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