Gustav is a bad boy

Hello everyone from Kare--
It's been quite frustrating trying to find enough time to blog. We been seen sitting outside of varied establishments with the laptop on our laps (hence the name laptop) We are sequestered in a hotel since we were forced to come back right after the swearing in ceremony. Gustav was steaming towards us and was supposed drop 25 inches of rain while he visited.

The road situation here is affected by normal rainfall, let alone torrential rains like we had overnight. As it is, most roads have huge potholes in them normally. So getting around in the more rural community is a challenge: landslides are common in the hills as well as fallen limbs and flooding. We have no idea how much damage Gustav wreaked since the TV isn't working. We didn't lose electricity or water at the hotel, but apparently our neighborhood did. Rooftops are adorned with 600 gallon capacity black plastic barrels that are used as a reserve when storms hit. The public water supply is affected and sometimes they suggest boiling drinking water for days after.

I was unexpectedly emotional while they played the US national anthem at the swearing in. The Jamaican anthem was played first. It was amazing standing with 48 other Americans whom you've spent the past 8 weeks with knowing that we will be lending our skills to Jamaicans for the next two years. Sustainability is the key word in development work. Let the community decide what their needs are and help them devise programs that will improve their situations.
Unfinished but more to come with this entry.
Kare

Back again-- Matt and I were approached by a guy staying at the hotel who was looking for food. The small restaurant of sorts was closed. I made him a peanut butter sandwich from our personal stash and we had a great discussion about Jamaican culture. He's a jounalist from Beijing who was here trying to uncover the secret behind Usain Bolt's incredible speed as a runner. He had already interviewed his Dad and people in his town. He gave us his personal business card and said to look him up if we're ever in Beijing. Yet another serendipitous encounter. Hoping to head home to our neighborhood today and our new apt. Love to you all, Kare

Today we swear in!

Greetings from windy Jamaica! We have passed the final exams, the medical exams and have endured two months of the Peace Corps labyrinth. Today we present ourselves to the US Embassy to swear into the Peace Corps for two years. Training is over and we are officially Peace Corps Volunteers. Now the real work begins...

In addition to all this, we are going to swear in while Hurricane Gustav nicks Jamaica on its way to the Gulf of Mexico. Ah you have to love the timing. In addition, one year ago, at the LAST Peace Corp swearing in, hurricane Dean hit and forced the ceremony to be shortened. So two years in a row, two hurricanes. Hmmmm...

We are committed to the course of action we have taken and remain excited about the huge challenges facing us. My second project is training safety inspectors to help Jamaica prepare for their first ever Occupational Safety and Health Act to be passed in December. This project will require making a syllabus, a course curriculum and training others to do the training after I leave. I hope to be able to work with the MIND institute - a Jamaican certification organization that is held in high regard here locally. Kare heads into the schools on Monday to start working with her young charges. She will also be developing a breast feeding initiative at her home clinic in Greater Portmore.

On another note, we had a free afternoon the other day and another PCV and I took the opportunity to play one of the local courses. I was lousy but it felt great to hold a club again. Btw, in Jamaica, you have to hire a caddy so that was a first for us as well.

HUGE thanks to those who have sent letters and have supported us by keeping us in touch with home. A special call out to our children and to family for maintaining connections via phone and email so often.

Love, Matt

Mail to us

Hello all! We've heard from some folks who had posted comments to our blog and we never got them. I have no clue as to what happened to their comments but for those out there that had this problem, please feel free to use our email addresses instead. The point is that we really want your comments and news from home - be it political, personal, local news or simply unverified gossip [we're not fussy at this point]. My email is matttowne@metrocast.net [note the three t's in the middle of the addy] and Karens is kltowne@gmail.com.

Today was our last last last language class. They tried really hard to give us the essentials of the language. This part of the PC training was well done and creative. This doesn't mean that I actually KNOW the language but certainly I know more than I did. Fortunately, MOST Jamaicans speak fluent English and this is particularly true in the more formal professional areas of Jamaican culture. I will miss coming into Kingston and having at least weekly contact with some of the other Peace Corps trainees.

Next week, should we pass our final exam [which is oral in front of a panel of 4], we will be sworn in as full fledged Peace Corps Volunteers. AND the restrictions are largely lifted on our travels and what we do on our time off. That means we are mroe at liberty to tour the island and have the occasional get away weekend on a beach somewhere.

We are both feeling energized by the impending freedom and the fact that we have real assignments with real work to do. We are most definitely not guarenteed success in getting the tasks accomplished but at least the race is on. Two years and counting...

