Packing list at the bottom

When my mom visited me last week we skipped the tourist stops and went straight to my community. We ventured to my site on public transportation, squeezing into a mini bus with 15 seats that probably had 25 kids already smushed in there. When we arrived at my site we were immediately greeted by a woman who enthusiastically informed my mother that she came during a great time because that night there was going to be a funeral party for a man that killed himself.... My mom did not share in the enthusiasm.

We spent the majority of mom's trip in my community where she had to bucket bathe, hand wash cloths and walk in the relentless Caribbean heat. Though it was a difficult and trying experience, mom seemed to love every second of it. The children as well as the adults loved meeting her. We were able to give a tooth brushing demonstration to the school and complete a housing application for a needy family. She left an impression on my community and I am sure my community did the same.

Highlights of the trip included introducing my mom to 5 of my friends at a bar in Kingston, seeing a family selling what looked like an endangered bird, watching the sunset and sunrise, being robbed of my groceries, cooking a Jamaican meal for my mom (she wasn't hungry), listening to vulgar Jamaican music in the taxi, visiting the clothing bazaar in Montego Bay, being sucked into local disputes, enjoying walks to school with the kids, and watching the kids play cricket in the square at night.

I loved spending time with my mom and have really appreciated everyone who has visited me. Remember everyone is welcome to visit.

This morning I realized I misplaced my wallet. The last place I remembered it was in my camera bag which I had earlier caught a kid at school rummaging though. I pulled the kid out of class and asked him if he had forgotten to return it, but he claimed he never saw it. I was almost certain he took it as a joke and forgot to return it, but I gave him the benefit of the doubt. And thank God I did. The wallet turned out to be right where I left it in the camera bag. It was so remarkably similar in color to my camera bag, it virtually disappeared when I placed it inside.

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Peace Corps- aka international house arrest.


Walking back from visiting a friend's home
Stranger- “You know there are crazy people on the street today.”
Me- “You mean more than normal?”
Stranger- “No”

Me- When is Thanksgiving today?
James- Yesterday
Me- I mean, when is thanksgiving dinner today?
James- Tomorrow

Thought of the Day-
Just because someone is a bumbaclot and has lived in Jamaica for over 6 months doesn't make them a Jamaican.

Packing list for future PVC's Peace Corps Volunteers:
First, general advice:
Electronics in Jamaica are heavily taxed and are out of date. A great deal of the clothing looks like it came from an American store's sales racks and is overpriced.

-External hard drive, must have.
-Laptop. Mine broke after a few months so I got a netbook and it works great. Light and has a long battery life. I have a small radio I use instead of my netbook's crapy speakers. All you need is a cheap audio cord to connect the two devices.
-Digital Camera
-Business casual clothing, think... “what would I want to wear if I had to go to church in a sauna?”
-BEST ADVICE- Guys lose weight and girls gain. I wish I had bought smaller jeans.
Peace Corps provides bug repellent but sometimes it's a cream and I can't stand that stuff.
-Heather group 80 says phonics flash cards from Target.
-A few good books (if you have room)
-Anything to kill time, guitar, Ipod, gameboy ...
-Contacts if you like, no reason not to bring them
-I wouldn't recommend snorkel gear, takes up too much room and nothing worth seeing
-International phone credit is CHEAP, 1000 minutes for 15 USD so make sure you bring phone numbers
-Heather group 80 - Quick dry towels (look for Peace Corps discounts)
-I love my Keens (sandals) because they dry so quickly and they offer PVC's 45% off. They do look funny. I read somewhere that I shouldn't bring my sandals to Jamaica; that was horrible advice. Bring a pair for weekends or for just stepping outside. Not for work.
-Bill Nye the Science Guy, Magic School Bus, Walker Texas Ranger, How to Texas Two Step, and Bay Watch DVD's (better if you can turn everything into digital format so that you can share it with other PCV's)
-Tin group 80- Satchel book bag, not backpack.
-Gifts for host family (not necessary) A mug from your home state (Don't mess with Texas), calendar, my mom brought my host dad rechargeable batteries and that was a huge hit.
-Waterproof pillowcase. Man up and don't bring your pillow from home. Buy one here. They are uncomfortable but buying one here will save space.
-Tin group 80- Buy a beard/hair trimmer here. The electrical current is slightly different and this reduces the effectiveness of American devices.
-Multi-tools are cool but I think they are not worth the big price tag
-Flashlight, some volunteers recommend a crank powered flash light but again I think this is a waste of money. Save the money of a crank flashlight and buy a cheap one with lots of batteries and still have money left over for a Red Stripe or 3.
-Pictures of family
-Peace Corps allowed my group to pick out our own cell phones and if they allow you to do this GET THE PHONE WITH THE FLASH LIGHT!!!!!!! I wish I had that thing on many occasions. You get cell phones the first week or even the first day you are here. If your American cell phone can have a sim card placed in it, bring it.
-If you have a type of skill, bring whatever you will need to utilize it. I brought a small set of bicycle tools and a PVC pipe cutter and they have come in handy.
-Flash Drive(s). I have some really small ones that I use for word documents.
-Water bottle (I don't have one but wish I did)
-Hat and sunglasses but you can buy those here
-Head-lamps and lights for reading are recommended but I HATE them for reading. When the rest of the lights on your room are off they attract bugs.
-Things like an iron you will buy here
-Most importantly bring a good sense of humor and flexibility.
-Don't spent money on crazy stuff like insect repellent, earmuffs or a hiking backpack, or anything you see in Sky Mall- that stuff is not needed and will make you look out of place more than you already do.

