Rachelanna.com

Dear All,

You’ll have to excuse my absence for the past two weeks–as it is the end of
training, I have been short in the monetary department and haven’t been able
to afford the taxi into town and then the charge of actually using the
computers once I got there.

I am in the last week of my training and come Friday night (Aug 22), I will
go back to Old Harbour Bay which will be my new home for the next two years.
On Friday, we have what is called a “Swearing-in ceremony” which is
supposed to be very nice and elegant. It is our graduation ceremony from
the training program that we are in now.

UNTIL Friday, I have my own single (all of us do) in the newest and nicest
housing complex on the Univ. of the West Indies campus. They are really
treating us well–today we left OHB in a “limousine” type tour bus where I
think anyone that wanted one could have their own row! that is a big thing
when we have been used to cramming in or what is called “queezing up”–short
for squeeze up.

I have two options for where I can and or will (possibly more that I haven’t
seen yet) stay, but I know that wherever I live I will be taken care of.
come friday night, I will go home to a lady named Karen and her house. she
is a recent grad from Univ. of the West Indies in Sociology. she is very
nice and very smart and we get along very well. we laugh and smile a lot
together. the best part is that she doesn’t watch (apparently) a whole lot
of TV, and I am grateful for that.

the other option is a beautiful house, and if I do end up there, it will be
a show of God’s divine guidance as to where the furniture (and household
items) will come from, as I am sure that the moving-in allowance is very
small.

anyway, I love you all very much and remember that each of you are loved,
loving, and lovable!
have a blessed day 🙂

love,
rachel

Hello family and friends,

Here are some questions I received and I have tried to answer them.

>>How small is “small” fishing village? it is about 7 or 8,000 people, but
>>the town has about three main north-south “arteries” and a few going
>>east-west. it is segmented in a few different communities: the housing
>>scheme is about 20 years old and has a few hundred lots. Another area of
>>town is called the Sekklement, meaning settlement. I should, but I don’t
>>know exactly the history of the town. What kind of fish? This is pretty
>>crazy, but I don’t exactly know all the different kinds. it is a fishing
>>village, but I think many people that live in the housing scheme (which is
>>where I am) maybe don’t fish.

>>Can you receive snail mail? yes, and my address is

Rachel McVey
c/o Suchet Loois
United States Peace Corps
8 Worthington Ave
Kingston 5, Jamaica
West Indies

>>Are you doing any reading? sometimes… I am reading S&H, and other CS
>>material because church for me is pretty rare right now. Recently, I just
>>finished a kids book that was around my house. I am wanting to buy Harry
>>potter and read it to my host family, but I don’t know if that will
>>work–their attention spans are very short :(, but maybe something will
>>work out.

Are you walking a lot? yes, but there is also a transportation system that
is affordable and works very well. it is called the taxi system, and it is
easy for me to understand but might be hard for me to explain, but I will
try.

there is a thing called a “route taxi” and it is ususally a man with a small
white car that in the States would seat 5 people. When I want to go home
after emailing, I will go to the area of taxis that are leaving for Old
Harbor Bay and look for a “red plate” taxi, because those are the registered
and legal ones (and insured). he will try and fill his taxi with as many
people (that are also going in the same direction) as he can. On certain
routes (like from Old Harbour Bay to Old Harbour and back) the car is not
usually that full, but on saturdays, when I have gone to market with my host
family mother, we have been squeezed up like sardines. the seatbelt laws,
as far as I can figure, only go as far as the driver and front passenger.
Last Sunday, my family and I went to a Jamaican-style carnival called
Denbeigh, and we squeezed 9! people into the car–5 adult sized people and
four kids, including my 12 yr-old host sister. THe same thing happens on
the bus–sometimes we have to fit five to a row when there are only four
seats, which makes for a shoulder-to shoulder and hip to hip ride, and
remember to hold your bag very close. So far, the one time that I had to do
that–riding on a public bus from downtown Kingston to Old Harbour, I sat
next to the head of the Police Youth Club for a city (May Pen) in the parish
(Clarendon) next to me. So that was a very good experience and a good
connection to make.

