The following photos were collected from current Peace Corps Volunteers around the island to share how they’ve gotten into the Jamaican spirit of resourcefulness and ingenuity. See the first set of crafty, make-shift items by Volunteers in the original post: Do It Yourself: Peace Corps DIY Ingenuity
Truly Trash to Treasure: Courtney (recently finished service)and Brandi Bookshelf, purse, and table: Brandi sent in three photos, two of which were made by her former site-mate, Courtney. “Scandal bags cut into string and crocheted together into a purse by Courtney. A bookshelf made from cardboard, tape, and a Jamaica travel magazine.” Brandi says: “She was always much craftier than me. This one was so valuable to me that I carted it in a mini bus from her site to mine after she left.” And lastly, by Brandi herself: “My antique end tables made from my (full) PC issued water buckets and covered in fabric.” Continue reading “Peace Corps DIY Ingenuity- Part 2”→
Last week Michelle and I represented the community center where I serve in the Westmoreland Parish Show, a town fair-like event for our area of the country. What was suppose to be one of- if not the- largest events of the year for our area, turned into a disappointment for the organizers because of the lack of attendance. It was a great example of some of the cultural challenges that Jamaicans face in community development, a lack of community involvement, and organizing issues. I never realized how much I could learn from not a lot happening. Continue reading “Cultural Lessons Learned from Event Planning”→
Peace Corps Volunteers live on a minimal budget and, often, the resources and supplies that were so readily available at home are harder to come by in our countries of service. This brings out some very creative ways to make do. The spirit of resourcefulness is also a big part of Jamaican culture. One of our PCV friends had a brilliant suggestion that we compile a list of all the ingenious, crafty, make-shift creations that current volunteers have made while living in Jamaica. We were pretty impressed with the results.
(And there were so many responses that we have to split them into two posts- so for all those PCVs out there who still have something to share, it’s not too late to send us your crafty photos for the second edition.)
The #1 Carpenter/Handy-man: Kevin “Bamboo gutter: I made so we could catch water to mix concrete up on the hill of the demo farm. We have since put metal gutters up, but the bamboo did its job in the interim. Continue reading “Do It Yourself: Peace Corps DIY Ingenuity”→
Values: Choosing Freedom October 2009. You could say this is where it all started. We were well on our way to buying a house but instead, we changed the trajectory of our lives.
The Waiting Game The challenges of being nominees in the Peace Corps application process- a process which apparently has changed since we’ve been serving in Jamaica (hopefully for the better).
You Want to Send Us Where? Things with our placement did not turn out as we expected. This was a difficult bump in the road but it turned out for the best.
Looking Back At 2011: Our Year In Review (VIDEO POST) With almost nine extra months on our hands before our new departure date, the door of opportunity swung wide open. 2011 was packed full of adventures we never dreamed were possible.
Peace Corps Invite!!!!!!!!! (VIDEO POST) A short video capturing the very exciting moment when we opened our official invitation. We knew the region in advance but were surprised to learn our country.
Crossing the Waters (VIDEO POST) In March 2012, we were finally off to meet the other 36 members of PCJ Group 83. The video depicts our transition from home- farewell parties and packing- to staging in Atlanta.
Community-Based Training (Part One) (VIDEO POST) Upon our arrival in Jamaica, we moved quickly from orientation in Kingston to our first home-stay community for several weeks of general training.
Volunteer Shadowing (VIDEO POST) Having the chance during our training to shadow a currently serving Volunteer brought our soon-to-be life as a PCV that much closer.
Shortly after we arrived at site, these two characters were born in the yard. They’ve grown with us ever since.
Swearing In After about 10 weeks of training, we were finally sworn in as official Peace Corps Volunteers. Jedd was chosen to give one of the speeches at the ceremony (his speech transcript is included in this post).
Home Sweet Home (VIDEO POST) Before swearing in, we found out our permanent site placement and were able to visit for a few days. After swearing in, we got settled in to our apartment, got to know our amazing host parents in the house above us, and started work at the community center and school. (We also celebrated our 4th anniversary!)
There are many more posts from our Peace Corps journey, experiencing the ups and downs as well as sharing what we’ve learned about Jamaican culture… Browse here.
Yesterday was a special day for Michelle and I and the rest of the volunteers we arrived with on island, as we celebrated our 20 month of being Peace Corps volunteers. Below are 20 of my favorite photos from the last 20 months which, of course, doesn’t do any justice to the experience, but I hope you like them. (Also, you’ll notice that some of the captions have links back to related posts, in case you want to see more.)
Coordinating any event in Jamaica is a challenge. There are so many uncontrollable factors such as the weather, cost of goods, and limited resources that limit what one can do, that any extra hurdles are just infuriating. So what would you do if you had meticulously planned a week-long summer camp for 50+ youth , tried your best to use your little budget and resources to make sure that the youth, volunteers, and staff were fed, but then had to figure out what to do with the extra people that would show up and ask to be fed- but aren’t part of the program? You would tell them, “I’m sorry, we can’t give you any food because you’re not part of the program,” right? You would be justified. I would support you.
Unless the person in charge of the food tells you she anticipated this because, “Jedd, I don’t cook scarce you know…my mother taught me that.” Continue reading “Feeding People Love”→
First bench of a bus: two adults smalling up with six kids
I don’t know why we haven’t really addressed Jamaican public transportation on our blog until now. It plays a major part of our daily lives and can be quite fascinating for those who are new to it. There’s a lot of fun stuff to cover when it comes to our route taxi and bus system, so we’ll break it up into two parts.
Following my recent post, Current Volunteers Tell All, I’ve continued to send questions to my fellow PCVs via text message. This time the poll question gives some insight into the various obstacles we face.
If you had to choose your #1 challenge or stressor here, what one word sums it up?
The most commonly mentioned challenge was: Apathy. It’s nearly impossible to help a community when no one wants responsibility for making change. Continue reading “To Care or Go Crazy”→
Being part of a host family during your Peace Corps experience can be a “make or break” experience for both volunteers and host family. Not all volunteers around the world live with a host family, but we do….and we are so thankful for them.
This past weekend we had the amazing privilege to be a part of one of our host sisters’s wedding. Preparations in the yard have been in the works for months, culminating in a 36-hour, three-dozen people effort to transform the front yard into a wedding reception area complete with dance stage and head table.
The yard before and after decorations
Michelle described the scene like something out of “Downton Abbey” where a lot of neighbors, family, and friends came together to put on this event. It was bustling. I described it more like Continue reading “The Big Fat Jamaican Downtonish Wedding”→
I thought this would be a fun experiment and, thankfully, a good number of my fellow volunteers were willing to help out. The following information comes from a poll I conducted via text messages, thanks to our Closed User Group phone plan which allows us to contact each other for free. I want to thank the 39 volunteers who are participating in this “experiment” for sharing their responses!
When you applied for Peace Corps, what countries or regions were you most hoping for?
Bookshelf, purse, and table: Brandi sent in three photos, two of which were made by her former site-mate, Courtney. “Scandal bags cut into string and crocheted together into a purse by Courtney. A bookshelf made from cardboard, tape, and a Jamaica travel magazine.” Brandi says: “She was always much craftier than me. This one was so valuable to me that I carted it in a mini bus from her site to mine after she left.” And lastly, by Brandi herself: “My antique end tables made from my (full) PC issued water buckets and covered in fabric.” Continue reading “Peace Corps DIY Ingenuity- Part 2” 
Simply Intentional 