I'm so lucky to have such great friends! Here is a funny story about how I was reminded of that this afternoon...
I generally alternate days doing fieldwork and days writing up notes, entering data and recording my thoughts (if I have any brain power left to have them!). Today is a writing day, and I usually have to move mid-way through the day. A walk to the post office, 3 miles round-trip, is great break. I was particularly happy to go today, because I've had a few questions about mail from J and friends, so I suspected there might be something there...
The walk was uneventful and arrived at the post-office sweaty but excited. I waited inline and when my turn came, I gave the man behind the counter my name and asked if I had any mail. After I repeated my name for him twice, with clear enunciation so there could be no mistake, he looked in the M-O-P cubby, shuffled through the pile and shook his head no. I really wanted to climb over the counter and look in the random piles all over the post office certain that there must be some mail for me somewhere in the paper chaos (go here for my description of the Gros Islet PO in all its wonder), but I restrained myself. I was turning sadly to go, when the door to my left opened very suddenly and a hand shot out, holding a bundle (yes a whole bundle!) of mail!!! This second man has apparently been stockpiling my mail in a secret location. He must have heard me repeating my name and decided it was time to reveal his secret...
I didn't care to stop and ask why my mail doesn't get to live in the alphabetized cubbies anymore. I just bounded out of the post office with enough mail that a rubber band was required :)
In my bundle were a note and photos from and adorable 3-month old girl (she is very advanced for her age!), Christmas cards from several friends, photos from my favorite Germs, the funniest Chrsitmas card I've ever seen, and get this- not one, but two sets of "Twelve Days of Christmas" themed mail (I've checked and they didn't conspire)...
One set is post cards, each with an adorable and humorous doodle that corresponds to each days theme (maids a milking etc)! So far cards 1, 3-6 and 8-10 have arrived- wonder what happened to #2 and #7?
The second set is Christmas cards, numbered with great messages and mailed 12 days in a row. In this case cards 3,4,5 and 6 have arrived... I can't wait for the others!
Thank you, thank you, thank you dear friends! I've just been grinning all afternoon :)
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Friday, December 17, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Quick update on life
One month and one week after Tomas, things continue to improve here at a "two steps forward, one step back" sort of pace. What does this look like on the ground, and oh yea... how has all this hurricane business impacted that dissertation research I'm supposed to be doing?
Schools reopened the last week of November on a limited teaching "rotating schedule" which means that students have 3-4 hours of school per day and they are only teaching reading/writing and math for the rest of the term. This is because a large majority of text books have been destroyed, and efforts to get schools clean enough to accommodate the students were combined, so in many areas only a single school is open. So the secondary students use it in the early morning, pre-school/kindergartners mid-day and primary students in the late afternoon. Even the schools in areas relatively unaffected are following this plan, to keep the students in the same place within the curriculum nationally, so when they take national exams in the spring, students will be on the same testing levels.
Water comes and goes for many areas, but generally is improving. In what I hope is just an overly cautious public health move, the government has issued a national cholera alert. Presently there are no reported cases and hopefully this will remain true! There are also still farmers living in areas of the country that cannot be reached by vehicle, though this continues to improve weekly.
My research: So far I've spent a lot less time talking about my research than I expected to in my time here on the island. It is probably not hard to decipher that hurricane Tomas will have a lasting impact on my fieldwork. For the short-run (aka the remaining 2 months of my current grant) I will be taking a pilot study approach to things, since my research objectives, methodology and general sense of things have all been turned on their head.
For now I'm trying to spend as much time in the farming communities that I am studying as possible. I'm also creating visual maps of the destruction on Fairtrade farmer's farms by taking gps points of their properties, the major fluvial and geomorphic disruptions (mainly impacts of flooding and landslides) and documenting everything with lots and lots of photos. This process is very interesting, basically, I am taken on a tour of the farm by the farmer, who narrates his/her "hurricane story" about where they were and what they were thinking during the storm and the immediate days following Tomas. As we walk their property, they describe were buildings used to be, how much further into the river their property used to extend and so on. My respect for the power of water as well as the resilience and attitudes of the people I'm talking with grows daily as I hear stories and see things with my own eyes. Later I hope to connect these gis maps, time elapsed photos (taken now, in 6 months and again before i leave), personal accounts of the hurricane and more formal interviews to broader conversations on land management, conservation, vulnerability and resilience and Fairtrade. That is much later though!
