Category: Videos

* Michelle Thoughts, * Peace Corps, Videos

August Overview Video

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PCJ August ’12 Recap from Chamanson on Vimeo.

This video shows some of the highlights of this exciting month in Jamaica. From 50th anniversary independence celebrations, the Olympics, threats of a hurricane, 40-leg centipedes, and an eventful youth summer camp, our days were more than full.

A success story from camp involves a group of six teenage girls from two separate (and practically rival) communities. The week before camp, four of the girls felt somehow dissed by the other two and started a fight Continue reading “August Overview Video” →

* Michelle Thoughts, * Peace Corps, Videos

Life In The Yard: A Video (and so much more)

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I’ve been collecting footage of the various creatures and friends around our yard since we arrived. Some have already come and gone in the short time we’ve been here, but there is also a continuous renewal of life through new birth. In that way, the place is always, always full of life.

Most recently, we disposed of a particularly unwelcome guest, Continue reading “Life In The Yard: A Video (and so much more)” →

* Jedd Thoughts, * Peace Corps, Videos

Home Sweet Home

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The very first day we met each other. Very telling of things to come…

When living in a new country, it’s always good to celebrate milestones. It helps you see where you have come from and all the things that you have accomplished (and to be honest, who doesn’t like finding a reason to buy and eat affordable Betty Crocker fudge brownies). This week we are celebrating 1 month in our new home in Westmoreland, Jamaica and 4 years of marriage. Who knew 4 years ago that two very different people would find each other, fall in love and get married, and then 4 years later live and serve in another country? I didn’t think that was going to happen. We hope you enjoy Michelle’s latest video and we will try to post again soon (at the moment we don’t have steady access to internet). Thanks for walking with us on this adventure… J&M https://vimeo.com/43629057

* Jedd Thoughts, * Life Updates, * Michelle Thoughts, * Peace Corps, Videos

Swearing In: A Recap

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On TV
Here’s a news clip of our official Swearing In ceremony. (You’ll see Jedd shaking the Ambassador’s hand. Michelle was hidden but standing behind Jackie, in the blue dress, in the first first clip as it pans left.)

In the Newspaper
Article about our Swearing In in the Jamaica Observerwith quote by Michelle

Group 83 Swearing In with the U.S. Ambassador and Jamaican Governor General

In Our Own Words
Jedd was chosen by his fellow Youth volunteers to give their group’s speech at Swearing In. Here’s what he said:

I’m here today as a representative of the Youth as Promise/HIV-PEPFAR volunteers of Peace Corps Jamaica, group 83. This young, passionate, and wonderful group of fun individuals are committed to serving the youth and at risk populations of Jamaica. I am inspired by them and I will miss them all dearly as we go out all over the country.
I wanted to share with you all a letter that I wrote to the Country and people of Jamaica and though I am nervous… Daag a sweat, but long hair cover it.

Dear Jamaica,
It’s been almost ten weeks Continue reading “Swearing In: A Recap” →

* Jedd Thoughts, * Peace Corps, Videos

Jamaica Sights and Sounds

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The video above features some sights and sounds of Jamaica. Here in the land of wood and water, your senses are overwhelmed by so many new things. I called this volume one because there are several things I wasn’t able to capture that I hope to like what it’s like in an open market, what it’s like on busy streets (with goats, buses, dogs, etc…), and my favorite, what it’s like being on a cramped bus (we have two years to get this footage).

I hope you enjoy this video (edited on an iPad, which went well) and had a chance to hear and see some of the things we’ve been experiencing. Please let me know if there is anything else that you’d like me to capture footage of in Jamaica (leave a comment below).

Till next time, big up yuh self – J

* Michelle Thoughts, * Peace Corps, Videos

Site Placement and Video Part 2

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This video is the second installment from Hub Training for the education volunteers. It’s a quick recap of the past five weeks.

We also have exciting news… We have finally found out our site placement for the next two years! We will be living in Westmoreland parish in a small town outside of Savanna-la-Mar. Jedd will be working at a newly developing organization with youth, a short taxi ride from our home. And I will be working with the primary school in our town. Our housing is a flat on the first floor of a house owned by a couple in their fifties. Tomorrow our supervisors will take us to the site for a four-day orientation, so we’ll know a lot more in the coming days! Our big swearing in ceremony to become official volunteers is May 18.

