D-Day is almost here. After a two year slog through the application process it seems as though we're actually going to serve. We're both eager to get going and a little anxious about whether or not we'll be up to the task.
The "Last Supper" will be tonight in Greenwich, CT with our son, John. Earlier we had a whirlwind tour of the country (Santa Clarita, CA, Tucson, AZ, Dania Beach, FL, Allenhurst, NJ, Tuxedo, NY, Greenwich, CT) to see our children, grand-daughter, brother, sister, long time friends and colleagues. Tomorrow we leave from Hartford, CT for a two day "staging" or orientation to the Peace Corps in Coral Gables, Florida. After 1 1/2 days we leave for Kingston, Jamaica on Thursday, July 3rd. For the first 6-8 weeks we will be in training in Kingston and at our permanent site (still to be determined). Approximately, September 1 we begin the real deal. Hope to keep you all informed via this medium...assuming that we have regular access to the internet. Our intuition would have us believe that it should not be a problem.
If you get the urge to visit Jamaica let us know; we can have visitors after January 1, 2009.
Go Sox!! (and Marlins, our youngest works for them). Gary and Margaret
Cricket in Mandeville
A Bar at Little Ochi
Snacks and drinks
Alligator Pond
Black sand beaches of Little Ochi
Black River crocodile
On our way to Treasure Beach we visited the Black Morass and took a boat tour.
Where the road meets the beach....
Fish traps Jamaican style...
Our friends during our walk....
Our view at Treasure Beach guest house.
One of our comrades that has survived...
Liza with a ballpark frank!
Dancing at Senior Citizen's Sports Day
It's not a dance competition, Jamaican's just don't get together and talk if there's any down time
Gary putting the shot
The shots where three pound rocks [two for women]. It felt like the early Olympiads of thousands of years ago.
Margaret Winning the 50 yd dash
She won the 50, 100 and egg and spoon race and was third in the shot put. She is now the Clarendon Parish Seniors Women Champion. She along with other winners are competing in the National Championships in Spanish Town on July 23.
more dancing
Jamaican's cannot not dance. If there's music (which there was and always is) there's dancing
Mr. Morgan winning the egg and spoon race for the 60-65 year olds.
He also won the 50 and 100 meter races. He weekly walks 12 miles both ways to May Pen for exercise.
Mas (Mr.) Powis putting the shot
He's 72, always happy, has 11 children, is the local chef for fundraising events, is kind, dependable and thoughtful. Margaret is teaching him to read.
Sangster Heights team that won the Parish Senior Citizens' Sports Day Competition
We ran away [literally] with the best team points.
Believe it or not this was a sports day function
More dancing
Unknown Woman at the May Pen Bus Park
I love to see all the people carrying packages on their heads. I stopped her for a photo and this other clown stepped right in.
Street light in the bush
Just past the mango tree we found this 'street light'. Can you find it?
Mango tree in the bush
This is one of the gagillion mango trees in JA. Can hardly wait to taste them
Here's the northbound taxi & bus stand in downtown.
Everything's closed on Sundays
Shots from a Sunday stroll in downtown Chapelton
This is the Main St. in town. Normally it's full of buses, taxis, people and traffic
Presbyterian Womens Group
You can see it's already getting pretty dark. They came in their whites, thank goodness.
It's getting too dark for the one light we had
The program was set for 4-6 PM, it went to 8:30 and everyone wanted it to last longer. Maybe next year we can get some lights
children performing
We must have had 25 acts show up. At the outset we had no concept of how many would be there but they just kept coming up to the stage.
Ticket Takers at the Gate
They look as enthusiastic as most ticket takers are. The woman in the flowered dress is smiling because she's not a ticket taker
Set Up for the Sacred Concert
This is the front yard and veranda of the Sangster Heights Community Center. This is the band getting set up. Believe it or not, none of the organizers knows how they came to be at the concert but we sure were glad they arrived
Mrs. Rodrigues, a neighbor
She's a colorful contributor to the neighborhood scene
Set Up preparations
The night before the funeral there's a big street party. These were half the sound system right out our bedroom window. Believe it or not, we were able to fall asleep with these babies blasting away. We've just gotten accoustomed to the noise level
Gravesite 4
These are some of the huge pots that soup, curried goat, chicken and rice and peas were prepared in
Gravesite prep 3
After the clearing here's where the site will be
Gravesite prep 2
No funeral home workers here either, more friends and family
Gravesite prep
No funeral homes in this mix; this land had to be cleared by neighbors and family
Christmas clean up
Earlier we mentioned the widespread clean-up during the holiday season. The Jamaicans paint many things in white. Here are random rocks on the side of the road. Note the curb is also painted white.
A large shop in Chapelton
The double decker shop is unusual, typically they are a single container. This one sells food, clothes and miscellaneous items. Containers are recycled all over the island and used for any type of shop you can imagine: restaurants, clothes, bakery, auto repairs, furniture making, upholstery, food, argricultural supplies, etc.
