We have moved to St. James

We met our new School Principals last week and travelled with them to our new community [allow us to maintain PC rules and not publish its name right now] in St. James Parish. On the map you will see we are somewhat near Falmouth (where the mega-ship cruise liners visit) and Montego Bay, where we will shop, bank, and maybe even go to the beach.



Map of western Jamaica

Irene and I are working in two Primary Schools about 5 km from each other, and we have moved into a wonderful apartment unit nearby. We will tell more about our school programs later; but we did have a few days to spend with our new colleagues and all the students, and both of us got to teach a bit already.

Library at Irene's school

"Nerd" digging into computer stuff

In addition to our 1^st priority of doing small-group ‘pull-out’ literacy classes for selected students, Irene is planning to re-vitalize the school library and collaborate on a Parenting Program for her school; Steve’s school recently received some grant-funded (from Digicel, the local mobile phone company) high-tech equipment to support grades 1-3 literacy and numeracy teaching – but it’s still unpacked … so he’s in ‘nerd heaven’ planning on digging into it all, collaborating with his faculty counterpart on a teacher training program on how to use it once it’s set up, and then adding it to the curriculum.

Our home in St. James Parish

We are in love with our new home! It’s charming and airy. We have a small veranda (porch) with an amazing view of the sunrise/moonrise over the mountains. We talked to our landlord about starting a small herb (Irene already bought all the seeds) and vegetable garden; and of course, Steve wants to start composting (especially since we are getting so many fresh fruits and vegetables).

The view from our Veranda

Steve's Principal taking us on
community tour

Our community has been expecting us – we were introduced to many wonderful people – we visited the community center, the local health clinics, the small shops, the police station and the post office; we also called on neighbors to say hello; their welcome was heartwarming, and they are all eager to help us and to watch out for us as we integrate.

Police station

We travelled back to St. Thomas on Saturday; the trip involves a taxi ride to Montego Bay, then 4 hours on a bus to Kingston, then 1 ½ hours on a small bus (remember – ‘small up’ … 5- people sitting across seats made for 3 people) to Morant Bay, then a taxi to our smaller town in St. Thomas.  

Hospitality Job Readiness Training at the Community Center

Sunday evening, the Port Morant Community Development Committee hosted an appreciation party for the PC Volunteers who have been living in the community for 8 weeks. There were speeches, including a representative of the Member of Parliament and many other dignitaries, and wonderful performances by students from the schools in which we did our practicum teaching. Here are some pictures the CDC posted.

PC Education Volunteers with 3 of our teachers

The appreciation and farewell function for the
 US Peace Corps group 85 Volunteers. Sunday May 18,
 at the Port Morant Primary & Junior High School.

This week we will have our final “Readiness Interviews” before our swearing-in ceremony. Our school principals will be there too – we’ll post some pictures next time.

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