Land of Contrasts...Striving for Peace

CONSTANT PRAYERS FOR PEACE, FOR UNDERSTANDING, FOR COMPASSION, FOR WISDOM AMONG ALL PEOPLE, ALL THE TIME ~Personal prayer on 9/11/11

....Night falls ~ sounds envelope you like the Tiki Room at Disneyland, or the night scenes in Jungle Book,.in city neighborhoods and country roads alike, a riotous concert until dawn, of crickets & frogs, night birds & croaking lizards ~ all as brilliant & rhythmic as Jamaican people. You know it is dawn by the momentary tangible silence preceding the morning birdsong.
  Yet, close your eyes in the heat of the mid-day sun, and you could be anywhere, even home in the U.S. ~ backyard sounds of a Saturday(weedeaters, children playing, steady rock beat from passing cars, neighbors calling). You could almost forget that you are in the midst of palm trees on a small tropical island, in a deep blue sea surrounded by a vast ocean. 
Remember who you are in this grand plan~ no matter the time or place.

Laundry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 Laundry blowing in the sunny winds, among the mango trees....hard work, but after 3 months, a natural part of weekly life. Did I tell you my arthritis in hands and wrists is fading rather than increasing!...possibly helped by hours of hand-laundering and wringing of wet towels and cotton clothes?
  The rain is suddenly falling on my newly washed laundry, neatly pegged to the line. We are told to leave it there...until the sun returns! Ah...the cool wind blows through the wooden slats on the windows. Guavas & oranges fall at our feet in the rain. Hibiscus & rose petals mix with ancient aloe & orchids. The sun returns quickly, as rain and thunder roll across the ever-deep blue of this Jamaican sky. Here they say: Just wait a few minutes and the weather will change.
  Jamaica, land of contrasts ~ so Americanized, yet so uniquely its own singular home of grief and joy, sun and storm, glorious peace and passionate strife. These people have a prosperity of spirit over all things. Remember, this nation is just 50 years old, with 350 years of violent history.
Remember who you are in this grand plan, no matter the place or time.

Taxi & Road Culture!!....the short scenic 1/2 mile walk of daily danger to my school!!!
About taxis~ the main source of transportation....
  Few bicycles are seen on the roads of Jamaica, due to the extreme danger of riding on narrow, rocky roads with neurotic, speeding public taxi & mini-bus drivers flying by.Once in a while, you luckily happen upon a driver who is careful, relaxed....actually gives a pedestrian a bit of space.
  Here is the fact of Jamaican life: city and country alike...the main way to go anywhere on public transportation is the private taxi. Look for the red license plate(certified) and usually a tiny white Toyota Corolla. Often the gas tank is on E and the back doors are broken. Christian praise music pours out and seats and floors are ancient, rarely clean. People are crammed in - unless you are fortunate to be travelling a rarely-used route, or you're the first passenger, so the front seat is yours(at least for a while.)
  When you arrive in town, you hand the driver the fare and he's out of the car with the engine running to get change from other drivers  milling about. The town square is swarming with taxis, waiting, pushing through crowds...honking, speeding, surrounded by market sellers and shoppers. We ask for the next taxi to go to the other side of town...they shout to a friend, who waves me over. I make sure his route will actually go to my destination, since otherwise I will pay "charter fare", 3 times higher than "route fare". Ah...so much to learn! But the Peace Corps has taught us well, over & over & over......
  You ask: where are the buses? Buses!? They only go between larger cities, or longer distances. Kingston has regular city buses, but then, that's Kingston, another entity altogether!
  The roads are so narrow, often with stone walls & jungle forest on each side, that pedestrians & cyclists take their lives in their hands everywhere. Speed limits are rarely observed, or non-existent. Horns beeping at EVERY bend of the narrow roads, or beeping at pedestrians in case they need a ride! I wave them by each day, as I continue my walk. It's all part of this passionate life - and we exist only by the grace of our own faith.

Land of great contrasts, as is so much of our world. Faith abides through tears, anger and the struggle to exist. My ninety-four year old host "mother", a descendant of the many peoples who conquered this land, sings hymns throughout the house & garden, in a light high sweet voice, then laughs with joy at "being alive to see another day". I am connected in spirit to my great aunts, mother and grandmother, as I hear the truth in her hopeful words.
Remember who you are in this grand plan....and give thanks.

in peace ~ S.StJ.