We have essentially completed the first phase of training known as Community-based Training. Sunday we will load our packed bags onto a truck once more and move on to Hub-based Training in a small farming community at the base of the Blue Mountains. During the coming phase, our group of 35 will be split three ways according to our respective programs: Green Initiative, Youth as Promise, and Education. Our curriculum will shift to agriculture and environment based training along with culture and language. At the end of this five week training, we will be all but ready to swear in as full blown Peace Corps Volunteers; we are now referred to as Trainees.
Our current host-mother has been very good to us and has given us a great introduction to Jamaica. Her care and guidance will serve us well as we integrate with a new host-family and community in the next phase. We have been spoiled a bit by the comforts of internet, cable, and a washing machine, but those luxuries will be more limited over the next several weeks and even more so when we get to our final community where we will stay for 24 months. Wish us and our fellow trainees luck as we go on to the next level.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Dunn's River Falls and Jamaica Countryside
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| Dunn's River Falls |
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| Beach where the trek up the falls begins |
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| Half way up |
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| Port Maria (I think) |
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| Church |
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| Coconut farm |
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| Just cruisin along |
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| In the hills |
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| Small town |
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Photos from Jamaica
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| The lives of two people for two years. |
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| Peace Corps Trainees in Atlanta at 3:30am |
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| View from airport in Kingston |
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| View from Colin Powell Residential Plaza, Kingston |
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| Kingston |
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| Hellshire Beach (we won't get to live near a beach) |
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| Beach |
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| Haven't had to do this for a while |
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| Trainees in our training facility |
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| University of the West Indies, Jamaica branch |
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| Aquaduct |
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| Linnae and fellow trainee |
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| Steel drum session |
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| The Pans (drums) |
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| Linnae Jammin' |
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| Me Jammin' |
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| Training track for Usain Bolt |
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| Add caption |
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| Me breakin't it down |
Training and training some more
Greetings! We are in the second week of training and trying to absorb as much as we can about Peace Corps rules and policies in addition to language, culture, safety and security, public transportation, agriculture, and much more. Our day typically starts between 6:00-6:30 am with a brisk walk around the neighborhood or catching up on 'homework'. Nicki, our host mother cooks breakfast every morning and I have gotten used to the taste of salt-fish or mackerel first thing. I also kind of like the local instant coffee, however I am looking forward to finding a source of good ground coffee in the future.
This weekend was a lot of fun for Linnae and I. On Saturday morning we went with our host-mother to Coronation Market in downtown Kingston. The official market is open-air but under roof. There are literally hundreds of vendors selling callaloo, pumpkin, potato, ginger, scallions, thyme, oranges, grapefruit, akee, soursop, jackfruit, tamarind, bananas, plantains, breadfruit, sugar cane, and on and on. There are no set prices, so you either haggle with the vendor or just move on until you find a better price. On the perimeter there are a lot of unofficial vendors selling many of the same things, though they are a little more aggressive at calling to you and trying to get you to "spend a likkle sintin wit dem." The aisle ways are small and there are dozens of men steering their brake-less pushcarts around, narrowly missing toes and produce. There are supermarkets and produce stands in Kingston and in the surrounding parishes, but the best prices are in Coronation Market. That being said, Linnae and I will be doing our shopping close to our permanent site, not in the big city.
After the shopping experience, we dropped of the purchases at her office in town and then got on the bus (to learn how to use the local bus service) to go farther uptown to a place called Halfway Tree. This is where the main bus terminal is located as well as lots of "regular" shopping opportunities. There were even restaurants like Burger King, KFC, and Wendy's; we still haven't had any urges for fast food though. Getting on buses here takes a little bit more attitude and a little less courtesy than we are used to in the U.S.. Climbing aboard involves forming a gaggle of people and keeping people from squeezing by you. We took the bus back downtown to collect the groceries and drive home.
