Recap made in haste

I apologize for not updating my blog in months. I have been keeping a journal that I will post as soon as I edit it.

Spark notes version of the past few months.

Jerry, a real good friend left early. We would try to meet up at Burger King once every two weeks to talk about service. Sometimes we couldn’t even afford food so we would just get milk shakes.

Was being asked to pay protection money by a guy in the community but when a member of my host family was killed just down the street that all stopped. Since then I have made a lot of friends in the area and no one gives me a hard time.

3 horrific things all happened in the same week. I called it the dark night of the soul in the journal post that I need to edit and had not been posted. 1 host family member was shot and killed. 2 While digging the grave, someone stopped at the house to show us a dead baby they were taking to the hospital. 3 a kid I know raped a little girl from another community. I had a few Peace Corps friends that I talked to about this but what helped the most was talking to community members and helping with the funeral arrangements. “One day tings mus better”. - One day things must better,

Soon after this I was verbally attacked in the Mobay bus park. I say attacked because the guy was so confrontational. Didn’t lay I hand on me. Lucky for both of us I didn’t lose my cool. A few days later I saw the man in the bus park and asked him why he was so upset. He told me he was crazy and didn’t mean to yell at me. This actually made me feel better.

Jamaica made international headlines when the local government tried to extradite Dudes Coke a alleged drug kingpin. 73 citizens and one police officer were killed when the police entered a barricaded district of Kingston looking for Dudes. State of emergency lasted over a month. Almost was sent home do to the extreme violence.

The week of the extradition a volunteer was hit in the chest with a pipe, another was robbed, two where held up by gun point during the same incident, someone’s screen was slashed, and a girl was jumped.

Our country director and maybe my Peace Corps sector boss all are being replaced. I will miss them a lot. Often Peace Corps volunteers complain about Peace Corps staff but we take them for granted. They have to put up with around 70 volunteers and they are ALWAYS working. I can’t tell you how often they have called me after 7PM or on the weekends.

Took the little girl with the eye problem and a community member to see an eye specialist on the opposite side of the island. She was seen and was told she will not lose her eye anytime soon. Surgery would be correct her condition but for now she could get by with hard contact lenses. The rest of the students who I took to the free eye clinic a few months ago just got their free glasses

My first host dad Stud and I wrote letters seeking assistance in starting a Tonic Wine bottling business. We were able to get some bottles and a sealer. So now he is selling his own cure all tonic wine on the streets of Montego Bay. We even got it tested by the burrow of standards.

My counterpart and I got the government to provide weekly trash pickup in Stonehenge.

I got a $500 grant for a water tank at the school.

I helped my host family build a huge retaining wall. This took days of hard work. The first day I brought a huge bottle of rum with me. I thought it would last a week but by the end of the day it was gone! I didn’t drink more than 3 drinks and I felt horrible! It felt like it was a million degrees out and the rum sure wasn’t helping me. I don’t know how they do it!!

New volunteers came to island. An older guy named Forest and I go snorkeling almost every weekend. He went home for good yesterday. I don’t know how but am very sad to see him go.

I have a dog now! I normally pride myself on my name giving ability but one day without thinking about it I just started calling the dog that sleeps on my porch Jamaica. I have to admit, it's really awkward’ when I raise my voice at him. “JAMAICA WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!! JAMAICA NO! My neighbors must be getting worried about me….. a few weeks ago I changed the dogs name to Trigger because one day when I got home he rolled over and when I started scratching his belly he got so excited he almost peed on me!


PCV James, his American girlfriend and friend of a friend visited me for a few days. We had a great time at the beach and going out in my community.

Students did well on their 6th grade exit/placement test.

Got a house donated for a poor family. They had to pay for the foundation and while they were saving their 19 year old son died because he was not being treated for sickle cell anemia.


Big 4th of July beach party with 25+ PCV’s


I went to Dancehall night during Sum Fest. “Greatest reggae show on earth”. Night started off slow. More white people than I expected. Last act was Vybz Kartel, he didn’t start until the sun was up. I was the only white person left and I was singing every word. Loved it.

I had a great mid-service training. Good to see everyone again and the training really got me excited for the next school year. I have lots of ideas I want to run with.

As you can tell from this post in the beginning I was not in a good place but am doing terrific now.

So to recap- Work is great, my house is AMAZING, the community is improving quickly and I am having the time of my life. It was rocky there for a while but it was a growing experience.