Format and Style

Hello everyone,

I apologize for the lack of updates recently. I’ve been in Jamaica for just under four weeks, and with all the lectures and moving and training and meeting hundreds of people, the last month has been a little bit of a blur. Also, I still haven’t quite decided on what type of format I want this journal to be written. I was originally hoping to use a photo-essay style, however I won’t be taking any pictures until I am more familiar with my surroundings and get to know my coworkers and community members to a point where we are both comfortable with it. I considered writing strictly about work, but that would mean I wouldn’t have anything to write about until after I’m sworn-in in May. In addition, it seems that the line between work and personal lives becomes blurred as the contacts and progress you make in the community become just as valuable as that in the office. I haven’t really considered a journal revolving around my personal life because I’m generally a boring person, and while hopefully this changes soon, it probably won’t for at least the first few entries and you would be forced to read about my experiences burning pasta sauce while being distracted watching House (which was how I spent my Thursday night.)

The only option left would be for me to go for a stream of consciousness affair, where due to the meandering method I use to recall events – complete with more tangents than a wikipedia article – will allow me to touch on all the aspects of my experience I’d like to convey with whoever chooses to read. If sections of my narrative appear missing or something appears in need of clarification, please just ask. I may have become so familiar and accustomed to the matter that I neglected to explain it, or maybe a kitten walked past my door and I lost my train of thought. Oh man, there’re stray kittens everywhere! This little brown and orange one was nibbling on a piece of salt fish under the awning hiding from the rain after work on Tuesday and it was so adorable. Lots of stray dogs and goats too, however they are very loud and wake me up at night, so are therefore less cute.

Oh yeah, um, so I’ll try to sort everything out into somewhat of a cohesive narrative for each entry, but I cannot promise anything. When talking with some volunteers about how we planned on keeping in touch with our friends and family, I mentioned I planned to do so mainly through my online journal, and another volunteer warned against baring my personal life through the internet. This is a concern of mine, however a greater concern for me is to be able to express myself and what I’m feeling, especially now that I’m thousands of miles away from friends and family. My usual method of communication began with me combing through details of a story I wished to tell, and removing any that reveal too much of myself, and consequently made the experience I was trying to relate as dull as a police blotter. Therefore it has been my resolution recently to only regret the things I’ve done, not those that I’ve failed to do. Dreams of mice and men, etc. Hopefully in this way my entries will be at least someone relevant and informative to my intended audience: my family, friends, coworkers, classmates, friends of friends, potential future Peace Corps volunteers, and anyone else interested.

Any and all questions, criticisms, requests, etc. are welcome.