No Woman is an Island - Public Service from St. Lucia

Remember this guy?

2010-07-22T19:52:00.003-04:00

Last spring I was on a mission to keep our Academic Dean, Dr. Hemphill away from a small liberal arts college in Shreveport and locked up at the Clinton School. I tried my best citing everything from Shreveport sucks (apologies to anyone from Shreveport) and well . . . saying how the poor students minds' would be aimless without him. I couldn't lock him up at our school because 1) that's not what

Wrapping things up

2010-07-16T12:38:00.002-04:00

My time has come to a close here in New York City. Yesterday I had lunch with the gang from PCI Media Impact and we played a fun little game called "high/low" where we each went around the circle and stated the high of our project and the low.The high. Well that's an easy one -- meeting and working with Alleyne Regis in St. Lucia. Our team which consisted of Alleyen, Sarah, and me was definitely

One more for the road

2010-07-12T23:51:00.001-04:00

When Sarah and I were still in St. Lucia we enjoyed our weekend ritual of going to the movies. We had low bar expectations for the movie; our only criteria was to have air conditioning and be entertained. Well on one very rainy Sunday we dashed through the raindrops and huddled under the cement stairs of the pedestrian overpass to wait for the bus.There was man standing there too trying to avoid

What I’m up to this weekend

2010-07-10T22:38:00.004-04:00

I like to mix fun with work (after all that is precisely what Entertainment Education is all about), so when I planned a trip to New York for meetings with my host organization PCI Media Impact I also scheduled in a little yoga time. This is no ordinary downward dog though. I’m attending children’s yoga teacher training at Karma Kids Yoga near Union Square.It’s a 30 hour course that goes

Transitions

2010-07-09T23:36:00.002-04:00

In my studies of Entertainment Education I’ve learned that when writing an appropriate EE script whether it be on TV or radio, it is essential that there are three types of characters in a story.1) Negative characters – these characters exhibit all the behaviors and attitudes on any issue that the program is trying to change in the general audience2) Positive characters – a character (usually 1

Public Service and the City

2010-07-07T15:27:00.003-04:00

When I was 21 I had my first internship in New York City. I worked in a boutique talent agency in the literature department. My job was to copy scripts and look over scripts that writers in hopes of getting them optioned had mailed in unsolicited, which is really all to say I read a bunch of bad scripts that summer. I wish I could remember the various plots now, but I remember picking up a book

Randomnicity

2010-07-04T11:22:00.004-04:00

What do you get when you have 5 former Austinities and 1 current Austinite who all descend upon the nation’s capital? You get this lovely photo below taken after we stuffed ourselves silly with Ethiopian food. (Notice the food coma state present in most of the people's eyes.)It’s like the planets have aligned when the 6 of us never really even planned on spending this weekend together. It is a

Haiku: Returning Home

2010-07-02T08:51:00.001-04:00

The soft sounds of rainWaiting patiently to boardFarewell, island life.

Letter to myself

2010-06-30T08:23:00.004-04:00

Recently I have been reading a bunch of 20-something self letters where women write letters to their 20 year old self. They are very sweet, and I imagine I will have a LOT to say to myself when I reach my 30's. For now I'm still a 20-something self... but I was inspired to write a letter to my Pre-IPSP self. Dear Judy from late April,Hello dear. Calm down! Seriously you are going to get

What’s your service song?

2010-06-29T15:15:00.002-04:00

Every public service trip abroad is made memorable by whatever song is playing in the bus, the restaurant, and in the street. You know what I’m talking about, that song that is inescapable. The song that maybe at first you hated, but have grown a soft spot for since… a song so indelible that every time you will hear it going this point forward you will be flooded with memories of this summer.

