It’s been a while since our last blog sometime in October. We got sidetracked with activities here in Jamaica and with the expectation of heading back to the U.S. Our family got together in the US for Thanksgiving and a good time was had by all. While it wasn’t particularly cold it was a relief to get away from the heat and the first time we were back in the states for any length of time since last Christmas. We arrived in Hartford on November 24 in order to beat the Thanksgiving traffic. Our destination was Hardwick, MA with our good friend Art Dell Orto. Our two boys arrived on the evening of the 25th when the celebration began in earnest (See Pics). In addition to good food, family, friends, and good ole’ R & R our time home was great. This is our last trip home until we depart in late July or early August. In addition to the R&R I ended the trip in Boston and specifically at Boston University, where I attended the dissertation defense of my last doctoral graduate student (we’ve been communicating via email and phone for the past year). She did a great job and will finalize her writing prior to the birth of her second child in April.
On the Jamaican front it was pretty quiet during the month of December---the English influence brings things to a slow (slower than normal) pace during the Christmas holidays. As soon as we returned from the US Margaret found out that we (the community) were awarded a $983K grant for a computer center at our local Community Center. This application began over 6 months ago. The next goal is to get the Center secure so that we can house the 10 computers and peripherals. Exciting times for the community!
Stephen came to visit for Christmas. It was great fun to have him here. He spent 2 ½ days in Chapelton and saw us at work. He even helped the Senior Citizens’ group deliver food packages to elderly shut-ins. Then we took him to the north coast and Ocho Rios where we spent the day at Dunn’s River Falls. The Falls are about ¼ mile long and we climbed them together with him then he did a timed climb of 8 min. 50 seconds. It was fun and exciting. We stayed in a villa of a couple US missionaries we’ve met. We had a beautiful view of the Caribbean .
Leaving Ochi our destination was to get indirectly to Kingston. So, we headed east along the coastal highway to Port Maria. It seems that the southwest [recall Treasure Beach] and the northeast coasts are the nicest places on the island, relatively untouched by tourism. Yet both areas are distinct in vegetation, dry and arid in the south and wet and tropical in the north.
Stephen’s last 24 hours were in Kingston. We stayed at our favorite hotel where it was very plush: a pool, gym, internet service, cable tv, wonderful food, a tropical ambiance, and great service. Then we walked over to the Peace Corps office where he met several staff members. We ended his stay with a taxi trip to downtown through the grand market [blocks and blocks of higglers in stalls selling anything and everything] and over to the rural bus park where we got out to catch a bus home and he was taken to the airport. He headed back to Florida to start his new job as a scout for the Texas Rangers [team not police].
I (GS) have written two grant proposals for two different communities. The Canadian Fund for Local Initiatives funds projects all over Jamaica for democratic governance and human rights. I worked with the Social Development Commission in an attempt to provide funds to move a rural Basic School that currently is held in the last five rows (pews) of a local church to a one room Community Centre. The CC needs an addition so that there is a kitchen and toilet facilities for faculty and students. The problem with holding the school in the church is that when they have events during the week (conferences or revivals) the school takes a back seat and is closed during this time.
The second grant, also to the CFLI, is for sanitation facilities for seven residents here in Sangster Heights. When the Health Inspector did a survey last spring they discovered that almost 10% of those surveyed had no toilet facility in their dwelling. This proposal simply asks for money to provide pit latrines or toilets for seven of these residences. I submitted a similar grant last June to another agency that has yet to fund our request…though they haven’t rejected the proposal. The CFLI meets in May to decide whether to fund these projects.
Not to be outdone Margaret has been working on a LARGE grant from the National Health Fund to establish a healthy lifestyles program that basically will train teachers and parents on the essence of health lifestyles (exercise, nutrition, hygiene, and stress management). They will then train others…a pyramid type methodology. The chairman of the grants section of the NHF is a friend who we have played golf with on a number of occasions. Sometime during October Margaret had spoken to him about a series of lectures she was doing on lifestyle. He was impressed with the content and asked Margaret to submit a grant so that this program could be implemented Island wide. She is currently working on a submission deadline of January 15th. This grant has the potential of being in excess of $1 B Jamaican which is the equivalent of 11 million US. Margaret may stay in Jamaica for the next 10 years to run this grant! NOT!