Infrastructure - sidewalks
This is why everyone walks in the streets
Raji
A charming 10 year old who made two trucks like this one for Christmas presents for my nephew and grandaughter. The trucks are made out of small juice boxes with wheels from water bottles. They are made to carry things inside that children might collect and they fly like the wind even over the rocky terrain in Chapelton
Tony
A banana seller and the friendliest guy in Chapelton
Enid
We buy most of our fresh produce from her
Infrastructure water #3
water line running from the road to a home
Infastructure water #2
Water line crossing a road
Infrastructure of water lines #1
This is an actual pipe line serving several homes. Just imagine what happens wihen the goats and cows step on it
Infrastructure of roads
This is a piece of asphalt that broke off during a recent storm. Note the thickness [thinness-that's Margaret's thumb] of the asphalt. Each year they spend a fortune on resurfacing the same roads over because of the weather and traffic damages. So much could be saved if they were able to do it according to standard road engineerng standards. But,there is so little money that needs to be spread to all sectors in order to keep the constituents content. Regardless of your political persuasion, thank your lucky stars for what we have in the US.
Played golf on our weekend break at Cinnamon Hill Golf Course
The old guy still has a great swing
Ironshores Beach at the Hilton Hotes
We took a weekend break and stepped back into America
Welcome Beach with Devon, a Jamaican friend
Now we're on the South Coast, near Rocky Point. We're there to survey a beach to take my 11 year old members of a Healthy Lifestyles Club on a beach clean up excursion. The beaches in the south suffer most of the hurricane damages and rarely get cleaned up. Hopefully, we'll have a brief impact and the kids will have some fun
Rocky Point harbor from Welcome Beach
Big difference in the views on the North Coast
Caymanas Downs
Of course we've discovered the only horse racing track on the island. It's quite nice albeit very small, perhaps an 1/8th of a standard US track
Aki, the national fruit
Remove the black seeds and peel out the white center to boil it; tastes just like scrambled eggs.
The guest house we stayed in
A little strange for us but very comfortable to be pampered
The US Amabassador's House
We were her guests a few weeks ago.
A common site, big brother taking the siblings to school
It's typical for them to hold thier hands like this.
On the way to school
It's a 1/4 mile up a 10% grade as part of their mile hike to school
Two Likl Pikni
They are headed a mile to school in the standard school uniforms
A view from Bull Head Mountain
I'm taking 25 12-15 year olds hiking to the top on Dec. 5
Some of the neighborhood guys relaxing
When you walk by in the road the best you get is that they lift their heads, even for a passing car. Nothing gets in their way; they're are the ultimate in "no problem mon'.
Atop Bull Head Mountain at the Geographic Center of the Country
Note the difference in vegetation
Some of the 20 happy crowd members
The Main Man
Seen enough clouds yet?
Our first Jamaican sunset
Love those clouds
More sand and coral
Dominos, the National Passtime
They throw those tiles down with vigor and style
Font Hill Beach
A sand and coral beach few know about
White Witch Golf Course
As close as I got to the first tee
After the Christmas Rebellion
Left to deteriorate
Rose Hall today
Rose Hall
Walking to Rose Hall
Luminous Lagoon
Our first look at the Caribbean from our hotel window with the Caribbean in the left background
Two new grave covers
These are the most elaborate we've seen
Outside our bedroom window
The donkey is carrying aki to market in the hampers [milk cartons] on his sides
Material resources
This is a gate and fence around a house. It really is beautiful in the use of local materials
A view on an early morning walk
Each morning we walk or run early and this is what we often see, fog in the valleys and gorgeous cumulus clouds in the sky. The field in front doubles as a soccer field and farm animal pasture.
Chapelton surroundings...
Which form of transportation would you take?
Gary's Patois teacher, Aisha
Our Supervisor, Nurse Pamela Johnson, from Chapetlton Hospital
One of two that braved the wind and rain of Gustav to make swearing in
Some of our fellow PCVs at swearing in
PC Swearing in
Gary and Lindsay both had their birthdays on swearing in day
the tasty result
we wait while it bakes
covering it with sheet metal to hold the upper fire
covering it with banana leaves
The brew before baking
Potato Pudding
lighting the fire
Margaret's braids
Gwaango Tree
Proabably here when Columbus landed
Our 72 year old host mother
Dancing at Margaret's Birthday
Our 95 y.o. host father
Singing at Margaret's Birthday
Margaret's Birthday
Our House
We live upstairs
Coconut tree
At the beach
In the gardens
At the beach
Grounds of hotel
At beach
Ocean view
At the beach
Road side stand
On the road to beach
Sugar mountain
On road to beach
PC Beach trip 7-12-08
Wisdom tree at training compound
Last days on the mainland with our son John, 6-28-08
Last Day in FL with Stephen
1 1/2 hours at Jamaican Customs
first view of Kingston from Manley airport
our 5 X 7 bedroom, sans AC. We're so tired it doesn't matter
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