By Rhea Xavier
I have a theory which revolves around the belief that getting something in motion is more difficult than keeping it in motion. I hold this belief in many aspects of my life, from something as trivial as beginning a new habit, to something as critical as having a lifestyle change. With no surprise, I had difficulty starting this blog. The reasons behind my difficulty can span from procrastination to simply not knowing how to begin. As a result, I was constantly reminded by my supervisors, Mia and Jada, and finally decided to put my thoughts on paper.
Throughout my current tenure at the Create Caribbean Research Institute, I’ve learned a lot revolving around history and collaboration. Currently, I’m working on the SPAT (Small Projects Assistance Team) Memory Project alongside a fellow colleague, Gael Thomas, and I must say that it has been a truly amazing thing to interview and meet some of the SPAT Members. These people have been movers and shakers, who have greatly impacted our society in Dominica. SPAT was a Non-Government Organization (NGO), which operated for about 20 years succeeding Hurricane David in 1979. After aiding in relief efforts, SPAT then assisted in the education of women and farmers. I was responsible for organizing information about the members of SPAT and I must say it was quite trying at times. Working with people like Ronald Green and Francisco Esprit made me realize how many people work in this country and can easily go unnoticed or unaccredited.
As a result of being an intern at Create, I am required to do a course called Digital Humanities at the Dominica State College and I must say that it has been incredibly eye opening. Prior to beginning this course, I was uninterested in current affairs simply labeling it as ‘too depressing’. However, I am learning the importance of staying updated on all things current; international news and how it can impact me in Dominica. Also, I learned why social media and the internet is so important and how it is beneficial globally. Within this course, Our class will be working on a project entitled Resistance and Caribbean Reality.
My group focuses mainly on how Science and Religion impact the aforementioned topic and consists of four people, which includes two fellow interns, Jodine and Gael. Through this project, we essentially learned the importance of collabo
ration as well as developing skills like intensive reading. (See: The Transformation of Reading) This course essentially teaches me how everything impacts everything and how we can document it. The lecturer, Dr. Schuyler Esprit, has been imparting this knowledge to us in an interesting and fun way as we learn about websites like Zotero, Knightlab, Omeka and Neatline, and how we can apply it in our daily lives. This, in turn, allows us to be more productive and creative in our Create projects, as well as other courses.
This internship has been extremely beneficial in my life by allowing me to change my perspective, my lifestyle choices and my methods of research. And although my theory was not proven wrong since I wrote this blog relatively fast, I do hope that through the grace of God, that I am able to continue and eventually complete this internship believing that there is more in store that I may be able to learn here at Create Caribbean.