Swearing In and Hurricane Gustov!

Just wanted to drop a couple of quick notes as we wait out this wonderful hurricane! Today we were officially sworn in as peace corps volunteers!

This is how we look when we bling out and dandy up for swearing in- Pretty snazzy if I may say so myself!
We've now been here for 8 weeks and it has gone by quicker than you can imagine! We stay very busy but always miss our family and friends. We enjoy the contact we are able to have with everyone though and love the pictures we see of our godchildren and family.

I have to admit I've never been in a hurricane- it is exciting and scary at the same time. Please don't be alarmed as we will get through it just fine- it's only a category 1 for crying out loud :)
For now we look ahead and truly wonder what this two years will bring- the saying is so true, Life is calling...how far will you go! The adventure begins now and we couldn't be more excited.

Little shout out to the Overstreets- We received your package- enjoyed the wonderful reminders of our St. Joe trip which actually happened about a year ago. This was also the time we submitted our peace corps application- crazy how time changes in just a year. We just wanted to say thank you for the wonderful things you sent us- We love and miss you both! Also thank you to my grandparents and Will's parents for their thought fullness in writing sincere letters to us. You have no idea how much we really do cherish those! As always we miss you all and look forward to hearing from you!

P.S. We added a ton of pictures to the flickr website so take a look and feel free to leave comments! (remember the link is on the left of your computer screen- 'Schumaker photos')

Pictures

Just wanted to let everyone know that we now have a new link to our pictures on the left side of our page. The link is titled 'Schumaker Photos'. This link will direct you to a flickr page at which point you will be able to view all of our posted pictures.

Secondly, our address has been moved to the right hand column.

We're back in good ol Santa Cruz- been here for a week now! Crazy how time flies! The last thing we had to do in Kingston before we left was unveil the compost pile we've been working on! I wish I could show you all a before picture! There was so much trash!!! However this is the after picture- our environmental group in front of the dandy looking functional compost pile!

There are a few things I would like to share that I'm learning about the Jamaican culture.

1. Speaking patois is a joke! I sound like the biggest moron going around saying "ya mon," "mi jus takkin et eazy man," and "waagwaan!" However Will and I hunker down, grind our teeth, and get through it.

2. Jamaican men LOVE women! They love women no matter what the shape, size, or color. They stand along the street and pssssst women they find attractive. Needless to saying there is a lot of psssssting on the street. Not just at me but at several of the women! This can be extremely annoying however I just ignore them and keep walking.

3. Our host mother's sister washes our clothes (for a small fee $J900) The first time she decided to do this we gave her a uool eap ( a lot ) of laundry not really thinking anything about it. About 5 minutes later she came running in hollering my name. I went into the kitchen to meet up with her. She stood on her tippy toes and whispered in my ear, "Andrea I can't wash your underwear can you please come take them out?" I shook my head yes and walked out in dismay to remove my underwear. I asked her if I should take Will's too- she told me no she would wash his dirty smelly underwear but not mine! Later I found out that women wash their own underwear! Even if you put them in a washing machine a womans underwear have to be washed alone!

4.The typical jamaican dish is rice and peas (kidney beans), chicken, and cabbage salad (kind of like coleslaw). This can get old after awhile! However Saturday we received a real treat! Pig Tail Soup! Will was much more brave then me! I gagged and decided to pour the soup back into the pot when my host mother wasn't looking! Will ate about half his and then did the same as me :)

5. Jerk Chicken is truly delightful! Will's favorite is Jerk Pork! On any day you can drive alongside the road and find little huts serving bits of delightful jerk chicken, pork, and goat!

6. There isn't a McDonalds to be found on the island (thank goodness) however Burger King and KFC are huge here! When we were in Kingston we ate at TGI Fridays! It was soo good- but left us both with upset tummies!

Latest News!

We've been at our site for two weeks now and are currently back in Kingston! These last two weeks were challenging, exciting, tiring, and awesome! Our host mother takes very good care of us! We're really enjoying the organization we're working with. They keep us very busy!

We participated in the Denbigh Agriculture Show! This was what really capped off our two weeks! We were able to finally see all of our hard work come together and see some of the places Will and I will fit into this organization! I have to admit though 40 hours without any sleep can take a toll on your body- and then when you finally can lay down for rest sleeping in a pavillion on the concrete floor is not that much better :)



Welcome to Denbigh! The giant cock!


The goats at the fair!















This is the night before we decorated-


This is the after picture! A night full of work and this is part of the finished product! We had several other exhibits in the pavillion but this was the centerpiece! All our hard work! In this you can see beans, corn, cashew, watermelon, pineapple, sorrel, pumpkin, onion, scallion, eggplant, yellowsquash, sweet pepper, bell pepper, banana, ackee, honeydew, tomato, cauliflower, carrot, mango, papaya, pimento, and I'm sure I have missed some! All of this was produced by farmers that live in our area! It was amazing! On Friday morning each exhibit was judged! We were hoping to walk away with first prize but ended up second out of the 13 parishes- booooo! It was a lot of fun- a great way to network and meet a lot of new people! We can both say we're very excited for the work we have ahead of us!

Finally I wanted to give a little rant! To all of our family and friends, please don't forget that we're in the Peace Corps- We've been here for a month and let me tell you living in a different country is very hard and challenging! Right now is a time when we need love and support from our families! Jamaica is not the vacation everyone sees on T.V. there are real issues here every day! It's a tough job and we love it but we do miss our family and friends! We would love a card saying hi or a letter with some of the latest details going on in all of your busy lives! Even just a comment on our blog would be wonderful! As always- Love to Everyone!

Welkom fi Santa Cruz- mi nu yaad!

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!

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!

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

Ya Man!

Well I will try to sum up the last couple of days in some short stories...as promised.

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!

Yesterday we decided to handwash all of our clothes from the last week- that is some freaking hard work! My back was aching to say the least- Will was a trooper though and kept me in line while helping me rinse and hang the laundry. Amen for a Washer and Dryer in the U.S.

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!)