What's New?

The Schumakers feel like kids again! We went to the zoo this week! It’s not a zoo that is ready for tourists but is almost finished and will soon be open for business. We had a lot of fun walking around looking at the animals- our tourist guide- a kitten! He was following us around playing with the animals, chasing butterflies, and meowing. He reminded me of LT- a sad moment- because I kind of miss the little guy- even though he was really obnoxious! While at the zoo we saw all kinds of animals- zebras, lions, crocodiles, raccoons, squirrels, monkeys, llamas, parrots, toucans, and the list goes on!


Work is going alright- we continue to struggle with the culture and finding our place in a country that is still fairly new to us- even though we’ve been here for 4 months now! Yesterday we walked to the store and on the walk back it started pouring rain- we were soaked to the bone- freezing cold- in JAMAICA! We finally found a vacant house to duck under until we thought the rain had passed- of course after walking a short distance it started pouring again! Go Figure! We walked home, changed into pajamas, and drank some hot tea.
We’re getting excited for Early Service Conference (which will be in Ochi Rios- in a fancy hotel) and Christmas- We’ve decided to go and spend some time with our friends Josh and Jesse- We’ll be staying in Portland with them and hopefully doing some touristy things!

Up and Running...for the time being!

Our internet crashed again…this has become the story of our life- however it’s up and running again- keep your fingers crossed that it works for at least the remainder of the week!

We have been keeping busy these last couple weeks. Last Monday we hosted the first ever environmental regional workshop- for the most part it was a success…I won’t get into how our supervisor somehow managed to squeak his way out of it because that would take me an entire blog entry to write! We have some new goals which are related to agriculture! We’re both really excited about this since we are working for RADA and a lot of the stuff we’ve been doing relates directly to farmers and agriculture.

We went to Mandeville to celebrate World Food Day- the food we were displaying was pumpkin, anything and everything made from pumpkin….sauce, chutney, jam, steamed pumpkin leaves, pudding, and the list goes on. I had no idea you could make all these things from pumpkin! While there Dr. the honorable Chris Tufton (the Minister of Agriculture) chatted with both Will and I- we haven’t seen him since being sworn in as PCV’s. St. Elizabeth is his parish and he has some projects that he thinks we can both work on.

We attended the Shrimp Festival in Middle Quarters on Sunday. RADA set up a booth to disseminate information and register farmers. It rained for a good portion of the day. We both ate lots and lots of shrimp… shrimp curry, shrimp punch, spicy shrimp dip, coconut shrimp, and shrimp chutney, I don’t think we’ll be craving shrimp anytime soon. While at the festival we began to take down our booth when who decides to show up….Dr. Tufton! Our supervisor saw him coming and frantically said- put the displays back out…the minister is coming! I started to laugh because I’ve never seen my supervisor get so worked up before. Dr. Tufton came over to our display and chatted with us. He told our supervisor not to take down the display- He said, “There might still be some farmers that have questions, you should stick around and answer their questions!” I was laughing the entire time- It was the first time our supervisor was whipped into shape, he reminded me of a dog with his tail between his legs! (The above picture is from Shrimp Festival - A cultural dance representing several apects of Jamaica)

Finally Monday was a holiday- Hero’s Day- Will and I went to Dunn’s River Falls in St. Mary- It’s quite the drive- took us about two and a half hours to get there. It probably would have taken longer if we had to take public transportation. I didn’t realize the place was such a tourist trap! The price to get into the Falls is $J300 which translates to about $4 U.S. The price for non-Jamaican residents $15 U.S. we explained that we were peace corps volunteers so they let us pay $J300. Once inside I was almost embarrassed to be white- Tourists were handing out money left and right – thank goodness we were with a group of Jamaicans! I came to realize why Jamaicans always try to get money from white people. When we got ready to hike the falls a group of tourists came up with a guide- they formed a line, held hands, and began climbing the falls as a group! Can you say LAME??? We were able to climb the falls independently without holding hands. We climbed the falls a couple times, ate the lunch we packed on the beach, enjoyed an iced cappuccino, and some cherry berry passion ice-cream. It was nice to have these luxuries while relaxing in such a beautiful place.

<---- Yeah that's an iced Cappucino!

