Jamaican Time: A Poem by Hanna Harris (1/18/14)

There are 1,013,913 words in the English language 

Yet I couldn't string any of them together 

To properly describe this beauty 

Sensory intake has interrupted my soliloquies

Red dirt on skin turned to tea leaves on rust

Time took a break to look around

Veins run like rivers 

Dumping into the ocean 

Poetry flows from waving fingertips 

Voices are ballroom dancing with each other 

And we all realize 

Time is a nasty little habit 

Everything has become animalistic 

Like there's a primal urge to be happy 

Forget the iPhones 

Nothing compares to the imprints on my palms 

From pressing my hands on the collar bones of

Time

       This is a poem I wrote as a part of my final project for J-Term. I wrote it here in Jamaica while I was sitting on a porch in Falmouth. I was looking out at the town and thinking about what I've seen here and the culture as a whole. People here are always talking about "Jamaican Time" as opposed to regular time, because no one here gives much thought to punctuality. Everything is very relaxed, which is one of my favorite things about Jamaica. This poem was very fun to write because it means a lot to me and it sums up my feelings on the subject very well. 

The All Age School Experience (1/17/14)

This morning, we went to the All Age School. We arrived and were immediately viewed as if we were zebras in a crowd of a horses.  The children were reluctant at first to approach us, especially since most of them were much younger than us, spanning from about ages 6-14. Our guide, KeVaughn Harding, told us about the history of the school and about how the younger children's part of the school (like our elementary school) used to be army barracks, which were built sometime in the early 19th century. About 50 feet away from the lower school was a concrete building, which we learned was a storage facility for the guns, ammunition, and explosives. The walls were about 3 feet thick to prevent damage if any of the contents were to detonate. The upper school (like our middle school) was set next to the lower school in a separate building, built in the late 1960s. All of this is was built on a sandy ground, overlooking ocean as far as the eye could see. 

We were split up into three groups, one going to the first grade classroom, another going to the sixth grade classroom, and the last going to the ninth grade classroom. I went into the sixth grade classroom and interacted with the 12 year old students. In the morning, we sat in on their class and helped them with their work. They were learning sentence structure as well as multiplication. In the afternoon, we returned and played games with them, as their WHOLE afternoons are "game time". *cough cough* feel free to follow their lead Mr. Moudry... Anyways, we played dominos and cards, while they were fascinated with playing games on our iPhones. It was an interesting trade of technology, as American teens are stereotyped as being so attached to their technology. It was a lot of fun to get to know the kids and compare our lives to theirs and see how they were so different. The students seemed to be really excited to be able to spend time with us.  

Photos: Falmouth All Age School (1/17/14)

Everyone posing at the Falmouth All Age School.

Ian, Emily, Riane, Brayden, Hanna, and Falmouth teacher Mr. Morris interacting in a classroom.

Megan smiling with a sixth grade student at the school.

Jodi helping a sixth grader with her work.

Dr. Quillin and Dr. Lee agreeing with a sign outside of the school.

Kirby and Grace playing card, while Falmouth students play on the girls' phones.

Liz helps a first grader with her work.

Jodi and Liz raise their hands as they interact in a first grade classroom.

The Falmouth students play with Grace's hair as she attempts to play cards with Kirby.

Hanna and Falmouth student Armando compare skin colors.

Brayden is discussing Jamaican culture with a ninth grade student.

Photos: Rainy day (1/16/14)

A photo taken from the morning walk.

The oranges that make our orange juice every morning.

Students and Ke-Vaughn on the bus going to Windsor.

The Great House of the cattle overseer built by John Tharp in 1795, now owned by Mr. Schwartz.

Student Jodi has got her working hat on.

Students Jodi and Megan listen to Mr. Schwartz explain the history of the estate.

Students Jodi, Megan and Brayden were successfully photobombed by Hanna.

Mr. Schwartz shows us how the shutters they used in Jamaica in the 1900's were made.