Sunday, we rode up to Ocho Rios on the northern side of the island. Along the way we drove through the countryside and it was nice to get out of the urban/suburban area we have been accustomed to for the last two weeks. We didn't actually spend much time in Ocho Rios (Ochi for short), but we did go to Dunn's River Falls. The falls are probably somewhere between a waterfall and a cascade, but they are climbable and that's the attraction. You can also spend some time at a little beach there, which we did. The water was kind of interesting with cool fresh water mixing with warm salt water. As we swam we would move in and out of pockets of warm and cool. After swimming a bit, the three of us made the trek up the falls with a bunch of tourists (I know I've only been here two weeks, but I already consider myself more than a visitor). I was surprised that the rocks weren't more slippery.
We took the long way home and got to see some of the agriculture in Saint Mary parish. There were coconut groves, sugar cane fields, banana farms, and pineapple fields. As we moved into the mountains we could see some of the terrace farming and small plots the farmers have there. This was a glimpse at the kind of environment Linnae and I will likely work in. On some of the terraces there was just a single row of corn. I'm impressed that the farmer would exert so much effort to build a terrace for each row.
Linnae and I only have a few more days left in the Portmore area before Peace Corps Jamaica Group 83 gets split into our respective sectors and move to a new community. From what I hear, Green Initiative (Ag/Env) will be moving to a small community at about 3,000 ft above sea level. I'm hoping that will bring slightly cooler temperatures. We won't be able to see the brilliant blue waters of the Caribbean Sea out of our windows anymore, but I suppose we will manage. During the upcoming phase our training will shift to primarily Ag/Env topics as well as language and culture. We are all looking forward to graduating from the mundane training we are going through now.
Peace Corps Masters International
As I prepared for my thesis stateside, I was drawn to participatory methods of assessment and research. I thought this was something that I would be "bringing to the table." As it turns out, this is the bread and butter for how Peace Corps Volunteers integrate and learn about their communities. PC uses two main tools, Participatory Analysis for Community Action (PACA) and Community and Sector Inventory (CASI). We haven't gotten too deep into the methodology, but I am assuming there are a lot of similarities with what a lot of the literature calls Rapid Rural Appraisal, Participatory Rural Appraisal or Participatory Learning and Action. I'm really looking forward to learning more about PACA and CASI to see what kind of studies I could potentially develop from them.
This weekend was a lot of fun for Linnae and I. On Saturday morning we went with our host-mother to Coronation Market in downtown Kingston. The official market is open-air but under roof. There are literally hundreds of vendors selling callaloo, pumpkin, potato, ginger, scallions, thyme, oranges, grapefruit, akee, soursop, jackfruit, tamarind, bananas, plantains, breadfruit, sugar cane, and on and on. There are no set prices, so you either haggle with the vendor or just move on until you find a better price. On the perimeter there are a lot of unofficial vendors selling many of the same things, though they are a little more aggressive at calling to you and trying to get you to "spend a likkle sintin wit dem." The aisle ways are small and there are dozens of men steering their brake-less pushcarts around, narrowly missing toes and produce. There are supermarkets and produce stands in Kingston and in the surrounding parishes, but the best prices are in Coronation Market. That being said, Linnae and I will be doing our shopping close to our permanent site, not in the big city.
After the shopping experience, we dropped of the purchases at her office in town and then got on the bus (to learn how to use the local bus service) to go farther uptown to a place called Halfway Tree. This is where the main bus terminal is located as well as lots of "regular" shopping opportunities. There were even restaurants like Burger King, KFC, and Wendy's; we still haven't had any urges for fast food though. Getting on buses here takes a little bit more attitude and a little less courtesy than we are used to in the U.S.. Climbing aboard involves forming a gaggle of people and keeping people from squeezing by you. We took the bus back downtown to collect the groceries and drive home.
