i ended up volunteering my services to NEPT this weekend at the denbigh agricultural show. melissa was a bit distraught after she learned it was going to be just her running her office’s venue. so as i had no plans, and had wanted to visit the national agricultural show from the year before, i volunteered. she warned it would be the most basic provisions: sleeping on the floor and public showers, but i had experienced worse so i laughed and reassured her all was good. there we were, on the bus, headed to denbigh. we finally reached. we headed to the westmoreland pavilion, only to learn it was still locked, and that the holder of the key (the NEPT supervisor) was still in savannah-la-mar, yet to leave. we opted to find refuge elsewhere as we could see there would soon be a downpour. we stumbled upon an empty bar and there we remained for hours. the rain washed away the entire grounds. all that remanded were enormous puddles. we made ‘friends’ with random passersby and we kept each other company until 5 hours later when we received word that people with keys would soon be reaching. we made our way in the rain, back to the pavilion. there we were greeted by the landscaper. we helped him unload his truck full of plants. we surveyed the situation, the pavilion was flooded. how was this going to be ready for tomorrow? more people soon arrived, including local beekeepers from seaford town, a few of which included some good friends of mine. most of the westmoreland people had boasted about how the preparation night is the most enjoyable night… this i think they were quite mistaken about. we stayed up all night. there was much discrepancy about how things were to be carried out. on top of everything the current went out, for hours. we tried to make the most of the situation by getting some shut-eye, but even this was soon interrupted when the current came back. and so we came back in full gear. i made some new friends, one in particular, this white rasta named huber. he lives in retrieve, a small neighboring town, and i’ve seen him around on the road every once in a while, but there was never a reason or opportunity to strike a conversation as it was always in passing. he had caught a ride with the beekeepers and was going to be showcasing his exotic fruit selection at denbigh, his first time as well. we exchanged stories and pasts and had an interesting chat about current events around the world. he hails from switzerland and first came to jamaica in the early 90s and fell in love with the place. he went back and forth, until he had set enough money aside to purchase some land. now he wants to jumpstart his rastafari retreat of sorts on his land. he has been looking for help from when and it was at that exact second we realized we could help each other. so i’m trying to get as much information together about eco-tourism projects from other pcvs and pc files to see if there is a way i can actually help. it sounds like a very unique and interesting endeavor. we then diverged into sustainable design and living off the land. through everything, we somehow managed to finish the display and soon after we all stumbled to the barracks to find an empty bed and pass out. before we could fall into a deep slumber morning came; so began the tours.

the next morning came all too soon. dead from exhaustion, i rolled over to find bananas at my feet. huber had left bananas for melissa, angela and myself. i headed out to the showcase area of the pavilion to find melissa and give her some of the fruit. angela and i decided to make a break for it before the crowds showed up, so we could score some coffee and the such; melissa opted to stay till we came back. after the coffee we tried to sneak into the 4-h showers, which ended up being a 100jm a shower. feeling so fresh and so clean we walked around the grounds, trying to see what this was all about. we walked through a few of the other parishes’ pavilions and people-watched for a while before heading back to our pavilion. we all took turns working the booth and keeping one another company, as well we wanted to see all we could of the grounds. pretty much every day was the same thing… go to bed absurdly late, wake up absurdly early, greet visitors and tell them about NEPT’s great morass (which i never really knew what i was talking about, it was all about improvisation), run into some pcvs, try to find real food. i did manage to find some amazing, very real food saturday… a rasta family from clarendon set up a tent, not far from the pavilion, and cooked delicious ital. i made friends with them very quickly and sent everyone i knew their way. they told me how they have a small farm in clarendon, live off their land and whatever extra they have, they come to denbigh and sell though cooked food. they also make their own natural juices. they were quite lovely people. yeap that pretty much sums up the weekend.

we did run into plenty of pcvs and i met a few from the new group… as well, i ran into genevieve sunday morning and we had a nice little catch up. sunday i went to look at the livestock area… i had been saving this part for last. as it turns out, the last day was the judging and handing out of the awards. the hon. bruce golding (jamaica’s prime minister) made an appearance with his daughter and congratulated all of the contestants. he looked a bit more paler in person. could be the stress. monday was closing day. everyone tried to stay till late because there was going to be a big concert with performers like i-octane, charley black, … unfortunately everyone left early and i was left to my own devises. i caught up with edgy and worked out to get a ride home with him. i headed to my rasta friends and hung out with them for most of the night talking about life and the such. i had originally gone to try their callaloo juice, but they insisted on sharing some sip with me. i told them how nice it had been to meet them and i welcomed them to visit westmoreland sometime. i also told them i had hoped we would run into one another again. i made my way to see what the concert was all about. it wasn’t soo impressive, considering i was alone, though surrounded by a massive crowd. i soon met up with edgy and we headed back to westmoreland. i passed out for most of the trip, as i hadn’t slept much at all, all weekend.