I spent the 4th here

Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth, Jamaica

A mere hour and a half from my new Mandeville home...

Year Two: An Introduction

Long post incoming (sorry!) ~ lots has been going on for the past three weeks (I think I have been in every parish since the start of July), and here is a quick update on one of the more notable aspects...

I spent the last four days in Mandeville, Manchester parish, where I will be soon moving to take up a position with the Jamaica Red Cross. Leaving Falmouth will not be easy in any sense of the word, but the potential to do the work I wanted to do when I got here is too much to pass up. I will be drafting my own job description over the next few days, and right now it looks something like this:

HIV/Youth Outreach Worker

Co-facilitation and organization of an HIV Youth Immersion Camp (SPA/VAST Grant) with youth link patrons in Manchester parish High Schools. Participate in ongoing meetings related to promotion and planning of the event, as well as location of resources persons. Camp will include HIV Stigma/Discrimination discussions, youth empowerment forums (ex. Money Management, Motivation, etc.), sports / arts and crafts aimed at motivating youth engagement in Red Cross activities, and more.

Act as a resource person for Manchester parish Red Cross youth links, attending high school meetings when applicable.

Coordinate with Michaela Cameron (Red Cross Mandeville HIV / Youth Employee) on ongoing outreach activities and fit in where appropriate.

Sustainability Advocate

Attend Parish Council, SDC, and other meetings to promote Red Cross Manchester income-generating projects (Ambulance Service, HIV testing, etc.) with the intent of reaching an income generation level high enough to support a paid administrative employee.

Support the transition towards Red Cross Mandeville performing administrative tasks without assistance from the United States Peace Corps.

Attend monthly Red Cross Mandeville meetings (1^st Tuesday), and Executive Committee meetings (2^nd Tuesday).

Training Associate

Assist with weekly V.A.S.T. (Volunteer Ambulance Service Training), First AID/CPR, and First Responder training courses with Red Cross trainer Andrew McDonald (counterpart). Persons trained include Red Cross Youth Link (High School Clubs) Patrons, Nursing Students, Parents, etc.

Assist in disaster preparedness outreach alongside Lloyd Myrie (Emergency Section Coordinator)

So, yeah. Things are happening. I have the unique opportunity to be exactly who I want to be for the next year, and I plan on making the most of it. As a supplemental list to those tasks mentioned above, I plan to accomplish the following things before leaving Jamaica next July/August:

1. Complete the Reggae Marathon in December in Negril

2. Become a serious pool shark (Mandeville has a ton of pool tables... why not?)

3. Integrate into Mandeville high culture through trips to the country club and organic juice bar (I feel sort of guilty mentioning these things, but if I ever start saving money on this whole escapade there is a squash court in my new town)

4. Learn to cook some mean Indian food - there is an Indian cook shop in town. I plan to become super tight with the chef who has trouble speaking English, and in addition to making him part of my "wolf pack", I will make him teach me to make a mean roti.

Miss you all! I know I say it fairly compulsively now, but please come visit! I've spoken to a ton of you about coming down, but for those of you who are serious I would like to start planning some of these things so I know when I myself can safely leave the country.

-TG

Rumination Nation

I had one of the most fulfilling and meaningful conversations of my life today with my best friend from high school. Our lives have taken us to different places, but our core values couldn’t be closer.

After a long, rumination-filled weekend, I learned something about myself on this fine Monday. Or rather, remembered something I forgot some time ago. Doing what you love and making sure you are fully comfortable with your actions is the only way to truly be at peace. And being at peace with yourself is absolutely essential for others to be at peace with you.

I look forward to another year in the Peace Corps on my terms. I have at times taken a lot of flack for not entirely following certain social norms for people my age, and because of that I have at times buckled and abandoned some of the things that make me who I am - in order to fit in, or something like that. I feel like going into this any further would just be weird on a blog, so I’m done there. I guess I can just say I know the person I want to be, and I am tired of being less than that for the sake of appeasing some common ideal of what a moronic post-college twenty three year old guy should be. Okay yeah, probably too heavy but whatever. I guess that was a convoluted way of saying I have a mid-year (and mid-service) resolution that rocks pretty hard.

On a slightly different yet still related note, I might have the dream job (or something like it) I came here searching for by week’s end. I’ll keep you posted. A lot of my discontent since returning from Hawaii has been replaced with simmering anticipation for a conversation with Peace Corps this Thursday about what comes next, and the future looks quite bright.

~full steam ahead~

One year ago today I was sitting in a conference room in Miami with a bunch of strangers getting ready to travel to Jamaica. How time flies. As I approach this awesomest of awesome landmark, I certainly have mixed emotions about the whole thing. On the one hand, Peace Corps and my country supervisor are happy with the work I have done, and I could easily coast by doing the same for another year. On the other hand, it would probably be cynical and angry if I was to have to do everything I just did over again. I'm looking to the future -- full steam ahead -- in hopes that the work I do for this community and country become more fulfilling, and more worthwhile, for everyone involved. I'm meeting with some Red Cross people early next week - will keep you posted.

Last weekend I had my first all night 'Jamaican' party experience. It was ridiculous. It started at my house, and ended on a pier in Montego Bay as the sun rose over a nearby mountain range. Actually, it ended after I got back to my town a few hours later, post-a brown stew chicken, callaloo, dumpling breakfast at a the yellow bar (a personal favorite in town). Somewhere in the middle? Three bars and Pier One, a seriously legit dancehall. I was with three volunteers, and we were close to the only white people in a crowd about five hundred strong. Loud music, inappropriate dancing, and good times had by all. I won't ever do it again, but now I can check that one off the list.

This week has been relatively mellow. Laundry took up a day, and hammock time another. It's a nice day for a change - summer generally sucks - so I'm sitting on my patio anticipating the rapidly approaching sunset.

Who knows what the next year has to offer me. All I know is that if the last year is any indication, this next one will fly by. I hope when everything is said and done I, too, will feel happy with the work I have done here. I know I'll do everything I can to see that is the case.

~~~

I'll leave you with a picture from my recent trip home - this one is my cousin Lorin about to reach the peak of Konahuanui. Its my favorite hike on Oahu. I found this sweet book at the top - its a traveling log where the person who finds it is supposed to drop it off at somewhere else sweet they eventually end up. This one has been going since 2004 - it started in Connecticut and traveled across a continent and an ocean before ending up at the top of the Ko'olaus. I didn't have time for another hike before I left the state, so I gave the book to my dad to carry forward. Pretty cool idea ~ small world we live in.

(JD, WAJ, Ms. Miller... beat by a high schooler. No prosciutto this time though, so no big loss. And the top was cloudy. ugh.)

Near the summit of Konahuanui, the highest point on one of Oahu's two mountain ranges.

Honolulu spreads out below in the distance below the cloud line.

-TG