No phone

My grandmother use to tell me that I would lose my head if it wasn’t screwed on.

This morning when I realized I left my phone in a taxi I thought to myself “No big deal, I’m a Peace Corps volunteer, nothing can stress me out.” Two seconds later I realized I also misplaced my debt card.” No phone, no money, in a foreign country... I need a take back, I was stressed.

Luckily everyone knows me and I already have spoken to two different people telling me someone has found it and it looking for me. It shouldn’t be difficult for them to find the only white guy in town.

Spread the word, tomorrow is World Aids Day.

For Thanksgiving two PCV’s and I eat at Burger King. Thanksgiving weekend 40+ volunteers and I spent the weekend in Negril. Friday night a large group of us went out to a local/tourist club. At first all the guys where very surprised with the number of Jamaican girls that seemed very interested in us. 5 minutes later we all meet up to share our crazy stories, turns out the common theme was every girl we spoke with was a prostitute. :( No thank you. This is not common at all in Jamaica, well not that I am aware of.


My mom sent me a Bill Nye the Science Guy DVD on pollution. Coolest idea EVER. I have watched the DVD and I think the kids are going to love it, plus Bill Nye does great experiments that I can replicate in class. Sure it's an American show so not all the jokes the kids will get but I'll be there to translate and make my own jokes. At first teaching was very stressful and not productive at all but now the more fun I have it seems the more the kids learn so it’s a “win win, win” – The Office

Water Fountian Project

After reading the book Ugly American I started looking around my community for a small project that could have a large impact. While brainstorming at school I became very frustrated that a teacher had locked off the drinking station because the school was concerned that some of the students where wasting water. When the school opened the drinking station I was offered a cup but no students where so I declined the cup and drank for my hands like the rest of the students...


3 Problems- (and this is a very common problem in Jamaica)
1 Limited water supply at schools.
2 Large volume of water is wasted by current method of accessing drinking water
3 Current method of accessing water is unsanitary. No Soap

Solution- Water Fountain

Problem still Unresolved- Inconstant pressure makes adjusting water fountain impossible. As seen in the video students occasionally are soaked.

Cost- About $40 USD for water fountain and $10 for pipe. I don't know how Peace Corps would feel about me soliciting money but I think I am allowed to ask for friends and family to send me birthday money; for my birthday I would enjoy installing another water fountain. (I have spoken to many plumbing retailers in Montego Bay and none of them could refer me to a shop that sold water fountain heads, purchased online)

The presentation I might not have taken seriously

October 25th Sunday

“long ways draw sweat, short cuts draw blood”

Person- “Gavin, ask your family back home to send me money. Christian people s give money, and they are Christian right? So they should give me money.”
Me- “Well, have you considered getting a small business loan to start your business?”
Person-- “Yeah I got one a few years ago; I want to get another one of those, it was really nice”
Me- “You paid if off right?”
Person- “You don't need to pay those off if the bank can't find you.”

Me- “What do you think caused the man to take his own life?”
Supervisor- “I don't know why the man committed suicide, he didn't have kids or a wife..... wait... GAVIN! Don't you committee suicide too!”

