riding the rollercoaster

Today was wonderful. We settled in at Marigold as though we had been there for weeks. We arrived super early this morning and spent the first two hours waking up with the infants in the toddler room.

They are all soo precious... all 8 of them. Elin and I spent the first hour holding and bopping and kissing each one individually until one of the nurses came in to feed, bathe, and change all the babies. Before I knew it I was feeding, then drying, putting on diapers, and fitting them with their morning clothes. The babies all have their own personalities and little quirks. One of them has to be holding your two fingers at all times when your holding her or else she starts to get fussy... Another has the biggest brightest smile when you walk over to her and she starts shaking her crib and dancing if she thinks you will pick her up. They are the epitome of innocence. You look into their eyes and you get lost in a deep river that leads you straight to their souls. They are not afraid; they are curious of the world around them and trusting to all who come by them. They are never a moment ahead or a moment behind, but instead stay in the present moment focused only on what is happening in the now. I think we should all take a leaf from the baby book.

Later on in the day, Elin and I had some quality time to spend at the school with the children. The school room is one large room split into halves by a chalk board.. The older children on one side, the younger on the other. I admire the teachers for their patience and relentless stamina with the children. Frequently the children will run from chair to chair or take out toys from the cabinet and cause havoc. There is pushing and shoving at times, crying, and sleeping throughout the lessons.  Any person under similar circumstances would throw their hands up and walk out the front door but instead these teachers support and push forward. Instead of spending their time disciplining the children and putting things away, they focus on the children staying engaged. They teach those that express interest and delight. Today we demonstrated the different properties of water through putting grape juice in clear water, and then freezing it in into tangible ice cubes. The children loved doing the experiment and were completely captivated. It also surprised me to see that such an automatic mindless thing for me such a writing the date on the top of my paper is a big struggle for many of the children. They try and try again and keep a positive attitude but get frustrated when what they write is not the same as on the chalkboard. After a few hectic hours the children took a break for recess. In a flash the children emptied the room apart from one. One boy who I have grown an affection for, Davian, pulled me into a chair and asked me to read to him. After every word I read, he repeated it and tried to match it for the words on the paper. He is thirsty for knowledge and is a smart smart boy. Here I was, completely in awe, and inspired by a 6 year old.

Dad picked us up at noon to attend the Rotary Club of Kingston's weekly body meeting at a hotel in New Kingston. The club meeting is held in a beautiful room on the 17th floor in a room that is quite literally and ironically called "Talk of the town." Next to this room was one called "Top of the world." We found these name quite fitting. Coming from the underbelly of Jamaica at the childrens home to the Rotary meetings was as stark a contrast as a black patch on a white canvas. The club is filled with high ranking powerful passionate leaders in Jamaican Society and in the Jamaican Political world. Leaders in the community committed to civil service and bettering the city of Kingston through service above self. We had arranged with the club secretary a few months back to visit their club in order to network with the members and share about our work at Marigold. We did fulfill on one of those intentions, but the other will have to wait until next week. A special guest speaker,  Renato Adams was pleased to join us. He is a controversial figure to say the least, a leader in Jamaican society who worked alongside the people as police chief for over 41 years. Leading a similar but much less violent war on criminals in 2001, he can been seen on local television and heard on the radio giving his opinion on the changing political landscape. He repeatedly affirmed his intention to speak the truth and suggested looking in high ranking political leader's houses for alleged druglord Christopher 'Dudus' Coke. Alongside these comments, he planted the seed that many Jamaican criminals have infiltrated the police force and Jamaican army.  Talk about food for thought.

The conversation recently has been heavy. Every person has their two-cents to put in about the situation. The overall consensus seems to be in support of the government finally putting a stop to the corruption and infiltration. Elin and I hear horrific stories on the radio. First hand accounts of peoples experiences in the last four days held hostage in Tiviali. Stories that leave us aghast and hurting, thankful for our safety, and praying for the recovery and healing of the people in Tivoli and other affected areas. Unidentified bodies victim from the massacre at Tivoli are being buried in the morgue and people are outraged.

Juxtaposed to Renato on the opposite of the spectrum is Caroline Gomes, a woman who started Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ), a citizens rights activist group in Kingston in '99. She is a family friend and a huge inspiration. We went over after the Rotary meeting and she was scheduled to be on the 5:30 radio program to talk about the JFJ's position on the news that the police were burying unidentified bodies. A woman fighting for the rights of the people, standing up for what is just, not what is convenient. Although her life is threatened on a day-to-day basis she spends time proudly on her veranda, without a security guard or alarm system. When Elin and I spoke to her about her fears of being killed, she looked at us without a drop of fear in her eyes. She said:

 "There are two ways to go out in life. As a brave man or a coward. Either way your going to die, but you might as well do it standing up for something you believe in."

                             Rasta Dog

On a lighter note, I am so happy to be eating Patti's and jerk chicken and festival again.  When we first moved, I used to cry because I couldn't understand why San Diego didn't have rice and peas or kola champagne.. no joke. I can't seem to get enough of it. We have 10 chicken patties in the freezer as I write this waiting to be munched on over the next couple days.

Everywhere we go, (by we I mean Dad) runs into people he knows. On the sidewalk, in the car at a stoplight, and even the street people selling the newspaper all call out "MULLALLY".. Elin and I are now used to the long conversations and the exchanging of numbers. I would not be surprised if half the island knew we were here by now. We feel fortified and safe to say the least. We have an abundance of phone numbers to call if we need anything or anybody, or in case of an emergency. (Mom, you can stop holding your breath now). We have been going out to dinner every night with different family friends. Last night, we went to a DEELLLICIOUS lebanese restaurant with Auntie Odette, one of my moms closest friends here and another mother figure to me. She owns Rainbowland, a pre-k and kindergarten that I actually went to! E and I are planning on stopping by next week for a couple hours.

We have been gym shopping as well. We visited a few popular gyms around the area and finally settled on a yoga/pilates/spinning type place today. The moment I walked inside I knew. It is literally an oasis in the middle of city with green jungle type plants in the yard encircling the property. Empowering quotes line the walls, along with large rooms for yoga and weight lifting. My favorite room is the "relaxation meditation area" with large beds, fresh tea, Wifi, and pillows to relax on after showering. It will be the perfect spot to unwind in the late afternoons after working with the vibrant children all day.

This first week has been a rollercoaster ride of emotions. I encounter daily struggles at marigold with the children, with our presence there and the temporality of it all. I am already growing attached to them and know mostly all the children's name. There is one young girl, Annakay, who follows me around the room until she is in my arms. She is around 3 or 4 and doesn't say a word. Instead she latches like a little monkey to my chest as I read to the other children and play games. Whenever my hair is loose, she'll grab onto the strands and look at me like i'm an alien from a different planet. Today she curled up in a little ball on my stomach and fell asleep. All I do is shower her with kisses and hugs and as much love as I can give her. I can already forsee it will be hard to leave them.

Today, we met with the teachers and will start doing crafts next week with the children! Elin and I have some organizing to do this weekend to decide how to best go about introducing the art. We plan to pair any activity with a book and writing. The four of us (two teachers, Elin and I) will be working on "Jamaica Day" for the next few weeks. It will be an acting, singing, fashion show, luncheon fundraiser with the kids on July 8th. We have huge aspirations for our time here, after this week of assimilating, I'm ready to hit the ground running and be as much of a tool to be used by the staff at Marigold as possible.

keep it irie,
tkm