The Holidays and Welcome 2012!

School was out on December 16, and second term would begin January 9th, 2012 so those of us PCVs who work in schools had a nice long break! Did you know poinsettias just grow here- in bushes even! So beautiful.
Fellow PCV Juanita made the difficult decision to go home early (called ET in Peace Corps lingo meaning Early Termination). She was needed at home. She is missed. We are in touch and already have plans to meet up when I return.
For Christmas, Diann came for the weekend- we did not go to Grand Market (once was enough for me!) but enjoyed wine with fellow yardies. Christmas dinner was chicken (what a surprise!) but baked not fried and Diann and I were joined by Laura, a Response PCV who had spent 2 years in the Dominican Republic. It has been so interesting to hear her compare the islands, the people and her experiences.
On December 29th Jamaica had a national election. The two parties- PNP and JLP had lots of gatherings, a few debates and lots of wearing of orange or green. There has been a history of violence during elections in Jamaica so we were warned to stay home and be careful. The election was won by the PNP and Jamaica’s new Prime Minister is now Ms Portia Simpson-Miller. Fortunately and proudly, this year there was very little election violence. Congratulations Jamaica!She has already taken office and formed her cabinet. The Jamaicans I know are hopeful that she can make things better in Jamaica.
For New Year’s weekend Carole and Ron came down from the Blue Mountains – they enjoyed all sorts of luxuries not available at their site- running water, wine, an oven, pizza, and the beach. We had a fun beach gathering on Jan. 2 with some other volunteers.

January 9th School began. I was ready to see my kids again! My routine is the same. I see 8 pullout groups twice a week, plus I do library time for all 9 classes. The main focus though was to get some things ready for me to take to the World Wide School in Chicago, USA. This is a program linking schools in the US with a PCV. My school is the Bradwell School of Excellence in Chicago. The grade 6 students are penpals with some grade 5 students there. I will visit the school on January 19th for the morning. The grade 6 students coloured some beautiful pictures of Caribbean plants and flowers. We made a movie using Windows Movie maker. I was learning as we went along but it turned out great. Mr Abraham, the grade 6 teacher was able to solve the adding music problem. I will also be taking gizzadas- a special Jamaican dessert- sort of a coconut tart. I am really looking forward to meeting these students and their teacher and sharing a little of Jamaica with them! Of course the students here can’t wait for me to come back and tell them about my visit!
Welcome 2012!