Our Time in Jurassic Park (1/16/14)

Today we went to another work site in Windsor, Jamaica to switch jobs. Those who were working on limestone and doing physical labor would now be drawing architectural models and those drawing last time would be washing limestone. It was going to be a difficult job because this house was inhabited, as opposed to the last site, and the man who lived there did not want to be disturbed. At least that's what we planned on.
After a long bus ride through a beautiful forest and up and down rocky hills, we arrived at the house. It was very different than the previous worksite because the one in Falmouth was about the size of a large living room and this one was huge! We walked up to the house hesitantly, being bit by mosquitos with every step we took and saw the ruins of a brick archway directly across from the house. Suddenly, an older British man emerged from the house with open arms, a huge dog, and a vague resemblance to the genius doctor from Jurassic park. He immediately began giving us a history lesson on what the ruins were and how they relate to John Tharp, who owned the house. Apparently, it was a military base for the British, stationed there because it was next to the Martha Brae river and in the hills, which made it good for countering guerrilla warfare. 

He was asking us questions and keeping us engaged, we all agreed that he was great to listen to and we could do it all day. We had to go inside after a few minutes because it started to rain really hard (the first time since November). So the man, who's name turned out to be Michael Schwartz, told us that he was who lived in the house and started to give us a tour. He showed us the crack that runs down one side of the house because a corner is sinking and gun slots in the bedrooms left over from it being a military base. He explained a lot of stuff to us about architecture and it turns out he thought we were college students majoring in it. He was so surprised to find out we were High School students! He took us down to his shop which he built himself and explained the mechanics of the lever windows he was making.
Next he took us into a room in the shop and told us the story of who all had owned this house after it was John Tharp's overseeing house. It was owned by a few people, but most notably it was owned by Miriam Rothschild, a very wealthy and important British woman. She had married a very, very attractive naval officer who had to move to a tropical climate because a lung disease. He moved to Jamaica and stayed at Good Hope, where he met more than a few wealthy divorcees and young socialites. Soon, sheer proximity took over and he had several secret lovers to keep up with. So, he used the house we were at to house his mistresses. People who lived in the area claim to have seen a woman named Sally ride there on a horse every day.
After the tour, it was time for lunch so we had to head back to Good Hope. We couldn't stay and work in the heavy rain. So we took the bus back through scenery that the Rain Forest Cafe would murder for, everyone sleeping along the way. Even though neither drawing or working happened today, I was really glad we got to listen to Mike because it was a really great experience and one of my favorite things on this trip so far.  

Photos: Local (And Not So Local) Interaction (1/15/14)

Ian and Emily import their sketches from the house on 27 Newton Street into AutoCAD, a design and engineering program used to create blueprints.

Liz, Riane, Jodi, Isabella, Iris, Dr. Lee, and Brayden listen to an older woman preach to us about God, while Shelby taught us how to mix the limestone mortar.

A mother and her child walk down the street; their gazes fixed on the towering cruise ship above.

Due to the tunnel winds formed by the mix of cruise ships and coastal gusts,  it was extremely windy. In order to adapt to this, Grace, Liz, and Hanna attempted to turn into birds.

Dr. Quillin amusingly mimics Usain Bolt in "Falmouth Historic District."

Riane and Megan looked through a shop run by a local, ultimately ending in Riane's purchase of a bracelet.  

Grace bought some sugar cane from a street vendor and kindly gave a piece to everyone.

I happened to stumble upon these two Jamaican women selling clothing in a market.

A handicapped man agreed to let me take a picture of him in the market square.

A local spice seller joins in on cheerful conversation in the market.

The students pose for a photo in front of Falmouth Heritage Renewal's office.

Photos: Oral History Day (1/14/14)

Iris, Hanna, and Grace interviewing Mr. Grant, a local resident.

Mr. Grant

Isabella interviewing Mr. Muschett, the Custos Rotulorum of Trelawny Parish.

Megan interviewing Mr. Stewart who is a former minister of the Parliament.

St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Falmouth which has architectural influence from the Sydney Opera House

Inside of the St. Joseph's Catholic Church

Mr. Stewart showing us the inside of the church and some of its architectural features.