Wedding Bells and Pickney Yells

Jamaica Sunset at 3200ft 

On Monday, about nine of us Peace Corps Trainees (PCT) had the opportunity to go to a big wedding in Kingston for a couple from here in Woodford. We all agree that it was an interesting experience. The ceremony was slated to begin at noon, but the bridal party didn’t start making their way down the aisle until about 1:45; I guess that’s “island time” at play. We found that weddings are definitely an occasion for wearing gowns and big hats or fancy suits. Most of we PCTs were comparatively underdressed, including myself. The Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) ceremony had many of the same components of an American wedding with prayer, songs, praise, and exchanging of vows. However, there was one surprising and striking difference. Our experience living with a family and in a community of SDA Christians is that they are very conservative. That being said, I have never heard a marriage ceremony so full of sexual innuendo. I guess it is common practice to make light of what happens between a bride and groom on the wedding night.

At the reception, we learned that speeches are a staple of such events. There were at least eight toasts and a couple of impromptu speeches. Additionally, there were probably five or six musical performances by very talented singers; most were family/friends. Food was served buffet style and consisted of traditional Jamaican dishes. The final toast was made around 9:15, so we rode back home to Woodford after about eight and a half hours of wedding festivities. The photographer and videographer definitely earned their pay Monday and there were some tired PCTs at training Tuesday morning.

There isn’t much to highlight about training from Tuesday through Thursday other than learning more about environmental issues on the island and preparing a half-day Eco-Camp for some of the pickneys (children) of Woodford.

Linnae at the Eco-Camp Registration Table

The Eco-Camp is an activity that is part community outreach and part training for us volunteers. It was a great way to introduce us to youth focused events while building some environmental awareness. Registration opened at 8:00 AM and about 70% of the participants (5^th & 6^th graders) were there by 9:30 with the rest trickling in throughout the morning. Linnae served as the event coordinator and me as one of four House (group) Leaders. The children played games and did activities based on things like the water cycle, competition for resources, misuse of agro-chemicals, and the plant life cycle. All in all it was a lot of fun and we learned that Jamaican pickneys are not so different from American children. They love to play games and compete, form little cliques, occasionally fight, but are generally respectful of authority. We did notice that they are a likkle (little) afraid of being wrong when asked to answer a question in front of the group. Regardless, it was great experience and practice for our next Eco-Camp which we will put on for a local 4-H group next week.

Students learning about the water cycle and run-off

Later in the afternoon on Friday, Linnae and I learned that we will soon be traveling to Saint Ann parish to shadow a current Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) who has been working there for the past several months. We will be there for a couple of nights and get to see what the PCV’s day to day activities include, how he/she lives, and also how he/she works with project partners. This particular PCV works with an organization called the Jamaica Organic Agriculture Movement (JOAM), an organization that trains and certifies farmers in organic farming. I still have much to learn about both organic and tropical agriculture, so this should be a pretty rewarding experience. It will also be a test of our ability to navigate public transportation, which is prevalent and cheap here in Jamaica. Linnae and I will be traveling with another PCT, Alyssa, who just happens to be a Texas A&M graduate. Between our Aggie and Buckeye skills I think the three of us will be just fine.

Today our Green Initiative group is going down to Kingston for a little R&R. Our agenda includes getting the best ice cream in town, watching a track meet (maybe catching a glimpse of Usain Bolt), and getting some Mexican food. We figure we might as well live a little since our permanent placements will mostly be deep rural. Speaking of which, Linnae and I don’t know yet what community we will live in for the next two years. Fortunately, our Program Manager says he has known for a while where he wants to send us, so we suspect that the site will be well prepared and appropriate for our skills and interests.