Progress....finally Progress

What can I say....things are falling into place! Is it real- boy I sure hope so! Last week was busy with little tasks here and there. As you read in the previous post I was able to give a talk to about 160 kids about Peace Day and my role as a Peace Corps Volunteer.

On Wednesday I was able to do my very first farmer training! It was great! This is something I had always kind of hoped I would be doing- working directly with farmers. I did two different trainings to farmers that grow hot peppers. The first was on Biological Pest Controls- how to control pests in a more natural way rather than using pesticides and other harmful chemicals. The second training was on why it's important to keep farm records. There were about 20 farmers at the training. It was at a hot pepper farm, very hands on, and the farmers were very interested in everything each presenter had to offer. What a GREAT DAY!

<-- Holland Primary School Kids

On Thursday- one of my small dreams came true- We finally did some planting at the primary school in Holland! I have three blisters on my hand which are very painful but totally worth it! Will also came to help and together we helped the kids prepare the ground, carry water, and plant callaloo, lettuce, and corn. I also have some cucumbers and cabbage to plant but we had to start those seeds in small trays. It was inspiring to see so many kids out using the tools to prepare the ground, carry bucket after bucket of water, and get their hands muddy and dirty all in the name of FARMING! Of course it was a hard day because it was not the mechanized farming we're so used to. Instead we had to take a pitch fork, shovel, hoe, and pick to agitate and dig up the soil- oh the pain!

Will is setting up several Production and Marketing organizations with computers and will soon start doing trainings on basic computer skills. He will also train them how to keep accurate farm records on the computer. He has also been busily working with the head RADA office in Kingston to get his Crop Estimates program off the ground- hopefully next month there will be a system online that the entire island will be trained on- all courtesy of my amazing husband!

I need to take a deep breath.....okay! So as you can tell things are really starting to pick up for both of us! We're taking baby steps and being patient, understanding, and above all cooperative. I can't even put into words how much this experience has changed Will and I. We have grown so much as people together individually and in our marriage. I see Will becoming more confident in himself and the ways of Jamaican culture and I'm learning to not take everything so seriously- I can't change the world but by golly I can make a difference in a few peoples lives and I am content with that! We just have to sit back, take a deep breath, and learn to laugh at our mistakes and celebrate those small victories.