Sunday, we rode up to Ocho Rios on the northern side of the island. Along the way we drove through the countryside and it was nice to get out of the urban/suburban area we have been accustomed to for the last two weeks. We didn't actually spend much time in Ocho Rios (Ochi for short), but we did go to Dunn's River Falls. The falls are probably somewhere between a waterfall and a cascade, but they are climbable and that's the attraction. You can also spend some time at a little beach there, which we did. The water was kind of interesting with cool fresh water mixing with warm salt water. As we swam we would move in and out of pockets of warm and cool. After swimming a bit, the three of us made the trek up the falls with a bunch of tourists (I know I've only been here two weeks, but I already consider myself more than a visitor). I was surprised that the rocks weren't more slippery.
We took the long way home and got to see some of the agriculture in Saint Mary parish. There were coconut groves, sugar cane fields, banana farms, and pineapple fields. As we moved into the mountains we could see some of the terrace farming and small plots the farmers have there. This was a glimpse at the kind of environment Linnae and I will likely work in. On some of the terraces there was just a single row of corn. I'm impressed that the farmer would exert so much effort to build a terrace for each row.
Linnae and I only have a few more days left in the Portmore area before Peace Corps Jamaica Group 83 gets split into our respective sectors and move to a new community. From what I hear, Green Initiative (Ag/Env) will be moving to a small community at about 3,000 ft above sea level. I'm hoping that will bring slightly cooler temperatures. We won't be able to see the brilliant blue waters of the Caribbean Sea out of our windows anymore, but I suppose we will manage. During the upcoming phase our training will shift to primarily Ag/Env topics as well as language and culture. We are all looking forward to graduating from the mundane training we are going through now.
Peace Corps Masters International
As I prepared for my thesis stateside, I was drawn to participatory methods of assessment and research. I thought this was something that I would be "bringing to the table." As it turns out, this is the bread and butter for how Peace Corps Volunteers integrate and learn about their communities. PC uses two main tools, Participatory Analysis for Community Action (PACA) and Community and Sector Inventory (CASI). We haven't gotten too deep into the methodology, but I am assuming there are a lot of similarities with what a lot of the literature calls Rapid Rural Appraisal, Participatory Rural Appraisal or Participatory Learning and Action. I'm really looking forward to learning more about PACA and CASI to see what kind of studies I could potentially develop from them.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Intro and Week 1
I am going to do my best to write and share in such a way that three main audience groups get something out of this blog. I will primarily write to friends and family that are just wanting to keep up on what Linnae and I are doing and how things are going. I will also write about the 'Peace Corps experience' for folks who may have found this blog and are interested in learning more about the organization and what serving is like. I will also write about my experiences as a Peace Corps Masters International participant and catalog the process of developing a research problem out of my agricultural role in the community. Please feel free to leave comments or questions in the appropriate space below each posting.
Week 1: Linnae and I left the airport in Ohio on March 12 enroute to Atlanta, GA for the staging event. The staging event is basically a 24 hour process that takes care of some initial paperwork and allows the volunteer group to interact and talk about expectations, apprehensions, etc.
We checked out of our hotel at 2:00am on Wednesday morning to catch our flight out of Atlanta. We had a brief layover in Miami and were in Kingston by 11:30am. We were greeted by Peace Corps staff and loaded our baggage into a truck. We then went to the Peace Corps (PC) headquarters and commenced with some more administrative tasks. Late in the afternoon we went back to check into a hotel and collect our luggage. At 6:30pm we went back to the PC headquarters for the Group 83 (that's our group) 50th Anniversary Peace Corps Jamaica party. Linnae and I's group has the honor of being the group that arrived during this special anniversary. At the event, many dignitaries from the US and Jamaican governments spoke, but it was the entertainment portion that we really enjoyed. The Nexus Performing Arts Company gave a great show consisting of gospel, classical, reggae, and African music and dance. It was a great welcome to the island.
Since then, we have been busy with Pre-Service Training (PST). Some of this was done in Kingston, but we are now in the Portmore area for community-based training, language and cross-cultural, safety and security, and many others. Linnae and I are staying with a host family, who are taking very good care of us. We have our own room and bathroom and are being fed very well. However, eating well also entails eating some of the traditional fare: Cow Head and Chicken Foot Soup. I'm proud to say I had some of each, but I will be content if I can stick to animal products from the region between the head and feet in the future.