NOT is right. The six year project is designed to be self sustaining by the end of the first year. I expect that after we leave in August that I’ll have to return on a consulting basis a few times over the next 18 months but after that they ought to be fully operational on their own. Twice I’ve told our friend that I’ll be leaving and will need to return on a consulting basis and he never blinked.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Thursday, October 15, 2009
We;'ve been so busy
There's only 18 minutes left on our computer time for today and so much to tell. Some ups and downs to report. Our camera is broken so no more pics until we get one in Novemeber when we return for Thanksgiving. John and his girfriend, Ashley, visited for a long Columbus Day weekend. They had a whirlwind tour of western JM. They spent 2 days in Chapelton, two in Negril and 2 in Rose Hall at that Ritz. They saw the full range of Jamaican life. It was wonderful to have them with us, albeit too brief. We've struggled to help the hospital get a major fundraiser off the ground; the second effort was just canceled but we're ever optimistic that the next effort will be the right one. They desperately need things like reliable water, a washing machine to launder the linen, computers for the records room, garbage bags for the garbage. Items you and I take for granted in the most basic hospitals. Hopefully, we're on the right track this time. Gary's writing more grants to get toilet facilities for homes and schools. I'm preparing to teach certificate programs to teachers and parents in Healthy Lifestyle Living. A few friends have indicated they may or will visit us in the winter. We'll be glad to have more American's around. Many of the volunteers who started with us and who are still here are counting the days until they come home. Although we're still busy and doing meaningful work we too are anxious to come home next summer.
Keep everting crisp, Margaret
Keep everting crisp, Margaret
Friday, September 4, 2009
Wickets, Overs, Bowlers, and the White Witch
Two weekends ago (August 23) one of the coaches that Margaret is tutoring in exercise physiology decided that it was time to go on a day trip to a part of Jamaica we hadn’t visited. So on Sunday morning we took off at 8 am (scheduled for 7am) and headed to the south shore to a place named Alligator Pond…the beach was called Little Ochi (named after the north shore town of Ochi Rios). The beach was pleasant, not crowded and different in that the sand was black…the picture attached to this blog doesn’t really show the color very well but believe me it was black. After an hour or so beach walk, some lazy Sunday morning lounging and some wonderful shrimp and Red Stripe for lunch we ventured back on a little different course and stopped off in Mandeville (a town nestled up in the mountains and always cooler than wherever else we’ve been) to take in a cricket match.
I will not bore you with the details of the match except for a few common-like features that were similar to baseball. It really didn’t matter who the match was between…we were trying to decipher which were the offense and the defense because they all wore the same color, except for the umpires. The “pitch” (similar to a baseball field in that it had an outfield and an area that was representative of a diamond – although not a diamond but a rectangular shape) was the playing field. The “bowler” was the counterpart to the pitcher. The main difference with the offense was that there was no such thing as a foul ball…everything hit was in play….and that balls that were hit and rolled past the outfielders and past the limit of the outfield were scored as 4 runs and balls that were hit over the limits of the outfield (like a homerun in baseball) were counted as 6 runs. Anyway we finally got the knack of the game after a couple hours…the winning team won 102 – 101 in a game that had a limit of 15 overs for each team. Each “over” consisted of 6 deliveries by the bowlers of each team. GOT IT?!!!!
Last weekend (Fri) was my birthday. We celebrated by playing two rounds of golf in Kingston and staying in our favorite hotel which had the last of its “summer specials.” It sounds crazy but we were in heaven and enjoyed a king size bed, air conditioning, wonderful Jamaican breakfast buffet, pool, and gym…in a quiet area of Kingston called New Kingston (which BTW is where the Peace Corps office is located). My present from Margaret was six books…I’ve already read 17 books since we landed in Jamaica……that’s essentially a result of no night life after 6pm.
Summer is basically over, just as in the US but you’d never know it with regard to the temperatures….(not like the temps I noticed on the NY channel we get which showed 50s and 60s for nighttime lows near the end of August). Children go back to school after Labor Day, just as in the US, but it’s not called Labor Day here…that was back in May.
We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our first guests (John and his new girlfriend, Ashley) scheduled for Columbus Day weekend (US). We plan to show them around Chapelton for a day or so and then venture to Negril (the capital of “chill”) in the far west of Jamaica. We’ve not been there yet so it will be an experience for all four of us. They will be treated to Jamaican taxi and minibus transportation on the way. After chilling for two days we will end the long weekend in Rose Hall (Montego Bay) with a round of golf at the White Witch Golf Club…which is named after the ‘White Witch’ of Rose Hall…an old sugar cane plantation back in the 1800’s…Rose Hall is the name of the main house located on the plantation, where the White Witch (Annie Palmer) lived and supposedly murdered three of her lovers (husbands and slave lover)…it was burned down by the slaves during a rebellion and then restored in the mid 1900’s by an Englishman. The course is now located on part of the old plantation grounds and is supposed to be very scenic overlooking the Caribbean on many holes. Johnny Cash’s Jamaican home is very close by on the grounds of Cinnamon Hill Golf Course [it does sound as if we only play golf in JA, trust us, that’s not the case, it’s an escape on the occasional weekends we have nothing to do].