Here are some photos of things I see everyday:
That's all for now- I'm off to a farmers meeting!
Schools reopened the last week of November on a limited teaching "rotating schedule" which means that students have 3-4 hours of school per day and they are only teaching reading/writing and math for the rest of the term. This is because a large majority of text books have been destroyed, and efforts to get schools clean enough to accommodate the students were combined, so in many areas only a single school is open. So the secondary students use it in the early morning, pre-school/kindergartners mid-day and primary students in the late afternoon. Even the schools in areas relatively unaffected are following this plan, to keep the students in the same place within the curriculum nationally, so when they take national exams in the spring, students will be on the same testing levels.
Water comes and goes for many areas, but generally is improving. In what I hope is just an overly cautious public health move, the government has issued a national cholera alert. Presently there are no reported cases and hopefully this will remain true! There are also still farmers living in areas of the country that cannot be reached by vehicle, though this continues to improve weekly.
My research: So far I've spent a lot less time talking about my research than I expected to in my time here on the island. It is probably not hard to decipher that hurricane Tomas will have a lasting impact on my fieldwork. For the short-run (aka the remaining 2 months of my current grant) I will be taking a pilot study approach to things, since my research objectives, methodology and general sense of things have all been turned on their head.
For now I'm trying to spend as much time in the farming communities that I am studying as possible. I'm also creating visual maps of the destruction on Fairtrade farmer's farms by taking gps points of their properties, the major fluvial and geomorphic disruptions (mainly impacts of flooding and landslides) and documenting everything with lots and lots of photos. This process is very interesting, basically, I am taken on a tour of the farm by the farmer, who narrates his/her "hurricane story" about where they were and what they were thinking during the storm and the immediate days following Tomas. As we walk their property, they describe were buildings used to be, how much further into the river their property used to extend and so on. My respect for the power of water as well as the resilience and attitudes of the people I'm talking with grows daily as I hear stories and see things with my own eyes. Later I hope to connect these gis maps, time elapsed photos (taken now, in 6 months and again before i leave), personal accounts of the hurricane and more formal interviews to broader conversations on land management, conservation, vulnerability and resilience and Fairtrade. That is much later though!
Here are some photos of things I see everyday:
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| Water line in banana shed 3'3", meaning that the river flooded over 25 feet above its normal level... |
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| Banana farm that collapsed into river. The river bank is appx 18' high, and this river is a contributor to the flooding, b/c it is a govt. re-channeled this river with a straight cut stream-bed that increased velocity and turbulence and erosion |
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| The rushing floods distributed huge piles of debris |
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| 3-6" of mud caked, shrinking and cracked on the packing table and floor of the banana shed... |
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| This hand is pointing to the trash and debris deposited in the top of this coconut tree by the flood waters from the river below- waters had to be between 12-15' high here... |
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| Measuring across the area washed out by the river 27' wide and 14' deep |
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| This is a large (appx 50' wide) pile of uprooted banana plant debris carried into a pile be the flood waters. The young green shoots are growing out of the pile. Farmers tell me the only way to deal with this b/c it is in the middle of the farm will be to burn everything... |
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| Banana and coconut debris |
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| Parts of a pack-shed destroyed |
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| The only thing left standing from this shed is the cinder block foundation, the washing tables (with a lone rotting banana on the end if you look closely) and |
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| More parts of the same shed... |
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| The sedimentation levels are extreme in some cases- I'm standing about 20 meters away from and about 10 feet above a stream- my feet are on the normal ground level. The sediment deposited next to me measured 3'8" deep and goes on for 100 yards or more.... |
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| What do you think? Is it giant acorn or a baby coconut? ;) |
That's all for now- I'm off to a farmers meeting!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
It's beginnning to look a lot like Christmas, despite the coconut trees!
