It can be a drag when the electricity goes out here in Kingston. Sometimes the WHOLE island of Jamaica go out too. This does terrify me and the other Deaf volunteer. If nighttime, we will consider ourselves deaf AND BLIND. It's an awful feeling when i'm away from my flashlight. It soothed our tense away when other people turn on their cellphones to give them little light and guidance around the dorm or outside. If daytime, oh, forget it! We barely can stand the heat without our precious F-A-N-S! We just pray for the electricity to return functioning properly within an hour to maintain the progress in the class.

It hit the other volunteers how hard it can be to teach the children at this heat everyday. We try not to grime about the weather conditions here because some Deaf Jamaicans have to live with this more than just ONE month as we do. The volunteer is a teacher for Deaf children and she mentioned that it is already difficult to teach and keep the attention of those young kids. So, it is hard to imagine to deal with Deaf Jamaican children and keep their energy ongoing year-round at this school. The students who we are training are all adults, thus we all bear this heat all together. It can be tough to stand or be in the spotlight and not look tired, sweaty or grumpy, but to stay awake and active, bouncing around the room to get them into ol' sweet ENGLISH writing course!

I have to applaud those Deaf Jamaican Adults for their great passion for this course. Most of them travel 1-2 hours from their hometowns just to attend this program. In addition, their writing ability is still outstanding, comparing with many Deaf Americans, they have whole lots of potential to pass the college exam. I believe some of them WILL pass. I cannot wait till November to hear from the results. I tip my hat to this program coordinator who dedicated 1.5 year all alone, Becca Hamm, a literacy specialist from America, who was involved in Peace Corps for Deaf Education in Kenya. This world needs more of Hamms around here. I am grateful to learn and meet specatular people. This is definetely an inspiration.

Maybe i could be a teacher....