Till next time…walk gud!!!
I will not bore you with the details of the match except for a few common-like features that were similar to baseball. It really didn’t matter who the match was between…we were trying to decipher which were the offense and the defense because they all wore the same color, except for the umpires. The “pitch” (similar to a baseball field in that it had an outfield and an area that was representative of a diamond – although not a diamond but a rectangular shape) was the playing field. The “bowler” was the counterpart to the pitcher. The main difference with the offense was that there was no such thing as a foul ball…everything hit was in play….and that balls that were hit and rolled past the outfielders and past the limit of the outfield were scored as 4 runs and balls that were hit over the limits of the outfield (like a homerun in baseball) were counted as 6 runs. Anyway we finally got the knack of the game after a couple hours…the winning team won 102 – 101 in a game that had a limit of 15 overs for each team. Each “over” consisted of 6 deliveries by the bowlers of each team. GOT IT?!!!!
Last weekend (Fri) was my birthday. We celebrated by playing two rounds of golf in Kingston and staying in our favorite hotel which had the last of its “summer specials.” It sounds crazy but we were in heaven and enjoyed a king size bed, air conditioning, wonderful Jamaican breakfast buffet, pool, and gym…in a quiet area of Kingston called New Kingston (which BTW is where the Peace Corps office is located). My present from Margaret was six books…I’ve already read 17 books since we landed in Jamaica……that’s essentially a result of no night life after 6pm.
Summer is basically over, just as in the US but you’d never know it with regard to the temperatures….(not like the temps I noticed on the NY channel we get which showed 50s and 60s for nighttime lows near the end of August). Children go back to school after Labor Day, just as in the US, but it’s not called Labor Day here…that was back in May.
We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of our first guests (John and his new girlfriend, Ashley) scheduled for Columbus Day weekend (US). We plan to show them around Chapelton for a day or so and then venture to Negril (the capital of “chill”) in the far west of Jamaica. We’ve not been there yet so it will be an experience for all four of us. They will be treated to Jamaican taxi and minibus transportation on the way. After chilling for two days we will end the long weekend in Rose Hall (Montego Bay) with a round of golf at the White Witch Golf Club…which is named after the ‘White Witch’ of Rose Hall…an old sugar cane plantation back in the 1800’s…Rose Hall is the name of the main house located on the plantation, where the White Witch (Annie Palmer) lived and supposedly murdered three of her lovers (husbands and slave lover)…it was burned down by the slaves during a rebellion and then restored in the mid 1900’s by an Englishman. The course is now located on part of the old plantation grounds and is supposed to be very scenic overlooking the Caribbean on many holes. Johnny Cash’s Jamaican home is very close by on the grounds of Cinnamon Hill Golf Course [it does sound as if we only play golf in JA, trust us, that’s not the case, it’s an escape on the occasional weekends we have nothing to do].
Till next time…walk gud!!!
Monday, August 3, 2009
Margaret's turned 65
Tidbits from the Caribbean
Happy Birthday to me; I’m 65 today and “everting bi crisp” [all is well]. We’re going to Ocho Riios tomorrow for a weekend celebration. It’ll be decadent American style: an all inclusive hotel with a king sized bed; restaurant; a gym; and air conditioning! Common place for most of you but a great luxury for us. We’re playing golf twice over two days. Although a standard for Gary before we left, I haven’t played two days in a row since we golfed in the British Isles four years ago.
Mangoes are almost gone but fortunately Mrs. Rumble has a late bloomer in the yard that’s still providing us with those luscious treats. The days are “hot-hot”, as the Jamaicans would say. We’re soaked 200 yards after leaving our house [literally dripping sweat]. There’s a slower languid pace about the days right now.
My community exercise class has grown so large that I’ve had to close it to new participants, at least until a few stop coming. For those who haven’t taken a class from me, it’s individualized for each student so I’m running around at a frantic pace trying to meet everyone’s needs. There’s a wide range of participants: one young man, three 13-16 year old girls, four women in their 20’s, four middle-aged women and three 60 and over, so you can imagine how varied each workout must be.
The computer center at the Community Center may open for operations this fall. We’ve gotten: free internet and phone service from an island provider [met a company VP playing golf and voila!]; six stable 6’ tables and 15 very strong metal and wood chairs from Food For The Poor; money’s been raised to secure the site; and the computer funding looks like a go from a government agency. The latter did an inspection of our site and their representative seemed impressed and indicated he would support action on the request for ten computers and all the necessary hard/soft ware, equipment and supplies at an upcoming meeting. Of course Jamaican semantics for ‘action and upcoming’ are not the same for Americans.