So, I'll be the first to admit, I'm a total cheese-ball when it comes to Christmas, I love the music, take great joy in wrapping gifts (trying to match the pattern on the paper and of course adding ribbon and bows when possible), I adore gift shopping in a busy store or mall, sneaking around with surprises, advent calendars, parties, decorations... pretty much everything!
Since I'll be spending Christmas here in St. Lucia, I've been asking around about what I can expect, and it turns out, Christmas is pretty popular here, though there are some distinct differences. Perfect! The number one thing that is mentioned whenever I ask a local about holiday celebrations is "rum" the context may vary, "rum cake", "rum balls", "spiced rum", a "nip of rum at the neighbors"... you get the picture.
My favorite unexpected tradition is "Bamboo Bursting" which starts in mid-November. It takes place mainly on the weekends and sounds like a minor army is trying to invade my neighborhood. I was thankful for hearing about this practice before the fun began. Essentially pre-teen and teenage boys go out with their friends, find the most promising bamboo stalks and chop them down. Then they add kerosene, an air fuse (blowing into a hole while introducing a match) and viola- a very noisy explosion that can result in singed eyebrows and howls of appreciation from one's friends.
Decorations and music thus far seem to be fairly similar, the radios are full of climate specific songs such as "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" which to me are just amusing given that we are driving by coconut and palm trees while it's a balmy 85F outside, but they are crooned by people on the bus with gusto. The local ice cream truck (a pick-up with a freezer in the back) has joined in by playing Silent Night as it makes its rounds, I've never thought of that song as a "come and get your ice cream kids!" sort of tune, but it seems to work :)
Another very fun tradition is that of Papa Jab and the Pai Banan. Now any of you who have had the pleasure of reading David Sedaris' Six To Eight Black Men will have an appreciation for the genre of scaring children for Christmas, if you have not, you should definitely read it after you are finished with this post. I haven't actually seen the dance yet, but I did track down a few photos and from talking with friends and reading a blog-type post, here is what I know about the tradition: Papa Jab is a devil like character who carries a pitchfork, is red and has horns. He dances in a scary manner, chases children, and when encouraged by parents, will grab a child who has been reported for having bad behavior and publicly spanks them (more for show and humiliation than anything else). The Pai Banan are accompanying dancers that travel around with Papa Jab, they are dressed in costumes made from dried banana leaves that have been dyed bright colors and they often walk on stilts and play musical instruments. The whole group travel around a community and then people gather in the center of the community to watch the show. This can happen in the build up to Christmas through to New Year's Day. I'm really looking forward to seeing this when it happens!!!
Christmas cards are also big here, and just in case anyone out there is thinking of sending Christmas cards my way- wink wink! hint hint! ;) address them in the following manner:
Name
C/O Gros Islet Post Office
Massade
Gros Islet, St. Lucia
West Indies
Don't send anything important though and expect a minimum of 3 weeks to arrive and most likely more, because this is how organized the post office is:
Last but certainly not least, food! Food is of course a very important part of most holiday celebrations, St. Lucia being no exception. The most popular thing here is the Christmas Fruit Cake aka "Rum Cake". I'm planning to try making it, though I'm a little behind on soaking the fruit in rum for up to 3 months! I'll try to share more recipes once I learn about them.
