Day 6

One of the things Pattullo says is a cost of tourism in the Caribbean are companies like Sandals. These huge international companies are coming in and claiming the most beautiful beaches in the country for themselves. They then ruin the natural ecosystems of the area to build their own resorts. What's worse is that the most scenic beaches are being taken from the locals. Their homes and beachside towns are being bought up and transformed into cookie-cutter resorts, while these people are being uprooted and told to leave. The locals get this, too. Of course they are going to be nice to us Americans- we are the main source of their country's revenue.

Another cost of tourism is theft. People really aren't stupid. They know that tourists are going to travel to Jamaica and expect a tropical paradise and bring some of their nicer clothes and jewelry. It is too easy for things to get stolen from tourists. On our trip, Dave had money stolen from him twice.

Finally, the drug trade is also a cost of tourism, especially in Jamaica. I know that sounds bad, but literally every person I talked to in America prior to traveling brought up the subject of marijuana. Tourism makes it easier to transport and sell drugs without being caught. This is especially true for tourists. Most every tourist comes to Jamaica with the thought of ganja in the back of their head, whether they are contemplating using it or not. It's a part of Jamaican culture. Locals smoked it everywhere- we didn't have to stray from the group to even see it in use.

I feel Amizade does a good job of making students responsible tourists. Obviously, we are tourists. We aren't, however, tourists in the sense of naive visitors. With our pre-departure preparations, I feel like we are able to differentiate between cultural exchange and using Jamaica as a tourist trap. We are shown local beaches and tourist beaches, while living as much as possible like locals. Of course, we can't totally be locals, because no matter where we are in Petersfield, we blatantly stick out as the white American kids waving to everyone we pass by.

I think there are good and bad impacts socially on those involved with global service-learning in Petersfield. It is good because the town is probably looked to as a role model and building itself up. Negative effects could be that the town could be criticized for taking advantage of tourists and their money. The host families also probably are respected models within the community. They are probably also criticized for the same reasons. Remember, this is not truth, I'm just guessing. There is no way I can possibly know what others think of our global actions.