running low....?
*Hand Sanitizer
*and an amazing letter that you hand wrote!
I just want to say thank you thank you thank you for these wonderful treasures! They seem ridiculous to most people but I was so exicited to open it I nearly cried! I was also amazed at how great you were at stuffing everything into such a tiny box...AMAZING!
The story about Cisco in your letter made Will and I laugh so hard!! I can just picture him cutting his finger and thinking his finger was going to fall off! Even the woozy feeling and possibly needing stitches!
Again we just want to Thank You so much- you not only made our day, but our week, and possibly our month. We Love You!
Today we recieved your package and what a great package it was!!! You probably forgot what you sent so here it goes:
*Chips Ahoy Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies/ MY FAVORITE!!
*Granola Bars
*Gobstoppers
*Mike and Ikes
*Fruit Roll Ups
*Fruit Punch and Lemonade Mix
*Sunscreen
*Bug Spray- 100% Deet ( I Love You)
*Chapstick
*Headbands!
*Shampoo/Conditioner
*Body Wash - our favorite kinds- Old Spice and Dove- YOU ROCK!
*Q-Tips- how did you know we were running low....?
*Hand Sanitizer
*and an amazing letter that you hand wrote!
I just want to say thank you thank you thank you for these wonderful treasures! They seem ridiculous to most people but I was so exicited to open it I nearly cried! I was also amazed at how great you were at stuffing everything into such a tiny box...AMAZING!
The story about Cisco in your letter made Will and I laugh so hard!! I can just picture him cutting his finger and thinking his finger was going to fall off! Even the woozy feeling and possibly needing stitches!
Again we just want to Thank You so much- you not only made our day, but our week, and possibly our month. We Love You!
Friday, September 12, 2008
Chuggin Right Along!
There is so much to share from these last two weeks I’m not even sure where to begin!
We came back to our sites after Gustav- There wasn’t a lot of visible damage however when we went to work on Monday there was nuf nuf damage to assess. We spent the majority of the week visiting farms and looking at the damage caused from the storm. From this a document was compiled and sent to the Ministry of Agriculture which should help aid some of the farmers who suffered the most damage. It is calculated that St. Elizabeth suffered about $25 million dollars worth of loss.
In the midst of all this we moved into another house. We actually ended up moving in with the secretary we work with. She has more space and lives alone which is different from the 9 total people we were living with before (including us!) We have really enjoyed getting to know her and actually feeling like we’re a part of her family!
I went to a farm on Friday because there was a man there claiming to have lost 25 goats. The minute we arrived (myself, my counterpart, another extension officer, and a man from JAS) the farmer was extremely angry. I won’t get into a lot of detail as to why…lets just say politics here can make people FREAK OUT!. When my counterpart went to introduce me to the man he was extremly angry. He said, “I know who she is! She works with RADA!” My counterpart dumfounded said, “Well, why are you so angry about that?” The farmer went on to explain that she is one of those whitey’s here to destroy him, you know the ones from the CIA! I kind of chuckled as did the group from RADA I was with. This was my first encounter with someone who wanted to have absolutely nothing to do with me and the work I was trying to do. To make a long story short- the farmer couldn’t show us his goats- turns out he doesn’t even own any! This is probably why he was so angry with us and why he accused me of being with the CIA- to unveil him being a fraud and taking advantage of the government.
Finally we went to Lovers Leap. I will try to make the story short and sweet since I’ve babbled on enough in this posting. Before emancipation there were several plantations owned mostly by the British. Tunkey and Mizzi were both slaves working on plantations located next to each other. It is said that Tunkey and Mizzi fell in love but were not supposed to see one another because the owner (we’ll call him Mr. Slavedriver) of Mizzi was actually in love with her. Mizzi’s brother despised the fact that she would run off every night to visit Tunkey because he knew that if she could be with Mr. Slavedriver he would have a better life. Mizzi’s brother told Mr. Slavedriver that every night at 9 p.m. they meet (at this place where Lovers Leap is currently located). There are two endings to the story but I’ll share the one I hope happened. At 9 o’clock Mr. Slavedriver showed up and surprised them. Looking at one another they realized there was no way out. They didn’t want to be separated so together they de
cide to jump to their death. 