Here is a recipe for it:
INGREDIENTS:
1lb / 2cups currants
1lb / 3cups raisins
8oz / 1cup prunes
2/3 cup mixed peel
14 oz / 2 ¼ cups dark soft brown sugar
5ml / 1tsp mixed spice
½ pint / 1 ¼ cups sherry
90ml / 6tbsp rum, plus more if needed
2 cups softened butter
10 eggs beaten
1 lb / 4 cups self-raising flour
5 ml /1 tsp vanilla essence
DIRECTIONS:
Wash the currants, raisins, prunes and mixed peel, then pat dry. Place in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Transfer to a large, clean jar or bowl, add 115g/4 oz of the sugar, the mixed spice, rum and sherry. Mix very well and then cover with a lid and set aside for anything from 2 weeks to 3 months - the longer it is left the better the flavor will be. Stir the fruit mixture occasionally and keep covered, adding more alcohol if you like. Preheat the oven to 160ºC/325ºF/Gas mark Grease and line a 25cm/10in round cake tin with a double layer of greaseproof paper. Sift the flour, set aside. Cream together the butter and remaining sugar and beat in the eggs until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Add the fruit mixture, then gradually stir in the flour and vanilla essence. Mix well, adding 15-30ml/1-2 tbsp sherry if the mixture is too stiff; it should just fall off the back of the spoon, but should not be too runny. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake until done.
Happy holiday season everyone!!!
Since I'll be spending Christmas here in St. Lucia, I've been asking around about what I can expect, and it turns out, Christmas is pretty popular here, though there are some distinct differences. Perfect! The number one thing that is mentioned whenever I ask a local about holiday celebrations is "rum" the context may vary, "rum cake", "rum balls", "spiced rum", a "nip of rum at the neighbors"... you get the picture.
 |
| I found this picture online of the practice in Trinidad to give you more of a visual |
Decorations and music thus far seem to be fairly similar, the radios are full of climate specific songs such as "Walking in a Winter Wonderland" which to me are just amusing given that we are driving by coconut and palm trees while it's a balmy 85F outside, but they are crooned by people on the bus with gusto. The local ice cream truck (a pick-up with a freezer in the back) has joined in by playing Silent Night as it makes its rounds, I've never thought of that song as a "come and get your ice cream kids!" sort of tune, but it seems to work :)
 |
| Papa Jab |
 |
| Pai Banan dancing in Castries |
Name
C/O Gros Islet Post Office
Massade
Gros Islet, St. Lucia
West Indies
Don't send anything important though and expect a minimum of 3 weeks to arrive and most likely more, because this is how organized the post office is:
Last but certainly not least, food! Food is of course a very important part of most holiday celebrations, St. Lucia being no exception. The most popular thing here is the Christmas Fruit Cake aka "Rum Cake". I'm planning to try making it, though I'm a little behind on soaking the fruit in rum for up to 3 months! I'll try to share more recipes once I learn about them.
Here is a recipe for it:
INGREDIENTS:
1lb / 2cups currants
1lb / 3cups raisins
8oz / 1cup prunes
2/3 cup mixed peel
14 oz / 2 ¼ cups dark soft brown sugar
5ml / 1tsp mixed spice
½ pint / 1 ¼ cups sherry
90ml / 6tbsp rum, plus more if needed
2 cups softened butter
10 eggs beaten
1 lb / 4 cups self-raising flour
5 ml /1 tsp vanilla essence
DIRECTIONS:
Wash the currants, raisins, prunes and mixed peel, then pat dry. Place in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Transfer to a large, clean jar or bowl, add 115g/4 oz of the sugar, the mixed spice, rum and sherry. Mix very well and then cover with a lid and set aside for anything from 2 weeks to 3 months - the longer it is left the better the flavor will be. Stir the fruit mixture occasionally and keep covered, adding more alcohol if you like. Preheat the oven to 160ºC/325ºF/Gas mark Grease and line a 25cm/10in round cake tin with a double layer of greaseproof paper. Sift the flour, set aside. Cream together the butter and remaining sugar and beat in the eggs until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Add the fruit mixture, then gradually stir in the flour and vanilla essence. Mix well, adding 15-30ml/1-2 tbsp sherry if the mixture is too stiff; it should just fall off the back of the spoon, but should not be too runny. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake until done.
Happy holiday season everyone!!!
