Falmouth Field School

Waking up in Jamaica each day never gets old. Starting our third full day of work, I am excited to go out to my work site and resume where we left off in our project. I am a part of the archaeology group and other than the inconsistent weather (who knows if it will be raining or not), I have no complaints. Heading out to Spanish Hill to work on archaeology is a pretty exciting day to me. While we may not have such a personal connection with the Falmouthians like the film and restoration groups do, we are able to get a deeper understanding of the land itself by literally digging up pieces of the past. Once we get out there in the morning, we consult with Dr. Conolley about where we are going to begin digging our shovel test pits (STPs) for the day. We use a long measuring tape and string to measure out increments of 10 meters and place a flag at each point so we know where to come back to. At each of these points, we measure a circle in a diameter of 50 centimeters and dig a hole accord...

The restoration group's progress by the end of day nine. The house is looking amazing! At the end of the day, Charlie and Ashwin marvel over the size of this ice cream cone. Anna, Jordan and Claudine, a craft trader, pose for a picture after an interview.  Alex and Jordan dance with a Jamaican dancer before we depart for the bioluminescent lagoon. FFS 2020 before jumping into the bioluminescent lagoon!

The archeology group prepares to uncover a new shovel-test pit (STP) in order to map out the Taino settlement site. Tyler measures the STP to record the depth of the dig. The group inspects the dirt to tell what color variant it is.    Leon compares the dirt to estimate the percentage inclusion of the surrounding soil. Rim, Dr. Conolley's assistant fills the STP with stones and dirt to be uncovered later. Anna T. finds a cow bone in the field next to our excavation.

Today was the first time that all three groups on the field school worked through an entire day of a single focused project. While the other groups were spending time doing archaeology and working on a film, the entirety of my day consisted of applying metal primer to the roof of the house that Dr. Quillin, Charlie, Blake, and I (the Falmouth architectural restoration group) have been working on. I experienced working on the roof of a house for the first time. Other than doing some work with concrete during the Managua field school trip a couple of years ago, all of the restoration work I've been doing has definitely been very new to me. Based on today's personal experience, the main thing I've noticed about the restoration work is how physically difficult it is. The morning started off with very humid conditions and 80+ degree weather, and as the day went on conditions progressively got harder to work in. Being on the roof which reflected a lot of the sun's light and h...

                                   Blake and Charlie about to start work at the restoration site. Charlie, Blake, Ashwin, and Kemar painting the restoration house blue.  Blake painting the roof the restoration house. Anna T. arriving at the archeology site. Tyler and Anna T. are observing Dr. Connolly excavate from the site.  Anna T, Tyler, and Rim sifting for artifacts. Jordan and Alex taking a quick break. Anna K, Jordan, Isabelle, and Alex having a Sociology Circle in a local coffee shop to prepare for the topics of the film.     Dr. Lee and Anna K. enjoying a coffee break in downtown Falmouth.

Today was a beautiful and sunny day. Our activity was to see the local Sunday morning church service. After breakfast we jumped into the van and drove to the town of Falmouth. I didn't know what to expect. When we arrived with our nice clothes on, we already looked like we fit in. As we walked in, the sense of welcoming was the first thing I felt. An usher took us to our seats and we were ready for the service to start. One of the church leaders first started out with a few prayers and then he lead us on to the songs where the keyboards and drums began to play. I related the service to something like a rollercoaster because thirty minutes into the service, the people began to get extremely emotional and started to pray and scream in tears. I quickly learned that the Jamaican church service was like nothing I had ever seen before. Songs were played and sung with passion. In the seminar after lunch, I even mentioned that it looked like they were being powered by the energy of the ...

FFS 2020 started our day by experiencing a local church service in Falmouth. We were given a hand-written map of the hiking trail from Good Hope to find the Covey Great House. Dr Quillin, Isabelle, Anna K and Emory trying to decipher the map. Leon and Alex, stuck at a fork in the road. FFS 2020 hiking into the unknown.  Dr Quillin, Alex and Leon venture into what could have been an old slave prison or a guardhouse.  FFS 2020 with the Fire of the Forest (tree above) and the Covey.  Charlie, Anna T and Anna K hiking away from the Covey.   Anna K, Emory, Isabelle and Anna T. taking a picture at the Covey. Anna K taking a selfie with a Mama Donkey, currently pregnant. Lone baby cow chilling in the meadow. Among all the other animals found along our route, Jordon and Emory also found some baby goats.   Dr. Lee and Anna K. feeling accomplished after our nearly six ...