Logic Model

2010-06-28T21:48:00.008-04:00

Remember in Decision Making & Analysis or wait is it Analysis of Decision Making or Analysis for Decision Making... (Julie & Monteith help!) well whatever.... anyway remember that day last fall where we went over logic models? It may have sounded like it could have been the study of an attractive model wearing glasses, a pocket protector, and other nerd gear. But nope, a logic model is actually a

I like Creole

2010-06-27T12:06:00.004-04:00

English is used everywhere in St. Lucia, but in the rural villages and occasionally walking down the street I hear Creole. I love how Creole sounds, and I’ve picked up a few phrases and words here and there. I can say: boy, darling, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, how are you, I’m fine, and don’t do that. I know it’s not much really, but I’ve enjoyed learning the meager phrases I

A Fashionable Public Servant

2010-06-25T13:57:00.006-04:00

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not exactly a fashionista or a prima dona. Just ask my roommate Julie who has on occasion walked into my room and said “are you really going to wear pink ballet tights with that dress?” I like to call my wardrobe choices “inventive” or “thinking outside of the box” but perhaps she was right on that particular occasion.I’ve been here 9 weeks, however, and I’m completely

The Sarah has left the building

2010-06-24T15:37:00.005-04:00

Despite Alleyne's best efforts to keep her here, Sarah left St. Lucia today and is headed to Austin, Texas. I almost jumped in her duffel bag just thinking about being back in the land of breakfast tacos. Jealous. Have a safe flight, Sarah. Godspeed! Sarah and our Supervisor Alleyne

Cuckoo for Cocoa Beans

2010-06-22T20:19:00.006-04:00

Update: regarding yesterday’s post: Smells ® came out today and fixed my laptop. Woohoo! I asked the tech guy what kind of discount he got on Smells® computers and he said none. Can you believe that?!?Ever since I read in the glossy touristy magazines that litter this island that a cocoa plantation exists – I wanted to go. I mean I had to go. Cocoa in some variation or another has been the entire

Laptop, you're fired.

2010-06-21T00:18:00.006-04:00

A few years ago I was at Austin Java (a wonderful little coffeeshop) with two good friends of mine. We were meeting about a pet project that we were involved in – bridging the digital divide between the U.S. and Latin America. Well low and behold during our meeting a guy walks in with a desktop. I’m not kidding! An old iMac circa 2000. We laughed uproariously… 1) because it was a desktop and who

The Thankless Recycler

2010-06-16T22:15:00.001-04:00

Josaphat Small works on a small plot of land less than a mile away from the landfill in North St. Lucia. He sorts computers, cans, plastics, and scrap metal into piles. In a few words: Josaphat Small runs a recycling center. However, few people know of this enviro-friendly entrepreneur and his business.With no help from the government, no advertising, and a bare bones website – few people know

Trash Talk Tuesday

2010-06-15T17:08:00.005-04:00

This morning we visited the landfill of St. Lucia. There are actually two landfills on the island: one in the north and one in the south. The one we visited today was located in the north. We found out that it was built in 2003 and is projected to last about twenty years (that’s not really a long time). After 2023, it will then most likely have about four feet of dirt piled on top of it, turned

DOH!

2010-06-14T22:07:00.005-04:00

A few years ago a documentary called Cane Toads: An Unnatural History was recommended to me. Something you should know – I love weird documentaries! The weirder the better and even if I don’t know a thing about the topic, I enjoy learning about whatever the subject is. Hence an entire documentary about a giant freak of nature – the cane toad – is not entirely a stretch for me.See Australia was

World What?

2010-06-11T20:08:00.004-04:00

Hello, my name is Judy. I’m a Capricorn, and I’m here today to tell you all that I don’t know a lick about sports. If there were a support group for people who were raised in the south and should know a thing or two about sports but don’t – that’s probably what I would say. When I was in grade school we would play kickball on the field and I would routinely get yelled at for picking flowers in

A Visit from Valerie & Flat Jonathan

2010-06-10T22:45:00.006-04:00

It’s been a fun couple of days for Team Lucia! We’ve had a visitor; two in fact. Yes dear friends, Valerie and Flat Jonathan came to St. Lucia for a visit. Actually she’s traveling through on her way to Dominica (a nearby island where she’ll start her IPSP) but still we’ve had lots of fun!We talked about Social Change and the first year of the Clinton School. And your blog. Yes, your blog! So

An Immigrant's Tale

2010-06-09T10:12:00.004-04:00

Every morning my boss picks Sarah and me up at the Home Depot which is only a short walk, a pedestrian bridge, and a hop, skip and jump away from our home. The Home Depot reminds me of a friend of mine, Ems in Austin who works for immigrants’ rights. Just so you know the Home Depot in Austin is where day laborers hang out and wait to find work, thus it’s not uncommon for Ems to visit and talk to

Things I like about St. Lucia

2010-06-08T09:43:00.003-04:00