All for now dear friends. Take care.
Love, Matt

Today in rural Jamaica

Today we were assigned to evaluate a SPA project in a small town north of Kingston.  A "SPA" project is one which has had funds applied to it at the request of a PCV.  These funds come from many sources but generally are administered by the Peace Corps.  These have been used in a very targetted manner that allows sometimes amazing results.Anyway, our mission today started with a standard bus ride to Kingston and then taking anotherlarge bus to the town where a garden [also a tourist stop] is being upgraded.  The scenary once one gets away from the city is amazing - truly truly amazing and lovely.  Steep valleys with rushing streams, bamboo, palm trees of every sort, dramatic clouds and flowers bursting everywhere.  Wonderful sights.  The ride on the road in the bus rivals anything we saw in Italy but it was very much worth the ride and the views.  We met other PCT's there as well as 2 PCV who showed us the project.  This rural area is most definitely one I will visit again - hopefully soon.Had a great visit and made our way back to Kingston.  The bus 'schedule' is one where the bus waits at the beginning of the route until the bus is full. THEN it leaves.  That wait, depending on where it is headed may take several hours. Therefore, one only used the term schedule when visiting these areas in only the loosest possible context.  Fortunatey we caught a route taxi and were back in no time.We are very glad we made the decision to come.  Life is good!Best to all and look forward to your letters!Love, Matt and Karen

More on daily life

Greetings all. Based on a few comments from folks, I'd thought I would briefly address our daily life here and how 'tough' it is. First of all, it is vastly different from our previously comfortable life. That is and was expected. We didn't quite expect the need to be constantly mindful of not being a target of theft but in this, we are adapting to the realities. We have found ourselves being readily accepted into the community we live in. The neighbors have been very helpful and protective in ways that I suspect we are not even aware of. When we get our own place, a hurdle we did not expect and had to deal with, it will be much better. We are both needing our own space. NOT because the former situation was bad but it is a function of having lived on our own for 34 years and having a housemother is a bit much. Not her issue - ours.
This is a developing country... hence the need for Peace Corps. If there weren't issues, we would not be here. We have found graciousness and inclusion here in our neighborhood on a regular basis and expect to see that continue and expand. Last night we attended a birthday party for one of the neighbors and got to know maybe 30 more people in at least an initial way. And we had a good time. Keep in mind we have been here only 7 weeks not and are not even formally inducted yet.
So all good even if different.
Project wise, I have meetings with the urban planner today, the Mayor and the President of the Urban Development Corp on Wed. Saturday we are back in Kingston for our final tests and induction. Busy!
Will write more later.
Love to all!
Matt Towne

Reflections on the past 6 weeks.

