Video Day 6: Shy Ladies

Day 6: Rise Up

        On Sunday, we visited the First Assembly of God Church in Falmouth as a cultural experience. This small, quaint church situated near the middle of town, was painted with a bright orange, which seemed to reflect the positive attitude and energy that was radiating out from within the building. This church is commonly refered to as the lively church and has gained a reputation of having very loud and active participants. As we entered the church, the regular members immediately greeted us with open arms and welcoming smiles. We sat down in the fourth row of the church and began to listen to the sermon. One of the most amazing things about the church experience was the energy that was found within the church-goers. This energy continued to rise and build as the sermon continued and, throughout the sermon, one could hear many Amen's and Thank You's as the preacher spoke. My favorite part was singing the songs that the preacher had scattered throughout his sermon. These songs got the majority of the church up on their feet, dancing and singing at the top of their lungs! We left just after we had sung the song, "Rise Up," in which many of the participants danced through the aisles and hugged one another as they sang.

        In the afternoon, we went on a rafting trip down the Martha Brae River, which runs near Falmouth. We rode on traditional bamboo raft (pictures of them can be found in the photo blog) and paddled with guides who gave us a tour of the river. This was a very nice way to cool down in the intense heat and gave us an opportunity to talk with our guides about their experience living in Jamaica. We also got to take a dip in the river and swim around a bit, which was very relaxing. Overall, Sunday provided a great combination between the high energy and positivity found in the First Assembly of God Church and the relaxing coolness found on the rafts on the Martha Brae River. 

By Matthew Watowich

Photos Day 6: Row, Row, Row Your Raft

Matthew expresses how much fun we had praising the Lord this morning at the church service we attended. #riseup
 

We all recieve complimentary fruit punch at the bar before we take off down the river.

Matthew and Grace take a ride down the Martha Brae River on the "love" raft.

Daniel and Jordan Poly don't run into any crocogators while relaxing down the river.

Brayden experiences rafting the Montessori way.

Logan starts the trend of everyone swimming in the Martha Brae River like otters.

 

One of the river captains carves a gourd for Claire and Jordan B.

Jordan B. struggles to paddle. But at least she tried, right?

Dr. Lee and Dr. Quillin laugh at the silliness of their students.

Matthew and Brayden turn a wheel to lift the gate that allows water to power the 1797 Persian Water Wheel.

Brayden answers all of the questions correctly, while the students discuss the purposes of the water wheel.

Day 5: The Underground World of Jamaica

The whole day was pretty much spent on the quest of learning about the history of Jamaica from the earliest inhabitants to the British occupation, from a geologist that studies earthquakes, and an archeologists that studies the the Taino Indians (one of the early inhabitants). The first spot on this quest was outside the mouth of the cave that had certain cave markings that date back to the Taino Indians. Deeper into the cave was a dark pit, which was not accessible to us. We watched the geologist rapel down to collect samples for his studies. The samples were part of an earthquake project. The samples were also used to date back when the cave was formed. The second spot on the quest took us to an old Spanish mission next to a church. This spot is one of the only places on Jamaica that has signs of Spanish occupants. It was partially ruined because it was never finished and it was blown up so the materials could be used to build a church, although the base of the Mission as well as the walls are still there. This is unfortunately the end the quest for today, but there will be more quests in the future of this journey in Jamaica.

Photos Day 5: Is that a monkey?

 Today we went hiking to the cave (spooky!) and helped trace cave drawings and explored the cave. Later we went to visit ruins and had a lecture by Dr. Connolley about the ruins.

Grace A. (left) and Brayden (bottom) outlining a faint cave drawing. (Not a monkey.)

The beautiful church next to the ruins.

The group listening to Dr. Connolley speak about the native people of Jamaica.

The group hiking down to the cave.

The group in the lower regions of the cave .

Looking up from the cave floor.

Day 4: In Search of Peace and Quiet

   Today I worked with Iris and her camera crew on documenting what people love about Falmouth. It's a kind of daunting task, trying to figure out how to capture the complexity of the remarkable spirits of this community. We formulated some questions, and today we went out to interview a shop owner and see where it went.
   The first shop owner was a Chinese Jamaican, born in Jamaica. She told us about going to Europe and then coming back to Jamaica, because her family was here. She was a city girl. She mentioned that Jamaica had a discipline problem, that people were rowdy. She spoke of her church as a place of solace. When the interview was done she refered us to another shop owner in the area.
   The shop owner was a native Falmouth resident also, but she'd lived here her enitre life, and was able to tell us about the changes. She said the town used to be quiet, that the town had gotten louder with the addition of the port. I found it interesting that both women mentioned the rowdiness in the town, and both mentioned their churches as places they loved, as places of solace.
   I felt like today I was able to see a tiny piece of the puzzle that is the topography of happiness and contentment in Falmouth, and how it has changed over the ages. It's hard to come into the interviews without seeing what we want to see, but listening to the complex pride and frustration native Falmouth residents feel for their town helped me to keep an open mind, and widened my perspective. It will take a lot more to get a complete picture, but each bit of new information contributes to the story, and I can't stop wanting to know more.

Photos Day 4: The World of Discovery and Relaxation

Today is the forth day of our adventures in Falmouth. Last night everyone decided which of the projects they connected with the most, and would like to work on. So today we divided and conquered. 

Before going to our chosen tasks, some of us all woke up and took our own journeys into the world of reading.

Brayden and Asa were learning how to restore historically accurate louvers for the house on King Street.

Meanwhile, Jordan B., Mathew, and Claire were working on drawing the veranda on the house next door.

The cool kids aka (Grace, Logan, and Daniel) were stripping paint for the louvers using heat guns. After such a long day of hard labor we got to go swim through the beautiful blue oceans of Jamaica. 

All of us felt that the best way to cool down from the heat of the sun all day was to swim in the awe inspiring waters.

Dr.Quillin also had a great time enjoying the blue water, and listening to the laughter that was echoing throughout the lands.

However, the adventures didn't stop there. During our time on the beach we saw a galloping horse running on the beach. The lone rider ended up taking the stallion into the water to cool down. Honestly, one of the coolest things I have ever seen!!