Thursday, November 25, 2010
The trans-Caela express
I headed back stateside last week to attend a conference in New Orleans- the American Anthropology Association annual conference- I had a wonderful time with great talks and lots of hanging out with so many people I've been missing! I even got to have a late night breakfast with my cousin Paul who lives in NOLA. Aside from my lack of interest in food since leaving the Big Easy, it was a very successful and enjoyable trip!
Before I left St. Lucia, the word spread among the folks that I see here on a daily basis and they accordingly started making requests for items that they would like me to bring back from the states. The following is an incomplete list of items that I have been asked to return with:
Brita water filter refill pack
Toiletries (shampoo is ridiculous expensive here)
External hard drive enclosure
Cord to connect a computer to a TV
Cell phone- quad band, unlocked, flip phone for under $50 bucks
Ink Cartridges for a an HP printer Large cotton underwear (3 back)- the kind to "cover your boobli in full" (motions hands over rump)
Green capri pants size 16 (like the kind I own and that I bought in 2002, thanks for the compliment, but no idea where to find them)
White shirt loose fitting, size large
Voice recorder, digital, "just like yours"
These items are all for folks who want to buy the items, and they are just a lot cheaper in the US then in St. Lucia. Though I was unsuccessful in procuring a few of them, their new owners should be happy in general.
In a completely different vain of carrying goods- my friend Beth organized a supply drive to collect items and donations for relief for those hit hardest by hurricane Tomas. I want to extend a HUGE thank you to Beth, and to all of the wonderful people who donated, sending me staggering back to St. Lucia with 2 giant bags of supplies- exactly 100lbs of luggage!
I have received some questions about the supplies and need down here, and for those of you who missed this round, but would like to do something, contact me- Julianna will be visiting in mid-December. Schools finally reopened here on Monday, and school supplies are topping the donations list this week.
I flew back to St. Lucia yesterday and made a fairly uneventful (and free!!!) trip across the island thanks to rides from a friend of a friend, a friend and the guy who I'm getting the car from. Today is Thanksgiving in the states, and I am so, so thankful to have the family and friends I missing today!
Before I left St. Lucia, the word spread among the folks that I see here on a daily basis and they accordingly started making requests for items that they would like me to bring back from the states. The following is an incomplete list of items that I have been asked to return with:
Brita water filter refill pack
Toiletries (shampoo is ridiculous expensive here)
External hard drive enclosure
Cord to connect a computer to a TV
Cell phone- quad band, unlocked, flip phone for under $50 bucks
Ink Cartridges for a an HP printer Large cotton underwear (3 back)- the kind to "cover your boobli in full" (motions hands over rump)
Green capri pants size 16 (like the kind I own and that I bought in 2002, thanks for the compliment, but no idea where to find them)
White shirt loose fitting, size large
Voice recorder, digital, "just like yours"
These items are all for folks who want to buy the items, and they are just a lot cheaper in the US then in St. Lucia. Though I was unsuccessful in procuring a few of them, their new owners should be happy in general.
In a completely different vain of carrying goods- my friend Beth organized a supply drive to collect items and donations for relief for those hit hardest by hurricane Tomas. I want to extend a HUGE thank you to Beth, and to all of the wonderful people who donated, sending me staggering back to St. Lucia with 2 giant bags of supplies- exactly 100lbs of luggage!
I have received some questions about the supplies and need down here, and for those of you who missed this round, but would like to do something, contact me- Julianna will be visiting in mid-December. Schools finally reopened here on Monday, and school supplies are topping the donations list this week.
I flew back to St. Lucia yesterday and made a fairly uneventful (and free!!!) trip across the island thanks to rides from a friend of a friend, a friend and the guy who I'm getting the car from. Today is Thanksgiving in the states, and I am so, so thankful to have the family and friends I missing today!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Update and Pictures from 1-2 weeks after Tomas
So it has been a while since I've posted, I've actually written several entries, but then decided not to post them. It is hard to describe the concurrence of fallout from the hurricane and the practices of everyday life. When disasters strike, people on the outside mainly see the terrible tragedies through the newspapers and the headlines, and as the photos below show- there are plenty of difficult things going on right now. I'm amazed and fascinated by how quickly a new "normal" was established and people adjust to a new set of living conditions and demands. Obviously, many things are not functioning as normal, but teens continue to go out on dates, families gather at the beach for picnics, the shops that are open have begun displaying Christmas decorations and gifts, jokes are made and celebrations continue in the midst of the daily searches for water, which can consume hours of time for those who don't have a rain barrel (I fortunately do), schools remain closed, and the clean up continues.