Is radio or TV available? yes, very much so. at 7:00 am everymorning, my
host family blares the news, and the TV is on for the family most of the
time. the most popular channel is the disney channel (my host sister loves
several shows…)

this past week, we took a field trip to Montego Bay (aka Mo bay) and had
some work and fun planned.
on Tuesday, we split into two groups and I had the fine priviledge of
working in both groups. In the morning, I worked with my group and we
covered a “soak-away pit” that is kind of like an underground septic tank.
so that was fun and intstructive and the family should be able to use it for
several years into the future. I learned the process of how to make a whole
lot of cement in one area and bucket by bucket we carried the cement to the
setup we had that we were covering. by setup, I mean, we had bamboo laid
down, and ontop of that, cement bags, and then the rebar grid we made. I
was part of the water crew and the cement bucket line–very important
positions.

We finished our project at about one o’clock, and went to see how the other
group was doing. We got there when they were just beginning to make lunch
so I decided to make myself useful and see what I could do for the other
project (cleaning and preping a catchement tank for it to be the next big
project for the PCV in the area. So, I got there, to the catchement area,
and the work at hand was cleaning up sweapt piles of loose dirt, weeds that
had grown in the cracks, and broken cement chuncks. it was humbling work,
but fullfilling at the same time. The person that I worked with was named
Antony, and he was a humble old quiet rasta man. we didn’t exchange very
many words, but we didn’t need to because we both had the same work
ethic–it is hot, and this might seem like small work, but it needs to get
done and we are working for a good purpose–the betterment of the community,
the community’s water, and ourselves.

anyway, I have been here for quite some time and I need to move on. I love
you all, and all prayers are welcome.
peace!
love,
Rachel

Dear sweet Friends and Family,

I have been somewhat silent for sometime now because I have been very busy
and the library where I use the internet to write you is not in the town
that I live in.

For two weeks now (and beginning on the third), I have been living with a
family in Old Harbour Bay, a small fishing village on the south coast. “My”
home is about fifteen minutes walk to our training hub site, the Old Harbour
Bay Baptist Church. Yesturday, all of the CEHVs (24 Community Environmental
Health Volunteers) went into Kingston to meet the heads of the agencies with
whom we will be working. As it turns out, I will stay in the Old
Harbour/Old Harbour Bay area for the next two years. Two agencies have
requested to have a PCV, and so I will be sharing my time between the St.
Catherine Health Department, Old Harbour, and the Old Harbor Development
Area Sectariat/Committee. I will also be working closely with SDC (Social
Development Commission) and KODAK, an organization based in Old Harbour Bay.

The agency was supposed to be responsible for housing the PCVs for the four
days called COW (Community Orientation Week) where we will learn where we
will be living and what we will be doing for the next two years. Since I am
staying in Old Harbor Bay area, my boss said, so I thought that you could
just stay where you have been, is that okay? I said, “Yes, that is fine.”
Later, I learned that my boss actually called my home and asked my
(Jamaican) mom if that was okay, but not to tell me. They wanted me to have
the fun of dragging my suitcase around! anyway, it is all good 🙂

The librarian has just told me that the library is closing in 5 minutes (6
pm), and so I have to sign off, but I hope to write more often, especially
since I will be coming into Old Harbour (the town where the library is) for
work …

I love you all, and have enjoyed all of the letters that all have sent. I
always welcome more… :)!
LOve,
Rachel

Dear Family and Friends,

Thank you all for your letters and prayers 🙂 -they are gratefully
recieved. I am, as always, having a good time. Jamaica is so much more
than I could possibly imagine when I was back in the States. People here
are so much friendlier than I imagined. Everywhere I go, I always find
myself with what we in Jamaica call “picknie,” aka, children. Granted,
there aren’t kids in our training sessions, but there are plenty of other
opportunities to be with them and talk to them.

Tomarrow, I have an interview with some staff, which happen to be friends of
mine. That interview is my opportunity to talk about where I would like to
be in Jamaica, what living conditions I need or would like to have.

I am still having trouble with the food–to me, it feels like every jamaican
meal has too much seasoning, but my host mother is very
understanding–today, she made my breakfast without any seasoning at all and
it was perfect. Breakfast in Jamaica is a big meal, often with veggies or
any number of other things. My host mother is also getting the idea that I
only want and need small portions.

In my host family’s house, we are among the few that have a washing machine.
we also have showers, which not all volunteer’s host families have.

