Day 10: Snow Day, Jamaica Style - Anna

Today was our last day working in Falmouth for our 2018 Field School. We started out the day like any other day, getting up in the morning and going to our different destinations. Today I was working on our film, so I was in Falmouth. We worked on interviews and walked around like always, but something today was very different than other days, creating a huge shift in the town’s feeling; there wasn’t a ship in dock. I realized today how much Falmouth relies on the port and how the local’s lives are based very largely on tourists. Everything was empty, the craft market wasn’t set up, the usual cab drivers or tour guides along the sidewalk weren’t there, and the stands right outside the port were closed. It seemed almost like a ghost town.

After an interview with a local tailor, it started to downpour, so we took our rain jackets wrapped up the camera and started to run in the rain to our next interview with an attorney. Once that interview was over, I walked outside and heard that we weren’t the only ones that were being rained on; all the groups were rained out so we decided to cut our day short and go back to Good Hope. Our original plan for the afternoon was to leave Falmouth around two to go to the Good Hope private beach, but since the weather wasn’t in our favor, that couldn’t happen. Next thing I know, we’re all running in the rain across Water Square to get patties (a Jamaican specialty) for lunch. On our way running back, we stopped to say goodbye to our good friend Krystal. Over the past two years we have created a strong relationship with her and she will be a very important voice in our film this year. I’m so happy that we have this opportunity to create strong friendships over the course of less than two weeks then come back a year later and still have the same connection.

Once we escaped the torrential rain, we spent the rest of the day at Good Hope. We hung out, slept, swam, ate, and spent time as a group. Even though it wasn’t at all how we pictured the day, and we probably would’ve rather been at the beach, I think it was good for us to be able to relax along the beautiful view that we have of this historic plantation. It gave us an opportunity to spend our last full day in Jamaica reflecting the hard work we have done and have some down time before we went home, whether at the beach or not.

Day 10 Photos: A Day in Paradise - Izabella Curtis

Selfie with mother goose! 

Izzie, Connor, and Izabella hide from the torrential downpour at Good Hope. 

Picture with the Birthing House crew!

The boys give it their best shot..before a key lesson from Barbara.

Claire gets interrupted by a car while preforming her hit single, "Coconut".

Day 9- "Ports and Preschoolers" -Izabella Curtis

Ports and Preschoolers

This trip has shown me a lot about the true side of the growing port city, Falmouth, Jamaica. Today I learned about the difference between the port walls on the inside and the port walls on the outside and I learned more about the purity of Jamaica.

            Walking around the outside of the ports walls is a different experience then the inside. On the outside, you can feel and see the truth of Jamaica. You can see the love that Jamaica has to offer. You can see the happiness and you can see the true downfalls of Jamaica. In the port walls, you see the contrived version of Jamaica. In the walls, you see a nice shopping mall with orderly shops. This could be found ANYWHERE in Texas, and it doesn’t look like anything w have seen elsewhere in Jamaica.

Outside of the port walls hits you with all it has to offer; the inside is stark, and lacks the true culture and essence of what it means to be Jamaican. No love, no spirit, no nothing. (My recommendation if you are going on a cruise to Falmouth is go outside the walls and the true history and beauty of Jamaica! Also, you can get the best deals for the coolest merchandise!)

            Today working in the Oral History group, I got to record and talk to store owners, police officers, and the preschool students. They told us all about their life and what it was like living in Jamaica and what it was like making a living here. When we went to the preschool we asked the little 5 year olds “What do you want to be when you grow up?”. All the little kids said 3 main carriers: Teacher, Doctor/Nurse, and a Soldier. As we were interviewing one girl stood out more than the rest to me: Jada. Jada was 5 and she wanted to be a soldier, when we asked her why she told us she wanted to kill someone. Without thinking the group interviewing her started laughing, thinking “Aw this little kid is so cute and clueless” and when we told the teacher what she said she told us a little more about Jada. Her father was murdered in Montego Bay and her family was forced to flee her home because her family was being hunted. This child had been through so much and she was only 5 years old, her story had changed my perspective of the people of Jamaica.  

            I chose these 2 topics because I felt very connected to them. How the cruise advertises Jamaica is not how it actually is and how they advertise the people is not true either. Falmouth is a wonderful growing city with amazing historical contexts and honestly it changes you once you cross the walls of the port. The people change your perspective and give you an insight on the truth of Jamaica a place in itself with much beauty and compexity.   

Day 9 Photos "Pools and Police"- Ren

Students read as they are left to their own devices... Without their devices!

The students stand at the entrance to Good Hope Plantation right before heading out.

The students all gather for a group huddle to plan out our day!

The film crew interviews Sergeant Wallace at the station.

Dr. Q is always on the job! As the students have fun at Chukka, he reads the classic

"Architecture and Empire in Jamaica."

Day 9: Some Things Never Change - Sage

Today, the archeology group began our day with more work on Spanish Hill. Yesterday our group found a post hole. Naturally we were eager to get to work and find something else. However, when we arrived we found out that we would be working on shovel test pits instead. Shovel test pits are when you sift through a concentrated area for artifacts to see if you should dig there. We began working, with the sun beating down on our necks. We found that the test pit was filled with pottery, shellfish, and bones. So much in fact that we had to continuously get new artifact bags. As I worked I began thinking of what these artifacts could mean. Why would the Taíno leave these artifacts for us to find? What use did they serve? Because of the number of artifacts, the area was most likely an area to discard items. That would explain why we had not found intact pottery. If they were discarding it, it would already be broken. It also explains the shellfish and bones, as they would most likely dump the food waste in the same area. This reminded me of something Dr. Conolley had said on my fist day. He said “the Taíno were not so different from us”. What he meant was that some behavior always stays the same. Humans will always find shelter, they will always find ways to eat, and they will always look for convenience. We see this with the Taíno. The Taíno built houses. we found evidence of this with the post hole. They also found ways to eat so that it would be almost impossible for them to starve. They ate Coney, fish, and shellfish, all of which are plentiful in the area. They also looked for convenience. On the site we are excavating you can see the ocean in the distance. This shows that they strategically placed themselves so that they could use the ocean’s resources. The same can be said about modern humans. We too need shelter, and have an infinite variety of food. We also look for convenience, even with our advances in technology. This shows that even in the span of half a millennium, basic human behavior remains.