I Think That Dog Really Likes You

Dogs in Jamaica have a different function than dogs in the states. They are used primarily as guard dogs and are very rarely considered pets. As a result most just sit in the yard and wait for someone to walk by so they can bark at them. To fill the time they breed. None of the dogs here are fixed, which led me to have the odd observation that I have never seen teets on a dog before I came here. There are a few dogs that will approach and not mind human contact. Most dogs keep their distance and try to avoid being kicked. The dogs that do approach will occasionally enjoy a little scratch behind the ears. If the dog is male he usually gets very "excited" and is "tickled pink". It takes about 2 seconds before he is trying to hump your leg. You have to be careful about what dogs you pet around here.

Things are progressing slowly. Last week was a busy week for me. I had something going on every night and spent most days preparing for meetings and presentations. There was only one day I spent trying to fill the time. I also kicked off my project with meetings on Wednesday morning and Friday night. The rest of the week was spent helping with a HIV/STI peer councilor training. This week is slow again. I was hoping to have a meeting today for my project that would hopefully lead to more community water quality education, but that meeting has been put off until next Wednesday. I don't think my project will really get going for a couple months yet. I am trying to fill my time by asking other people in the department if I can tag along on meat inspections and such and that is giving me some stuff to do. In the next month I will also hopefully start helping out the three parishes near the one where my primary projects are. "Soon Come" as they say in Jamaica. Some days I envy the teachers who have a class show up every day and they have something to teach. On the other hand I appreciate my freedom to look for other things to work on. It is just taking me a while to get to know the department and see how I can help outside of my project.

Scott