Adventures in Backnang!: Work and Lime Cay

So Monday was the first day of work.

We got to the Dispute Resolution Foundation ("DRF") at around 9:30 to a meeting where everyone got introduced and we had a brief overview to the organization in general. They told us that every Monday morning at 8:30 they had weekly meetings. Talk about dedication. Not only getting in at 8:30 in the morning, but having to get brain function started for a meeting every week at that time. I hope there is a large fresh brew of coffee that day.

The organization provides alternative dispute resolution ("ADR") services, i.e. mediation and arbitration, across Jamaica. On a broader level, they seek to achieve positive and peaceful relations between citizens, government, organizations and corporations through a democratic and restorative justice framework, which includes youth and community outreach programs. (I was given something like a press kit to read ;) The organization also seeks to extend its reach through its model of countrywide service centres to across the Caribbean. Noble goals that will require a lot of focus and perseverance. There's a lot of work to be done, funding is scarce and the country is only starting to see recovery from its recession. But that's what the volunteers are here to help for! Or at least we will try. Anyways, that's a bit of an overview of the organization and the general task at hand. I'll talk more about the experiences and work as they arise. So far, we've mainly been getting to know the organization and its people. We're having in-country training for the rest of the week.

On Sunday (I'm doing reverse order so to make up for a boring beginning, I'll tell about the fun stuff last), some of the volunteers went to a local beach near Kingston called Lime Cay. We started by taking a couple of buses - taking buses in Kingston is another post in itself - that found us in Port Royal, which is a small port town just outside of the main city. It's a neat little spot with an interesting history. It used to be a bustling port and home to pirates [of the Caribbean (!)] and with them, came all sorts of trouble, gaining the town a bad rep (or good depending on who you were at the time). That is, until a major earthquake sank half the town in 1692. Since then, it's never been the same. But as a result of its history, it's a neat spot for scuba diving where you can see sunken ships and the city that sank. I haven't been able to do this yet, but would hope to some time within the six months.. who doesn't want to see sunken pirate ships?!

Instead of an underwater excursion, we ate at a nice restaurant called Gloria's, which specializes in seafood - recommended to take a visit if anyone's in the area. After food, to get to Lime Cay, we had to take a boat / ferry to the island. Lime Cay is essentially a small deserted island. So despite my lack of swimming abilities, I went along for the ride on a fisherman's boat. Felt like a roller coaster.. except no loops, but also with no safety bars. Luckily there were no tropical storms that day. (I'm gonna get myself killed one day if I keep this up, haha) The island itself was great, a nice little spot that you can just relax and hang out, or swim if you're so inclined. So went my first excursion in Jamaica, but hopefully not the last. It was also a good time where I got to know some of the other volunteers in the country. Any description I give probably won't do the trip justice..