Storming the Castle: Back at Site

Community members repair the road with tires and stones. They've already repaired this road once before in this way only to have it wash out again.

I got back to Westphalia last Monday. Peace Corps drove me as far as they could, about half way. We were surprised to see that the road had completely collapsed: classic case of the Jamaican understatement - American literalness clash. "I don't really sure about the fish" means "We don't have any fish today." "Do you like cats?" means "Ten cats live at your new home. Are you ok with that?" "Mi soon come" means "I might not get there for an hour." AND "The road block" means "The road has completely collapsed." (Ok, so maybe "soon come" should be in another category along with "When I come back" and "Just a minute." These phrases are great because they are vague. You can use them anytime! They can mean exactly what they sound like, the opposite of what they sound like, or anything in between.)

School children wave at the helicopter of food sent by the OPDEM (Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management)

Lorna, who lives in Westphalia walked down to Mavis Bank, filled her backpack with Ackee, and was hopefully trying to hitch a ride back up.

After walking around the collapsed road, calling every community member I knew, and waiting for a few hours, I managed to charter a taxi up the hill. The ride was bumpy, but the driver was very good. There were two turns that made me hold my breath. The rains had washed out much of the dirt below the road. I understood why the driver had refused to take more than one. A few pounds more and we would end up in the river! The car took me as far as it could go: still about an hour's walk from home. I lugged my bags with the help of my new community members, feeling silly that I collected so many books at the Peace Corps Conference.

Helping distribute the food from the helicopter made me realize that I NEVER EVER want to be a disaster relief worker. Westphalia is a farming community so people had plenty of food despite the road and rains. Still, everyone was quarreling, machetes were waving, and children and old people were being shoved around. It made the soup kitchen look like a well rehearsed ballet.

Today, I ventured out of the community to work on a water project with Adam, a fellow PCV in Clarendon. The road had been filled in by community members with tires, stones, and dirt. It's great that the road is passable now, but everyone says that a better solution is needed. This is the second time that the road has collapsed there. The first time they repaired the road in the same way so the next heavy rain will wash out the road again. Power was restored on the 5th.

The past two weeks in Westphalia have been WONDERFUL. I've been visiting the school, hauling water from the river, learning to pick coffee, caring for the 9 puppies in my yard, and introducing my family to Pad Thai. We had our first community meeting last night which over 60 people attended. The community members have big dreams for piped water, smooth roads, a community center, and more employment opportunities. I have my personal dreams of riding my hypothetical donkey named Clementine, raising chickens in the back yard (we're building the coop Saturday with a neighbor!), and wielding a machete like a pro throughout every footpath in the Blue and John Crow Mountains.