Day 7: Krystal's Wisdom -Andrew

After our exciting weekend, we returned to work on our projects. The archeology group opened several new units at the excavation site, while the oral history group continued planning and interviewing for the film, and the restoration group toured Falmouth’s historical district. The weekend was very enjoyable, but it was great to continue our work.

Today was the most productive day yet for the Oral History Group. We went into Water Square, which is a central area where the locals gather. We approached and interviewed many people, but one interview stood out in particular. We set up an interview with Krystal, who used to own the corner store that the students from previous years visited often. It was great to re-unite with Krystal after seeing her store shut down. She now works at an electronics store right in the center of town. We walked with her to Falmouth Heritage Renewal and began discussing our film topic; economic opportunity in Jamaica. Her interview was especially personal and touched on all of the topics we were hoping to discuss in the film.

We began by asking about her current job, as we knew she recently closed her corner store. She explained that her mother was moving to Canada and she couldn’t run the store without her. She transitioned to the job at the electronics store with her future goals clearly in mind. She takes her job seriously and works very hard to support herself. Her viewpoint was very positive, despite the different opinions held by the majority of other locals. Her main focus was on work ethic and the impact on finding work. She said that it is very easy to blame a lack of success in the workplace on the country’s poor economic structure but that the problem truly lies in the mindset of the people. It was very inspiring see someone who faced such financial struggles from a young age, but kept a positive outlook on life and maintained a clear path to personal success.