The initial premise of joining the Peace Corps was laden with expectations, goals, needs, wants and a plethora of unresolved questions. Now that we have been here on the island of Jamaica for 6 weeks, a few items have shifted into focus while others continue to elude clarity and probably will for some time.One perspective is that Jamaica functions in maintaining a democracy and a stable platform to conduct day to day business such as collecting taxes, conducting international affairs and the general health care system.On another level however, Jamaica is a deeply troubled country. Unemployment is high, the huge percentage of absentee fathers, the dubious distinction of having the second highest murder rate in the world and the fact that the most common subject of discussion is the high rate of theft are indicators of the issues facing this beautifully blessed island nation. Peace Corps efforts, while noble and useful on many levels, are clearly inadequate to the challenges presented. Negative role definitions of the male, the lack of employment opportunity, and the decaying infrastructure that is periodically pounded by hurricane winds are well beyond the reach of our efforts.So what are the initial take aways from this experience?One is that we still need to be mindful of our own matters. Depending upon the Peace Corps is not a complete approach. They in fact will tell you that while they do some research into your specific situation, it is, in the end up to you to make your own judgment. Several of our peers have been assigned to host family situations that were not only inadequate but dangerous to the newly arrived Trainees. Supervisors have made strong sexual overtures to the younger female volunteers and the trainees were summarily removed. So it is true what the established PCV’s tell us…watch out for yourself. We are heavily warned against the sexual nature of SOME of the Jamaican men and their unwillingness to take ‘no’ for an answer and their view that all women are fair game to them. In this, the PCO has done I believe all that they can to warn us.This country also has huge resources flowing into the country by way of the World Bank, the USAID, the Peace Corps, and Caribbean Aid. However, many items get lost in the perplexing maze of bureaucracy that bedevils even the simplest of interactions. For example, to add minutes to my cell phone requires the following actions at a supermarket. I make the request at the check out counter where she rings up the sale on behalf of Digicel. But, not done yet. I take the slip she gives me to another counter to a woman who enters the code into another machine. This gets cleared by someone somewhere and the magic machine spits out another code. I take this code and enter the number into my actual cell phone and hit enter. This code goes somewhere to be approved and comes back that I know have the additional minutes to my cell phone plan. I asked if I could simply enter my credit card and have it automatically tagged whenever the amount fell below a predetermined level. Oh, no…this is not possible. So 5 people must now touch this transaction every time I want minutes. Now imagine, in the context of my project, trying to get consensus on re-building a reef on an emergency basis to prevent an environmental disaster!I am impressed by the resilience of my fellow volunteers. Never mind the twice daily water shut offs in a country where the temperature is routinely over 90 with high humidity. Never mind the 10 hour days spent listening sitting on steel chairs. Never mind the change in situations and how difficult it can be to get the simplest things accomplished.  I mean, how many reading thishave hand washed their clothes recently? And the fact that we have been made very mindful of our security risk as newbies. What impresses me is that they accept all that with a roll of the eyes, a pointed barb or two and a bit of black humor and STILL want to do all that they can to resolve some of the deep seated issues facing Jamaica.I also want to tip my hat to the older volunteers in a special way. This is not because I am one at 55 but rather because I understand the special challenges they face. Some of these older volunteers have left academic settings and are now high in the hills of Jamaica with the closest market an hour walk away. Others are single women of greater than 60 years of age while others are single men leaving professional lives. They do not have water routinely and often lose electricity. They must conserve or fill buckets when it is available. This is a tough situation for any of us but for the older volunteer with an aching back or less than youthful vigor; it has a special hurdle to it.Another reflection is the fact that Jamaica has the highest density of churches per capita of any nation on the planet. Religions of every stripe and persuasion exist here. Nearly every 5 block area has its own version of religion. I am attempting to consider the role that religion plays in this complex country.Yet another reflection is that both my wife and I are very glad to be here. It is stressful for us on many levels but we have also grown closer as we see each other function and grow in ways we could not have predicted. We have found ourselves being more gentle with each other perhaps knowing that we are very dependent upon each other for watching out of each other in so many ways. I personally have been amazed at Karen’s strength in situations that, in the past, did not seem to be her forte’. I can only hope she sees the same in me. She has remarked at how mellow and unruffled I am at the 5,000 aggravations every day.The Jamaican people we have met have in the main been hugely helpful. From little old ladies showing us to our bus stops, to our ‘gruff’ supervisor taking it upon herself to find us lodging in our neighborhood that was way more suitable, to our host ‘mother’ extending herself in every way imaginable, to our newly met neighbor offering us a ride into Kingston as we waited for the bus and THEN getting us a connecting taxi in Kingston to our destination – which, take my word for it, is no small feat. In the end, I do have faith in the Jamaican people and thus by extension, in our place in helping them arrive at a better place for their country. Our comrades also have similar stories to share.So, in summary, I now have a much more complete picture of what it means to be a developing country. By way of perspective, Jamaica is 46 years old this year. When the USA was 46 years old, it was 1822. We had just fought two senseless wars [the war of 1812 and the Spanish American War]. Corruption was rife throughout our government and poverty was commonplace. So perhaps a bit of tolerance and perspective is called for. Comparing Jamaica to any first world country is simply not fair and does everyone a disservice. The issues are large and seemingly intractable. The only way to deal with them is to keep on keeping on. And that, my fine friends, is what we intend to do.  The picture below is a shot of my project at Hellshire Beach.  All told, it is a great assignment.  My other project has just started taking shape and involves working with the Ministry of Health in shaping their safety program.  More on this in the next blog.Love to all,Matt

More

We have lodging! We have finally secured lodging for the end of August and are pretty happy with the way it has worked out. We will have our own space and it is secure and even has a washing machine! No more hand washing!

We are able to accept any care packages [since we will have a place to put them] if anyone has old books that you think we might enjoy. Send them to Peace Corps Office, C/o Matt and Karen Towne PCV, 8 Worthington Ave, Kingston 5 Jamaica, west Indies.

We are right now at Shortwood College for further training this week. It is the first time we've seen many of our colleagues since we all split up a few weeks ago. Many have harrowing stories and have already been re-assigned because of local circumstances forced the decision for safety reasons. So far though, we've only lost one PC trainee although attrition from last year is increasing.

Went to a Emancipation Celebration the other night with our hostess that was excellant and full of youthful energy and vitality. We also met the Mayor who is keenly interested in my Hellshire project. He called us outside to buy us a beer and to discuss meeting. We meet with him a week from Wednesday and then have dinner at his place. A lot of homework to do on my part before that meeting takes place.

Will write soon again - perhaps even today but battery is running low. Ask questions and I will try to answer them. Thanks to all who have written!
Love, Matt