Most of the upcoming posts are reflections written by Ryan, Ryan, Gabrielle, and Melissa. Already, life is pretty interesting. Over the coming 24 hours, I'll be posting several of their reflections.
The first is from Ryan Walker. Without further ado...
July 10:
The flight from Philadelphia down along the Eastern Seaboard
to Miami serves as an interesting precursor to the things that we will be
discussing and observing in Jamaica.
Even from 30,000 feet, one sees the impacts that
we have had on the environment. It
is most troublesome to see these impacts brought right up against the
shoreline. Most notable from the
air are three human influences: massive suburban developments, large plots of
land devoted to circle irrigation, and countless golf courses intermixed
between houses and the shore.
Without getting to Jamaica yet, I know that at least two of these items,
suburban developments and golf courses have already been carved into Jamaica’s
landscape, the golf courses specifically designed to cater to “American”
needs.
The massive all-inclusive beach resorts with their decorated
retaining walls and their unseen golf courses serve as an immediate indicator
that we are in an artificial Jamaica.
This creation calls back to Illich’s harsh comments about the American
volunteer and the American system being brought to developed countries that may
not truly want it. In the dead of
night, one cannot begin to understand the landscape in which he has found
himself, but the observations along the way will prove useful in understanding
sustainability in a poorer country.
July 11:
The Jamaican landscape does not disappoint. The common notion of a tropical
paradise is indeed an apt description of the place we have woken up to. It is nice to not be in one of the
megaresorts but there is still a sense that I am here and seen as a wealthy
visitor. However, I had a conversation
with a Jamaican man on the beach this morning and somehow we started talking about
resorts and such. It was
interesting because he said to me, “Mon, in Jamaica, we have little things, so
what we do is we boast. One man
have fancy car, he boast, you come here to fancy hotel and id make you think
you better than me,” he said with a smile. “De only thing that is for certain is you live one day, the
next you die. You may have the
fancy hotel, but I have the beach because it is Jamaica. We same flesh, same blood, and what
happen to the man who have a million bucks who die? He gone, but I still
here. Same flesh, same blood, no
different between you and me.” His
comments are very true because we are mortal and the things of ours on this
earth we cannot take with us when we go.
So, that asks the question, do the Jamaican people need the
economy, the pleasures, or the life that Americans have? If you ask many of them they would
probably would say, “Yes.” And
it’s true, Americans are blessed beyond belief, but can we achieve a better
life with less? That is at the core of sustainability. Remember the Jamaican man’s words, “you
live one day, you die the next…same flesh, same blood, no different between you
and me.”
July 12:
Today was the first full day at Durga’s Den. One of the most challenging things from
last night was the heat, the dogs and the roosters in the morning. It wasn’t the fact that I was not able
to fall asleep, when your body is tired enough it can fall asleep in any
condition, but it was the constant waking up because of those things. The most surprising thing was the
amount of dogs that were out barking late into the night. Back home, if somebody’s dog was
barking they would have had very upset neighbors that would have insisted that
the dog be quieted, here not so much.
My experience as a summer camp counselor for three summers has made the transition to living at
Dutrga’s Den much more smooth, although I know there will be some things that I
will have to get myself accustomed to.
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