This weekend we are going to Kingston for quarterlies. I applied to be on the SPA committee and was selected to be a member. I’m really excited I will have this opportunity especially since Jamaica is known for their SPA program. We’ll be attending meetings and hopefully get in some yummy coffee and American food! We’ll also cast our votes for the presidential election! I’m not going to elaborate on who we’re voting for and politics. My grandma always told me there are two things you should not discuss- politics and religion, therefore I will just say that we’re doing our American duty and voting for a presidential candidate!

<--- I ♥ my chacos!

P.S. I forgot to mention that mosquitos suck! They have reached an all time low! I was bit on the rear end by one! Does anyone have any idea how bad that sucks?? While riding the bus, sitting at work, or chatting with your supervisor and your butt itches so bad you can't concentrate on anything but that!

This is a typical Saturday- Handwashing Laundry

and praying that it doesn't rain :)

You want me to eat what....?

We finally have internet back!!!!! Things in Jamaica usually take a long time and that’s no exaggeration! We didn’t have internet for nearly 3 weeks plus our phone lines are still down! To me this is insanely crazy…people haven’t been able to get work done because the farmer registration system is all online- go figure! My apologies for not updating our blog sooner, it’s just been a little crazy and not being able to use internet at work has made it sometimes inconvenient. I keep forgetting that there are some things I want to discuss with my fellow readers. So here it goes:

The first week we were back in Santa Cruz after being sworn in we attended a church function. While there we indulged in something called Manish Water- (I’m not entirely sure that’s how you spell it) I had no idea what it was. When the woman handed it to us we could smell the hot steamy soup. It didn’t smell nice at all, in fact it stunk! It reminded me of when we raised goats and the bucks would smell of urine during breeding season. I tried to get past the stench and take a sip of the warm drink. Upon doing so I nearly barfed in my mouth! Will and I both decided we weren’t going to choke it down. We asked the nun sitting with us what was in this particular soup. She explained to us that it’s a delicacy in Jamaica- the contents include: the head, feet, and belly of a goat! No wonder it smelled like a stinky buck! The following day we once again indulged in some more soup…this time chicken feet soup! This wasn’t nearly as bad. It smelled nice and contained some wonderful vegetables. However it is extremely hard to get past the fact that there are indeed chicken feet floating in your soup (not little feet either). Will and I both ate two bowls of it. Not so bad! However I’m not sure how much more soup I can eat- it reminds me of lunch as a child- “Who wants Meatloaf Surprise??”

That same day we also met a nun…her name Sister Eva! She has been one of the sweetest ladies we’ve gotten to know. On Sundays when we see her at church she always asks how we’re doing and tries to give us something. She has given both Will and I a new pair of Crocs, rice crispy cereal, rice, beans, and peas (all in quantities to feed an army). We really appreciate her kind and genuine heart. Going to church brings me a lot of comfort. It’s nice being able to find one thing familiar to us in this unfamiliar place. Church here lasts slightly longer but I don’t really notice. Will and I are considering getting involved in the youth ministry where we would do some religious education with the kids. It’s saddening because several of them can’t even make the sign of the cross.

Some of the things we took for granted and miss:

1. Windy Roads + Potholes = Bumpy Ride (We’ve both miss a smooth, quiet ride in a car)
2. The seasons….It is sad to know the leaves are changing and fall is upon everyone there! It’s still hot here :)
3. Bug Free Houses! The mosquitos, cockroaches, lizards, etc. are everywhere and nearly impossible to keep out
4. Having our own car and being able to drive anywhere at anytime
5. Good Italian food and Starbucks! (this was a given)
6. Our friends and family!

However there are many things to love about living here!

1. Every week we go to the market and buy fresh produce- this is GREAT!
2. In our backyard we have lime, mango, cherry, coconut, avocado, and orange trees. In the morning I can pick an orange for breakfast and for dinner an avocado to have with dinner.
3. We have both lost weight- we’re not sure exactly how much- we found a scale for sale at a store in town and weighed ourselves- we’re guessing between 10-15 pounds each!
4. Our Supervisor! He’s our guardian angel and a truly genuine kind man! We both love working with him and the staff at RADA
5. The working pace…everything is so much slower- this is a nice change from our fast paced lives in America
6. The scenery- there is nothing like a sunset in Jamaica and there are some really nice beaches and I hate to say the word but “tourist” attractions

All of the pictures are from our lastest visit at Treasure Beach a little over a week ago: Enjoy

Meet myfriend Mr. JellyFish- "You Shall Be Mine And I Shall Call You Squishy"

Boat at Treasure Beach