2012 International Service Trip to Jamaica gives students an experience of a lifetime
Cam King
Contributing Writer
Waking on the extremely chilly morning of Jan. 3 at the Chase Wyndham
Hotel in Chelsea, Mass. was just the first exciting glimpse into the
adventure that awaited our group of 18 Keene State College students.
Nonetheless the 2012 International Service Trip to Jamaica was full of
exciting moments and adventures such as jumping the cliffs at the
infamous Rick’s Café and teaching in rural communities.
For the past 11 years Keene State College has extended the
opportunity for students and faculty to partake in a service learning
trip to different countries. Previous trips have included traveling to
Mexico and El Salvador. Last year, the International Service Trip to
Guatemala had students working closely with Habitat for Humanity to
build two houses for local communities. The 2012 International Service
Trip to Jamaica was led in part by the company Amizade, a Global
Service-learning provider for students and the Coordinator of Greek Life
and Student Leadership, Alex Brown. Student leaders Kristin Powers and
Ryan Robtoy were elected to lead this year’s trip as well as selecting
the other 14 Keene State College students that would be traveling to
Jamaica. Americorps vista volunteer and Keene State College employee
Alyssa Day also was selected to go.
The applicant phase of selecting students for the International
Service Trip is always tough competition. With over 50 students applying
for just 14 spots on the 2012 Jamaica Service trip, student leader
Kristin Powers said, “We definitely had our hands full and it was so
hard, we wish we could have taken everybody.”
Our group of 18 members on the 2012 IST trip to Jamaica worked
vigorously to fundraise for our trip. From selling grilled cheese in
freshmen residence halls all over campus, to writing over 100 letters in
total to friends and family, including New Hampshire Governor John
Lynch, fundraising became more than a hope, it was a mission.
“It was simple, we had to make money to make our trip happen and all
of us were going to make it happen,” senior Chase Caldwell said.
The 2012 IST to Jamaica kicked off on Jan. 2. Before getting up at 3
a.m. to head to Logan International Airport, Alex Brown said, “I was
feeling very confident about everything. We had planned and prepped as
best we could for every situation.”
Although some students were concerned with their preconceived notions
of what rural Jamaica would be like, most of them were wondering if
they would be taking their last hot shower for the next 11 days.
That answer would be quickly become a profound “yes” after the first day in Jamaica.
We were told beforehand through weekly meetings that despite the
stereotypes of the Jamaican lifestyle, we would be in for a surprise
once we landed. Senior at KSC, Annie Pagnotta said,
“My expectations were completely different from before the trip and
during the trip. Beforehand we had learned a little about the culture in
our weekly meetings, but no amount of knowledge beforehand can compare
to actually experiencing living there.“
For trip leader Kristin Powers, it was a mystery until she got there.
“I really didn’t know exactly how Jamaica would be. That being said,
everything I encountered once we got there was more than a pleasant
surprise because not only were we providing service to the country of
Jamaica and its people, but we were actually able to become ‘Jamaicans’
for 10 days.”
Looking a bit stunned, and initially culture-shocked, we tossed their
bags into the back of a pickup truck and boarded a much slimmer version
of a school bus. While the initial reactions of a humid tropical
climate were stifling to say the least, it was the Jamaican-styled
English that caused much confusion.
“I know they speak English, but it’s still way different than any
English I’d heard before, and it definitely required some getting used
to at first,” trip leader Ryan Robtoy said.
Our arrival was marked with a celebratory feast at the Association of
Clubs in Petersfield, Westmoreland. It was at that specific feast that
all of the members of the 2012 IST would be designated to their new
“moms” and home-stay parents. With partners already previously assigned,
the our group was split in half. Some people would be staying in
Petersfield, while others would be designated to the neighboring town of
Galloway, Westmoreland.
“Living in home-stays allowed different unique opportunities to every member of the group,” senior Dan Gannon said.
Alyssa Day, who had three other roommates as her host mom, Miss
Fenton’s house said, “Living with families provided our group with a
unique cultural experience because it gave us the opportunity to become
part of the community, rather than just a bystander traveling through.”
After a lengthy day of traveling, we headed home with their newly
designated parents and settled in to their temporary homes in
Petersfield and Galloway.
Over the course of the next two days we woke up early, enjoyed wide
ranges of traditional Jamaican food, and surprisingly enjoyed it.
Bonnie Chalmers said, “Typically I can be a picky eater, but our host
mom was actually a caterer and made some of the best foreign food I’ve
ever had.”
Brooke Wheeler admitted that the food was surprising, “It wasn’t what
I expected either but it was still crazy exotic. I mean who eats
chicken foot soup anyway?”
The first full two days quickly embedded the idea of “service learning” into the group.
Being the largest group ever that Petersfield Jamaica had seen, an
enormous amount of work lay ahead over the course of Wednesday and
Thursday.
A full cement floor was to be put in with our help.
This cement floor would allow the displacement of overcrowded
classrooms to help fulfill the need for more room for educators in the
schools.
Senior Katherine Woodman said, “We worked really hard, through the
heat and lack of water, to get that floor done in the school. I feel
they really appreciated our hard work because they let us go to the
beach at the end of the day.”