Child- “Gavin your hair is getting long again!”
Me- Should I get it cut? Or do you like it long”
Child- it's not long enough for cornrows so you should grow it out”
Me- “Deal”

I am currently writing this blog as I wait for Sunday service to began. Because transportation is so unreliable, especially on Sunday, I tend to get to church an hour early to insure that I'm not late. I have to walk 45 minutes down a muddy farm field to reach the road where I hitch hike an hour to a Church just outside of Montego Bay. Many Jamaican's think I am insane for passing so many churchs but
it's well worth it.

I have started a side project organizing a health fair for Food for the Poor. This brings me into Food for the Poor's office in Montego Bay once a week. Ask anyone in Jamaica, I LOVE Montego Bay. Unfortunately, because of the high level of crime there I am only allowed to be there once a week.


Dear President Obama:

Mice are invading my room. Please send back up.

Thank you a for the prompt counter insurgency,
Gavin Finnegan PVC



The Stonehenge Development Club recently entered into a parish wide cricket tournament. Unfortunately, most the residents of Stonehenge believe that the cricket tournament suffices for a club meeting so the club no longer meets.

My mom sent me a tube of tennis balls, aka cricket balls. I originally made the mistake of buying cheap balls in the market. These balls burst after the first big whack. The ones she sent me are legit... After school about 6 youngsters and I practice in the square. I am SOOOOOO bad. According to the kids it's because I played baseball and don't know how to protect the wicket.... Today a line drive was hit at me. I was able to get in front of the ball; normally I would have caught the ball but this time as it deflected off my body and my glasses fell off. Needless to say, I was unable to catch the ball because I could barely see it. I even had to have a kid come over and find my glasses for me. Lame. Even though I am not better than the 5 year-old, the kids love playing with me. I think it's because they love making me look bad, but I enjoy it too.

With my assistance the club has been able to acquire some small donations of food, vitamins, shoes, books, pillow cases, tooth brushes, children golf clubs and moisturizers (I took everything I could get my hands on). Distribution of this aid has NOT been the best experience.... LIFE LESSION- In developing countries the majority of people are needy. The difficulty in distributing aid is determining who is the most needy, trying to explain to community members that they are not needy enough to receive aid and trying to avoid the negative effects of aid- like developing dependencies on the aid. Fortunately, before I got in over my head, Peace Corps advised me to not take part in any distribution activities. I now work way in the background keeping records of how the aid is distributed.

A month ago the taxi driver that comes up to Stonehenge raised his fare by about 80 cents. This small increase has caused a big headache for me. The already infrequent taxi now has less people willing to pay the exorbitant fare so now the taxi takes even longer to fill. It's difficult to explain but I'll give it a shot:

I need to travel from point A to point D. To ride in a automobile the entire way I have to go from point A to point B and than travel to point D for a cost of $3 and 3 hours of traveling/waiting for the connection that may or may not come. The other option is traveling by bus from point A to point C and walking though a isolated and muddy farm field to point D. This way only costs $1.50 and takes 2 hours. Both options are a pain.



Richard and Gale and I visited Lucea last week. There Richard and I placed 2nd place in a horse shoe competition that had some stiff competition. I had a terrific time hanging out with them.


I better run to church.
Big up

Soon come

Sorry I have not posted anything in a while. As you can see from my pervious posts I lost some of my positivity.

Everything is going very well now. School is back in session AND I was able to raise the money necessary to improve the schools water system.

I also bough a very nice used bicycle.

My list of things to do takes up an entire page but I will try to make time to continue posting.

Miss everyone back at home and Big Ups to Alex for getting back in school and becoming a father. Congratulations.

Some pictures that I have recently taken.

This is the abandoned train station that I live next to


Kids collecting apples for me






I take a lot of shortcuts in my neighborhood. Today when I was walking through the bush I came across the guy, and he did not want to get out of my way. I eventually pulled a leafy branch off a tree thinking it would want to eat the branch but I ended up just scaring it out of my way.



Neighborhood kid killed a bird with his slingshot. Everyone was so impressed I just had to take a picture of it. I was a little sickened but at the same time I have
to admit I was somewhat impressed.




I should have made these last two pictures bigger.... Anyway, they are pictures of the Montego Bay Bus Park. Unless it's Sunday, it's always packed. Seeing a white person there is very peculiar so the people that work there have quickly gotten to know me.




Picture of me and some of the kids at summer school doing the Usain Bolt pose.