The Portmore community is a short walk from the beach, which we have to take advantage of now since our next community will be farther inland and our permanent community will likely be much farther inland and rural. Linnae and I attended church services on Sunday and really enjoyed ourselves. Churches I have attended back home could take a few lessons from the musical portion of services down here.
We are about to start our second week of training and will get to do a little more sight-seeing and learn more about public transportation, culture, language, and of course safety and security. For those of you who are worried, our Safety and Security Coordinator (SSC) was voted by her peers to be the best SSC among all of the PC's 77 countries of service.
Peace Corps Masters International
Prior to departing service, I did some generic literature review and identified a few texts that I intend to use as a basis for my research. However, my community counterpart organization and projects are supposed to drive my research, so expect to remain flexible and prepare yourself to identify a research problem after arriving and integrating into your community.
Week 1: Linnae and I left the airport in Ohio on March 12 enroute to Atlanta, GA for the staging event. The staging event is basically a 24 hour process that takes care of some initial paperwork and allows the volunteer group to interact and talk about expectations, apprehensions, etc.
We checked out of our hotel at 2:00am on Wednesday morning to catch our flight out of Atlanta. We had a brief layover in Miami and were in Kingston by 11:30am. We were greeted by Peace Corps staff and loaded our baggage into a truck. We then went to the Peace Corps (PC) headquarters and commenced with some more administrative tasks. Late in the afternoon we went back to check into a hotel and collect our luggage. At 6:30pm we went back to the PC headquarters for the Group 83 (that's our group) 50th Anniversary Peace Corps Jamaica party. Linnae and I's group has the honor of being the group that arrived during this special anniversary. At the event, many dignitaries from the US and Jamaican governments spoke, but it was the entertainment portion that we really enjoyed. The Nexus Performing Arts Company gave a great show consisting of gospel, classical, reggae, and African music and dance. It was a great welcome to the island.
Since then, we have been busy with Pre-Service Training (PST). Some of this was done in Kingston, but we are now in the Portmore area for community-based training, language and cross-cultural, safety and security, and many others. Linnae and I are staying with a host family, who are taking very good care of us. We have our own room and bathroom and are being fed very well. However, eating well also entails eating some of the traditional fare: Cow Head and Chicken Foot Soup. I'm proud to say I had some of each, but I will be content if I can stick to animal products from the region between the head and feet in the future.
The Portmore community is a short walk from the beach, which we have to take advantage of now since our next community will be farther inland and our permanent community will likely be much farther inland and rural. Linnae and I attended church services on Sunday and really enjoyed ourselves. Churches I have attended back home could take a few lessons from the musical portion of services down here.
We are about to start our second week of training and will get to do a little more sight-seeing and learn more about public transportation, culture, language, and of course safety and security. For those of you who are worried, our Safety and Security Coordinator (SSC) was voted by her peers to be the best SSC among all of the PC's 77 countries of service.
Peace Corps Masters International
Prior to departing service, I did some generic literature review and identified a few texts that I intend to use as a basis for my research. However, my community counterpart organization and projects are supposed to drive my research, so expect to remain flexible and prepare yourself to identify a research problem after arriving and integrating into your community.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Wha gwan mi bredren n sistren?
Welcome to the new home of “Kevin’s Agricultural Adventures”. I have chosen to migrate to Blogger in order to allow comments/questions to be left so that we can interact more than the previous blog allowed.
The Peace Corps has three goals: 1) Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women, 2) Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served, 3) Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.
This blog will be part of my approach in achieving the third goal.
My wife, Linnae, and I are currently in the two week long Community Based Training in the Hellshire community of Portland, Jamaica. I will be posting more soon to catch you up on what has transpired since departing Ohio on March 12.
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