So things are hard for many, but life continues and this is most reassuring. The following are photos I've taken in the last few days...
There are many great stories happening here as well, such as the local ice cream factory, immediately stopped making ice cream following Tomas, and instead began preparing meals, packing them up and shipping them to the hardest hit areas daily. I will try to pose some more soon!
So things are hard for many, but life continues and this is most reassuring. The following are photos I've taken in the last few days...
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| The blue bags are where bunches of bananas were growing- the wind and rain snaps the plans at the base, completely destroying the plant and fruit. |
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| We have been without running water since Nov. 1, so bathrooms are closed everywhere, as are many restaurants and other public places. |
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| Sunset over Rodney Bay |
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| A good portion of the day was spent washing mud off of everything you can imagine with this water channeled from the drainage ditch up hill of this farmer's house- this water is the source of water for everyone in the town... |
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| Taking a break from hurricane clean up for some fresh coconut water to drink |
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| Cleaning is way more fun when you hijack the outsiders sunglasses :) |
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| The area around above this culvert- about 50 yards above and 40 below was part of a landslide that buried this family's house in almost 8 feet of sopping mud and trash. |
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| The garbage that collected and backed-up the water flowing through the drain contributed to the flooding nationwide |
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| Yummy lunch- boiled green bananas and pork! |
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| The tools for post Tomas cleaning: barrels of water, brooms, scrub brushes and buckets |
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| The silty-clay mud gets everywhere, this drill was fully assembled during the storm, part way through cleaning, it still looks as though the casing was buried in pieces. |
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| The remains of a packing shed where bananas go on harvest day. |
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| This river has cut a completely new path more than 40 yards from the old one. This whole area used to be several feet higher and planted with fruit. |
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| Small landslide and river destruction |
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| Another pack shed |
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| The river carried heavy debris far into the field, all of this are used to be bananas in neat furrows |
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| The beautiful late afternoon sky above this ruined banana plot |
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| The daily hunt for water- many people climbed the side of the mountain to wait in line in order to fill up buckets/pans/bottle/jugs with this water that runs slowly, but steadily from a fresh spring. |
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| This pineapple farmers' fruits survived the storm, but the hotels he sells them to are closed due to damages, so he has taken to driving all over the island trying to sell what he can from the back of his truck. He usually produces 10,000 pounds/ month... |
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| Like after a snowstorm- all the displaced mud from the flooding edges the roads only it won't be melting away |
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| People walking uphill to a water source through a collapsed area of highway- this types of collapses are all over the islands main road. |
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| The area in front of the house used to extend to the road.. |
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| Each banana plant should have appx 30 leaves... post storm 2-3. |
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| ravaged banana plants- this entire farm will have to be cleared and replanted |
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| and here |
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| and here- this entire area used to be planted |
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| This building is a school- the area in front of it is now a river that has channeled a new path from behind the school to in front, wiping out the road, green houses and soccer field that used to occupy that space. |
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| more piled up dirt |
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| A bridge for the main highway used to cover the space over this ravine... |
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| This hillside is in the rain-forest and it used to be incredibly lush with hardwoods, ferns and other vegetation... |
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| This massive landslide covers twice as much of the side of the mountain then shown in this photo, workers have been working around the clock to clear the road and re-stabilize the hillsides. |
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| Another source of water... |
There are many great stories happening here as well, such as the local ice cream factory, immediately stopped making ice cream following Tomas, and instead began preparing meals, packing them up and shipping them to the hardest hit areas daily. I will try to pose some more soon!
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