Senior Class President, Colin Daly said working hard is “one of my favorite things to do.”
“Despite the fact that I had crazy blisters and couldn’t stop
sweating after mixing all that concrete, giving back to the community
was what we were there for,” he said.
Matthias Brown, who became the figurehead and main organizer, praised
the Keene State group for getting the floor finished in a matter of
days.
Brown said, “With your numbers and hard work, you have accomplished in three days, what would have taken us three weeks.”
The motto for our group and other community members quickly became, “Work Hard, Play Hard.”
Over the course of the next few days, business was mixed in with
pleasure. An early morning bus ride to see the Ancient Tribe of Maroons
in the Accompong Mountains showcased the annual festival of the Maroons,
held every Jan. 6 in Jamaica.
We molded to the vibe of the festival by dancing at the foot of a
stage at a huge outdoor concert and also venturing out to try new foods
such as jerked chicken and pork.
Ryan Robtoy admitted to “maybe eating three times as much as everyone else.”
Sophomore Kelsey Bumsted thought, “Accompong was gorgeous. Being that
high in the mountains and learning about the ancient tribes of Jamaica
was just incredible. The Jamaican history is wild.”
Meeting people from all around the world, we truly thrust ourselves
into mixing and interacting with all walks of life, high up in the
ancient mountains of Accompong.
Kristin Powers added, “The only unfortunate thing about that festival
is that we weren’t allowed to visit the tribal leaders grave, because
of the fact that we were white.”
With a few more days of adventure, including an infamous “Reggae
Night” that no one will be forgetting anytime soon, our group was
settling into the vibe nicely. “‘Island time,’ they called it,” said
Molly Vaux.
With each member experiencing their own set of adventures in their down time, everyone had finally succumbed to “Island Time.”
Not knowing or necessarily caring what time it was quickly became the
calm feelings that everyone was soon to experience. Another major
highlight of the trip was when we and a few other members of the
Galloway/Petersfield communities ventured over to the tourist hot spot
of Negril, Jamaica.
A day that offered a few tourist attractions such as Margaritaville
and the world famous Rick’s Café, which boasts a 45-foot vertical drop
into the crystal clear waters of the Caribbean Sea.
Nephtalie Dujour admitted to now truly having an “adventure story
worth bragging about. Ricks Café was the ultimate highlight. I’m
getting chills just thinking about jumping off that cliff.”
While many jumped over and over again, some stepped away with rather
large bruises, such as Kelsey Bumsted and Chase Caldwell, who were
sporting blue and brown bruises for days.
Even Bonnie Chalmers, who was a bit fearful of heights, even took the
lifetime opportunity to jump at Rick’s Café, despite being “terrified.”
While the majority of the group leaped off the 45-foot sheer drop into
the blue ethos that the Caribbean Sea provided, Chase Caldwell admitted,
“Although Ricks Cafe was amazing, the most fun I had was when we were
blending in with the locals and not the tourists.”
Other days were filled with as tours of a Sugar Factory, ventures
down long shopping alleys in Savanna La-Mar, attending church, while
some days were simply spent at the pool and learning Jamaican customs at
night.
For many it would be the three days of teaching in the school districts of Petersfield and Jamaica we would remember the most.
Molly Vaux said, “Working in the school was probably my most eye
opening experience. It made me realize the great opportunities and
resources we have going to school here, yet it also brought up many
emotions on the lack of resources many schools around developing nations
have.”
Kathrine Woodman told her experience, “While most of the children
could write paragraphs, some couldn’t decipher between a capital and
lower case letters. I wanted to help them all, but I knew that wasn’t
possible given the circumstances. For three days I sat with this boy
Adrion who I could tell really wanted my help. I taught him the alphabet
and how to sound out words.”
We worked ferociously to complete the tasks laid ahead of them.
Being the true definition of a team, and following the motto, “work
hard, play hard” our group of diplomats far exceeded their expectations
not only as students and workers, but as humanitarians and ambassadors
as well.
Ryan Robtoy also said on the impact of the group that, “Sometimes we
take things for granted in our daily lives, such as hot showers, meals
we are familiar with, cell phones, and internet access.
For some students, this was the first time that all of these luxuries
may not have been readily available and I think the group as a whole
did an excellent job adapting and overcoming this challenge.”
Alex Brown topped it off by saying, “I think this trip really gave
our students a true glimpse of life in Jamaica. It isn’t one big resort,
it isn’t just Cool Runnings and Bob Marley. It is a real place, with
real people, and real challenges. Most people will never see the real
Jamaica. I’m thankful that our students had that opportunity, and that I
had the privilege in sharing in that with them.”
Alyssa Day thought that the hard work resulted in the great
relationships that we enjoyed by saying, “It allowed our students to
develop stronger relationships with the people of the community we
worked in, which in turn gave them a deeper understanding in how
Jamaican’s live their lives day in and day out.”
“We all came to Keene from different places, and I think the
important thing to remember is that this doesn’t stop here. We’ve got to
continue serving in ways that will help change the world,” Gannon said.
Cam King can be contacted at cking4@ksc.mailcruiser.com