We came back to our sites after Gustav- There wasn’t a lot of visible damage however when we went to work on Monday there was nuf nuf damage to assess. We spent the majority of the week visiting farms and looking at the damage caused from the storm. From this a document was compiled and sent to the Ministry of Agriculture which should help aid some of the farmers who suffered the most damage. It is calculated that St. Elizabeth suffered about $25 million dollars worth of loss.
In the midst of all this we moved into another house. We actually ended up moving in with the secretary we work with. She has more space and lives alone which is different from the 9 total people we were living with before (including us!) We have really enjoyed getting to know her and actually feeling like we’re a part of her family!
I went to a farm on Friday because there was a man there claiming to have lost 25 goats. The minute we arrived (myself, my counterpart, another extension officer, and a man from JAS) the farmer was extremely angry. I won’t get into a lot of detail as to why…lets just say politics here can make people FREAK OUT!. When my counterpart went to introduce me to the man he was extremly angry. He said, “I know who she is! She works with RADA!” My counterpart dumfounded said, “Well, why are you so angry about that?” The farmer went on to explain that she is one of those whitey’s here to destroy him, you know the ones from the CIA! I kind of chuckled as did the group from RADA I was with. This was my first encounter with someone who wanted to have absolutely nothing to do with me and the work I was trying to do. To make a long story short- the farmer couldn’t show us his goats- turns out he doesn’t even own any! This is probably why he was so angry with us and why he accused me of being with the CIA- to unveil him being a fraud and taking advantage of the government.
The photo on the left was an actual goat farm we visited- not one a farmer made up...I saw it with my own two eyes:)
On Saturday Will and I attended the first ever meeting held by the women of St. Elizabeth. The organization is called SEW (St. Elizabeth Women) this will be a primary project for me as I will be working with these women in several different areas. One of my first projects is to teach the women how to make products from goat’s milk. I will be teaching them how to make soap, lotion, cheese, and several other income generating products. I will also be doing some training around the parish on composting, organic farming, and environmental education.
This week has been packed full of more exciting things. Will has started working on a project dealing with the Moringa tree. It is the
hope that this tree will be grown throughout Jamaica as it has several uses. Our hope is to make oil from the seeds in the pod grown on the tree and market it as cooking /spa oil. We went and visited a woman, who is willing to grow 10 acres of the crop as a test plot while we find an industry to produce and manufacture the oil and a marketing plan which will include education on the product.
On Saturday Will and I attended the first ever meeting held by the women of St. Elizabeth. The organization is called SEW (St. Elizabeth Women) this will be a primary project for me as I will be working with these women in several different areas. One of my first projects is to teach the women how to make products from goat’s milk. I will be teaching them how to make soap, lotion, cheese, and several other income generating products. I will also be doing some training around the parish on composting, organic farming, and environmental education.
This week has been packed full of more exciting things. Will has started working on a project dealing with the Moringa tree. It is the
hope that this tree will be grown throughout Jamaica as it has several uses. Our hope is to make oil from the seeds in the pod grown on the tree and market it as cooking /spa oil. We went and visited a woman, who is willing to grow 10 acres of the crop as a test plot while we find an industry to produce and manufacture the oil and a marketing plan which will include education on the product.The cattle above were a small road block on our way to YS Falls!
Finally we went to Lovers Leap. I will try to make the story short and sweet since I’ve babbled on enough in this posting. Before emancipation there were several plantations owned mostly by the British. Tunkey and Mizzi were both slaves working on plantations located next to each other. It is said that Tunkey and Mizzi fell in love but were not supposed to see one another because the owner (we’ll call him Mr. Slavedriver) of Mizzi was actually in love with her. Mizzi’s brother despised the fact that she would run off every night to visit Tunkey because he knew that if she could be with Mr. Slavedriver he would have a better life. Mizzi’s brother told Mr. Slavedriver that every night at 9 p.m. they meet (at this place where Lovers Leap is currently located). There are two endings to the story but I’ll share the one I hope happened. At 9 o’clock Mr. Slavedriver showed up and surprised them. Looking at one another they realized there was no way out. They didn’t want to be separated so together they de
cide to jump to their death. 
Lovers Leap!
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