sign created by Jim Restin

Friday, September 23, 2011

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.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

A Light in Jamaica....Sworn In!

"Wherever we go, may we be a light in Jamaica that brightens the lives of many." ~ C.H., Peace Corps Volunteer, speech for Swearing In ceremony, 2011


 This photo shows two of my young PCV friends with me on the morning before our Swearing In at the US Embassy in Kingston: Ruby, a Philippino American from California and Carline, an African American from Florida...both young enough to be my daughters! Carline wrote a wonderful speech for the ceremony, which I record here as an example of where we are in heart and mind, at this point along our journey. All 28 of us have dispersed to our permanent sites across the island, alone yet connected, working with schools, farmers, fisheries, and youth centers....challenges and joys await...learning continues.

Speech for Peace Corps Jamaica Volunteer Swearing In Ceremony, 9/2011 ~

"Hello ~ Can you hear me? You can hear me?...If you can hear me now, you have officially passed the test. Yes, you heard me correctly: training is concluded. There is no session yet to be presented. There is no form yet to be filled out. 'Me no talk no foreign chat', you're free to go to site. If you can hear me now,you're ready. You're ready to hear the petitions of people you've yet to meet. You're ready to hear the laughter of children you're yet to teach. You're ready to hear the concerns of neighbors you've yet to encounter.
  Am I coming in clearly in the back? Can you see this now? If you can see it now, you've aced the exam. No, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you, the powerpoint presentation is done! The tour has come to its final stop. Put down that notebook; there are no notes left to browse.So 'wipe dat matta from yuh yie'! Wake up and see what is before you. If you can see this now, you're well prepared. You're prepared to see real issues faced daily by troubled youth. You're prepared to see the true needs of the communities in Jamaica. Set your sight on the ambition of these things.
  Can you see your hands? Are you sure they're not in your luggage? ..Well, if you can locate them, look at them. And look carefully...They are so nice, soft and pretty...right? May this be the last day this be the case. "Me Aunt Ditty always seh,"Mine yuh and", as I chop vegetables for her recipes. Or when I would use scissors to cut something, she'd again remind me: "Mine yuh and,darlin". But from today forward, I give you different instructions. "Mash up yuh and...yuh ear wha me seh? Mash up yuh and!" and take your hands and set them to some hard work. May they be caloused from building new friendships, and may they be scarred from aiding people making changes in their lives. May they be sore from your tireless effort to mold, craft and sculpt young minds. May your hands become soiled in nurturing the growth and understanding of all the lives you'll touch in your community each day.
  So, if you can hear me...Class dismissed ~ Please leave your evaluations on the table in the back and don't forget your name! You're more than ready for this Peace Corps mission ~ this training has more than conditioned you into the form of a great volunteer. Sure we have a good share of bumps and bruises earned in the process, but more endurance and strength to record on our medical charts, let alone our Trimester Reports! As if you haven't been told: "this is the toughest job you'll ever love"!( US Peace Corps motto) So hang tight to your friends and colleagues around you: and be swift to place your feet on the bridge that unites us and will unite us to the Jamaican people. As we stand at the crossroads of our mission, don't be timid to step across it.
  Jamaica, we already love you. Teach us what we have yet to learn, and love us in capacities we never knew our hearts could expand to. It's our hope and prayer that out of this many people, we will become one(Jamaican motto). Wherever we go, may we be a light in Jamaica that brightens the lives of many."  (printed by permission of the author, Carline Hines, PCV Jamaica, Group 82)

Peace to all...May Jamaica be a light to us! ~(above photo is one of my teaching colleagues on site) S. St.J.