If I haven’t mentioned it yet, Jamaica is on St. Louis time until the Fall,
and then on Eastern Standard time because we don’t have daylight savings.

The Rastafarians here do not have that big of a presence. All of the ones I
see are introverted and quiet, usually in a state of self-imposed poverty
and keeping to themselves. I haven’t talked to any though. THey are only
about 15% of the population.

Overall, the key to Jamaica is being loving, smiling, courtesy, and
interaction. Jamaicans want to be recognized, so I make sure to greet them
(obviously, when appropriate).

I love you all!!
Sincerely,
Rachel

Dear Family and Friends,

The supposed hurricane was nothing. we didn’t even get the slightest bit of
heavy rains. mostly mist.
My assignment is “water sanitation/hygene education,” but don’t ask yet what
that means.
Today, we will be going to our homestay families and living there for 5
weeks and training as well. I am not sure how much I will be able to email
you from there. Maybe there is a library or something.
the food is good, similar in some ways and different in others. I will tell
you about it later when I have more time.

I love you all. Have to go to class.
by the way, almost all the current pcvs have cell phones, and almost all the
new trainees are getting one, so being as it is the most practical
communication for us, me, and me to others, I will be getting one as well.
they are very economical. see ya! I forgot to mention that many, many
Jamaicans also have cell phones too. some vollunteers said that they came
to the pc to escape materialism, but we have walked right into the eye of
it. maybe it will be different in the country.

see ya later, and I love you all!!!
rachel

Dear loved Friends and Family,

I did arrive safely and am having a good time… I was not charged at all
for my overweight luggage–everything went very smoothly.

DON’T BE ALARMED, but you should know that today there is a hurricane storm
passing about 150 miles below us in the ocean, but they still cancelled
training for the rest of today. I don’t see why since it is only rain and
wind and so far it has been very light and has supposedly already passed the
island, but oh well. I can use the time to catch up on reading.

For the next five weeks, I will be in what is called Community Based
Training, or CBT. Mail will be delivered to my training site once a week.
I think that we in Water San will be based in Old Harbor/Old Harbor Bay for
that time. then we will come back to Kingston for a week, which will
complete our 7 week training session. “Swearing in,” the event that
signifies that I am officially a PCV will take place on August 22. Then, I
will go to my site (having had seen it once or twice while in CBT) and stay
there for my service (providing that all goes well and it is a good match).

My address in Jamaica has changed to:

Rachel McVey
c/o Suchet Loois
United States Peace Corps
8 Worthington Ave
Kingston 5
Jamaica, West Indies

it is very, very, very important that every line reads EXACTLY as shown
above.
it is a long address for such seemingly little information. anyway, that is
the address for all mail and packages, at least for now. in six weeks time,
I may give you another address to send mail.

Some of the words or phrases they have taught us to say in Patois:

–“Marning!”
–“wa-goin”
–“nutin”
–“ire”
–“wa-yo-naa?”
–“mename-a-Rachel”

those are just some of them.
So today, I was walking to class and I decided that I would say “Marning!”
to every Jamaican that I met, and sing hymns along the way. it was so much
fun and even just saying hello impressed and made the people I met feel
good.

In training, we are learning that one of the most self defense mechanisms is
to integrate ourselves into Jamaican culture, learn the language.
Jamaican’s respect for an American goes way up when the American can speak
their language–and their respect is what I need to work with them and get
my job done. Sometime it may also come in handy to get my self out of a
situation that I don’t want to be in.

I love you all!

Hopefully, I will soon send (if you would like) a picture of the Kingston
Drummers. They were so much fun.

With much love,
Rachel

Dear Friends and Family,

I have arrived safely and am having a GREAT time!! last night, we had a
welcome dinner and the kingston drummers performed for us. they entered the
room singing “sho-la-zo-sha” or something like that–one of my favorite
African songs. that was so much fun for me. they were so good. :)!!!
Training is going very well. I am out of time.
I love you and will write again soon.
love rachel

dear loved friends and family,

Tomarrow at 6:30 am we will check out of the omni colonade hotel–all 77 of
us. At 11:00 our flight will be lifting off and at 11:48 am will will land
in our new home, Jamaica. I can’t write much now, but I love all of you!!!

Much love,
Rachel