* Michelle Thoughts, * Peace Corps, Videos

PCJ Education Sector Volunteers

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Today is our last day of “Hub training” where the eleven of us education volunteers have been meeting for the past five weeks. We have successfully completed our practicum assignments, which involved tutoring two primary school students in literacy over a period of two weeks, as well as other education and patois language-related assignments. We’ve heard from a number of presenters, including several from various branches of Jamaica’s Ministry of Education, and we’ve even toured some important sites to the country’s education system on our field trips. As the Jamaicans say, we’re “ready fi touch di road” (sort of like: “ready to hit the road running”). They often tell us that although five weeks is not enough to prepare us for everything, we are prepared enough to begin our work and go until our next training in September (Early Service Conference). We’ve also learned a lot outside the classroom, namely with our wonderful host families who feed, house, and watch out for us while we’ve been here. We will be leaving our host families on Sunday afternoon and heading back to Kingston where we’ll (finally!!) find out our site placements for the next two years.

A 5th grade class on break tells me all about what they’re learning in school

I’ve been working on several videos lately but in an effort to get something posted quickly and have it not be too lengthy, the first video (posted above) is simply some interviews of the education trainees who have spent the last five weeks with me. Hopefully you’ll get a taste for the diversity of volunteers who are in my group as well as some idea of what it’s like to be an education trainee. The next video will include more of the sites and activities we’ve experienced in our time at Hub training. Until then…

-M

* Life Updates, * Michelle Thoughts, * Peace Corps, Videos

Volunteer Shadowing

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Our most recent adventure has been shadowing a current volunteer. We each went out on public transportation to various sites around the island, spending Monday afternoon through Wednesday morning with our volunteer. I got to visit Carline, another education volunteer who is located in a small town outside of Ocho Rios. She’s came with the group before ours, so she’s been at her site since September.

The video gives a quick look at her apartment, her literacy work at the local school, the beautiful nature in her community, and some of her friends. The last clip is a pair of student rehearsing a really cool poem that they will perform at Festival. (Please excuse the technical glitch at the beginning! And the audio was a little challenging so I put in a few subtitles.) Overall, I had a great time with Carline, gaining valuable advice and a real life look at a volunteer’s home and work. Hopefully I’ll be able to go back and visit at some point! -M

* Michelle Thoughts, * Peace Corps, Videos

Community-Based Training (Part One)

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This video is a quick look at what our lives have looked like the past couple weeks. After Staging in Atlanta, we flew to Kingston where we were warmly welcomed and did our first two days of orientation. Then, we moved into our first home-stay community in a small town outside of Kingston where we have been enjoying home cooking, fresh juice, and life lessons from our host mother and sister. On week days we are in training sessions with the other trainees, learning about the local language and culture, safety and security, Peace Corps policies, and overviewing issues related to our project sectors.

Some random things we’ve learned and experienced so far:

  • Steel drums actually come from Trinidad and Tobago
  • It is not culturally acceptable to eat on the street, walking or sitting (jury is still out on why this is so)
  • Jamaicans hold big social parties nine days after a death called a Nine Night and anyone can attend
  • “Howdy come from outta door.” Greetings are more important than saying Thank You here, and it is the person coming from “outside” (whether entering a room or a foreigner entering a neighborhood) who must be the one to offer the greeting
  • Morning jogs must wrap up before 7:30am or else you’ll get too hot
  • The ice cream truck plays the same song here
  • Sometimes girls will ask to touch your hair
* Michelle Thoughts, Videos

Video Killed the Radio Star

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I’ll be honest, the above video has nothing to do with the rest of this post other than to introduce the concept of Videos. (It’s just a fun plug for an a capella group with a unique remix style who won the show, The Sing Off. Singing “Video Killed the Radio Star.”)

I got the idea to add a Video category to our sidebar (see right side of screen when you’re on our homepage) from some Peace Corps volunteers in Ecuador. And for fun I thought I’d include some of my favorite videos that we’ve shared with you on this blog so far, for nostalgia’s sake: Continue reading “Video Killed the Radio Star” →