We’ve come to accept that rarely does anything go as planned or expected. For instance, the huge August 1 Emancipation Day Fundraiser the hospital had organized and planned for three months has to be postponed. Five days ago we got a response letter from the Parish [county] manager telling us the event couldn’t be held because, according to our letter to him dated June 1 announcing the event, it would be sponsored by friends and staff of the Chapelton Hospital. Government employees cannot raise money for government use. Fine, but did he have to wait until July 24th to respond??!! He claims he only received the letter July 20th, yet interestingly others in the same building received theirs by June 5. So, now it will be held October 19, Heroes Day. People were really looking forward to this event but, like so many other aspects of their lives, expectations are just “mashed up” [Jamaican for defeated or crushed].
I’ve been asked to develop a parent seminar course on Healthy Lifestyles for a nearby All Age School [gr. 2-9]. They want it to be a certificate program whereby the parents graduate from it. It sounds like an interesting project that I should enjoy.
If you’ve read about my recent foray into emergency medicine and dentistry you’ll realize that Jamaica is two worlds, the developed and developing. Some parts of the urban areas in Kingston and MoBay are, in many ways far ahead of the American standard, whereas the rural areas may as well be halfway around the world. It’s hard to believe that this small island [50 miles X 175 miles] has such variation. We step aside for oxen teams, donkeys, goats, and cows on a daily basis. No water, electricity, shoes, etc for large numbers of the rural people. And then I get world class medical treatment. By the way, it looks as if the speedy, skilled medical action has led to my tooth reattaching. Who would have thunk it??!!
Happy Birthday to me; I’m 65 today and “everting bi crisp” [all is well]. We’re going to Ocho Riios tomorrow for a weekend celebration. It’ll be decadent American style: an all inclusive hotel with a king sized bed; restaurant; a gym; and air conditioning! Common place for most of you but a great luxury for us. We’re playing golf twice over two days. Although a standard for Gary before we left, I haven’t played two days in a row since we golfed in the British Isles four years ago.
Mangoes are almost gone but fortunately Mrs. Rumble has a late bloomer in the yard that’s still providing us with those luscious treats. The days are “hot-hot”, as the Jamaicans would say. We’re soaked 200 yards after leaving our house [literally dripping sweat]. There’s a slower languid pace about the days right now.
My community exercise class has grown so large that I’ve had to close it to new participants, at least until a few stop coming. For those who haven’t taken a class from me, it’s individualized for each student so I’m running around at a frantic pace trying to meet everyone’s needs. There’s a wide range of participants: one young man, three 13-16 year old girls, four women in their 20’s, four middle-aged women and three 60 and over, so you can imagine how varied each workout must be.
The computer center at the Community Center may open for operations this fall. We’ve gotten: free internet and phone service from an island provider [met a company VP playing golf and voila!]; six stable 6’ tables and 15 very strong metal and wood chairs from Food For The Poor; money’s been raised to secure the site; and the computer funding looks like a go from a government agency. The latter did an inspection of our site and their representative seemed impressed and indicated he would support action on the request for ten computers and all the necessary hard/soft ware, equipment and supplies at an upcoming meeting. Of course Jamaican semantics for ‘action and upcoming’ are not the same for Americans.
We’ve come to accept that rarely does anything go as planned or expected. For instance, the huge August 1 Emancipation Day Fundraiser the hospital had organized and planned for three months has to be postponed. Five days ago we got a response letter from the Parish [county] manager telling us the event couldn’t be held because, according to our letter to him dated June 1 announcing the event, it would be sponsored by friends and staff of the Chapelton Hospital. Government employees cannot raise money for government use. Fine, but did he have to wait until July 24th to respond??!! He claims he only received the letter July 20th, yet interestingly others in the same building received theirs by June 5. So, now it will be held October 19, Heroes Day. People were really looking forward to this event but, like so many other aspects of their lives, expectations are just “mashed up” [Jamaican for defeated or crushed].
I’ve been asked to develop a parent seminar course on Healthy Lifestyles for a nearby All Age School [gr. 2-9]. They want it to be a certificate program whereby the parents graduate from it. It sounds like an interesting project that I should enjoy.
If you’ve read about my recent foray into emergency medicine and dentistry you’ll realize that Jamaica is two worlds, the developed and developing. Some parts of the urban areas in Kingston and MoBay are, in many ways far ahead of the American standard, whereas the rural areas may as well be halfway around the world. It’s hard to believe that this small island [50 miles X 175 miles] has such variation. We step aside for oxen teams, donkeys, goats, and cows on a daily basis. No water, electricity, shoes, etc for large numbers of the rural people. And then I get world class medical treatment. By the way, it looks as if the speedy, skilled medical action has led to my tooth reattaching. Who would have thunk it??!!
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
