Alpha and Trench Town

 My experience within Jamaica has been unreal. I have never felt more fulfilled yet sad to leave a place in my entire life. I have met so many vibrant, kind, and wild people along the ride. Jamaica is warm, not just in weather, but in culture and personalities. I absolutely adored working with the students, the teachers, and meeting the locals.  Dr. Egan was so right, there is no beauty like the ghetto. On the first day, our group walked around Trenchtown and had the BEST tour guide, Breeze. He was so proud of his hometown and really emphasized how they are all a family. You could tell by his presences and personality that he knew everyone in town and really did think of them as a family. In America, we are so individualistic and proud, that we don’t often consider that by sometimes helping others we are also helping ourselves. After walking around Trenchtown, we were then brought to the Trenchtown reading center. This is where I met the amazing Kianna. (I really hope I am spelling this right!) Dr. Scarlett pointed out to me that she had Augie student to read with her, so I went up to her and asked if she wanted to read with me. We sat there and read 3 books together. She was so sweet and such a great reader! We bonded so much, and she was the reason that I came back on Friday for our last day there! This program is such an incredible opportunity to encourage reading, learning, and community engagement. I would love to come back and work with the Trenchtown reading center again in the near future.

For 5 days during the week, we shadowed and taught at Alpha Primary. Rachel and I were put into 1^st grade, and we did not expect to fall so in love with the little kiddos. We were given so many notes, hugs, “I love you’s”, hair pets, and a few unexpected kisses on the cheeks. These kids were so sweet and kind to us. Even though they were oh-so sweet, they were still first graders which can be a handful at times. Our teacher Mrs. Latibeaudere had a tight handle on classroom management. She told us that with 43 students in her class, she had to have great classroom management. There were a few things I noticed in comparison to my own education in the United States. These 6/7 year olds were learning more advanced information than our 6/7 year olds in the United States. One of the questions on their math test really shocked me. It was basically a multiplication word problem, multiplying 10 x 10. Another problem talked about have 3 bundles of sticks, with 7 sticks in each bundle. But one bundle broke and lost 3 sticks. How many total sticks do you have now? This seemed very advanced! However, some of the students were actually understanding and drawing the problem. I was incredibly impressed. I wish we were able to see more instruction rather than just testing, but I am still so thankful we were able to see the small snippet of the classroom that we did. I loved meeting all of the students. They all had such great smiles and hearts. Working with these kids, made me want to work as a teacher in Jamaica. It is very different than America in some respects, but that is okay with me. I was so moved by these students and this community, that it made me want to stay in Trenchtown. I can only hope I made as much an impression on them, as they did with me. I will never forget my time at Alpha.

To all those people that told me to “not go off of the resort”,

How would I have met all of these beautiful and rich souls if I stayed on the all-inclusive soil the whole time?